The Summer Holidays “The Marquis" daughter, Liselotte Riefenstahl, is tormenting a poor common girl out in the courtyard, please help her!”
What exactly would be the correct way to react to an impossibly absurd accusation like that, when asked to intervene?
Should I be angry at the insult to my fiancée? My fiancee might be easy to misunderstand, but she really is a good girl once you get to know her, I"ll have you know? Or did you just see that she had a serious face on and a.s.sumed she was being a bully?
“I understand, thank you for telling me,” I decided to tell that to the slightly dimwitted looking girl in front of me, with my usual smile.
As soon as I arrived in the courtyard, I began looking for my easily misunderstood fiancée.
“Finne, you are living in the staff lodgings presently, are you not?”
『Liselotte"s question is so roundabout that not even I know what her true intentions are anymooooore!』
『It seems that there is something she wishes to ask, but is it an issue of n.o.bility or something unique to Liselotte? She"s asking so many questions that seem unrelated to each other that it really does feel like an interrogation now.』
Found her.
Liselotte and Finne were sitting side by side on the bench, and it seemed like Liselotte was reciting a list of questions at her.
As I gathered from the voices of the G.o.ds as well as the fact that Finne"s head was c.o.c.ked at a strange angle, it seems like the questions she was asking were a bit too ambiguous.
“Umm, yes. They let me stay in the staff dormitory…”
For the most part, all the students at this academy were sons and daughters of the n.o.bility.
And being n.o.bility, they typically own an estate in the capital even if their land was elsewhere.
Therefore, all the students at this academy travel to cla.s.s from their family"s residence in the capital. All except one.
That one person was Finne.
So, what exactly were Liselotte"s intentions after finding out about that?
“About that staff dormitory… They serve food in such a place, yes?”
『Oh, she was about to say something else but stopped herself, didn"t she? That seems to be a common pattern today.』
As the great Coebayashay mentioned, Liselotte seemed to be troubled about saying what she actually wanted to say.
“Yes! It"s delicious, too! But maybe because of budget or because we"re all women there, I don"t think there"s enough meat, but it"s not a problem since I can just get it myself!”
『That doesn"t seem to be what Liselotte wanted to hear…!』
『Finne-chan stays in the dormitory for female members of staff. I see, since she"s such a crazed warrior and still a growing girl, Rize-tan might feel like she"s not being fed enough?』
Finne answered her cheerfully, but Liselotte seemed like she didn"t know what to say next as she started bashfully fidgeting. It looks like Endow"s sage knowledge was completely correct.
“Liselotte, is something wrong?”
I suddenly realized that I might be the source of some unwanted rumours if anyone saw me silently watching the two of them like this. As I called out to them, Liselotte and Finne jumped in surprise but after turning around to see it was
“Ahh, Your Highness, I…”
Liselotte seemed to want to ask me something as well, but even though her voice trailed off as she tried to stammer it out, she still looked happy.
“Were you talking about the staff dormitories? Ah, now that I think about it, what are your plans for the summer break, Miss Finne? As I recall, the school cafeteria won"t be staffed for a period of time, will it?”
The fast-approaching summer holidays for the academy were only a week away. Although over the one month holiday period there will still be staff working here, all the staff were taking a one week break off during the holidays as well.
“…!”
Of course, I just mentioned it casually, but I didn"t miss the smile that suddenly illuminated Liselotte"s face.
『I see, this whole time, Liselotte was concerned about how Finne was going to be spending her summer vacation!』
『In the game, Finne would always go with a capture target, but… I don"t know how the ethics of this world would view an unmarried man and woman actually spending time together alone like that.』
I found myself frowning at Coebayashay"s words. Of course, there would be deep implications if an unmarried man and woman took a long trip alone in such a way.
“Ah, summer vacation? If mama… Ah, sorry. If I can find out where my mother is staying, I"ll spend it with her, otherwise, I"ll just have to stay in the dormitory by myself.”
As I recall, Finne"s only family was her mother.
Isn"t it quite a serious situation if she doesn"t even know where her own mother was right now?
Stepping forward without thinking, I called out to ask Finne.
“Miss Finne, what did you mean by that?”
“Ah it"s, well, my mother angered some of the high ranking n.o.bles in the capital who are after her life, so she"s sort of on the run?”
I asked her seriously, but Finne said something outrageous like it wasn"t really any big deal.
“Thanks to that, I almost got killed as well, so for my sake, she doesn"t tell me where she is anymore. Honestly, mother, just what did you do in the first place?”
Finne giggled as she said that, but I didn"t think it was a laughing matter at all.
“Well, since I can use magic, maybe my father was a n.o.bleman or something like that? Apparently, my father died around the same time, so uh, basically they think mama killed him? Was it an act of pa.s.sion after being blinded by love? Is that why his family wants her dead? Or something like that, but I didn"t really ask…”
『What a dangerous story…! Hold on a minute… Isn"t the setting for this game a little too serious considering its t.i.tle? There"s so much death in it.』
『Well, Majikoi did actually end up selling really well, you know? Although I feel like there"s a sense of malice in trying to traumatize young womenotome players like that?』
I kept silent as I listened to the venerable Endow and Coebayashay talk.
『Ah, about Finnemama, Finne-chan"s guess is a little off. The truth is actually more peaceful.』
Thank goodness. I breathed a sigh of relief as Coebayashay said that.
“…Is it not dangerous to be in the dorms alone by yourself? No matter how strong you may be, Finne, you are still a young girl.”
As Liselotte said that with a determined expression, I found myself agreeing with her.
The story of Finne"s mother caught me off guard a little bit so I almost forgot, but it"s not just a meal problem. She‘s still only a fifteen-year-old girl, someone should be looking after her.
There"s no shortage of guest rooms at the royal palace so it wouldn"t be hard to have her taken care of there… No, if I did that, I would feel very sorry if bad rumours were spread about Finne.
『Why does Liselotte have such a stubborn look on her face…?』
『It seems like she"s concerned about Finne-chan"s living conditions but is finding it hard to just come out with it, well, what else can you expect from a tsundere?』
As I was trying to figure out exactly what was wrong, I heard their voices again.
Ah, I see now.
“If that"s the case, Liselotte, why not take care of Miss Finne at your family"s house?”
When I suggested that, I saw the corners of Liselotte"s mouth being to tremble upwards.
“W-well, I suppose so!? I was planning to return to our lands, but since I already have three of my sisters at the main house then I do not think it would be any great burden if there were one more!? House Riefenstahl is a family of proud warriors as well, so I do not think there shall be any problems if there are any complications that arise concerning your mother!? What"s more, you should take this opportunity to learn many things from me, such as proper manners and etiquette!! A home more suitable than our house, I do not believe such a thing exists? Ah, well, if it"s His Highness suggesting so… Then I suppose I do not mind having you stay.”
That"s d.a.m.ned cute.
『Liselotte"s machinegun like ranting can"t hide her joy! No matter how haughtily she might try to act, there"s no way you can hide that smile on your face, Liselotte!!』
『To even notice that she was getting too excited and managing to tone herself down at the end, what a high-grade performance, I give that tsundere routine a perfect 100 score.』
Both of them were right.
My fiancée is so cute that it"s painful. I quietly looked up at the sky.
“No, I couldn"t possibly, I would be causing you far too much trouble…”
Finne shook her head bashfully as she said that.
“Hmph, are you saying that our household cannot take care of a single guest? Or, perhaps, are you making light of the Marquisal House of Riefenstahl? Do you think that my house is so shabby and run down that it cannot even take care of a single girl for a month?”
Liselotte stared at Finne with half narrowed eyes as she said that, but, well, considering that this is almost exactly the same kind of att.i.tude she had when giving Finne those presents of a wand and several sets school uniforms as well, I think it"s fair to say that Liselotte is acting ‘Soon d"Rey", as the G.o.ds put it.
As for the number of people who are wondering just why her fiancée is getting no such presents, there are more than a few.
Anyways, I understand why Finne seems to be hesitant about accepting such a sudden offer. Especially since she was offering to have her as a guest not just for the one week there were no staff at the school, but for the entire month of the holidays.
『The key to figuring out the peaceful truth about Finnemama is located at the Riefenstahl house, so Rize-tan absolutely has to win here.』
Such was the decree of Coebayashay.
It"s not just about Liselotte spending the summer holidays with her friend Finne, but there"s in fact a deeper meaning to all this. Something has to be done.
“…Miss Finne, the Riefenstahl territory is famed for breeding horses. There is also a growing horse based cuisine developing there.”
“I will be in your care over the summer, Lady Liselotte.”
As I added on a little joke, Finne suddenly discarded all of her hesitations.
As Finne bowed her head down low towards her, Liselotte looked surprised, but there was no mistaking that joyful smile on her face.