After Lilia-san left the assembly hall, I slightly raised my guard.

  I may feel like there isn’t a single bit interesting in me…… but apparently, I’m quite famous among the nobility, so that gives me some idea of what’s about to come.

  “Could I refuse their dance invitation well?” is what I was thinking about…… but for some reason, the result was different than I expected.

  The nobles who tried to approach me near the entrance were somehow talked to by another noble at the right time or even offered a dance, and as a result, they didn’t come up to me.

  As I was tilting my head at this situation that seemed to be too convenient for me, I heard someone whisper into my ear.

  [……Kaito-san, please look at the table on your right.]

  [Alice? Why are you suddenly telling me that…… Table on my right, are you talking about that?]

  Tilting my head at Alice, whose figure I still couldn’t see, I looked at the table to my right as I was told, and saw a variety of dishes on it.

  In this buffet-style party, the food was basically self-service, and the table was surrounded by some nobles who were holding their small plates.

  [Yes, you can see that roast beef that looks really delicious, right?]

  [……I can see it.]

  [……I think I deserve a reward for my hard work.]

  [……How many slices do you want?]

  I see. I finally understood…… The nobles who came by earlier were being led elsewhere at the right time because Alice is using her subordinates to guide them well…… Unnn. She certainly is working hard, and it’s helping me a great deal.

  Thinking that, I moved to the table where the food is placed, and while watching as the nobles who were originally there were spoken to by other nobles at the right time again, I take some slices of roast beef onto a small plate and quickly move the plate to the right…… and the roast beef that was on it disappears.

  [Hnnn~~ As expected of the royal palace, that tastes wonderful! Nothing really tastes better than free food.]

  [Come on, if you’ve got any more food you want to eat, I’ll go take some.]

  [Eh? No way, Kaito-san is being unusually nice to me! So, it has finally come. You’ve finally decided to take my flag. You’ve finally become madly in love with Alice-chan’s charm, right!?]

  [……Does that mean you don’t want to eat anymore?]

  [Aaahh, I’m sorry. That’s not true. I’m going to eat!]

  Even in a place like this, I felt somewhat reassured by Alice, who was still the same as ever. I then started picking out a variety of dishes for Alice to eat until Lilia-san returned.

  I thought that if Alice wanted to eat, she should just take some herself, but Alice said something like “I think it tastes better this way.”, which I honestly don’t understand at all.

  As I continued to eat for a while, I heard Lilia-san’s voice at the same time as I heard her footsteps from behind me.

  [……K- Kai- Kaito-san!? T- Thank you for waiting!?]

  [L- Lilia-san!? Ah, no……]

  As soon as I heard Lilia-san’s voice, I remembered that incident that just happened earlier, and I looked back at her, strangely nervous……


  [……Errr……]

  [C- C- C- Come, let’s go see Amalie.]

  [……Ummm, Lilia-san?]

  [Hyiihhh!?]

  When I turned around, the one behind me was the familiar Lilia-san but…… Lilia-san, with ears that looked really red, had her face completely looking at a different direction.

  How should I say this…… Her posture is a bit funny.

  [……Why are you looking that way?]

  [T- T- T- That’s because…… errr…… I just feel like looking this way!!!]

  [……I- Is that so……]

  She’s really bad at lying…… Without a doubt, the reason why Lilia-san’s face is turning bright red is because of the actions she did earlier.

  In fact, I’m not entirely sure myself, but I think I’m probably also blushing.

  [T- Then, how about we go to where Amalie-san is…….?]

  [Y- Y- Y- Yes! Let’s go! Let’s go do that!!!]

  [Lilia-san, ummm, you need to calm down a bit……]

  [Y- Yes…… I’m sorry.]

  Urging Lilia-san, who is clearly looking like she’s about to blow up, to calm down, the both of us head to the seat of honor where Amalie-san is.

  As we walked over there, the both of us didn’t interact at all…… How should I say this…… It feels extremely awkward, but I can’t run away because of the situation we’re in now.

  No matter how stupid I am, I know that Lilia-san’s action just now isn’t just simple skinship.

  So, that means, Lilia-san sees me…… as an object of interest to her, and she has feelings for me…… That is, what can I say, it’s just that…… I’m happy.

  Lilia-san is the first person I met when I came to this world, and she’s been greatly helping me for a long time.

  She is a kind and warm person, and the reason I am able to truly enjoy my days in this world is because I met Lilia-san.

  She’s not like the nobles I imagined, but she’s a very splendid and strong woman, and I respect her from the bottom of my heart, even though we’re only one year apart in age…… She’s such a person.

  However, not only that, but she’s a person filled with emotions for a person of her age…… She happily laughs, she gets surprised, she can also get mad and cry. She’s a friendly person.

  Most of all, she was endlessly kind and always, always, always really cared about me with all her heart.

  Taught me about this world when I was just new to this world and didn’t know what’s right from left…… And provided us the essentials in life, food, shelter and clothing.

  Making sure that living in a mansion filled with women wouldn’t negatively influence, she even went out of her way to buy me my daily necessities.

  Telling me, as if it’s obvious, that she had never once thought of me as a nuisance, even though she was always feeling troubled, and was bothered by me, getting to know all the most extraordinary people.

  She has a troubling habit of continuing to work hard and not showing it to others, even though she was carrying all sorts of obligations and responsibilities…… I think she’s really an impossibly charming woman.

  If I were asked what I think about such a Lilia-san…… It’s obvious I like her.

  Seriously thinking about it again, I felt my heart settle down, as if I realized something that should be obvious.

  I think I’ve always held some feelings for Lilia-san…… However, I couldn’t notice it because I was so grateful and I was feeling sorry for the trouble I was causing her.

  Uwaahhh… What should I do now…… I’m kinda feeling self-conscious now…… I’m starting to feel absurdly embarrassed here now, you know!?

  [……K- Kaito-san!?]

  [Eh? Ah, yes!?]

  Thereupon, as if it was an attempt to break the ice, Lilia-san nervously spoke to me right at that moment, to which, I replied, aware that my body just greatly twitched.

  Lilia-san still doesn’t turn to look at men, continuing to speak while her face, which is as red as a ripe apple, is facing down.

  [W- What happened today…… P- P- Please forget about it!]

  [Eh?]

  [L- Like I said, that thing that happened just now, errr, errr…… A- A- Anyway, please forget about it!]

  [I’m sorry, I can’t.]

  [Eeeeehhhh!?]

  When Lilia-san asked me to forget what happened today…… That is to say, that kiss she gave me earlier, I immediately replied that it was impossible.

  No, I mean, you know, no matter how much Lilia-san tells me that…… Impossible things are impossible.

  With her face close to looking flustered…… Lilia-san was completely oblivious to the attention that she’s getting from the people around her, so we proceeded to walk through the assembly hall.

  Dear Mom, Dad——– Thinking about Lilia-san again, I was able to quickly realize how I felt. I guess that’s how big and strong Lilia-san’s presence was in my mind. As I felt strangely embarrassed, I had a feeling that my relationship with Lilia-san from now——- would drastically change.

  **********

  {Author’s Notes}

  Serious-senpai: [……This……. isn’t the end, right?]

  {Rather, this is where it starts}

  Serious-senpai: [I knew it…… I feel depressed……]

  T/N: It was a weekend, so I was kinda slacking off.

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