The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Surprisingly, embarrassment hit me a beat too late.

At first, I thought, *What's the big deal about wearing a dress?*

I’d already worn a bunny costume before, with a neckline that revealed nearly everything. By that standard, a normal dress shouldn’t make me feel embarrassed at all.

This dress didn’t expose anything. It didn’t even bare my shoulders. It was just... the type of outfit any noble lady might wear.

The skirt was even longer than the skirt of my academy uniform, which, true to the game’s "pretty girl character" content, was shorter than most real-world uniforms. Objectively, I had no reason to feel embarrassed in this outfit.

Alice had been a bit surprised when she saw me this morning, but she hadn’t made a big fuss.

But I only realized the real source of embarrassment when I went down for breakfast.

Embarrassment doesn’t come from *how much skin* you’re showing; it comes from *the reactions* of those around you.

When I’d worn the bunny costume, Alice had been with me, and though it had felt humiliating, Claire’s reaction was more of stunned disbelief. Besides, we had our reasons for doing it.

But this dress—*I had chosen this myself.*

And people noticed.

“Wow!”

Claire, who had stared at me for a few seconds, lit up with a beaming expression, clasped her hands, and approached with sparkling eyes.

“Sister, it suits you so well!”

At the word "sister," I noticed the baroness’s eyebrows raise slightly, but she didn’t show her surprise, instead approaching gracefully.

“You looked splendid in yesterday’s attire, but this dress also suits you wonderfully.”

“Does it?”

Somehow, their reactions made me feel even more self-conscious than when Leo had blushed seeing me in the bunny outfit.

And Leo’s reaction wasn’t much different.

Normally, he would’ve stared at me in shock, but maybe because we’d known each other for a semester now or because we were at his home, he walked over with a "heroic smile" and said,

“You look great.”

And that’s when it hit me.

While there was no character named Sylvia Pangriffon in the original game, if a scene like this had been in it, this would definitely be one of *Sylvia Pangriffon’s affinity events.*

As I imagined a half-filled heart icon appearing beside my name in some invisible status window, I felt chills down my spine.

“Does it?”

But what could I do? If I protested with a "no," that would just be another cliché.

I could see the upside in successfully portraying my character, but I certainly didn’t want to feel like I was being "conquered." Even after ten years in a woman’s body, I was still a guy at heart.

“Now the children will definitely feel more at ease meeting you.”

Claire, unaware of my thoughts, smiled brightly. Everyone here was likely oblivious to the concept of a "game world"—they didn’t even have video games here, after all.

Even if they did, they’d never imagine it like this.

“Is that so?”

Beside me, Alice was watching intently as I muttered the same phrase again. She had just given me a lengthy lecture on maintaining a refined posture like a noblewoman before we’d left the room.

Her expression was mostly neutral, but I sensed a hint of satisfaction in her gaze.

*

Daniel’s face turned a bit red as he looked at me.

I briefly wondered if he actually recognized me.

In my previous life, I’d never imagined myself as anyone’s first love. I hadn’t been particularly attractive for that role.

But "Sylvia Black" was different.

Though the kids in the orphanage had been decent-looking, few were growing into the kind of "beauty" that Claire and I had, simply because they were too young.

Besides, I was one of the few people who had been kind to them in that so-called orphanage.

If they felt any admiration toward me, I wouldn’t be surprised. Claire had, after all.

“This way... please follow me.”

The baroness excused herself early after breakfast. Though she mentioned she was busy, I suspected it was partly to give me space to reunite with the other children.

“They’re all gathered, it seems.”

“Ah, yes.”

I asked Daniel as I followed him, and he nodded.

“They don’t all stay in the same room, but those with similar roles tend to live in similar areas.”

That made sense.

Butlers and maids wouldn’t share quarters, and neither would the guards.

Even if the estate wasn’t enormous, it wasn’t small enough to be managed by only two or three people. They needed someone to watch over it 24/7. Most of the orphanage kids must have ended up as guards if they’d all been employed here.

Even if more than half of the children were girls.

“Here we are.”

Daniel stopped in front of a detached building separate from the main house, one of the buildings we’d noticed upon entering the estate.

Calling it a "dormitory" seemed inadequate—it was quite an impressive structure. If this was where the servants stayed, the Grace family certainly offered them excellent living conditions.

Daniel opened the door and waited for us all to enter.

It felt odd to see a boy shorter than me holding the door, but this was just how things were here. Claire, Leo, and Alice all acted as though it were entirely normal.

Inside, the hot air seemed to subside a bit. They must have some sort of cooling system, whether steam-powered or magic-based.

The interior looked like an old hotel. Not a particularly luxurious one, but more like a charming, vintage inn somewhere in the European countryside. The lobby counter, however, was empty.

“Two people live in each room. The people Her Highness wishes to meet are...”

Daniel glanced at Claire, who nodded with a big smile.

“The ones who stayed with you and me.”

“I understand.”

Daniel looked back at me, waiting for my response.

“Please, bring them here.”

I nodded.

*

After sitting in the lobby chairs for a few minutes, the children started appearing, one by one.

When we had escaped together, there had been twelve of us, including myself, Claire, and Daniel.

The children shuffled in, looking around shyly. They didn’t seem much younger than Daniel.

Most of them were slightly taller than Daniel, whether they were girls or boys.

“Hi!”

“Sister!”

When Claire waved, a lively girl with short, dark brown hair called out, then quickly clamped her mouth shut upon seeing me and Alice behind Claire.

I see.

It looked like the kids who had escaped together had grown close, almost like siblings.

Judging by the way they glanced at me and Alice, they must have immediately recognized us as nobles. The girl, who had almost run over, now approached us with a more subdued step.

She held her skirt lightly and greeted us with a polite bow.

“Hello.” 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

“...”

I was trying hard to remember her name, so I couldn’t respond right away.

Before she could introduce herself, more children filed in through the corridor.

Red hair, blond, gray, blue... Now that I looked, their hair colors were surprisingly varied. Maybe that old woman had selected children based on hair color?

Lost in thought, I finally noticed all the kids had gathered.

There were nine of them.

Not a single one was missing.