The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

The best way to avoid conversations with people is to keep myself busy.

I was someone who greatly disliked being busy, but given the circumstances, I had no choice. To avoid awakening any deep-seated memories about me that might be buried in the subconscious of the nobles filling this place, I had to keep moving.

Keep conversations as brief as possible and serve as many guests as I could within that short span of time.

Fortunately—or perhaps not—this place wasn't entirely occupied by nobles. There were also non-noble guests: the parents and siblings of the commoner students. They had managed to pass the academy’s strict status checks to be here, so they couldn’t exactly be treated like ordinary commoners.

Luckily, no one seemed to find my behavior strange. In fact, some nobles openly looked relieved when I passed by without engaging them in conversation.

Though the full truth had yet to come to light, the current situation was clear: the Emperor’s ambitions had been thwarted, and another emperor had taken the throne in his place. Whether they had supported the previous emperor or not, all the high-ranking nobles were bound to be on edge. After all, no one knew which side we would ultimately support.

Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the noble children who had been with me and Alice—who, technically speaking, weren’t exactly my friends—there would have been outright resistance, perhaps even something close to a rebellion. Regardless of the reasons, the previous emperor had been deposed, and foreign forces had been involved in the process. From an objective standpoint, the empire’s dignity had been shaken quite openly.

If Winterfield hadn’t secured control over the military, if Lindburrow hadn’t remained firmly neutral, if the only heir of the Crowfield family hadn’t been standing by my side... who knows what thoughts might have crossed the minds of the imperial nobles?

Not to mention, there was also the gryphon I had arrived on.

Under these circumstances, it was understandable that people were hesitant to talk to someone who had gone head-to-head with an emperor in battle, returned in triumph on a gryphon, and now stood before them in person.

“Phew...”

After dealing with a particularly wealthy commoner, I exhaled softly as I returned to the kitchen.

Most commoners were aware that I was a princess, so they were understandably a little afraid of me. However, this one was a merchant—and the father of one of the commoner students, someone who had at least some level of acquaintance with me. That made him a bit more persistent.

“The Baker family is surprisingly bold,” Alice commented, her expression showing a hint of exhaustion as I returned.

It was understandable. Before I had stepped in, Alice had been the one stuck in conversation with him for quite some time.

From the moment he entered, it was clear that he had strategically chosen his seat. He had deliberately paced his tea drinking and dessert eating to ensure that he could place his order just as either Alice or I happened to be passing by.

“He seems quite different from Lily,” I mused.

“Well, he is a businessman. Even if he’s afraid deep down, he has to overcome that fear to seize opportunities,” I pointed out.

“That was a fearful expression?” Alice turned to glance once more at Lily Baker’s father.

Sitting there, relaxed, sipping tea with his wife, he didn’t show the slightest trace of fear.

“...Maybe he’s the kind of person who simply doesn’t know fear,” I suggested. “That could be why he managed to rise so high despite being a commoner. It’s possible that Lily inherited her personality from her mother instead.”

Indeed, Mrs. Baker was nervously glancing in our direction, likely worried that her husband had overstepped some boundary of etiquette.

“Why does your reasoning keep changing?” Alice asked with a smirk.

I merely shrugged, and Alice let out a small chuckle, looking somewhat reassured.

I supposed that her earlier comment—“You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to”—hadn’t been entirely sincere.

If our positions were reversed, I would probably be worried too if my younger sister wasn’t fully enjoying the festival. And considering how much Alice herself was having fun, it must have made her a little self-conscious.

...Perhaps I had been too stiff earlier.

While I did need to be cautious when speaking with guests, this wasn’t all bad.

Being busy and running around was a bit of a hassle, but chatting with someone I was close to in between tasks was enjoyable.

For the first time, it truly felt like I was attending a school festival.

Back in high school, school festivals had just been another school day with slightly fewer classes.

And in university... Well, I wasn’t fond of drinking, and I had a reputation for being an outsider in my department.

I hadn’t cared about celebrities either, so I never attended any of the concerts hosted by guest performers.

So, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° all things considered, being here with my friends... wasn’t so bad.

“Ugh... Wh-why are there so many customers...?”

Just as Alice and I were chatting, Mia discreetly inserted herself into our conversation.

That, in itself, was something unimaginable in the past.

The fact that Mia was willingly joining a conversation.

The fact that Mia was wearing a maid outfit and working at a café.

Well, technically, this wasn’t exactly a part-time job, but still.

“Well, it’s not every day nobles’ daughters like us serve customers,” I pointed out. “And since their own children are here, it makes sense for parents to drop by and at least show their faces.”

Indeed, quite a few guests had specifically requested to be served by their own daughters, while others took the opportunity to have a quick chat with their sons, who were busy with other tasks.

Everyone looked genuinely happy as they talked.

Noble children were raised as nobles from the moment they were born.

Hearing that, one might assume that noble families lacked any real affection.

But looking at them now, smiling so warmly...

I wasn’t so sure.

"..."

That was a story far removed from the three of us standing here.

I had heard that Countess Crowfield hadn’t come today. Given how Mia had remained tight-lipped ever since the incident, I could only assume that if it weren’t for her presence, the countess might have already used the situation as a stepping stone to stir something up.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Mia probably wouldn’t want to talk about it, but I’d make sure to ask her about it later. If there was anything I could do to help, I wanted to.

“...A-anyway, the food the kids made is actually pretty good. It’s not quite on par with what a proper café would serve, but still,” Alice said, deliberately changing the subject—likely realizing she had just made an unfortunate remark.

“Their food should be good,” I replied. “The menu is based on Belvur-style recipes that I brought over.”

But it wasn’t me or Mia who came to Alice’s rescue—it was Charlotte, who just happened to be passing by.

Well... happened to be passing by was one way to put it.

But considering how sharp Charlotte was—sharper than most nobles and royals I’d met—there was a chance she had deliberately timed her approach.

“Didn’t we agree not to interfere with the children’s decisions?” I asked.

“But ignoring people when they ask for help isn’t exactly right either, is it?” Charlotte countered, tilting her chin up slightly, her posture full of confidence.

“Imperials don’t seem to have much talent for cooking, after all.”

That wasn’t entirely accurate.

The Azerna Empire was modeled after England, and just like England, it had a strong tea culture.

Historically, England’s tea culture had led to the development of an impressive selection of pastries and sweets. Given that, it wasn’t as if Imperial cuisine was completely lacking in that regard. Of course, parfaits were definitely a Belvurian specialty.

“...And you’re saying this because you know how to cook?”

Alice’s words struck directly at the weak point.

After all, nobles and royals rarely—if ever—had to cook for themselves. Unless they lost everything and had to live as commoners, they could easily go their entire lives without ever learning how.

“...”

For a brief moment, Charlotte faltered, at a loss for words.

But she quickly regained her composure.

“Well, I had to pass the recipe along, so at the very least, I know how to cook now,” she said, unfazed.

“...”

Alice narrowed her eyes at Charlotte’s excuse but chose not to press the matter any further.

“In any case, are you planning to stand around here all day?” Charlotte asked, smoothly shifting the topic. “The others are working hard over there. It wouldn’t be appropriate for members of the royal family to slack off, would it?”

“We were just about to get back to work,” Alice replied.

I, on the other hand, had been hoping to relax a little longer.

But Charlotte had a point.

No one could force us to work, but that didn’t mean people wouldn’t resent us if we didn’t. Even if this was just a lighthearted event, there was no avoiding frustration when some people worked while others played.

“We’ve rested enough—”

But before Alice could drag me off to work,

“P-Princess.”

Someone called out to us first.

It was one of the boys from our class. Judging by his expression, he wasn’t here to assign us a task.

His face was pale, yet tinged with a strange mixture of awe and nervousness.

“What is it?”

Though his face was turned toward us, his gaze lingered more on me, so I answered on our behalf.

“C-could you take a look over there?”

He pointed toward the window behind us.

“...Ah.”

Following his hand, I turned my gaze—

—And saw a gryphon sitting just outside the first-floor window, peering into the classroom.

Wait.

Wasn’t there supposed to be a luxurious flower bed outside that window?