The revolutionary forces are also a problem, but I couldn’t figure out which problem to focus on, as yet another unrelated issue has arisen.
Charlotte has been staying in the palace instead of the dormitory lately. And apparently, someone died in the princess’s palace.
Sarkegaar said that most people wouldn’t know about this since he found out about it during his espionage activities.
Does Bertus know about this?
I only have common classes with Bertus, but I attend Supernatural Power classes with Charlotte.
But we only listen to lectures together. Charlotte goes to the practical portion alone, so I don’t know what she does.
What is the focus of the problem?
Is it an assassination attempt on Charlotte or a completely different issue?
I could see Charlotte.
But I couldn’t read anything from her expression.
If I hadn’t heard that from Sarkegaar, I would have thought that there was no problem with Charlotte.
Managing their expressions is like breathing for Bertus and Charlotte. That’s why I couldn’t feel any worries, concerns, or anxieties from Charlotte’s expression.
Wednesday.
After Supernatural Power Class.
I grabbed Charlotte who was trying to return to the palace after class.
If I didn’t know anything, I wouldn’t have cared, but now that I knew something, I couldn’t just let Charlotte go.
“Yes, Reinhardt?”
When I naturally approached her, Charlotte tilted her head.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Is it something dangerous?’
‘Do you have nothing to say?’
I didn’t know what words to use to break the ice. If I acknowledged the danger, I wouldn’t have anything to say in response to the question of how I knew.
In front of Charlotte’s ordinary face that didn’t give any hints, I couldn’t figure out what to say to start with.
So.
I grabbed Charlotte, but I couldn’t say anything and just stared at her face blankly.
Finally.
“Are you busy?”
I don’t know why, but I said such a thing like a clumsy person.
Charlotte looked at me for a while and suddenly became bewildered when she heard what I said.
“… What?”
“I asked if you were busy.”
I don’t know.
Just blurt out whatever!
Say something random and move on!
Charlotte smiled at the nonsensical words.
“And if I’m not busy?”
“Hang out with me.”
“…huh?”
Charlotte twitched her mouth as if she was puzzled.
“Well…um…uh…”
Charlotte seemed flustered and sighed shortly.
Then, she put on a soft smile.
“I can spare some time. As much as you need.”
It was a smile that looked even more hazy than usual.
Although we share the problem regarding the revolutionary forces, but for now, the more urgent issue is Charlotte’s safety.
I don’t know for sure, but it seems highly likely that Charlotte’s life is in danger.
I don’t know what I can do by knowing that, but I don’t want to just stay ignorant.
At least we could talk about it.
Charlotte may think of me as a friend, but her existence is more special to me than just a friend.
She’s the one who made me realize that I can risk my life for something, and Charlotte’s survival is the result of that.
So, I want to protect her.
The royal family is in turmoil due to internal issues, and Charlotte is involved in it.
Therefore, the problem of the Orbis classes is potentially very dangerous, which could lead to the downfall of the empire, but they don’t seem to realize that.
Of course, this may all be a misunderstanding, and they may already be aware of it.
The story about someone dying at the princess’s palace that Sarkegaar heard may also be just a rumor.
But for some reason, I have a strange conviction that something is not right.
There must be something going on.
I got a strange conviction from the way Charlotte boldly leads the way.
I couldn’t even bring myself to say what I wanted to say.
Charlotte took me out of Temple. I asked her to hang out with me, but she also seemed to be heading somewhere. I wonder what she’s trying to do.
I don’t know about Bertus, but Charlotte didn’t seem to have any fear of going in and out without an escort. I’m worried that it might cause trouble if the princess is recognized on the street, but Charlotte didn’t flip her hood like she did on our last outing.
“Don’t people recognize you?” I asked.
It’s not like Charlotte’s face is completely unknown.
She shrugged and showed me a bracelet.
“I recently acquired a new artifact.”
“What is it?”
“There’s a magic spell of cognitive disruption on it. It doesn’t make you invisible, but it makes your presence less noticeable. Something like that. If you don’t intentionally approach someone, it won’t catch their attention easily.”
When there’s a possibility of getting bothered by people who recognize her, she activates the magic on her bracelet. Of course, since I’m her companion, I won’t be affected by the cognitive disruption.
It seems to be a magical item necessary for famous people.
“So let’s go.”
After activating the cognitive disruption artifact, Charlotte led me somewhere. It seemed like we could take a short walk with our classmates before returning to the palace.
As soon as we arrived, I couldn’t say anything.
“…….”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nah, it’s nothing!”
Charlotte had taken me to the Irene riverside.
I just came here a few days ago with the other kids!
But I didn’t mention that to avoid disappointing Charlotte. Even though I didn’t know what was going on, she took the time to spend with me, so I didn’t want to bring the mood down.
I couldn’t trample on the princess’s consideration like that. Charlotte looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Don’t you like flowers?”
“I do like them! Um, I really like them!”
Charlotte gave a wry smile as she looked at me.
“You’re lying. You like flowers? Even a passing dog would laugh at that.”
“Oh, no, I mean, I could like them, you know!”
“Why are you trying so hard to act tough?” Charlotte said, tapping my arm.
“…”
“We’re friends, just relax.”
Charlotte spoke as she walked ahead.
I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I know it’s serious.
Charlotte was extremely thorough in managing her expression.
We were both restless in our own ways, but neither of us showed any signs of it.
That’s why we acted like we were just out for a normal walk to see the flowers.
In reality, it wasn’t much different from what I did the other day with the kids.
Charlotte’s reaction wasn’t much different from the other kids either. I was surprised that she was amazed at my ability to recognize and name some of the flowers.
“What the hell do you guys think of me…….”
“Us?”
“Oh, no.”
It was amusing to see them amazed at even the basic knowledge that most people know.
Charlotte knew the names of every flower that bloomed in the field. When she listed off the names of flowers that I had never heard of before, I was a little taken aback.
“That’s a dahlia.”
“That’s a geranium. And that one over there…”
“That’s a petunia. Isn’t it pretty? I like four-season flowers the most.”
“That’s a heliotrope.”
“The names are really fancy.”
“It smells really good. Want to smell it?”
“Oh, no, thanks.”
I remembered recently describing flowers as the reproductive organs of plants, so I felt a bit awkward and backed away.
Am I crazy?
Why am I thinking about this at this time?
Charlotte is smelling the flowers!
The last time they were here, no one was really interested in flowers. But when Charlotte saw a flower, she would stop and think it was pretty, and she would walk slowly to smell it.
“How do you know all this?”
“Because I like them.”
Charlotte smiles at me.
“When you like something, you naturally get to know more about it. And you want to know more.”
“So you studied it?”
“No?”
Charlotte tilted her head.
“I just naturally got to know about it.”
Because she likes flowers, she naturally knows many flowers without having to study. Charlotte’s words were a little unfamiliar.
Even her smiling face was different.
I didn’t know about anything else, but I could tell that Charlotte was really enjoying herself right now. It might not have been a happy heart that brought her here, but it was clear that she was enjoying this moment.
Charlotte wears a perfect mask, and I can’t see what expression is hiding beneath it, but…
I could tell that this sunny smile on Charlotte’s face was not a mask.
Charlotte likes flowers.
I think it’s good to like them, but seeing her “liking” them made me feel strange.
It was a sight I had never seen before.
“Oh…this is really pretty. What’s its name? It’s not written here.”
Of course, it seemed like there were some flowers that she didn’t know.
What would the garden in which Charlotte lived look like?
Suddenly, I became curious.
I thought that there would be a well-maintained garden with countless flowers blooming every season.
Where you go is important, but who you go with is also important.
Although I had come here a few days ago, seeing Charlotte occasionally stop and gaze at the flowers made me feel like I had never been here before.
I also looked at the flowers that Charlotte is looking at.
I examined the landscapes that I just passed by without saying the names of the flowers I know.
This is what this place is like.
Next to Charlotte who is enjoying the flowers, I could only make a few comments as I didn’t know how to appreciate them.
It’s enough not to be a disturbance.
“Hmm… the pansies have already bloomed.”
Charlotte was crouching quietly in front of a flower that I also knew.
As someone who knows a lot about flowers, I wonder if Charlotte knows about other things as well?
Luckily, she seems to know about the flower that I also know.
Judging from what Charlotte says, her knowledge of flowers doesn’t seem to be much different from the original world.
“Do you know the language of flowers?”
“The language of flowers?”
“Isn’t there such a thing? Each flower has its own meaning.”
“Oh, there is?”
However, regardless of my answer, Charlotte shook her head.
“I don’t really like it.”
“Why?”
“Those are just labels that others attach to them.”
Charlotte touched the wide petal of the pansy with her fingertips.
“Although the language of roses is love, it can be sadness to someone.”
It’s better for flowers to have their own meaning for everyone.
That’s why I don’t like the language of flowers.
Charlotte seemed to think so. She looked at the pansy for a while, then picked up a fallen petal. It was a petal that looked like someone had broken off and left behind.
“Do you know the meaning of pansy?”
“Like I would know that.”
“Well, you already passed the line of being qualified. I would have been surprised if you knew this too.”
Charlotte raised the petal in her hand.
“Do you want it? Or do you think it’s just trash?”
“Even trash is a gift if it’s from you.”
“You have a knack for saying such touching things and making sure the listener isn’t moved at all. That must be a skill.”
Charlotte said that while handing me a pansy.
I don’t know what meaning Charlotte had given to the pansy in her mind.
She wouldn’t have given it to me if I said I knew the flower’s meaning.
I lied to Charlotte.
Again.
I memorized flowers and their meanings for no reason.
I couldn’t memorize them all, but there were some that I did.
Pansy.
In the language of flowers, ‘Please think of me.’.
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