The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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Dorothy was a person with a strong sense of responsibility toward her duties. Perhaps that’s why many around her often asked how she managed to keep her composure in such a harsh place.

Well, originally she had a weak personality. Easily startled by small noises and unable to endure even a little pressure—let’s say she was mild-mannered but basically quite approachable.

It wasn’t for nothing that her best friend dismissed the rumor of her becoming a teacher at Amauros Academy as mere nonsense.

She was someone who seemed completely out of place in the Academy.

There was no way to say that she matched with an academy where future talents who would lead the world gathered, given that she had grown up in an ordinary family in an ordinary way.

“…Um… White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter…?”

Of course, she didn’t just become a teacher for no reason at all.

Had she not met the headmaster of the Academy, she would still be living a normal life as a feeble village maiden.

If it weren’t for the encouragement that people don’t just born special, but become special on their own.

In that context, there was a student who was so terrified, he said he must not be bothersome.

Someone who boldly spoke in front of the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke’s daughter, only to find a girl who insisted on giving her special treatment.

“…Um, did you call?”

“Rather than ‘did you call’, shouldn’t it be ‘did you summon me’, White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter?”

“…Hmm. That’s true. Did you summon me?”

Academy regulations stated that students must wear uniforms, but in reality, that rule was weirdly overlooked.

As long as someone could tell that this was a modified version of the uniform, teachers generally wouldn’t say much about it.

However, White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter had clearly crossed that line.

Dressed in an outfit that could hardly be even called attire of this continent, she lazily responded to Dorothy’s call.

Dokan, who sat next to her, corrected her statement, but that only seemed to weigh down Dorothy even more.

“…Um, White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter? Did you… accidentally wash your uniform and come in that outfit…?”

Even the headmaster was terrified, so how could a mere teacher handle her?

White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter had somewhat respected the authority of the teacher until now, which was the only reason Dorothy had managed to maintain her composure.

“No, I just wanted to wear it. Is there a problem?”

“I think saying ‘I wore it because I wanted to, and I’ll be more careful from now on’ would be more accurate.”

“Hey, can you just be quiet?”

But now, that respect didn’t really seem to be felt much.

“…The rules… may be… broken… but… uh… could you at least wear a uniform top over it…?”

Therefore, the only thing she could do was muster her courage to make that suggestion.

Feeling a sense of shame in asking a student for a favor, but considering who she was dealing with, no one found her state to be odd.

Even students who typically had grievances about school rules or her attitude looked at Dorothy with a sympathetic gaze.

“…Even though it does break the rules, I’ll be more careful from now on…”

What returned to Dorothy, who had closed her eyes out of fear of meeting those golden eyes, was an unexpected acceptance.

“Um… Ah, please be careful from now on…!”

Stuttering in fear while trying to assert the teacher’s authority, Dorothy was completely unaware that she was merely adding to the despair of the situation.

– – – –

All eyes on me. I feel like there’s a song that goes something like that, and it perfectly described my situation right now.

Usually, I’d only feel a few sidelong glances, but today, everyone was openly staring at me.

Including Dokan.

I didn’t wear this to impress him… but still, maybe because I was wearing the outfit he praised, it felt like he was looking at me even more often.

There were some inappropriate glances mixed in too, but, well, for Dokan, I could let it slide a little.

“…So, White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter, did you really wear it just because you wanted to?”

Actually, there’s a reason, but it’s a bit embarrassing to say.

“Yeah. What? Can’t you find a place to look?”

While teasingly tugging at the hand we held, it didn’t seem to amuse him anymore. He was too quick to respond to my teasing.

“Sure, it’s so beautiful that I have nowhere else to look.”

Just like now. If I tease him even a little, he reacts like this. But honestly, this outfit does seem a bit excessive. If I had thought about it just one more time, I wouldn’t have done something like this.

Well, I think I can’t help it since it’s the day of the month where I get a bit foolish.

“…Ahem! That aside, did you do well on the exam?”

“Yeah. Thanks to your teaching, I was able to solve it smoothly without any blockages.”

Of course, it should be that way. I had put significant effort into yours. Honestly, even if I hadn’t done perfectly, I would have felt satisfied enough, but him saying he did well made me puff my chest a little.

“Of course, since I taught you. But more than that… I’m worried about what happened to that fool.”

Sadly, Anya seemed to have no progress whatsoever, to the point where I worried she had holes in her head.

She was slow to learn, and the little she learned was immediately forgotten—she truly had a cursed intelligence. I can’t even explain how torturous it was to teach her.

If there had been no progress at all, I might have cleanedly given up, but that wasn’t the case, which made it impossible to give up.

“If it’s Anastasia… Um. Yeah. She must have done well, right?”

Dokan seemed to share my thoughts and wore a bittersweet smile. Although he wasn’t the one teaching her, he must have seen her utterly clueless state.

Speaking of which, Anya is surprisingly cow-like. Gentle, strong, a little dim-witted… and, uh, let’s not forget about her chest.

I wondered how she would look in a cow costume. Too bad I probably won’t find out.

“…Ah, White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter! And… Dokan! Hello…!”

Speak of the devil, as they say. I could meet her right at this moment just after talking about Anya.

And then there was the hunk of muscles next to her. Was it Eric? Whether the teasing had some effect or not, he looked much closer than before.

“Greetings, Lord Dokan and White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter. I regret to say I have unfortunate news, but my love…”

“Don’t say it! Eric, please…!”

I could immediately guess what he was about to say. No doubt it was about failing the exam.

“I know. Is it not obvious? Don’t be too heartbroken, Eric. It was unavoidable.”

“…It’s my fault. If I had just been more careful…”

“If you hadn’t even summoned her, you would’ve been studying until dawn!”

As I spoke with them, I carefully watched Dokan’s reactions. Although I said I had given up, Anya was a girl Dokan had once had feelings for.

However, Dokan really did seem unfazed. For that reason, I felt a bit more guilty. I didn’t know what exactly was the reason for him giving up, but I was sure I had contributed to it.

“Well, it only means you didn’t study after all, right, Anastasia? So how did you do?”

With a friendly smile, Dokan prodded Anya with his words.

However, I could sense a familiar smell coming from the direction of Dokan’s room. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember what kind of smell it was.

It definitely seemed like a scent I was extremely familiar with… at least in my past life. What was it…?

…It just wouldn’t come to mind. I couldn’t recall it.

“Um, uh… so, well… ugh…”

Seeing her struggle to confess her score as if confessing a crime before a judge, a single thought crossed my mind.

She hadn’t grown at all.

Dokan had grown like this. In my happiness, I intertwined my tail with his hand. That made our bond even stronger than those two’s.

Yeah. We won. I grinned at Anya.

“You just need a bit more effort. It’s a shame there hasn’t been any progress.”

“Ugh… why do I have to study…?”

“My love, as someone who will lead the North in the future, it’s necessary.”

“Well… that may be true…”

Watching their relationship grow closer, I wondered whether I should be happy or feel regret. Dokan seemed unfazed, but it made me a bit uneasy.

…Well, good things are good. She is just going after her own love, and it’s not like I forced anything.

“…Then, we’ll be going now. We… have to attend a gathering. Right… Eric?”

“Of course.”

It was obvious he was lying, but I decided to let them go. If they wanted to make excuses to leave like that, I had no obligation to hold them back.

“Please take care.”

Dokan also readily let them go. But normally, wouldn’t gatherings be held at the dorm?

…Well, maybe they were hosting a party by inviting everyone to their room. I just chose to accept it.

That aside, having so many eyes on us was starting to feel burdensome. So, I gently tugged Dokan and whispered quietly.

“…Let’s go somewhere else. Not here.”

Since there were too many eyes watching us, regardless of what we did… hugging or petting.

“How about the greenhouse?”

“Sounds good.”

That place was hardly frequented by anyone except for seniors dragging around reports with dead faces. We started making our way there.