Haunted Duke’s Daughter

I nodded firmly this time, and the prince nodded in satisfaction, as if he agreed with me.

Your Highness. May I have a word with you?

Hmm? What is it?

He stops and looks back at me.

You can keep your attitude towards me, but please refrain from doing so in front of Tina. Shes starting to hate you.

The princes expression froze. He looked at Lilia as if to say, Why? But Lilia had no intention of explaining any further. Rather, she was a little embarrassed to put it into words herself.

-Lilia is cute.

-Youre being annoying.

As we stared at each other in silence, Ray offered us a helping hand.

I think anyone would be upset if someone said something bad about a good friend of theirs.

A good friend of..? I see. Speaking of which, Tina said that Liliane has been treating her well lately.

He nodded his head as if he was satisfied.

I watched quietly, and eventually the prince squeezed out a very strained voice.

I cant help it.Ill explain it to Tina.

Given Tinas personality, she would not be satisfied with that. The prince knows this, and thats why hes in such agony. It cant be helped, Lilia sighed.

I was the one who started it. Ill explain it to her. Your Highness may continue as before.

Really? Thank you for your help.

Lilias eyes narrowed slightly as the prince looked relieved. He must really like Tina. However, its not easy for them to get married given Tina status.

In that case, it might not be a bad idea to help her a little.

-What do you really think?

It will come in handy later if His Highness owes me a favor. In many ways.

Youre right, Lilia. Black-hearted.

Excuse me.

After exchanging such light words, Lilia turned her gaze to the prince once again.

Your Highness. If its alright with you, Ill help you.

Help me with what?

You want to get to know Tina, dont you?

When Lilia said this with a smile, the princes eyes widened. Next, he looked at Lilia suspiciously. Although she thought it was rude, Lilia pretended not to notice and continued.

Ask her about her favorite things. Id also like to know where you would like to go if you were going out with someone. If theres anything else I can help you with, I will.

What do you want?

No, nothing.

The prince put his fingers to his chin for a moment and pondered. She waited patiently, not trying to rush him.

Eventually, the prince gave a small nod and said to Lilia.

Can you do that?

Yes. Im at your service.

Lilia bowed politely, and the prince nodded, a little surprised.

I left the princes and walked to my room. The students I passed along the way were looking at me with even more awe than before. I guess the story of my interaction with those five has already spread.

However, there were exceptions. For some reason, some of the students looked at me in a way that was neither respectful nor admiring. Unable to make sense of it, I quickly walked down the hallway.

-I was afraid of what would happen, but it worked out for the best as well as the worst.

What do you mean?

More and more girls are supporting Lilia. People whove only heard about you seem to think youre scary, but I guess people whove seen you in person got the idea. You were trying to help Ray.

Lilia tilted her head and looked towards the direction where she felt the gaze. There were three underclassmen, two with pale faces, and one staring at Lilia with sparkling eyes.

Speaking of which, I remembered. This girl was one of the students who came with the prince, I believe. Naturally, she was not a classmate of Lilias.

The girl must have realized that Lilia was watching her, because she immediately broke into a happy smile and ran towards her. The other two reached out to stop her, but she came right in front of Lilia.

Senior Aldis!

It was a female student with freckles on her face. Lilias eyes widened a little at what the girl said, and then she looked away.

Oh, youre embarrassed.

Shut up.

No one s ever called you senior before. Mm-hmm.

Shut up.

I dont think youve ever been looked up to before! Aldis-senpai!

.

.Im sorry, Im sorry, dont think of peppers, dont eat them, please!

Sakuras voice began to panic, and Lilia lowered her gaze. She looked at the female student again, who was still staring at her with the same sparkling eyes that seemed to suit her.

Do I know you?

When Lilia asked, the female student looked a little sad, but quickly returned to smiling.

I was with His Highness just now. Ray-kun was being harassed, so I went to look for his teacher. When I did, I happened to meet His Highness. He asked me what was going on, so I explained the situation, and he came with me.

I thought the timing of the princes appearance was too good, but I guess she went to call for help. Given that Sakura had said he was fine, maybe he had known this would happen, Lilia thought.

No, its not.

Sakura herself has denied it.