Volume 5 Chapter 238, A Little Commotion Before Leaving_4

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

“… What happened?“

 

After finishing washing Silva’s dishes, which he had brought a little late, and putting them back in their original place, I returned to the dining room where everybody was, only to find a strangely ominous atmosphere. If I were to describe it with a sound effect, it would probably be something like *rumble rumble rumble*

I sought an answer from Lady Violet, who was nearby, and she answered in a hushed voice.

 

”Well, while you were cleaning up, we had a visitor…“

“A visitor?… Oh, it must have been Father Snow-White.“

 

Come to think of it, I was just swept up in the atmosphere and still didn’t know what was going on.

Hearing the word ‘visitor’, I glanced around to see who had arrived and noticed Father Snow-White, who had been away on business until recently.

Apparently, he returned to Shiki in the middle of a blizzard, and when he saw that Cyan wasn’t at the church, he became worried and came here. And since there were people who he was meeting for the first time, they were in the middle of introducing themselves and chatting…

 

 

“… So Cyan was determined to carry out what we discussed yesterday, but it didn’t turn out well, did it?”

 

Lady Violet nodded quietly in response to my question.

It didn’t take me a long time to clean up, so it probably hadn’t been a long since this situation arose. However, there was a strange tension between Cyan, who was feeling a mixture of excitement and embarrassment and the other people around her (except for Canary), who knew what she was trying to do, and Father, who was completely unaware of the situation… wait, Ms. Mary is the only one missing.

 

“Fufufu, please excuse me for a moment, Father.”

“Hm? Oh, okay.”

 

While I was wondering what to do, Cyan stood up wearing the same smile she usually used in front of Father, and moved to leave the dining room. Needless to stay, I was standing at the entrance of the dining room.

 

“Come.”

“No.”

 

Cyan threatened me from an angle where Father couldn’t see, and although I refused, she grabbed me by the collar without a word, lifted me with one arm, and dragged me out of the dining room forcefully.

Lady Violet looked at me and silently pleaded with me to ‘do my best; so I nodded without saying a word.

 

“Huh?!… Eh… Eh?!”

 

We passed Ms. Mary on the way, and when she saw us, she did a double take, wondering what was going on. She seemed completely baffled, not understanding what had happened. The direction Ms. Mary had come from was… Oh, she must have gone to pick flowers*. In that case, it seems she hasn’t met the Father yet. Maybe I should have said something to her.

 

“Alright.”

 

Cyan moved to a place where no one else was around, then set me down and had me stand against the wall.

I straightened my disheveled clothes and braced myself to be ready for whatever might come. Then, pinning me between the wall and herself, Cyan slammed her right hand against the wall and closed in on me.

 

“Hey, Clo. You said you’d mediate between me and Father earlier, didn’t you? Please help me.”

 

I never thought I’d be the one getting pinned against the wall.

I think it originally had a different meaning, but I guess it caught on in this sense. It might have taken on yet another meaning after I died.

 

“Are you listening?”

“Yeah, I’m listening. Well, the nuance is different but if I can help, I will try my best.”

 

Escapism aside, it seemed that Cyan wanted my help in carrying out the matter from yesterday.

To be honest, I get the feeling that if she could use the same energy with the Father as she’s showing right now, she could make it work just fine, but I’ll keep that to myself. I mean, I’ve always rooted for Cyan and Father’s relationship, and I intended to cooperate even without being asked…

 

“So, what do you need help with?”

“Teach me how to muster up courage so I can appeal to Father!”

 

Wouldn’t it be better if you thought about that yourself?

 

“How can I confess my feelings like you did when you gave Io the ring in the cave?! How can I find the courage to smile while putting on the ring on him and tell him that I’ll stay by his side?! That’s how you stole Io’s heart, didn’t you, Clo?! Even though you guys are still so frustrating!”

“Are you trying to provoke me?!”

 

No, let’s calm down. I’m sure Cyan is being completely serious.

My confession itself was a success, so I suppose she’s not wrong to be using it as a reference. …Though it is a little embarrassing to think back on it.

But regardless of the timing of the confession, expressing your feelings is a difficult thing. If you’re not careful, you could end up like me, spending your whole life without ever saying the words ‘I love you.’

In this case, even if it doesn’t quite amount to a full-fledged confession, she’s still trying to appeal to Father. The one doing it is Cyan, who gets so nervous around Father that she can’t act naturally, trying to make a good impression on Father, who tends to be a bit oblivious to both the goodwill and ill will of others.

Even if she mustered up a little courage to confess, ‘I like you!’ he’d probably just reply with, ‘Oh, I like you as Family, too!’, and given how nervous she gets, she wouldn’t be able to say anything more. If it were that easy to express her feelings, she wouldn’t be asking for advice like this right now.

 

 

 

But…

 

As I was agonizing over what to do, I remembered what happened before I was brought here just a moment ago. And while I came up with an idea related to that, one that could actually work, I also felt anxious that, if she messed it up, it could backfire. In fact, the chances of things getting out of hand are higher… but it’s also true that nothing seems likely to happen unless we go this far. It feels weird for me to say this myself, but Cyan is far timider than me around the Father.

All right. I decided to give her a little nudge. If it fails, I’ll sincerely apologize, and I’ll do my best to keep things from getting out of hand.

 

“Listen, Cyan. Think carefully about the current situation.”

“The current situation?”

“Yeah. Right now, besides us, who live here, there are also Canary, Apricot and the other academy students, including Ms. Kriemhild, in this mansion.”

“Right.”

“You catch my drift? Both Ms. Kriemhild and Ms. Mary are here. The beautiful, sociable, easily liked girls who could even be described as seductive.”

“…”

 

While Ms. Kriemhild and Ms. Mary are likable for different reasons, they are undoubtedly both girls who possess a sociable nature that makes them easy to like. Physically, they also fall into the category of what is generally considered attractive.

 

“I don’t know what Father is into, but in case their looks or personality match his preferences…”

“…if they match?”

“He might fall head over heels for Ms. Kriemhild, who’s a natural born heroine.”

“Natural born heroine…?!”

“Or he might be taken away from you by Ms. Mary, who’s a posteriori heroine.”

“A posteriori heroine…?!

 

Cyan’s eyes widened at my words, and she started trembling uncontrollably.

To be honest, I have no idea what I’m saying myself, but Cyan is still as clueless as ever when dealing with Father.

But it’s not exactly off the mark. Ms. Mary, in particular, often behaves in ways that unconsciously draw others in, so there’s a chance Father might get attracted to her too.

 

“In other words… if you don’t act now, he’ll be taken away from you so shouldn’t you start appealing to him? Like Lady Violet did yesterday.”

“I should h-h-hug him?! Hug F-f-f-father?! That’s embarrassing but if I don’t do it, Kriem or Mary will s-s-s-steal h-h-h-h-him?!”

“Calm down, Cyan. Take a deep breath.”

 

Just a little teasing and Cyan started glitching.  It feels like she’s torn between embarrassment and something else. If that’s the case… maybe she needs one more push.

But if I do push her, teasing her any further might make her completely lose control, so maybe I should suggest a different way for her to get attention from Father. For example, instead of hugging him, she could use another way. In other words…

 

“Come to think of it, Lady Violet brought her school uniform with her. It was a nice change of pace… There’s something really appealing about seeing someone in different clothes than usual, isn’t there…”