#12.
In front of the classroom.
“Listen carefully, Veronica.”
“Mhm.”
“School is…”
He needed to say something educational.
Shion stood at the door of Class A’s classroom, holding Veronica in his arms, thinking hard.
But no matter how much he thought about it, nothing good came to mind.
“School is?”
“…A boring place.”
“…?”
“You’ll find out once you go in.”
Tilting his head, Shion adjusted his hold on Veronica, who was staring up at him with wide eyes.
Clunk.
“You’ve arrived, Your High—”
“…”
“Ahem, Shi…on.”
Shion glanced at the teacher standing on the podium, and the teacher quickly corrected himself, smiling awkwardly.
Then, saying that the morning homeroom was over and to come in when class started in 10 minutes, he shuffled backward out of the room.
Veronica’s gaze followed the retreating teacher’s back before scanning the classroom, where a strange tension hung in the air.
So that’s how it is.
The moment Shion stepped into the classroom, the atmosphere flipped like the back of a hand.
School is a boring place.
I think I can finally understand what he meant by that.
Veronica had first gone to school when she was four, the age when early admission was allowed.
Even though she completed the entire curriculum within a year and graduated early at five, school had been a fun place for her—because it was a place to meet “friends.”
The students had doted on her and treated her without reservation.
Regardless of age or status, they had spoken to her as just another student.
But that wasn’t the case with Shion.
The moment Shion entered the classroom holding Veronica, she could feel an uncomfortable tightness wrap around her whole body.
No one showed it outright, but she could hear the whispers, sharp enough to make her ears sting.
To these classmates, Shion wasn’t another student or friend—he was an annoying prince.
Of course school wouldn’t be fun for him.
Granted, there was also…
Sigh.
…Shion’s naturally irritable personality, which surely didn’t help.
Veronica glanced up at him with a nervous face.
Those unusually calm, deep crimson eyes.
The lower lip bitten tight.
The index finger rhythmically tapping on the desk.
The slowly furrowing brow.
She didn’t know the reason, but this was…
He’s definitely mad. And…
“Hey.”
…really mad.
Her bad feeling hit the mark.
Shion roughly grabbed the shoulder of the boy sitting right in front of him.
With a startled yelp, every pair of eyes in the room turned toward Shion.
“W-what is it… Ah!”
“You think I didn’t hear what you just said?”
His usually lazy, drawling tone now had a sharp edge.
“W-what!”
“Shut up and look.”
Shion tilted Veronica’s face slightly toward the boy.
After quickly grasping the situation, Veronica made a ‘V’ sign with her index and middle fingers, bringing it to her cheek with a bright smile.
As if she were a treasure not to be carelessly shown, Shion quickly bundled her back into her blanket-like swaddle.
“That ‘weird thing’ you said I brought? She’s a person.”
“I’m a perthon!”
And a baby! An incredibly cute one!
“I-I never—”
“…Slow learner?”
Shion muttered—likely without any intent to insult, just stating what he genuinely thought—before adding:
“So, to avoid getting on my nerves, keep your mouth shu—closed as much as possible.”
He was about to say ‘shut up.’ If I weren’t here, he definitely would’ve said it.
Fortunately, Shion’s irritation ended there, but…
Veronica looked around at the awkward classroom atmosphere with a dissatisfied expression.
Clearly, this needed a more fundamental solution.
Even if Shion had partly brought this on himself, being isolated at school would be a long-term disadvantage for both of them.
If these little conflicts piled up, eventually they would explode.
“Anyway, I’m warning you,” Shion said, regaining his usual haughty tone as he opened a book and placed it on the desk.
“From now on, whether in front of me or behind my back, if you gossip about me or anyone around me, I won’t tolerate it. No objections, right?”
Who would say yes to that?
Veronica shook her head slightly.
Indeed, he was more worked up than usual today.
Normally, Shion disliked drawing attention to himself, so he wouldn’t point someone out directly like this.
That was one reason the students felt free to gossip behind his back—he was the aloof prince who just ignored them.
In a way, he’d been showing them mercy all this time.
The problem is, they don’t appreciate it. How am I going to fix this…
“Ah. Long time no see, Shion.”
The classroom, which had still held a faint murmur of whispers, fell utterly silent—as if cold water had been poured over it.
Someone had spoken to Shion in this tense atmosphere.
The boy’s voice was as fresh as his golden hair, as dazzling as that of the emperor himself.
“I was worried since you hadn’t been coming for a while.”
“You? Why?”
“Well… because we’re classmates. But more importantly…”
The boy suddenly leaned forward, bringing his face close to Veronica.
Then he smiled brightly.
“So you must be Veronica?”
…You know me?
Well, this was interesting.
Veronica widened her big blue eyes at him.
Aside from this current school visit, she had never once left the imperial palace or appeared in public since birth.
The only “official” event she’d attended was her first birthday banquet, and even then, she’d been so hidden under lace fussed over by Shion and the High Priest that she’d barely shown her face.
Of course, since she was with Shion, the boy might have guessed. But his behavior was too natural, as if he had been certain from the start she was the princess known only by name.
He must be the child of some high-ranking minister who has access to the palace.
In public, she was a mysterious princess known only by name, but inside the palace it was different—Mary often carried her around in plain view.
“Ah.”
As if reading her thoughts, the boy nodded with a grin.
“You wouldn’t remember—I met you when you were even younger.”
Then he lightly kissed the back of her hand.
It was an act of loyalty, part of imperial etiquette, but Shion growled, clearly displeased.
“What the hell are you doing?”
The boy ignored him, straightened up, and placed a hand over his chest.
“I’m Arthur Mirhana, only son of Marquis Mirhana, Minister of Finance—and if you enroll here, Veronica, I’ll be the student council president you’ll see often.”
Will I?
One, two, three…
Veronica quickly calculated his age.
In the Sloran public school system, students entered at age seven and studied for twelve years.
The math checks out. But I’m planning to enter early and graduate early, so I probably won’t see him for long.
Still… Arthur Mirhana.
I think I vaguely remember him.
Seeing his face brought the hazy memories into sharper focus.
In her previous life, Veronica hadn’t had much interaction with him—maybe met him once when she entered school early, and glimpsed him a couple of times in the palace.
But both then and now, he’d left a strong impression—because his personality and image were the perfect opposite of Shion’s.
If Shion was a shadow cast by cold moonlight, Arthur was warm sunlight itself.
Even outwardly, they were opposites:
Shion had jet-black, bluish hair; Arthur’s was a dazzling gold.
Shion’s skin was pale to the point of looking bloodless; Arthur’s was lively and healthy.
Shion’s eyes were always lazy and indifferent; Arthur’s golden eyes brimmed with curiosity.
And his fresh tone and bright expressions were things Shion could never imitate.
If Shion was the aloof, arrogant bad-boy lead of a novel, Arthur was the equally charming best-friend character—pure, innocent, and glowing.
…Not bad.
To Veronica, Arthur’s energy seemed like it could have a positive influence on Shion.
But apparently Shion didn’t think so.
“Does what I’m saying sound unreasonable to you?”
Shion released his crossed arms only to roughly grab Arthur’s wrist.
“I told you to stop bothering me and leave.”
“But as president, I can’t just leave when the classroom atmosphere is getting hostile—”
“If you don’t want it to get worse…”
“What’s all this noise about?”
At that moment, Veronica, Shion, and Arthur all turned toward the voice in perfect unison.
There stood a girl with beautiful red hair, brushing it back as she frowned slightly.
That older girl is…
“Lana.”
Right! Lana Vivace!
Now she remembered.
The young lady who always found excuses to come to the palace, pretending not to, while following Shion around.
Another person who’d left quite an impression on Veronica.
She looked Lana up and down.
She might be my sister-in-law in this life…
Hmm…
Veronica silently scored her in her mind.
Faintly flushed cheeks she tried to hide, the ruby eyes flicking busy glances at Shion under long lashes, pretending to mediate with dignity.
The poise and neat attire befitting the daughter of the founding Vivace family.
A cute, beautiful girl more than good enough for Shion.
“Pass!”
Veronica pointed at Lana and shouted.
Lana Vivace—someone who could perfectly assist in Veronica’s “rehabilitate Shion” plan.
Congratulations, sis. You’ve passed!
“Yes, that’s right. This baby’s… Wait, why is a baby here…?”
Anyway, Lana continued speaking, resting her hand—only on Shion’s shoulder—while pretending to stop him and Arthur.
“As the baby says, this is school.”
I said you passed.
“I don’t know what happened between you two, but class starts soon, right?”
She glanced at the clock—five minutes until class.
Her voice gained confidence.
“If you have something to discuss, let’s all meet after class ends.”
“And why are you involved?”
“H-huh?”
“Why are you butting in?”
Caught off guard by Shion’s blunt question, Lana stammered.
But as a top-class student at the empire’s most prestigious school, she quickly came up with a passable excuse.
“I-I’m the vice president.”
“So?”
“So… the vice president’s duty is to assist the president in resolving disputes in the classroom. Y-yes! That’s it!”
Even the fact she can’t lie well… I really like this girl.
“…Then never mind you—why’s he involved?”
You’re just going to let that slide?
My brother sure has weird blind spots.
Arthur, the “he” in question, shrugged as if the answer were obvious.
“I’m the president.”
“You two are a pair of—”
“Anyway, let’s leave it at that.”
Lana waved her hands, making both of them sit down.
She smoothly restored order to the class, as if this were nothing unusual, then whispered to the two of them:
“So after class, okay?”
“…You. Stay after.”
“Okay!”
Unlike the growling baby lion Shion, Arthur responded like an eager puppy about to go for a walk.
“If that’s what you want, sure.”
