forget it. (どうか忘れて下さい。)

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Violette and Claudia walked without exchanging any words, and the destination was just as Violette had expected.

The door that was beautifully decorated even though this was still within the school area, too showy to the point that it was a waste. But then, this was the appropriate appearance to convey how the owner of this room's was both the student council president who reigned at the top of the students, and also a part of the royal family who sat at the top of the county.

When he opened the door, it was a gorgeous room just like what Violette had imagined.

"What do you want to drink?"

"…Black tea, may I have it with some milk?"

"Got it."

After Claudia called the staff with butler's clothes who was waiting by the wall, the butler immediately bowed and left the room.

This room was the salon owned by the student council. There was a student council room beyond the back door, where only members and teachers were allowed to enter. The number of people who could enter this salon was limited for crime prevention, and there were rumours that only a few butlers who had passed student council's criteria and people who were approved by the student council could use this room. Actually, the rule was not that strict, but the matter about the official stance was an unspoken agreement between all of the students.

Since the student council members were attracting attention, both for good and bad, this was the place where they could loosen up, even if just a little. There was no point in increasing the people who came in and out, so only people who had bombastic title publicly would enter this room.

The rule was so light to the point that it wouldn't be a problem even if one student, Violette, entered the room. It was especially true since she came together with Claudia, the student council president.

"…You may also sit down."

"Then, excuse me."

Prompted by Claudia to sit on the opposite side, Violette also sat down on the red cushion. The softness that felt like it was wrapping around her gently made Violette feel secure to the point that she might forget that this place was still within the school building.

Violette spread her skirt so that it wouldn't wrinkle. She was sitting alone on the sofa, which was such a size that even if two people sat on there, there would still be some space left. Claudia who sat in front of her also sat in the center of such a sofa.

After a little silence, there was a slight noise of the service wagon that carried the black tea. It was mixed with the smell of sweet milk and fragrant coffee.

"Step back until I call you in."

AdvertisementClaudia told the butler who served the drinks on the table tidily to wait outside the room, and the butler exited without saying anything. Despite the fact that his expressionless face gave off a little bit of an unpleasant mood, the employees all over this school responded according to the situation they were in. In places where there were many people such as the canteen, it was important for them to smile as much as possible, and in places with high confidentiality like this salon, it was important for them to erase their humanity as much as possible. Since when someone wanted to exchange their secrets, they had to make sure about how loose the employers' mouths were, and about whether there would be any problems if someone else asked about it.

There was only the breathing sound of the two people in the room. In other words, the silence continued.

But Violette's heart was pounding so hard that she could even hear it in her ears. The feeling of pressure made the temperature of her fingertips disappear, and her chest became uncomfortably hot.

Violette was worried that she wouldn't be able to hold the cup since she couldn't move her fingertips quite well, so instead she savored the temperature of the steaming milk tea by wrapping the cup with both of her hands. She felt like she could feel a little calmer if she filled her mouth that was dry because of the nervousness with the sweet taste of the milk tea.

It seemed like not only Violette, but Claudia who was confronting her also thought the same thing as her.

Claudia took a sip from his cup of coffee, and returned the cup which still had some coffee left remaining inside to the saucer and stared at Violette.

"I'm sorry for calling you out so suddenly."

"No, you don't have to worry. It's a request from you, Claudia-sama, after all."

No one could refuse the summon from the prince without good reason. Even if there was a reason, they should still prioritize the prince all the more.

In that regard, it didn't change no matter what kind of intention Claudia had. Even though he thought that it was not a big deal, but for others, it was a "prince's requisite" which was the most important thing for them. It was no exception even to Violette, who was a noble.

The previous Violette would've been ecstatic just by having Claudia called her out, and probably, she would've happily followed him without feeling bewildered and bothered like now.

Even though Violette was talking about herself, now that she looked back, she realized that she had been an outrageous lady. She was reminded once again that having objective point of view was important.

Then Violette suddenly noticed, and remembered her own remarks.

For her, how she acted with Claudia before was something from more than a year ago, but for Claudia, it was something that happened just recently. Even if time went back and she had regretted everything, what had been done so far couldn't be changed.

Claudia must've suspected at how Violette's attitude had changed, and there's no way he would be relieved.

The only thing that had changed was Violette's soul, and Claudia didn't know anything about that. For him, Violette was still an annoying woman who had run out of his favor.

And for Claudia to request talking with such person, it was already scary just by thinking what kind of bad direction this would spin into.

Even though Violette had such ill feelings towards Claudia even under normal circumstances, she had the mind to think of her current whereabouts now, and even if she was feeling greatly perplexed inside, her face was still her usual nonchalant look.

"As I thought, you are different."

"…Eh?"

Even though Violette had been wondering what kind of expression and tone of voice Claudia would have when he shot her with insults, his voice was unexpectedly likeable, a bitter smile on his face.

It was different from the sharp eyes and voice full of discomfort he had always directed towards Violette until now.

As if he was feeling troubled, but not only that… he sounded relieved, like he had understood something.

"The you now… doesn't have any feelings towards me."

– or –

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