Chapter Seven: About the Maiden of the Fairy Festival

“By the way, has the maiden for the Fairy Festival already been decided…?” I asked, picking up a dessert.

It’s about thirty minutes into my tea time with Reginald-sama. Just as I’d felt that it was time for me to go home, I remembered that I’d needed to ask him something important. That’s when I’d expressed curiosity about the maiden.

It wouldn’t be strange if the maiden wasn’t decided if the venue itself hadn’t even been finalized, but I decided to ask about the main character. It’s important that the heroine, Ginger, is selected. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Euphemia has little to do with the selection process.

“Ah, that’s scheduled to be decided next week. The final selection is going on right now and there are three candidates.”

“C-could you tell me about the strongest candidates…?”

“Sure. The most promising is probably Ginger-jyou, Viscount George’s daughter, while the runner-up is Gertrude-jyou, daughter of Duke Ronagon. The third place candidate is virtually eliminated so she’s not important.”

Wow, weren’t these matters confidential? Due to this, I honestly thanked Reginald-sama. Well, as expected, the heroine is the most promising candidate. I’m sure she will be chosen, I thought, reaching for a chocolate cookie.

“This information is need-to-know only, so I’d appreciate it if you would keep quiet about it. Euphemia-jyou is my fiancée so I just made an exception here.”

“…Will you be punished for telling me?

“No, it’s alright. Though, if the maiden ends up being Ginger-jyou, someone from lower aristocracy, I might need you to help her out a little bit.” Reginald-sama smiles as he says this.

N-no! Why me?! This is an otome game, so isn’t Reginald-sama meant to take care of her? That’s how their love is supposed to begin…

If the villainess ends up in charge of her instead, then the production company would have gotten a lot of complaints about genre fraud!

“N-no, no, that’s much too heavy a responsibility. Isn’t Reginald-sama better suited for the situation…?”

“That’s rather impossible, I’m afraid. I’m already managing the festival itself. I can’t be in charge of the maiden as well.”

Hmmm, somehow, it feels like the situation is not moving according to the game’s plot? Isn’t it too much to drag me to the potential venues and force me to take care of the heroine? Even a delicious meal is not enough for such a request. Additional rewards, I request additional rewards!

“…Euphemia-jyou, even if your eyes sparkle like that, I can’t give you anything else. Well, depending on how hard you work, I can probably order you some delicious ingredients from abroad, though.”

“Would it be a post-completion reward?”

“Let’s go with that. We can have the royal chefs cook up the ingredients so you can enjoy them at the palace. Though, Marquis Aiden’s estate also seems to have a phenomenal chef, so having them create the dishes might be better.” Reginald-sama says to me, laughing a little.

…It’s definitely my fault that the chefs of House Aiden are considered superior to even the royal chefs. As I’d demanded more and more complicated dishes, their skills rose sharply. In other words, it’s a product of hard work.

“Well, I’ll leave the maiden to you, Euphemia-jyou. After the main venue decision has been made, I’ll come help.”

…Somehow, I feel like I have manipulated quite well. No, I mean I was completely manipulated! This original Euphemia Aiden reacts sharply when teased with delicious food. Moreover, it seems like Reginald-sama can read my thoughts. I had thought that my attachment to food was better than an attachment to beauty, but looking at how I’d been played – and the way I was during my previous life – it seemed that I’d have to rethink that opinion.

“We’ll be traveling for three days for the selection. Of course, we’ll be staying overnight too. You may bring one maid with you, so please decide who.”

…Eh?

“N-no, what do you mean ‘stay overnight’?”

Can an unmarried couple stay together overnight?! Something like that is definitely forbidden in this world, right? I stare down Reginald-sama as I think this, but he simply supplies a: “It’s part of the job, so it can’t be helped.”

Can you read minds? I’ve had my mind read accurately multiple times here. You even answered something that I didn’t actually ask. This is scary!

“Don’t worry, we won’t be alone. I’ll bring along a few servants and of course, there will be escorts as well.”

“W-well…”

“Then it’s decided. Thank you for your help with both choosing the venue and taking care of the maiden.” He said with that same handsome smile. However, I won’t fall in love with that expression, because frankly…I’m scared!

Scary! This hero is really scary!

Screaming inside my heart but attempting to look calm, I drank the tea in front of me. Unfortunately, the drink was too hot and I burned my tongue. Reginald-sama immediately rushed over and patted my back…

…Failure.

My pride was infinitely more hurt than my tongue.

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