After school.

“…Your Highness. Ever since you left the cafeteria during the lunch break, where have you been?”

“Nowhere, just wandering around. Does it matter?”

On the top floor of the boy’s dormitory, there was a spacious room which was exclusive for the royal family—the size was about three times larger than a normal room. Next to Leonardo, who sat in a chair, was Edward Ariarose, the prince’s attendant.

“…No. But, couldn’t you at least be considerate of me? It was tough dealing with that swarm of noble girls whom were chasing you…”

“Come on, do you think I enjoy being chased around?”

Next to a mahogany chair, Edward, with his haggard face, complained to Leonardo.

Leonardo never wanted such a situation to begin with. It was those women who swarm him without permission. However, because Edward had dealt with the situation, Leonardo felt sorry for him.

The role of an attendant was to be the limbs of his lord, and avoid bothering his lord as much as possible. An attendant must also accomplish the lord’s intentions without being told.

Leonardo snorted—it’s only that, and you’re already complaining?

“It’s a first for you to not return right away after the lunch break concluded—did you have something to do?”

That one question instantly revived the memory of that girl in Leonardo’s mind, lifting his mood by a notch. His tone sounded more cheerful.

Of course, it wasn’t actually thanks to Edward, but more so because of that eccentric girl he met during the lunchbreak.

“Obviously, yes. After all, I spotted a cat with a rare color of fur.”

Yes, she was a cat. But not a mass-produced, golden-furred, blue-eyed pedigree cat who would usually spend her time flirting with a human in hopes said human would buy her.

She was the type of cat who would roam around the field freely and live the way she wanted without regards to another’s thoughts. A stray cat with pale pink fur and light blue eyes, which were rare in the world.

“A cat…? But…”

Edward, who may had articulated the words of his lord literally, showed a suspicious gaze. Leonardo took out something from his bosom while laughing at the scene.

“Here, a consolation prize to make up for your trouble.”

In all actuality, he wasn’t showing kindness towards his tired servant. That wasn’t his intention at all. He just wanted to show off to someone else, the proof of his fateful encounter with that uniquely-furred cat, so he threw the bag of cookies—which only contained half of its original amount—to Edward.

“Wha-? Cookies…? —wait—! Why are they green—!? Are these cookies alright—!?”

“Yep, they’re edible and also delicious. Turns out the thing the fluffy cat made was as interesting as herself.”

“…Huh??? Hey, wait a minute! You’re saying, you went out of your way to eat such a thing!? Without testing whether or not it was poisoned!? Your Highness—!!!!!”

Nevertheless, as soon as Edward looked into the bag, he dared to express his suspicion. His face became discolored when he looked at the green cookies—it was as if he was looking at poison.

“Of course, I went out of my way to eat them—is there a problem?”

“There is! A big one! If something were to happen to Your Highness… Your Highness, if you’re hungry, you could’ve let me know and I would have told the chef to cook something. For now, I will dispose of these…”

“Oi, don’t do anything unnecessary. Those are my cookies? If you don’t want any, then return them to me.”

Leonardo raised his voice out of anger towards Edward’s attitude.

A servant should reflect his master’s desire—but that insolent attendant of his didn’t even attempt to look uplifted.

Moreover, although indirectly, Edward had labelled the girl as someone whom was trying to harm the prince.

His attendant was behaving very uncouthly towards that girl—how could he not see that? Leonardo stared at Edward who couldn’t see his actions objectively.

“B, but…”

“It’s an order. I won’t repeat myself. Give them back.”

Edwards pondered for a while, but in the end, didn’t find it within himself to disobey his master’s order. He reluctantly put the small bag on Leonardo’s outstretched hand.

“Good grief, you’re being overly paranoid. Oi, Edward, leave. Don’t annoy me anymore than this.”

If his paranoid attendant kept standing beside him, staring begrudgingly at the cookies, said cookies would soon lose their taste.

Leonardo held the bag of sweets with great amount of care as he waved his other hand to drive Edward away.

“But, …never mind, I understand. Call me if you need anything.”

For a moment, Edward hesitated, however, immediately after, he bowed deeply. Edward quietly left the room. Leonardo, whom was left alone, took out some cookies from the bag and threw them in his mouth to regain his good mood.

“To prevent me from eating such delicious cookies, those people just don’t know the value of things.”

Be it the first-class chef who had a shop in the royal capital, or the professional chef of the royal palace—none of them could recreate that flavor. He slowly chewed the taste of a simple, but warm cookie that only an amateur could make.

“Well, it’s fine. It’s alright even if I’m the only one who knows how delicious these cookies are, or how cute that cat is.”

Looking outside the window, it was right before dusk. The crimson colored sky began to dilute the platinum-colored sunshine. The fantastic scenery reminded him of the pale and beautiful hair of that girl.

How was he supposed to find that girl tomorrow if he didn’t even know her name?

What reaction would that girl show once she knew of his true identity?

With that in mind, Leonardo finished the remaining cookies and smirked.

　◆◆◆◇◆◆◆◇◆◆◆◇◆◆◆

“Even so, I never thought that there’d be a student trying to steal a girl’s cookies in this academy…”

“No matter how childish it was, a crime is a crime. However, the teachers probably won’t take me seriously if I tell them…”

During her lunch break, a strange man had stolen her cookies.

Sharina Clydea walked alongside her crush, Riol, on her way home after school.

“But, he seemed too dignified for a first-time offender. I can only conclude that his appearance is the main reason people can’t punish him for his crimes… I wonder how many crimes he has committed up until this point…”

“No. In the first place, if he’s such a repeat-offender, there’d be one report after another. The teachers would be going crazy…”

It was quite unfortunate for her to lose the cookies, but thanks to that, she got to walk home alongside Riol which for her was quite priceless.

“Also, for him to use magic to enforce his act, you could’ve been injured… I’m glad nothing happened to you.”

“Riol…!”

The words, which were innocently muttered by Riol, caused Sharina’s heart to grow twice its size.

Riol was worried.

She was so grateful for his concern, sShe was so happy, she could jump around.

“I’m the happiest person in the world…”

“…As someone who has just been robbed, you shouldn’t be saying that.”

During the incident, Riol rushed to her. In the process, he even left his book behind. Because he heard the tornado, he ran to the extent he was out of breath.

…She thought that the figure of Riol, who left his book and stood up, was awesome.

Because during that moment, Riol was worried about Sharina and his thoughts were filled with only her.

It was a pity that she couldn’t see it with her own eyes.

“…Why can’t I rewind time?”

“Why are you suddenly so philosophical?”

“To be precise, why don’t I have the ability to see a certain moment in the past from a bird’s eye view?”

“If you were a god, then that might be possible.”

The gate of the girl’s dormitory was fast approaching as she was concerned about that. After arriving at the girl’s dormitory, Riol returned to the boy’s dormitory.

“…Why can’t I stop the time?”

“I’m truly at a loss. What do you want, exactly?”

Even his current expression, tinted with being slightly fed-up, was cool. She wanted to gaze at his cool expression forever.

While she was fascinated by his side profile, Sharina enjoyed what little amount of time she had left walking by the side of her crush with all her might.

*A/N: The Cinderella Story has ended before it even began.

---

***T/N: I dunno Author, if said Cinderella Story consists of That pompous manchild being the prince, the fact that the story didn’t even begin is a happy ending in itself.

Also d00d–

Moreover, although indirectly, Edward had labelled the girl as someone whom was trying to harm the prince.

His attendant was behaving very uncouthly towards that girl—how could he not see that?

Stop roasting your own self, man.

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