I Became an Outcast in the Academy

5. Return (1)

When I opened my eyes, it was an unfamiliar ceiling.

No, to be precise, it was an unfamiliar room filled with fancy decorations that seemed like it would have no lifelong relationship with a guy like me.

I thought for a moment why I was lying in a room like this, and then I realized it.

Come to think of it, I was really seriously injured while installing it, saying I would save Princess Arietta.

I remember that it wasn’t enough that I had several pretty holes pierced here and there, so my right hand was completely twisted and a lot of blood was spilled.

Thanks to that, it seems that he was talking to Princess Arietta and Cartesia in a slightly drowsy state… I’m a little worried that I might have caught the two and talked about something strange.

As I let out a sigh and tried to get up from my seat, someone suddenly ran towards me and gave me a hug.

“Ah! You’re finally awake!”

It was none other than Princess Arietta.

“Me, Your Highness? What is this all of a sudden-“

When I stuttered involuntarily because I was embarrassed by something, Princess Arietta looked at my face like that and then smiled bashfully.

“Come to think of it, the situation is completely opposite to that of that time. Isn’t it?”

“… At that time?”

“That… You know. Just when her brother rescued me. Back then, his brother gave me a pillow for his lap. Yes?”

“… Ah.”

When Princess Arietta said that, it seemed that she remembered something vaguely about her.

But I couldn’t remember anything clearly, probably because I was bleeding too much, so I scratched my head.

“… Um, sorry. I can’t remember what happened back then… “

“It’s okay. It can’t be helped if you don’t remember your brother. You don’t have to try to think of it.”

Princess Arietta said that in a very cool manner.

“Because even if my brother doesn’t remember, I remember everything that happened instead. The important thing is the memories between the two of us, not who remembers what, right?”

Saying that, Princess Arietta quietly burrowed into my arms.

Looking at her, I don’t know why her behavior… So, I ended up thinking that it was similar to a dog.

“I don’t think it would be a bad idea to set aside some time to tell you step by step about the actions you made to me that day and the promises you made with me. Since you said you don’t remember anything, it wouldn’t matter if I gained a little weight, right?”

Looking at Princess Arietta giggling as she muttered something to herself to wonder what was so enjoyable about it, in the end I couldn’t stand her question and threw her question at her.

“I… But why the hell is Her Highness using honorific words for me?”

“Yes?”

For a moment, Princess Arietta blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand what I was talking about.

“That… It’s a little too much to say with my own mouth, but in fact I’m not a noble or anything, I’m just an ordinary person. So, she doesn’t think it’s necessary for Her Highness to use honorifics with me… ”

“No!”

But it was then. As if desperately refuting my words, Princess Arietta suddenly raised her voice.

“That’s not true! My brother saved my life. I distinctly remember that she saved me, not even paying attention to her own body, even when she was covered with scars! Do you intend to make me an unscrupulous man who knows no grace?”

Saying that, Princess Arietta began to shed tears in her own eyes, just like her then.

And as I watched it, I felt a sense of guilt as if I had committed a great sin.

“It’s not like that. Just… Recently, the word oppa has become a bit uncomfortable. Should I say that I feel a bit embarrassed when someone calls me that title?”

To be precise, whenever Princess Arietta called me ‘brother’, I kept automatically reminding myself of my younger sisters, and it was close to something I couldn’t stand.

To the person I am now, the existence of a younger sister is nothing more than a harsh thing that straddles somewhere between hatred and love-hate.

“Ah… Did you hate the word oppa? So what can I call you? Brother?”

“… Can’t you just talk to me comfortably?”

At my suggestion, Princess Arietta smiled and said this.

“I don’t like it. Absolutely not.”

“…..”

I don’t know about anything else, but it was a firm tone that said that this would never be conceded.

“When you saved me, you used polite language to me, so why are you using honorific words now? Is it because you have already seen all the balls against me, so there is no more sweet water to suck on?”

I argued with Arrieta for a while, but since it was impossible for me to defeat Arrieta with words, I ended up raising the white flag.

“… Okay. Sorry. I guess I was all wrong.”

“With my sister, it’s okay to use informal language with each other.”

“That’s because we have the same cadet status. When there are other people’s eyes, we use honorifics.”

“Then you can treat me the same way you do. Yes?”

“…..”

In the end, as a price for making it easier for me to talk to Princess Arietta, she called me ‘brother’, and we were able to reach a dramatic compromise.

Among my younger sisters, there was only one person who called me “Older brother” Rather than “Brother,” Sepia, so I thought I could put up with that much.

“By the way, Ricardo… No, isn’t His Highness the Crown Prince also your brother? Wouldn’t it be a bit confusing if I called you this way too?”

“Okay. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Arrieta replied in a tone that was incomparable to her somewhat sullen tone.

“I don’t think of that human as my older brother, and that human doesn’t think of me as my younger sister, so the only older brother to me is Xian. So you never get confused, so you don’t have to worry.”

“… No, I was just asking because I was confused.”

“Jeong Then, instead of brother, how about calling yourself self? If that’s not the case, honey is fine too-“

“Anyway, the little one kicks his feet.”

Boom!

And that was then. Cartesia suddenly appeared from behind Arrieta and hit Arrieta in the head.

“Ouch! Uh, sister!”

“I should have warned you. Don’t mess around with Xian.”

When Cartesia lit her twin wicks in her eyes and said her words, Arietta snorted at her instead.

“My brother is my benefactor, so why not express my gratitude to him?”

“Because I feel bad.”

“Your brother and sister are just friends. Then, wouldn’t it be more strange to be angry with me over something like this?”

“But why are you calling Xian your brother? Offended!”

“I said I would call my older brother my brother, but why is your sister?!”

I don’t know why, but as soon as I saw each other’s faces, I was still watching the sisters screaming and screaming.

“… I’m sorry, but could you both be a little quieter? Am I still sick?”

“If he didn’t start a fight, I would have kept quiet.”

“Your sister hit me in the head first!”

If left as it is, it seemed like a second fight would break out between the sisters again, so I decided to quickly change the topic elsewhere.

“By the way, Sia, what did you come here for? Didn’t you come here to tell me something?”

“… Can you come here only if you have something to say? I heard the news that you woke up, so I came to congratulate you and also to congratulate you.”

Cartesia pouted her lips, as if something had offended her.

But after a while, Cartesia managed to control her own voice, and then she greeted me with her most elegant manner.

“Thanks to you, Xian. I promise to repay you in the name of the royal family, for saving my sister’s life at the risk of putting yourself in danger. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“… Uh? Oh yeah.”

I didn’t know what to do at Cartesia’s appearance, which was so different from usual, and I blinked her eyes.

To be honest, I’ve only seen Cartesia, who always talked to me comfortably, so I shouldn’t be used to her being polite like this.

Cartesia also seems to have noticed my sign, and she puts a faint smile on her lips.

“Okay then, that’s all for being polite. Then, let’s talk about the reward for saving Arrieta.”

“… Compensation?”

“Haven’t you read children’s books? In the first place, the hero who saved the princess should be rewarded accordingly.”

Cartesia shrugged her own shoulders and handed me a plaque made of gold with her lion engraved on it.

“That’s a nameplate that proves that you have the same authority as the imperial family. His Majesty asked me to tell you that you are innocent of the crime of hurting the imperial family with this.”

“… Innocence?”

It was only then that I realized that the purpose of my visit to the imperial palace to heal Arietta was to nullify the crime of injuring the imperial family.

“And… From now on, His Majesty has promised that whatever happens within the academy will be limited to between students. With this, my older brother won’t be able to perform a trick like this one again. Oh, and there’s one more reward that His Majesty will give me as a gift-“

Cartesia suddenly stopped talking and suddenly shut her mouth.

“… As a present for you, what?”

“… No. Nothing.”

Inwardly, I thought it would be nothing, but I didn’t bother to say it.

“By the way… Now that you’ve passed the risk of being expelled from Loutra, I’d like to hear what your plans are for the future.”

“My plans?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong from the start, and the rumors spread by those damn girls fed on and brought you here. If you go back to Loutra this time, you think you have the right to know how you will behave.”

So to put it simply, I want to hear what my future plans are.

It wasn’t difficult at all to say that.

Because it’s just that I’m not showing off like that, because it was obvious that Cartesia also had some idea of what my purpose was.

“… Plural.”

I replied in the most nonchalant tone, but at the same time, in a tone that could not be hidden at all.

“I intend to make my sisters pay for what they have done.”