The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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“Excuse me?”

Even after hearing it clearly, I had no choice but to ask again like a bewildered person.

Just a moment ago, this was someone radiating dignity, but was he actually a split personality and suddenly had his character flipped?

Otherwise, how could a person change so drastically?

“So, what I mean is…! Ahh…”

He looked like someone awkwardly trying to make friends for the first time.

Surely, that couldn’t be the case. If you were a princess, you would inevitably have interactions with others, and even if she had entered the Academy right after turning 19, that would mean she’s been around people for 19 years.

There’s no way someone could go without friends for such a long time, considering her position as a princess.

Thus, the situation I was witnessing right now was utterly inexplicable. Suddenly feeling playful or actually being a split personality?

“…So… we’re friends, right?”

Right now, she looked more like a scaredy-cat than a tiger. Her ears were down, and her tail seemed to curl toward her body, showing anxiety so clear that even someone like me, who doesn’t know animal body language, could sense it.

That aside, it was indeed an unrivaled opportunity. I was unsure how to approach her, but since she was allowing me to come closer, I could just gratefully step forward.

“Of course, we’re friends…”

Even so, it felt a bit awkward to drop all the honorifics after using them consistently.

“Right…?”

I knew that asking such a question right after declaring her my friend could be toxic, but I was too curious to hold back.

“Then… Hoyeon?”

Upon calling her name, she flinched slightly. I remembered that she had disliked it when I called her that so close earlier, but now she only blushed and didn’t seem to mind too much.

Perhaps her ability to express herself was frightfully poor.

I didn’t think there could be someone worse than Anastasia in that regard, but if my hunch was correct, Hoyeon might just surpass her.

“Uh, huh?”

“…Have you… ever met someone you could call a friend?”

Seeing her make a face as if she had just been hit in the back of the head, I thought again that this might be too sensitive a topic to bring up.

Just as one shouldn’t point out an ugly person’s appearance, I shouldn’t have asked her about this.

“…”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to hit any raw nerves. After a moment of silence, she nodded.

What if this is her true self and the cold, regal princess persona was a mask to hide it?

Assuming this was her true nature, whoever had taught her must have had a tough time.

“If this upset you, I’m sorry. I apologize.”

“Ah… no, you don’t need to apologize!”

While she said this, the hurt was clear on her face. It was as if she was insisting she was fine when anyone could tell she wasn’t.

“No, I was lacking in consideration.”

“Ah, ugh… stop it…”

Why did it feel like I was doing something terrible by apologizing? I sensed that if I continued, something irreversible might happen, so I decided to stop there.

Thus, we awkwardly avoided looking at each other. Perhaps feeling shy, she nervously played with her hair and stared off into the distance.

Having declared ourselves friends, it felt strange to return to the dorm without saying anything.

“Did you have something you wanted to do?”

Trying to spark a conversation, but she didn’t seem interested in saying anything more.

“…No.”

“Then is there somewhere you wanted to go?”

“…No.”

So, it seemed we would really just head back to the dorm. Occasionally, I thought I saw her glancing at me, but whenever I looked her way, she had already turned her head away.

Even when I tried to speak, I was continuously blocked off, making me think that discussing our new friendship was a mistake.

“So, are you just planning to go back to the dorm like this?”

“Yeah.”

By the way, she was even cuter now than when she was acting like an authority figure. It made me curious how someone like her could come from such parents.

Normally, I would have thought of avoiding her, but if she kept showing me this side of herself, I might prioritize winning her over instead.

If I succeeded, it could prevent the invasion of the White Empire, and besides, this was right up my alley.

If I completely failed, the invasion might come sooner, though.

So, regardless of failure, I needed to sweet-talk her into not invading. As I slightly adjusted my strategy regarding her in my mind, I found myself at the dorm.

—

“Haah…”

After saying goodbye to Dokan and entering my room, my legs went weak. I awkwardly leaned against the entrance door, but I didn’t have the energy to care about that.

She clearly called me her friend.

Friend, friend, friend…

Having someone I could genuinely consider a friend felt so foreign since the only person I had thought of as a friend back in my original world was that painfully twisted individual.

I thought I would be friendly and chat with a genuine friend once I found one, but here I was regretting not doing even 20% of what I planned to do now that a real person had appeared.

Still, I felt a bit wronged in this situation. I had gotten a bit irritated when Dokan suddenly asked me if I had no friends, but truly, the attention he showed was just so heavy.

How could the attention of one person feel heavier than that of dozens? It felt like I was being suffocated by it.

And even if she said she was fine, why did she keep apologizing and making things awkward? Because of that, even when Dokan kept trying to talk, I felt too embarrassed to engage in conversation.

And above all, calling her Hoyeon.

That was a name only my mom and dad used for me. Hearing someone else call me that felt oddly strange. Not unpleasant, just very peculiar.

“Hmm… Ha.”

So, should I try calling Dokan by his name…?

“Do…”

“…”

“Do…!”

Oh, that’s definitely a no-go. Just trying to say it made my mouth freeze at the tip. Moreover, the soundproofing here isn’t that great; if someone heard me say it from next door, I might just die of embarrassment.

Twisting awkwardly on my bed, a marble slipped from my pocket and rolled out.

What was that again? As I thought, Dokan’s face flashed through my mind.

Oh, right. It was the marble Stephanie had given me. I think she mentioned wanting to have tea sometime, but I completely forgot about it.

Stephanie seemed to want to be friends, too, but… there was something oddly off-putting about her. Dokan, while not innocent, seemed to be on a different level than her.

Even putting aside her feature of having slanted eyes, she looked rather sinister. And the look she gave me at the end surely didn’t hold any good intentions.

…Since this was originally a world of novels, could she be a so-called scheming character? That crossed my mind. Perhaps that wasn’t so far-fetched.

Regardless, I didn’t think I would ever be close to her.

As I placed the marble she gave me on a corner of the desk, wrote in my journal to my mother, and aimlessly laid around on my bed, somehow dinner time had come.

Now that I knew the way, I could probably go by myself, but honestly, eating alone felt less enjoyable than eating with others.

And typically, friends would eat together. With that thought in mind, I knocked on the door of the room next door, but got no response.

I was curious if he had fallen asleep again, so I turned the doorknob, and this time the door opened without resistance.

Had Dokan forgotten to lock the door? Just like the locker.

There was no one in the room. What’s going on? Was I really the only one here while Dokan was doing some shadow boxing?

For a moment, I felt deflated, but shortly after, Dokan walked into the room, holding a tattered scroll.

“…Ah. You’re here, huh?”

“How on earth did you get in this time?”

Seeing my genuine surprise, he had no choice but to explain.

“Well, I didn’t lock the door…”

Seriously? The look on his face seemed to say that. No, if I turn the doorknob and it opens, that’s not my fault.

“Don’t look at me like that…”

So, don’t give me that suspicious look. If you keep staring, it feels like I actually did something wrong.

“Hoyeon.”

“Uh, yeah?”

Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I felt my body stiffen automatically. Wait, I thought friends were those who just casually visited each other’s homes and raided their refrigerators, right? Wasn’t that the case?

“Wait here a moment.”

Saying this, Dokan turned his step, and I awkwardly followed behind. I felt a bit uneasy about where he was going, but disappointingly, he stood in front of his own locker.

“Wanna try opening this one?”

“…Alright.”

I had no clue what he was thinking, but if he says to do it, I guess I have to. I grasped the locker door without thinking and pulled; it opened without issue.

As soon as I did, a refreshing magic burst forth, momentarily wiping the tension off my face; in the meantime, Dokan donned an incredibly serious expression while trying to open my locker.

Naturally, it wouldn’t open.

“Now, Hoyeon. Wanna try opening the locker here?”

“That’s someone else’s, though…?”

“It’ll be fine. Just give it a go.”

What do you mean it’ll be fine? It’s definitely someone else’s. But since I already had a guilty conscience about this with Dokan, I couldn’t help but do as he said.

Considering it was my friend’s request, anyway.

Surprisingly, when I opened it, it opened just as easily as Dokan’s locker. What the heck?

“…Could it be, is that what I think it is?”

“What is…?”

“Never mind, nothing at all. By the way, why were you in my room?”

What’s with the sudden shift? Why is he asking me about my room after suddenly making me open someone else’s locker with such a grave expression?

I didn’t have the courage to ask for the reason, so I decided to answer his question instead.

“Well, you know, because we’re friends… I thought we should eat together or something…”

“Ah. Right. Let’s do that.”

And so, we didn’t have a silly small talk, but we arrived at the dining hall. Facing Dokan made it impossible for me to say all the things I had in mind.

This time, I filled my plate just enough for a meal and on my way back. No matter how shy I felt, I still had to do what I needed to do.

It was just calling out his name.

It’s not a big deal. No, well, not yet. As I hesitated, I found myself in front of his door.

“Um… Dokan…!”

“Yeah?”

Oh no, I did it. My face felt like it was on fire.

“…I mean, sleep well!”

But he seemed unfazed, just responding with a goodbye by saying, “You should sleep well too.”

The moment I entered my room, I buried my face in my pillow. Still, I was proud. I said Dokan’s name.

More than that, wasn’t that day fast approaching soon?

…Well, I suppose things will work out somehow. Drifting off, I surrendered my body to sleep, filled with a sense of accomplishment.