The Young Lady Has Disappeared

"Strange. It's strange."

"What is so strange, Your Highness?"

The imperial princess, who had left the place almost as if fleeing, tilted her head as if puzzled.

Wondering why she was acting like that, I asked, and the imperial princess suddenly turned and grabbed both of my shoulders. She seemed to grip tightly, perhaps not controlling her strength properly, but to be honest, it didn't hurt much. After all, how could it hurt when gripped by an imperial princess who had never properly exercised in her life?

"Prince Belrus. He hasn't shown his true colors yet, you say?"

"I have a question myself, actually."

"What is it?"

"What exactly makes you think Prince Belrus is the mastermind?"

"Huh?"

When Lillian goes to class, I spend my time in the library after finishing the housework. And I don't forget to gather information while walking around various parts of the academy, and the rumors about Prince Belrus are always similar. A model student, kind to people.

Of course, considering the previous incident, that rumor doesn't necessarily match perfectly, but that doesn't mean he's unconditionally a mastermind. In fact, considering that Prince Belrus's homeland, the Grand Duchy of Endain, is a country with very strong male chauvinism, it might be normal behavior there.

Of course, that's not to say there's no unsettling feeling. Moreover, this was a free city closely related to the empire, which made it even more so. But that doesn't mean the imperial princess should be so blindly suspicious.

"I know that even you have been harmed by Prince Belrus, haven't I?"

"That's true, but that doesn't mean you should be blindly suspicious."

Thinking about what he did to Lillian makes me feel resentful, but Lillian has been pushing Prince Belrus away so much lately that if I think he acted hastily due to his immature heart, hmm... Still, can't it be considered as a mitigating factor? Anyway, I couldn't help but feel like I was barking up the wrong tree.

"Even if Prince Belrus is the mastermind, I don't think he would easily reveal himself in a place like this."

"Well, that's true. But I just wanted to gather evidence. At least Prince Bahan's testimony would be of great help."

"But Prince Bahan said he heard it from a senior."

"Prince Belrus might have manipulated that senior."

Do you really think that makes sense? I closed my mouth in disbelief, and perhaps reading that well, the imperial princess sighed.

"Haah... I know. I was just in a hurry."

"Is that so."

"Yes. I'm sorry for making you accompany me on this untimely night walk. You may go back now."

"Yes. I hope Your Highness also returns safely."

As I politely greeted the imperial princess, she nodded slightly and trudged towards the dormitory. Although it was the same dormitory, the entrance doors were different, so I had to go in the opposite direction.

It seems her disappointment is greater than expected. To look so powerless.

I thought this while watching the imperial princess's back and immediately turned my steps towards the back door.

As I was entering very quietly like that, suddenly the lights turn on. Wondering what was happening, I looked around and saw Lillian looking at me with a furrowed brow. To be honest, it was a gaze that could be described as glaring, but I could tell that it wasn't really glaring, just that Lillian's eyes naturally looked fierce.

"You're back? Catherine."

"Yes, young lady."

"Come here and sit down."

I wonder if tomorrow's classes will be okay. I thought this as I sat down where she pointed. Then Lillian immediately got to the point.

"Where on earth did you go at this late hour?"

"I just went for a short night walk."

"A night walk?"

Where should I start explaining? I should probably keep the conversation with the imperial princess a secret, so I won't mention that.

If it were the 'young lady' I knew, I would have told the truth. But what was in front of me wasn't the 'young lady', just Lillian. What exactly is the difference between the two? Should I approach this from an existentialist perspective? Or is it just a problem arising from mental differences?

Is 'Lillian' really just a possessor, or is she merely a second personality created by the 'young lady'? In fact, the former was more likely. Because 'Lillian' knows Earth knowledge. She moves based on Earth knowledge.

Usually, such possessions occur under the premise of knowing or having seen the secrets of this world. Then what was the secret that Lillian saw? Judging by her question about the demon lord, was it about the demon lord's advent? I thought about this as I slowly opened my mouth.

"I'm studying the structure of the academy."

"You, Catherine?"

"Yes. So that I can guide you whenever you need, young lady."

"...To be honest, I don't need it. You know that, don't you?"

"You never know. Always being prepared for possible situations is the mindset that a servant of the Fortus family should have."

Lillian sighs at my answer. To be honest, Lillian probably doesn't really think it's completely unnecessary. She just doesn't like me going out at night.

"I won't do anything dangerous. You know my combat ability better than anyone, young lady."

"Of course, that's true. Besides, nothing dangerous will happen in the academy."

"Yes. At most, I might encounter some wild animals. And I can handle that much."

Lillian nodded at my confident answer. Then she laid me down on the spot.

"Then let's sleep now."

"...Now?"

"Yes. It's the weekend anyway. It's okay to sleep a bit... Yawn."

Lillian, who hugged me tightly while lying on her side, falls asleep with a "hehe" laugh.

Having suddenly become her dakimakura, I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes. Being able to fall asleep in any position was one of my few advantages.

And so, I slowly fell asleep feeling Lillian's body heat.

* * *

"The smuggling failed. How disappointing."

"There weren't any dangerous items anyway, right?"

"That's true. At most, just some adult books."

"Haha, adult books. Prince Bahan is a strange person too."

In a dark room, seven people around a round table confirm each other. They were all wearing masks.

"Well, it can't be helped. We'll move past the failure. After all, what we need to do here is to regain the freedom of our students."

The voices coming from the masked people chattering among themselves were distorted. This was thanks to the small voice distortion devices attached to the masks. A secret group where gender, age, voice, and face were unknown. This group was operating underground at Aptem Academy.

"Regaining freedom, you say. Haah..."

"What's wrong, Snake?"

"I didn't come over here to do such trivial things."

The other six people burst into laughter at the complaint of the person wearing the snake mask.

"What's so funny?"

"No. It just reminds me of myself two years ago."

"Two years ago..."

"Oh my. Does this mean I've revealed my age?"

The man with the bear mask who had spoken chuckled as he replied. The snake man hesitated for a moment at this relaxed attitude but soon continued.

"Anyway, the next is a kind of rally, Snake. You might like it."

"A rally? For what reason?"

"There are several reasons. Honestly, I've gathered combinations that would work for any purpose, but if we're talking about what we can use right now... Ah, here it is. A statement containing students' support for abolishing exams."

"You're not really thinking of using that, are you?"

"Of course not, Rabbit. Would you like to take a look?"

"Ah, yes!"

The rabbit, true to its mask, hops over to the bear's side. The rabbit received the statement that the bear unfolded and slowly read through the contents.

"They're just delinquent students who don't want to take exams."

"Hmm, that's right. But if we add appropriate reasons to such a topic, it becomes something that can't be easily ignored. Besides, it's easy to disperse if necessary."

"Because we can expose the truth?"

"Mm."

The bear man nods as if to say that's correct. Then the snake man sighs and looks at the two of them. No, to be precise, he looks around at the masked people. Cow, pig, dog, and horse. The dog mask was usually talkative, but today he was particularly quiet.

"If it's a rally, what's the purpose?"

At that moment, the horse man spoke. And the bear man, as if he had been waiting for just this question, smiled and opened his mouth.

"The dissolution of the student council. And the undermining of the imperial princess's authority... That's about it. Of course, we hope for the former, but it's better to think that there's no possibility of it being realized. For now, we should be satisfied with gradually chipping away at the imperial princess's power."

"Hmm, I see."

"Are these all the questions?"

The bear man looked around the round table and asked, but no one answered. Seeing this, the bear man smiled and nodded.

"Then we'll end today's meeting here. Rabbit. Could you return that now?"

The bear man waved his hand towards the rabbit, who was still holding the rally plan, and the rabbit slowly turned his head to look at the bear man. It was a movement as if his neck was making a creaking sound.

"...Excuse me. There's something strange here."

"What do you mean?"

"Is this true?"

Wondering what it was, the bear man approached the rabbit mask and read a line of text, then nodded.

'Maid Catherine. Subdued two knights and matched the desert's great warrior Arhan. Extreme caution advised. However, seems uninterested in anyone except her young lady, Lillian.'