Chapter 12:

Eres stood in the morning light of dawn, her lip tense from an anxious bite. Never had she faced such a decision in her life. This was truly the difference between professionalism and social death.

She stared at the two uniforms in her closet. The first, her student uniform, the other her maid uniform she’d used when working for Leo.

Eres was to resume her maid duties for Leo today, at the behest of the head-maid. 

So. 

Should she…perform maid duties in a student uniform? Or walk around campus in a maid outfit? Both were unacceptable. 

The first—performing maid duties in a student uniform—utterly impossible! Why? Because that would be no different to being a doting girlfriend! 

If she saw a girl hanging around a guy, feeding him, cleaning him, adjusting his clothes, she’d be gnashing her teeth, wishing for the disgusting couple to die by meteorite. That line of action would be far too ambiguous for her. She still couldn’t believe she’d caved to feeding that big-eared bastard the day before. Hah, how Arille had teased her when they’d returned to the dorm. 

Which left wearing a maid uniform across campus. If she did that, would she even have time to change before class? 

Probably not. 

She pictured herself sitting in class, being stared at by every person in the room for daring to play like that in front of the professors. Not that it was anything weird in the first place! But she could already hear Celise’s snide quips in her head. 

Her sanity strained itself to the brim. 

Sheets rustled behind her as Arille climbed out of bed. She sniffed and walked up beside Eres. 

“What’s wrong, Lady Eres?”

“I can’t decide…which to use.”

Arille opened her mouth, ready to tease her friend, but stopped. She thought back to the other night when Eres had helped her.

“Hmm. Why not just take both?”

“Both?”

“Yeah. I have a bag you can use if you don’t have one.”

Eres gasped and smacked her forehead. Of course! She didn’t have to go back to her room to change! She could just treat it like gym clothes, or like when she’d worked two jobs back to back in her old life. 

She smiled at Arille. So reliable! “Yeah, that’d be great.”

“One sec!”

Arille ran to her closet and tossed a couple of things out before yanking something from the bottom. She turned around and presented it to Eres, a gleaming smile on her face.

Eres froze. No way. Impossible. She couldn’t use this.

But…but…! Ugh!

She took the bag and examined it. It was a bag in the shape of a stylized cat’s head. The pink color was highlighted by a small bow that acted as a zipper.

“Mom got it for me a while back, hehehe. I haven’t been able to use it, but this fits Lady Eres perfectly!”

Stone-faced, Eres nodded, turned, and let the primal expression of fury run across her face. She cursed her existence, clenched the bag tight in her hands, then calmed her anger.

She turned around with a peaceful smile. “I am truly thankful, Arille. I’ll accept it with grace.”

Arille beamed. “Great! Guess that means I get to use the other bag. I wasn’t sure which one to pick, hehe.”

“…Other one?”

“Yeah, mom bought me this one too! I was seriously debating all day which to bring!”

Arille yanked a completely normal green backpack out from her closet. She smiled at Eres. “I’m really glad Eres loves that one so much! It fits you better than me anyways.”

“...”

How would a twelve year old girl feel if she tore apart the gift right in front of her?

Probably not great. Ugh. Why did she have to care…?

Eres, driven by a desire to avoid conflict, stiffly hugged Arille, giving her two large swats on the back. It felt much like greeting a coworker you didn’t care for at a company party.

Not that she disliked Arille. Other than now.

Celise was still asleep…?

Ah. She was probably used to servants waking her up. Well, if she was going to be doing such things anyways, may as well dress the part. Eres pulled on her maid uniform and begrudgingly stuffed her school uniform in the bright pink cat backpack. What did I do in a past life to deserve this? Other than pirate games…? I’m innocent! Innocent!!

She adjusted her headdress and hopped on Celise’s ladder. “Hey! Up!”

She slapped the princess’s ankles a few times.

“Mm…” 

“Get! Up!”

She shook the frame. Celise woke with a start, lifting her head in a rain of unbrushed, fluffy hair. 

Her eyes, still glazed over, hovered on Eres. “Am I still in the palace…?”

Eres sighed. “Yeah, sure, so get up and get dressed. Your dad’s waiting.”

She stiffened at that. The spike of adrenaline woke her completely. She sighed, putting a hand to her heart.

“Eres…please don’t joke like that.” She shivered.

“?”

Celise scratched her head. “My father is famously grumpy in the morning.”

“I will be too if you make us late.”

Eres hopped off the ladder and gestured her to come down. Celise melted down in sleepy steps, causing the ever-impatient Eres to tap her feet.

“Tsk. Honestly. What kind of lady dawdles in the morning like this?”

She grabbed Celise’s hairbrush and tamed the lion’s mane flowing from the princess’s head as she got ready. 

Hmm? That line…sounded dangerously close to something Lana would say. Do kids really take after their parents…?

Hmm. Celise’s hair was strangely soft. Quite long. Actually, it would fit perfectly with the braids Tia and Anne had taught her. She found herself smiling as she pulled the princess’s hair into an elaborate bun with braids set in the side. She finished it with a couple of pins to keep it in place.

Celise looked in the mirror before Arille and her both stared at Eres. 

“Is this the girl power of a fiancée?” Arille asked.

“You rival the palace maids, Eres.”

Eres waved her hand dismissively. “Not that great, not that great. Get ready. I still need to pick up the slacker.”

The others obediently followed her from the dorm like ducklings. Passerby’s watched with wide eyes as a maid led a princess confidently from the building. 

“I’m going this way, ‘kay?” Eres pointed towards the male dorms.

Arille nodded. “We’ll save you a seat!”

“Thank you,” Celise said, “I would have been late without you, Lady Eres.”

She waved them off, arriving at the dorm gates soon after. Leo was nowhere to be seen. Ugh! Honestly! Should she wait? She could already feel the burning stares of those who passed her.

Boys stumbled by, shocked and blushing, whispering as they lingered before being pulled by friends to their classes. 

Eres’s face burned. Leo still wasn’t out. That sleepy bastard hasn’t woken up on time in seven years…

A male student crossed perilously close to her. Her hand snatched out and grabbed his uniform.

“Hey, where’s Leonard Fritz’s room?”

“Uh…”

He blushed, tongue tying. 

Useless. Eres clicked her tongue, but let the boy go. She’d find someone else.

“W-wait! I can bring you to him!”

Eres raised an eyebrow. 

“Wouldn’t you be late?”

“I can’t leave you stranded here, Miss Eres.”

He rubbed his head sheepishly. “Actually, Leo’s my roommate.”

The boy extended his hand. “My name’s Ed.”

She shook it. Roommate? Some coincidence. 

“Why isn’t he out here with you?”

“Him? He hasn’t woken up before noon since we got here. We tried shaking him awake, but he kept muttering under his breath.”

“…”

Eres sighed. “Alright, can you take me to him?”

“Uh? I mean, I could but are you sure you’re even allowed in the dorm…?”

“I work for him, of course I am. Or do you want to contend with an order from Duke Fritz himself?”

It was a lie, of course. No doubt, if any dorm head saw her wandering about she’d be tossed out in less than a minute. 

Ed shook, but nodded and led her to the dorm. 

She pushed the dorm open and recoiled at the smell. It had only been two days! God, what had they been doing in here? 

It was empty save for the moron sleeping in the bunk. She climbed up the ladder and slapped him right on the belly.

“HEY!”

She shouted near his head. The boy started, jumped back and hit his head on the wall behind him.

“Ack…! Eres…? The hell are you doing?!”

He covered himself with a flush. He’d been sleeping only in his nightwear. 

Eres’s face crinkled. “Blushing like a maiden? You don’t have anything worth seeing.”

She yanked his blanket off the bed and tossed it to the floor. “Get up, you’re going to make me late.”

Eres stomped out of the room and returned to the gate. Less than ten minutes later, Leo and Ed walked out, the former sheepishly rubbing his head.

“Sorry.”

“Hmph.”

Eres turned and matched his pace as they walked. Thankfully, she’d been allowed to attend the same classes as Leo. Something about a work order from the ducal family. Ah~ money!

“Eres.”

“Hmm?”

“Pfft…cute backpack…it suits you.”

Eres froze, her stride breaking. Leo walked a few steps ahead before stopping. The shit-eating grin on his face boiled Eres’s blood. 

“T-this…”

She could feel her face burning. 

“Upset? Don’t be. Looks good.”

“Ugh…!”

Eres sprinted away at full speed, her cat-backpack swinging around in the wind.

Ed looked at Leo. “You sure you wanna upset her like that…? She’s scary…”

“Nah,” Leo said, “She can’t do anything. I sign her check.”

Ed nodded, pretending to understand. Married couples sure were complicated…