114~ Characters Not Switched Back Yet
“Whaaa…………” Aistride clutched her hands near her belly button and let out a little sound that could rival a small injured animal. With Tillysha’s infinitely curious eyes boring into her, she couldn’t even bring herself to lift her head.
“Miss Aistride, unless you clarify, I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Tillysha continued playing dumb.
“It’s that, that thing…” Aistride’s voice shrank with each word, her last few mutters being as soft as an embarrassed squirrel.
Tillysha had never seen this rabbit-like side of Aistride before. She’d always thought that Aistride kept her usual cold expression simply because she wasn’t good at expressing herself, but now it seemed like she was discovering an entirely different side of the Silver Moon Princess.
Though she knew she shouldn’t keep teasing her, Tillysha couldn’t help but feel a strange joy seeing this adorable side of Aistride.
Even Tillysha herself wondered when she’d become so mischievous.
“So, what Miss Aistride’s referring to… couldn’t it be just about sharing one bed together?” Tillysha tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled, though inside she was slightly suspecting the other might be hinting at something else.
“Nothing… nothing at all…” Aistride struggled. How could she bring herself to say such a thing out loud?
Seeing Tillysha’s seemingly innocent look of ignorance, Aistride almost felt embarrassed for her own overthinking. It was as if she’d discovered something scandalous while the other remained pure as fresh snow.
She suddenly felt ashamed for herself. As the Silver Moon Princess of the Elf Forest, knowing so much about… adult things that she really shouldn’t know was embarrassing to her as a representative of the Elf Clan.
But……
Why, within less than a month’s time, had Tillysha and Dillin already started sharing a bed together? Tillysha didn’t seem like someone naive, and there was no way Dillin could be a guy easily swayed by beauty…
“Sorry, Miss Aistride.” Tillysha stopped her teasing and smiled gracefully once more.
“Huh? Why the sudden apology?”
“Ah, turns out I fibbed a little bit just now. Dillin and I sharing the same bed? Entirely a joke.”
“… Oh. So that’s how it is.” Despite being played a little, Aistride let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, sorry. But what you were referring to earlier… I’m genuinely curious.”
“…. Nothing!” Aistride turned her face to the side.
There was no way she could admit that to anybody!
“Hey hey, Princess Aistride, and Princess Tillysha! You two are out!” Just then, a lively voice interrupted their conversation in the lounge.
“Litte?”
“Ahhh, Your Highness, you’ve been knocked out too?” Litte approached nonchalantly, pretending not to know.
“Yes… Litte, when did you get eliminated?” Aistride was sure that Litte had only been restrained by Tillysha and shouldn’t have been eliminated. But she might have missed the announcement during her intense fight with Tillysha.
“Oh… before you!” Litte averted her gaze guiltily.
Would Princess Aistride be angry if she knew she had voluntarily withdrawn from the contest?
“Miss Litte.”
“Aaaaah, here!” Hearing the blond elf beside her call her, Litte turned sharply, adjusting her posture. Her long braids swayed with her motion like two rivers of copper.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” Litte felt as though every secret she held was exposed under Tillysha’s cheerful gaze.
She couldn’t possibly know anything, right? Tillysha had fainted too at the time, so…
“Nonetheless, thank you.” Tillysha spoke softly, her voice sweet.
“Not a problem…” Tillysha’s voice seemed to have a magical quality that made Litte’s ears tingle. Despite herself, she felt happy, even honored that Tillysha had praised her.
“However, there’s another favor I must ask, and I hope you two won’t refuse.”
“Of course, any order!” Litte stood straight, whereas Aistride, deep in thought, had already figured out what Tillysha was about to request.
“Perhaps Princess Tillysha asks us to help you conceal your identity?”
“Your help is much appreciated.”
“Not at all.” Litte shrugged. “We agreed to this back in the Secret Realm.”
“Thank you. Since that’s the case…”
Tillysha took out her overheating earpiece and toyed with it. Clearly, disguise would have to wait for the cooler to reset.
Sure, covering up her ears with a sack might work, but it would be too obvious, almost like shouting “I’m different!”
The only solution was to transform, which meant she needed to temporarily excuse her companions — Aistride and Litte.
A crowd gathered at the lounge entrance, buzzing with excitement. Their disappointment grew when they realized the expected golden figure wasn’t showing up, so the waiting continued.
“The award ceremony isn’t today. Her Highness Aistride is too exhausted. Please do us a favor and don’t disturb her returning to the dormitory,” said a male elf in the lounge entrance with a not-so-loud yet commanding voice.
The crowd, with help from security, settled down.
Some left, but most stayed, waiting for more than just Aistride.
“Students, no need to keep waiting. Miss Tillysha left right after the match,” Aistride said with her usual cool but polite voice.
“Miss Aistride! Could you share some details about the match?”
“Yeah! The crystal projectors malfunctioned, and we don’t know what happened…”
Aistride ignored these press-conference-like questions.
“Tch, humans are so annoying.” Litte, walking beside Aistride, grumbled. “Like flies, trailing after wherever the princess goes.”
“Talking of which, wasn’t Tillysha’s prince consort human too? That Dillin fellow… Oh yeah, he was Your Highness’s previous consort as well…” Recalling the past, Litte, who harbored slight biases against humans, felt her dissatisfaction peak.
“I wonder what merit he holds to just… lie there and win first place…,” Litte whispered angrily, cheeks puffed out.
First with Princess Aistride and now Princess Tillysha, what charm does that guy have to attract so many elven beauties?
…Maybe he’s a scoundrel good at honeyed words, tricking young maidens.
Yep, that sounds about right!
Litte thought. Humans are always chasing after frivolous matters, forming fan clubs and entourages. Male humans? Even worse — there’s not a single decent one!
Princess Tillysha and Aistride are so pure yet they’ve been tricked.
That guy… despite the crown having nothing to do with him, somehow walked away with it, through some sort of fraudulence. The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became.
Litte decided she absolutely needed to expose this guy’s true colors to Tillysha and Aistride. Still, she remained stuck on figuring out how.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Noticing the prince consort and the cold hall girl’s concerned gazes, Aistride shook her head to indicate she was fine. Her silence worried them more, but they were unaware that this wasn’t desolation but a sign of contemplation.
“Speaking of which, why is Princess Tillysha… gold…” Abruptly, Aistride stopped mid-step.
“Huh? Gold… what?” Hallyn was confused.
“And why do you call her ‘Princess’?” the prince consort asked, perplexed.
“Ah, no, not at all! Slipped my tongue. Now that I think of it, the title’s not appropriate. Hehe…” Litte laughed nervously, swaying her body back and forth with her hands clasped behind her back. Her two braids flitted like butterfly wings.
The other two didn’t dwell on it; this big-boobed mini girl often muttered weird things.
On the other side, Aistride’s words carried authority. Most of the crowd waiting outside dispersed after hearing Tillysha had already left.
A black-haired youth strolled out casually with both hands in his pockets, a peculiarly shaped doll suspended from his waist.
It was Dillin. After sending Aistride and Litte away, Tillysha had transformed back into Dillin, then retrieved the lost doll from another rest room unnoticed. Now, pretending nothing happened, Dillin sauntered out.
“Finally over.” Covering his eyes from the sunlight, Dillin yawned and stretched. Though the realm also had a sun, it was pale compared to the one in Caleburn.
As he relished the sunlight after a long time, sleep threatened to overwhelm his tired body. A quick nap sounds perfect…
Walking along silently, thinking he wouldn’t draw attention if he acted normal, Dillin was still unprepared.
An unzipped pocket led to his ID card dropping to the ground.
“Hey, you dropped something.” Before Dillin could pick it up, someone was already handing it back to him.
“Thanks.” Dillin took the card, seeing it was his Academy ID.
Phew, good thing he spotted it. Losing it would’ve been such a hassle.
As he was about to thank the person and leave, something stirred in his memory. This face felt familiar.
“No problem~” The girl with cat ears flicked her soft tail behind her and smiled. “Tillysha’s consort, Mister Dillin, was it?”
“Win…?” Dillin almost blurted out her name before catching himself in time. “Oh, I meant, Miss ‘Wenfu,’ thank you for your help.”
“Hmm? Wen what?” Wenfu, confused at first, blushed slightly and shuffled her feet together. “Thanks for the compliment!”
Dillin wiped sweat from his forehead, thankful that somehow the bluff worked.
However, Wenfu’s unintentional statement had been loud enough for others to catch.
“What??” Many curious faces turned towards him.
Dillin felt a cold sweat down his back. Every pair of eyes in the vicinity seemed like pin pricks trying to dissect him from all directions.
“Ah, thanks. If there’s nothing, I’ll be off.” Feeling extremely uncomfortable under the crowd’s watch, Dillin, already exhausted, wanted nothing more than to retreat to his dorm and sleep.
“One moment, young man.” But fate wouldn’t let him. A tall student blocked his way.
“Stopping a lady’s path is not gentlemanly or polite.” Dillin raised a brow, slipping into a character he wasn’t. “Is there something you need?”
“Huh? What lady?” The towering student scratched his head, looking around for this supposed “lady.”
“Er… no big deal, brother, do you want something from me?” Dillin cleared his throat, regaining his original composure.
“Hey, are you truly the consort of Tillysha?” The tall youth looked down at Dillin, his height intimidating, his eyes narrowing as though examining Dillin.
“… Sure, so what?”
