Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
Both Osbon and Valimar have no intention to mix in with the children’s tea time, so they didn’t show up much in this chapter.
It was definitely not because Valimar(ヴァリマール) and Vander(ヴァンダール) are so similar that I tend to mix them up.
Thank you for the typo reports as always.
Chapter 057 – Fufufu, Son. Be Careful of Your Words and Actions [A]
“R-R-R-R-Rean-san?!”
“Oops, are you okay?”
Musse’s hand was suddenly grabbed, and her face, which would have looked dignified if she had stayed silent, was about to collapse when Rean approached close. Seeing this, Rean pulled her left hand.
With her body supported in his arms, Musse became even more agitated.
Rean’s left hand, which was placed on Musse’s back to support her, felt incredibly hot.
That was how she felt, but in reality, the heat was just the difference in body temperature between Musse and Rean.
The girl who had been nonchalantly teasing her two older friends and enjoying tea just ten seconds ago was no longer there. Now, she was perplexed as Rean suddenly appeared and approached her with a serious face and voice, causing her eyes to wander around.
“I’m sorry for showing up so suddenly. But there’s something I absolutely have to tell you, Musse.”
“Uuueeeeehhhh?!”
Their faces were less than five centimeters apart, and if they shifted even a little, their lips would touch.
The reason why Musse, who was in the midst of extreme confusion, was still not able to cross the final line was because of the presence of the black-haired female student sitting at the table.
Musse tried to look away by looking to the side, but in reality, her legs still shook like a fawn, her eyes were watery, she was breathing heavily and her cheeks were flushed.
That appearance was that of an adorable young girl who was embarrassed when a man cornered her.
Rean tried to press forward and speak, but then a voice came out which was devoid of any emotion.
“Nii-sama.”
“Hm? ……Elise! Isn’t it Elise! I never thought I’d see you here.”
“I study in this academy, so it’s only natural that I’d be here, nii-sama.”
The black haired female student was—— Rean’s adoptive sister, Elise Schwarzer exuded a mysterious pressure that made everyone around her flinch, but when Rean recognized his adoptive sister, he beamed instead.
However, his hands were still holding on to Musse’s hand and waist.
Elise’s voice was exactly the same as the one Rean had once heard when she was conversing with others at the girls’ academy. Even her face was smiling gracefully at the reunion with her adoptive brother.
But that made it scarier instead.
There was no doubt that raging emotions were swirling in Elise’s heart.
However, far from stopping at a line, her emotions had simply exceeded the capacity of tolerance, leaving her feelings not apparent instead.
To put it in a metaphor, it was like the remains of a burst water pipe that had miraculously managed to fit itself back together in its original shape, maintaining its patchwork appearance.
The emotions that should be visible on her face and in her eyes were cut off, yet the passion that still flowed through her was woven into mere words.
Therefore, Musse and the blonde female student, who could be said to be close friends with Elise at the academy, were speechless at the sight of their best friend in such a state.
As Elise took one step closer to Rean. Musse’s body trembled in response.
Kurt, seeing this as a fuse approaching a bomb, grabbed Rean’s shoulder as if to tear the air.
“Rean-san, what are you doing!”
But Rean’s body didn’t move.
Kurt’s physique might be too slender to wield Vander’s strong sword, but even so, his physique had been trained for many years and it should have been effortless to force a person to turn his head.
Kurt gasped as he watched Rean remain motionless, as if he was clutching a rock, and the amount of training Rean had put into his skills was clear to see.
But his awareness as a guardian was stimulated by the fact that Rean hadn’t even greeted the girl of noble blood sitting at the corner. It was definitely not because he was intimidated by the black-haired girl, whose expression and tone remained unchanged since earlier.
Having determined that his own strength wasn’t enough to affect Rean, Kurt spoke with a heavy heart.
“Rean-san, you are in front of Her Highness Imperial Princess Alfin!”
“…………? Please excuse me, Your Highness.”
It was at this point Rean finally let go of Musse and bowed to the blonde female student —— Alfin Reise Arnor.
As expected, even Rean possessed the bare minimal manners required of an Imperial noble, and Kurt sighed in relief.
The angelic figure, also known as the Empire’s Crown Jewel, was filled with confusion, but perhaps she calmed down when she saw Kurt, her acquaintance, and called out to Rean while holding her chest.
“E-err, you are……”
“I am the adoptive brother of Elise Schwarzer over there, my name is Rean Schwarzer.”
“I apologize about my adoptive brother, Princess.”
Elise turned around and apologized to Alfin.
Elegantly picking up her skirt, Elise greeted Alfin for a moment before moving in between Rean and Musse.
“There, nii-sama, there’s something I’d like to ask you about…… Also, you too, Mildine.”
“S-Senpai? I’d be happy if you could calm down a bit, or something.”
“Mildine? Is that Musse’s nickname? It’s longer than her actual name, though.”
“U-Um, that’s……”
“Hey, Mildine. How long have you known nii-sama?”
She was checking a fact, which shouldn’t have felt strange at all.
It didn’t sound angry, and her tone was calm, as if she was chatting at tea time.
It was Elise’s voice, something that Musse and Alfin had heard many times.
And yet, the pressure that was exerted on those around her was like a judge demanding an uncompromising verdict.
Musse just looked back and forth between Rean and Elise and didn’t say anything.
But there was one man here who didn’t seem to care about that at all.
“During my field study in May, she looked after me a lot back in Ordis. I guess that’s how we got to know each other. Are the two of you friends? I never thought that even Her Highness Imperial Princess would be here.”
When he brought up the topic, Alfin’s adorable face, which was known as the Empire’s Crown Jewel, lit up with a smile. She clasped her hands together in an attempt to get her best friend’s attention.
“You came just at the right time. We are just having tea at the moment. If you don’t mind, could you tell me how you and Rean-san met?”
Alfin’s eyes turned to Kurt.
It was only a brief glance that lasted less than a second, but Kurt’s brain’s processing power made it feel dozens of times longer, causing it to repeatedly go into confusion and recover, and he barely managed to mutter out a few short words.
“Rean-san, you……”
There was nothing else. He couldn’t say anything.
The words he had uttered earlier had already placed an enormous mental strain on Kurt.
He wanted to leave immediately if possible, but Alfin’s presence and the Vander name held him back.
Rean himself wanted to explain to Musse quickly and persuade her, but when the imperial princess herself asked him to do something, he couldn’t refuse.
The thought of calling the Divine Knight right there and taking Musse away crossed his mind for just a moment.
But the one who stopped him at the end was Osbon—— nay, it was Elise.
“Nii-sama……”
For the first time, Elise’s voice leaked out, full of emotions. Her gentle grip on the hem of Rean’s uniform was too weak to hold back her adoptive brother.
Even if she was a female student attending a girls’ academy, the power contained within was such that it could be easily removed.
To Rean, who had grown up as a sibling, it finally dawned on him that the current Elise was unstable and wavering.
He felt like if he didn’t say something, she might break down.
Rosine was important to him, but Elise was the only sister he had.
As soon as he saw his adoptive sister’s face, the thought that had been floating around his mind instantly disappeared.
“Understood. Then I’ll take you up on your offer.”
With Rean’s consent, the boys once again sat down to the tea time hosted by Her Highness Imperial Princess.
Two more people were added to the place where originally three people were sitting, so they were sitting a little closer together.
Sitting on either side of Rean were Musse and Elise, followed by Alfin and Kurt next to them.
“Then once again, it’s nice to meet you, Rean-san. I am the first Imperial Princess of the Erebonia Empire, Alfin Reise Arnor.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I am Rean Schwarzer, the eldest son of the Schwarzer Family that is in charge of Ymir territory.”
In front of the Empire’s Crown Jewel, Rean gave greetings without hesitation.
Kurt even felt a sense of respect for Rean’s courage that allowed him to act as if the commotion that had just occurred had never happened, but he didn’t say anything and just got through it by drinking the tea which should have been delicious but he couldn’t taste anything.
“So, what brought you here, Rean-san? It seems you were passionately trying to invite her……”
Perhaps because Elise’s atmosphere had returned to normal, an expression of curiosity was visible on Alfin’s face.
It was strange to see her junior who had always been so calm and collected so shaken up and at the mercy of this man.
Considering her best friend’s feelings, it might not be a very commendable act, but she tried to extract information with a proactive attitude that could be called the imperial princess.
“I had something to say to Musse, and with the help of Kurt over there, I was able to get inside the academy.”
Don’t bring the topic towards me, thought Kurt as he tried to just spend his time drinking tea. Fortunately, Rean immediately continued speaking.
“There was something I absolutely had to tell Musse.”
His expression was very serious.
That must have been the case, considering that as soon as Rean saw Musse, he headed straight for her, without even noticing Alfin or Elise.
“I see,” replied Alfin and she turned her gaze to Musse.
Her eyes were filled with the desire for them to tell her more about their relationship.
Musse’s agitation was washed away by the newly brewed tea and she smiled gently.
“Princess, this is a relationship between a man and a woman. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from asking too many questions……”
Although she was smiling seductively like that, the redness on her cheeks remained and it could only seem she was just trying to make up for her earlier blunder.
Normally this would be enough to confuse the girls, but the presence of the boy named Rean Schwarzer beside her cleared the confusion away.
Alfin was convinced of this and pressed on.
“Rean-san, where did you meet Mildine?”
“My class at the Thors Military Academy, Class VII, has a different curriculum than other classes. We travel all over the empire, see and hear about problems there, and sometimes solve them…… That’s how I met her when I came to Ordis for a field study session.”
“……Speaking of May, that’s when you suddenly returned to your parents’ house, right? I wonder if you went to Rean-san there.”
“Did you fit the schedule with my field study’s schedule? Well, I guess Aurelia-san can easily adjust your schedule in that regard.”
For some reason, the sudden mention of the Golden Rakshasa made Alfin suspicious.
She inwardly had fantasies of them sneaking out of class to have a secret rendezvous.
“……Speaking of May, it was when nii-sama reported after the fact that you were under care of the Egret Family. Moreover, in a state where nii-sama’s whole body suffered severe burn injuries.”
Elise suddenly opened her mouth and presented some unexpected information.
Kurt had no idea that Rean had fallen into such a situation, and had hidden his face with a tea cup’s saucer.
“Could it be, did you do something indecent to Mildine……?”
“Eh?”
Still unable to shake off the delusion, Alfin blurted that out, then thinking there was no way that was the case.
In Alfin’s eyes, Rean was perfectly healthy, without a single injury. If he had sustained serious injuries like severe burns on his whole body, he would have at least a single bandage attached, even with the healing power of orbal Arts.
But the closeness between Rean and Musse, just few rege away from a kiss, stimulated Alfin’s fantasies.
As if denying Alfin’s thoughts, Rean looked at her with a puzzled expression at her imaginations.
As Rean was about to deny it, Musse spoke up before he could.
“That’s right, at night in Ordis, Rean-san was really rough with me……”
“Eh?”
“…………Nii-sama?”
Elise’s head spun like a doll.
Seeing Elise’s movement, combined with the lustrous black hair and her beauty, Kurt felt like he was watching an eastern doll move.
Musse had not expected Rean to visit her at this time, so she was extremely shaken.
Moreover, her body was touched, causing a fierce struggle to ensue between her rationality and her instinct as a girl.
Therefore, she decided to shift the blame to Rean in order to buy herself some time to regain her composure but……
“You seemed fine the next day so I didn’t think much of it, but I guess it was tough for you.”
To Musse’s surprise, Rean confirmed her claim. Moreover, he added more and more to the delusion she just expressed, further increasing the misunderstanding.
Rean in question was thinking back to the night at Ordis that Musse had spoken of.
Certainly, even if it was for the sake of saving Maya’s mother, it would still be a huge shock for an ordinary girl to be thrown by Loa Valimar.
This was especially true since she was a student at St. Astraia Girls’ Academy.
“Is your body feeling okay? Your body is not yours alone, so if you start to feel unwell, you should go see a doctor right away.”
Musse had now come to the realization that her decision to tease with words had been a fatal mistake.
She could read Rean’s intention beneath those words.
Rean was saying this because she was a servant who took care of Aurelia, and he was saying this with the intention that Aurelia would be inconvenienced if she took a day off.
But the way Rean put it made it seem as though…… Musse and Rean truly had committed something “indecent”.
Alfin and Kurt’s faces were flushed red and didn’t know what to say.
“If you want to get angry at me for doing that, I will accept your anger. But if anything happens, something will be done about it. Your master, that is.”
Naturally, the master Rean was referring to was Aurelia, and Musse, who met Rean under a false identity, understood this as well.
In Rean’s eyes, Aurelia was among the best swordsmen, and in addition to that, she was the commander in chief of Lamare Provincial Army, so she would obviously protect her subordinate and would be able to handle most situations. Such was the meaning beneath Rean’s words.
However, to a third party who had no idea of the circumstance, it simply appeared to be sweet words whispered to one’s lover.
Furthermore, the mention of “master” could give the impression that their relationship could be that of one between a master and servant, or owner and pet.
There was a glaring lack of words.
Musse’s face grew heated up and her body trembled as Rean ignored their situation and actively piled up more misunderstandings of their relationship to the people around them.
It was inevitable that Kurt, who was listening to this from close by, would mutter, ”what is a young lady again……?”
The moment Musse was about to say, “it’s a lie, a joke, a misunderstanding,” she felt a weight on her shoulder.
“Mildine, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Hiih.”
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