Chapter 12: Real life is worse than drama, harsher than novels, and crueler than fiction!

    “I…I am sorry… I…I felt really safe, so…so I…”

    That's what Duchess Lancelot says at the breakfast table the next morning.

    That doesn’t mean I am a very reliable person, right? No, the suspicious thing is what she just said. Does that mean Duke Lancelot is not safe to be with!     

    I look at her with a sympathetic gaze…I forget to think about this. If the son is into SM, then how could the father be any different? This kind of thing is being passed down the bloodline! It can also be passed down through teachings!   

    Judging by how she's trembling like a psychic…I mean, shaking like a baby bird. Perhaps when Duke Lancelot is in the bedroom, he could be using a chain, a whip, handcuffs, and hot candle wax while letting out a laugh 'Oh ho ho!'…no, that's a dominant mistress!          

    Whack!

    “Eat.”

    I was brought back to reality with just a single palm.

    I politely scoop the food into my mouth while trying to observe the table. Currently, there are only the duke, the duchess, Hareve, and I. The relationship of this household is also…kind of weird?

    Starting from the duchess who's shivering like a psychic, particularly when Duke Lancelot turns to give her a handsome smile as if to create an atmosphere like there are just the two of us in this world. That's when she begins to shiver even more, making me hope that…she would be able to predict my luck.     

    Unfortunately, she only shivers…sigh. 

    After the meal is over, everyone heads in different directions. Duchess Lancelot almost flies out of the room while Duke Lancelot heads out to work. Eventually, leaving only me and Hareve sitting in the dining room.  

    “Why did you bring me to have a sleepover at your house, Hareve?” I ask as I follow Hareve out of the dining room to the left wing of the mansion. “Or did you want me to meet your mother?”

    “Didn’t you want to talk to Nigel?” His rainbow eyes glance at me. “Nigel usually visits me every Friday morning…”

    “...”

    Is this a bluff from the antagonist? Then I'm telling you, that's really evil!      

    Maybe my rival is not Cass, but it might actually be Hareve.  

    “You mean…” I glance up at him. If I have a handkerchief with me right now, I'll certainly pull it out and bite it to show that 'I dislike you so much!'…   

    “You want to talk to him, so I'll create that opportunity for you…but I don’t know whether Nigel will want to talk to you or not.” Hareve waves his hand. “You can press him on what you want to know just only this time, Gilbert Bedivere. And there will only be two possibilities afterwards…”  

    “...”

    “Either Nigel will choose to continue being your 'friend' although you're useless or choose to 'ignore' you as a member of the Gawain family.” Hareve’s eyes look serious. “Since Nigel is hesitating, I decide to give you a chance. Also, because you’re annoying, I decided to help you…and regardless of how the result turns out,

    …just know that I will not forsake both of you…”

    …

    Woah, he’s such a protagonist. 

    I look at him with sparkling eyes, but when I think it over…if I let this go, wouldn’t the relationship between Nigel and I stay ambiguous? However, if I make a decisive decision such as this and he doesn’t choose me, then…I narrow my eyes…what a cunning strategy!

    I can’t let this happen! I need to find a way to boost my interesting points!!  

    “Therefore…wait. Where are you going, Gilbert?”

    “I’m going to dress up!”  

    No matter how good you may look, let's see the ultimate look of a kid (?) from another world! Then you will know the meaning of the proverb 'Fine feathers make fine birds'!  

    Even though you are Hareve!

    What do you think is a popular atmosphere for enhancing closeness?

    Being stuck in a shelter together while the rain is pouring down, or escaping the villains into a forest and facing many difficulties together, causes the bond between two people to deepen…   

    However, those are what happen in dramas, and it is not the case in real life. That’s why we have to recreate it!

    I picked up a writing paper. First of all, we need to be stuck in a room together instead of a forest—just to not create burdens for our lives… 

    “Locking the door? But if Nigel decides to walk out of the room, I will grab his wrist and pull him into my embrace!...” I blush before writing them onto the paper. Nigel would be so cute! If we look at each other’s faces from that small distance…    

    Ah, this is looking good.  

    “Just cast a captive spell…”

    “But what if Nigel manages to escape? Ah! Then I will beg Hareve to help me…his magic is more powerful than Nigel's too…” I close my eyes before thinking about the next scenario. “It should be raining! There should be thunderclaps! Then on…once he becomes scared…he…he will stay in my ar…arms…”

    I imagine Nigel with watery eyes glancing up at me like how the protagonist’s lover is in the protagonist's arms. He bites his lip slightly. Due to the prestige of becoming the future head of the Knights of the Round Table, he’s reluctant to show his weakness…    

    Ah…this is even better… 

    An affectionate little brother is adorable. But those who rarely show their affection make it feel rare when they do! Limited! Valuable! And it also does something to your heart. This makes me eager to see it! Oops…will it be alright if I happen to nuzzle his cheeks…?      

    Oh…Hareve will kill me. What a shame… 

    “The weather is fine today.”

    “You’re right. Then I’ll ask Hareve to find something to cover the windows, and use his light power to make it seem like there are thunderclaps.”  

    “Huh, just drug him with a hallucinogen.”

    “What if he becomes hallucinated to the point of being scared of me too? No, that method is too dangerous.” That method can be used with Hareve, but not with Nigel, whom I cherish!

    “How troublesome! How about summoning a ghost?”  

    “What if I become scared instead!? Plus, I can’t possibly do that!” I answered myself…wait a minute…did I just talk to myself? But that doesn’t really sound like my voice… 

    The way of speaking sounds like 'someone' who makes my heart race just by thinking about him.

    The person I will never get to meet again…ever.

    That person… 

    ...

    “Huh, you’re so lame.”  

    That person I will never go to visit ever again!

    Salzaal Secalno de Arthur, who is supposed to be locked up in the castle…eek?!  

    I blink. “Why...”

    His red eyes glare back at me. He is still the same person I met before. A boy with jet black hair, red eyes, and a full set of accessories. The only thing that differs is he’s standing, no, more like he’s 'floating'…    

    …in a transparent form.

    “Are you already dead? Finally, you got killed…” I am not surprised at all.  

    I feel like I just heard a wind blowing past my ears. It seems like a ghost is raging. Luckily, this is Hareve’s house, not mine. “I’ll pray for you at the sanctuary. May your soul rest in peace.” If you don’t go, I will find a priest to exorcise you.

    The corner of ghost Salzaal’s mouth twists into a smirk. “I left my body because something that looks 'fun' is happening today. I came here just for you, Bedivere…”   

    My eyebrow twitches. What seems fun to you is a bad omen!!

    “You will be rejected by Nigel Gawain, and everything will end right there…but don’t worry… 

    Because I-will-help-you… Mwahahaha!!!”

    What fun …I've started to tear up since your first sentence!   

    Just go back to where you came from!!