[Short Chapter]

     The first day of second week of classes went well. I didn't heard anything about the duel between me and Margaux last friday. Did the trending topics here really fade that fast?

      Today, we were told that there will be no Physical Commencement because of the Quest that will be held this thursday so we can go home right after the subject before lunch. The bell,  indicating the end of last subject, rang. All of my classmates prepared there things. Some decided to stay but others left. I want to stay on my seat a little longer because I'm too lazy to walk or maybe it is too hot outside. It was noon and the sky is cloudless so the rays of the sun is directly hitting the ground.

     I noticed that there's something happening in the hallways. All students there are looking in the direction of the west stairs. Well, I don't care if anything happen there so I just averted my eyes on them. 

     "Is Karasuma Hiji here?"

     An intimidating and arrogant voice echoed in the entire room. My classmates, who remained inside the room, slightly quivered in fear. They all looked to me with the face expressing "Huh?". I grabbed my bag then placed it on my right shoulder and stood up from my seat to see who is that student that's looking for me.

     A girl with a straight blonde hair is blocking the backdoor. She holds a white parasol. The design is quite simple but that what makes it beautiful and probably expensive.

     "Good thing you're still here," the blonde girl said.

     "What do you need?"

     "You're my personal butler, right? It is normal that you always stay by my side. Just be grateful that I wasted my time going here," she said and obviously, she's irritated.

     All students around us looked to me with a confused look. They're probably thinking, "I thought this arrogant girl lost her interest to him?". Well, she openly declared it though then suddenly, she'll say in front of others that I'm her personal butler.

     "Just come and follow me," she said and started to walk away.

     I followed her together with the gazes of the students, especially the jealous boys. They're probably killing me inside their minds or maybe transporting me directly to hell. I fasten my pace causing me to be on her right side.

     "That's a harsh one."

     "There's no helping it. It is according to the agreement."

     "But you should at least lessen it a little bit."

     "It's my way of making this fake connection into a real one in the eyes of others. Just shut up and do what I say."

     It is true that I became her personal butler because of my request to her or should I say, the way she can repay her debt to me. I saved her skin during our duel. I expected her to notice the wrong action I did during the fight and I used it to my advantage. I told her that I don't care on what she'll do just to make it like it's real. I didn't anticipated that this is her way of doing it. 

     "By the way, where's your attendant? "

     "I ordered Elice to reserve a table on the Sky Cafe for us three."

     "So Elice-senpai is the name of that girl, huh?" I murmured.

     When we reached the shoe locker on the entrance, we split ways for a while to change our shoes. After I finished mine, I saw her already waiting for me on the entrance stairs.

     "Here," she said and handed me the closed parasol.

     "What will I do to this?" I said as I took it.

     "Isn't it obvious? Of course you'll open it and use it to me," she replied in a slightly angered manner. 

     "Oh. My bad."

     I opened the parasol and held it on my left hand then raised it. Why did the academy allowed this girl to carry a parasol inside the academy premises? I understand that it is a necessity for a royalty but isn't it quite unfair? Well, I don't care about it though.

     We boarded the train that just arrived few seconds after us. There is no passengers when we entered so we got the best seat for her. We're in the corner of the train, allowing us to see the entire interior. There are also students that enter the train and all of them looked on us before sitting.

     "What's wrong with them? They're always looking here like they seeing a ghost," she complained, not trying to hide her irritation.

     The train started to move. She then placed her bag on her lap and took something inside it. It was a pocketbook. In the cover, there is a man wearing a military uniform and the background looks like a destroyed building. I tried to take a peek on the page she's reading and saw some words that were closely associated to romance. I was quite surprised that she's into that kind of things.

     "What is it?" she asked but not looking on me.

     "N-Nothing," I said and removed my eyes on the pocketbook.

     Total silence filled the train. There are students who were talking to each other but I can't hear them so I'll consider them as quiet. It is indeed hot outside but thanks to the ventilation and cooling system installed inside the train, we can't feel it. I looked at the windows and there are buildings that came into view.

     The Shopping District Island is like a traditional city but with no tall buildings. There are structures meant for essentials like groceries, cafes, and restaurants, and for leisures like theaters, and arcade centers. There is even a plaza at the center of the island. On the farmost side of the island resides the residential buildings meant for the employees of the Pacific Fourth. 

     We walked idly on the streets of the Shopping District Island without being conscious on our surroundings. So this is the feeling of being an academy figure, huh? But the way they look to me is of the greatest hatred they can feel.

     We arrived at a cafe named Sky Cafe. I don't know why is it named like that but when we entered it, the ambiance inside was so cozy that it feels like I'm in the clouds. The interior is like the traditionals and there's no unique feature here so it is a mystery why I feel like it. Maybe they're also feeling the same way.

     There isn't much students here so we easily spotted the person we're looking for. She stood up from her seat upon seeing us so that made it quicker for us to spot her. Her short ponytail bounced because of what she did. We approached to her and Margaux-senpai sat on the sofa. Her attendant sat on the sofa opposite of her master and I reflexively sat beside her.

     "Order anything you want. I'll pay for it," Margaux-senpai said and took the same pocketbook on her bag then read it again.

     "Thank you very much, Lady Margaux."

     The attendant grabbed the menu on her front and started to skim on it. Wait. What is she doing? Isn't she ashamed of what she's doing. Don't just accept the offer of your master.

     "What's wrong, Karasuma? I said to order,"Margaux-senpai asked, but she only moved her eyes to look at me.

     "N-No. I'll order it myself."

     "I'll do what I said. You should be grateful about it."

     "B-But isn't it... Uhm... You know... quite shameful... that my master will treat me?"

     Margaux sighed then lowered her pocketbook and raised her head. "What are you talking about? I don't treat my subordinates as my servants. They're like a family to me and eventhough our connection is fake, you're still one of them."

     "I-I see."

     "You're just making me to say such nonsense things. Just go and do what I said then talk to Elice about anything you want to," she said and returned her attention to her pocketbook.

     "T-Thanks."

     I slowly took the menu on my front and opened it. As expected, most of the available orders here are coffee but there are also some desserts, cakes and some lunch meals. Since this is the first time, I intend to not order too much so I decided to go with just a black coffee. Elice-senpai pressed a button beside her causing a waitress to come and get our orders. We waited for five minutes before we get it. Surprisingly, Elice-senpai and I ordered the same thing while Margaux-senpai asked for cappucino only. 

     "Uhmm... Elice-senpai?"

     "What is it?" she asked then placed her palms together on her front and said, "Thanks for the meal."

     "Is Margaux-senpai always like this?"

     "Yes. It is because of her request to me. By the way, I'm sorry for the late introduction. I'm Elice Rossfelt, Lady Margaux's personal attendant."

     Elice-senpai came from Rossfelt Family that devotedly serves the Whitestone Family for more than two centuries. According to her, the way that Whitestones rule the England is very strict yet acquiescent. They always tend to follow what their subordinates want and in return, the people must follow the law of the country. Due to this, the country didn't shattered even for a single moment.

     They met each other during the age of four. Elice-senpai's task is to keep company of Margaux-senpai. At first, they didn't go along together because of their status but later on, it became a way for them to know each other better. In fact, they even become bestfriends. They both grew up together, allowing them to know the every point of each other. 

     "I know I shouldn't say this. But at first, I thought Margaux-senpai is a girl who doesn't care about others."

     "Quite daring, Karasuma," Margaux-senpai butted in while her eyes were still focused on her pocketbook. "You're suddenly calling us by our first names. I know that Japanese people tend to do first the last name basis, right?"

     "You're not a Japanese," I replied. "And besides, are you fine with me calling you Whitestone-senpai?"

     "Well… The latter one is quite cringy to hear. Fine. Call us whatever you want."

     Margaux-senpai emitted again her aura of "don't talk to me". I sensed that so I returned my gaze towards Elice-senpai, who is listening on us.

     "I'm sorry, Elice-senpai. But what are we talking about again?"

     "Lady Margaux's Personality."

     "Oh, yes. I'm sorry."

     "It is what they conceive about her. But she prefers it that way for her to move freely inside this academy," Elice-senpai said after drinking.

     "And besides, the best way to survive here is to not depend on others." Margaux-senpai interrupted before taking a sip on her cup of coffee. "Well, I'm not including you, Karasuma, but look at your classmates. They might trying to find a way right now to have a connection to an influential senior like me."

    "But I'm depending on you, right? Then why you didn't included me?"

    "Oh?" Margaux-senpai said and looked at my face. "I thought that you're using me for your own advantages."

     She smirked, giving her the impression of being a sadist. Her chestnut-colored eyes are staring at me as if they're piercing a titanium plate.

     "It may seemed like that but I honestly depending on you," I replied as I gave out my sincere feelings.

     "By the way, Margaux-senpai. May I know what is your weapon?" I timidly asked.

     "Changing topics, huh?" she replied.

     "No. No. I'm just curious. That's all."

     "I have one hidden blade, which is the handle of the parasol I'm holding during our duel. I also have two concealed daggers on each of my hands. There are also needles, and a garotte."

     What the heck? All of those weapons are being widely used by spies. It is truly unbefitting on her image as a royal princess.

     "Don't even think that my weapons are not compatible for me. I've done countless researches on how to fight using them."

     "Then why you didn't fought back against me during our duel?"

     "I prefer fighting when I'm at a great disadvantage. I love seeing people's reaction when the situation in favor of them turned upside down."

     "I see."

     There are three female students that sat on the vacant table beside us. Their uniforms had red vertical linings on the left chest part so they're first-years. They slightly tilted their heads to look to us.

     They're busy talking to each other while looking into our direction. I'm not that conscious about it but I'm quite distractes by what they're doing.

     "To be honest, I have my interest in you. You're not just a student that entered and graduated as a Class D student. To put in bluntly, you have the potential. I don't even know why you ended up there. Be thankful that I saw it on you unlike the others that are too early to judge someone, isn't that correct?" she said and shifted her head to the direction of the three girls beside us.

     They were talking about something and when they noticed that Margaux-senpai is looking at them, they stopped and tried to avoid her gaze.

     "If you think that I can't hear what you're talking about, then shame on yourselves. You literally have the guts to gossip about Karasuma in front of me," she added and it is clear that she's annoyed. 

     Why did my name was brought up by the way? These three first-years were talking about me? I didn't even hear anything on them yet Margaux-senpai did while speaking. Her sense of hearing is scary.

     "We-We're so-"

     "You're from Class B, right? And if I remember it correctly, you were defeated without the enemy being unscathed. Are you kidding me? You're questioning why a Class D student became my butler?"

     "We're very sorry, senpai," one of them said and stood up to bow down. The other two did the same and they hurriedly left because of embarrassment.

     "Y-You shouldn't did that, Margaux-senpai," I said.

     "You're my butler. I tend to protect you at all cost."

     "But that is just because of our agreement."

     "If that is my way to make a fake connection a real one, then you have nothing to do with it. You just said that I'll take care of it."

     "I-I see. Thanks."

     I didn't expected that is her way of doing it. I thought that she'll stop acting when there is no one around but she's planning to do it everytime. I suddenly felt bad for using her. That's not what you think. I just created a connection with her for me to ask for her assistance everytime I need it without the surroundings being conscious on us if we have some kind of romantic relationship. A master-servant relationship will fit better.

     "The new students this year are far more trivial than the first-years, which is us, last year. They don't even know the term respect."

     "I think it is just your stereotype."

     "My analysis towards someone is always correct, Karasuma. Try to broaden your sights towards things that may affect you. You, who is a Class D Student and became acquainted with a Year 2 Elite Class Student, will surely be the apple of the eye of everyone."

     Margaux-senpai returned her focus on the pocketbook she's reading. She will just do butt-ins everytime she do explanations to us.

     Silence lurked between the three of us for at least 15 minutes. I can't come up with any suitale topics that I can relay into, probably because of intimidation I can feel right now. I was about to say some random words to break the silence when…

     "I apologize for asking this, Lady Margaux, but hat will we do next," Elice-san asked.

     "We have a lot of free time and this twisted guy here is asking for my guidance," Margaux-san said and sarcastically looked to me. I made a questioned face in front of her. She closed her pocketbook and sighed.

     "Listen closely, Karasuma. I'll tell you how this academy works."