TheMangaGod

I've had a few people asking about where Prince Arlen has been this entire time and the answer is that he is 2 years above Rose in age so they weren't sent to the same place when the school had everyone sent away for a few weeks. He WAS with his mother while Rose was with her own parents but they were once again separated by literally an entire country. So the last time we heard from him, during the "Fanatical Plot" Arc [modern_footnote]Credit to Aniel for the name of the arc.[/modern_footnote] he was saying goodbye to a lovestruck kitty cat. Anyway I felt like it was about time to bring him back into the story since they are, relatively, close to each other. It's a bit awkward though, to be expected honestly considering. Anyway I've already said this in a comment thread but Arlen won't be a main character until the War arc and the arc following that as he has his own stuff to worry about in his own life. Regardless of Rose's answer he still has to prepare to rule as heir after all. And with the possibility of not having a wife to share the workload with he has to work all that much harder to prepare himself. I'll not get into detail with that however as I've already discovered with previous chapters that I abhor writing politics apparently. Enjoy!

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 - Abelis Academy City, Abelis Academy Halls, Immediately After - Rose's POV –

[Ah I need to use the bathroom before we go to the next class. You girls go ahead, I’ll catch up.] – Rose

[I’ll follow y- OW, HOW!?!] – Veronica

[Hahaha, even when she’s not here she’s still vigilant, I guess. Anyway, I’ll only be a bit so get going.] – Rose

[…see you soon.] – Shade

[Ah, well uh my next class is actually different than yours so I’m going a different direction… S-See you tonight?] – Karen

[Of course, what other Slime do I have to kick out of my bed each night after all?] – Rose

[Y-You’re still mad about that?] – Karen

[Hmph! Maybe…] – Rose

[Noooooo!] – Karen

[Pfft! Oh?!? I really gotta go! Bye!] - Rose

So, we headed to the class immediately following Gilgamesh’s, slightly heavier with homework in hand. Unfortunately for me the call of nature interrupted our long goodbye’s though as I realized that I wouldn’t see my beloved see-through beauty for several hours. The confused, and slightly concerned, looks on our friends faces when Karen reenacted a certain scream from a much-memed prequel though made the call much more urgent as my giggle nearly made me spring a leak.

[Phew… I made it. Now where do I go from here? Hmmm… oh? A first year?] – Rose

Luckily over the years I’d been a girl I’d gotten quite used to the daily idiosyncrasies of my body, so I’d made it with time to spare. The first time I’d wet myself had been a bit of an embarrassment and then the fact that it kept happening for quite a while had made it even worse. The understanding that my parents and grandparents had given me, even after revealing my past life, had made the entire ordeal that much worse too as for the first few months I was sure that they were secretly wondering why I didn’t already know how to hold it. I knew now that wasn’t even within the realms of possible thoughts for them but the anxiety of those months after I’d first told my family had exhibited itself in many ways.

Although in the rush I seem to have gotten myself lost?

<Abnormal bodily structure, but well within norms considering her parentage. Much higher energy output comparable to Summoned Heroes. Hmmm…? 2? No, 3? It’s too indistinct to make a conclusion. Too little information, more observation is needed.> – Small Child? In School Uniform

[Umm, hello? Is everything okay? You’re mumbling to yourself.] – Rose

[Hmm? Premature contact with the subject?!? Retreat!!!] – Small Child? In School Uniform

[Hey wait! Aaaaand she’s gone… wonder what that was all about? Well, whatever, back to where to go…. Ah! That way!] – Rose

Swiveling my head around to get my bearings I noticed a very short girl staring at me down the hall. In spite of this she seemed to have either not noticed me or wasn’t paying attention as her eyes were a bit glazed over and she was muttering to herself. The little bit I caught from it though seemed pretty high-level so maybe a upperclassman???

Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to ask though as she startled like a shy animal as soon as I approached and vanished around a corner within seconds. A shrug being the only response I could give I decided to continue finding my way back to where I was supposed to go next.

 - Abelis Academy City, Abelis Academy Halls, 2 Hours Later - Rose's POV –

Our next classes went off without a hitch, 2^nd Year History and Science together with Veronica, Shade and even Robin. Urz apparently had tested well enough to qualify for a higher-level Science class and obviously Karen and Malaise were in a class all their own. We also had Practical Magic and Combat Studies together as well as our homeroom class with Legal Loli Sensei but other than that most of our classes were separated by our grades. Theirs being much better than mine. Although I probably could have tested better for the science portion at the very least if I’d tried harder. Didn’t seem like a good idea though as I felt unsure that I’d be able to keep up if I didn’t take the long way up the classes and instead just jumped ahead.

I’d finally split up with Veronica and Shade though when we headed for our Maths class, mine being slightly more advanced than theirs. Robin, surprisingly, was in the same one as I was though. In the midst of being surprised at how smart the initially hostile bird lady was I came to a shocked stop. Someone that I’d not seen since the Arena incident was blocking my way. A large number of emotions went through me as I watched him approach me, a grim look on his face. Most of them negative as his face reminded me of bad memories as well as an unwanted partnership. Despite that however I was happy to see him at least a little. He was family afterall.

[A-Ahem. Ho-How have you been? I mean- long time no- Umm… It has been some time since we last met Lady Rose. Have you been well?] – Prince Arlen

[Y-Yeah, I’ve been… fine. The last time we saw each other…? Yeah… So, what’s up? I mean what do you wa- Greetings Prince Arlen, how may I help you this fine afternoon?] – Rose

[Right. Yes. Mother contacted me to inform you of an agreement that affects you with the Gnomish Council. She wants to speak to you beforehand however, something about not wanting her beloved niece to never want to speak with her again. Either way I already let your next class know that you’ll be late. Ahem… S-Sorry about that.] – Prince Arlen

[That’s fine. Yeah, fine. Umm… Lead the way?] – Rose

Awkward. It was extremely clear that Arlen had no idea what the best way to approach me and, after fumbling around for a bit, he decided to go with a super formal greeting normally reserved for distant family members that you haven’t seen in years. Not exactly correct etiquette but I wasn’t in any condition to correct him as the only thing the words brought to mind was the horrific scene of the Arena. After fumbling around myself I also resorted to a formal greeting, my hands nervously wringing the life out of its partner as I didn’t know what to do with them.

His words however brought to mind a certain incident with a small student that I’d just had. Could she have been a gnome? That thought, while wildly coincidental would turn out to be more prophetic than I’d ever thought it’d be.

 - Abelis Academy City, Abelis Academy Image Stone - Rose's POV –

The content of the agreement was fairly self-explanatory. Apparently, Auntie had informed one of her longtime friends and political allies about my “condition” because it related to a secret they were holding onto. In the course of said exchange of secrets the existence of a device that could disguise my status came to light. The price? Observation of me.

Yep, that’s it. All they wanted was permission to take readings and, if they found anything strange that needed closer examination, participation in said examination. Although even with that they would allow me to say no if I was asked to do something I wasn’t comfortable with without any repercussions.

Honestly quite the easy agreement considering the potential reward.

Although this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a few more “agreements” out of my Auntie while I was at it so…

[Please don’t look at me like that! I made sure they wouldn’t do anything until I contacted you to ask for permission first! If you’re really that against it, I can call the whole thing off! I’m sure I’ll be able to negotiate for the bracelet if I give them some more concessions!] – Queen Laura

[I’m not angry.] – Rose

[That’s a lie! That’s totally a lie! I can see that you’re angry even through the image stone! What can I do to get you to forgive me?!?] – Queen Laura

[Hmmm… Well, if you’re really, REALLY, serious you could swear off on any more dress-up sessions.] – Rose

[That’s going a bit far don’t you think?] – Queen Laura

[Tch! Of course, that wouldn’t work! Let’s see….?] – Rose

[Wait? Are you faking it?!?] – Queen Laura

[W-What?!? N-Noooo, of course not!] – Rose

[Rose de la Anguis did you just use fake anger to manipulate me?] – Queen Laura

[M-Maybe?] – Rose

[Haaaa… well I suppose I should be proud that you can fool even me. Although this means I truly DO need to retrain you in etiquette. Your lies should be less aggressive if you are going to make them. “A noblewoman should always hold her heart on her sleeve but never gift it out.” You remember what I said about keeping a lie from being discovered right?] – Queen Laura

[Mother.] – Prince Arlen

Oops. I took it a bit too far apparently and got myself caught. One thing that was different in this world from the last was the view on telling the truth. While, technically, lying to your Queen was a hangable offense, or at least a banishable one, I’d been taught that it was more or less expected that most discussions with fellow noble’s will be filled with subtle lies and mistruths. This was basically an eventuality when dealing with high society. The trick then, was to disguise your lies in as unoffensive a manner as possible to keep from being discovered. Make it so that, even if the one you are speaking with knows you are lying, they can’t directly call you out without proof.

Luckily a single word from her son stopped the oncoming lecture, however. Although the price had already been taken so it was doubtful how useful such interruption truly was.

[Ah yes, my apologies. Should I take your previous actions as consent then?] – Queen Laura

[Honestly, yes. I’m well aware that you have my best interests in mind and, while I admit I’m a bit worried about being observe- Wait a minute?!?] – Rose

[Ah! So, you’ve finally decided to marry my son Arlen too! Of course, I have your best inter-] – Queen Laura

[NO! Leaving aside my complete and utter refusal though you said that the Gnomish Council wouldn’t start their observation until I agreed right?] – Rose

[Yes? Councilwoman Gorvi assured me that they will not obstruct your life in any way until you gave your consent. Why?] – Queen Laura

[Well, I’m pretty sure I was being “observed” by a gnomish first year student just a few hours ago. She ran away as soon as I noticed her, and I only put two and two together just now but I’m absolutely sure she was observing me!] – Rose

[Are you certain? You must be certain!] – Queen Laura

[I…? Umm maybe?] – Rose

[If you are not sure then I certainly cannot call the Gnomish Council out on prematurely starting their observation. Well, does this change your answer? We can refuse their offer and I’ll assign some Black Guard to investigate any suspicious characters around you?] – Queen Laura

[No… No. It’s fine, since my answer was going to be a yes regardless and they didn’t negatively affect my life we’ll just let it go for now. It might be a good idea to assign those Black Guard anyway however so that we can use it against them if they approach me with the same person as before. Is that alright?] – Rose

The intensity of her question shocked me. I definitely felt like the small girl had been a gnome now that I thought back to it and it made sense that she’d been watching me. But was I certain? No. Not at all. If I’d thought about it for more than a second, I’d have realized how dangerous it was to accuse a foreign leader but even after all these years and the things that had gradually been normalized to me, the thought of tiptoeing around political matters was still something that didn’t come naturally to me. Perhaps when I got older and more experienced in politicking, I’d be able to think like that but only learning about it wasn’t enough it seemed.

Despite this however, my answer didn’t necessarily need to be changed. I’d been fairly ambivalent to the entire thing originally anyway, as long as I wasn’t overly disadvantaged, so I saw no reason to break off anything and potentially lose out on an easy solution to keeping my identity secret. Keeping a few more guards around wasn’t exactly a losing situation either considering recent history too.

[Oho? You’re learning, I completely agree with your decision. I’ll assign a few mo- I mean I’ll assign some Black Guard to watch over you.] – Queen Laura

Seemingly pleased with my answer we moved on to talking about less sensitive topics. And I decided to ignore her slip of the tongue to maintain my sanity.