Chapter 11: At School with Amelia.

“Cedric!”

Her bright voice.
The moment he saw her smile, Cedric’s chest warmed.

But why is she here?
She’s never come to pick him up before.

Amelia usually waits at the mansion.
When he returns by carriage, she greets him with a smile at the entrance.

That’s the usual scene.

Yet today, she’s at the academy gate.

Even as he wondered, Amelia approached at a light jog.
Lifting her dress hem slightly, a bit out of breath.
Reaching him, she beamed.

“Good work today, Cedric.”

Her cheerful voice.
Her smile made him happy, and he couldn’t help but smile back.

His lips curved naturally.

A soft warmth spread in his chest.

“Thank you, Amelia.”

Smiling, he voiced the question that arose.

“But why are you here, Amelia?”

She blushed slightly, looking a bit shy.

“I was shopping nearby, so I came to pick you up.”

She spoke happily.
Her amber eyes sparkled.

Then, with a hint of worry, she added,

“Was that a bother?”

Cedric shook his head.

“Not at all. I’m glad to see you sooner.”

He spoke honestly.
Truthfully, he’d wanted to see her even earlier.

During class, he’d thought of her.
What face she’d make when he showed her the new spell.

What to eat for dinner.
Maybe read a book together tonight.

Those thoughts filled his mind.

“Good!”

Amelia’s smile widened.
Her face glowed in the sunset.

Cute, Cedric thought.
A tightening sensation gripped his chest.

This woman is his wife.

That thought filled him with an odd pride.

A small voice came from behind.

“To think Cedric would make such a face…”

Prince Leonard’s murmur.
Right, he was there.

Showing and being seen in this exchange made Cedric a bit embarrassed.

Amelia noticed Leonard, her eyes widening.

“Oh, Prince Leonard…!”

She gasped, then quickly lifted her hem.
With a perfect curtsy, she greeted him.

Back straight, knees bent, head lowered.
Flawless noble etiquette.

The pre-marriage Amelia reportedly skipped such formalities, but now she’s impeccable.

“Pleased to meet you, Your Highness Leonard. I am Amelia Gilbert.”

Her tone was polite.
Leonard returned the greeting.

“Likewise, a pleasure. You’re quite beautiful, Lady Amelia.”

He said with a smile.
A practiced one, of course.

Amelia, recognizing the social nicety, responded gracefully.

“Thank you.”

Even that brief exchange left Cedric with a twinge of irritation.
Leonard spoke, sounding amused.

“We were just talking about Cedric’s wife.”

Cedric inwardly clicked his tongue.
Don’t say unnecessary things.

Amelia’s eyes widened.

“About me?”
“Yes, Cedric clearly cherishes you. It seems a wonderful relationship, so I was asking his secret.”

Leonard continued with a smile.

Cedric looked away.

Embarrassing.
To have Amelia know they’d discussed such things.

But she smiled happily.

“No secret… Cedric’s a wonderful person, and it’s just fun being with him.”

Her words made Cedric’s heart leap.

Joy.
So much joy it filled his chest.

She thinks of him that way?

Leonard gave a gentle smile.

“You say similar things about each other.”

Amelia laughed, a bit shy, her cheeks reddening, eyes darting.

“I-Is that so…”

Her flustered look was adorable.
Cedric couldn’t help staring.

Then, to change the topic, Amelia spoke.

“Um, is Cedric settling in at the academy?”

Her tone was like an older sister or parent.
She peered at him with concern.

Before Cedric could say, “I’m fine,” Leonard spoke first.

“No issues, but he could be more sociable. I invited him to an experiment after this, but he declined.”

Cedric inwardly groaned.
More unnecessary talk.

Amelia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Cedric, why?”

Not accusatory.
Purely curious.

Leonard, out of Amelia’s sight, smirked slightly.
His lips curved subtly.

Cedric had only seen his fake smiles, but this seemed genuine.
A truly amused expression.

Cedric wanted to sigh.

But Amelia awaited an answer.

He couldn’t lie.

He answered honestly.

“I wanted to get home to see you.”

Her words caught, eyes widening, mouth slightly agape.

Her cheeks reddened further.

“T-That’s…”

She looked down, fingers intertwining.
After a moment, she looked up.

“You can see me anytime, so it’s okay to prioritize experiments with classmates.”

She spoke gently, encouragingly.
Leonard jumped in.

“Your wife says so, how about it?”

He looked at Cedric, amused.

Cedric sighed.

No escaping now.

“Fine, I’ll join today.”

He answered reluctantly.
He’d wanted to go home with Amelia.

To show her the new spell, see her smile.

But if she said that…
Amelia beamed, eyes narrowing with joy.

“I’m glad you’re making friends, Cedric!”

He reflexively tried to deny it.

“No, not friends…”

But Leonard cut in.

“Indeed. Cedric and I are friends.”

He declared firmly, smiling.

Cedric couldn’t tell if it was fake or real.

Amelia nodded happily.

“That’s great. Please look after Cedric, Your Highness.”

She bowed politely.
Cedric couldn’t bring himself to contradict her.

She looked so happy.

He didn’t want to erase that smile.

That was enough.

“Have fun!”

Amelia said brightly.
She gave Cedric a small wave.

“See you later at home.”
“…Yes.”

Cedric replied shortly.
Amelia turned, her dress hem swaying lightly.

She walked toward the carriage.

Cedric watched her back the whole time.
Until she boarded, he didn’t look away.

The carriage door closed, slowly moving off.

Watching it shrink into the distance, Cedric finally turned to Leonard.

Leonard was grinning.

“A fine wife, as expected.”

Cedric replied curtly.

“Be quiet.”

He spoke grumpily.
But Leonard didn’t stop smiling.

“Oh, your mask slipped.”
“No point hiding from you.”

Cedric sighed.

No energy to conceal anything.
Leonard saw through him anyway.

“Haha, glad to be friends.”

Leonard laughed, genuinely cheerful.
His smile was brighter than Cedric had ever seen.

Cedric muttered softly.

“We’re not friends.”
“Really? You showed me your true self. Isn’t that what friends do?”
“…I don’t know.”

He looked away.
But inwardly, he slightly acknowledged it.

Prince Leonard wasn’t a bad person.

That’s what he found himself thinking.

“Come on, to the experiment room. Everyone’s waiting.”

Leonard started walking.
Cedric followed.

“…Your Highness.”
“What?”
“Don’t tell anyone about that conversation.”
“About Amelia?”
“Yes.”
“Got it. Your secret’s safe.”

Leonard smiled.
Cedric felt a slight relief.

With that exchange, they headed to the experiment room.