If You Cheat, Just Don’t Tell Me - Chapter 10

I don’t think being together would be so bad.

Misha was one of the rare commoner students at this school. You might be able to guess from the fact that people like me and Freya attend, but basically this school is mostly for children of nobles, wealthy merchants, and others from the upper class.

Among them, some are admitted purely based on their academic excellence and other skills. Misha was one of those, attending mainly because of her talent in fashion-related fields. That’s why she’s allowed to modify her uniform into outfits that border on violating school rules.

“So, what about Lady Freya? What was troubling her!?”

Misha, who hadn’t missed my muttered words, happily pressed closer to me. She brought her face right up to mine, looking slightly excited.

…This closeness, Misha’s behavior was one of the reasons she stood out in this school.

To begin with, among the upper-class students, there were quite a few who were dissatisfied just having a commoner in the same classroom. On top of that, Misha was physically close. Sometimes she’d get excited and move right up close like now, and with other girls, she’d hold hands or lean on their shoulders whenever she got the chance.

That said, it’s not like Misha is particularly unusual about personal space. If you walk around the city, you’ll find plenty of people who maintain similar closeness.

It’s just that commoners and the upper class have different ways of managing personal distance. Upper-class people don’t casually get close to others. Like how I hesitated to let Freya ride on the back of my motorcycle, normally people avoid getting close enough to touch.

Unfortunately, Misha, being from a common background, didn’t understand this. Even after entering this school, she behaved the same way she did in the city. And as a result, her commoner background combined with her closeness made her stick out in class. Well, this is just what I heard from her, so I don’t know how true it is.

“There’s nothing to tell you.”

“Come on! Don’t say that, please tell me!”

Misha, who stood out in class, sometimes skipped lessons like this. We rarely ended up together, but today our locations must have coincidentally overlapped.

…Why did it have to be now? The timing couldn’t be worse.

“Anyway, I’ve been wondering what’s with calling her ‘Lady Freya’? Why that term?”

“Well, she’s the boss’s fiancée—meaning, she’s going to be his wife. So she’s someone above us, right? So we’re showing our respect? in our own way by calling her ‘Lady.'”

“What the hell…”

By the time Freya and I get married, I plan to have left this town, and honestly, the whole “above us” thing doesn’t make much sense.

“Look… Freya and I are engaged, but that doesn’t mean we’re definitely getting married.”

In noble society, engagement might be equivalent to marriage, but my family’s circumstances are different from ordinary nobles, and once I leave home, I won’t even be a noble anymore.

Freya said she doesn’t care about my family, but realistically, that’s not how it works.

If I leave home and become just an ordinary citizen, would Freya come with me? Realistically, that’s unlikely. Normally, Freya’s family wouldn’t allow it. That’s what being nobility means, that’s what being upper class means. Freya’s own wishes don’t matter.

“But you were thinking about Lady Freya, right?”

—Yeah.

Even though my head came up with all sorts of reasons why it wouldn’t work, in the end, I was still thinking about Freya. That means, even subtracting all the reasons it shouldn’t work, I’ve accepted Freya and I don’t think being together would be so bad.

I guess that’s what it comes down to.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“What kind of places do girls like to go to?”

When I asked that, Misha’s face immediately twisted into a gleeful grin.

—Damn, was asking her a mistake?

Ignoring my feelings, Misha started talking at a furious pace.

“Hmm, well, looking at clothes or accessories is pretty standard, right? Not because I personally like that stuff, but I think most girls don’t mind checking those out. Then there’s going for sweets? I don’t know if there are any high-class confectionery shops that upper-class people like you and Lady Freya would go to, but there are these places called ‘cafés’ that have been popping up around town recently; you can enjoy tea and sweets, sit comfortably, and chat. Maybe trying a place like that for a proper talk would work? Or for Lady Freya, maybe going to watch a ‘Lumina Chase’ match? She’s amazing enough to be selected as a reinforcement player, right?”

“Hey, don’t talk so fast!”

Feeling intimidated by how Misha seemed like she could go on forever if left alone, I couldn’t help but interrupt. I was the one who asked, but her rapid-fire speech was too much to keep up with.

What did she think seeing me like that? Misha changed her previous smug, annoying grin into a gentler smile.

“But you know, for Lady Freya—wouldn’t she be happiest if you just gave her a ride on the back of your motorcycle, like last time?”

Why would you know that? I thought.

That can’t be right, I thought.

It wasn’t like I had no thoughts on the matter.

Remembering Freya’s face, wrapping her arms around my waist, shaking with the motorcycle’s vibrations, laughing and having fun.

“…Maybe so.”

It might have been a happy memory for me too, enough to make me say that.

That day when Freya and I rode through the town together.