AN: Here's another update~!!!!! Hope you guys are doing great! Wish you all a great day and week ahead of you!!!

PS. Can't stop smiling while writing this one XD





"Hm? What's wrong, Celine? Why did you raise your voice?"

Evelyn returned with a plate of chocolate brownies.

She looked at us confused at our current state.

Well, she did return when I was apologizing to Celine and she's averting her face away from me.

She then turned to me and tilted her head.

"Alterisa-chan, what happened?"

A-Ah... H-How do I say it? I can't very well say that my prince persona slipped out from a lapse of judgement?

I couldn't help but smiled wryly.

"A-Ahahaha... I-I may have been too aggressive in asking if I could be her friend."

"Oh my. What did you do, Alterisa-chan?"

"I-I..."

"S-She just suddenly took my hand and kissed it! Evelyn, just what is wrong with her?!"

"Oh my? Really?"

I nodded.

I-I just couldn't help but want to poke at her to get her tsundere reaction. But, doing that in this situation where a lot of people could see us might cause some problems. Fortunately, most of them turned their attention towards the place where mom and Maria-sama are. They lost interest in us when Evelyn left and we seemed to only be chatting.

That was lucky, but I need to control my prince persona so they don't slip up like that again in the future.

I'm reflecting...

"How envious..."

"Huh?!"

Hm? What did Evelyn say? Celine just freaked out.

"E-Evelyn?!"

"Ah! A-Ahem... Isn't that great, Celine~? Alterisa-chan wants to be friends with you. Aren't you interested in her as well?"

"W-W-W-What are you talking about?!"

Eh?

"Ufufufu~ You know, this girl has been asking me more and more about you after learning about your achievements, Alterisa-chan."

"I-I-I did not!"

My achievements? Ah, you mean the ledger format I make for dad?

"Not only did you help your father, the prime minister, with his work, you also showed your amazing potential in magic and your melodious singing voice during your debutante. Moreover, the Royal Guard Commander and his son seemed to also commend your talent with the spear."

Luke's talking about me? Well, as long as he's not talking **** about me, I don't care. I'm curious about what Noir thinks though.

"Then, since I went to your debutante and saw it first hand, she came and ask more and more about you from me~"

"T-T-That's not true!! I-I just asked Evelyn who you're writing to and you didn't stop talking about her!"

"Ufufufu~ But, isn't it because you'd always ask me more and more about Alterisa-chan~? You're interested in her, right~?"

"N-N-No I'm not!"

Ah, I see... She's worried that I might take Evelyn away from her, that's why she's collecting information about me to see if I could do it and try to make some plans to deal if I do really have the intention.

Well, that doesn't bother me~ After all, I won't take Evelyn away from her. I mean, she's not a thing that we could just take and own. She's her own person, so she could choose who to be with.

But, I want to be her friend! Close friend! Best friends! After all, she's such a cute and kind girl~ Who wouldn't want to be close with someone like her~

"Ehehehe~ You're so cute, Celine~"

"W-Wha-?!"

"Ah, excuse me. I accidentally called you by your first name."

I slipped up and said her name like how I would in my mind.

"If you wish to know more about me, then please don't feel reserved and ask. I wish to know more about Silva-sama as well. It may seem a bit sudden, but if you do not mind, then will you give me the chance?"

The best way to deal with someone who can't be honest with their feelings is to show them your sincerity and honesty. After telling them what I really want, then they could think about it at their own pace and reach their own conclusion. At least, that's what I think.

Celine thinks that I may try to steal Evelyn away from her. But, that's simply not true. Evelyn is my friend, and I also want Celine to be my friend.

I need to make this clear to her. I want to know more about her and become closer with her.

Unlike Evelyn, Illya, Valerie, Noir, Alexus, and the capture targets, I don't know much about her. I don't know her background story, her likes and dislikes, her future. With Evelyn and the others, I'll have to feign ignorance or try to find out something about them that is not told in the game. But Celine is the first person I don't know anything about. She isn't a character in the game with any screen time. She's not written as part of the story told in "Lovely Happenings".

That's why I want to know more about her.

"...Celine."

"Hm?"

Celine was still averting her eyes away from me as she crossed her arms. Her cheeks are red. She's speaking in a very small voice.

"Call me Celine. You've already called me by my first name. There's no need to revert it back. I mean, if you call Evelyn by her first name, then you should call me that as well!

"Really?"

"Uhn..."

YAAAYYYY!!!! I got to call her by her first name!!!!! WOOOOOOOOO~~!!!!

"Thank you very much! Then please call me Alterisa or Risa as well!"

"T-Then... A-Alterisa-san."

"Yes!"

Ah, so she chose -san~ Ufufufu~ This is nice~ There's this little sense of distance she purposely places despite wanting to be closer. I can't get enough of it!!!!

It's okay. There's no need to hurry! I know that someday, she'll turn all super-duper dere-dere with me and call me "Risa-tan!"

No, I'll make sure of it!!!

I definitely want to hear Celine say "Risa-tan~!!! Give me a hug pleeeeeease~"

Guhehehe... Guhehehehe~

"Ufufufu~ Isn't that great, Celine~ Now, you're friends with the person you admire."

"I-I don't admire Alterisa-san!"

"Sure you don't~"

Evelyn giggled as Celine turned redder and redder, avoiding eye contact with her cousin me.

Oh my~ Did Evelyn develop her teasing habit because she's always been teasing Celine since they were young?

Well, it is very fun to tease Celine. Her reactions are the best, after all. And when she goes all tsun-tsun on you, she becomes even more adorable.

Umu, I understand it completely.

Will I develop that habit too? I mean, I'm already starting to have fun teasing Celine. I especially love her reaction when I suddenly go all prince mode on her.

Hehehe~ Maybe I'll tease her by going to prince mode once in a while~

"Well then, since that is settled. Please try these chocolate brownies~ I helped in making this along with our house's pastry chefs~ Please give me your review~"

I grabbed a fork and a plate and placed one of the brownies onto it. It can't be helped. I'm at a tea party full of noble ladies. There's no way I could just take it and eat it with my hands like how I'd usually do.

I cut off a small piece of it with my fork and brought it to my mouth and chewed it as elegantly as possible with my mouth closed.

"Mm~ This is amazing, Evelyn! Did you use the semi-sweet chocolate from Lingarcia?"

"As expected from Alterisa-chan~ You're correct. We just received some chocolates from our relatives who were living in Lingarcia so I used some of it to make these. How does it taste?"

"It's very delicious! The sweetness and bitterness balance perfectly, and the slightly bitter aftertaste of the chocolate is not too overpowering and very pleasant. This would be perfect to eat with a cup of Darjeeling tea."

"Ufufufu~ I absolutely agree, Alterisa-chan. How is it, Celine?"

"I-It's good! B-But its slightly a bit too bitter for me..."

"I see. Celine has a sweet tooth after all, ufufufu~"

"Is that so? That's very cute~ If you love sweets, then you will love my madeleines~ I made it sweeter than normal specially for my little sister who also has a sweet tooth~"

Well, I do make it for Alex and Lily as well. I know that Lily has a sweet tooth even in our previous world, but I was quite surprised that Alex seemed to love it too. He said it was perfect when paired with a bitter cup of black tea.

"I-Is that so?"

Celine glanced at me. Ah, it seems I got her interest~

"Yes~ Please visit our household. Evelyn as well!"

"Yes! By all means!"

"T-Then, when I have the time..."

Ufufufu~ How cute~







AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please vote and comment your thoughts~!