Chapter 34

Making someone who's around thirty cry at the young age of fifteen, what a frightening kid. I'm sure that he'll become a great leader in the future, one that's both adored and feared by many of his subordinates.

As I was thinking that, Mikhail grabbed both of my hands with his hands.

"I'm afraid I might have made you upset. I'm sorry."

"N-No, that's not the case."

"That's good. Hey, if you're alright with it, would you mind calling me Mikhail instead of addressing me as Your Highness from now on?"

"Yes... Huh?!"

The reason I squealed loudly in a voice unbecoming of a lady, was that I remembered these lines from Mikhail, from the otome game in my past life.

After successfully repelling the magical beast and raising the affection level of the prince, the prince says this line to the heroine. To call him Mikhail instead of using Your Highness to address him.

A line. To the heroine! That's the important part!

It's a problem if he says it to the villainess.

"T-Thank you very much."

"Even Alexei didn't call me Your Highness until he took over his rank. Though, as soon as he took over the rank of Duke, he started to talk about the order between the sovereign and his vassal. You're not the Duke, and you're even a relative of mine. I don't see any problems."

No, there is a problem! Though I won't say what it is!

W-What am I supposed to do in this situation? What's the right course of action to avoid the destruction flag?

"Your Highness."

All of a sudden, it got cold. Not the temperature, but my back.

Of course, the one calling out to the prince was Alexei.

He looked taller than usual. I don't know why, but he seemed to tower over everything else.

But then again, his gaze was ice cold.

"Oh, sorry."

A surprised Mikhail let go of Ekaterina's hands.

Huh, this was the cause?

As expected of my brother. His sister matters more than the proprieties between the sovereign and his vassal. An unstoppable sis-con.

Walking up to Ekaterina's side, Alexei took his sister's hands and glared down at Mikhail.

"Your Highness. Please refrain from doing anything that may sully my sister's reputation."

"I'm sorry. I was very moved by your sister's courage. Your sister is very lovely and brave."

There's no way my reputation would be sullied from just having my hands held. But I do suppose that was the case in the Victorian era for the aristocracy in England. I should be careful.

But, the prince...

Are you trying to kill me with praise in order to try to take advantage of my brother's siscon tendencies? You're very clever and crafty, especially for your age. Nicely done! I'm really looking forward to your future.

"And Miss Cerny as well. I'd like for you to call me by my name as well. The magic power you used to defeat the magical beast was amazing. I'd like to become friends with you."

Ooh!

Nice going, prince. You're getting close to the heroine!

Alright, I'm in!

"It'd be an honor. Excuse me, Miss Flora. I'd be happy if we could call each other by our names without the honorifics. Would that be alright?"

"Y-Yes. If Miss Ekaterina would like to." - (Flora)

Flora, who had come to Ekaterina's side after walking over with Alexei, opened her eyes wide before smiling.

And then, she took Ekaterina's arms and intertwined hers with them.

Ahh, she's so cute.

The power of a point-blank smile...

And then she came to me to link arms with mine.

It seems that, by calling me Ekaterina instead of Yurinova, we were able to close the gap between us in a moment.