The day was Tuesday. Before I finished my breakfast, someone called my phone.

“Mom?” I muttered after I saw the screen and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Hello, Prince. Doing fine there?” she asked in a cheerful tone.

“Yeah, somehow. You and Dad will be back next week, right?” I asked and drank my remaining coffee. As for Pixie, she was on the table, seated. She stared at me in silence while she munched her toast.

“Well, the truth is we might take another month here,” she continued in a sad tone. After that, her usual cheerfulness returned and added, “But don’t worry. It’s not final yet.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, something job-related on your Dad’s side.”

“I guess I’ll wait for another month if you need to stay longer,” I responded and stood up. Then, I walked towards the sink to place some plates and a cup.

“Are you eating healthy there?”

“Yeah, even improved my cooking,” I answered and set the phone into ‘loudspeaker’. I placed it in the phone holder fixed on the wall. After that, I washed the dishes.

“Then, anything you want to report to me that happened recently?”

“Well...” I mumbled and remembered the incident about the curses and princesses.

It’s not like something I could mention to my family, right?

“Nothing in particular. Doing fine here, I guess.”

“Then we’re all good,” she followed in a cheerful tone. “Anyway, if we extended our stay here, someone will go there to manage the chores and clean the house. It’s tough cleaning there on your own, right?”

Well, I’m not cleaning that often though.

“Who?”

“I don’t have anyone in my mind yet so I’ll ask my friends first if they can introduce me to someone trustworthy.”

Is that... safe? I guess my ‘distrust sense’ is tingling once again.

“Got it,” I responded and finished the dishes. After that, I grabbed the fridge towel and wiped my hands. “Anyway, I need to prepare for school now.”

“Okay, keep safe there. I love you~” she said in a sweet tone unfitted for her age.

“Right, right,” I replied and ended the call.

“Is it only me or you’re cold to your mother,” Pixie asked in curiosity after she flew towards me.

“Why do you think so?”

“Well, you didn’t even reply ‘I love you too’.”

“I’m already at the stage where replying like that is embarrassing,” I answered with squinted eyes. “Anyway, put a cover on your bread if you won’t eat it anymore.”

“Oh, I forgot,” she replied with a slightly surprised look and flew back towards the table.

Time to prepare for school.

──◈─▣─♕─▣─◈──

The morning class ended, and the time for lunch arrived. But something different happened. I received a message from Cindy, that she had something to do so she can’t eat with me this time.

“I’m curious about what it is,” Pixie commented as she floated next to me.

“Guess I’ll buy lunch at the cafeteria,” I whispered after I replied ‘Ok’ to Cindy. I then stood up.

“Prince~” someone called in a familiar voice. When I looked at the room’s door, I found Rizelle as she waved to me with a smile.

“Gehh...” I reacted in a displeased expression.

What the heck is this girl doing in my classroom?

“Hey, isn’t that Rizelle?” a boy classmate reacted with a surprised face.

“The daughter of the owner of LLA Electronics?” the guy next to him followed.

“She’s so beautiful!” another one exclaimed in awe.

“Did she call for Prince Dweeb?” a girl whispered to the one next to her.

“Do they know each other?” another reacted, stupefied.

I immediately went before her and asked, “Uhmm... do you need something?”

“Well, I only want to invite you to lunch. Is that okay?” Rizelle asked with her usual smile.

“Sorry, but I’ll refuse,” I said with a poker face.

“Don’t be like that. I don’t want to take unnecessary actions,” she continued and looked at the man near the window behind her. There, I immediately saw her bodyguard from yesterday.

“Th-this is tyranny...” I complained, my eyebrows furrowed.

“So will you go with me?” she asked with her smile still present.

After I accepted my fate, I let out a deep sigh and replied, “Fine.”

With that, I walked towards the cafeteria with the famous Rizelle by my side. Because of her presence, I gathered the attention of the students we passed by.

And here I am, not wanting to stand out, especially now with a mission like this one. I don’t want my nickname to be ‘Prince Playboy’ before I saved all the remaining princesses, thank you.

“It’s been a while since I ate at the cafeteria,” Rizelle said in excitement and looked at me.

“I’m happy for you then,” I replied coldly.

“Jeez, don’t be like that,” she said with a smile and poked my cheek.

“Wh-what?” I reacted, bewildered.

“Now that’s the expression I want to see,” she followed and chuckled.

This girl...

After the stroll, we arrived at the cafeteria and went to the counter.

“Do you have something to recommend?” Rizelle asked me with a beam on her face.

“Supreme Deluxe Meal–Extra Big,” I answered in an instant.

“Jeez. I can’t eat that much, you know,” she responded and pouted cutely.

I better ignore her to be safe.

“I’ll take beef stew with rice, please,” I said to the cafeteria lady.

“I’ll order the same,” Rizelle followed to the lady in a friendly tone.

“Got it. Two orders of beef stew with rice for this cute couple!” the cafeteria lady announced to the prep lady behind her. Because of that, all the nearby students looked at us with astonished faces.

It’s over...

Because of my expression, Rizelle laughed out loud. Then, she asked, “Why are you making a face of despair?”

“Isn’t this your fault?” I retorted in a grim mood. Soon after, our food arrived, and we carried our trays away.

After that, I sat down at the farthest part of the cafeteria where there are fewer people. Then, Rizelle sat down brazenly beside me, with our arms touching. Because of how close she was to me, I smelled her fragrant scent, enough for me to get nervous.

“Uhmm... have you heard about proper social distancing?” I asked her in a serious face.

‘We’re not strangers anymore, right?” she responded with a smile.

“At least distance yourself a bit. We can’t eat like this, you know.”

“Sure then,” she said and slid away, but only a few inches away.

Guess that’ll do. It’s tiring to retort consecutively.

With that, I started to eat in silence, and Rizelle did the same. After she swallowed a few spoonfuls, she started the conversation.

“Do you enjoy eating here?” she asked with a smile.

“From time to time,” I responded and sipped the stew.

“Then, where do you usually eat?”

“At the rooftop,” I answered and placed down the bowl.

“Hmm~” she mumbled with a smile. “You bring your lunch?”

“Well, something like that,” I replied and picked a piece of beef meat. Then, I placed it on top of my rice.

“I see,” she responded and continued her meal.

Is this girl plotting something? Or she likes me for real?

She stopped after eating another set of spoonfuls and asked, “Then, want me to make a lunch for you tomorrow?”

With those words, Cindy’s face flashed in my mind.

“You... don’t have to look sad because of that,” Rizelle said with a smile of pity.

“I’m fine, you don’t have to do that. I appreciate the offer though,” I continued and swallowed a piece of beef with rice.

“Well, they say that the quickest path to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?” she followed in a playful tone.

I looked at her with a serious face and asked, “Do you like me for real?”

She became stunned by my question but gave me a warm smile soon after.

“I do.”

When I heard that, I looked at Pixie who was watching us up in the air. She still had a wary expression towards Rizelle.

So Pixie still feels like that.

“Sorry but I—”

Then, Rizelle placed an index finger at my lips to shut my mouth.

“You promised to think about it first, right?” she whispered and looked at my eyes straight with her usual smile. “Give me your definitive answer on Friday, not now.”

After that, she removed her finger and continued her lunch.

“I... understand,” I replied and continued eating too.

Well, I should reject her on Friday, that’s all.

When the lunch break ended, we said our goodbyes to each other and went back to our classrooms.

“What do you think about Rizelle, Pixie?” I asked, seated as I looked at Pixie, who was floating before me.

“I can’t get rid of the feeling that she’s hiding something. I don’t have any proof to back it up though,” Pixie answered in an anxious face. “Are you interested in her?”

“No,” I answered and fixed my glasses. “I find her beautiful, but that’s it.”

“I didn’t expect to hear that from the guy who was blushing earlier,” Pixie retorted with a teasing smile.

“Sh-shut up! I didn't blush!” I responded in a flustered look.

“Look, Prince Dweeb is talking to himself again,” one girl whispered.

“So that’s what happens if you’re always reading alone in the library,” the girl beside her whispered back.

I should stop doing this, or my reputation will become much worse.

──◈─▣─♕─▣─◈──

The next day, Wednesday, lunch arrived like scheduled. But I once again received a similar message from Cindy like yesterday.

CINDY: I can’t eat lunch with you today too. I have something to do again. Sorry.

“Is it related to yesterday?” Pixie asked out of curiosity after she read the message too.

“I’ll ask her,” I muttered and typed on my smartphone.

ME: Is something wrong?

“I hope she’s not doing something dangerous,” I whispered to myself. After a minute, I received a reply.

CINDY: It’s not that important. Thanks for worrying 🙂

“And there’s even a smiley face. I guess I’m worrying too much,” I said and replied ‘Ok’ to her.

Then, I stood up and saw Rizelle’s bodyguard outside the room.

“Jeez, not this again.”

Left with no choice, I went before him and he said, “Milady is waiting for you at the rooftop of the library. Go there.” He had a deep voice.

“Wait, do you call her like that for real?” I asked, stupefied.

“It’s a request from her,” he responded in a stoic expression.

“What era does she think this year is? No one does that anymore.”

“You’ll understand it once you get a job, kid,” he followed, still serious. “Sometimes, you can’t disobey an order from your boss.”

Now that’s dark.

“I see. Guess I’ll go there first before eating lunch. You?”

“I’ll stay here.”

“Then, bye, and good luck on your work,” I said with respect for what I’ve learned and walked to where Rizelle was. After I came to the rooftop, I immediately saw her seated on a bench. She noticed me and waved her hand with a smile. That scene made me remember a certain girl.

“I miss Cindy...” I whispered and walked towards Rizelle.

Pixie became surprised after she heard that and made a smile after. She then flew forward to follow me.

“Do you have to flex your bodyguard in my classroom?” I asked with squinted eyes after I sat down next to Rizelle.

“It’s effective though,” Rizelle responded with a sly smile. “Anyway, I have a surprise for you.”

“Surprise?” I repeated as she brought out a cloth bag. Two rectangular containers appeared from it.

“Here’s yours,” she said with a smile and gave one to me. Then, I took it from her and opened the lid.

“You... made this?” I asked with a surprised face after I saw the fried pork chop cut into three strips on top of rice. There’s also a ketchup art on top of it in the shape of a heart.

Talk about bold if you ask me.

“Yes,” she answered with her usual smile and opened her lunch too.

“I said yesterday that you don’t have to do this, right?” I said in a conflicted look.

“But I did. Aren’t you happy?” she asked and acted gloomily.

“Well... thank you... I guess,” I responded and looked at the lunch sadly.

“Eat it first. I’m sure it’s delicious,” she continued with a sudden smile and started to eat her lunch.

After I gave my pleasantry, I tasted the pork chop together with the ketchup and rice.

“It’s delicious,” I muttered with a solemn look on my face.

It’s delicious... but... I can taste the difference between Cindy’s lunch and Rizelle’s. Cindy’s lunch is full of effort and care. There’s always the right combination between the meat and vegetable in every meal she makes. She considers the nutrition and taste buds of the one eating. As for Rizelle, her lunch is delicious, and something you can’t consider as bad. But I can’t find myself to enjoy this like how I eat Cindy’s. Am I being that ungrateful?

“Sorry for reacting poorly even though you made this lunch for me,” I said with a sad smile as I looked at her.

“Have you fallen for me now?” she asked with a teasing smile.

“I didn’t. But thanks... for making me this lunch,” I answered and continued my meal.

“I see. You’re welcome then,” she replied with her usual smile and continued her lunch too.

After that, the break ended, and we returned to our classrooms. Then, when the class finished, a familiar girl appeared at the door.

“Prince!” the girl called with a worried face.

That girl... is Cindy’s friend, right? I think her name is...

“Hanna, right? Do you need anything?” I muttered after I approached her.

“Yes. Do you know what Cindy is up to these past two days?” Hanna questioned me in an anxious look.

“Uhmm... what do you mean?”

“Cindy... isn’t attending afternoon classes anymore.”

“What?” I reacted in a shocked expression.

“And a friend of mine saw her yesterday with some delinquents. I asked her about that this morning, but she won’t tell me a thing. I have a bad feeling about this,” she followed, nervous.

“She... also didn’t tell me a thing,” I mumbled, lost for words.

“She mentioned to me the other day that she got better in her androphobia thanks to you. That you’re a good friend to her. That is why I think you’re the only one who can do something about this.”

“I...” I responded but stopped my words. Then, I gave her a serious look and continued, “I’ll do something about it. You can leave her to me.”

When she heard that, Hanna made a relieved smile and said, “Thank you, Prince.”