I Don’t Care About the Story, I Want a Cat ～Transmigrated into an Otome Game～ - Chapter 27

It’s More Delicious This Way

According to Amy’s memory, there were five main capture targets in the Otomo game. 

The ‘Prince’ with a sombre look in his eyes, which she was pretty sure by now was Edward.

The confident looking ‘Aristocrat’ was Alexander. 

Then there was a ‘Knight’ and a ‘Magician’.

And lastly, a ‘Foreign Prince’. Amy had no doubt that it was Jahar who had just appeared in front of them. 

Jahar greeted both Amy and Rosalind with a smile and allowed Leticia to formally  introduce himself to them. The girls returned his greeting with polite nods and watched as he pulled out the chair next to Leticia and sat down on it. A cup of tea was immediately brought out and put in front of him by the attendants. The murmur around them seemed to finally calm down.

Leticia had also managed to subside her blushing and turned to face Jahar.

“So, why are you here in Rudusia, Prince Jahar?”

“I’m thinking of participating in the tourney this year. Oh and I also enrolled in the academy as an exchange student.”

The tourney was a fighting tournament held every three years, and was also attended by His Majesty, the King. It was a large event where knights and magicians from all over the land came to compete and show off their skills and martial arts. 

There was no restriction on age or social status and anyone could participate. The winner would receive a special monetary prize and some people even get recruited by the Royal Knights or Magicians. So, whether they were nobility or a commoner, all those with the required skills would come and participate.

Amy’s brother, Harold, had also participated in the past. He had managed to advance pretty far through the tournament and as a result was recruited as an adventurer. 

“What, I never heard anything about that! Also, the age of enrollment in this Academy is 14!”

“There’s no problem with that, I’m going to turn 14 soon.”

“Soon? But your birthday is next year…….”

It wasn’t unusual to see exceptions made for Royalty from other kingdoms, usually due to the political repercussions of refusing them. So it wasn’t strange to see Jahar was allowed to enroll early. 

“Well it’s your fault, Lettie. The letters you wrote to me about your student life sounded so fun that I wanted to see it for myself.”

“T-that_”

“Amy and Rosalind. I’ve seen your names many times in the past month in all those letters I got. It feels like I’ve known you both for a long time.”

The girls blinked in surprise as Jahar finally averted his gaze from Leticia and addressed Amy and Rosalind who were sitting on the same table. Amy had felt like they had gotten pretty close to Letcia, but she had no idea that Leticia had written about them so frequently. 

“Letti, you mentioned us in your letters? Wah, I’m so happy……” 

“I-it was just a coincidence! I didn’t have a-anything else to write about, that’s why!”

“Really? But you sounded very happy every time you mentioned_”

“_Jahar!”

Leticia had turned so red you could see steam rising from her face. Jahar gazed at her with a repressed smile struggling to break free on his face. From an onlooker’s point of view, the scene looked like a flirtatious teasing between two lovers. 

Naturally, both Amy and Rosalind also felt their faces warm up. They both sipped on their tea which suddenly felt a lot sweeter. The girls nodded at each other, silently agreeing that it was a good thing they didn’t add too much sugar to their drinks. 

After some time of awkward silence, Rosalind gingerly spoke up. 

“Um, I’m sorry for interrupting but did you come here by yourself?”

Even though they were at the academy, Royalty would still have guards with them for protection. Usually the guards would stay hidden and would rarely show themselves but it was common knowledge that they were keeping an eye on the Royal from afar. However, Rosalind hadn’t been referring to guards when she’d asked her question. 

“Ah, I was supposed to meet Edward and Alexander for a tour of the Academy but I saw Leticia on the terrace and came here instead.”

“Well, wouldn’t they be looking for you right now?”

“No problem, my guards should have told them about my whereabouts by now.”

Only someone from Royalty could brush off a meeting with another Prince like this. Amy wasn’t surprised at Jahar’s behaviour but it made her think of the one Royal member she was close to: Prince Edward. Compared to Jahar, Edward didn’t have any of the self-righteous attitude that so many Royals possessed. Even though they were both Princes, they were completely different, thought Amy. 

Her heart went out to Leticia for putting up with Jahar. Even now, she was rubbing her temples in exasperation at his antics. Amy sent her a silent encouragement at her patience. 

“W-well, it’s fine…… if you go looking for them you might miss them so just stay here and wait for them until they come find you.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was planning. With that said, here, Lettie, say ‘ah’!”

“Wha_! I can eat by myself!”

Leticia coloured bright red once again. Jahar had picked up the fork Leticia had set aside and, scooping a piece of the tart on it, brought it close to Leticia’s mouth to feed her. He looked happy and seemed to be having fun but Leticia, on the other hand, looked like she couldn’t take it any more. Any more teasing and she would drown. In the sea of sweetness, that is.

This time, feeling pity for her friend who had tears brimming in her eyes, Amy picked up her own fork. 

“Here, Rosalind, say ‘ah’.”

“Amy!? Haha, ok, I’ll eat it.”

Rosalind opened up her mouth to Amy’s extending hand who fed her a piece of her own tart. Rosalind chewed happily on it, her eyes closed in a contented smile. Then she returned the favour and extended her own fork to Amy this time with a piece of the tart on it. Gently, Amy leaned down and took a bite of it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 

“Mmm, it’s so good! So sweet～”

“That’s right.”

Amy’s eyes met the three ladies on the next table who were still sending occasional glances at them. She gave them a sweet smile as she chewed happily on the tart. Their faces instantly went red, their eyes widening in surprise. They fumbled with their cups and fans awkwardly before setting them aside as they also started feeding each other with their forks. Following their example, ladies at other tables also started to feed each other cakes and pastries and soon everyone in the room was doing so. 

It was a strange situation but with everyone doing this now, not participating in it would feel more weird than doing so. So, with a laugh, Jahar offered his fork to Leticia once again. 

“Here you go, Lettie.”

“…… Only one bite, okay?”

Leticia leaned close to him and gracefully took a bite of the offered tart. She looked down as she swallowed it. Then, feigning nonchalance, she picked up her tea and took a ginger sip of it. 

“Aren’t you going to feed me?” Jahar asked.

“No!”

“What about me? Here, open up Lettie!”

“Amy! Not you too!”

“…… What are you guys doing?”

“Ah, Alex.”

The voice that had just joined in belonged to Alexander. 

At the age of eighteen, Alexander was looking more and more like a proper aristocrat, his perfectly styled blonde hair gleaming with a brilliance that was painful to the eyes. This coupled with his blue grey eyes reminded Amy of a Prince from a storybook she read in her previous life. He had grown up to be quite handsome. 

“We were looking for you, Jahar.”

“Sorry for all the trouble, Alex, and Ed. But my top priority is Lettie so it couldn’t be helped.” 

Edward also stepped out from behind Alexander, a slight smile on his face. His eyes landed on Amy and his smile naturally widened to a pleased grin. Amy almost choked on the tea she was drinking but managed to swallow it down with a gulp before returning his smile with a small nod. 

He had always been tall but he had grown even more in the past few years, there was now a considerable difference in height between him and Amy. However, he never missed out on sword practice so he didn’t look too thin either, he had filled out nicely into a lean figure. 

He still gave off the calm and quiet impression as always, but his silver eyes had a warmth to them that he hadn’t possessed before. 

It also looked like he had some talent with magic and the lectures he was taking from the Director of Technology at the Bureau of Magic, Amy’s father in other words, had turned into a ‘joint research’. He was involved in the development and improvement of new magical tools and equipment and although Joshua still hadn’t agreed to let him get engaged to Amy, he had begrudgingly accepted Edward’s skills and abilities to be first class. 

Edward was busier than ever with his studies and his official court duties as a Prince. His schedule barely allowed him time to hang out with Amy so they still mainly talked by exchanging letters. Amy still frequently visited the stable in the castle but she didn’t see Edward more than two or three times in a month. 

Amy had thought that once he entered the Academy his circle of friends would expand and he’d also meet other young ladies which might lead him to find a proper fiancee to marry. But so far there had been no signs of that happening. 

He still sent her letters on a daily basis, and the daily exchange had continued even after she entered the Academy. They would occasionally bump into each other like this, or have some classes with each other and, every time it happened, Edward would call out to her without fail. 

He hadn’t forced her to the position of his ‘fiancee’ but he didn’t drop her off the list either. She remained in the ambiguous position of his ‘fiancee candidate’. 

She wanted to talk to him about this but at the same time, she was afraid of hearing his answer. His words from that day, when he’s asked her to just be his friend, would keep on repeating in her mind. 

Extra chairs were brought out for the new arrivals and soon the Prince and the Duke’s son joined their table. They would often be seen around the Academy but it was rare for them to show up here, especially together. The room was ablaze with excited murmurs at their appearance. 

“Jahar, can you be a bit less unruly? At least be a bit docile for today.”

“I’m not unruly. I’m just quietly sipping tea here, aren’t I?”

“…….Alex, do you want a bite as well?”

Amy offered a piece of her tart to Alexander as well thinking he must be tired from looking for the Prince, and a bit of sugar would cheer him up. However, Alex refused it with a sheepish smile and a wave. Shrugging, she withdrew her fork, planning on eating it herself when a hand wrapped around her wrist, stopping her midway. 

The hand wrapped around her plump wrist was slender and strong, with long fingers. 

“Huh?”

It was Edward who had grabbed her wrist. He brought her hand close to his mouth and ate the tart hanging from the end of her fork. This time, the sounds of surprised murmurs rose all around them and even the attendants who had come to fill their tea staggered a bit at the scene. 

“E-Ed.”

“Hmm?”

He chewed the tart with a satisfied look on his face, the corners of his mouth lifting into a dazzling smile. Amy felt her heart race at the sight.

“Lettie! I understand now, this is pretty embarrassing, huh!”

“You’re realising that just now!?”