Chapter 80

The next day, I went to school with the necklace on me as promised.

“You really wore it. Thank you.” Alice looked at me with twinkling eyes. I could see the couple necklace hanging from her neck as well. But that simple feeling (?) did not last long due to a commotion on the other side of her classroom.

“Ugh, what is this?” It was Cedric’s cry. What happened? Surprised and curious, I went with Alice to Cedric’s side. In the commotion, we could see that the knights were also watching us through the crack in the door. So what was he surprised by?

Oh my, a dagger?

“Who put the dagger in my drawer?” Cedric was startled by his own words. The ‘dagger’ that Cedric took out was a silver blade and sheath, with a wooden handle which looked of great quality. Above all else, it was such a sword that the entire sheath was crafted with magnificent and splendid gems. To put it bluntly, a very expensive looking sword. A pretty thing that no one can have! And to say the least…

“What the hell, do you have swords that are full of unnecessary decorations and have no practicality?” Cedric’s grumbling could be heard throughout the room. He was genuinely dissatisfied with the sword. Hearing Cedric’s grumbling, Ninaina jumped up and shouted, “How cruel! Do you know what sword that is? This is a precious sword made from the finest silver and the strongest wood, welded by the royal sword craftsman himself!”

The classroom was quiet for a moment at the sudden sting of words that was like a swarm of bees. A few seconds later, Cedric, who had been calmed by Ninaina’s momentum, asked carefully, “…But, how does the Princess know this…?” And at the same time as Cedric said, I also opened my mouth to speak.  “No matter how you look at this, it looks like your secret friend gave it to you?” I walked towards Cedric, who seemed indifferent. But the timing didn’t seem right.

The classroom, including Ninaina, went silent. Cedric repeated my words slowly, with a long and thoughtful expression. “So… This was a gift from my secret friend, and Her Highness the Princess knows this sword very well. In conclusion……”

Right, that was the conclusion that everyone except Cedric arrived a few seconds ago. Unfortunately, Cedric was quite slow. “Your Highness is my secret friend?” Still, he eventually arrived at the right answer. Phew.

“…that, that’s right! I am your secret friend. So what are you going to do?” Ninaina was quite embarrassed that her identity had suddenly been revealed, so she shouted with a bluish face.

Cedric was perplexed. “I don’t, um, uh… this precious sword, I’ll take care of it well.”

“Yeah, that’s right! Of course. What kind of sword do you think is that? This is the sword I got from the Imperial Warehouse for my secret friend. It’s an honor.” Ninaina coughed while controlling her expression.

Oh my God. Princess Ninaina’s secret friend had found out in just two days.

‘But somehow, the sword seemed so good that it was impossible to find in an ordinary aristocratic family.’ I convinced myself. Meanwhile, Cedric had come back to his senses, and he was still muttering, unable to hide his habit of murmuring again.

“But knights don’t use daggers.”

“Don’t talk too much.”

“……Yep.” Of course, Cedric had to close his mouth when Ninaina heard right away. Cedric had to speak for no reason. As I watched the two of them, I almost had to stop myself from laughing. ‘After all, secret friends are fun. We just fight, misunderstand, and then we get to know each other! It’s all like that!’ Anyway, it was fun watching them.

Seeing the stubborn Cedric so embarrassed, why do I feel a little refreshed?

Soon after, the commotion had subsided, and I quietly returned to my seat and sat down. By the way… what is this strange stationery that I see on my desk?

‘It must be from my secret friend!’

I happily picked up the letter and quickly put it in my bag. I would go home and read it by myself.

* * *

So after kindergarten, when I arrived at my room and opened the letter, I muttered in despair, “What… it’s so easy.” My expectations had shattered to the extent that the efforts to play a secret friend felt futile. There was a hint about who my secret friend was in the letter. Of course, the person who had written the letter didn’t mean to reveal themself. No, but they were revealed! Hey, even as a novice to mysteries and serious, this seems a bit too obvious! Isn’t that right, Prince Nicholas? Anyone can see that it was a letter from the prince.

Evidence 1.

Stationery is made of high-quality paper covered with silver and gold leaf, which is only used in the Imperial Palace. In kindergarten, there are only two people from the Imperial Palace, Nicholas and Ninaina, but Ninaina is Cedric’s secret friend, so Nicholas is my secret friend.

Evidence 2.

I wrote the letter with my left hand to hide my handwriting, but this letter is written in neat handwriting as if it were written with the usual hand. And this handwriting belongs to Nicholas, no matter who sees it.

Finally, Evidence 3.

…The tone of this letter is exactly the same as the one I had sent to Nicholas before. Perhaps it was written with reference to my note.

Ah, after only two days of starting a secret friend, the identities of two people were revealed!