The next morning, I still went to Rosa-chan's room to deliver breakfast as usual.
Well... I still had to do this, since I was the one who had been doing it before.
Vern-san also told me to keep working as usual.
——
"Tch, what are you doing here, you intruder?" , said Rosa-chan as she tried to drive me away.
I was sure she still couldn't accept my presence, which was understandable to me.
"Just put the food over there, and you may leave. Go away."
I couldn't say anything more, so I decided to leave. Rather than making the atmosphere worse, this was the best choice.
Then, my goal now was to make her trust me and cancel her engagement next Sunday.
There were still about 5 days left, the time was very short, but not impossible. So as much as possible, I would stay close to her.
Even if necessary... I would act a little "aggressive".
Hmm... what should I do while waiting for her to finish eating?
Should I ask Vern-san for advice—
CRASH, suddenly the sound of a plate falling came from inside Rosa-chan's room.
Of course I panicked, I was worried something had happened to her. That's why I immediately opened her door loudly—
Then, I saw the plate with food fallen on the floor. And Rosa-chan looked like she was drinking water very quickly.
I hurriedly approached her and asked what had just happened.
"Rosa-chan, are you okay?" , I asked while looking at the scattered food.
"W-water..." , Rosa-chan's voice sounded very faint, I could hardly hear it.
The important thing now, I immediately took the glass she was holding and refilled it with water. Then I let her drink it.
"Ah~" , she said. She must have felt very relieved.
I also immediately grabbed a cloth and started cleaning up the food that had fallen.
Rosa-chan hadn't said anything yet, it seemed like she felt a little guilty.
"Was this food not good?" , I said while wiping the floor.
I thought she would say "yes", but her answer was beyond my expectation.
"N-not like that!" , she sounded like she was shouting a little.
"I-I thought the food had already cooled down... so I just chewed it carelessly, but it turned out it was still really hot..."
"Because I was startled I reflexively threw the plate to the floor..." , she continued.
I understood now.
She said that honestly, and I was sure about it. Because I felt her words came from her heart.
I put the fallen plate on the metal trolley, then I placed my hand on Rosa-chan's head.
"It's okay, this isn't a big deal" , I said.
EH?? WHY AM I TOUCHING HER HEAD!?!? HER FACE ALSO LOOKS A LITTLE ANNOYED!
T-this is bad... I've gotten used to patting the heads of girls younger than me...
Instead of glaring at me or feeling disturbed, she turned her face away.
"R-really, right..." , she said.
Why did she suddenly become this gentle? Was it because of what I just did?
But I only cleaned up the plate she had thrown... why did her attitude change like this all of a sudden.
I immediately took my hand off her head, before something unwanted happened.
"You... can I still call you Lotte?" , asked Rosa-chan.
"With pleasure" , I said with a smile at her.
Maybe this could be called progress?
At first she looked like she disliked me, but now she was willing to call me Lotte again.
Even though it was a girl's name, for now this was a good thing. This made it easier for me to get closer to her.
——
After returning the metal trolley to the kitchen, I went to the guard gate. Because they said there was another letter that arrived earlier this morning.
There I found the guard who yesterday always kept an eye on me when I went out with Rosa-chan.
"I'd like to take the letter for Rosalia-sama" , I said to the guard.
"You're the one taking it? Fine then" , he handed me a rolled-up paper.
He seemed a little disappointed, I also didn't know why he was like that.
"Did you just experience something bad?" , I asked. Maybe I could help him a little.
"That time, Rosalia-sama went out with her personal maid... and I ended up missing that girl" , he replied.
That person, isn't that me? Rosa-chan last went out with me, and this guard wanted to meet me again!?
"D-did you want something from that girl?" , I wanted to make sure of what he meant.
"That girl... looked very cute. I myself am still single right now, and I thought maybe I could approach her... have you seen her today?"
"If she's Rosalia-sama's personal maid, she should be around her, right?"
If I kept this up, it might go on for too long... I also didn't want to entertain him.
But for sure, this guard liked me. Why else would he want to meet a girl, if not because of affection?
Even though I felt a little sorry for him... for example, like this. We waifu a female character, but it turns out she's actually a guy, how would that feel?
Kind of tragic, right? And that's what happened to this guard.
From the bottom of my heart, I apologize.
"Maybe she's busy, I'll let you know if I see her" , I turned and went back into the castle.
"I'll be waiting, alright?" , he shouted from afar.
Who would even want to tell you about me?
Hopefully he quickly turns his attention from me to someone else... being liked by another guy without him realizing it... hii, I got chills immediately.
——
I was indeed curious and wanted to open the contents of this letter, but that wasn't a good thing.
Peeking at something you shouldn't, that's an unworthy action.
But... just a little peek wouldn't hurt, right?
No, no... better to just give it to Rosa-chan. This must also be another letter from that Luis guy.
I entered Rosa-chan's room and saw her sitting at her desk. She looked like she was reading a book.
"Rosa-chan, there's a letter for you..." , I said softly, so she wouldn't be surprised.
"A letter? Just put it on the bed, I'll read it later" , she said.
I followed what she wanted, and placed the rolled paper on the bed.
Out of curiosity, I peeked at what Rosa-chan was doing. And it turned out she caught me—
"Lotte, what are you doing?" , she said, staring at me.
"What book are you reading?" , I asked.
"This book? This is a book left by my grandfather. It tells the story of how this kingdom was founded" , she continued.
Ohh, so a history book... I thought it was something else.
"I've always been curious about this... Do you like reading books?" , I asked.
"Of course! For me, books are one of the most precious things I have including yo—"
"Hmm?" , why did she suddenly stop speaking?
"N-nothing!"
"The point is, this book is very good, and I recommend you to read it too" , she invited.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll read it later" , I replied.
If it's like this then it's nice, she still talked to me even though she already knew I was a guy. And it felt like nothing had changed between us.
She was still acting as usual, maybe tomorrow I would confess my feelings.
Well... if I had the courage. Before she felt at ease with Luis, I would act first.