Free Web Novel"Tsundere Young Master... perhaps you should reflect on the last word you just used."
Helga looked at me as though she couldn't believe what she'd heard.
But the one who was truly speechless was me.
I was merely imitating the way Karvaldr—a human, not a cat—spoke, and yet...
"Is that not simply a common interrogative ending? To describe it as a cat's meow is to distort the original meaning of language."
"Using sophisticated words doesn't magically make your argument correct..."
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"I only said it because I wondered whether you genuinely believed that yourself."
No matter how I looked at it, she sounded as though she was making excuses after being caught.
But pursuing whatever she'd muttered would gain me nothing.
So instead of criticizing her, I answered the question she'd raised.
"It is not merely my opinion. It is an objective fact. How many people end their questions that way? Must every one of them be imitating a cat?"
To accuse someone of speaking proper language and label them a Cat Concept Person...
This had to be Reisir's doing.
No sooner had he spread the Karvaldr Is a Tsundere theory than he'd apparently introduced the Karvaldr Is Actually a Cat theory as well.
The realization made my eyes instinctively turn toward the true culprit.
Needless to say, it wasn't a friendly look.
I glared at him.
Completely unfazed, the protagonist of someone else's novel calmly asked,
"Karvaldr. Just out of curiosity... do the rest of your family also end their questions the same way?"
"They do..."
Reluctantly, I had no choice but to admit it.
Because it was true.
If I lied now and someone discovered the truth later...
I'd undoubtedly hear something like,
"See? Even you thought it sounded like a cat's meow."
"But..."
"Ah..."
"The whole family..."
...How exactly was I supposed to interpret Helga's reaction?
I had no idea why she suddenly looked so sympathetic.
Meanwhile, her childhood friend's thoughts were transparent to the point of becoming another problem entirely.
"Karvaldr."
"Won't you invite me to your home sometime?"
"..."
"I'm not asking for any strange reason, so don't misunderstand. I just want to see you talking with your family."
He wanted to watch the entire ducal family carrying on a conversation while all using that sentence ending simply because he thought it would be amusing.
If that wasn't an improper motive, then what was?
"...Enough about me. Finish your conversation with Helga."
Still glaring at the protagonist of someone else's novel, I forcefully turned my head away from his expectant gaze and cut the discussion short.
I somehow ended up letting Reisir into my room...
But inviting him to the ducal castle is absolutely impossible.
Hárðr's indifference toward {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} his youngest son.
Valtraus's hostility toward the brother she blamed for their mother's death.
Those things could probably be concealed simply by inviting Reisir while both of them were away.
The real problem was something else.
Karvaldr's portrait alone was missing because it had been painted while the Duchess was still alive.
The Austri family's portrait still hung prominently in the grand staircase hall.
I couldn't simply remove it.
Even I, a complete outsider, feel uncomfortable every time I see it...
I can't even imagine how Karvaldr himself must have felt.
No wonder the original owner of this body had become so twisted.
The moment I reached that conclusion—
"Karvaldr..."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think we can avoid talking about you."
"It's my turn to answer Heli's question about what I'd do if you weren't actually a tsundere cat."
—the absurdity pouring from the protagonist of someone else's novel instantly shattered my melancholy.
"What you should apologize for is saying that."
"Why attach cat immediately after tsundere...?"
"I only summarized what Heli said."
"So wouldn't it make more sense to ask Helga for an apology instead of me?"
Shameless.
There was no way he didn't realize that Helga had started saying things like that because of him.
"Anyway, Heli."
"To answer your question..."
"I'd be perfectly happy with it."
"If Karvaldr actually said something like that himself, it would mean he trusted me enough to reveal his true self."
"And it would also mean he wanted to treat me honestly from now on."
"So why wouldn't I welcome it?"
Without even looking at me, Reisir finally answered Helga's earlier question.
I'd certainly been irritated with him...
But hearing those words made that irritation quietly fade away.
If... by some unimaginably small chance...
If the day ever came when I had no choice but to reveal that I was a transmigrator...
And even if Reisir realized that everything about me he'd grown close to—all the parts he liked—had merely been an illusion...
Simply because I had truly opened my heart to him...
He would forgive every deception and gladly accept the real me.
That thought spread through my heart in gentle ripples.
I focused all my attention on keeping the emotion from showing on my face.
"And..."
"I've already seen it."
"Karvaldr speaking gently to Yor."
"Smiling at her."
Without warning, the protagonist of someone else's novel brought up something I'd completely forgotten.
"So if the tsundere part is just an act..."
"Then that's your real personality, isn't it?"
"I'll admit it'd be a little disappointing if I never got to see aloof, meowing Karvaldr again..."
"But seeing a Karvaldr who smiles kindly at me would be wonderful too."
"And honestly..."
"Wouldn't it be even better if I got to see both sides depending on the situation?"
Ignoring the nonsense Reisir continued to spout, I quickly looked around at everyone else's reactions.
Back in Episode 43, while drafting the agreement to dissolve the engagement, Vigdís had seen me smiling at Yor.
So she should have been able to dismiss what Reisir had said without much surprise.
But Helga and Ríolíkin...
Surely they'd be shocked—
...They aren't?
The unexpected reactions left me blurting out my thoughts.
"Why is everyone acting as though this isn't surprising...?"
"Because it isn't?"
"Is there anyone here who doesn't know how much Lord Karvaldr adores Lady Yor?"
"Besides, people who dislike socializing often become gentle around animals, don't they?"
Vigdís.
Ríolíkin.
Helga.
Each of them answered the question I'd accidentally spoken aloud.
Apparently, they weren't pretending to stay calm so I wouldn't feel embarrassed.
They genuinely weren't surprised in the slightest.
I wasn't sure whether to consider that fortunate or unfortunate.
"Anyway, Ray."
"I've heard your opinion."
"But I still think I'll stay as I am."
"Why?"
"In the Tsundere Young Master's case, if you strip away the unpleasant part, what's left is something people like."
"But I'm the opposite."
"I've spent all this time acting mature and elegant..."
"But the real me is..."
Helga bit her lip and trailed off.
Anyone looking at her lowered eyes could see the fear there.
And the regret.
She maintained relationships with all sorts of people while always keeping a careful distance.
I'd assumed that meant there wasn't a single person at the academy she truly considered a friend.
Apparently...
I'd been wrong.
She simply never showed it.
Maybe every time she put on that false persona in front of the people she cared about, she felt guilty.
Part of me wanted to comfort her.
In the end...
I stayed silent.
This was the moment for the protagonist of this world to shine.
"What's wrong with the real you?"
"I like that you're cheerful."
"Ray."
"You were already good at saying embarrassing things before..."
"But ever since you started spending time with the Tsundere Young Master, you've somehow gotten even worse."
"How can you say things like that with a completely straight face, as though they're perfectly normal?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I'm just saying what's good is good."
As the original protagonist openly repeated that he liked her as she was, the original heroine candidate fidgeted awkwardly before quietly averting her eyes.
If I'd reacted that way...
He would've teased me endlessly.
Instead, Reisir continued speaking with complete seriousness.
"Heli."
"I know you've spent a long time acting out the image of your ideal self."
"But there are some things people can't completely hide."
"You've spent enough time around Karvaldr to know that."
"No matter how aloof or arrogant he acts..."
"His kindness always slips through."
"You can still see how considerate he is."
So that's why he spared Helga.
He'd only been saving his teasing for me instead.
First Helga.
Now me.
Why did these people insist on using me as an example whenever they wanted to embarrass someone?
"The people you truly consider your friends..."
"The ones you're closest to..."
"They've probably already guessed."
"They already know you're only pretending to be calm and refined."
"They know you're actually lively and easygoing."
"If that's true..."
"Then why hasn't anyone told me to stop pretending?"
"Because they aren't waiting for you to change."
"They're waiting for you to tell them yourself."
"Honestly."
With that, Reisir quietly fell silent.
He was probably waiting for Helga to arrive at her own answer.
During the silence, a café employee arrived with the drinks and desserts we'd ordered earlier.
Helga picked up her drink.
It was a Java Chip Frappuccino with no chocolate syrup, chocolate drizzle only around the inside of the cup, oat milk instead of regular milk, one and a half scoops of java chips blended into the drink with another half scoop left whole, half the usual whipped cream, and a ristretto shot.
Without even stirring it, she slowly drank through the straw.
Only after taking a long sip did she finally speak with newfound determination.
"I'll start by talking to the people I truly think of as my friends."
"And instead of dropping the act all at once..."
"I think I'll let it disappear little by little."
"Because..."
"It would feel so unfair if people started saying I'd become arrogant just because I'm in the same class as Her Royal Highness."
"That's a good idea."
"...You really think so?"
"Yeah."
"I do."
Reisir affirmed it once again.
Even then, Helga's anxiety hadn't completely disappeared.
Under normal circumstances, hearing those words from the protagonist himself should have been enough to reassure anyone.
But there was no way I could explain that.
All I could do was quietly watch, however frustrating it felt.
