The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 33
EP.33 Student Council (3)
If we hadn’t brought Claire with us to the student council, the atmosphere might have been a bit more comfortable. Two imperial princesses and a foreign princess—no one would find anything strange about that. They were the children of those at the pinnacle of power in their respective countries. Even though one of them didn’t share the imperial bloodline, no one would dare question their presence.
But with the daughter of a baron thrown into the mix, the hierarchy felt off.
It wasn’t exactly something to worry about, though. If there had been someone with good intuition or a child of a high-ranking noble who had moved in similar circles, they would have known exactly how to handle the presence of the baron’s daughter and her brother.
For example—
“Ah, Your Highnesses, and Your Royal Highness.”
—just like the student council president who had just entered.
The young nobleman, with his perfectly groomed, dazzling golden hair, came from the Granchester Duchy, known to be the most noble house in the empire, aside from the imperial family. In fact, the Granchester house had the highest amount of imperial blood flowing through their veins, second only to the royal family itself.
Of course, the most famous members of the imperial family were the Emperor and Alice. However, that didn’t mean they were the only members. There were some who lived quietly away from central power, holding honorary titles or living like high-ranking civil servants.
These were all people who knew how to keep their heads down.
While some dukes and counts would occasionally overstep their bounds and find their names added to the Emperor’s blacklist—or worse, be assassinated—the members of the imperial family knew how to stay cautious.
In the game, members of the imperial family often appeared as background characters. They would usually say lines that made them seem oblivious or empty-headed, but sometimes they would slip and reveal their cautious nature, begging the player to keep their secrets.
Of course, in reality, no one would ever confess such things. It was just a narrative tool used by the game to convey the situation.
“And… the children of the House of Grace.”
Just as he had greeted Alice, Charlotte, and me, the student council president smiled warmly and politely extended a greeting to the children of the Grace family as well.
The reason for the prior silence was now clear. He didn’t know the names or personalities of the Grace siblings, so he had refrained from speaking to them. After all, these were the children brought by the imperial princess herself, and they might hold more power than they appeared to.
As I mentioned before, in noble society, it was considered improper for someone of lower rank to speak first to someone of higher rank. For several reasons, this had contributed to the silence in the student council room until now.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting. I had some business to attend to.”
The student council president said.
There was a good chance that his words were true. As the president of the student council, he was undoubtedly busy. Even if he had sent an invitation, he wouldn’t have known exactly when we would arrive.
“It’s no problem. We didn’t wait long.”
Alice responded.
“Hmm.”
At Alice’s response, the student council president narrowed his eyes slightly before quickly returning to his usual expression.
Alice had used formal language, likely as a sign of respect, treating him as her senior, despite her stance of treating fellow students as equals.
The president’s gaze lingered on Alice for a moment, then shifted to Charlotte, and finally to me. He spent the least amount of time on each of us in that exact order. As for Claire and Leo… rather than directing his gaze at them, it would be more accurate to say he barely glanced at them.
“It’s an honor to have you here so soon after sending the invitation. Are you enjoying the tea?”
“This must be a very special tea. It’s the same kind used by the royal family, isn’t it? It seems the student council pays a lot of attention to detail.”
I had no clue, though. No matter how many times I repeated the day and tried the tea again, I couldn’t tell the difference between its origins. If I were to live through the entire conversation once more and get another chance, maybe then I’d catch on.
This was also why I played the role of the quiet type. It saved me from the hassle of having to reveal any unnecessary information.
“These leaves are from our estate. I’m glad they suit your taste. But…”
The student council president’s gaze finally settled on the children of the Grace family, lingering longer than before.
“May I ask what relationship the two of you have with the princesses?”
Now even Claire and Leo’s eyes were on Alice.
Good question—what were we to each other? It had barely been a week since we’d met, and though we’d spoken, we hadn’t exactly formed any deep bonds. Alice had brought along the Grace siblings more on a whim after Charlotte mentioned it would be amusing.
“They’re friends.”
Alice replied without hesitation.
Claire’s eyes sparkled at her words, causing Alice to look momentarily flustered.
It was almost as if their roles were reversed. Something about their dynamic seemed opposite of what one might expect… though I wasn’t opposed to it.
In fact, it seemed like a perfect balance. Alice had nothing to be jealous of when it came to Claire, and Claire didn’t seem envious of Alice for having parents, either. Any potential conflict was resolved before it even began.
Besides, it looked good from my perspective. It reminded me of those fanfictions where relationships were flipped or roles reversed. If this were a gender-swapped version of the game, I might have found it a bit cringeworthy, but this kind of relationship reversal? It wasn’t bad at all.
“Ah, I see.”
The student council president responded, though he didn’t seem entirely convinced.
He might have understood some of Alice and Charlotte’s intentions. Coming from a strict noble family and receiving a thorough noble’s education, he likely attended numerous social events and learned how to read between the lines.
“Well then…”
The student council president slowly walked to his desk, taking his time to sit down with a relaxed posture.
“Do you know why we sent you the invitation?”
He asked.
“Wasn’t it to invite us to join the student council?”
Alice replied.
“That’s correct.”
The president said with a smile.
In noble circles, it’s not unusual for someone to speak as directly as Alice. Only someone unaware of their own flaws would be so straightforward. Well, except for the fact that Alice wasn’t your average noble.
“Do you have any intention of joining?”
He asked.
That question, of course, included Claire and Leo as well. In the original story, Leo had ended up following Alice and received an offer to join the student council, which gave rise to a choice. It seemed that this situation was just happening a bit earlier than expected.
At that time, Alice and the student council president were in the middle of a power struggle. At least, right now, it didn’t seem to be the case.
“May I ask which positions are still available in the student council?”
“What positions—”
But the president’s offer was interrupted.
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking echoed through the student council room.
“May I?”
The student council president asked politely.
When Alice nodded, the president also gave a nod to a young woman standing outside the door.
The person outside was presumably someone the president had already called for in advance…
Or so I thought.
“Oh.”
The president’s eyes widened so slightly, as if someone completely unexpected had arrived. It wasn’t strange for other high-ranking nobles to show up since the invitation likely hadn’t only been sent to us.
However, the problem was…
“Miss Crowfield.”
The person the smiling president addressed was none other than Mia Crowfield.
Despite being the daughter of a count, she didn’t appear to be particularly well-groomed. Still, as a member of the high nobility, she was at least presentable enough to not appear unkempt.
But her black hair, which would have gleamed if properly maintained, appeared somewhat dull and brittle. Some strands were tangled near the ends, giving off a slightly messy appearance.
And perhaps the most eerie aspect of her hairstyle was the long bangs that fell loosely over her face.
If you’ve ever seen the ghost from The Ring, Sadako, you’d get the idea.
She looked like someone who might crawl out of an old black-and-white TV screen at any moment.
If this were Earth and not a game-based world, the hair underneath those bangs would likely cover acne-ridden, unkempt skin. Even with good hair care, it was impossible to prevent oil from building up.
But beneath Mia Crowfield’s unkempt hair lay the delicate features of a beautiful young woman.
“…I received an invitation…”
Her voice, though weak, carried a distinctive gloominess. Even after all these years, I could immediately recall the peculiar sound of her voice—a voice that could be described as somber, yet memorable. Not a bad voice, per se, but definitely unique in its melancholy.
“Indeed. I sent you the invitation.”
The president responded, his tone shifting from the formal speech he had used with us to a more casual one. Though he lowered his tone, it wasn’t disrespectful. It was as if a dignified company president were speaking to a regular employee—naturally, as if that was how it should be.
“Oh, but…”
“It’s alright.”
Before the president could continue, Alice cut him off, sensing what he was about to say.
“Is it okay if she joins the conversation?”
“Well, it’s not really a problem…”
We were in the middle of discussing joining the student council, so there didn’t seem to be a problem with Mia Crowfield, who had likely come for the same reason, listening in on the conversation. At least, not from the perspective of the student council president or the others.
But for me, there was definitely a bit of an issue.
Wait, did Mia Crowfield ever join the student council in the original story?
Her grades were decent, and the Crowfield family hadn’t fallen into ruin. The head of the family had died, but the estate remained intact, and no crimes had been exposed. The Emperor’s order to assassinate the count had been purely political, not out of a sense of justice.
In fact, with the family’s power and estate still intact, Mia Crowfield’s value as a person might have increased. If she graduated from the academy—or even if she dropped out and married early—she could likely do something with that empty estate.
There’s also the possibility of someone trying to seduce the widow of the Count Crowfield, but someone of her stature wouldn’t fall for such an obvious ploy.
Even though her face was partially covered, I could see her eyes through the strands of hair. Of course, she had to see where she was going, so when she looked at me, part of her eyes were exposed.
And I was sure of it—Mia Crowfield had made eye contact with me.
She even stared at me for a while.
“…”
It didn’t really matter how much information Mia had. The Emperor surely made some under-the-table deal with the countess after the assassination. In exchange for turning a blind eye to whatever had happened in that estate and what kind of man the count really was, she’d have to stay quiet and live a discreet life.
The message was clear: don’t even think about opposing the Emperor politically—next time, it’ll be your life.
And when someone was forced into silence like that, it was normal they bear a deep grudge against the Emperor.
And that resentment would be passed down and refined through generations. Parents would teach their children why they should hate their enemies but wouldn’t explain how they ended up in that situation.
If the Crowfield family was like that, then Mia likely harbored a deep resentment toward me.
If she’d done her homework, she would’ve heard the rumors about us being the Emperor’s children.
“…Huh?”
Alice’s gaze darted between Mia Crowfield and me. She must have noticed something in Mia’s behavior, just as she had seen the expression on my face.
“…Those people over there.”
“Hm?”
Mia’s sudden comment seemed to catch the student council president off guard.
She hadn’t shown proper etiquette to either the princesses or the royal princess, nor had she greeted the president.
“Those people… are they also joining the student council?”
Her voice was as eerie as ever, with some parts unclear, but I understood her intention.
Did she want to join the same club as me?
…Or was she trying to get closer to me?
I looked at Mia Crowfield’s face again.
This time, I was sure.
She was glaring at me.