Walking down the academy corridor, Leon was moving at a relaxed pace, occasionally glancing around.
However, as he passed by one of the rooms, he suddenly froze — as if he'd just stumbled upon something truly horrifying.
"Shh… quiet! Stop right there," he whispered sharply to the girls following him.
Olivia, Angelica, and Clarisse instinctively slowed their steps. All three exchanged confused looks.
"Why? What happened?" Angelica was the first to break the silence, frowning slightly.
Leon silently raised his hand and pointed toward the door ahead.
The girls followed his gaze — and saw the plaque beside it, where golden letters proudly spelled out: "Princess Café."
The door was still closed, but from inside came suspiciously cheerful voices.
"They haven't opened yet… let's get out of here before they notice us," Leon whispered, speaking as quietly as possible.
The girls exchanged puzzled glances.
"Who?" Clarisse finally asked, unable to contain herself.
Leon rolled his eyes.
"The Five Idiots. Who else would come up with such a ridiculous name?"
Angelica sighed wearily and shook her head.
"You really should stop calling them that…" she said softly, then added under her breath, "Although… I must admit, you're not wrong about the 'idiots' part."
Clarisse looked at her in surprise.
She completely agreed, of course — but she would never dare say it out loud, especially in front of others.
While they were exchanging looks, the door suddenly swung open with a loud BANG!
Leon nearly jumped out of his skin, while the girls instinctively stepped back.
Standing in the doorway was Julius — confident as ever, radiating self-satisfaction. His uniform was immaculate, and his dazzling smile was so blinding it looked like he'd just stepped out of a toothpaste commercial.
He straightened his back, made a grand theatrical gesture, and declared with dramatic flair:
"Welcome… to the Princess Café!"
Silence.
Julius was still standing there — the very embodiment of noble arrogance.
"Bartfort," he said with feigned politeness, "what a coincidence. Even though we may be enemies, I can't ignore your presence without a proper greeting. Allow me to offer you the chance to experience our café's wonderful selection."
With that, he extended a stack of menus, handing them out with exaggerated enthusiasm — to everyone except Angelica.
To her, he simply offered the paper silently, his smile tightening slightly.
Olivia was the first to open her menu — and almost dropped it in shock.
"T-two gold coins for tea and sweets?!" she squeaked, eyes wide with horror.
Angelica and Clarisse exchanged glances.
Even for girls from wealthy families, the prices written on those pages were laughably absurd.
And then — the door behind Julius opened again.
Standing there was Marie — the self-proclaimed "princess," flanked by the rest of the infamous Five Idiots.
Leon crossed his arms, tilted his head slightly, and said with mock politeness:
"So, since you couldn't become a real princess, you decided to be the princess of a café instead?"
Marie's eye twitched.
(Whose fault do you think it is that I'm stuck being a café princess now?!) she screamed internally, though her glare said everything for her.
Leon smirked.
Making her angry is pure joy, he thought. Too bad I'll probably have to tell her the truth soon. I wonder how she'll react when she finds out I've known all along that she's my sister… and that I basically destroyed her future.
He shivered slightly.
If her stories were true, she'd had to survive through some brutal circumstances — rumor had it she even wrestled a bear barehanded once.
And despite being a tiny loli, she hit hard.
Will I survive her punches once she finds out? he wondered.
Then shrugged mentally.
Let future Leon deal with that. Present Leon will just enjoy the moment.
Just then, a voice called out nearby:
"Lady Angelica! You're being summoned!"
Angelica turned in surprise.
"Me?"
"It seems the Queen requests your presence," Leon said calmly, glancing toward the entrance.
"Let's go together."
"Wait—!" Angelica frowned. "How do you know that?"
"Intuition," he replied without a hint of hesitation.
Julius, who had been listening in, twitched an eyebrow — his voice growing irritated.
"I'm coming with you!"
Leon rolled his eyes lazily.
"And why exactly would you do that?"
A vein bulged on Julius's forehead.
"'Why'?! She's my mother, in case you've forgotten! There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near her without me there to keep an eye on you!"
Leon raised an innocent brow.
"Why so protective of your mom? It's not like I'd do anything to her. I'm a gentleman, you know."
Julius exhaled slowly and audibly, clearly struggling to keep his composure.
"A gentleman," he hissed through clenched teeth, "who, according to my servants, nearly proposed to my mother!"
A dead silence fell over the hallway.
Everyone — literally everyone — Angelica, Clarisse, Olivia, Marie, Jilk, Chris, Brad, Greg — turned in unison to stare at the suddenly sweating Leon.