"President Rudolf, I think I understand now. To confirm my thoughts, could you please explain in more detail?"
Sitting beside Rudolf on the flowerbed at the rooftop, Nearl looked just like those priests from classic films who always give the protagonist a final buff before dying.
"Please rest assured, I definitely won't spread this around."
"No, on that point, I trust you completely."
Forcing a polite smile onto her face, Rudolf continued sharing what she saw as perfectly normal actions.
--+--
"Rudolf, aren't you a bit too free lately? With the Satsuki Sho right around the corner, shouldn't your student council be swamped?"
Reclining like a big cat on the sofa, Mr. C.B. let her long, beautiful hair cascade onto the carpet.
"Senpai, please sit properly. Won't your hair get dusty like that?"
"Relax, relax, there's a carpet down."
"But according to scientific research, carpets hold far more dust and microbes than plain tiles. There might be little bugs crawling slowly up your hair right now—"
"Ahhh! Stop talking!"
With a full-body shudder, Mr. C.B. jumped up, patting her long hair vigorously for a good while before finally stopping.
"Whenever I'm in a good mood, Rudolf, you always have to say something."
"…"
Unsure how to respond, she could only bury her head and keep writing, thus missing the subtle, probing gaze Mr. C.B. cast her way.
"Rudolf, are there a lot of documents today?"
Mr. C.B.'s sudden question surprised the emperor, but she didn't dwell on it.
"Better than yesterday, I suppose. Even with many registrations as the race approaches, yesterday I worked late into the night cleaning up your mess."
"It wasn't that bad, was it? At least I did my work properly."
"Oh, you certainly worked."
Recalling the documents she'd reviewed yesterday, a wave of genuine sorrow and regret washed over Symboli Rudolf.
"I think I really made a mistake. Kings have their talents, chefs have theirs—and you, senpai, are just not cut out to be a leader."
"Those instructions and decisions you made… well, they weren't useless, just… rather pointless. The only silver lining is that at least they didn't backfire."
"And today, I don't have to deal with the aftermath."
"Urk!"
Mr. C.B. felt the conversation she'd painstakingly started grow cold again. This wasn't the first time.
Whenever she tried to chat with Rudolf, the latter would swiftly cut to the core issue, and the atmosphere would instantly chill.
After all, who could handle a casual chat turning into a work report?
Mr. C.B. sighed, ready to drop the topic. But remembering the veiled—and not-so-veiled—questions from her mother yesterday, that irritation and awkwardness steeled her resolve.
"Rudolf, you're not planning to work late into the night again today, are you?"
"Hmm, no, not today. Though there are many documents, I should be able to finish before leaving."
"That's good. Then… would you like to go out and eat something with me today?"
"!!"
Shock, like a thunderclap, flashed through the emperor's mind. Her ears instinctively perked up and twitched. Thankfully, her composure held, keeping her tail from wagging wildly.
"I'd lo—ahem, I'll think about it."
Clearing her throat, she tried hard to keep her delight from showing. If she seemed too happy, her senpai might notice something off.
[Mr. C.B.'s favorability drops by 1]
"Think about it? Fine, take your time. I'll send you the address later."
Feeling rejected, Mr. C.B. didn't want to stay any longer. She tossed out those words and turned to leave.
Unfortunately, Rudolf, now immersed in joy, didn't notice a thing.
'Yes! Senpai asked me out to eat alone! Now that I think about it, we haven't had a chance like this since we stepped onto the track together.'
Filled with excitement and happiness, even the paperwork in her hands seemed much more pleasant.
--+--
Elsewhere.
"Mom, what you said yesterday must be wrong. How could Rudolf possibly like me? By your logic, if I asked her out, shouldn't she be happy? But she coldly said, 'I'll think about it,' without even looking up from her documents."
Mr. C.B. complained into her phone. From her address, it was easy to guess who she was talking to.
"Don't be so impatient. With your brash personality, what could you possibly notice? When the time comes, wear a camera and stream the scene to me. I'll analyze it."
Hearing this, Mr. C.B. hesitated.
"Is that really okay? It feels disrespectful to Rudolf."
"It's fine. I'll apologize later. But this is necessary. With your personality, finding someone you like is incredibly hard. Plenty like you, but do any of them meet your standards? I think Rudolf, at least—"
"Ahhhh!! I'm hanging up!"
With a beep, she ended the call and sighed, roughly ruffling her hair.
"Seriously, why has Mom been pushing so hard lately? She never cared about this stuff before."
That evening, Rudolf, fully prepared, arrived at the address sent to her phone—a small, unassuming restaurant that was unexpectedly elegant. It was crowded, but the patrons were quiet, not noisy at all.
After entering, Rudolf glanced around, and her eyes immediately landed on that small white hat with a green ribbon.
"Senpai."
Sitting down stiffly across from Mr. C.B., who was dressed in casual clothes, Rudolf's face turned cold from nervousness.
"You're here. I've already ordered. Is that okay?"
"The guest follows the host's lead."
After this brief exchange, the atmosphere grew stiff again. The two stared at each other, neither daring to speak first.
"…"
"…"
The mood felt as cold as an ice cavern. Two stunningly beautiful Uma Musume of similar age simply locked eyes.
It was almost like an interrogation—a mutual one.
'Ah, that hat is so cute. The golden 'C.B.' on it is adorable too.'
'So Rudolf's hair color is that unusual? It's actually divided, and so distinctly—almost like she's wearing a mask that doesn't quite fit.'
"Um, this restaurant is very cozy."
"Yeah, it is."
"…"
"Is the food good?"
"Delicious."
"…"
And that was it. The conversation between them remained dry and strained to the extreme.
At this moment, despite all her eloquence, only one thought surfaced in Rudolf's mind:
'I'm done for. Someone, please help…'
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.