Adjustment period (not really) (Part 9)

I pouted, my face upturned. “No—way—! This is perfectly fine.”

“You probably aren’t wearing any makeup, which is why you’re afraid to sit too close to me.” Maple, seated across a fifty-meter-wide table, took a delicate sip of his milk before remarking.

Oh? That person! He calls my words sarcastic, yet aren’t his just as bad?

Hearing this, I couldn’t remain still. “This Princess is naturally beautiful; why would I need makeup? Still, it’s quite inconvenient to talk from such a distance.”

With that, I changed my seat, settling right beside him.

“This is much better. Now, let me get a good look at you.” My tone was teasing, like a true sadist, as I propped my chin in my hand and watched his reaction with a smile.

Truly, this Princess must possess a certain aura. The moment I drew near, he became flustered, clearly uneasy yet feigning nonchalance as he drank his milk.

“How am I supposed to eat with you staring at me like that?”

“But all I see is you incessantly drinking milk. Do you really want to grow taller that badly?”

“…” He offered no comment, simply burying his face in his milk.

“Your Royal Highness, drinking more milk is beneficial for you too, you know.” Luo Bing’ai’er, standing nearby, reminded me with a smile, extending a single index finger.

“Huh? What benefits? Is it good for breast development?”

The words had barely left my lips when Maple nearly spat out his milk!

Why such an extreme reaction? It was utterly baffling!

He pushed the half-finished glass of milk aside, never touching it again.

“Your Royal Highness, here is your scone.” Luo Bing’ai’er announced, placing it before me.

“Please pour some syrup on it for me. I want lots and lots of maple syrup.” I gazed at Maple with a provocative look, clearly implying, ‘I’m eating you!’

He retorted indignantly, “Make me a Fubai coffee! From now on, I’ll drink one every day!”

After he finished, he shot me a challenging glance. “I’m drinking you.”

“You…”

“Lucia, I almost fell for your nonsense! If I kept drinking milk as you suggested, what if I ended up developing a chest instead of growing taller!?” The moment Maple returned to her room, she indignantly confronted her Maid.

“Your Royal Highness, you needn’t worry. If you bind it with bandages, it won’t be noticeable, will it?”

“Ugh! It’s not you who’d have to bind it, so of course you can speak so casually!”

She was still young now, so she hadn’t developed yet. But in a few years, it might truly become impossible to conceal…

So, between Maple, who couldn’t be discovered as a girl, and Fubai, who couldn’t be discovered as a boy, who faced the truly hellish difficulty?

“Your Royal Highness, ‘development’ is still quite distant for you, after all. Perhaps you should focus more on your relationship with Princess Fubai? During breakfast, I felt… she always seemed to have the upper hand.”

“What do you mean, ‘always had the upper hand’? We’re clearly evenly matched, aren’t we?” Maple retorted, still indignant. “I don’t know why, but she’s always provoking me at every turn.”

“Your Royal Highness, would you like to know why that is?”

“Why?”

Lucia leaned in close and whispered into her ear, “She’s provoking you at every turn because she secretly wants you to ‘attack’ her.”

“Huh???”

“If you ask me, Princess Fubai is actually a ‘tempting uke’!”

“Is that really true?” Maple asked, a suspicious look on her face.

“Think about it, she actually wore a nightgown to the banquet today! Isn’t that clearly hinting, ‘Come on, come on, if you dare, ‘attack’ me.’ She just knew you wouldn’t!”

In the past, Maple would have unequivocally dismissed such words. However, she suddenly recalled last night, when she had challenged, “Your name is Fubai, but can you actually drink?” How had Princess Fubai responded?

–“It’s perfectly fine to drink.”

Reflecting on it now, she realized she had been scared off, quite cowardly…

“That… actually makes some sense,” Maple murmured.

“Therefore, to deal with a ‘tempting uke,’ you absolutely must give her a taste of her own medicine!”

Maple seemed to have a plan forming in her mind.