The Lady Wants To Rest

‘What’s with cleaning the campus. Let’s just be hit with a probation and go back to sleep.’

***

Just then, the corners of the fourth prince’s mouth rose. In addition, right now only the fourth prince and I remained at the student council office.

“It is incredible that you admit to your violation and even ask for a stronger punishment.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m a rather honest person.”

It was the moment I replied with a shamelessly calm expression.

I looked into the fourth prince’s golden eyes and realized I had made a great mistake.

Eye of the Beholder.

That golden gaze, which was able to see through to the core of matter, could roughly see through my lies as well. In fact, he probably realized the true intentions behind my words just now.

‘Ah, the Eye of the Beholder. How tiresome.’

I frowned.

Of course, he couldn’t see into my true self with his Eye of the Beholder.

‘My’ true identity was protected by the world’s balance itself, so even the Eye of the Beholder was unable to look into it.

However, even if it was me, simple lies could be easily seen through, so I found it troublesome to look into his eyes.

‘In any case, I can’t clean the campus.’

After thinking that far, I opened my mouth.

“Please punish me with a suspension or probation. I’d rather take expulsion than cleaning the campus.”

I referenced expulsion with a voice that didn’t have even a hint of hesitation or regret.

Right, I came here to rest, so why do I have to do anything like cleaning the campus? Instead of doing something as bothersome as that, I’d rather leave the campus.

“Will you really be alright with probation?”

“Yes.”

The fourth prince looked at me with an unusual gaze.

“Truthfully, it was I who decided the princess’s punishment would be cleaning the campus. No matter how big of a violation it was, I thought it was far too severe to receive a probation as soon as one had entered the Academy.”

“…Were you perhaps being generous as my fiancee?”

At my question, the corners of the fourth prince’s mouth curled upwards.

“It would be satisfactory to interpret it in such a way. After all, I found it rather difficult to give a severe disciplinary action on our first meeting, even if we’re in a strategic engagement.”

I felt it was rather unexpected.

He gave off a rather cold impression, so I hadn’t thought to consider such an interpretation.

“It’s a useless act of generosity. Business is business, personal life is personal. Please act accordingly to the school rules and punish me with a suspension or a probation. Since it’s come to this point, it would be better to give me probation as a cautionary example to others.”

The fourth prince nodded his head, and wrote something on the paper in front of him with his pen.

“Alright. Then, I shall punish the princess with a probation of 5 days. During the duration of your probation, you will not be able to attend any classes, and participation in campus activities will be prohibited.”

It was the same as receiving an official vacation of 5 days, so I felt rather happy.

“Alright. Then I shall use those 5 days for self-reflection.”

I closed the door behind me and headed immediately to my dorm. I was planning on not waking up for the next 72 hours.

However, there was something I had been unable to see as I had turned my back. It was the fourth prince, Aurelian’s, gaze as he watched my retreating back.

His chilly golden eyes were filled to the depths with an unknown gaze.

***

That was how I came to laze around.

For the next 5 days, I was on an official vacation— no, to be more accurate, official probation period, during which no one could touch me and I could show off my skill of lazing about.

I laid about for 72 hours and rolled around after that.

And on the fifth and final day of my probation, I thought to myself.

‘Should I go take a walk?’

It was just about the middle of class time, so it would be nice to take a walk because it would be very quiet.