Chapter Three: “The Princess Wants to Have the Prince” — Part Thirteen

A quiet knock at the door. I answered, and it opened slowly.
And Senpai came in, wearing the maid uniform.

The large ribbon at the chest, the skirt — far too short because it wasn’t sized for her. And above all else, Iori-senpai’s face, flushed deep red with embarrassment.

“I, I knew it, it’s kind of not really me, and, it doesn’t suit me, does it. Obviously.”

A dry little laugh, and she tucked her hair behind her ear.
Standing there in that state, face crimson, and still trying to hold onto her princely composure — something about that was almost unbearably compelling.

This is too much. She’s so adorable I don’t know what to say!!

“…Himena-chan?”

Senpai’s hand reached out and tugged gently at my left hand.
Say something, her eyes said, just slightly bright.

“…Iori-senpai, you’re truly adorable.”

It wasn’t enough. Adorable was too ordinary a word for what Senpai was right now. And yet I couldn’t find anything else.

“Himena-chan, you have strange taste.”

She said it shyly and looked away again. Her ears were red all the way to the tips, and I felt a wave of fondness so strong I didn’t know what to do with it.
No one else has ever seen Senpai like this.
I didn’t want anyone else to. I wanted to keep all of Senpai’s soft sides entirely to myself.

“Iori-senpai. Could I take a photo? I won’t show it to anyone.”

I tugged at her hand. Senpai shook her head quickly.

“That’s a bit much, Himena-chan. It’s embarrassing…”
“Senpai, do you hate being embarrassed?”

I crouched down and looked up at her face.
If she truly didn’t want this, she’d have left the room already — that was the kind of person Senpai was. And she’d deliberately thrown the rock-paper-scissors.

“Senpai. Just one photo. Please.”

I asked with the most earnest expression I had, to make it easy for her to say yes.

“…Just one, then.”

She answered in a small, slightly unsteady voice and nodded slowly. I raised my phone, and Senpai immediately looked down.
She wouldn’t look at the lens, didn’t strike a pose or put on an expression. Completely unrecognisable from the Senpai who’d been entirely at ease in front of the camera during the prospectus shoot.

“I got it, Iori-senpai.”

I showed her the photo. Senpai refused to look at the screen properly.

“…Himena-chan.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t show it to anyone. Ever.”

She pressed the point, watching me steadily. As if I would — I had no intention of showing anyone regardless.
I didn’t want anyone else seeing Senpai like this.

“I promise. Just our secret, yours and mine.”

I wrapped my little finger around hers before she could object. Senpai gave a small nod, and the adorableness of it made a strange noise come out of me.

☆★☆★☆★☆★

“See you, Himena-chan. Thank you for walking me to school.”
“Not at all! I just wanted to stay with you a little longer, Senpai!”

I’d left the apartment with Senpai when she headed to practice, and gone all the way to the school gates with her. Senpai said it was too much trouble for me, but as far as I was concerned it was a perfectly good walking date.
Besides, Senpai was still a little different from her usual self, the after-effects of earlier still showing.

Even after changing back into her club tracksuit, there’d been something slightly elsewhere about her. She’d gone pink a few times, as though something had surfaced in her memory, and she’d been carefully avoiding meeting my eyes.
I couldn’t let someone in that state walk alone.

Watching Senpai’s back grow smaller in the distance, I thought of her in the maid uniform.

“She was so adorable…”

Senpai reached her club teammates and fell into easy conversation with them. But none of them had ever seen her like that.
Only I knew that side of her.
The soft parts of Senpai that I didn’t want anyone else to see.

I wished, just for now, that monopolies weren’t illegal.