Chapter 16- Let’s Play Matchmaker Again!

It’s currently next Thursday now. A week has passed and there hasn’t been any movements from Lady Alexis since that incident. I thought she would’ve gone straight after Alex, but she hadn’t appeared at all. In fact, I don’t even see her around. She’s also a freshman, but she’s nowhere to be found. Are our classes so different that we don't even bump into each other in the hallways? Well, I’m not complaining, I don’t want to see her at all, but it’s very concerning when you don’t know what your opponent is thinking.

She hadn’t even commanded Lord Raphael to do anything so he’s been pretty quiet. No, scratch that, he’s been very flirty. He’s been smiling and shooting pickup lines at every girl he passes by. He is not the shy and timid boy I grew up with, in fact, he sounds a lot like the boy I read about in Fight for Love and Acceptance. This was exactly how Lord Raphael acted in the story. The handsome playboy that likes to flirt with every girl, but learns to change his behavior once he meets Alexandra. What’s worse was that he would give me and Lady Rium the cold shoulder. This was such a headache.

I hated Swordsmanship class and I hate it even more when I see him flirting with the girls, especially with Lady Claudia. It’s as if he’s doing it on purpose. From the way we were acting, people began to think that I have lost Lord Raphael’s favor and have become bolder in their bullying. For a commoner to survive in a nobility environment, they really do need all the connections they can get.

“Lady Reiré, Lady Sophia is now ready to see you,” said the maid as she opened the door for me.

“Thank you.” I walked through the door as the maid bowed. She then closed the door behind me once I was inside.

Today, I’m visiting Lady Sophia after school. The room was very large, probably a bit bigger than the room Lady Rium and I shared. So this was what it’s like to live in a single dorm room that’s made for high nobility. Honestly, Lady Rium would have gotten a room like this but she didn’t trust anyone that would share a room with me so she took it upon herself to make sure that I was rooming with her.

“Don’t just stand there, come sit.” Lady Sophia was sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea in her hands. She was already in her evening dress while I was still in my school uniform. “I’m surprised that you asked for a meeting so soon,” said Lady Sophia.

It’s been two weeks since I last saw you, I sent a letter asking for a meeting last Tuesday and you finally accepted to meet me on Thursday of next week. I wouldn’t exactly call that soon.

“Excuse me…” I sat down on the sofa across from the girl. The table was decorated with a small tower of sweets while a cup of hot tea was prepared for me. I picked up the cup and took a sip, enjoying the aroma.

“So?” Lady Sophia placed down her cup and crossed her legs as she placed her hand on her knee. “What is it that you want me to do?”

It was time to get serious. “I want you to look into Alexis Pearl.”

“Alexis Pearl? The girl that’s related to Alexandra Straut?”

So she isn’t hiding anything about that, huh? “Don’t you mean Alexandra Bailey?”

“Both you and Alexandra already know about this, so there isn’t use in hiding it, is there?”

I sighed, “It would cause some problems, so just refer to her mother’s surname.”

Lady Sophia shrugged, “Alright. I don’t want to cause a commotion so soon in the academic year anyways.”

“So you’ll agree to look into Alexis Pearl for me?”

Lady Sophia asked, “Sure, but what’s in it for me?”

Of course it’ll come down to this. She’s not gonna do something for free. “I heard that you most likely will end up with Prince Clovis, no?”

“That is something the King and my father have yet to come to a conclusion, so I can’t say that I’ll end up with Prince Clovis.”

“But you want to, right?” I asked.

“What makes you say that?”

“Don’t you like him?”

Lady Sophia narrowed her eyes on me. “You’re starting to sound like Alexandra.”

Oh? So Alex has tried getting her and Prince Clovis together. Guess she’s been trying to get me to do it because she failed to do so. “I don’t know what Alex has said to you, but I do know that you have been stalking him quite a lot.” That’s not exactly a lie. Her investigators have been tailing Prince Clovis’s every move. At least that’s what it was said in the novel.

“Are you accusing me of being a stalker?”

I giggled, “Of course not. It’s normal to be interested in someone you like. Besides…” I hung my head in shame as I thought about a certain someone that had taken a liking to stalking. “Alex has been stalking some people for quite some time that I can’t accuse you of anything.”

Lady Sophia giggled, “Oh yes. I’ve heard that she has been tailing Lady Charlotte and Lord Philip for a while. She’s not really being subtle with it.”

I sighed, “Yes. Let’s just say that I’m grateful that Lady Charlotte is such a kind soul.”

Lady Sophia chuckled, “Alexandra is quite an interesting girl. You commoners are something alright.”

“Anyway, back on topic. My offer to you is if you look into Alexis Pearl, I’ll help you win Prince Clovis’s favor.”

Lady Sophia smirked, “Who said I want to be with Prince Clovis? What if I said I wanted to be with Prince Leonhardt?”

“Doesn't everyone want to be with Prince Leonhardt?”

“Of course, he’s the one that will be our king.”

“If you want to be with Prince Leonhardt, why is it that you investigate Prince Clovis more than Prince Leonhardt? Besides, I heard the two of you don’t get along.”

“And how would you know?”

“Hmm… I wonder how?” I smirked as I reached out to take a pink macaroon from the tower.

Lady Sophia sighed, “Is this also payback because I have yet to pull back my investigators from you?”

I actually didn't know she still had people snooping around me. Well, now I know. “Who’s to say?”

“Stop acting mysterious. It doesn’t suit you, commoner.”

I ate the macaroon and I smiled. This is good. Is this peach flavor? “I told you before. I want us to be friends. Let’s just say I was a big fan of yours.” Only because you were part of my favorite story.

“So you dug up dirt on me?”

“It’s not that I wanted to. And how would I dig up dirt on a duke’s daughter? I don’t have that strong of a connection other than Lady Rium.”

Lady Sophia sighed, “I shouldn’t have gotten involved with you.”

I grinned, “But you were curious, right?”

Lady Sophia didn’t deny it. “Yes. Yes, I was.”

“I’m not a cruel human being, but I am a selfish one. Lady Alexis is threatening something important to me so I want to do something about her.”

“I assume this has something to do with Lady Rium and Lord Raphael?”

I nodded, confirming her assumption. “That’s why I need your help. Lady Alexis has done something to Lord Raphael and Lady Rium has been in a depressed state for a while. While I’m also doing this because Lady Alexis was also scaring the wits out of me, I don’t want to see my two closest friends at odds with each other.”

“It’s true that Lady Rium hasn’t been herself and Lord Raphael was also acting strange. As the descendants of two powerful duke houses, it pains me to see them acting the way they are. I’ll help you.”

I blinked at her response. “Really?” I thought I’d have to fight for her help more.

“The fact that she’s scaring you as well must mean that she’s extremely threatening, more so than your average bullies. But in return…” Lady Sophia’s cheek turned slightly pink.

Huh?

“You better help me with Prince Clovis…”

Now her cheeks were bright red. So she did like Prince Clovis. This was definitely different from the novel since Lady Sophia was interested in Prince Leonhardt in the beginning. She only found interest in Prince Clovis when she was engaged to him. She was actually being cute.

I let out a soft giggle, “Of course, I’m sure Alex will also be delighted to help you as well.”

“I hope it doesn’t involve you two stalking Prince Clovis and I.”

I nervously chuckled, “You jest, Lady Sophia. You know I would never do such a rude thing like Alex. I honestly have no idea what goes in and out of that girl’s head.”

Lady Sophia sighed, “Alright. I’ll send some of my people to look into Alexis Pearl. I did have some people snooping around her in the beginning, but she is a mysterious person. She found my investigators and I had to pull them back. I hope it goes better the second time. I’ll contact you if I find anything that’s worthwhile.”

I stood up and bowed my head in gratitude. “Thank you, Lady Sophia. And before I leave, are you free this weekend?”

“I don’t particularly have anything going on this weekend. Why do you ask?”

I grinned which only caused her to give me a puzzled look.

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“Oh, Prince Cloooooovis!!” Alex called out while pulling on Lady Sophia’s hand.

Lady Sophia gave me an annoyed face, but all I did was give her a smirk that said, ‘Just deal with it.’

Alex was thrilled when I told her how Lady Sophia wanted us to hook her up with Prince Clovis. She even made a big plan for this Saturday to make sure this was a success. I’m honestly a bit frightened. Even worse when she started tailing Prince Clovis yesterday, to learn about his behavior. She was treating the students like wild animals in their natural habitat. I’m just glad no one has called her out yet.

Anyway, back on track. Alex and I forced Lady Sophia out of her dorm to search for Prince Clovis. Alex had used her heroine ability that attracts the capture targets to find the young prince. Surprisingly, it worked after crossing paths with Lord Philip, who was actually going out horse riding with Lady Charlotte, Lord Raphael, who only gave us the cold shoulder, and then Prince Leonhardt, who pointed us in the right direction of where Prince Clovis was.

He was actually surrounded by other freshman girls, but the ladies scurried away upon seeing us. Specifically, Lady Sophia.

Prince Clovis beamed upon seeing Alex, which makes sense since she’s still the protagonist that gets the male leads’ affection and attention without even trying. Literally, Alex isn’t even trying. All she was focused on was getting her ships sailing.

“Hey, Alexandra! Hey, Reiré! Hey-!” Prince Clovis suddenly tensed up and became a statue when his eyes set on Lady Sophia. His complexion instantly drained of color as his eyes looked like a poor rabbit that was face to face with a hungry wolf.

This was actually my first time seeing Prince Clovis and Lady Sophia in the same area. I understood that Prince Clovis was nervous around Lady Sophia, but I didn’t think he’d freeze up in terror.

Lady Sophia cleared her throat and bowed in his presence. “Hello, Prince Clovis.” She looked up and smiled at him, only that her smile looked like one of murderous intent with her intense gaze. “I hope you are having a wonderful day.”

“Eeeek!” Prince Clovis flinched as he yelped in fear. His body was quivering so much that it looked like we were bullying him. I mean, I don’t blame him when Lady Sophia was practically glaring at him with a wicked smile.

“Is something the matter, Prince Clovis?” Lady Sophia asked.

Her voice was so strained that it sounded like she was angry at him. My goodness, was this the reason why Prince Clovis chose Alexandra over Lady Sophia in the novel?

“I… I… I’m sorry!!!” Prince Clovis burst out crying and ran away.

“P-Prince Clovis?!” Lady Sophia called in concern.

All I did was facepalm while Alex had her mouth gapped in shock.

Lady Sophia sighed and turned to give us a saddened look. “As you can see, Prince Clovis and I haven't been on the best of terms. I get the feeling that he doesn’t like me so much.”

“No kidding,” I bluntly stated.

“What was that!?” Alex exploded. “How can Prince Clovis just run away like that!? Even I know that’s just plain rude! Aren’t you his marriage candidate!? How can he treat you like that!?”

Lady Sophia softly chuckled, “It's alright. I’m not that offended, though…” She glanced at the direction where Prince Clovis ran. “It does kind of hurt to see him plainly running away from me…”

Alex sighed, “Looks like we’ll just have to go with plan B.”

“You have a plan B?” I mused, “You really put your effort into this, what was your plan A?”

“Invite Clovis for some tea and then ditch them so we can observe them from a nearby bush.”

I only gave her a blank look. “And plan B?”

Alex smirked, “Have Sophia win him over through his stomach!”

“What?”

“You know how Clovis loves his sweets, right?”

“Yeah.”

Alex grinned, “So let’s have Sophia bake Clovis some homemade cookies.”

“Huh… Not a bad idea,” I voiced.

Alex grinned, “Right? Grace gave me the idea.”

“Ah, I should’ve known.” Guess Lady Grace already warmed up to Alex.

Alex pouted, “Hey, what do you mean by that?”

“You don’t usually come up with good ideas,” I claimed.

“I too come up with good ideas.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. So, Lady Sophia, how good are you at baking?” I asked.

“I’ve never seen a kitchen before,” she bluntly stated. “Does that answer your question?”

I sighed, “Yes. Yes, it does. Please don’t be like Prince Clovis and cause a fire.”

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The three of us made it to the Cooking class. We were able to get permission on short notice to use the class thanks to Alex’s main character powers. Honestly, how does she do that? Just a single smile and a cute pout, the strictest of teachers gave us the key to the Cooking class.

“So what will we be making for Prince Clovis?” Lady Sophia asked.

“I was thinking almond cookies,” said Alex.

This caused both Lady Sophia and me to tense.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Lady Sophia growled.

“Eh? Why are you so angry? Prince Clovis will love it.”

“You expect me to feed His Highness poison?! Are you trying to threaten my seat as a marriage candidate?!” Lady Sophia yelled.

“What!? No!” Alex denied. “I don’t understand what you are saying.” Alex shrunk from the angry gaze Lady Sophia gave her.

I let out a groan and stood in between the two girls. “Please calm down, Lady Sophia. I’m sure Alex didn’t mean any harm.”

Alex quickly nodded her head as she hid behind me.

“As for you, Alex.” I turned around to give her a serious look. “You do know that Prince Clovis is allergic to almonds, right?”

Alex’s turquoise eyes widened in shock. “He is!? I-I didn’t know.”

I sighed, “Figured as much.”

Alex pulled me away from Lady Sophia and whispered so only I could hear. “But I remembered Alexandra gifting Clovis homemade almond cookies in the game. He was really happy.”

“Ah…” That’s right. If I remember, in Alex’s notebook she mentioned that raising Prince Clovis’s affections was by gifting him sweets. One of the mechanics in the game was giving the male leads anything to raise their affections. In one event, Prince Clovis’s birthday party, Alexandra gave him homemade almond cookies as a present. That was an event where the item you gift must be almond cookies. I’m assuming that if the player doesn’t have almond cookies then they can’t progress in Prince Clovis’s route.

“Did he eat the cookies?”

Alex shook her head. “No. Sophia got jealous of the heroine before Prince Clovis could try it. She knocked the cookies to the ground and stomped on them. Then she claimed that the heroine was trying to harm the second prince.”

“Of course, if Prince Clovis actually ate them, he would be on death’s door. After all, handing him almond cookies was like handing him poison. Lady Sophia was trying to save him.”

That’s right. Knowing Prince Clovis who loves handmade sweets, he would have tried to eat the almond cookies made by Alexandra even if he ended up with an upset stomach. From what I’ve read, that event was the turning point for the Prince Clovis route and ultimately, the heroine won his favor, but that kind of event wasn’t in the novel. Must have been exclusive to the game.

Alex fiddled with her fingers as she looked ashamed. “Now I feel guilty for thinking Sophia was a mean and jealous person in the game.”

“The story was made like that. The information about Prince Clovis being allergic to almonds was never mentioned. I only know because I read it on the wiki,” I explained.

“Are you two done whispering?” Lady Sophia asked. “I hope the two of you aren’t planning to make Prince Clovis despise me even more so.”

“We would never do that, Lady Sophia. Besides, we had a deal, so I’ll make sure that you and Prince Clovis will get together.”

“Reiré is right,” voiced Alex. “I am deeply sorry for suggesting that you make Prince Clovis almond cookies. I had no idea he was allergic to it. Please forgive my ignorance.”

Lady Sophia huffed, “You are forgiven. I shouldn’t have acted like that either. It was unbecoming of me. Not a lot of people know that Prince Clovis was allergic to almonds anyway.”

Alex smiled, happy that Lady Sophia was no longer upset with her.

“Then what should we make? Prince Clovis loves a lot of sugary foods, so I don’t know what his favorite sweet food is,” I voiced.

“I still think we should make cookies,” said Alex. “It’s easy to make for a first-timer after all. We just need to figure out what kind.”

I looked at Lady Sophia and asked, “Do you have any ideas, Lady Sophia?”

She shook her head. “I only know that he is often gifted many snacks and sweets from the female students. I don’t really know his favorites either.”

I hummed in thought, trying to remember any information about Prince Clovis’s love for sweets. When I can’t seem to remember anything, I sighed. “Looks like we’ll just have to ask that person.”

Both Alex and Lady Sophia gave me a puzzled look. “What person?”