This Time, I Am A Mob's Potions Teacher Who Has Become Engaged To The Mastermind Of The Otome Game - Side Story: Things I Like and My Fiancée (From Noël's Perspective)

In the carriage on the way back to the academy, Leticia suddenly turned to face me.

I couldn’t help but follow the movement of her hair as it gently fell over her shoulder.

“Hey, Noël, what kind of things do you like?”

Her expression was serious as she asked, her clear chestnut eyes behind her glasses reflecting my face.

Up until now, whenever someone asked about my preferences, I always gave safe answers — things that wouldn’t cause trouble or might help keep the conversation going.
But with her — with someone who told me she wanted to know how I truly felt — I didn’t want to give her a half-hearted answer.

“Things I like… I liked that tea you made for me.”

“Oh? Well then, I’ll make it for you as often as you like!”

She smiled, her face lighting up with joy — and that made me want to say even more.

“I also like how your hair looks when you wear it down.”

“Ah, I see… wa—what?!”

Leticia literally froze in shock.

It would’ve been nice if she’d blushed at that, but my fiancée isn’t the type to respond that easily — not even a hint of that kind of reaction in sight.

“R-Really? Well, maybe I’ll try wearing it down more often… Ah, no, I can’t. If I do, no one will recognize me,” Leticia said, her eyes darting away and her hand fidgeting with her hair.

Still, the way she was stammering and avoiding my gaze — I couldn’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, she was a little flustered.

“Don’t show that look to anyone else.”

Because I wanted to be the only one who saw her like that.
I said it with that intention, but she blinked, and then gave me a suspicious look.

“Wait, you mean it doesn’t look good?! Or that it’s so weird it’s funny to you?! That’s just rude!”

“How did you even come to that conclusion?”

Honestly, my fiancée is so dense sometimes.

When it comes to anything romantic, she’s incredibly oblivious and always leaps to the most unexpected conclusions. It’s hard to get through to her.

…Though I suppose part of the problem is that I’ve never really said anything directly.

“It really suits you.”

“Oh—uh… th-thank you very much.”

“It was so smooth… I wanted to touch it more.”

“U-Um… Noël?”

She thrust both hands up in front of her blushing face, hiding behind them.

She was so flustered — a far cry from her usual confident self — and honestly, it was too cute. I didn’t know what to do with myself.

“Noël, y-your face is too close. You’re embarrassing me, so just stop, okay? I’m not used to being complimented. Besides, I asked what you like, remember?”

“And I answered you.”

“But everything you said felt like you were just tailoring it to me! Don’t you have anything else?”

“Nope.”

“Don’t lie!”

“I’m not.”

It was the truth, but she didn’t believe me — glaring at me like I was the liar here.

“Seriously, nothing?”

“Yeah. That’s why I want you to help me find more of the things I like.”

She was always weak to being needed.

Proof: the hands she’d been using to hide her face slowly lowered, and she looked at me again.

“Geez… Fine, I’ll help you out.”

To her, I’m probably still just someone she’s in a partnership with. So no matter how much I say things that sound like we’re lovers, the feelings behind them don’t quite reach her — I know that.

But still, I can’t help but hope.

That one day, I’ll become someone special to her too.

Because to me, she’s already someone I could never replace.

“Leticia, thank you… for getting angry on my behalf.”

“I only said what was right.”

When I had gone to the drawing room out of concern, I’d found Leticia glaring at Mother.

“What about Noël’s feelings? Sure, he’s perfect, but he’s still human. He gets lonely. He gets hurt too.”

Her words had made me so happy.

It felt like she’d finally heard what the younger me had desperately wanted someone to understand.

If I could go back and talk to that child version of myself, I’d tell him:

Hang in there. Because one day in the future, you’ll meet someone completely unpredictable, but full of love. She’ll reach out and save you.

◇

After watching Leticia disappear into the faculty dormitory, a short while later, Mika stepped out and closed the door behind her.

“Mika, has Lord Moria shown up again since then?”

“No, not at all. I’d say your warning must have worked, Master.”

Lord Moria was a troublesome man.

Precisely because he was known—both to himself and others—as someone who cherished his younger brother, he’d been visiting Leticia without realizing his own feelings toward her.

Only after I warned him not to use his brother as an excuse to get close to my fiancée did he finally seem to understand.

Had it not been for the gossip I overheard from the Moria household’s servants, I might never have noticed either.

They said that even the usually aloof Lord Moria would soften into a gentle smile in front of Leticia… The reason he went to the academy today was likely because once his brother returned, he’d no longer have a reason to visit—and so he sought her out himself.

The moment I heard that, I couldn’t sit still.

The thought that Leticia might talk with him and be charmed by him—it filled me with anxiety.

“There may be other enemies, too.”

I can’t allow anyone else to fall for her.

I’ll have to eliminate any threats before they arise.

It’s becoming clear now: I’ll have to make sure the world knows—

Leticia Bellecour is my fiancée.