This Time, I Am A Mob's Potions Teacher Who Has Become Engaged To The Mastermind Of The Otome Game - 10
“Ugh, I can’t focus on anything.”
I had planned to get started on preparing for tomorrow’s class once I returned to the prep room, but every time I recalled the looks Isabel and the others gave me earlier, my hands would freeze.
What the heck is their problem!?
Noel and everyone else ganging up on me and teasing me like that—it’s practically bullying!
As I sat there sulking, the door opened and Noel came in.
“Leticia, are you mad?”
“Oh my, do you have any idea why I might be?”
“Well, anyone would think so if you’re glaring at them with your cheeks puffed out like that.”
So that’s how it is. You’re not even going to apologize for those awful comments earlier, huh?
“I’m just a hopeless troublemaker anyway, aren’t I?”
“I really wish you could see how worried I get, too.”
“You’ve got some nerve saying that. You’re always making me worry, you know.”
“You’re right. You’re always worried about me, and all I do is keep things from you.”
The fact that he admitted it so readily caught me off guard, and I couldn’t find it in me to keep complaining after that.When I stayed silent, Noel, with practiced ease, began boiling water and took some herbs from the medicine shelf, dropping them into the pot.
He’d become so familiar with this room that he had even started keeping some of his own things here. From the cupboard, he pulled out a tin he’d brought before and neatly arranged the cookies inside onto a plate.
“Hearing what Lufier and the others said really made me think. The more I keep things hidden, the more anxious it makes you. And more importantly, you’re not someone who wants to be kept in the dark.”
As he spoke, he handed me a teacup gently steaming with fragrant tea.
It was a blend he’d once brewed using a recipe taught to him by Professor Roaek—a refreshing tea with a faint, sweet aroma.
When I’d told him I liked that scent, Noel had started brewing it for me often.
“That’s why I’ve decided to tell you, Leticia. Because of my work at the Ministry of Magic, I’ve been in contact with people from Sia. And because of that, there’s a chance you might get dragged into it. I’ll do everything I can to protect you from that, though.”
“W-Wait. I thought you weren’t allowed to talk about your work?”
I mean, of course it’s better not to have secrets, but this is important work for the Ministry of Magic. And the matter with Sia—surely that’s not something you can just tell someone so easily, right?
They were plotting revenge against this country, after all.
“I trust you to keep it a secret, Leticia. Besides—”
With a flick of his finger, a familiar-looking piece of paper appeared in the air, floating gently before me.
It was the contract Noel and I had signed.
“You promised you wouldn’t spill any secrets, didn’t you?”
“…That’s right.”
When I realized that he was subtly implying, “If you break our promise, I’ll crush your heart,” I nearly buried my face in my hands.
I didn’t expect to be reminded of that contract again at this point.
Once more, I was struck by the thought—I really signed something outrageous.
It felt like I was seeing Noel’s sinister mastermind side for the first time in a while.
“Even knowing I might put you in danger… I still want you to stay by my side. I know it’s selfish of me, but I don’t want you to leave me.”
He was saying such ominous things, so fitting of a schemer—and yet, when his lonely side peeked through, I couldn’t bring myself to feel afraid of him. Instead, I found myself wondering if maybe my affection level had finally gone up a bit.
“So that’s how you feel, huh? There, there. Mama’s right here, so you don’t have to worry or carry everything alone anymore, Noel.”
I reached up on my tiptoes and gently patted his head. He looked a little displeased, but he let me do it without protest.
“…Are you even taking this seriously?”
“How rude. I’m always serious.”
At that moment, soft giggles echoed from all around us. When I turned toward the source of the sound, I saw a row of fairies lined up, intently observing us.
“Leticia’s just teasing~”
“Even though Noel is being serious~”
It was rare for the fairies to appear when Noel was around.
Normally, they would hide if anyone besides me was present—but now, they were fluttering calmly around him.
It seemed they had decided Noel was a harmless being.
“Noel’s been coming here for a long time~”
“I like this room.”
“There’s still a quill Noel dropped when he was little~”
“When I was little? You mean during my school days? I’m already an adult, you know.”
“From our perspective, you’re still just a child~”
The fairies swarmed around Noel, all trying to talk to him at once, each eager for his attention.
They chattered without pause, and even Jill, who stepped in to try and stop the chaos, was quickly overwhelmed by the energetic crowd and failed to make any difference.
The prep room became even livelier than before, and as I took another sip of my tea, their cheerful voices filled the space, warming me from the inside out.
“I have a favor to ask everyone. While I’m away, could you watch over Leticia for me?”
“Sure~”
“We’ll report to you every hour~”
The calm atmosphere shifted at once, and an unsettling conversation began between Noel and the fairies.
“Why are you increasing surveillance on me?!”
“Why do you think?”
Even though I asked because I didn’t know, this untrustworthy would-be mastermind just smiled and refused to explain a single thing.