Making someone whos around thirty cry at the young age of fifteen, what a frightening kid. Im sure that hell become a great leader in the future, one thats both adored and feared by many of his subordinates.

As I was thinking that, Mikhail grabbed both of my hands with his hands.

Im afraid I might have made you upset. Im sorry.

N-No, thats not the case.

Thats good. Hey, if youre alright with it, would you mind calling me Mikhail instead of addressing me as Your Highness from now on?

Yes Huh?!

The reason I squealed loudly in a voice unbecoming of a lady, was that I remembered these lines from Mikhail, from the otome game in my past life.

After successfully repelling the magical beast and raising the affection level of the prince, the prince says this line to the heroine. To call him Mikhail instead of using Your Highness to address him.

A line. To the heroine! Thats the important part!

Its a problem if he says it to the villainess.

T-Thank you very much.

Even Alexei didnt call me Your Highness until he took over his rank. Though, as soon as he took over the rank of Duke, he started to talk about the order between the sovereign and his vassal. Youre not the Duke, and youre even a relative of mine. I dont see any problems.

No, there is a problem! Though I wont say what it is!

W-What am I supposed to do in this situation? Whats the right course of action to avoid the destruction flag?

Your Highness.

All of a sudden, it got cold. Not the temperature, but my back.

Of course, the one calling out to the prince was Alexei.

He looked taller than usual. I dont know why, but he seemed to tower over everything else.

But then again, his gaze was ice cold.

Oh, sorry.

A surprised Mikhail let go of Ekaterinas hands.

Huh, this was the cause?

As expected of my brother. His sister matters more than the proprieties between the sovereign and his vassal. An unstoppable sis-con.

Walking up to Ekaterinas side, Alexei took his sisters hands and glared down at Mikhail.

Your Highness. Please refrain from doing anything that may sully my sisters reputation.

Im sorry. I was very moved by your sisters courage. Your sister is very lovely and brave.

Theres no way my reputation would be sullied from just having my hands held. But I do suppose that was the case in the Victorian era for the aristocracy in England. I should be careful.

But, the prince

Are you trying to kill me with praise in order to try to take advantage of my brothers siscon tendencies? Youre very clever and crafty, especially for your age. Nicely done! Im really looking forward to your future.

And Miss Cerny as well. Id like for you to call me by my name as well. The magic power you used to defeat the magical beast was amazing. Id like to become friends with you.

Ooh!

Nice going, prince. Youre getting close to the heroine!

Alright, Im in!

Itd be an honor. Excuse me, Miss Flora. Id be happy if we could call each other by our names without the honorifics. Would that be alright?

Y-Yes. If Miss Ekaterina would like to. (Flora)

Flora, who had come to Ekaterinas side after walking over with Alexei, opened her eyes wide before smiling.

And then, she took Ekaterinas arms and intertwined hers with them.

Ahh, shes so cute.

The power of a point-blank smile

And then she came to me to link arms with mine.

It seems that, by calling me Ekaterina instead of Yurinova, we were able to close the gap between us in a moment.