Chapter Text
Rae blinked into consciousness. Her hand rose instinctively to her head where a throbbing pain pulsed through her skull, fogging her thoughts.
"..."
After a few moments, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. As full consciousness settled in, a strange realization crept over her.
These memories... Whose are they?
Rae started her day as usual.
Brushing aside the strangeness of the situation, she found herself eating breakfast at the cafeteria. The classes went by without incident, though she was certain she'd never studied any of the material before. She somehow knew the answers to most.
So, currently there was only one problem.
"Well well, look who's finally awake," Sounded a voice as the owner sat next to her. Ah, it's the prince.
Moreover, she could feel another pair of eyes observing her curiously from behind him.
"Mind if we join you two for lunch?" That person made himself known. It was the other prince, the youngest of the three. He nodded to her before sitting down beside Prince Rod with a smile.
A sigh came from Misha who was sitting across from her. "Please don't tease Rae too much, Prince Rod. She's a little out of it today."
Rae continued eating her steak quietly.
The two princes turned their attention to Misha.
"What's that mean? She looks just fine." Prince Rod shrugged it off after scrunitizing her.
Prince Yu dismissed him and turned to Rae. "Everything's alright, Rae?"
The two seemed to have forgotten that lunch is for eating, not for chatting, but their concern was understandable.
"I appreciate your concern Prince Yu, but I'm quite fine." Rae replied politely.
That caused the table to fall into silence.
...
"Huh that's odd." Prince Rod said, furrowing his eyebrows. "That was Rae's voice alright, but it didn't really sound like it." His eyes narrowed slightly.
"What does that even mean?" Misha muttered to herself, resigned.
Prince Rod brought his face close for better inspection. "Something's off..."
Rae caught the faint scent of an expensive
men's cologne as he studied her face with intensity.
"Alright detective, cut it out." Prince Yu said, yanking Prince Rod back into his seat by the collar. Still, even he could tell that something had changed about her. She didn't even seem bothered by him just now.
Misha cleared her throat pointedly.
"Well, nothing's off, per se. It actually feels like she just reverted to how she used to be before enrolling here." Misha remarked as she fed a fry to Relaire.
Rae's gaze shifted to her.
"Eh?" The two princes questioned. If something, Misha's explanation seemed to create more questions than it answered.
Misha gave Rae a quick glance for help but it didn't look like she would be getting any by the blank stare she was receiving. She continued on.
"Well, Rae wasn't always as lively and shameless as she's been since our enrollment here. In contrast, she used to be quiet most of the time. Not so much an introvert but more so a person that doesn't care about anything around her. Of course no offense, Rae."
Rae nodded slightly at Misha's explanation. It was as accurate as it gets.
"That's pretty unimaginable."
"So then she changed completely after meeting Claire?" Prince Yu asked.
Rae's eyes flicked toward him at the mention of that name. Miss Francois?
"I was very surprised as well." Misha added.
I wonder if it was rude of me to ignore her earlier... Probably not, she doesn't like me after all. Still, the question wouldn't leave her mind.
Prince Rod's attention turned toward Rae again. "But why go back to how you were before? You were fine the way you were. Did something happen between you and Claire?"
Rae wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, while preparing a response she wasn't certain of herself. "No. I don't believe we are on bad terms."
"Then... is it because you lost the duel to Manaria?"
"Rod, you are asking too many questions." Interrupted Prince Yu.
She was relieved for that, for Rae didn't know how to answer any of those questions honestly. She had no explanation for the shifts, or rather switch, in her personality upon her enrollment here. Thinking about it only made her head throb.
It was an unusual phenomenon. One she doubted she could solve alone. For now, it'd be better to leave it be. As long as it doesn't cause her harm, it didn't matter.
So she didn't respond to the prince's question. Instead she remained silent and gave an effort to organize her newfound memories better.
His previous question had reminded her something regarding Miss Francois.
According to those memories, she had maid duties to attend to, but thanks to Miss Manaria, she is relieved from some of them temporarily.
However, there was no real reason to continue being Miss Claire's maid now as she was not in a desperate need for money nor did she harbor any particular feelings towards her anymore...No, she didn't.
Rae rose from her seat and picked up the tray, quietly making her way away from the lunch table.
"Hey wait, where are you going?" Prince Rod called after her.
She came to a halt and turned around. This time working on a proper response to return.
"To resign from my duties as Miss Francoi's personal maid."
She answered and left without waiting for a reaction.