“You’re a bad man, Kouki.”

Kouki started at Anju’s voice. When he looked up, Anju was just climbing in from the window.

“Before, the princess was telling you ‘look at me!’ You’re no good, aren’t you. Not noticing that silent confession of love. Completely awful. How cunning of you. To be so loved by the princess.”

The veins in Kouki’s temples began to bulge. ….Really, this guy just came and went wherever he pleased.

Anju looked at the door through which Shuurei had gone with his charming brown eyes.

“Heh, so the princess has gone for a man like Kouki? Up until now she hasn’t really played with any men, but was it just that I was simply too idiotically idealistic? How unfortunate.”

“…Anju, don’t float around here and there as you wish like a jellyfish. What about your work?”

“Why do I say unfortunate? It’s because my type are cute, but bad girls. Somewhat different from a ‘queen’ type. They’re naturally given to it. There are many men who are seduced by the, support them, become footrests for their work. They’re really to my taste. Although I had thought ‘I want you to grow up and then toy with me—’ she likes the austere type—whatever shall I do?”

“Listen to what others are saying. I think I’m the one who should be saying, what should I do—about these cheerfully perverted declarations.”

However, Anju again easily ignored him, and then glanced at Kouki curiously.

“Kouki. Although you’re always treating the princess harshly, she admires you. Just as you chose Ou Ki-sama, the princess has chosen you. Are you happy?”

Kouki snorted derisively. Before Anju could catch his eye, he busied himself putting away all of the documents.

“I thought she could become more useful.”
“But, Kouki, isn’t it totally mysterious? That the princess has chosen you.”

“…I feel like I’ve been saying this forever a million times, but listen to what others are saying.”

“It’s the opposite, Kouki. It is you who doesn’t want to hear what I am saying.”

Kouki threw a sharp glance at Anju. The temperature of the room quickly dropped.
Although Anju was smiling, the good humor always present in his brown eyes had suddenly vanished. For an instant, less than half of a second, they appeared akin to the bottom of a deep abyss. Then his next smile was more fathomlessly enigmatic than usual.

“…Yes, she has chosen you. Neither Reishin, nor Kijin, nor Li Kouyuu, nor even Yuushun. Is that so?”

He continued to repeat this final ‘is that so?,’ over and over. Kouki grew irritated.

“…Anju, I’ve thought that this was strange for a long time, but why are you messing with that girl? She probably is of no value to you. She won’t help you advance.”

“What’s this, a diversion? Ho ho ho. So you’ve awakened to love now that you’re aware of the existence of a strong rival, namely me? But, even if I’m up against you, I won’t back down.”

“Mutter your rotten nonsense while floating at the bottom of the ocean, you loitering jellyfish.”

“Well, it’s better than being a sea lion with a guardian spirit. Also, you’re acting more strangely than me. Isn’t it a contradiction, your deliberately hiring the princess when she was a supernumerary official on the verge of being fired, and, despite that, the way you seem to want to fire her? Though, I mostly understand why. ”

Anju grinned, his eyes narrowed like those of a cat.

“Kouki, you’re cold and cruel to the princess over and over again, while I encourage her and treat her nicely. But, the one she’s chosen is you. She wants to be recognized by none other than you.”

“How idiotic.”

“It’s not stupid. Isn’t this the first time? For the princess to pout at a superior’s evaluation. Up till now, the princess has ignored what others thought of her and just worried about other people’s problems. For the first time, she wants someone to look at her properly and recognize her. You, and not anyone else. What if you were a bit more happy about it?”

Kouki had at last given up on saying anything else. He waved his hand as if chasing off a dog.

“You don’t close that mouth of yours, always spouting useless nonsense, huh. If you have no reason to be here, be off.”

“Eh—I am jealous of you. Hardly ever does anyone see someone’s true self, then begin to like them. And besides that, with us, the punchline isn’t going to be “he’s actually a good person.”

“What are you saying? I am a far better person than you.”

“I’m not going to really deny it, but that’s like saying that Seiga is a good person.”

“That’s just what you think. Usually I don’t care, but no way do I want to be lumped together with you.”

“Heh, usually, no matter how you look at it, you would be the bad man, for seducing a princess twenty years younger than you.”

An enigmatic smile of amusement played upon Anju’s lips.

“…But if you don’t want her, then can I have her?”

Anju then repeated this, somewhat challengingly, somewhat testingly.

“If you fire her, next time I’ll hire her. You won’t mind, since you don’t need her, right?”

tags>>saiunkoku|translation