"Brother, Please do something about her!!"

"Shaun is that the first thing you tell me after I have returned from a long trip? I'd hoped it to be at least a {Welcome back} instead."

During my second year, due to my father, I took a 4 months break during the spring, going to our neighbouring country in order to establish good relations under the pretense of an educational exchange.

Father told me to just do my own things and that would be a good restraint to other companies. Thinking that such a naive way of thinking wouldn't work, As to not waste the 4 months I'm staying there, Whilst travelling, I gathered information and spread the baits on the import tax and the road maintenance fees. With that, I blackmailed..... Negotiated with a favorable conditions.

At first nobody would pay heed to words from a child such as me and there are also people who just brushed me aside. Although when I started using the information I gathered as a topic, their faces started to turn pale whilst listening to me seriously.

I finally realized that humans are surprisingly sensible creatures as long as you sincerely converse with each other.

Well although before you're able to sincerely converse with each other you would need to lay some foundation and investigation.

Various things happened and I have returned back to the academy according to schedule, and instead of welcoming me, the first thing my Brother was to rant.... Since I haven't received any strep from my "House sitter" I have no idea on what's going on currently.

Of course I have received periodic reports, but since our country's territory is wide, It takes time to receive information on the capital when I'm in the neighbouring countries. The information i can get would also be limited and i wouldn't be able to hear any recent news.

"....Did Bertia do something interesting again?"

It's rare for my nonchalant brother to be this flustered

the last report from the "House sitter" includes the plan to making Shaun involved on the preparation of the cultural festival, but even so, I heard there wasn't too much interesting movement from her.

"It's not about lady Bertia but Baron Heronia."

Looking at Shaun who furrowed his brow unpleasantly, I remembered about the girl who's only good for her average look.

By the way, instead of being one of my target of interest or protection, She's more like someone annoying pest that i thought i should remove thus I have little to none information about her.

I just recognize her as [someone acquainted] to my close aides and Bertia.

"Shaun, I'm sorry but baron Heronia is out of my jurisdiction."

I declined Shaun who came to ask for my help as if it's the normal thing to do.

"Can I ask why?"

"I'm the one who wanted to ask why you would ask me for help."

"It's because everyone's been saying that you would take care of all the problems as long as someone asked you."

" ... I'm very curious on who is that [everyone] you're referring to."

"That miss Joanna is feeling restless now. She's very hurt because she's been told by baron heronia that [You're too uptight and are not worthy of prince Shaun]. Furthermore She told me while crying that seeing me being proactively approached by baron Heronia made her feel scared that my feeling would change. Seeing her who's always looking so capable becoming like this made my heart hurt. I thought that i need to do something to protect her..."

Ignoring everything I've said, Shaun grasped his fist with a tinge of teardrop on his eyes.

His resolve to protect her is pretty praiseworthy, but relying on me?

Unlike the perfect and un-cute first prince me, Shaun the second prince was pampered by the adults as he's unable to do things perfectly.

That's why, It might be un-inevitable that the unreliable and pampered him would ask for help from someone..... but i still think it's very shameful as a man to do so.

Well he is way better than last time since lady Joanna who's educating him had already known the tricks to handle him and had him dancing on top of her hand since then.

As of why, the Shaun from before would think that it's a given that he should be protected and would never think of protecting anyone.

"If so Shaun, You should try to protect her by yourself. You are the middle schooler's student council president and this country's 2nd prince.... besides miss Joanna is your lover too."

Shaun who looked frustrated while biting his lower lips since he didn't know how to protect lady Joanna suddenly noticed something was amiss and was surprised.

"Esteemed brother,did you know about our relationship? It's only been 2 days that we've been going out.... as expected from esteemed brother."

His originally wide eyes went wider as he looked at me suspiciously.

Do I know anything about Shaun and lady Joanna being together?

Of course there's no way i would know that they already went out.

It's just somehow i feel that the passionate feelings dwelled in Shaun's eyes are close to that of being in love. That's why i tried to hint it out..... hnnn I see so they finally went out together.

With this there's no more problem on Shaun's fiancee.

"From now on as a fiancee and partner, you both would be a pillar to our country. There would be lots of trials too. Would you still be asking me for assistance every-time you meet such trials? If so you won't be able to protect your loved one and this country."

Shaun can't always be the pampered kid he is, it's about time for him to get his act together.

Then i should act accordingly and be strict towards him.

After all I'm his [Elder brother]

"But instead of someone like me won't things resolve better if someone like you did it...?"

"If so you won't be able to experience anything thus unable to grow. Besides the one who wanted to protect miss Joanna from baron Heronia is you right? Are you willing to let another guy be the one to protect her?"

"That ... is a little..."

Imagining it, Shaun's face started to worry unbefitting of his childlike face.

"All the more so, isn't this the time to show your manliness? She is counting on you right now as your lover you know? How about trying to protect her in your own way. If that doesn't work out it's alright to ask for my advice."

With this,I hope Shaun will mature.

Even like this, Shaun did all of his work as the student council president perfectly and he seems to be good at his studies.

His abilities are in itself marvelous, all that he needs is just confidence and the resolve to do it when the time comes.

Besides, even if he failed I can salvage the situation, and lady Joanna seems to be leading the situation so i'm sure she'll be able to do some follow ups.

Especially since this case is something that lady Joanna has set up as his homework.

I'm sure there is already a plan B put in place.

After all she's good enough to make me want her as my subordinate.

"B.... But..."

"But?"

In my opinion, it's ridiculous to be worried about this "homework" which has already been planned out perfectly for him to solve. But since Shaun has not noticed this, he must still be feeling uneasy to solve this on his own.

To a certain part of females, his uneasiness might seem "cute and charismatic" but as a prince of a country, i wonder about that.

I furrowed my brow while waiting for him to continue.

Shaun who looked like a small puppy being scolded, peeked at my expressions with upturned eyes as he opened his mouth slowly.

"Even i have paid attention numerous times and tried my best to keep my distance from her, but she never listened. Insisting that she is the best candidate to join the student council, she kept looking down and pester miss Joanna and the other noblewoman, whilst acting like she is some kind of damsel in distress and cried in front of the onlookers..... Especially it got much worse during the times you're absent. I tried my best to smooth things over everytime, but with some retarded reasoning, she made it look like i'm actually on her side. It made me to don't know what is right anymore."

I feel relieved to see Shaun with tears on the edge of his eyes did actually tried his best to solve the situation in his own way.

From what i heard from Bertia, This year's number one target seems to be Shaun. I'm sure he's in a similar position to the me 2 years ago.

No, from what i deduced from Shaun's story, The more things happened outside of the scenario, the more troublesome things get.

Because Shaun has that soft side on him, he [ignoring],[eluding],[not associating] is not an option. He should be quite racking his brain on how to deal with her.

"Besides, Elder brother, it's not completely unrelated to you, you know? After all the no. 1 target of her attack seems to be miss Bertia. Miss Joanna might look strict, but she's kind on the inside. Even though she is troubled with her own problems, when she looks at Bertia her heart ache more. I couldn't stand looking at her being heart stricken like that."

"....Bertia is the main target of her attack? How did things become like that?"

As soon as i hear Bertia's name,my brow twitched a little.

It's that baron Heronia that has been meddling with a lot of noble ladies we're talking about right here.

Of course she'll be meddling with the self proclaimed [Villainess], but i never expected it to be especially bad for Bertia.

I overlooked that a little

Bertia is my fiancee and of course is within my [Jurisdiction].

You should protect your beloved yourself. Shaun who tried his best to do so but with no avail started to lighten his expression once I started to lend an ear to him.

I'm sorry to disappoint you but, I'll be lending a hand to his [Homework].

Even so it is only to the point that Shaun could protect his lover himself and I can ascertain the situation of my fiancee and help if it is needed.

In the first place, lady Joanna could possibly take care of someone like baroness Heronia as easy as grasping her hand, but instead of doing that, she used such a roundabout way and asked help from Shaun by giving him this [Homework].

If I take care of things perfectly, instead of being happy, she would be extremely furious.

"I may not know what the reason is, but I've heard that various rumours about Miss Bertia destroying baron Heronia's belongings, looking down on her, asking the other lady to isolate her, and being corrupted like her father Marquis Noches, being spread around."

"Not [Spread around ] but [Being spread around] ?"

"Yes, it's [Being spread around]."

...... Doesn't that mean that she tried to spread bad rumours about Bertia, but got found out and now it became a rumour?

She is just digging her own grave....

What are you actually trying to achieve, baron Heronia...

"Miss Bertia is actually very famous among the middle schoolers. And those who admire her started to have negative impression on miss Heronia. Especially the member's of [Bertia loving society]. They are enraged and the friction with baron Heronia is getting more and more common......... and the person on top of that is miss Joanna."

Miss Joanna sure is aggressive for someone who cried for being distressed...

I'm sure, her character setting in front of Shaun is [Although i'm afraid, i tried to act tough].

Well nevertheless, during the times of my absence, quite a lot of troubles did happen in the middle school section.

On top of that, Bertia is in the middle of all of that..... I might need to observe the situation and gather some information on this.

"I see... hmmm then, I'll be taking a look. Like Shaun who's protecting miss Joanna, i also need to protect my own fiancee."

Shaun heaved a sigh of relief.

Seeing that, i might need to give him some warnings.

"But, i'll only help on [problems related to Bertia]. I say it again, you need to protect your own lovers. Besides it is also the student council's job to settle dispute between students. Shaun is already not on the side who needs protection anymore so you need to get your act together."

I erased my smile and stared at Shaun seriously.

Shaun who relaxed started fidgeting.

He looked determined, and replied with a [Yes].

Yeah, he has a good expression on him now.

He started to look like a [Man] now.
~Oh my god Shaun is growing up.

"Now then, since i need to pack things up, let's just leave it at here today."

Sending a glance behind, my attendant have stopped their hands due to the second prince visiting.

In the first place, there is no need for me as the crown prince to tidy my things up, but since someone with a high nobility have visited, my attendants can't continue their work.

As long as Shaun is here, there is no way that they could tidy up this room.

"I'm sorry to trouble you when you have just gotten back, Esteemed Brother."

Having got a little leeway, Shaun looked at our surroundings and smiled wryly.

"No problem, i also am happy to see you after so long."

"Oh yeah..."

"Is there anything else?"

"Esteemed brother, welcome back. I've been waiting for your safe return."

I smiled to reply.

"Yeah, i'm back. I'm glad that you're doing fine too."

＊＊＊

...... now then, what should i do.

Now that i've finished tidying up my belongings, send my greetings to teachers and my parents, I should start to think about the Bertia and baron Heronia's trifle.

After that, from the [House sitter], i've heard that things are progressing as Shaun described and baron Heronia is doing something stupid towards Bertia.

But instead of people avoiding her, there are a certain group of students who keep supporting her and things have been worsening.

Although unlike Bertia who has people following her because of her own charisma, from the information i got, people only follow baroness Heronia because of the power of her light spirit.

Regarding this, i think it is better to have a solution as soon as possible.

In theory, nothing good will ever happens if you are involved with something occult (not human).

For now, i think i should listen to it directly from Bertia.

I also feel like I haven't saw her in a while.

"Zeno, Could you deliver this to Bertia?"

I gave the prepared bouquet and the lunch invitation letter to Zeno.

Zeno properly bowed and left the room.

＊＊＊

I received Bertia's reply almost immediately.

Because of the preparation of the [Cultural festival],I've heard that she's quite busy so I thought that it might take some time but it seems that she did made some time beforehand because she had heard of my returning schedule.

And then the awaited time has finally come.

Even if i say so, it's the usual lunch at the saloon though...

Even so, since it's been a long time since i saw her interesting actions, i became excited without realizing it.

During my exchange program i've been surrounded by straightforward people and to be honest, it's really boring.

It felt like i was gonna get bored to death.

"You, Just cut it out already!! Do you know how much trouble someone like you brought to miss Bertia? To put it bluntly, Don't put your hands on someone with a lover or fiancee. Don't you know Shame?!"

On my way to meet Bertia on the saloon, suddenly i heard the scream of a woman. I naturally turned my sight towards the source.

It's on the corner of the garden we pass to reach the saloon.

In the midst of student's enjoying their food, there is a table that has been giving out different vibes.

There are about 3 noble ladies surrounding a woman that's sitting on a chair while holding her teacup.

And that woman is..... Ah it is baron Heronia after all....

On her table, there is about two more male classmates sitting.

I tried my best to remember who they are....

He should be a rather quite popular student that looks good and has a decent noble rank.

And If i'm not mistaken, he is the fiancee of the lady screaming at baron Heronia.

Looking from the sidelines, it's a perfect carnage of a triangle relationship.

But, somehow the first thing that the screaming lady spoke is not about her fiance merrily having a lunch with baron Heronia...

"I did told you to complete and submit the documents i handed over to you by the end of last week. It's about the distribution of roles on the [cultural festival]. You haven't forgotten about it right?"

"Wa ,What are you talking about? I didn't receive anything like that."

"Don't Lie! It's a paper distributed from the student council!! I've told you countless times to not forgot about it. The only one who hasn't submitted is you!! Do you know how much trouble you've caused the student council?"

"T, That's why I've been saying, I don't know anything about this. Ah!! Maybe it's miss Bertia that's trying to pull a prank on me...."

"Wha!! What are you even saying? Miss Bertia is no such person! Throwing away your responsibility like that to other people... You're the worst!"

"That's not... I'm just ...."

With tears in her eyes, baron Heronia started to act scared.

And the two students who are trying to console her

Those two students, Their eyes look a little blank..

When I squint my eyes, the bird resting upon baron Heronia's shoulder started to give a mysterious aura.

It's not to an extent of a powerful magic, but it does emit little mental interferences waves.

Even at this situation, the guy's still looked at baron Heronia with an unusually happy expression. They looked like they're one step away from drug addiction.

Well, it's not really a strong mental interference, as long as they get away from her, they should return to normal in to time.

"How cruel... Even when I don't know anything...."

The silently weeping lady, the boys hugging to console her, and the ladies that are glaring at them from above.

At a glance, it might looked like a crying victim and the perpetrator who's staring at her.

Actually though, the one's that hugging her are the fiancee of the one's staring, and the student's having lunch around are having [What the hell is that girl talking about] vibes while watching them. I'm sure there are also a lot of people who witnessed her taking the documents.

The girl's around baron Heronia, started to support her and expressing their discontent towards Bertia.

In contrast to that, baron Heronia with tears welling in her eyes, refuted saying that it's all Bertia's fault and insisted that she herself is the victim.

...... It's not a nice scenery to watch.

It might be the same to the surrounding students, other than the measly student supporting baroness Heronia, they all looked at her with cold gazes and furrowed brows.

Now then, it's about time to stop looking at this farce.

After this, there is the long awaited lunch with Bertia after all.

I overlooked the whole situation from behind a tree to not let other student's notice that i'm observing baroness Heronia.

When I tried to escape from that place, suddenly....

"What's all this fuss about?"

A clear voice reverberated on the garden.

The surrounding started to quieten.

There, the