Drop!!　～A Tale of the Fragrance Princess～ Volume 4 Chapter 32

Five days after Vernoux had visited Cordelia.

Cordelia went to town with the reluctant Ronnie.

Lara, who had eagerly bought town clothes for Cordelia, looked very satisfied when she saw Cordelia in them. Cordelia noticed that and decided that she would give the clothes to Lara when she grew taller. I'm sure they'll suit her, and she probably chose these clothes because she likes the design. 

The place where she was meeting Vernoux and Gille was in front of the fountain in the plaza. It was a popular place to meet up, so there were a lot of friends and lovers standing around waiting for each other. In short, there were a lot of people. 

Cordelia was worried about whether she would be able to find two boys in that crowded place, but she worried for no reason.

"Found you. Dilly, long time no see."

"It's been a while, Gille-sama."

Gille, who she had been able to meet again before the Founding Festival, had nimbly approached them. Did he run here? His hair is a bit messy. 

"I'm glad I found you. I was worried since there are a lot of people here today."

"Hey, Gille. Don't just run off."

Vernoux had appeared behind Gille, who was catching his breath. 

"Oh, Dilly."

"Sorry, I'm just a little surprised by your hair colour."

He had purposely changed his hair colour when she had met him in town for the first time when they were eight, but right now his hair was still blonde. She thought that he would change his hair every time he went out incognito, so she couldn't help but think that it was strange to see him with his usual appearance.

And, even though she hadn't told everyone, Vernoux got the message and whispered into her ear.

"I'm already used to going incognito, so it's fine. It takes a lot of magic to change appearances."

"I see. Alright."

A lot of nobles had blonde hair, but that didn't mean that commoners didn't have blonde hair either. A blonde hair child, who isn't used to going incognito, would definitely stand out if they wander around. 

(… Though, I thought Vernoux-sama was already used to going incognito at that time.)

In any case, the current Vernoux-sama definitely doesn't allude a 『noble aura』. So, there really shouldn't be any problems.

"… Vernoux."

"Oh, sorry. My bad. Don't glare at me Gille."

Vernoux lightly tapped Cordelia's shoulder before stepping away from her; now he stood in front of Ronnie. 

"Today, Ronnie's here too. I'm counting on you."

"It's my pleasure."

From Ronnie's reply, Cordelia could tell that he was more nervous than usual. He really is bad at being formal. He was probably reluctant to come because he knew this would happen.

(Do you best, Ronnie. I'll thank you for this later.)

Cordelia cheered for him in her mind before looking at Gille. 

"This is the first time you've met him Gille-sama. This is Ronnie. He works at my house. Ronnie, this is Vernoux-sama's friend, Gille-sama."

"Nice to meet you, I am Ronnie Eris. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Just call me Gille. Nice to meet you."

Gille had a gentler aura than Vernoux, but Ronnie's nervousness didn't go away. I actually feel really bad. When Cordelia started feeling a little guilty, Vernoux scratched his head.

"Mm… This isn't good."

"Isn't good? What's not good?"

Cordelia urged Vernoux to continue with her eyes.

"The way Dilly and Ronnie talk. Can you act a bit more casual in front of the Green Witch?"

"Now that you mention it, that's true…"

I'm wearing clothes that Vernoux-sama told me to wear, so there shouldn't be a problem with my clothes, but it's probably strange for the oldest one of us, Ronnie, to talk so formally.

However, the thing that Vernoux had pointed out was a godsend to Ronnie. 

"Then, I won't hold back. I'll just call Ojou-sama, Dilly. What was I thinking? It's more difficult than I thought it would be."

Even though he'd said that, he looked a lot livelier than before.

"It'll be fine if you call her anything except for Ojou-sama. You won't seem suspicious if the Green Witch thinks of you as someone who's just a little polite."

"Then I'll go with that. It might take some time for me to get used to calling Ojou-sama Dilly, though."

Ronnie relaxed and went back to how he usually acted. That's good, Ronnie's not nervous anymore. ――― Vernoux's gaze immediately landed on Cordelia.

"Now it's Dilly's turn. Can you do it?"

How great would it be if I could answer yes to that question? I don't think I could easily change how I speak. 

"I can… but I can't say for sure."

"Thought so."

It's vexing how he agreed with me, but it's true. I can probably do it if I think before I talk, but that would probably be awkward.

"Then at least call us by our names. Call me Vernoux, not Vernoux-sama and call Gille, Gille not Gille-sama."

"Huh…?"

"You can do that much right? It's not like you have to call us that all the time."

Well, that's true. It wasn't like I'm going to be calling them that in the public's gaze, so I don't have to worry about being told off or causing misunderstandings. So, it's fine. Yes, it should be fine. ――― Cordelia froze.

(Drop the honorifics, drop it…!)

It's completely different from when I call Emina, Ronnie and Lara by their names. Rather than familiarity, I learnt that I shouldn't call noble friends of the same age, on top of that male friends, by their names in mannerism classes. It's not a big deal to call friends by their names in my previous world, but my face gets redder the more I think about it.

"It's just like when you call Ronnie by his name."

Don't say it so easily!

She wanted to yell, but she knew that this was necessary, so she didn't argue.

(It's so difficult just to call them by their names.)

Cordelia couldn't help but think, but this was a matter of guts. There was no path forward without saying their names…!

"Ve-Verno… nox…"

But the words were awfully awkward in contrast to her spirit.

"Why do you sound so awkward? One more time."

"Ve-Verno-nox… This is fine right!"

Now that it has come to this, who cares. Cordelia said and Vernoux looked very amused. She usually thought that he was really vexing, but today she just wanted to hide. If there's a hole here then I want to climb into it, if there's none then I want to dig one… That was how she felt.

But her sleeve was pulled.

It was Gille.

"Me too."

"Huh?"

"Call my name too."

"Gille-sama?"

Cordelia asked questioningly and Gille shook his head.

("Call my name"… Does he want me to drop the honorifics?!)

Cordelia flapped her mouth open as she looked at Gille. His eyes looked different from Vernoux's, in that they were serious. He's not making fun of me, so he's trying to confirm if I can say it or not. Then there's no other way. I can only say his name.

"Gi… Gille."

It was a bit awkward, but she managed to say it. 

Gille smiled gently, "Mm." Embarrassing. This is too embarrassing. What is this?

"Well, let's go."

Vernoux said lightly, in contrast to Cordelia who was blushing. Her face twitched.

(Oh yeah, we haven't left yet…)

I feel like I've accumulated a considerable amount of fatigue, even though I was really looking forward to this, and we haven't even left yet! 

Translator: Blushy
Editor: SenjiQ

Chapter end