"With this, I'm pretty sure that you will easily pass the exams, Miss Clara."
Victor closed the book with a satisfied expression and smiled brightly at the white-haired girl.
"Just Clara is enough, young Lord."
The girl corrected him just as she had been doing for the past month, as the brown-haired young man, who looked a lot older than he was, had been helping her study.
"I-I can't help but ask, though… Don't you think it would be better if you entered the Academy as a first-year student? The age of the first year was never a problem, and no one would be mean to you because you weren't the minimal age that allowed enrollment."
Victor could fully hide the bashfulness completely and ended up stuttering before going with the question that bothered him.
"Eh? Why would I be bothered about something like that?"
"You're not…?"
The white-haired girl tilted her head and asked with a clueless expression, making the brown-haired youngster raise his brows in surprise.
"Nope."
Clara shook her head before leaning slightly forward to gaze at Victor's face, seemingly unaware that her shirt wasn't buttoned properly and was revealing quite a lot…
"...!"
The young man who somehow missed the girl's wardrobe malfunction through their lesson flinched and turned his head the other way, getting completely red in the face.
"Young Lord? Is something the matter?"
"N-no…! Not at all!"
The girl tilted her head the other way and asked in concern, leaning towards him and putting both hands on the seat between the two of them, her airheadedness accentuating her ample cleavage to an absolute limit and making the situation extremely hard for the young man.
Victor Graniteis was inexperienced when it came to contacts with the opposite sex—and not just those of similar age, but in general.
What he knew was learned through strict manners lessons from the family butler, Johan.
That meant he somehow managed to convince himself that even though he really didn't notice Clara's accidental exposure up to that point, if he pointed it out to her at that moment, she would take it the wrong way.
The wrong way being the assumption that Victor notice it, stayed silent regardless, and was lecherously ogling her the entire time they were alone in the Graniteis Castle's study.
"Won't starting from the second year put you in an awkward position? Being Diamondium Kingdom's candidate for the champion of the goddess Perseverance is already a lot of pressure, and some nobles might be angered that someone of common blood would be put in that position… Wouldn't starting from the first year give you more time to show others that you are completely deserving of it?"
To escape the bountiful view that Victor knew he would not be able to resit, the brown-haired young man leaned back in his seat and spoke up while staring at the ceiling. He was doing his best for his internal turmoil to not show in his expression and diminish the matter that had bothered him ever since Clara asked him to help her prepare for a special exam offered to her by the Brylant Academy.
"...hmmmm…?"
The girl let out an unbothered hum and shifted in her seat.
The next moment, she stood up from the chair and started moving.
"Miss Clara? Did I overstep…?"
Victor gasped and looked over, but the girl wasn't there anymore…
*mu-nyaaa~*
"!?!?"
The next moment a brain-melting softness enveloped the back of the young man's head and he felt someone's hand slide on his shoulders.
"Clara is enough, young lord~"
"!!!"
When the adorable face of the white-haired girl mere inches from Victor's face completely blocked his vision, the young man froze up as he momentarily blanked out.
"Young Lord, you visiting me every day and reviewing all lectures already felt as if I had the experience of the first year student~"
"..."
Clara hummed as she began to rub Victor's rock-hard shoulders.
"I also don't want to impose too much on either you or the church. When my tuition was paid, it was expected that I would graduate within three years. I've heard a rumor they want to drop me as a whole, too..."
"...!"
She added, leaning even further, which increased the pressure of the heavenly softness on the back of Victor's head. This seemed to stir him up so much that his brain restarted.
"M-m-miss C-Clara… Wh-wh-what are you d-d-doing…?"
"Hmm? A shoulder massage~! I've overheard one of the guards boasting to the others that his wife always gives him the best massages to help him unwind after the day's work. You did your best to tutor me, so it's only natural for me to help you out."
The young man asked, unable to figure out how exactly he should react, to which the girl declared without an ounce of hesitation or shame, displaying the level of innocence that only the greatest airhead could ever dream of achieving... if it was accidental, that is...
"...am I doing it wrong…? It is my first time…"
The prolonged silence after her explanation made Clara reflect on her actions and reach a conclusion that only she could, so she made an apologetic expression and stopped her hands.
"!!!"
Whether it was something that she said or simply that it was a chance, Victor spun around and out of her range.
"...oh…"
"N-no, not at all!"
As he ended up next to the disheartened girl, who was letting out an upset voice, the young man flinched and reached out to awkwardly pat her shoulder in an attempt to consolidate and reassure her.
"It… It's not that I disliked it! The opposite, really, but…! I… I just… I mean…"
Victor really tried to come up with something that wouldn't either make him seem like a pervert or an ungrateful buffoon, but he couldn't focus as his eyes kept getting caught in the gravitational pull of Clara's breasts no matter how much he tried to look away.
"Young Lord."
Luckily for the young man, he was saved by the bell - or rather a knock and a call of the elderly butler on the other side of the door.
"Johan?"
"..."
Victor's eyes widened, and he instinctively got to the door, passing by Clara, who also turned around but in the opposite direction.
"Did something happen? AH!"
"Young Lord?!"
The young man opened the door only only to be reminded about Clara's looks which caused him to let out a panicked voice and step in the line of sight of the confused butler.
"It's nothing, just…!"
"...?"
Victor called out in an unnecessarily loud voice, looking over his shoulder in order to warn Clara of her cleavage being on display regardless of the consequences, only to stop in place, face to face with the clueless white-haired girl who had nothing wrong or inappropriate about her clothes.
"Young Lord, what's the matter?"
Johan stepped closer and asked while looking over the young man's shoulder and seeing nothing amiss.
"Is it about something I'm not supposed to know? I can go."
Clara also clearly displayed that she had no idea why Victor would suddenly turn silent like that and tilted her head to inquire apologetically.
"No, no. Miss. I'm here to hand our young Lord a letter from His Highness, the crown prince. Young Lord, it would appear that Prince Ester's patience has run out, and he officially summons you to his mansion."
"...could it be related to Miss Clara…?"
The butler shook his head and raised his hand to stop the assumption and explained, which caused the brown-haired youngster's expression to turn dark as he asked.
"It's not impossible, but he summons you alone, young Lord."
"Just Clara is enough, young Lord."
Despite Victor speaking to Johan, Clara spoke up, making him change the way he addressed her, talking over the elderly butler's answer.