Given That I've Become a Villainess, I'd Like to Live Freely

Side story

[LUCAS POV]

My name is Lucas, and I am the second son of of an earl. Not only am I in the same class as that girl Roselia who is the subject of numerous rumors, I'm in the seat right next to hers.
Those rumors cover a wide range from, "She's the top candidate to be Prince Eric's fiancee," to "She's the spoiled daughter of a duke," to "She has an extremely intense personality," and so on and so forth. As the second son to an earl, I never once thought I'd have anything to do with a girl from a ducal household. So you can imagine that her being seated right next to me was something I hadn't dared to even consider.
The word 'beauty' perfectly encapsulates this dazzling noble girl. That was the first thing I thought when I met her. I could understand why somebody would think her intense if you based your thoughts on her appearance alone. Her eyes were naturally sharp giving off an intimidating feeling even when she was just standing there.
I really didn't want to get involved with her at first. Trying to get along with noble girls like her is always annoying. I don't think there's anything fun in sticking close with somebody and constantly chatting about trivial things all the time. Plus they're always wearing too much perfume to the point it makes me want to puke.......

That's why I always do my best to stay away from them as much as possible and brush off their advances with a harsh word or two. After that, they wouldn't want to come near me either.

But, Roselia is different. She always uses a straight tone and doesn't bother me with pointless chatter or annoying flattery like the other noble girls. She also politely listens whenever we're talking together, and she smells like fresh flowers instead of that nauseating perfume. She's not as intense as the rumors make her out to be, and she's nowhere near as selfish or hard to handle as some of the other girls in class.
But, I did hear from her that there was a movement to have her become Prince Eric's fiancee. Well, she turned the offer down though.

We both loved animals, so it didn't take long for us to become friends.
The way her lovely and kind voice always calls me 'Lou' feels pleasant to my ears every time. I in turn call her Lia. While everyone else calls her Rose, I call her Lia...... For her, I'm a little........no, it's to show how special she is to me.
But, I wouldn't call what I feel for her love per se. She's someone special to me, but rather than a lover, maybe a companion with whom I want to spend the rest of my life with? It's hard to explain.

Recently somebody has been leaving flowers in her shoe rack every morning. I've developed a bit of a superiority complex since I'm the one she's consulting with, but I also feel bad that there's not more I can do......

So I decided to talk to Rudolph, one of Prince Eric's guards, along with Lia's two servants Allen and Anna. They all told me it would be better to consult with Sophia-sama and Prince William on this. Those two adore Lia, and they would certainly help.
But, Lia herself doesn't seem to be thinking that much on the incidents and doesn't wish to bother anyone over it.

(Even though nobody would ever think that talking to Lia is bothersome.)

[Lou]: ".......Sophia-sama"

[Sophia]: "Ara, what's happened Lucas-sama? It's unusual for me to see you without Rose-chan by your side."

(I'm not good with this person. She's always kind and gentle when it comes to Lia, but she greets everyone else with a truly apathetic smile. .......Well, I'm the same way I guess.)

[Lou]: "I need to talk to you about Lia......."

[Sophia]: "Rose-chan? Has something happened?"

The instant I mentioned Lia's name, Sophia-sama was like a deflating balloon, expelling out that annoyed air she carried and walked right up to me.

[Lou]: "Every morning a single flower is being left in Lia's shoe rack."

[Sophia]: "A single flower? Is that it?"

[Lou]: "Usually, but today a note was left reading I'm always watching you as well."

[Sophia]: ".......isn't that explicitly dangerous for Rose-chan?"

[Lou]: "I think so too."

[Sophia]: "I understand, thank you. I will let Will-sama know about this as well. Tomorrow is summer vacation, so we'll put a pin in this for now and keep an eye on things around Rose-chan once the new semester begins. Thank you for letting me know about this. .........Jeez! How could Rose-chan not mention any of this to me!?"

Thanking me once again, Sophia-sama suddenly puffed out her cheeks and stormed off pouting.

(Hmm, I suppose leaving this to Sophia-sama and Prince William should be enough for now.)

So with summer vacation starting tomorrow, I switched gears and instead started thinking about how I could head over and play with Lia's dog Alto before heading home.