Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume7 Chapter4 4

Golden Rose Uproar. Part 4

Of course, the entire room fell silent at that.

It was unprecedented. Had a female student ever proposed to a man in Lillian's educational guidance room before?

No.

Well, maybe someone had, but at the very least it had never been spoken about.

"Bet you a can of coffee Mr Yamanobe loses."

"I won't take that bet. The only outcome I can see is a complete defeat for Mr Yamanobe."

"Hmm."

Rosa Gigantea and Rosa Chinensis were again whispering to each other.

As for everyone else.

"…"

They were all holding their breath, waiting to see how Yamanobe-sensei would respond.

Dun-dun-dun-dun.

The music they used on quiz shows when waiting for contestants to answer reverberated through Yumi's mind.

The final answer that Yamanobe-san from Tokyo selected was –

"No."

"Aww."

Amid the disappointed sighs of the female high-school students:

"Yes!"

The male members of the Torii family raised their fists in triumph. Rosa Foetida's father instinctively shook Yamanobe-sensei's hand and said, "Thank-you." But it was a bit early for celebrations.

"Why not?"

Rosa Foetida, doing a complete 180 and transforming into a tragic heroine, sought an explanation from the prince.

"Why not?"

The prince, Yamanobe-sensei, blocked the question. Back to Rosa Foetida.

"Is it because of the ten year difference in our ages? Because you still haven't forgotten your deceased wife? Because you haven't got any savings? Because you spend all your pay on dinosaur fossil digs? Because you want to be free to head overseas?"

She laid out all the reasons she could think of. As a result, Yumi at least got a feel for the sort of person that Yamanobe-sensei was.

Like, ahh, so he's still in his twenties.

And, it's so sad that his wife died.

And, while she wasn't entirely sure, it seemed like "romanticist" referred to his passion for dinosaur fossils. She didn't really understand the connection, but apparently that meant he went overseas frequently, and that was why he didn't have any savings.

With everyone watching on with bated breath, Yamanobe-sensei stood up straight and informed them:

"Those are all good reasons, but the most important one is that I don't love you."

!

If this were a comic book, an exclamation mark would have appeared beside everyone's head.

"No, let me rephrase that. I've never looked at you in a romantic manner. So, you see."

Yamanobe-sensei paused for a breath.

"Counting today, we've only met three times. We haven't even spent three hours together."

Budum-ching.

If this were a comedy show, the walls would be blown down by the force of the joke, definitely. Or it'd be the final panel of a comic strip.

"Excuse me. We've spent three and a half hours together. Although it may seem shorter to you, since you spent so much time looking at the elephant."

Three hours or three and a half hours. There wasn't much of a difference either way, Rosa Foetida.

"Eriko was with you, but you spent all your time looking at an elephant? How rude."

(Hey, hey, papa Torii. Weren't you just feeling grateful to Yamanobe-sensei for turning down your daughter's proposal? On top of that, you missed the main point.)

Not having permission to speak, Yumi busied herself adding color commentary in her head as she listened on.

"Poor little Eriko."

"Let the warmth of your family heal your wounded heart."

"We'll smooth things over with papa and get your allowance reinstated."

Rosa Foetida's brothers surrounded and consoled her, as she hung her head. Those sibling relationships really did look a bit questionable.

"I understand."

Rosa Foetida said, raising her head.

"I'm glad you understand."

The corner of Yamanobe-sensei's eyes drooped, showing his relief.

The daughter's faint yearning ended in a broken heart, but with the love of her family she was able to find her own happiness, and they all lived happily ever after. – Well, that was the ending that everyone thought they were heading towards, but then:

"But I don't accept it."

"Wha!?"

Yamanobe-sensei's voice was turned inside out.

"When you said you didn't love me, that's because you don't really know me, right?"

"Huh?"

"So, please, get to know me. I wanted to know all about you, so I kept asking you all those questions, but now I realize that that was far too one-sided. I'd like you to learn more about me, even if it only happens gradually. After that, if we find we love each other, we can get married then."

Thinking about it, Rosa Foetida wouldn't meekly withdraw. Opposing her would only spur her on. The rejection would just make her persevere until he said he loved her.

"That sounds fine. I concur."

The school principal said, glancing at the silent homeroom teacher.

"It is not fine."

Rosa Foetida's father and brothers voices mixed as they expressed their disapproval.

"If you keep being so strict, sooner or later your daughter will start sneaking around, seeing men behind your back. Would you prefer that?"

"No, that wouldn't be good."

"And I'm certain Yamanobe-sensei will conduct himself honorably."

The school principal was incredible. The way she skillfully handled this touchy subject.

"Mm... But what about him … what does he think?"

Rosa Foetida's father glanced at "him" as he stumbled over his words. And so, the gaze of everyone in the room fell on Yamanobe-sensei.

"Yamanobe-sensei?"

Rosa Gigantea sidled up to him and whispered.

"You'll be better off if you agree to this. Eriko's nickname is The Hound – if you run, she will chase you."

Eriko the Hound? Who has ever called her that?

You, Rosa Gigantea are Sei, Queen of Lies.

"I, I understand. If we can do this as friends."

Yamanobe-sensei said while writing his address and phone number on a piece of paper torn from a notebook, then handed this to Rosa Foetida's father, saying, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance." He was taking this seriously, as the school principal had anticipated.

At any rate, it looked like Rosa Foetida and Yamanobe-sensei would be openly going out together. Although it was a long road indeed from "friends" to marriage.

"But, now that Yamanobe-sensei's agreed, does that mean Rosa Foetida will lose interest – ?"

Yumi asked, suddenly anxious.

Rosa Chinensis answered, saying, "Don't worry."

"Eriko isn't going to get bored of such an interesting toy so quickly."

Having survived the ordeal, Yamanobe-sensei made his exit, but his unusual marching gait combined with the unfamiliar visitor's slippers led to him falling over in a heap, looking less like a romanticist and more like a buffoon.