“What?”
“So, what do you think about Aurora’s personality?”
“Um…”
In the original story, Aurora is portrayed as kind, passive, and introverted.
However, I could no longer trust the ‘original’ at all.
The runaway heroine was too good at running away, and it was said that the male leads neither loved nor harassed her.
So, naturally, the heroine’s personality could be entirely different from the original!
This means I have to learn about this world again from scratch.
I began to explain based on what I had read in Seraphina’s diary.
“I don’t think she has a meek personality. Everyone thinks I bullied Aurora unilaterally, but actually, we were more like sparring partners.”
“Yes, you know Aurora well.”
“Aurora has a rather unusual personality.”
He frowned, as if recalling something from the past.
“For example, there was a time when a young nobleman was stalking Aurora. She hired mercenaries, dressed them in bizarre outfits, and made them stalk him while shouting that they loved him.”
“Wow…”
“And there was another time when she became obsessed with swordsmanship and hired a fencing teacher. Apparently, the teacher subtly looked down on her because she was a woman. So she gathered her maids and attacked him with wooden swords, asking why he couldn’t dodge a woman’s attack.”
“I really get what kind of person she is now.”
“Yes. In short, Aurora is…”
Raffaelo interjected with a serious expression and said in a solemn tone,
“She’s just crazy.”
“I completely understand.”
“I told you about Aurora’s personality first because you need to understand her nature to grasp what she did this time.”
“So, what exactly did she do?”
“Don’t be shocked, Lady Viviana.”
Simone swallowed hard, leaned in closer, and opened his mouth.
“Aurora is on the verge of being forced to marry the eldest son of the Marquess of Sanzio, and we teased her a bit about it. We planned to help her, but Aurora got angry with us for it. Have you heard this much?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So, as revenge, Aurora stole a valuable item from us.”
“…What?”
“Aurora ran away with the seal of the Marquess of Monteverdi.”
“And she stole my firearm. If the military finds out I lost it, I’ll be disciplined.”
“She also stole performance invitations sent by famous composers from me. Many stages I could have performed on have turned to dust.”
“…Aurora stole documents from me about the weaknesses of the magic tower as well.”
I was momentarily stunned.
Even if the original story was completely destroyed, did the original heroine really steal things from the male leads? And judging by what I heard, they seemed like incredibly important items.
What is this nonsense?
“It’s not that surprising. Aurora is a madwoman.”
“Yes, she has very unusual ideas.”
“……..”
“It’s not surprising that Aurora stole things. The problem is that these items are very important to us.”
As I listened to the male leads speak one after another, I was dumbfounded.
It wasn’t just because Aurora had stolen their things, but because I had a bad premonition.
The reason these people came to see me, surely…
“The letter you found in the box you unlocked yesterday. After reading it, it seems you have to join our side too.”
“What?”
“I’ll get to the point.”
Finally, Simone said the words I had been trying to avoid.
“The investment you made with a large sum of money, that was a scam by Aurora.”
“What?”
“Aurora took the money and ran.”
In the end, I screamed and fell backward.
“Ahhh!”
“Lady Viviana, are you alright?”
“I told you she would definitely faint if we told her honestly!”
“But I thought Lady Viviana was strong-minded enough to handle it!”
“……..!”
“Hey! Is anyone there? Call a doctor!”
“Lady Viviana!”
Everyone around me was in a frenzy.
But I quickly regained my senses and sprang to my feet.
The male leads jumped back in surprise, but my eyes were blazing with determination.
“Aurora Shae, you crazy person! I’m coming to catch you right now!”
“See? I told you she’s not mentally stable either, so it’s fine.”
“Give me back all my money! Just wait till I catch you! Ugh, I’ll pack my things right now, so wait a moment!”
“……Is she really okay?”
I was ready to storm off to catch Aurora immediately, but the male leads firmly stopped me, and I had to sit back down and calm myself.
“Phew, phew..….”
“Aurora left a letter before she disappeared. Would you like to read it?”
A crumpled piece of paper was handed to me, and I quickly skimmed through it.
***
“Wow, having a lot of money really makes life enjoyable.”
Aurora mumbled to herself, enjoying a palanquin ride in a high-status country on the Eastern Continent.
Unlike her home country, where technological advancements had brought steam carriages, this place still used palanquins.
She held a skewer in one hand and a drink in the other.
Everyone probably thought Aurora had hidden somewhere in a corner of this country or this continent, but she had outsmarted them.
Using information from Ghieuspe, she received help from a magician and quickly traveled to the Eastern Continent using an airship.
Traveling to an unfamiliar continent where she didn’t even speak the language might seem reckless, but Aurora had a unique charm and a strong spirit. Reaching this far wasn’t difficult for her.
“Money really is the answer.”
Moreover, the items she had stolen from her four friends were proving very useful.
Thanks to Ghieuspe’s information, she could get help from the magic tower. With Raffaelo’s firearm, she could protect herself, and Simone’s seal allowed her to travel freely.
“They’ll manage on their own, I guess.”
Unlike her, a mere noble lady, her friends had impressive jobs each.
Of course, one of the items Aurora had stolen was money from Seraphina Viviana, her love-hate friend.
Seraphina always got angry and trembled whenever she saw her, but Aurora considered her a friend in her way. After all, she was just repaying the favor.
Aurora thought that tricking Seraphina with the money was a bit much, but Seraphina had also once played a prank with an expensive necklace Aurora received. So this was just paying it back.
“Seraphina, she’s so naive, really?”
Even though Seraphina always fell for her tricks, she kept coming at Aurora, trying to win.
In that sense, Seraphina was a cute and amusing friend.
“By the way, have they read the letter by now?”
Aurora thought about the letter she left in the box.
She figured they would show the letter to Seraphina, and she was curious about her reaction.
“I hope she gets really mad and vows to kill me.”
The thought alone was refreshing.
Sipping her drink in the sturdy, unshakable palanquin, Aurora smiled happily.
As long as everything went according to plan, they would all be fine.
Yes, according to plan….
***
[To my dear friends
Hello, my friends.
I’m in a really good mood as I write this letter. I was feeling awful lately, but thinking about teasing you all made me feel better.
The arranged marriage my family is pushing is truly dreadful, and I have no intention of going through with it.
Initially, I planned to create a moderate disturbance, scare off the fiancé, and make him run away.
But after recent events, I realized I couldn’t just sit still!
So, I decided to take your belongings and run!
Oh, and I also took the money of my love-hate friend, Seraphina Viviana. I tricked her into investing all her wealth.
So, if you need help dealing with the issue of my escape, go find Seraphina Viviana.
Wow, I’m such a good friend for telling you all this in detail, right?
Anyway, I’ll be running far, far away, so take care.
You might try to chase me, but I wonder if you can catch me with your abilities?
Take care, my friends!
Aurora Shae♡]
“Aaah!”
“Lady Viviana, please calm down. I understand how you feel. I almost fainted when I first read this letter myself.”
Simone said with a weary look that didn’t match a main character at all.
Now, his angelic face looked completely worn out by life.
“Anyway, the fact that we need to catch Aurora remains unchanged. We can’t leave immediately, so let’s plan to depart in three days.”
“Do you have a way to catch Aurora?”
“We just have to make her come to us.”
Raffaelo’s lips curled into a sinister smile.
