“But you need to study math so I can make money… No, that’s not right.”
“Then, with the help of a mage, I wore a magic-interfering artifact. Your information was useful, Ghieuspe.”
“……..!”
While we were speechless and taken aback, Aurora winked mischievously.
“Seraphina, I also used your money well! Oh, and I still have a lot left to spend, so don’t worry about me.”
“Are you crazy? That’s my money! Give it back!”
My voice was so desperate that Raffaelo, who was beside me, looked at me with deep pity.
“Seraphina, I’ll make good use of your money from now on too! See you next time!”
“What? I won’t let you get away this time.”
“Then try and catch me!”
Aurora shouted confidently and rode her motorcycle into the forest.
Watching this, I had a completely dumbfounded expression.
The original female lead taunted me with my own money and then ran away?
Does the original story really have the female lead stealing someone else’s money when she escapes?
No matter how I think about it, the plot seems to be going more and more astray.
“Let’s chase her right now!”
Since she was still within sight, we could catch her.
But when I said that urgently, Raffaelo shook his head with a dark expression.
“No, she crossed over into the Cassan Empire.”
“What? Can’t we cross over?”
It’s strange, the passage between the Cassan Empire and the Boleno Kingdom wasn’t prohibited.
Ghieuspe explained the reason to me, who couldn’t understand Raffaelo’s words.
“We are mages.”
“What?”
“We need permission.”
“Mages need permission to cross into another country?”
“It takes time.”
“So, because it takes time to get permission, there’s a high chance we’ll lose Aurora?”
How can there be such a law in this world?
People have a right to move freely! It’s a basic constitutional right!
“Don’t worry, parents. At this academy, students are not allowed to leave until 10 PM.”
Ha-ha, let’s forget the memories of the previous world.
While I was lost in thought, Ghieuspe spoke again.
“Raffaelo and I are registered.”
“Because Ghieuspe and Raffaelo are registered, they can’t cross over? And since I’m an unregistered mage, I can cross over?”
“But you need to get registered too.”
“So, eventually, I’ll need to get registered as well, which means I can’t cross over either?”
But how do I even understand Ghieuspe’s words?
“Then what about Arkhangelo and Simone?”
“Lady Seraphina, I can’t cross over either. As a senator of a country, I also need permission to travel.”
So, in the end, Aurora could cross over because she had no official status. I felt incredibly envious of Aurora.
“Wait, but Arkhangelo can cross over and track Aurora right now!”
“We can’t send Arkhangelo alone.”
Ghieuspe’s voice was resolute, and Raffaelo nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. Honestly, if Arkhangelo and Aurora were to fight for real, Arkhangelo would lose.”
“…That’s true. I understand.”
“What do you mean you understand? Stop talking nonsense!”
So, do we really have to let Aurora escape right before our eyes? I looked at Ghieuspe with a face full of desperate hope.
“Get the permission right now! We need to chase after Aurora no matter what!”
“You’re right. We need to get permission.”
“Where do we get the permission?”
Ghieuspe’s answer to my question was like a bolt from the blue.
“The royal family.”
“What?”
“Usually, it’s proper to get permission from His Majesty the King or Her Majesty the Queen, but they are currently too ill to handle state affairs.”
“Wait, does that mean….”
I felt an ominous premonition.
“We need to get permission from Princess Eva, who is currently overseeing the state affairs.”
“Pr-Pr-Princess Eva?!”
No way! Am I crazy to report my current situation directly to Princess Eva?
Even if she can’t leave the capital, I don’t want to get involved with her at all!
And what if she prevents me from crossing into the Cassan Empire?
“Don’t worry. It’s just a formality; the approval will definitely come through.”
“Are His Majesty and Her Majesty very ill?”
Raffaelo looked a bit troubled as he answered.
“Both of them fell ill at the same time. There were suspicions of an epidemic in the royal family, but aside from the two of them, everyone else was fine. Anyway, they’re so ill now that they can’t appear in public.”
They fell ill at the same time?
There was no need to speculate who the culprit was.
It was definitely Princess Eva!
“So, should we report to Princess Eva?”
Raffaelo asked nonchalantly, not knowing my thoughts, but I shook my head immediately.
“No!”
“What? Why?”
Raffaelo looked at me strangely, seeing my frightened face.
“Come to think of it, did something happen between you and Princess Eva? I remember you used to like her a lot. Aurora complained that you kept following Princess Eva around and wouldn’t play with her.”
“Yes, something happened….”
How am I supposed to explain this?
The original Seraphina was so scared of Princess Eva that she handed her body over to me and ran away?
“I can’t explain it in detail. But Princess Eva is absolutely a no. I’m… scared of her.”
My face clearly showed fear, and the others looked puzzled.
“Did Princess Eva hit or bully you? What could she have done to make you so terrified?”
“Arkhangelo, do you think Princess Eva is like you? Watch your mouth.”
“Is it related to magical engineering?”
“Ghieuspe, was there a conflict related to magical engineering? No, it’s not that.”
I could only stammer without properly explaining.
I didn’t know Princess Eva’s true nature, so how could I explain her?
And would the male leads even believe me?
At that moment, Simone looked at me with cool blue eyes and spoke softly.
“Lady Seraphina, can we talk privately?”
“What?”
“Are you going to bother her again?”
“It’s not that, Arkhangelo. I truly want to help Lady Seraphina.”
Not only was I afraid of Princess Eva, but Simone scared me too. However, Simone was slightly better since he hadn’t harmed or threatened me.
“Alright, let’s talk for a moment….”
So, facing the forest, I moved away from the group with Simone.
Once we were far enough that they couldn’t hear us, Simone spoke in a low voice.
“I’ve been thinking about why you’re so afraid of Princess Eva. It’s strange that someone who used to like her more than anyone else suddenly fears her.”
“Ah….”
“This leads to a few hypotheses. Either Princess Eva discovered that you’re someone else, which made you flee.”
“…………..”
“Or she hasn’t discovered it yet, so you haven’t fled.”
His deductive reasoning was terrifying.
“I don’t know which is correct.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I don’t particularly want anything from you.”
Simone smiled mysteriously.
“But avoiding Princess Eva so conspicuously doesn’t seem wise. Princess Eva misses you dearly.”
…Wait, how does he know that?
I felt a chill run down my spine. Simone continued, looking down at me.
“To be honest, Princess Eva contacted us at the inn in Trevelora.”
“Hiccup!”
“She asked us to cooperate with her. Princess Eva wants you, Seraphina.”
“That’s crazy!”
As I panicked at his words, I realized something odd.
Why was Simone telling me this?
Was he trying to say he wouldn’t side with Princess Eva?
When I looked at Simone with hope, he quickly dashed it.
“And as her loyal servant, I intend to cooperate with Princess Eva.”
“…What?”
“Of course. It’s a politically advantageous opportunity.”
“So, you’re saying you’ll hand me over?”
“But first, we need to catch Aurora. After that, I plan to hand you over to Princess Eva.”
I covered my mouth in shock.
What should I do? Should I run away now?
But running away now wasn’t wise.
Simone also wants to catch Aurora, and staying with them increases my chances of catching her.
But my main goal is to escape from Princess Eva….
Should I run away now?
Alright, I’ll stay with them until we reach Kasan, then escape from Simone.
I’ll act compliant for now and then betray them later.
With that decision, I forced a trembling smile and nodded.
“Yes, I understand, ha ha ha….”
“But I won’t report to Princess Eva right away. I want the credit for catching you myself.”
“…….….”
“You’d better give up on escaping. I’ll chase you down.”
You crazy bastard!
Don’t cling to me in such a way I’ve never heard of!
