“Alright, it seems clear that we should be cautious of Princess Eva. We’ll either have to confront her or escape from her. But before that, we need to understand why you were so afraid of Princess Eva before you lost your memory.”
“So, our objective is to uncover the identity of Princess Eva, locate Aurora, and then either confront or flee from Princess Eva?”
“Yes, that seems to be the case.”
“By the way, Seraphina, I was going to tell you this.”
Raffaelo glanced at Arkhangelo before pulling something out from inside his coat.
“That’s…!”
In Raffaelo’s hand was none other than Aurora’s box!
“When did you find it?”
“Since you were struggling with the magic presentation contest. I didn’t tell you because I thought it might stress you out.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Open it right now!”
I decided to put thoughts about Princess Eva aside for the moment and dashed toward the box of Aurora.
『My Frequently Used Code ♡』
“What the heck? How do we know what Aurora’s frequently used code is?”
The box required the input of a four-letter alphabetic code.
While we were deep in thought staring at the box, the first to reach out was Ghieuspe.
“I think I know it.”
He slowly began entering the letters.
『AURA』
With a click, the box opened.
Ah, so it was as simple as entering Aurora’s name.
Inside the box was a piece of paper that read as follows:
『I’ll be staying in Crman for a while!』
“What the heck, if that’s all she had to say, why leave a box behind…?”
Frustrated, I groaned but quickly regained my composure and spoke up.
“In that case, there’s something we need to do in Crman.”
“What would that be?”
“We need to meet Duchess Lithman, also known as Princess Angela.”
At my words, everyone seemed to understand my intentions.
“That’s right. Princess Angela spent her childhood with Princess Eva, so she might know about Eva’s true identity.”
“Now that I think about it, it’s strange that Princess Angela has been living in Crman ever since she got engaged to a noble from this region. It’s possible that Eva chased her out or that Angela fled from Eva.”
Simone’s point made sense. Raffaelo nodded in agreement and pulled a hanging rope in his room to summon a servant.
“I’m thirsty. Bring me some sparkling water.”
After the servant disappeared, we resumed our conversation.
“We should send a letter to Princess Angela.”
“Don’t worry, Allan will help with that.”
“After that….”
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
Standing there was a servant holding a tray with sparkling water.
Although it was a different servant from earlier, that wasn’t the important part… wait a second.
“Aurora?!”
Messy brown hair and a brown mustache. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary male servant, but the vibrant pink eyes and sharp gaze could not be hidden!
It was definitely Aurora in disguise!
The moment I called out Aurora’s name, the tray and sparkling water in her hands flew into the air.
She had thrown the sparkling water and bolted away.
“Hey! Stop right there!”
I shouted at her, but Aurora was already running at an incredible speed, dashing down the hallway.
I was left staring dumbfounded at her retreating figure.
Why on earth was she disguised as a servant and hiding near us?
While I was standing there in a daze, watching Aurora escape, someone suddenly ran past me.
It was none other than Raffaelo, taking large strides as he chased after Aurora.
“Aurora! Stop!”
Of course, Aurora didn’t listen to Raffaelo’s shout. Instead, she just ran even faster.
But there was no way that Raffaelo, a grown man and an active soldier, wouldn’t be able to catch up to Aurora.
As the distance between them closed, Raffaelo shouted,
“Hey! We’re being serious here, so stop!”
“I’m serious toooo! Thanks to me, you’re all having a variety of experiences! So it’s all for your sake!”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
“You all just don’t understand me. That’s because I’m that kind of being! As long as you’re trapped within your paradigms, you’ll never be able to fully understand me!”
Aurora’s words left me with a puzzled expression.
What on earth was she trying to say?
No, it’s natural to not fully understand other people.
How could anyone completely understand another person?
“How could you possibly know about other people! People don’t even know themselves! The more we think we know, the more we end up living like cats on tiptoes.”*
*The Center of Life by Luise Rinser
“What on earth is she talking about? Why does she think we don’t understand her?”
Raffaelo was just as confused, and in that moment of hesitation, Aurora managed to escape.
“Aurora is just….”
“Ugh, that crazy girl. When will she ever grow up?”
“Look at yourself, Arkhangelo. You need to grow up too.”
While they were grumbling about Aurora, I just stood there, stunned, staring at the spot where Aurora had disappeared.
It’s strange. In other novels, the original female protagonist, whether she’s a villain or an ally, always plays an active role in the story….
But why does it feel like the original protagonist of our story only exists to mess with us before disappearing again?
***
“Huff, huff….”
Aurora took a deep breath as she exited the imperial palace.
She took off the cumbersome mustache and wig before starting to walk down the street.
“Where should I go next….”
From the conversation she overheard, it seemed they were planning to seek out Princess Angela.
That meant they would be staying in Crman for a while.
If they were going to stay with Princess Angela, she could leave them alone for the time being.
Then, when they tried to return to the Kingdom of Boleno, she would reappear in front of them, provoke them, and escape once more.
Where should she go next? Perhaps to the Kingdom of Erdi.
‘One thing’s for sure — I will never go back.’
With that thought, Aurora firmly pressed her lips together.
Yes, she had to run.
She had to flee even farther from the Kingdom of Boleno.
She had to make it so that Seraphina had no choice but to chase after her.
Yes, Seraphina.
This is all really for you.
***
“Why on earth does Aurora act like that?”
“That crazy girl’s antics just get wilder by the day.”
That night, we gathered again in Raffaelo’s room.
On the table in the center of the room were wine and glasses.
According to Raffaelo, this was a celebratory drink to mark the moment when I finally revealed my secrets and we became one.
…Or at least, that’s what he said.
But to me, it just seemed like he was looking for an excuse to drink.
“Alright, let’s celebrate finally becoming one!”
Raffaelo proposed a toast, and we all clinked our glasses together with a loud clink.
