As expected from a country famous for its wine, the wine was indeed delicious.
“Wow, Seraphina, you must have been really scared. Reading your diary earlier felt like I was reading one of those cheap horror novels that are popular on the streets.”
“Now you understand how scared I was!”
Finally, everyone seemed to understand how I felt. The thought alone made my nose tingle with emotion. I banged on the desk for no reason.
“Of all the days to read my diary! It just had to be the day Princess Eva sent a letter saying she would visit! I seriously thought I was going to die!”
“So, what are you going to do if you find out Princess Eva’s true identity?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t want to go back…”
I sipped my wine and continued speaking.
“But I’m worried about my father, who’s still in the capital.”
Since I’m currently Seraphina, I guess I have to care about her father too.
“Hmm…”
Raffaelo stared at me with a serious expression.
“Yeah, I’m also worried about my family. Even though we fought so much, I still care about them.”
“As a noble being, I cannot simply abandon my family. It is my duty as a great being to protect them.”
“I’m worried about them too.”
While Raffaelo, Arkhangelo, and Ghieuspe each expressed their concerns, only Simone, who had no family, smiled faintly.
“I wanted to worry about my family too, but unfortunately, they’re already dead.”
“Ah, sorry for bringing that up… Wait, but didn’t you kill them yourself?”
“Simone, stop saying things like that with a smiling face.”
Thanks to Simone’s true display of black comedy, the mood lightened up a bit. But even so, I was still worried about my father.
What if Princess Eva lashes out at my father in my place?
On the other hand, I felt a bit down, realizing I lacked the courage to return to the capital. It made me feel like a coward.
To shake off those feelings, I opened my mouth and spoke.
“Does anyone have any guesses about Princess Eva’s true identity? The original me was absolutely terrified of her, but what do you think is the scariest thing about her?”
Now that I think about it, the Tower Master mentioned something about a ‘god.’ She said that having a god who controls your fate would be a source of despair.
“Hm, for me, I’d be most afraid of losing my voice. If a monster that could take away my voice appeared, that would be the scariest.”
“I used to be afraid of the Tower Master, but I overcame that. Still, among the ancient creatures of legend, dragons are the scariest.”
“For me, it’s war. I started thinking that after joining the army.”
“I think humans are the scariest. People who wear the guise of humans but do horrific things. They are the most terrifying of all.”
After everyone had shared their thoughts, Simone turned to me with a question.
“Then, what is Seraphina most afraid of?”
“Uh… the unstoppable flow of time?”
“…What?”
“It was a joke. I just felt like I should say it that way. Actually…”
I tried to think about what I was most afraid of, but no clear answer came to mind. What could be so terrifying that it would make me want to flee the world?
Ah, something flashed through my mind at that moment.
It was what I feared the most in my previous world.
“Reality.”
“Reality?”
“The reality that reduces me to just another cog in the machine of the world and forces me to give up on my ideals. That’s what I fear.”
“Leaving the imperial capital is truly unfortunate.”
As we loaded our belongings onto the carriage, Allan spoke with a regretful expression.
“By the way, you still haven’t received a reply from Duchess Lithman, right?”
“Yeah, but I plan to just visit her anyway.”
Raffaelo answered with a bright smile.
We had sent a letter to Princess Angela, now the Duchess of Lithman, but she had not replied.
However, we couldn’t just sit idly and wait, so we decided to visit the Lithman estate today.
“If you get turned away at the door, you can always come back.”
“Thank you for the kind words. Thanks to you, we had a good time in the imperial capital.”
I replied with a soft smile.
“By the way, could you deliver a gift from me to the Lithman estate? It’s a gesture of friendship from the Kingdom of Boleno, and I think it would be good to present it to the Lithman family.”
“Ah, understood. Please load the gift onto our carriage.”
“It’s an AI-powered maid automaton. They aren’t commercialized in Cassan yet, but they will be soon.”
Hearing Allan’s words made me feel uneasy. An automaton, huh…
At that moment, I heard someone calling my name.
“Lady Viviana!”
I turned to see Alice, dressed in splendid attire, running toward us. Huh? What’s going on?
Ignoring Allan’s displeased expression, she rushed over and grabbed my hand with a bright smile.
“It’s really a shame that you’re leaving the imperial capital!”
“Haha… Yes, it is.”
“You can come back anytime. When you do, please visit my palace.”
“Alice, stop trying to butter up my guest.”
“Hmph, who Viviana chooses to associate with is her own freedom.”
It seemed that Alice believed I could be of help in her bid to become the crown princess. Well, I suppose the magic I showed that day was quite impressive.
“The Cassan Empire will develop magic engineering from now on. If you’re interested, feel free to contact me anytime.”
“Oh, um, sure…”
“By the way, is there anything the imperial family should pay more attention to in the development of magic engineering?”
Alice blinked as she asked. We weren’t particularly close, but for some reason, I felt compelled to offer her some useful advice.
After all, I had seen something noteworthy back in Trevelora before coming here.
“Princess Alice, you mentioned you’re interested in the humanities, right?”
“Yes!”
“Make sure you never lose that mindset.”
“Sorry?”
“Don’t abandon humanity for the sake of machines.”
“Ah…”
It seemed she finally understood the meaning of my words, as she blinked slowly.
“I had been thinking deeply about that too. If we become too focused on the development of magic engineering, inevitably, some people will be sacrificed.”
“Are you willing to accept sacrifices for the greater good?”
“Until now, I had been turning a blind eye to it…”
Alice raised her head and met my gaze.
“After hearing what you said, Lady Viviana, I know what I need to do. I’ll make sure that no one is sacrificed in the process.”
“That’s a wonderful decision. I’ll be rooting for you.”
With this, I hoped that even if magic engineering advanced in the Cassan Empire, it would reach a different conclusion from Boleno.
I signaled to Simone with a glance. He smiled gently and spoke up.
“Then, Prince, Princess, it’s time for us to depart.”
“Ah, right. You should leave before it gets too late.”
“I wish I had more time to talk with Lady Viviana…”
Before their conversation could drag on, we hurriedly boarded the two carriages that had been prepared. We waved lightly at them through the window as we left.
“Prince, Princess, I hope we can meet again someday.”
“Take care on your journey.”
“Lady Viviana! Don’t forget me!”
As their voices gradually faded into the distance, I let out a sigh. Another new incident was bound to happen.
“Just as the life of the city flows toward death, following the unyielding rule that time and tide wait for no man, the rats once again return to their dark holes, clutching each other as they fall asleep. The masquerade ball resumes in the banquet hall, and everything continues on its path.”*
* Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
I couldn’t help but feel a bit exhausted as I wondered what lay ahead after meeting Princess Angela.
