“Uh, Sister….”
The voice of Princess Angela began to tremble.
“Right, I have a sister….”
“Duchess?”
“You don’t have to tell me any more about her.”
Princess Angela’s attitude had clearly changed from before.
Until just a moment ago, she had been enjoying hearing stories about her old friends, but now her face had become one of fear, as if being chased by something.
“Ah, I’m not feeling well, so I’ll head to my room.”
She said this as she stood up, her face pale as a sheet.
“It will be dinner time soon, so you can come down to the dining hall and have your meal. My husband said he’ll be home late today, so you all can dine together.”
“What about the Duchess…?”
“I’ll need to rest for a while.”
Leaving only those words behind, Princess Angela hurriedly left the room. From outside the reception room, it seemed that a maid had to support her as she staggered.
Now, only the rest of us were left.
I stared blankly at the spot where Princess Angela had been. Anyone could see that this was…
“She looks like she’s scared, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, it seems like the Duchess knows something about Princess Eva as well.”
“That’s good. If we can let her know we’re on the same side and ask her, we might be able to figure out Princess Eva’s true identity.”
Raffaelo leaned back on the sofa and added with a sly grin.
“I’m dying of curiosity, wondering what her real identity is.”
I nodded quietly, agreeing with him.
As Raffaelo had said, if we could just coax Princess Angela a little, we might be able to find out the truth about Princess Eva.
But just hearing Princess Eva’s name was enough to make her so scared. What in the world does she know?
“That’s strange.”
“Huh?”
At Ghieuspe’s sudden remark, everyone’s eyes turned to him.
“She wasn’t like that when she was young.”
“Have you met the Duchess before?”
“She visited the Mage Tower on a field trip while I was there.”
“What was different back then?”
“Since she was a high-ranking noble, I was the one who guided her. She was lively and brave.”
“Hmm ….”
“She wasn’t the type to be easily frightened.”
“But now she’s terrified of Princess Eva.”
Ghieuspe nodded, as if that was the crucial point.
“There’s always a reason for a change in personality.”
“Like you, perhaps?”
“That’s right. Thanks to my friends, I stopped being afraid of the Tower Master and became a more sociable person.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Ghieuspe could be called sociable even now, but it seemed wise not to pick a fight about it.
“For a person’s personality to change, there must be a trigger.”
“And the reason the Duchess’s personality changed must be because of Princess Eva.”
With that, our curiosity about Princess Eva only grew stronger.
“Then, shall we unpack our things before dinner?”
“Let’s do that. Phew, it’s tiring to sit around being formal.”
“Arkhangelo, since when did you ever act formally?”
As we chatted, we followed the servants up to the second floor.
After unpacking, I went down to the dining hall for dinner.
The feast laid out on the table was comparable to the ones served in the imperial palace.
“Hmm, how considerate of them.”
“I thought Arkhangelo’s character had improved recently, but it seems I was mistaken.”
While Raffaelo marveled at Arkhangelo’s character, Simone and I had a conversation over our meal.
“The important thing is to make sure the Duchess knows we’re on her side.”
“That’s right. Otherwise, she might suspect we’re on Princess Eva’s side.”
“What method would be best….”
I fell into deep thought. How could we get Princess Angela to trust us?
Just then, a good idea came to mind.
“I have a good plan. I’ll talk to the Duchess about it tomorrow.”
“Alright, we’ll trust you, Sera.”
Simone looked at me with a gentle smile, like a holy warrior about to vanquish evil.
“Ah, to be young and in good times.”
“Excuse me? Raffaelo?”
“Nothing, just talking to myself.”
After finishing the meal, we all returned to our respective rooms.
Stretching my arms as I entered my room, I thought about what I should do next. Well, since I just had dinner…
“I think I’ll go take a nap.”
“Seraphina, how many times do I have to tell you that sleeping after dinner isn’t called a nap.”
“Quiet.”
“Wow, you used to be so scared of me, and now you’re treating me like this.”
“To be honest, Raffaelo does have a bit of a scary look.”
“Indeed, that’s a fair point.”
As we chatted, I suddenly realized that my attitude toward these guys had changed significantly from before.
At first, I thought of them as troublesome male protagonists with bad personalities and tried my best not to lose to them.
But now, they felt incredibly comfortable.
Yes, almost like friends.
‘We’ve really been through a lot together, haven’t we?’
I never imagined I would make friends in this world.
With friends by my side, maybe this world would be a little more bearable. Perhaps even facing Princess Eva wouldn’t be as scary.
I felt a warm sensation in my chest, like a gentle haze.
As we talked and walked, before I knew it, I was in front of my room. Opening the door, I gave a soft smile.
“Well then, have a good night, everyone.”
“Seraphina, you’re the only one who’s going to sleep this early….”
“…….…”
“Honestly, she’s quite the odd one.”
While Raffaelo, Ghieuspe, and Arkhangelo reacted one after another, Simone gazed into my eyes and gave a gentle smile.
“Yes, Seraphina, have sweet dreams.”
Wow, what was that voice just now? It was amazing.
Before going to bed, I decided to open my diary and write about today’s events.
Lately, I’ve come to realize the value of keeping records.
– August 16
We arrived at the residence of Duke Lithman, where Princess Angela resides. It seems Princess Angela has a good relationship with her husband. How nice it must be to meet a compatible partner and live a stable life together. I envy her. I’d like to meet someone suitable and live a simple life in this world too.
But instead, I’m being chased by Princess Eva! Aaaahhh!! This is unbearable!!!
No, get a grip, me. Anyway, Princess Angela definitely knows something about Princess Eva. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be this scared.
But seriously, what did Princess Eva invent?! What is it?! If it turns out that Princess Eva’s true identity is some cliché like the reincarnation of a demon or an evil god, I’m not going to let it slide.
Honestly, I’m not a fan of romance fantasy (rofan) stories where gods suddenly appear near the end, and the whole world concept gets blown up. No, that’s not the point right now…
Anyway, if it’s like that, it’s not scary, is it? What did she invent?! Why did she run away after learning the truth?!
No matter what, I need to have a good talk with Princess Angela tomorrow. I need information about Princess Eva.
Oh, and one more thing that suddenly crossed my mind. Simone is too much my type, and it’s starting to annoy me. I just realized it today. There’s only one person in the world who looks like that, and it’s infuriating.
If this world is a romance fantasy, shouldn’t there be plenty of people who look like that?
Is that my type? A person with an angelic face?
Arkhangelo also has an angelic appearance, right? But when Arkhangelo opens his mouth, it all crumbles…
Still, including Arkhangelo, they’re all precious friends to me.
Today, I realized something. It seems I’ve come to see them as more special than I expected.
I never thought I would open my heart like this after coming to this world. It’s quite a strange thing.
Anyway, I’ll have a good talk with Princess Angela tomorrow.
***
The next morning, when I went down to the dining hall for breakfast, I was met with an unexpected figure.
“Ah….”
Jet-black hair, eyes like the darkness of night, and fierce features.
No matter how you look at him…
‘The Grand Duke of the North!’
He was clearly, unmistakably, a ‘male lead from a romance novel’ type of person, and he was sitting right in front of the dining table.
