Princess Angela blushed and linked arms with the Duke.
Arkhangelo’s expression twisted as though he were witnessing something unbearably cringeworthy, and Simone quickly jabbed him in the side.
Fortunately, Raffaelo responded on behalf of all of us.
“Thank you, Your Grace. We are also grateful for all the help we’ve received from the Duchess. We will make sure to repay this kindness in the future.”
“Yes, of course. Oh, by the way, I have something I’d like to say.”
Duke Lithman’s gaze fixed on Simone.
“The most important thing is to open your heart.”
“…Excuse me?”
Simone asked in a tone that betrayed his confusion, but Duke Lithman offered no further explanation. Instead, he turned to Arkhangelo and added,
“Being overly sharp with others isn’t good either….”
“Ugh, tch.”
Hmm, it seemed Duke Lithman simply wanted to offer advice to all of us.
For someone with the air of a northern grand duke, he had a surprisingly paternal tone.
***
When the time came for us to leave the Lithman estate, Princess Angela showered us with gifts.
“You’ll likely face more challenges on the road ahead.”
“Thank you, Duchess….”
As Princess Angela had predicted, we might indeed encounter a rough journey.
After all, Aurora, that chaotic woman, had no limits to her wandering.
There was even a chance she’d flee to the Eastern Continent again at this rate!
As we loaded our belongings onto the horses and prepared to bid farewell to the Duke and Duchess, a servant came running breathlessly across the garden toward Princess Angela.
“Madam, a letter has arrived!”
“A letter? Don’t tell me….”
Princess Angela’s face turned pale as if she had realized something.
The envelope handed to her was yellow. As soon as I saw it, I understood the situation. The yellow envelope with light purple stationery was the signature of Princess Eva.
Angela quickly read the letter, her body trembling violently. Duke Lithman hurriedly embraced her, but Angela appeared utterly shocked and unprepared for the news.
“This can’t be….”
“Duchess, what is it?”
Princess Angela handed me the letter she had been reading.
‘To my dearest younger sister, Angela,
Oh, Angela, this is the first letter I’ve sent since you went there. Thinking of the memories we shared as children fills my heart with pain.
I won’t call you back to the Kingdom of Boleno since you seem to be doing well there. However, if you wish, feel free to write me often. I’m curious about how you’re doing.
By the way, I thought you might want to know about our parents. Unfortunately, their health is deteriorating day by day. Although we are doing our best to keep this news from spreading, I don’t think they have much time left.
Despite calling every renowned physician we could find, nothing has helped.
They’ve already prepared a will naming me as their successor to the throne. I’m not ready to part with them, so I won’t immediately assume the throne. But it seems that day isn’t far off.
And as for your wish to continue living in the Cassan Empire, I’m not sure if that will be possible. The Kingdom of Boleno and the Cassan Empire are deeply interconnected and influence each other.
Take care, my dear sister Angela.
Yours sincerely,
Eva Vivaldi.’
“My parents are dying…. I expected this, but it’s still hard to accept,”
Angela said with a terrified expression.
“And most of all… I subtly asked in my last letter for that thing not to let its influence extend to the Cassan Empire. But that thing responded that it couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t.”
“Oh….”
“That means that thing’s influence might even reach the Cassan Empire.”
I understood why Princess Angela was trembling in fear. She had fled to escape Princess Eva, only to now face the possibility of her grasp extending here as well.
And then, I noticed something peculiar.
Princess Angela, who used to refer to Princess Eva as ‘sister,’ was now calling her ‘that thing.’
“Actually… I included a sort of code in my last letter,”
Angela said, her voice trembling.
“It was meant to confirm if it still had memories of our childhood, but ‘that thing’ didn’t respond to the code. In other words, it is entirely different from the sister I knew as a child.”
“I see… so Princess Eva doesn’t retain any of her original memories.”
Perhaps Princess Eva truly had replaced her brain with an artificial one and decided to turn herself into a humanoid.
“I’ve decided to believe that my sister is dead.”
Princess Angela bit her lip firmly, her eyes resolute. Her fists were clenched tightly, as if to keep herself from trembling in fear.
“My sister is gone. In her place, an evil being is impersonating her. So please, if you know how, destroy that thing….”
“Duchess….”
“If you need any help in the process, I will assist you in any way I can. And if you require justification to defeat it….”
Princess Angela no longer trembled. Her courageous gaze met ours.
“I will prove that it harmed the King and Queen and plotted treason.”
“Duchess, do you understand what that means?”
Raffaelo, who had been listening to our conversation, interrupted.
“Does that mean you are prepared to become the new ruler?”
“…If my parents truly cannot recover, then yes. I will become the new queen.”
“My Angela, I will support your decision,”
Whispered Duke Lithman as he kissed Princess Angela’s forehead.
With that, our goal became clear.
We would gather clues about the dimension traveler from Aurora, use her power to drive out the evil being wearing Princess Eva’s mask, and establish Princess Angela as the new queen.
At that moment, something fell from the yellow envelope Princess Angela was holding.
“Huh?”
When Princess Angela picked it up, it turned out to be a pressed four-leaf clover.
“What’s this?”
Princess Angela looked puzzled, but I recognized it immediately.
“Gyaaah!”
It was the four-leaf clover I had once given to Princess Eva when I was half-entranced and following her!
In other words, Princess Eva suspected that I was currently with Princess Angela!
That malfunctioning automaton had been targeting me all along!
“This is insane!”
Princess Eva, please stop obsessing over me!
If I ever return to my original world, I swear I’ll never read novels with obsessive male leads again. If the protagonist hates you, just move on already!
I closed my eyes tightly, feeling as though the genre of my life was constantly shifting.
***
“Now we have to head to Saint-Ruvain, in the northern region of Cassan….”
We had traveled from the southern Kingdom of Boleno and were gradually making our way north, eventually reaching the Cassan Empire. Our journey kept leading us further and further north.
“Why do you think Aurora keeps leaving us clues?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“It almost feels like she’s deliberately guiding us north….”
“Hah, who could ever understand the intentions of that madwoman? Aurora is incomprehensible!”
Arkhangelo declared dramatically, and Ghieuspe quietly agreed.
“Well, that’s true.”
I accepted their reasoning. Aurora really was one of a kind.
We were aware that Aurora was leading us somewhere, but we still didn’t know why.
Perhaps we’d only find out once we confronted her directly.
And then there was that strange comment Aurora made, claiming that no one understood her….
‘Aurora, just get caught already….’
I silently wished that this time, we’d finally find her. We needed Aurora’s help more than ever.
***
‘I have to run.’
Blonde hair, tied in a single braid, swayed with every gallop of the horse.
Riding at full speed, Aurora bit her lip firmly. Her pink eyes sparkled with a fierce resolve.
‘Farther, farther, farther north….’
If Seraphina heard this, she’d probably clutch her neck and faint, but Aurora had no intention of stopping.
She was determined to run as far north as she could, right up until the moment Seraphina finally caught her.
Seraphina would never understand why she was doing this, and her friends would likely just think Aurora was up to her usual antics again.
‘No, Seraphina. This time, it has to be this way.’
For the sake of her beloved and detested friend, Aurora had to keep running.
This was the only solution Aurora could come up with in this hopeless situation.
‘Seraphina, go ahead and try to catch me.’
I’ll just run farther and farther away.
