Just as Valtraus had predicted, an invitation stamped with the seal of the Imperial Family truly flew my way.
Since I could not dare to refuse the summons of the First Imperial Princess.
Even though I knew I would run into the Original Protagonist, I had no choice but to visit the Imperial Palace according to the date and time written on the invitation.
Thus, when I entered the reception room of the First Princess’s Palace under the guidance of a court maid.
“Karbaldr!! You came too, after all? I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you again until after the semester started, but we meet so soon! Oh, and hello, Yor!”
“Nyan-nyan~!”
Sure enough.
The Protagonist of Another Novel, who had arrived first, greeted Yor and me warmly and started talking.
This was a reunion that took place only five days after I had offered my farewells, never doubting for a moment that we would see each other again.
Even though the other person wouldn’t even dream of the feelings I had when I told him to stay well.
An awkward and embarrassing sensation washed over me for no reason.
“Why are you suddenly covering your face?”
“…It is none of your business.”
“But I want to know?”
“Hmph!”
I put on a deliberate cold expression, crossed my legs, and even folded my arms as I sat in the seat across from Reysir.
This behavior was possible because the First Imperial Princess had not yet taken her seat.
Given the dignity of the Imperial Family, she could not wait for and then greet a subordinate, so she would likely step in only after hearing the news that all the guests had arrived.
“I thought we decided to stop acting so prickly?”
“What kind of groundless nonsense are you talking about?”
“Karbaldr, you, didn’t you look at me and smile brightly when we parted ways last time?”
“Wh-when did I ever smile like that?!”
“I just said it. ‘When we parted ways last time.'”
I had hoped and prayed that Reysir hadn’t seen it, but it hadn’t even stood a chance.
“I have never smiled at you. Furthermore, ‘brightly’? That is absurd. Did you perhaps see a hallucination because of the light generated when using the Gate?”
“No? I saw it clearly. The way your eyes slightly curved and your lips softly formed an arc is still vivid in my mind. That’s why I thought you had decided to express your feelings honestly from now on?”
“You saw incorrectly.”
“Seeing how you and I were called here like this, it seems Liolikin will be arriving soon too. Should I ask him? Whether I was really just mistaken?”
The Original Protagonist I met five days later was still as persistent as ever.
I couldn’t understand why he was so obsessed with another person’s expression.
One thing was for certain: if I continued to deny it, Reysir was the type of person who would definitely put his words into action.
“……Do not do that.”
“Does that mean you admit I saw correctly?”
“……”
I bit my lip tightly and glared at the Protagonist of Another Novel.
At that, the other person laughed cheerfully as if my reaction was quite satisfying.
“Is teasing me truly that fun for you?”
“If I don’t do this, you’ll hide your thoughts and feelings tightly and try never to reveal them.”
“……!”
The sight of him laughing was so annoying that I tried to argue, but I was caught off guard.
Reysir spoke the words above with a serious expression while staring intently at my face, and I was so flustered that I couldn’t think of a response.
As I was standing there with my mouth hanging open, a beaming smile suddenly appeared on Reysir’s face.
“But your reaction is pretty fun.”
“You, you…!”
“Yes. Why are you calling me?”
“……”
“If you have something to say to me, wouldn’t it be better to say it quickly before someone comes?”
“…Hmph.”
Reysir burst into laughter again, but fortunately, it did not last long.
It was because a knock was heard at just the right timing.
I thought Liolikin had arrived, but the one who opened the door and entered the reception room was a maid bringing tea and snacks.
This was a meeting with a member of the Imperial Family, of all people.
While I was feeling curious because I couldn’t understand why Liolikin was so late, the number of teacups the maid brought caught my eye.
One in front of the empty seat of honor, and one each in front of me and Reysir.
That was all; just three.
“It seems…, only you and I were invited?”
Reysir also seemed to have noticed the number of teacups as he spoke.
Just as I was about to nod in agreement since I had the same thought.
“That is not so.”
The voice of an unfamiliar woman heard from somewhere denied Reysir’s words.
This voice, which felt authoritative yet relaxed, surely belonged to the First Imperial Princess.
Reysir and I immediately rose from our seats to show respect to the owner of the palace.
Beyond the door the maid had left wide open, the sound of clicking heels and the sound of a dress train dragging flowed in.
Only then did a woman with long emerald hair and blue-green eyes appear as she added an explanation.
“I have also summoned the child of the Trembler family. However, I simply gave him a different time.”
Since it’s been so long since he was mentioned, I don’t think anyone will remember, but ‘Trembler’ is Liolikin’s surname.
It will rarely be mentioned alone in the future.
Even if it is mentioned, since I plan to add that it is Liolikin’s family name, you don’t need to make an effort to memorize it.
So, what the readers should pay attention to now is this.
‘Just now, Reysir spoke in a low voice as if he were almost whispering, but she heard that from a distance and denied it? Even more so, she didn’t shout, but spoke in a calm tone.’
Considering that the Imperial Family’s Ether Characteristic Ability handles wind and spatial movement, there is only one answer.
She must have used the power of the wind to carry the sounds from here to eavesdrop on Reysir’s words, and then sent the words ‘That is not so’ along the breeze.
“Could it be that you were listening to the entire conversation we had here?”
It seemed the Original Protagonist had reached the same conclusion as I had.
The voice he used to ask the question was thorny, accompanied by a stiff expression.
“Hmm? What I heard was only the question regarding the number of guests invited today. Perhaps you two shared a conversation that I should not have heard? For instance, badmouthing the Imperial Family?”
“We were only exchanging a personal conversation. We did not say a single word regarding the Imperial Family.”
“My, you seem to be upset thinking that I have eavesdropped on your personal affairs. However, do not worry. If I had truly done so, I would not have done something like planting seeds of suspicion by answering your question from afar.”
Since the opponent’s status was high and there wasn’t even any physical evidence, it was impossible even for the persistent Reysir to not withdraw his suspicion and keep pestering her.
In the first place, there was no guarantee that the First Imperial Princess wouldn’t answer with a lie even if he did pester her.
In the end, even while harboring doubts about whether the First Imperial Princess’s words were true, Reysir and I had no choice but to let it go.
‘If I try to guess based on the character traits revealed in the Original Work, the probability that she eavesdropped is about 70%…?’
I had a feeling that the readers’ opinions of the First Imperial Princess would be split between two extremes.
Either they would find her sly attitude charming, or they would find it unpleasant and uncomfortable.
For reference, in the Original Work, the negative public opinion was overwhelmingly dominant, and the reason for that was that Reysir, the protagonist, harbored hostility toward the Imperial Family.
Detailed circumstances regarding this can be found by re-reading chapter 81.
“Why did you summon only the two of us first?”
As soon as he sat back down with the First Imperial Princess’s permission, Reysir brought up a question.
In the Original Work, Reysir skillfully hid his deep-seated resentment in front of the First Imperial Princess.
Was it because the meeting had been moved up by five years?
Being in his late teens and still immature, he could not perfectly hide his emotions and showed signs that he was barely suppressing them.
“A few days ago. You must have heard the news that an abnormal phenomenon identical to what you experienced occurred at the Imperial Palace as well? Since then, something without substance, which represents abilities as numbers, has begun to appear in my eyes.”
“Yes.”
The First Imperial Princess, ‘Fyodora Bedre Midtrad’, spoke about the status window after sending the maid out of the reception room.
“However, among those who were in the Marble Hall at the time, there was not a single person who spoke about that ‘something’. The only ones who could land effective attacks on the monster that appeared there were I and my Familiar.”
Fyodora gently stroked the eagle Familiar perched on the armrest of the chair she was sitting in, paused for a moment, and then spoke.
Then, she said the following in a meaningful tone.
“I think this is not a mere coincidence.”
It seems she has already figured out that only an Awakened can defeat a Boss Monster.
“Thinking that Reysir and I can also see that ‘something’, did you call only us first to talk about it?”
“Exactly.”
“Just as Your Highness the First Imperial Princess took the life of the monster that appeared in the Marble Hall, Reysir also cut off the monster’s breath. It is understandable that you would guess he can see the same thing as Your Highness. However, I am curious as to why you thought I would be the same.”
“According to the report I received, every time you threw a dagger, the monster struck it away. Doesn’t this mean that it felt your attack as a threat?”
To assume that I am also an Awakened for just such a reason?
Just as I was thinking that she might be overconfident in her own reasoning.
Fyodora added the following words.
“Even if that is not the case, it does not matter. Since you are a member of the Four Great Ducal Houses. I was planning to inform the Dukes about the information regarding this ‘something’ anyway.”
Hearing this, I also had an inkling.
Since she invited Reysir and me under the pretext of praising those who were active on the day of the Graduation Ceremony, she had to invite Liolikin as well.
It seemed that because Liolikin only defended when facing the monster, it was impossible to judge whether he had Awakened, so she notified him of a different invitation time.
And what this means is……
“Are you intending to hide that information from the public?”
“That is something to be considered after first securing as much information as possible. I cannot explain something I do not even know to the public, can I?”
“That makes sense as well. However, if seeing a ‘window where one’s own abilities are visualized’ is truly the condition for a person who can kill special entities, I think it should be announced as soon as possible.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because if we’re not careful, the only person who can kill a special entity might not realize that fact, and by staying hidden, they might miss the opportunity. This could lead to a tragedy where everyone there dies.”
To ensure readers do not misunderstand, this is not a comment targeting Reysir from ten years ago when he was a little kid.
As the entire Earldom turned into a Demonic Realm, the number of people involved was large.
The setting was such that there were quite a few people who had Awakened, including Reysir’s parents and the knight commander.
“Now that I hear it, your words seem correct. But isn’t it strange? Even your father, the Austri Duke, did not seem to know the fact that you were granted the ‘qualification to kill special monsters’.”
“Until I heard Your Highness’s words, I thought that most people involved in the abnormal phenomenon could see the ‘window without substance’. Therefore, even after hearing the story that only Your Highness’s attacks left meaningful damage to the special entity, I could not infer the correlation.”
“You did not hide it on purpose?”
“Yes, that is correct. My father considered me, who had returned after suffering, and instead of prying into this and that, he recommended rest and set out on a separate investigation..”
“It is surprising that the Austri Duke had such a kind side.”
Of course.
Because such a side does not exist in Hard.
But in front of Reysir, I couldn’t say, ‘Usually my father doesn’t listen to me, so I gave up on reporting.’
Because I didn’t want to buy unnecessary pity.
Since I was already lying, adding a small lie here wouldn’t change anything anyway.
“Anyway, that’s why I thought he would naturally find out about the ‘something that could be seen after being caught in the abnormal phenomenon’. I guessed that the reason he didn’t specifically ask me about ‘it’ was because he had heard related information from others… but seeing it now, it seems he didn’t even know of ‘its’ existence, so he couldn’t even ask. I should tell him as soon as I return home today.”
By the way, I hope the term ‘Status Window’ is established soon.
Because I cannot mention this three-syllable word, every time I have to give a long explanation and then refer to it with pronouns like ‘it’ or ‘something’.
The words keep getting longer and the intuitiveness drops, so it is quite inconvenient.