I’ve been feeling lately that this world doesn’t revolve around me.
Even if I try to skip the parts I don’t want to deal with and ignore everything else, the structured characters keep moving according to their thoughts.
Just like how Claire and Alice’s entanglement in the original led Alice to sneak into the casino dressed as a bunny girl, this time Alice was motivated by Bella to sneak into the casino.
She must have felt a lot during our conversation yesterday. Bella was completely different from usual, the epitome of a ‘woman with a story.’ She had dreams but ended up in such a situation due to harsh realities. If I hadn’t had prior knowledge, I would have easily fallen into the same trap.
The reason Bella approached us at that time may be related to her ulterior motives. She probably thought of drawing me in while also teasing Alice.
In reality, I jumped straight into action, neglecting the intermediate steps, and Alice dressed herself up as a bunny girl to sneak in. There’s no need to ponder who helped her find that outfit; it’s obviously Bella.
Bang!
“Gah!”
As I barged in, Alice, who was holding a piece of blue fabric, gasped.
Though she wasn’t wearing stockings yet.
“Did you plan to get dressed from here?”
“W-Wait!?”
As I immediately asked, Alice seemed to want to deny it at first, but after noticing her hands, she hid what she was holding behind her back.
I completely entered Alice’s room and closed the door.
“Getting dressed here is way too noticeable.”
“I-I know that!”
Realizing I had been aware from the start, Alice finally seemed to give up and spoke.
As she let her arms drop, the piece of fabric and stockings she was holding fell to the floor. Turning my gaze, I saw a mask and bunny ears headband on the desk.
“I was… going to wear it under my outfit and just take off my outerwear…”
“…….”
But perhaps she couldn’t withstand my silent gaze, Alice blushed and tilted her head down.
She looked strangely pitiful.
I thought due to the confidence I had instilled in her since childhood, she had become considerably more self-assured than in the original. But it seemed that wasn’t the case.
I almost sighed but held it back. Seeing Alice in front of me, doing that would likely make her pride plummet even further.
“First, let’s sit down and talk. You can decide whether to continue with what you were planning to do afterward.”
“……Okay.”
When I gestured to the bed, Alice silently sat down on it.
She probably thought that what she was planning to do wasn’t exactly royal behavior.
As I looked at Alice slumped on the edge of the bed and was about to head towards the chair, I changed my mind and sat beside her.
Of course, I didn’t sit so close that our bodies touched. I maintained a bit of distance, just enough that I wouldn’t feel like I was too far away.
“First, please explain why you were planning to go out in this outfit.”
Looking at Alice’s hands, I asked,
“N-No, I mean, I wasn’t going to go out like this—”
Alice, who had turned her head to make an excuse, shut her mouth when she saw my face.
“Um, that is…”
Then, after mumbling for a while, she slowly opened her mouth.
“I just felt like I wasn’t doing anything.”
“Not doing anything? What do you mean?”
“When I went on the practical training to Winterfield, I was comfortably taking on requests and doing tasks with friends.”
“That’s just what you should be doing as a student.”
“But… you’ve done something incredible while I was just sitting around. It wouldn’t have been strange if you received a medal on the spot.”
“……”
That was… true. Strictly speaking, what I did had nothing to do with the requests, so my scores should have definitely landed me a fail, but Jennifer overlooked it since she couldn’t ignore my achievements during that time. Separately, it was possible that I would get some kind of commendation.
“What I did was what I was supposed to do—”
“……What you were supposed to do?”
Alice interrupted me.
“What do you consider as ‘what you were supposed to do’?”
“That is—”
“What is it that you, as a fellow princess, should do?”
“……”
Alice was looking directly at me. Even though we were sitting side by side, she had slightly turned her body towards me, looking straight at my face.
And there was a strange intensity in her expression.
I had felt this atmosphere before.
Back when I enrolled at the academy, when the Emperor had tried to send me to the Northern battlefield instead of the academy, Alice had come to confront me. She found Morphine in my room and went straight to the Emperor to broker a deal and take me to the academy.
The expression Alice wore while looking at me now carried that same vibe.
“Father… doesn’t distinguish between you and me. Neither does he between Bella and me, or Lucas and Jayden. You know that, right?”
Alice clenched her fist. The fabric she was holding crumpled in her hand.
“But after hearing you say that you consider me the next Emperor, Father didn’t say much. That wasn’t because he trusted my abilities but rather trusted your will more than mine, right?”
Was that the kind of story I had discussed with the Emperor when we met?
…Certainly, looking at how the Emperor interacted with me, he might have been more focused on my judgment than Alice’s will.
“Let me ask you one question. Last year, I just thought you acknowledged me and overlooked it without considering it… but why do you think I should become the next Emperor?”
“……”
“From where did you see me as the next Emperor? My abilities? My character? Or were you just looking at my lineage? Or my utilitarian value? Am I something that will benefit you in the future?”
I wondered what Alice saw in me to think, ‘I will make him Emperor.’
The reason why I had been so gentle with Alice.
To be honest, it was simple without any need for consideration.
I liked Alice.
Not just her, but I liked all the characters that appeared in the Chronicles of Aetherna.
The reason I treated Alice well was the same as why I treated Claire well. They were simply characters I had liked even before coming to this world.
Honestly, if I said my heart didn’t race when I first met her, it would be a lie.
It was just that there were urgent matters, enemies to face, and many things to consider, which buried that initial joy under thoughts, but the very first thought was, ‘I’m happy.’
When I met Claire, I was scared. Staying there would have inevitably led to the same fate she faced in the original. I also felt the joy of meeting Alice but alongside that came the fear of the Emperor and the annoyance of Lucas lurking around.
But even so, I couldn’t completely erase the enjoyment of being inside that game’s story.
The reason I diligently moved within it was that I ultimately wanted those characters to survive safely.
“……”
However, strangely enough.
Simply saying ‘I like you’ felt oddly difficult. Even though I thought I wouldn’t feel embarrassed if I just said it and later took it back. I could just blurt it out and if I felt embarrassed, I could take it back—
Strangely, it seemed like that was something I shouldn’t do.
“See?”
But it seemed Alice interpreted my silence differently.
Instead of showing disappointment or sadness concerning my attitude, Alice wore a look that was somewhat relieved.
And I didn’t know the reason for that expression.
“Then let me prove it.”
Alice said, looking at me with a strong expression.
“Let me show you that I’m someone capable of standing in that Emperor’s position. Not just someone protected by you, but someone qualified to protect you.”
“……”
“Not merely someone claiming to be an older sister, but someone who can properly be an older sister, give me a chance to prove that.”
“……I,”
“Yes, you might already know everything. So, you’d understand that this is forced. It’s not something an older sister should say either. But…”
Alice’s fist tightened even more.
“But… I want to do it that way.”
Just because I wanted to do it that way.
Going deeper, it was nothing but a wish that lacked logic, just a self-satisfaction request with no real reasoning.
But—
“……I understand.”
In the end, I was moving the same way, so I had no choice but to agree.
“Instead, I’ll go with you. Crown Princess… no, Alice, just move as you please. I’ll follow you and help you when needed.”
“That’s…”
“The Emperor is not someone who moves alone. I think it’s fine to have at least one person under their command.”
If you’re going to do it anyway, I’d prefer to see it myself.
It’s an important event, right?
“……”
Alice was staring blankly at my words.
It was understandable.
At that moment, I wasn’t holding my expression as carefully as usual.
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