People need to eat something to regain their energy, right? grumble, grumble
After my belly was full and my head started to feel a bit sluggish, I felt a little more at ease.
After mulling over various concerns, I concluded with a simple ‘so what?’
Yeah.
So what?
It’s not like I’ve never encountered a random stranger popping out of nowhere before. I’ve already seen it with Rena.
I already knew that the Emperor thought I was some kind of big deal. After all, he had already been throwing tasks my way. He flat-out ordered me to assassinate a Count and even tried to send me into battle instead of the academy.
And it wasn’t my ability that got me out of it; it was Alice. After she flipped out seeing the morphine in my room, she sprinted straight to the Emperor for a negotiation.
Limits of ability? That was bound to happen sooner or later. To be honest, my power was pretty OP. Other time-rewinders in novels, comics, and anime had been through so much more than I had. They had to die to turn back time or exchange something of equal value. Honestly, if you said I had it too easy, I’d agree.
Plus… well, all things considered, there had really been no critical mistakes that warranted a rewind.
So, I just decided to shrug it off.
If he shows up again later, I’ll think about it then, right?
There’s something a therapist I visited out of curiosity once said: ‘Don’t worry about things you can’t solve right now. At least try to not worry about them.’ Exactly! Stressing over a future I can’t possibly prepare for is pointless.
“……”
I could feel Alice’s gaze boring into my expression.
We were sitting across from each other. Outside the window, trees marched endlessly in a line. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the trees that were moving; it was us.
“Seriously, your resilience is impressive.”
“……Can you see something on my face?”
“Yup.”
Alice nodded at my question.
“Just like when you returned from the battlefield last time; you were all deep in thought alone and then came back as if nothing happened a few hours later. You’ve done it again now. Right after meeting your father, you looked super shocked, but now you’re fine.”
“That’s true. I had a blank expression when I went to my room earlier this morning.”
Claire chimed in from beside me.
By the way, Leo was sitting next to Alice, looking extremely uncomfortable. They were both student council members, so maybe they had been slowly breaking down barriers by drinking tea together, but after meeting the Emperor yesterday and being reminded that Alice and I were really ‘the Crown Princess,’ it seemed to have thrown him off.
Claire noticed me looking at Leo and shot him a slight glare, as if questioning why he was making me uncomfortable like that.
…Sorry about that.
“I’ve been thinking too much, you know.”
“Really?”
“……”
When I didn’t say anything, Alice fell silent too.
“……Aren’t you going to ask me something?”
“Hmm.”
After a moment of thought, Alice replied,
“I don’t want to ask.”
She cut it off just like that.
I stared silently at Alice with her mouth closed, and she let out a small laugh.
“Curious why?”
“I am curious.”
Of course I was curious. If it were me, I would have grilled her for details in various ways. Sure, if I couldn’t get to the bottom of it, I might have given up at some point.
I had already rifled through the Empire’s restricted archives. I had confirmed that my existence had never been clearly mentioned in any prophecies.
Of course, that wasn’t just to uncover personal secrets but to find clues for progressing the story.
“There’s really no particular reason.”
Alice said and leaned back in her chair, shifting her gaze from me to the window.
The forest outside was mesmerizing and was showing off itself. So far, I had seen places that could be called towns and cities, but they existed as if buried in the forest. If there were any other races in this world, I would think this would be a place for elves to live.
“You don’t need a logical reason to ask a question or not ask one. Right now, I just don’t feel like asking. No, I probably won’t ever ask directly.”
While still facing the window, Alice turned her blue eyes my way and gave me a slight smile.
“Not until you tell me.”
“……”
I couldn’t muster a response.
Alice… had already expressed her thoughts to me. Before infiltrating the casino in a bunny girl outfit. In the game, the only reason given was a mix of inferiority complex towards Claire, and I had thought of it as merely an event scene to provide service.
But if there’s something different between the game and this world, it would be that game characters move for the sake of the story, while the people here move to create their own stories.
“Understood.”
“You look somewhat relieved.”
“……”
When Alice said that as if she could read my mind again, I turned my face towards Claire.
“Claire.”
“Uh, yes!?”
Claire, who had been blankly staring at Alice and me talking, was startled. It seemed she didn’t expect me to suddenly talk to her.
“Is my face that expressive?”
“Uh… Maybe sometimes? I can’t say you do all the time…?”
Claire stammered, as if something had jammed in her throat.
“Hm.”
Alice let out a small snort.
Hearing that made Claire’s brows furrow deeply.
“What’s with that reaction?”
It wasn’t chilling or cold, just a voice tinged with mild annoyance, perhaps.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, not wrong. It’s just that feeling superior sometimes comes when you see someone who can’t do what you can.”
“What!?”
Um…
Hey, Claire, even though we’re in a train from the 20th century with poor soundproofing, yelling like that is going to turn everyone’s heads over here.
Moreover, if you stand up like that, it’ll be even more noticeable.
Probably, most people looking at Claire right now were wearing expressions of shock. They knew very well who she usually hung around with, and screaming like that in front of anyone, regardless of the reason, was extremely impolite.
If word got out that the daughter of Baron Grace yelled at the Crown Princess—
The reaction you could easily expect from a noble was being decisively displayed by Leo, who sat beside Alice.
“C-Claire…!”
Leo, whose face turned pale, was trying to intervene somehow, but given that he wasn’t sitting right next to her, it wasn’t easy. There was a small table between us.
Plus, Alice was keeping Leo from getting up.
Faced with that fact, Leo froze stiff. He shot me a look that screamed for help, but…
…Um, sorry.
I was just as confused as he was about the situation right now.
“You’ve spent a lot of time with your sister! If I had the same time as you, I would definitely read her feelings much better than you!”
Um…
Isn’t it better to fight about that back at the academy? If you’re going to argue, at least lower your voice a little.
No, really—couldn’t you just wait until we’re on our way to the academy? Watching this unfold next to me is incredibly embarrassing.
Even now, I was barely managing not to break my expression.
Of course, Alice was just grinning at me watching that.
She definitely picked up on what I was feeling.
“Well, how would you know? You haven’t done it, so how can you be so sure?”
“Ugh…!”
At Alice’s words, Claire briefly scowled in anger and then,
“……”
Let out a long sigh.
With a calm and noble posture, she returned to her chair, as if pretending that her earlier outburst had never happened.
But that demeanor was merely an act. Claire’s fighting spirit hadn’t gone anywhere.
“Sister.”
As proof of that, as soon as Claire sat down, she looked over at me and said,
“……Yes.”
“Look me straight in the face.”
She turned slightly in her seat and said that to me.
I obliged without a word.
Claire’s deep blue eyes were locked onto mine. Alice, Claire, and everyone else had blue eyes, but while Alice’s felt like a clear lake, Claire’s felt like looking into the Blue Hole, and it was a little intimidating to look her straight in the eye like this.
“From now until we get to school, we’re going to practice matching your emotional expressions.”
“……”
I looked towards Alice, but she was just putting on a smug face.
……
I’m done for.
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