I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling of my room.
Of course, where I was lying was my bed. I didn’t even need to get up to know that. It had been my bed for almost 11 years now, a constant in my life, and the blanket I used every day.
Well, the blanket might have changed a bit, but it’s certain that I’ve used this one for quite a while.
Is it… all over?
Was Lucas caught? Did the Emperor find out what Lucas had? Those were the first thoughts that popped into my head.
I didn’t feel like I had actually slept. It was more like I just closed my eyes and opened them again, lying here in my bed.
“Sylvia?”
I heard a voice from beside me.
I turned my head slightly and saw Alice with wide eyes, clearly startled.
“Sylvia!”
Hearing Alice grip my arm and shout made Claire, who was doing something by the table, jump a little.
“Sis?”
Claire had a face that looked just as surprised as Alice’s. There was no sign of Leo, though. Were they all busy with something?
Well, if they caught Lucas, then they’d definitely be busy… I’m not sure what Leo’s been up to.
“What about Lucas…?”
“That’s not important right now.”
No, it is important!
I hadn’t asked Lucas anything yet! We just fought as soon as we met.
After thinking about it again, I realized how foolish I was. The fact that Lucas came back meant that he intended to fight.
As I sat up, Alice looked anxious, rising a bit before sitting back down.
I felt refreshed.
I lifted my arm and checked for any injuries, but I didn’t see anything. I didn’t even need to think about it—being a princess, I must have received top-tier healing. Most of my wounds were just scratches, so treatment wouldn’t have been too difficult. I probably fainted from exhaustion.
After lying on that soft bed for hours, it made sense that I felt good. Especially since I hadn’t been able to sleep well due to nightmares before.
And I felt mentally better too.
“What happened to that masked woman?”
Last I checked, she was still fighting, tangled up with someone else. The wounds were the same, though.
“She disappeared while we were handling the situation.”
Again?
I knew it was a situation where she couldn’t use her powers. If that’s the case, disappearing like that must be a separate issue altogether.
Did she vanish of her own will? Or was she fixed in a specific temporal state, making it unavoidable for her to show up like that?
Whichever it was, it was hard to accept.
“Water, sis.”
While I was talking to Alice, Claire suddenly shoved a cup at me.
It was only after seeing that cup that I realized my lips were dry.
I gratefully took the cup Claire offered, drank, and then asked again.
“What about Lucas?”
At my question, Alice and Claire exchanged glances before answering.
“… He ran away.”
“With that condition—”
I quickly shut my mouth and thought about it.
Actually, it might be possible for Lucas. Considering the clothes he was wearing, he could probably withstand the Emperor’s and the Sword Saint’s attacks and, despite dodging knightly swords, still escape.
He wouldn’t have come out completely unscathed, though.
“And what about the people who were down…?”
“…”
At my words, both Alice and Claire averted their eyes.
I see…
“How much time has passed?”
It wouldn’t be surprising if I had slept for a whole day. That would explain my dry throat.
However, the answer I got back came with a hesitance in their voices.
“Almost two weeks have gone by.”
“… What?”
For a moment, I thought I misheard them.
“Two weeks, sis. While you were out, it’s almost the end of August. School starts tomorrow.”
“…”
I couldn’t hide my blank expression.
“You mean school starts tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
Alice nodded seriously at my question.
“What about the Sword Saint?”
“He’s still at the palace. He has… a strangely cheerful look on his face, which is scary.”
Claire spoke with a hint of hesitation.
“… And Leo?”
“He’s training. He thought it would be too much to leave a man to take care of you.”
Thinking about the comfortable clothes I was wearing, someone must have changed me.
“How did you manage meals while I was down for two weeks?”
“We basically took care of it, along with the caretakers.”
“They fed you little bits of food, chopped up, and water too in that way,” Alice and Claire explained one after the other, as if they were afraid I would panic.
“…”
I lay back down on the bed.
Huff.
Two weeks like this?
With other people taking care of me?
Though they explained it succinctly, a lot must have happened in that time. If Lucas escaped, a bounty would have been put out for him. The gunshots heard from the tower would have spread rumors near the palace. With diplomats and consuls in the Imperial Capital, and agents planted there, it would have been impossible to completely block off the rumors.
Even if the fact that Lucas was the one who caused the incidents is hidden, it’s unlikely to hide the fact that there was an incident. Plus, if Lucas really shook up the Papal State, they might know what’s going on.
I felt like the ironclad status the Empire had maintained was cracking.
How would the Emperor react? I wasn’t expecting any positive responses from my perspective.
“Well, things have been mostly settled. At least there are no issues with the palace’s functions…”
Alice was trying to excuse things, but with so many knights injured, there’s no way it could be the same.
“… That.”
As I remained silent and lost in thought, Alice tentatively spoke up.
“… I’m sorry. I was the one who suggested going inside.”
“No.”
Claire quickly jumped in at Alice’s words.
“It was me who insisted we couldn’t just wait down there.”
I stared at the two of them. Both looked like they wanted to hide somewhere.
“So—”
“No.”
I cut Alice off as she tried to continue.
“The one who didn’t explain why things turned out that way and what you were trying to do is me.”
At my words, both of them fell silent.
They looked as if they had a lot to say, probably leaning towards apologies.
But I didn’t want to accept their apologies. It didn’t mean they were at fault towards me. To begin with, it wasn’t a situation where I should demand an apology.
It was just a tangled situation because of me.
I claimed I would save all the heroines, but I was the one who put them at risk.
“…”
I lay down again and stared blankly at the ceiling. Gazing at the ornate Victorian-style decorations that were far from minimal, I suddenly thought.
Ah, all the remaining vacation was shot to pieces.
*
I almost thought of rewinding the whole vacation period but decided against it.
Just trying to rewind a bit had already hurt my head, and if I tried to go further back, well…
Wouldn’t it just end up like an egg smashed against a rock?
The truth is, what I did in the first place was mind-numbingly stupid. What if I had actually ended up dead?
…
So what would happen then?
It would be better than Alice dying. After all, I was practically a bonus character in this world. More precisely, I was a character whose true identity was unknown.
… Well, since no one died, it should be fine.
“Um.”
Hearing a tiny sound, I looked up to see Charlotte. She didn’t seem to have changed much during the break.
“I’m glad you’re looking healthy.”
“I’m glad to see you’re well too, Princess.”
“It seems like we reset the titles.”
Charlotte sat down with a smirk.
After staring at me for a moment, she shrugged.
She probably heard about the happenings in the Imperial Capital through the news or Velbur’s information channels, but she didn’t ask any more. What happened within the palace was royal business. Conversely, it would have been a faux pas for us to probe.
“Hello, Charlotte.”
“How have you been, Alice? But we’ve already exchanged greetings in the hallway.”
After accepting the greetings from other nobles a bit late, Alice said hello to Charlotte, who smiled back.
“Well, greetings in the classroom feel different, don’t they? There were other people in the hall too.”
Saying this, Alice took a seat behind me.
“This vacation felt so long.”
When Alice complained with a sigh, Charlotte replied, “Indeed.”
It really had been long.
It felt like it had been ages since I’d experienced such a peaceful atmosphere.
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