“Nice job during the Monster Extermination War, Sir.”
I was tossing and turning all night, pondering how Estelle knew that.
As a result, I woke up to slightly dark circles under my eyes.
I had never seen such deep dark circles before.
Even on the second day of the festival, Estelle’s shocking remark cluttered my mind.
I thought about confiding in Abel, but I couldn’t predict how he would react to Estelle, so I dropped the idea.
After all, she wasn’t a bad person.
“Haa…”
I knew Estelle was no ordinary individual. She had the Crown Prince, the Tower Master, and even the captain of the Imperial Knights in her circle.
They were all major players, really.
Even though the Crown Prince is a womanizer, the Tower Master and the captain of the knights belonged to entirely different realms.
No matter how you looked at it, a common noble lady couldn’t possibly attract the favor of such influential people without a reason.
Most importantly, she was the one who first hinted to me about Ark.
‘This is giving me a headache…’
Suddenly, I recalled a conversation I had with a friend about the original protagonist.
It was right after my friend explained the scene where the three male protagonists were fighting over Estelle.
I had wondered how someone could entangle themselves with such heavyweights and asked her about it.
After a moment of reflection, my friend had grinned and replied:
“Heh, that’s simple. The protagonist has good eyesight.”
Good eyesight. Indeed, having keen observational skills is essential for the protagonists of fantasy novels.
But it would be hard to say that’s what makes them special. Sure, in a typical light novel, it might be enough.
“What does that even mean?”
“If you want to know, just read it yourself~”
Whenever I got curious and asked, my friend would only shoot me such sales pitches.
She was probably hoping I would pick up the same work.
But honestly, getting such recommendations usually made me a bit resistant to the work in question.
In the end, I never did finish that novel.
Looking back now, I should have read the original in depth back then.
Not knowing much made my early days of possession quite difficult, to say the least.
I even had the Crown Prince glaring at me directly…
Just thinking back to that time makes my head spin.
“..Let’s head out for now.”
It’s almost time for my appointment. Since I’m not attending a gathering or a social event, I decided to skip the makeup.
Just covering up my dark circles with some concealer shouldn’t be too bad.
With that thought in mind, I approached the mirror.
As my reflection came into view, I paused for a moment.
Even without any adornment and sporting dark circles, my face was still beautiful.
Did the original owner of this body, Adele, meet a miserable end despite having such a face?
Thinking back, if it weren’t for Abel, I might have met a similar fate.
Perhaps the moment Adele began to love the Crown Prince, such a destiny became inevitable.
‘Well, I certainly can’t be attracted to such a fool.’
After hastily covering my dark circles, I stepped out of the room.
The corridor felt oddly empty today. With Lily away for her hometown vacation, I felt a bit lonely.
Even though she had come to say goodbye, there was an emptiness in my heart.
Lost in thought, I entered the mansion’s lobby and spotted a familiar face.
Abel was perched on the railing of the staircase, deep in thought.
“Abel?”
“Hmm?”
Only after my call did he notice me and uncross his arms. He then descended and approached me.
“Are you going out?”
“Uh, yes. I have an appointment.”
“An appointment?”
After a moment’s hesitation at his question, I decided to spill the beans. It wouldn’t be too much of an issue to reveal that I had plans with her.
“Yes. I am meeting Miss Estelle.”
“Estelle… I see.”
“Well then, I should be going.”
“Wait a moment.”
Abel suddenly grasped my shoulder, the unexpected touch sending a chill down my spine.
Thwack!
Reacting reflexively, I swatted his hand away. Surprised by my reaction, Abel’s eyes widened slightly.
He fumbled for words for a moment before quickly offering an apology.
“I’m sorry. I must have been a bit hasty.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m just a bit tired… I guess I overreacted.”
In truth, I knew he hadn’t meant any harm. I was just triggered by unfortunate memories from my past.
I had similar experiences in my previous life as well, not to mention the Crown Prince’s antics in this life.
I thought I had moved on, yet it seemed like it hadn’t completely faded.
“Here.”
Abel opened a spatial compartment beside him and handed me a gem.
The white gem emitted a radiant glow. It was obviously something extraordinary.
“Inject mana into it when you need it.”
“What kind of effect does it have?”
“Well, let’s just say you can look forward to it.”
He said this with a sly smile. Adele couldn’t help but chuckle in response.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
§
The autumn breeze brushed my face.
Leaves danced through the air as they slowly drifted down from the trees.
Amidst the vibrant autumn atmosphere, Estelle sat on a bench.
She quietly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear while reading a book.
Watching her, all I could think was how beautiful she was.
If I were to describe Adele as a cool and chic beauty, then Estelle exuded a pure and elegant charm.
She turned the pages of her elegantly bound book slowly. The cover, made of luxurious material, bore a title in the Empire’s language.
I found it different enough from what I knew that I couldn’t decipher its precise meaning.
Noticing my gaze, she gently closed her book.
Setting it aside, Estelle gracefully rose and greeted me first.
“Hello, Adele.”
“Oh, hello, Miss Estelle.”
Surprised by my formality, she looked at me with a hint of disappointment.
“Oh my, I told you not to add “Miss” at the end of my name.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Hehe. You don’t have to apologize. It’s true we haven’t seen much of each other lately.”
“Ahaha…”
I chuckled awkwardly at Estelle’s words. It was true that we hadn’t met much over the past few months.
The last time we met was at the tea party before going to Ark. Of course, we hadn’t really had a proper conversation then either.
I had stumbled over my words, flustered by her mention of the Emperor’s Hometown.
“I didn’t interrupt your reading, did I?”
“Oh no, not at all. I was just passing the time.”
She said this while giving her pure smile. Yet, I couldn’t tell for sure if it was genuine.
It’s a bit unfair to say, but Estelle’s smile had a slightly cunning undertone.
However, that was probably just my prejudice.
“May I ask what book you were reading?”
“Hmm…”
At my question, Estelle pondered for a moment before picking up the book beside her.
After reading briefly, she chuckled softly and then handed it to me.
“Care to read it for yourself?”
What kind of book would make her smile like that? I took the book from her hand, filled with curiosity.
I skimmed through the pages and read the general text.
Not to brag, but in my past life, I had a hobby of reading web novels, so speed reading was one of the few skills I picked up.
“…”
With every page I turned, my face gradually grew warmer.
At first, I thought it was just a simple romance novel, but the descriptions were taking a more explicit turn.
‘W-What is this…’
After flipping through about ten pages, it dove directly into a steamy scene. Caught off guard by the risqué content, I hastily closed the book.
‘This is an adult novel!’
I was quite familiar with romantic fantasy literature, but I had never encountered anything this explicit before, making it truly surprising.
Looking at the cover again, I noticed it appeared partially inserted into something else.
So that’s why it felt so luxurious.
‘It was a cover!’
When I looked up at Estelle, she had a mischievous grin on her face.
“Hehe.”
“W-Well… this is…”
“You seem to have a cute reaction, Adele.”
It’s not about having a cute reaction; it’s strange that you would openly read something like that in a public place!
The image of her reading so gracefully now seemed utterly corrupted.
Not that I’m particularly conservative, but isn’t it odd to blatantly read such content in public?
“W-Why on earth are you…”
“Would you like me to loan it to you?”
Her question left me stumped. What could I possibly say to that? My mind went blank in various ways.
With a playful grin, she continued.
“Haha, just kidding! Just a joke.”
But her voice didn’t sound too jokey.
As I handed the book back to her, she accepted it and stashed it into her small bag.
I gazed in awe; even with the book inside, the bag didn’t seem to bulge.
Seeing my expression, Estelle explained.
“This bag was a gift from Rev. It has spatial magic, so it’s very convenient.”
“Oh…”
So it was a gift from that Tower Master. You’d think with his reputation, he wouldn’t give out gifts like that.
She shook the bag and asked me, “Should I ask him to make one for you too?”
“No, no. I can just ask Abel.”
At my words, Estelle grinned.
“It seems like you’re getting quite close with the Duke.”
“W-Well…”
It’s not like I couldn’t say that, but…
How should I put it? I felt a bit shy saying it out loud. Wouldn’t Estelle react similarly if I asked her the same?
“By the way, Estelle.”
Now that I think about it, there was something I wanted to ask her most.
The real reason I had wanted to meet her was to find out how she knew about the Extermination War.
“Huh? What is it?”
“It’s about yesterday. How did you find out?”
Estelle fell into thought at my question, then gasped as if she remembered something.
“Ah…”
After pondering briefly, she seemed to have made a resolution and spoke up.
“I have good eyesight, you see.”
Pointing to her eyes, Estelle said this.
I froze at her words. Those were exactly the same words my friend had used.
Not only my friend but even Estelle herself said the same thing, leaving me momentarily speechless.
Does “good eyesight” imply more than just observational skills?
While I was lost in thought, Estelle continued.
“I’ll tell you more details after we enjoy the festival together.”
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