A drowsy Princess Mezzlen reappeared before me, using the excuse that she had overslept. However, the 'Whispering Leaf' remained pointed in a completely different direction, motionless.
There was no way an artifact as reliable as the Whispering Leaf had malfunctioned, so the answer was clear.
The Mezzlen standing in front of me, talking casually with Antonio and Seraphine, wasn’t the real Princess Mezzlen that I knew.
'A doppelgänger... I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with one during this festival.'
In the original story, it was a doppelgänger that had delayed the academy while Seraphine was being kidnapped and transported to the Auguste estate. This high-level demon could transform into anyone they had touched for up to 24 hours, even mimicking the person's combat abilities.
'At least it copied Mezzlen, so its combat strength should be negligible. But the problem is, I can’t reveal that it’s a doppelgänger.'
The fact that a doppelgänger had appeared meant someone was serious about kidnapping Mezzlen. I needed to act quickly, but I was hesitating, unable to make a clear decision. I had no concrete evidence to expose the demon, and rushing in alone to rescue Princess Mezzlen would be far too dangerous, especially knowing that dark magic and demons were involved.
While I was racking my brain, trying to figure out a plan, Seraphine finished her conversation with the fake Mezzlen and quietly approached me.
"I’m sorry, Lilith. My sister has caused quite a nuisance this morning for such a ridiculous reason."
"...It’s fine, Princess Seraphine."
"I know you're busy, but could you follow me to the kitchen for a moment? I need to discuss something with you."
"What?"
"...It’s about my sister. There’s something I need to tell you."
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
"Is this really true, Seraphine?"
"Yes. As much as I don’t want to believe it..."
"......."
As soon as Seraphine pulled me into the kitchen, she immediately brought up the subject of Princess Mezzlen. At first, I thought she hadn’t realized anything, given how casually she’d been conversing with the fake Mezzlen, but I underestimated her. Seraphine had quickly figured out that the person before her wasn’t her real sister, just from a few exchanged words.
At this point, the only ones aware of the switch were Seraphine and me.
"My head is spinning. What in the world could have happened yesterday that led to this?"
"Just to be clear, this isn’t some kind of royal decoy, is it?"
"Of course not. Although my sister does have stand-ins, I’m well aware of all of them. So no, that person didn’t show up on any errand from the Valtoria royal family."
"......."
"Given how close you are to my sister, it seems like you recognized the fake right away, Lilith."
"...Yes."
In truth, I hadn’t noticed either, and only realized it thanks to the Whispering Leaf. But there was no need to mention that.
From Seraphine's future vision, it seemed like she thought I’d recognized the imposter on my own.
"We don’t have much time, so I’ll tell you what I saw in my future vision. First, I need to ask you and the Hero to search for my sister, Mezzlen."
"...What?"
"Just us two?"
Confused by Seraphine’s cryptic words, both I and the Hero tilted our heads in unison. She carefully added more details.
"During the search, please take Sir Ethan and Saintess Cerista as your companions. It must be those two, and no one else."
"Why is that? If Princess Mezzlen has really gone missing, shouldn’t we mobilize everyone and begin a full-scale search instead of continuing with this café nonsense...?"
"No. If we do that, the ones who kidnapped my sister will escape."
"...Escape?"
"My sister and her kidnappers are still inside the academy. I couldn’t see exactly where, but I’m certain they’re still here, within the academy grounds—I saw that much in my future vision."
"......."
"......."
Despite using a doppelgänger to replace Mezzlen, they hadn’t yet managed to escape with her. It was a curious situation, but after thinking for a moment, I understood the reason. Right now, the only path leading out of the academy—the 'Bridge of Knowledge'—was completely jammed, practically overflowing with people.
In the original story, Seraphine had been kidnapped on the last day of the festival, when they could slip out unnoticed amidst the departing carriages. But with the festival still ongoing, trying to smuggle someone out of the island was close to impossible.
"We’ll find her soon enough, even if everyone doesn’t join the search. However, if we make a conspicuous move by shutting down the café and launching a full-scale search..."
"......."
"......."
"The culprits will destroy any evidence and disappear. And of course, they’ll kill my sister to eliminate any witnesses before they vanish."
It seemed that in one of her future visions, Seraphine had seen a scenario where a high-profile search had failed, leading to her sister’s death. Even if it was just a dream, witnessing her sister’s death would have left Seraphine understandably shaken.
"As a royal, if I make a move, it’ll draw too much attention. The same goes for Antonio. Luke, as my personal guard, would also attract attention if he acted alone, and we can’t leave the kitchen unmanned, so Agnes must stay. As for the others... I don’t believe they’re necessary for my sister’s rescue."
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In other words, they were deemed useless for the search. It couldn’t be helped—those remaining were mainly combatants without investigative skills.
Even Saintess Cerista, despite being a saint, lacked presence, and the Hero had spent the entire week in the kitchen, so he’d gone largely unnoticed. With the four of us as the most inconspicuous team available, it made sense. Besides, I couldn’t bear to watch Mezzlen die without a proper happy ending.
For me, despite her haughty attitude, Mezzlen was one of the main heroines of Luminor Academy, and I had to save her.
"Fine. I’ll find her."
"I’ll leave the search methods entirely in your hands, Lilith. I trust you have a way to locate my sister."
"Understood, Princess Seraphine."
Seraphine's cryptic words suggested she’d seen me use the Whispering Leaf in her future vision.
Given that Mezzlen’s life was at stake, using the artifact wasn’t a question. The Hero already knew I possessed it anyway.
"I’m sorry for burdening you all with this task. I truly wish I could go myself, but..."
"It’s unavoidable, so don’t worry about it. I’ll find Mezzlen and bring her back."
"We’ll find the Princess somehow. Please stay calm and wait, Princess Seraphine."
"Thank you, both of you...."
With no time for further unnecessary conversation, the Hero and I immediately set out to search for the missing princess.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
"Is what you said just now true?"
"Yes, Young Master Ethan. I apologize for explaining so briefly due to the urgency of the situation, but the person who showed up today is not Princess Mezzlen."
"How...? She looked exactly the same from what I saw...."
"They’ve either found an extraordinarily good decoy or are using dark magic. If they’re bold enough to kidnap a princess, they’ve likely prepared for even more than that."
The Hero and I knew the imposter was a doppelgänger, but we couldn’t outright tell Ethan and Cerista about it.
We avoided mentioning the in-game setting directly while explaining what needed to be done.
"Princess Mezzlen is somewhere inside the academy. Princess Seraphine’s future vision guarantees that much."
"But even if she’s in the academy, it’s such a large place. How can we be sure we’ll find her?"
"Don’t worry. We have something that will help us locate her."
With those words, I pulled the Whispering Leaf from my pocket and showed it to the three of them.
The leaf, still pointing rigidly in one direction, hadn’t reset since I set it to track Mezzlen earlier. Without wasting any more time, I began walking quickly toward the direction it indicated.
"This leaf will guide us to Princess Mezzlen."
"What kind of item is that? How does it work?"
"I’ll explain once we’ve rescued the princess, Young Master Ethan."
"Right... The princess is more important right now."
With that, Ethan and the others fell silent and followed me as I led the way.
...Please, don’t let it be too late.