“If you plan to leave without me, I’ll scream at the top of my lungs right here and now.”
“...How exactly would that help?”
I asked earnestly.
If I were a man, it would’ve had a significant impact. In this world, which is extraordinarily conservative—especially in terms of gender relations—just the fact that a man and a woman were alone in a room could cause a scandal. If the woman screamed, that scream alone would serve as evidence.
However, we were both women.
This content is taken from freёwebnovel.com.
“You used explosives to get into my room, didn’t you? If I claim you came here to assassinate me, wouldn’t everyone believe it?”
Charlotte spoke nonchalantly, saying something utterly terrifying. I stared at her for a moment before slowly opening my mouth.
“May I ask why you’re so determined to come along?”
“And may I ask why you’re so determined to stop me?”
Charlotte responded to my question with another question.
“Ah, and please don’t bother with the ‘it’s dangerous’ argument. I’ve already faced ‘danger’ when I was clawed by a griffon, so I believe I’ve seen enough of it for a lifetime.”
“...”
Well, she wasn’t exactly wrong about that.
“Or perhaps you think my skills are unnecessary? That it’s enough to just take some well-trained knights?”
Logically, that would be correct.
Think about it. No matter how mature we might seem, we’re still only fifteen years old. Not even adults. It wouldn’t be strange for others to dismiss us as mere children.
In this world, while teenagers might be treated as adults in certain societal aspects, sending them to the heart of a political conspiracy or a life-or-death mission would still be unprecedented.
The reason the protagonist’s party in the game could risk everything in the final battle and save the world was simply that—it was a game.
In real life, they’d have sent in a highly trained special forces unit.
Even now, as I consider this, I don’t think it’s such a bad idea.
And yet, the fact that I believe I must go myself shows just how much my mindset has shifted to align with this world’s norms.
“It’s not that I don’t trust your skills. It’s just that the political situation—”
“Again, let me ask you the same question: ‘And now, at this point?’”
“....”
“If there had been a proper plan in the first place, you wouldn’t have stormed into the royal palace and made such demands of my father—the King. Nor would you have assembled your friends and infiltrated the underground base. Do you know why my father agreed to your plan? It wasn’t because there was no alternative. It was because you were the one suggesting it, and he resigned himself to that.”
What?
“It’s because it’s you. Sylvia Fangryphon.”
Charlotte repeated herself, emphasizing my name.
“You’re the one who, at just fourteen years old, met with representatives of two nations, preemptively dismantled a military alliance, and left their relationship ambiguous. The one whom the Emperor trusts completely. The one who casually knew secrets of Belvur that even its own royal family didn’t. When you suggest something, people feel compelled to follow through because they have no idea what might happen if they don’t.”
“Do you really think my father agreed with your plan because he thought it was flawless?”
Well... no.
I thought he’d concluded it was the only viable option.
But now that I think about it, the reason it was the only option might have been me.
“So at this point, debating what’s better or more likely to succeed doesn’t matter. That’s why I need to see the end of this with my own eyes. I’d rather witness it myself than hear about it secondhand through rumors.”
The risk to her life or political repercussions didn’t matter anymore. She’d been drawn into this and wanted to see it through to the end.
In essence, that was Charlotte’s stance.
“And besides, as I said before...”
Charlotte’s expression shifted slightly, becoming more reserved.
“We’re friends. I was born into a political position. Enemies will arise no matter what I do, and I’ll have acquaintances who meet me for political reasons. Among them, there might be people who approach me, claiming to be my friends. I might even believe some of them. After all, there isn’t a strict definition for what a friend is.”
Charlotte looked down at her tea before raising her gaze to meet mine directly.
“But I’ve never encountered anyone with whom I couldn’t imagine not being friends, no matter how much our political interests might clash or how we might compete for the same gains. Even if one of us declared, ‘You’re not my friend,’ I couldn’t picture us as anything but.”
Charlotte gave a small shrug, smiling faintly.
“And you all—everyone from the Academy—you’re those kinds of friends for me. You’re the kind I’ll never find outside the Academy.”
So rather than lose them, she’d rather stay together until the end.
“...Do you realize we’ve known each other for less than a year?”
“Oh my, are you saying that because it’s only been a few months, we aren’t truly friends?”
...No, that’s not what I meant.
It’s just... I was taken aback.
She didn’t know what awaited her if she came along, yet she was willing to risk everything for friends she’d known for only a short time.
“Fine. If that’s what you’ve decided, I won’t try to stop you anymore.”
“Not that it would’ve mattered. I would’ve followed anyway.”
Once again, I found myself persuaded by Charlotte’s words.
*
“You look like you’ve been through hell.”
Alice’s voice greeted me as I entered her room. She squinted at me, clearly unimpressed.
Well, I had been through hell.
I’d spent so long talking with Charlotte that the snipers on the roof had returned to their posts. After the chaos caused by the underground base being discovered, security in the royal capital had been heightened to the max. Add to that the explosion I’d caused while entering Charlotte’s room, and it was no wonder the guards were on edge.
Climbing back up the rope, retrieving it, dodging the sharp gazes of the snipers by sticking to the roof like a lizard... I’d lost track of how many times I’d rewound time.
Naturally, I’d rolled around plenty as well.
“So about that explosion outside earlier...”
“I was just visiting Princess Charlotte’s room.”
“...”
Alice looked like she had a hundred things to say but refrained from asking further. It wasn’t hard to imagine what had happened, given my track record. She’d seen me cause enough chaos before to guess the rest.
“Leo and Claire haven’t arrived yet. You might want to fix your appearance before they see you. They’ll worry themselves sick if they see you like this.”
“Understood.”
Following Alice’s advice, I headed straight for her bathroom to freshen up.
*
The relics on the table still glowed faintly.
As expected, their light was directed at Alice and Claire.
“So... Claire is...”
“She’s my sister.”
Leo turned pale at Alice’s confirmation. As I’d expected.
“But I’m not a Fangryphon; I’m a Grace. So you don’t need to worry about losing your sister.”
Claire’s words were spoken lightly, almost as a joke, but Leo remained frozen, his lips moving soundlessly.
“Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”
“...He’s back to formal speech again.”
Alice sighed deeply. Lately, Leo had been growing more comfortable and informal with them, but now it felt like their relationship had reset to the beginning.
Alice shrugged, as if to say, “What can you do?”
“You’re Claire’s brother. At the very least, I thought you should know.”
“Claire has chosen to remain a Grace. Regardless of her lineage, she’s still your sister, just as she’s always been.”
As Alice and I reassured him, Leo stared blankly at Claire.
Claire, avoiding his gaze at first, eventually took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes.
“But I’m still your sister.”
“...Actually, if we’re both Graces, wouldn’t that make me the older sibling?”
Leo’s instinctive response to Claire’s words made me smile inwardly.
At least their bond wouldn’t break. That much was clear.