Chapter 13: The Crown Prince's Misfortune

Wait, wait, just a moment. Why is the villainess from ‘2’ here!? I’m sure Lucariola was never supposed to have come to the Sinfonia Empire…!

Lucariola tilted her head sadly at my confusion.

“Ramune… no?”

“Ah… I apologize. I just didn’t expect you to be a Princess from the Prélude Kingdom…”

I quickly took out the same ramune I had given Estelle from my pocket and handed it to Lucariola. Yes. Lucariola is a Princess. She is the younger sister of a capture target in 2 and the villainess. In “Starlight Symphony,” a “villainess” is not necessarily a female character who does evil deeds, but one who obstructs the heroine’s romantic path. Lucariola is the villainess who obstructs the relationship between her brother, the Prince of the Prélude Kingdom, and the heroine.

“…! It’s delicious! Amazing! This is incredible!”

Lucariola exclaimed in excitement over the ramune she had put in her mouth. She hardly seemed like the Princess of a nation.

“Allow me to properly introduce myself again. I am Sakuraile le Philharmonie, daughter of His Grace, Claude le Philharmonie, the Duke.”

“A-ah, I am Estelle Klein Euphonium, daughter of Robert Klein Euphonium, the Baron!”

Following me, Estelle hastily made a curtsy and introduced herself.

“Mm. Don’t worry about honorifics or anything. This isn’t my country. More importantly, do you have more of this?”

Uh…? Actually, this dress has quite a lot of hidden pockets, and they are stuffed with cheap sweets. I thought my approval rating might increase if I handed them out as a greeting to noble children… I didn’t expect to lure the Princess of a neighboring country, though.

“I do, but not that much. I have mountains of it at my house, though…”

“Really!?”

I decided to use the casual language, as Lucariola requested. This girl is this kind of free-spirited character. To briefly explain the story of 2, it starts with Estelle entering the second year of high school, having reached an ending in 1 without becoming romantically involved with anyone. The capture target Prince, Lucariola’s brother, appears as a senior student. Estelle and the senior Prince grow closer, and Lucariola, his younger sister, obstructs their relationship with various acts of harassment. Eh? She doesn’t look like that kind of person, you say? That’s right. There is actually a mastermind who planted false rumors about Estelle into Lucariola’s ear. That mastermind is me, Sakuraile, who was exiled and had changed her appearance to become a maid in the Prélude Kingdom. It’s too late to ask now, but isn’t it unreasonable that I was exiled even though Estelle didn’t end up with anyone in ‘1’? Well, I did a lot of bad things, though. In any case, Lucariola believes the lies I planted and harasses Estelle. Some acts could even be life-threatening. Ultimately, the wicked scheme is exposed, and I am condemned by the capture target brother and Estelle. I think it was imprisonment for several decades…? Lucariola apologizes to Estelle, and she and the capture target brother have a happily-ever-after. As can be gathered from this, Lucariola… Luca is an inherently honest, good child. It was just Sakuraile who was ill-natured. …The one in the game, that is.

When I handed her another ramune, Luca slowly chewed it, savoring the taste.

“Delicious…! Prélude doesn’t have anything like this. Is this sold in this country?”

“No, this is my specialty… Would you like me to send some to your hotel later?”

“Really!? I’m happy! Thank you, Sakuraile!”

Luca grabbed both my hands and shook them vigorously. Even though she’s the villainess of 2, building a friendly relationship with a princess from another country should be beneficial for the le Philharmonie Ducal House. The problem lies with her brother, the capture target… Incidentally, the hotel in this case is a guest house for important foreign figures, and the cooks and servants can be people who came with the dignitary from their home country. They can choose whether to rely on our country for care or manage things themselves. This is apparently because some people dislike unfamiliar food or service, and others are concerned about being poisoned. When we invited a dignitary from the Allegretto Empire, with whom we have strained relations, they reportedly handled everything from food to service themselves. I think that kind of behavior suggests a lack of trust in our country, which is diplomatically problematic. I don’t think that’s the case with Luca, though.

“Um, excuse me, Lucariola-sama? Did you come to this country alone? Did your brother come with you?” “Just call me Luca. My attendants came with me, but my brother couldn’t come because he had business.”

I felt a profound sense of relief at Luca’s words. If the capture target from 2 had shown up too, I wouldn’t be able to handle it! But what is going on? Even though the main game hasn’t started yet, there are many parts that are quite different from the established setting. No, since following the game’s story leads to my ruin, shouldn’t I welcome a completely different development? Although this means I can’t predict the future…

Next to me, as I was lost in thought, Luca, who had finished all the ramune, folded the cellophane wrapper with a sad look. Ah, yes, yes. I took out all the cheap sweets from my hidden pockets. Ramune, candy, caramels, and gummy bears. I didn’t bring chocolate because it might melt.

“Estelle, you should eat some too. I’m fine.”

“Ah, thank you. Um, Lucariola-sama, do you mind?”

“Of course not. Let’s eat together.”

The heroine and the villainess from 2 are happily eating cheap sweets together. What is this…? What happened and how did it happen? It feels like some kind of flag, and it’s a little scary. I haven’t even met the other villainesses from ‘1’, so why is the villainess from ‘2’ here? Could it be that ‘1’ was skipped entirely and I’m already in someone’s route in ‘2’? No, my memory is hazy, but I cleared 2 entirely when I was in middle school. This kind of route shouldn’t exist… I don’t understand. I’m feeling uneasy…

“Hello, I found you here.”

“Ugh!?”

A voice suddenly called out to me as I was consumed by anxiety. I turned toward the familiar voice to find Elliott, today’s guest of honor, standing there with one knight as his escort. Today, he was in proper Crown Prince formal attire, and his Prince aura was palpable, more so than when I last saw him. And next to him, the red-haired boy was looking at us with interest. Jean Ludra Staccato. The son of the Knight Commander, who commands seven knight divisions, and another capture target. Ugh, he brought another unnecessary person along!

“Are you the Sakuraile that Elliott was talking about? I’m Jean! Nice to meet you!”

“Jean. She is a Ducal Daughter. You need to watch your language!”

“…No, Elliott-sama. Although my father is a Duke, I myself am merely a noble’s daughter. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jean-sama. I am Sakuraile le Philharmonie.”

“You don’t need the honorifics. I’m not that important!”

Jean gave a candid, open smile. His language was not the way a Count’s son should speak to a Ducal Daughter. Jean is this kind of character. Fearless and friendly. In other words, overfamiliar and ignorant of manners. You should learn honorifics, you know? It will be a problem in the future. To be honest, he was the type I didn’t care for among the capture targets. I cleared his route, but still…

“Sakuraile, who are these two ladies?”

“Ah, well, this is my friend—”

“A-ah, i-i-i-it’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness the Crown Prince! I am Estelle Klein Euphonium, daughter of Robert Klein Euphonium, the Baron!”

Estelle introduced herself with a curtsy, slightly stumbling over her words. Why is she so nervous? Though she looks cute like that.

“Ah, the daughter of the newly-made Baron Euphonium. Are you enjoying yourself? And this other lady is…”

This time, Luca gave a perfunctory greeting to Elliott, seeming less than interested.

“I am Lucariola Le Prélude. Thank you for the invitation today, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The mention of the Prélude name made even Elliott and Jean widen their eyes slightly.

“You are… from Prélude. I am Elliott Le Sinfonia. Thank you for coming today. Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Yes… no, I mean, yes. The sweets were delicious.”

“I see, that is good.”

No, Elliott. The sweets she is talking about are probably the cheap sweets I gave her. Not the cookies here.

“And Lady Estelle, I apologize for the distance you traveled. Your father must still have much to do in the territory.”

“N-no! It is an honor to attend such a party! Thank you!”

Estelle was extremely nervous, being addressed by the Crown Prince. Ah, I’ve seen that face in a CG from the game. It can’t be helped, I suppose. She was a commoner until recently. Wait, the two of them were supposed to meet when Estelle entered the ‘Academy’! The sequence was supposed to be: they meet in town without her knowing he’s the Crown Prince, and then at the ‘Academy,’ she says, ‘You’re the one from back then!?’ That flag has definitely been broken. I don’t get it…

“Ah, Sakuraile. Thank you for the wonderful gift this time. Please pass on my regards to my uncle.”

“I am glad if you enjoyed it.”

The birthday gift for Elliott has already been given from the Ducal House. It was the gachapon animal figurine. If he was pleased with that, it’s a small price to pay. Well, it was really cheap.

“Oh, Sakuraile. Look at this.”

“Eh?”

Elliott received something from his escort and proudly handed it to me. A ‘Six-Sided Puzzle’? All six sides are the same color. Ah, he solved it.

“I finally did it. It took a significant amount of time…”

“Hmph.”

Clack clack clack clack clack clack clack.

“!? Wha-wha-whaaaat—!?”

When I messed up the solved ‘Six-Sided Puzzle’ into a complete mess, a strange cry erupted from Elliott. I glanced at him and saw a face full of despair. It was a little amusing.

“Please watch closely.”

I rapidly solved the scrambled ‘Six-Sided Puzzle’ again. In just over a minute, all sides were matched, and the puzzle was solved again.

“T-that fast…”

“I think, Elliott-sama, you probably solved it by accident, didn’t you? Like, you randomly moved it and it somehow came together. You don’t precisely understand how to get to this shape yourself.”

“Ugh…”

The ‘Six-Sided Puzzle’ is a puzzle, as the name suggests. There is a solution method. If one knows that, it is fully possible to solve it in that amount of time.

“They say experts can solve it in tens of seconds.”

“That fast!?”

Well, that’s for the competition-grade ‘Six-Sided Puzzle,’ so it would be impossible with this one.

“So, next time, you should try solving it while thinking about the method. You will gradually understand the technique. Once you understand it, you can complete it from any state.”

Saying that, I messed up the ‘Six-Sided Puzzle’ again.

“Ah, ah, aaaaaaah…”

A pathetic voice escaped Elliott, but I ignored it. I returned the scrambled ‘Six-Sided Puzzle’ to Elliott with a cheerful smile, and Jean, who was standing beside him, looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

“You’re ruthless, aren’t you…”

“That is what it means to master a path.”

I’m not planning to master it, though.