Chapter 14: The Young Ladies' Game

“You! How hard do you think Elliott worked to solve that? You’re being cruel.”

Elliott, who had been treated as an object of pity by Jean, stood holding the ‘Six-Sided Puzzle’ with an indescribable expression.

“Should I restore it, then?”

When I asked, Elliott thought for a moment, then quietly shook his head.

“…No, leave it as it is. I will start over again. As you said, if I am satisfied with something that happened by chance, I will be stuck there. There will be no going further. This time, I will understand it completely and show you that I can solve it myself, no matter how scrambled it is.”

“An unyielding spirit. And strong resolve. Those are what a King of a nation requires. That is indeed worthy of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

I shouldn’t tease him too much, or Crown Prince Elliott’s approval rating might drop. I should give him a slight boost. Capture targets are troublesome because I don’t want their approval rating to be too high or too low…

“If you say so, then fine… By the way, what is that? Is it food?”

Jean quickly noticed the cheap sweets that Luca and Estelle were eating. Estelle was just flustered, but Luca looked wary of Jean.

“It looks delicious. Give me one, too—”

“These are precious sweets given to me by Sakuraile. I will not hand them over easily.”

When Jean reached out, Luca blocked him. A spark flew between a annoyed Jean and Luca. …I thought I felt one. What is this?

“You have so many, what’s wrong with a little bit?”

“These are valuable items that cannot be obtained elsewhere. I absolutely refuse.”

“You must be quite hungry, Your Highness the Princess.”

“Say what you like.”

I felt a spark again. No, no, you two shouldn’t fight over cheap sweets. Are you children? They were children. In 2, the story progresses after the “friends ending” in 1, where the protagonist Estelle doesn’t end up with any of the capture targets, so the targets from 1 also appear as somewhat close friends or collaborators, though not romantically involved. Some characters are deeply involved with the capture targets of 2, but I had never seen any interaction between Luca and Jean. They are on completely different routes, after all. So, I don’t know what kind of relationship these two had. Well, they might not have even known each other in the first place. But the person you’re speaking to is a Princess of a nation, Jean. It’s dangerous to anger her, isn’t it? Luca’s attendants are glaring at you. His simple-minded nature is already starting to form… Just as I was about to intervene, someone else acted first.

“Stop it, Jean. That’s enough. I apologize, Princess Lucariola. I’m sorry if he offended you.”

“…Mm. I don’t mind. I was also at fault.”

Perhaps disarmed by the Crown Prince’s apology, Luca readily accepted the apology and offered her own.

“We have more greetings to make, so we will take our leave now. Come on, Jean.”

“…I get it.”

Urged by Elliott, Jean grudgingly followed. He glanced back regretfully, so I tossed an individually wrapped candy that was on the table toward him. Jean caught it easily and looked bewildered.

“Here.”

“…Oh! Thanks!”

Smiling brightly, Jean followed Elliott. I threw it on impulse, but it might have been slightly unladylike conduct for a Ducal Daughter. Well, I don’t want to lower his approval rating here and have him become an enemy later… If I can avoid that with one candy, it’s a steal.

“I was curious what that candy tasted like…”

“Ah… I’ll make sure to deliver it to your Prélude residence later, addressed to Luca…”

When I said that to a slightly pouting Luca, she immediately smiled again. Ah, I’m so exhausted… That’s why I didn’t want to come to this birthday party! The mental fatigue is immense. I suppressed that internal scream and put on the mask of a Ducal Daughter. No, no, if I let my guard down, my true self will show.

Come to think of it, Bianca, the villainess from the Jean route, didn’t appear. Was she out picking flowers or something? It was a relief, as it would have made things even more complicated. If I get involved with Jean, will Bianca challenge me to a duel, just like in the game? Should I take up sword lessons from Grandfather? The challenge in the game was made to the protagonist Estelle… but Estelle hardly interacted with Jean this time. If anything, Luca was the one who interacted with him. Well, even Bianca probably wouldn’t challenge a Princess of another country.

“Oh? Sakuraile-sama, what is this?”

“Hmm? Oh, that?”

Estelle was looking curiously at the mini playing cards I had taken out when I dumped all the sweets from my hidden pockets earlier. Cheap, small playing cards came out of a paper card case. These were also sold at the cheap sweets store. They also had Reversi and Shogi, but they were too big to bring.

“They are cards used for a game… a pastime. Um, are you familiar with cards?”

“Are they the ones used for fortune-telling? I’ve only seen them once.”

Fortune-telling? Could she be referring to something like Tarot cards? Hmm, since there’s a theory that the origin of playing cards is the Tarot, it might not be entirely wrong. Do they not use playing cards for games in the “Starlight Symphony” world? Are there no games at all? This world itself is a game world, though. But I remember the capture targets playing something like chess. I don’t know about that…

“A pastime? How do you play with these?”

Luca also showed interest and peered at the playing cards Estelle was holding. Hmm, I don’t mind teaching them, but not here… There is a table but no chairs, and this place is fundamentally for light refreshments. Is there somewhere with chairs and a table where we can sit… Ah, the balcony. There are a table and chairs there. I led Estelle and Luca to the balcony connected to the party venue. A woman in a dress followed Luca as her attendant. She was probably a guard from the Prélude Kingdom. She’s likely a first-rate fighter. I won’t try anything strange. There were a few sons, daughters, and nobles on the balcony, but we sat down on some luxurious-looking chairs placed on the edge and put the playing cards on the round table, making sure not to bother anyone. I guess I should start with something simple. Old Maid isn’t difficult, and everyone can enjoy it, right? I quickly taught the two the rules. I was relieved that the numbers were the same in this world. Alright, shall we start?

◇　◇　◇

“Mmmh…! This one!”

Too bad. Luca, who drew the Joker from me, looked despairing. But it was only for a moment; she immediately shuffled her hand and thrust it out toward Estelle as if to say, Go ahead and draw!

“Um… this one.”

“Ah!?”

Estelle avoided the Joker and won first. I came in second. A defeated Luca glared at the Joker remaining in her hand.

“Everyone is strong…”

“It’s not that we’re strong; Luca, you just show too much on your face. It’s obvious which one the Joker is. You need to hide your expression better.”

Estelle also smiled wryly at my words. Luca, despite looking emotionless, is quite expressive. She is not suited for bargaining. Since I felt sorry for her, I switched to Concentration (Shinkei-suijaku). Bargaining is irrelevant in this game.

“This one and this one…! Also, this one and this one.”

“Aah, I finally remembered that one…!”

A small yelp from Estelle echoed. Conversely, Luca dominated this game. She has a good memory. Concentration is purely a memory game. Even I can’t beat her. Luca, who had collected many pairs of cards, gave a self-satisfied, triumphant look. I don’t know, she’s cute like a kitten.

“Hey, don’t you have any other games?”

Luca, encouraged by her success, urged me for other games, so I decided to teach them Poker. I would go with a simple local rule where we don’t bet chips. First, I taught them the hands: One Pair, Two Pair, Three of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, Four of a Kind, Straight Flush, and Royal Flush. Luca, with her excellent memory, memorized them instantly. Estelle seemed to have managed to memorize them too, so we tried playing.

“You can exchange up to three times.”

We exchanged the dealt hands three times and then revealed them all at once. I had One Pair, Luca had Two Pair, and Estelle had No Pair.

“I win!”

“Mmm… It’s hard to get a set.”

Poker relies heavily on the element of luck. If betting chips and folding were involved, it would be different, with bargaining and bluffing coming into play. After continuing to play Poker several times, both of them started being able to get high hands.

“I see, I see. It is important how efficiently one can make a hand. This is quite an interesting pastime.”

“Eh?”

I turned around at the voice suddenly spoken behind me, and there stood a young girl about our age, clad in an outfit that looked like it belonged in the Arabian Nights. Red harem pants and a matching red top. The thin veil covering her head was also red. Several golden bracelets jingled on her sun-tanned, brown arms. Her long blond hair was tied in a single knot at the end. Her determined-looking eyes stared straight at us. This outfit is from the desert country in the south, the Minuet Queendom. And the red outfit is worn only by the royal family. You think I’m very knowledgeable? I learned about her from this character in the game! You have to be kidding me… why are you here too…?

“Tifania Le Minuet, Third Princess…”

“Hmm? I haven’t even introduced myself yet, so how did you know?”

Tifania looked slightly surprised. Of course, I know. You’re also a villainess from ‘2’, just like Luca! What in the world is going on!? Why is Tifa showing up after Luca!? I was trying my best not to meet the characters from ‘1’, but now the characters from ‘2’ are jumping ahead!