Chapter 15: Well-Deserved Consequences

Tifania Le Minuet, the Third Princess of the Minuet Queendom, is a new character who appears in 2, just like Luca. The young man guarding Tifa is one of the capture targets in 2. In the Queendom, men hold a lower status than women. Because of this, Tifa treated the capture target boy roughly, like a servant. The protagonist Estelle connects with the boy, who tries to serve the Princess while suppressing his own feelings, and she makes a wager with Tifa to free him. The wager was to obtain a legendary item passed down in the Queendom. Tifa promised to free the boy if Estelle succeeded in obtaining it. The two entered an ancient desert ruin to acquire the treasure. After a life-and-death adventure in the ruin, they were able to bring back the treasure. The boy was freed from Tifa as promised. Well, from there, the legendary item goes berserk and other complications arise, but ultimately, they end up together in the True or Good Endings, while in the Bad Ending, the boy remains under Tifa‘s service. Broadly speaking, Tifania’s role is that of a spoiled Princess, a villainess of that type. As you might have noticed, I, Sakuraile, do not appear in this route. —Not as a main character. Actually, in this route, the legendary item goes berserk, and there is one illustration showing citizens of the Minuet Queendom being swept away and blown away by a tornado. In that illustration, whether it was a graphic designer’s playful joke or bad taste, Sakuraile‘s figure is drawn among the swept-away mobs. This is likely Sakuraile after she was exiled. Seriously, what a completely unnecessary detail! Since there is no description that she died, she might still be alive, but being blown away from such a height, she would certainly have severe injuries. I feel like the production staff harbors ill will… Well, I did laugh when I first spotted her in the mob crowd. But I’m not laughing at all now.

“I heard that Princess Lucariola of Prélude was here, so I came to pay my respects, but I witnessed an interesting pastime.”

I rose from my chair and made a slight curtsy toward Princess Tifania.

“I am Sakuraile le Philharmonie, daughter of His Grace, Claude le Philharmonie, the Duke of the Sinfonia Empire. With regard to Her Highness the Princess—”

“Ah, it is fine. I do not need a lengthy greeting. Treat me the same way you treat Princess Lucariola. I am tired of being treated formally even when visiting another country.”

Princess Tifania waved her hand dismissively. Yes. This was her character. Unchanged even as a child. Tifania is demanding, but not overly so toward women. However, her speech and actions become harsh toward men, and she is prone to sarcasm. One could say that is the way of her country, but…

“More importantly, might I join your pastime? I have grown tired from greeting nobles. I wish to play a little myself.”

I’m frustrated that I can’t just blurt out, ‘If you’re tired, why don’t you sit and rest in a chair?’ Wait. She said I should treat her the same as Luca, right?

“When you say ‘the same as Luca,’ that would mean using informal language, like between friends…”

“That is fine. May I also call you Luca?”

“I don’t mind. Then I’ll call you Tifa.”

An agreement was reached between Luca and Tifa. Estelle was still flustered, as usual. It can’t be helped. She had just gotten used to Luca, and now another Princess has been added. I glanced at Tifa’s guard. He was a young man with brown skin, wearing an Arabian-style outfit with a turban-like cloth wrapped around his head. He clearly wasn’t the capture target boy. Has she not hired him as a guard yet?

“Then please take a seat here. I’ll start the game over from the beginning.”

“Mm. I look forward to it.”

Including Tifa, we started over with the games we had been playing: Old Maid, Concentration, Poker, and a new game, Sevens (Shichi Narabe).

“Nnggh!? Luca! You’re holding the 5 of Hearts!”

“It’s a strategy. You hurry up and play the 9 of Clubs. Come on, come on.”

“Ah, um, I’ll put down the 4 of Spades here, and I’m out…”

“Estelle!“

And so, everyone was somehow happily playing cards together. I can’t help but think they are all just children, but so am I. The two Princesses were competitive, but they didn’t seem too heated. They appeared to be purely enjoying the game. I’m grateful for that, as it would be problematic if they became hostile, but I feel like Estelle, caught between them, is taking the brunt of it. Sorry, please endure it somehow…

“This trump is interesting. What do you say, Sakuraile? Will you give this to me?”

“Ah, that’s cheating. I want one too. I want to play it with my brother in Prélude.”

“I have plenty at home, so I’ll deliver them later. Are both of you staying in the Empire for a while?”

If they were leaving right after the party, it might be difficult.

“Mm. Since the Founding Festival of the Empire is in one week, I intend to stay until that is over. Opportunities like this are rare.”

“Me too. I’d be grateful if you delivered it to my hotel. It will keep me entertained until then.”

The Founding Festival, huh? I think I saw that in the Elliott route. It was when the protagonist Estelle and Elliott went on a date. The one in the game was the Founding Festival several years later, though. The protagonist Estelle was still looking back and forth between the cards and me hesitantly.

“Oh, of course, I’ll give one to Estelle too.”

“Ah, thank you very much!”

Maybe she was hesitant to ask after the two Princesses. She doesn’t have to be so reserved.

“By the way, why are Luca and Tifa at this birthday party?”

I asked the question that had been bothering me. Neither of them was supposed to have ever come to the Sinfonia Empire. Why did they come to the birthday party?

“Why ask? We came because an invitation came from Sinfonia. And it specifically named me, not my older or younger sisters.”

“Mine too. Though it did say my brother could come if he wanted to.”

So, we invited them. Is the history of the game really changing?

“Well, it is likely that the purpose is to meet the Crown Prince. After we return to our countries, Sinfonia might propose an engagement to either Luca or me.”

“Eh!?”

That means…! W-wait a minute!? So, what? Because I refused the engagement with Elliott, the attention shifted to Luca and Tifa!? Does that mean I’m the one who caused this situation!? Is this what they mean by “well-deserved consequences”…?

“…I APOLOGIZE PROFOUNDLY TO BOTH OF YOU…“

“W-what is wrong all of a sudden…?”

“Sakuraile, you’re weird.”

I slumped over the table, assuming a position of deep apology. Ugh… The guilt is overwhelming… I’ve essentially pushed the responsibility onto these two because I didn’t want to get married… Normally, getting to marry the Crown Prince might be a cause for celebration, but that may not be true for these two. If they consider the well-being of their own countries, they may be forced to marry even if they don’t want to.

“If you truly hate it, you can refuse the marriage proposal with our Crown Prince! I will help you!”

Overwhelmed by remorse, I shouted that out. The two Princesses looked bewildered, not knowing what to make of it. Well, if you just hear the line, it sounds like Elliott is being treated as a terrible liability. Utterly rude.

“I greeted the Crown Prince a while ago… Well, the impression was neither good nor bad. He might be looked down upon as a King if he doesn’t have a little more spirit. He’s a bit lacking.”

“I don’t really remember… What did we talk about?”

Setting aside the harsh Tifa, Luca’s words were truly terrible. They just met a little while ago! Your Majesty, these two seem completely uninterested in Elliott.

“Rest assured. A Minuet woman does not marry a man she does not want. At least for now, I have no intention of it.”

“I think my father won’t allow me to marry into another country, so it will be fine.”

Mmm… I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m starting to feel sorry for Elliott. Well, Elliott has many other admirers, so he’ll be fine.

“Enough of that! I won’t lose this time!”

“Mm, I won’t lose either.”

The two of them smiled slyly and began to gather the scattered cards on the table. Mmm, the Empire probably invited them because they wanted friendly relations with both the Queendom and the Kingdom, but it feels like the Empire is being excluded… No, I’m part of the Empire, so it’s not a problem. It’s just that the friendly relations were built with me, a Ducal Daughter, and Estelle, a Baroness from the frontier, instead of Elliott. I just hope this doesn’t cause problems later. As the birthday party continued smoothly nearby, we were engrossed in playing cards. As a Ducal Daughter, is this acceptable? I can’t help but wonder, but if I consider it as deepening ties with two Princesses, couldn’t I be seen as a model Ducal Daughter? That’s a bit of a stretch. There were some noble children watching us from a distance on the balcony, but none of them approached. Well, no one can easily talk to two Princesses. Me? They probably don’t know who I am. Mmm, I was hoping to subtly appeal to my presence, if not quite shouting, ‘Here is the le Philharmonie Ducal Daughter!’… I guess I should be satisfied that my name is known to the most famous people here. As I was thinking that, cheerful music flowed from the party venue.

“It seems the dancing has begun.”

“Aren’t you all going?”

“W-well, I can’t dance, so…”

“I’m not interested either. My brother didn’t tell me to dance.”

Dancing is the highlight of a social gathering. Yet, no one left their seats. I feel bad for Arisa, the maid who painstakingly taught me how to dance, but I also prefer not to dance if I can avoid it. In these kinds of parties, if a man asks you to dance, you must accept unless there is a very good reason. Refusing would cause embarrassment to the other person. Well, we haven’t even debuted in society yet, so we may not need to worry that much, but if we can avoid dancing, all the better. With that in mind, we completely ignored the dance time and continued playing cards. Yes, I have to entertain the Princesses, so this can’t be helped. It can’t be helped, right? Just as I was making that excuse in my heart, Tifa’s accompanying young man smoothly stepped forward.

“Your Highness. It is time for us to pay our respects to His Majesty the Emperor…”

“Eh, you haven’t done that yet?”

I was surprised by the young man’s words and looked toward Tifa.

“The main person today is His Highness the Crown Prince, isn’t he? I thought I would pay my respects to him first and then go to the others later.”

“Ah, I haven’t either.”

Luca gave me a face that clearly said, I messed up. You two are seriously underestimating our King!

“Hmm, it cannot be helped. Let’s go quickly and get it over with.”

“I’ll go too. Sakuraile and Estelle, are you coming?”

“Eh, me too!?”

Luca took Estelle’s hand and tried to pull her to her feet. It’s awkward being invited as if it’s a trip to the bathroom. However, I decided to go along with the two of them.

“It’s a rare chance to meet the Princesses of two nations. It’s not a bad thing to have His Majesty the Emperor remember your face, Estelle. It might be helpful to your father.”

If she goes to greet him with these two, and me, her face will definitely be remembered. That should be a strength for the newly established Euphonium family.

“What, are you trying to use us?”

“Oh, did I offend you?”

“No, it is fine. That is what a noble does. For the sake of family and subjects, one should use anything and everything that is available. Of course, I intend to do the same.”

Tifa smiled slyly. Ooh, that’s quite a villainess smile. Estelle also hesitantly agreed to come along. It’s alright, you won’t be eaten alive.