101. Father's Past
In the end, I didn't achieve what I had intended. But the princess had remarkably sharp instincts.
If I had been oblivious and blabbed about my feelings, I would have immediately classified you as an enemy and made sure you couldn't even get close to Karl.
“It’s a pity. I wanted to hear how it feels to be held by Karl. Well, if I had explained it, I wouldn't have simply backed off, but hahaha!”
“I got the strong feeling that you would never say it.”
Elise and Lavrenti seemed to think the same as me. The 5th princess of Lasquer. No, Repia, the student. It seemed she was trying to see how Repia appears.
“Still, you caught on pretty quickly, huh? Selena-senpai and I. Even Lavrenti here. Since there are much more amazing women around Karl, don't do anything pointless.”
Elise's words were right, but people are unpredictable.
Right now, if I went back three years and told my younger self, 'If you don't accept Karl's confession, you'll regret it,' I would have called you crazy, right?
I never thought that Karl would turn his head away from me, leaving me behind, and all the other women here. If he was that kind of man, he wouldn't have fallen for three identical men.
The problem is, even if the person himself isn't, the other party might be able to pull away. With so many competitors, it's not good. It can't be good. It's tiring!
“…I hope this was just our misunderstanding.”
Lavrenti, who had shown hostility like Elise just a moment ago, saying that is a bit funny.
But seeing her say that, it seems Lavrenti doesn't want any more competitors than this, so it's not that hard to understand.
The problem is, my intuition is whispering that it might be the opposite of a hope.
Our family’s special ability, perhaps? I have a feeling that comes to me. Father and brother also have it. They said they benefited from that feeling.
If I look at it with that kind of sense… Repia. She’s definitely not just passing by.
Whether she thought she perfectly hid it or she still wasn't sure herself.
I don't know up to there. I'm not that woman, and how can I accurately read her inner thoughts.
Still, one thing I can tell is that every time I talk about Karl, Repia's eyes have a strange light in them. It was similar to the feeling of telling a fairy tale to a child who loves fairy tales.
What to say. It must be… Yeah. Looking for something like happiness? An ideal? Or something similar.
“Selena-senpai?”
“Ah, yes. Why? Elise. Do you have something to say?”
“I’m going first. It’s time to check the homework of our elf students.”
“Understood. Go ahead… Wait. Wait a minute.”
Homework? What kind of talk is this? Homework? Even for elf students?
From what I know, elves have strong pride, so professors don't assign too many assignments.
How they accept exams is one thing, but they shouldn't evaluate their passion for studies through assignments, right?
I know it's nonsense, but professors accept it because the elf students are not bad in terms of academic achievement.
Because of their pride, they work hard with determination because they can't lose to imperial students.
If they had shown a more open side with that effort, Heigens might have grown similarly to the Empire, not as much. Anyway, I don't know why all elves are so weird!
Especially Elise is the strangest—sigh. No, I can't let that show. If I do, she'll use it as an excuse to do something weird to Karl. Anyway!
“You said homework, right now?”
“Yes. Homework.”
“Elf students are doing homework? Honestly?”
“You have to. If you don't, I'll cut off your ears and salt them!”
“….”
It feels like I heard something too unbelievable to take in with a straight face. But what's scarier is that Elise might really do that.
“I don't think it's bad. Elves who can't communicate must do that.”
In the middle, Lavrenti agrees there too. …Could Karl be like that too? He must have suffered a lot in the Luzens war. He probably can't have good thoughts about elves.
Yeah. It could be. It's likely. Then I would be on the same side as Elise and Lavrenti! If Karl says elves are bad, then they are bad!
“Selena-nim. I will accompany Repia from now on.”
“Suddenly? Why, Lavrenti?”
“I met Master the latest, but I got closest to Master. That's the reason.”
“…Understood.”
In response to Lavrenti's answer, I instinctively turned to Elise. She seemed to guess the meaning, and she winked while whistling, as if saying 'Let's keep it secret between us?'
“….”
This time, I decided to follow what Elise said. Actually, if I pick who got close to Karl, I'm not far behind either. Even if I was wearing a robe and leaning against her in the same hot spring.
If Lavrenti finds out about this, the aftershock would be… Ugh, I guess keeping it secret is the way!
*
“…Ah.”
Repia opened her eyes and slowly sat up. As if she had a nightmare, her back was soaked with sweat.
“Haa—”
Repia, who was wiping her dry face, let out a long sigh.
It's the same dream again today. The 2nd princess who was kind even in childhood. My older sister dreaming of being strangled by her own hand.
What's even scarier is that after that, the corpses of other sisters and brothers piled up.
‘Why do I keep having this…'
I have to forget it. Although it's my homeland, I have to live like an imperial citizen more than anyone else now.
That's exactly what the 2nd princess wanted. That was the path she gave me, at least.
At first, I resented her. But soon I understood why she was sent to the Empire.
Whether it was because she decided on forced exile close to banishment.
‘If I stayed in the home country, I might have been subjected to something in the chaotic situation.'
Although neutral, as a direct royal, the opposing faction of the 2nd princess, cornered, might suddenly choose her and shout resistance.
If that happens, even if I don't contact them or share their will, I might have to be classified as an enemy and eliminated.
So the 2nd princess sent me to the Empire. To go there and live like an imperial citizen.
Then, no one in the kingdom would see her as a princess in the line of succession for the throne, just living in the Empire, so she became steeped in imperial water. So she would be seen as someone who doesn't fit the throne at all.
I understand, sister. I understand. Princess. But… I'm a little sad.
There's still about a month left until the new semester at the academy starts.
A long time or a short time. Repia decided to spend that one month contacting as many imperial students as possible to live a student life without problems.
It was to respond to the 2nd princess's last kindness in giving me the path to survival, and also my own determination to live.
“Today afternoon, I was supposed to have tea time with you…”
While muttering to herself, Repia suddenly burst into laughter, as if it was absurd.
The events of yesterday came to mind. I don't know about the others, but only three women were focused only on being held in the arms of one man.
They were women with different origins, speech patterns, and personalities. One was the great noble of the Empire. One was a commoner of the Empire. And the other was an elf from Heigens, not even a citizen of the Empire.
The common point among them was their love for the person named Karl. Not ordinary love, but quite deep.
It was noticeable at a glance.
It seems I made a bad impression. I unknowingly flirted with a man who already has a partner.
Thinking about it, I didn't do it on purpose. Rather, I got caught up in it by chance? I didn't get hugged, Karl hugged me! This is a bit unfair!
…If I say that, it would crack again after being sealed.
Although the start was a bit messy, Repia immediately realized it. Selena, Elise, and Lavrenti. Pretty good people. Ah, one elf, right?
Anyway, I told myself that getting along well is the wise path. A bit embarrassing and unfair, but I promised to explain and resolve it well, and promised again.
Since she said to have tea time today, it might not be bad to approach her more intimately.
“Eek.”
Before that, first, I have to get familiar with the academy's geography. Because it's so vast, I heard that if I wander around without knowing anything, I might really get lost.
After leaving the room, Repia first looked around the surroundings of the dormitory. And from that dormitory as a starting point, she learned the surrounding geography one by one.
After roughly grasping the surrounding geography, she moved to the central area with the academy main building and several huge buildings.
Amazing.
Even when I first came, but seeing it directly one by one, the scale is even greater.
This is a bit exaggerated, but it's as wide as the king of Lasquer. Maybe the ‘The Imperial Academy has an area similar to the empire’ is not a lie.
“Repia Princess?”
Then, the voice calling her from behind made her turn her head without realizing.
“…Ah!”
Repia realized that the one who called her was Karl Adelheit, the man the women from yesterday had been looking for so much.
“You came again.”
“Yes, yes. That's right. The introduction was late. I'm Repia Archeble.”
“Karl Adelheit.”
Karl, introducing himself, looked at Repia with a somewhat uneasy expression.
Repia, feeling something strange there, asked, ‘Is there a problem?’
“You didn't react with surprise.”
“Surprised? Why?”
“Um… Do you know the Adelheit family?”
Dori dori—
“…Friedrich County too?”
Again, Repia shook her head. Thanks to that, Karl was the one who was surprised.
No, father. You said you crushed Repia’s maternal family. But I don’t know about this side?
“…Ah, wait. Wait a minute?”
At this moment, Repia let out a sigh, as if something had just come to mind belatedly.
“Friedrich County. Friedrich Count. Friedrich…. Ah! S-surely?!”
Repia in shock. And the one word that comes out of her mouth.
“B-baba Yaga?!”
“….”
Father. You didn't kill him… right? Right? But the nickname is… too terrifying.