Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Summer Break (2)
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As Elena had predicted, it wasn't long after returning to the palace that Father's inspection order arrived.
The scheduled inspection site was, as expected, the Count Marstern family. The coastal village of Delrona was part of the count's territory, after all.
This was purely an inspection order given to me by Father, completely unrelated to Elena, so she could have stayed at the palace without issue.
Of course, as we'd discussed beforehand, Elena had voluntarily reported to Father that she wished to accompany me on the inspection.
"As Your Highness Prince Cedric's fiancée, I wish to join him on his inspection. I know this is an impertinent request, but please grant me the opportunity to observe and learn from His Highness the Prince at his side."
What king would oppose a prospective queen expressing her desire to broaden her horizons by accompanying her fiancé on his duties?
I could only hope that at least half of what she said was sincere. In reality, she was just stepping up to deal with the 'original story's' monster.
'She could have used the royal family's forces to resolve it instead of going herself.'
Was it because she didn't want to put anyone else in danger? Or did the monster have some weakness that only she could exploit?
I'd asked her several times afterward for more details on the monster, but she refused to answer. Since she planned to subjugate it herself anyway, what did it matter?
'No choice but to ensure she doesn't act alone, no matter what.'
Hadi and Eri would be coming along regardless. Inside the academy, it was hard to deploy them freely, but outside, that wasn't an issue.
By assigning Eri to stay by Elena's side and receiving updates through Hadi, I could at least prevent her from taking any reckless solo actions.
With those thoughts in mind, a week into summer break, Elena and I arrived at the Count Marstern estate.
No sooner had we stepped out of the carriage than a man who looked quite young for a count emerged from the mansion to greet us.
"Welcome, Your Highness Prince Cedric. And Lady Rozier, Your Highness's fiancée."
"It's an honor to meet you like this, Count Marstern."
"Thank you for personally welcoming us despite your busy schedule, Count Marstern."
"Heh heh heh. How could I not come out myself when Prince Cedric and Lady Rozier have honored us with a visit?"
"……."
Indeed, just as Elena said, he had a rather suspicious air about him.
Especially those narrow eyes—they made it impossible to read his true intentions, giving off a subtly dangerous vibe. Even his laugh seemed to hide something.
"We have other guests, so things are a bit hectic... but I'll ensure Your Highness isn't disappointed."
"Other guests as well?"
"Heh heh heh. No one worth Your Highness's attention. Now, please come inside."
...Could he really be trusted?
My instincts, honed from dealing with many people, were screaming that this man was suspicious.
I could easily imagine poisoned tea suddenly appearing if we stayed at the mansion as he suggested.
"If you insist, then I won't refuse, Count Marstern."
"Heh heh heh. By all means."
"...We'll be in your care, Count Marstern."
Elena herself seemed utterly unconcerned, as if it were no big deal.
-Thud.
"Ahhh, I'm exhausted~."
The moment we entered the room guided by one of Count Marstern's servants, Elena kicked off her shoes and flopped face-first onto the sofa.
By now, I'd seen this so often that it no longer surprised me.
'Still, she has some basic sense.'
We were only fiancés, so they could have given us separate rooms.
Perhaps they'd already learned we shared the engagement dormitory at the academy. If we were that close, separating us might seem more rude.
Either way, things were proceeding steadily as planned, which was fortunate in multiple ways. Once the academy—and the entire kingdom—accepted our relationship as fact, Elena wouldn't be able to back out of the engagement unilaterally.
"About Count Marstern... can he really be trusted?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"His looks, voice, laugh—everything about him screams suspicious. I can't bring myself to trust him at all."
"Well, he does look that way on the surface."
"Plus, I heard the previous Count Marstern died suddenly of illness, and the current one is an adopted son from a branch family, not the direct heir. Could there have been some scheme during the succession...?"
"The previous count really did die of illness, and that's why they hastily adopted a son from the branch family to groom as heir. He didn't spend much time with the previous count, but the current Count Marstern is determined to lead the family as best he can."
"...Are you sure?"
"Sure or not, that's how the original story was written. Suspecting him won't change the predetermined outcome."
...Predetermined outcome.
When she prophesied other things, she'd leave room for error, saying it might not be set in stone. But here, she stated it definitively.
She must be that confident this part of the future hadn't changed. Though I still didn't understand her basis for it.
"A person's core personality or background doesn't change easily. Whether the protagonist falls for you or takes interest in another guy—that's a variable that shifts with even minor changes to original events. What could I have done from the palace or academy to suddenly alter Count Marstern's personality from way out here?"
"...Does it work that way?"
"It's like how you'd still recoil at noble ladies no matter what, if you were one who hated them outright."
...Well. Thanks to an exception, I no longer instinctively disliked noble ladies like I used to.
Anyway, if Elena said so, I'd take her word for it and not worry too much. The important thing was investigating the string of disappearances in Delrona coastal village.
"So, when are you going to hunt that monster?"
"Why? Wanna tag along?"
"Can't I?"
"......No."
"At least give me a reason. I promise I won't interfere with your ability to fight it solo."
"No, still no."
"If you're going to say no, then tell me why..."
"Argh, if I say no, it's no! Why are you being such a persistent little shit about it?!"
...No idea what set her off.
No matter how I thought about it, something felt off. For a monster dangerous enough that she had to handle it personally, why not accept royal support? Why not even explain it properly to me, someone she could tell everything to?
She was definitely hiding something, but what?
"Sorry, Elena. If that's your wish, I won't pry further."
"...Where are you going?"
"We're here on inspection, so I should at least tour the village once. Planning to disguise myself as an adventurer."
"Oh, okay. Have a safe trip."
"...No interest in coming along?"
"I'm tired and need a rest. The long carriage ride made me sleepy."
Even though she'd spent half the trip napping on my lap.
Her tone hinted at some ulterior motive, but I didn't press. I'd hear what she was up to later through Eri anyway.
"Alright, rest up then."
"Oh, and Lucia should be somewhere in the village too, so look for her if you have time."
"...She's here?"
"I told you. In the original story, you and Lucia handle the subjugation event together. She's here on some special academy scholarship work-study thing, so find her."
"...Got it. If we cross paths, I'll say hi."
She's probably expecting to see Elena more than me anyway.
Coastal village, Delrona.
Though called a village, it wasn't small compared to typical ones. It had a trade port, for starters.
Count Marstern managed all goods coming in and out of the harbor, so there were no major merchant guild branches, but plenty of small-scale cart merchants and peddlers passed through.
The standout feature was the expansive white sandy beach along the coast, quite a sight. Even with the port, it remained village-sized probably because the coastal terrain prevented large ships from entering.
As I pondered this, Hadi and I began investigating the village. It wasn't long before I confirmed the string of disappearances Elena had mentioned were indeed happening.
"Lina, 17 at the time of disappearance, daughter of a fisherman in Delrona village. Next was laundress Maella, tavern waitress Tia, apprentice baker Seli, novice nun Eleonor Maria..."
"All victims commoners? On the surface, it looks like human trafficking."
"No, there's also Lady Rabien Mertina of the Mertina baronet family. And Lady Elisa Brene of the Brene viscount family, though they're fallen nobility. Lady Brene had been working as an adventurer lately to raise funds to restore her house."
"……."
"And there's also Bellisa from the Toren Merchant Company."
"...Sigh, I see."
I felt a bit selfish for briefly feeling relieved that it might only target commoner women.
At least it meant Elena might be safe for some reason.
If there was a logical explanation I could grasp, I wouldn't mind her subjugating the monster alone. Say, if it only targeted commoner women for some specific reason.
...Though if a monster had the intelligence to distinguish social class by gender, that'd be dangerous in its own way.
"Any male disappearances?"
"There are some males, but mostly adventurers who vanished on risky guild commissions. Or ones with criminal records."
"Probably died on the job or stowed away."
In contrast, the missing women came from diverse occupations, even including nobles.
And they all shared the trait of being 'young.' Unfortunately, another point in common with Elena.
'Yeah, definitely need to stop her...'
A different kind of unease from meeting Count Marstern began to creep in.
"Let's investigate the port area more. It might connect to overseas human trafficking..."
"Um... Is that you, Your Highness Prince Cedric...?"
"...Miss Lucia."
...I didn't actually expect to run into her.
Lucia was working at the harbor records office, part of whatever special scholarship work-study Elena mentioned. She held a slate with what looked like ledgers.
-Glance, glance.
"...What are you looking for?"
"Oh, I was hoping Lady Elena might be with you, hehe..."
...Knew she'd be looking for Elena more than me.