Chapter 12
Translator: True Detective
012. Banquet (2)
...Be careful?
'Why?'
Why is that bitch giving her such a warning?
Yuna truly did not know.
She figured it was probably just an obvious trick to make her feel uncomfortable.
Therefore.
Yuna intended to proudly enjoy the masquerade ball.
Because enjoying the ball without paying attention to Aria's words seemed like the right answer.
'...She was worried about me?'
Aria was?
While trying hard to hide her slightly softened feelings toward Aria, that is.
That was definitely the plan.
The second day of the masquerade ball.
"...Yuna Castilla. Right? Nice to meet you."
Until someone wearing a veil approached her.
Her entire body was tightly wrapped up.
The only thing exposed was the lower half of her face, which looked somewhat similar to Yuna's.
...No, the lower half of her face was also slightly different.
Because unlike Yuna, who still had a childish look, she exuded a strong mature vibe.
She suddenly grabbed Yuna's hand and pulled her.
"Friends? Could I borrow Yuna for a moment? Because this is an incredibly important matter."
"Yes, yes."
The two people beside Yuna sighed and nodded their heads.
"I told you. I felt like something was going to happen again. Because Yuna has a constitution that easily gets involved in incidents."
"I am worried, but, well. It's Yuna, so..."
Yuna got involved in incidents to an extent that seemed a little excessive.
Because she was the protagonist of a visual novel.
The two, who didn't know that fact, worried about Yuna.
A year ago, that is.
Whenever Yuna faced a difficulty or encountered numerous crises, she broke through them with her abilities and wit.
It was at a wondrous level.
It was only natural.
Because behind the scenes, someone was helping her with all their heart and might.
Because they were protecting Yuna even while chipping away at their own life.
However.
The two of them didn't know that fact either.
Including those two, there were only three people who knew that someone was risking their life to help Yuna.
Rachel and Arcana mistakenly thought that Yuna simply had a 'precious person'.
An unrequited love, that is.
"Excuse me then!"
The princess, who had thrown off her veil, grabbed Yuna's hand and hurriedly disappeared somewhere.
And.
Clatter.
Aria ended up dropping the walking stick she was holding.
The central staircase leading up to the 2nd floor of the banquet hall.
Because she had clearly seen the sight of the two disappearing from there.
'I-I have to chase after them...'
Whine, whine.
I must definitely chase after them.
I have to chase them, keep chasing them, and catch Yuna.
Only then can I stop Yuna from drinking poison.
Poison hurts.
It hurts incredibly.
It hurts incredibly to the point where you want to die.
But Yuna has never experienced such pain.
Therefore, I don't want Yuna to experience such pain.
'I'd rather it be me.'
Thinking so, Aria desperately chased after Yuna.
Tripping, falling, rolling around, and even drawing strange looks to herself, her body became a total mess.
Because just me experiencing incredible pain and things like that is enough.
But she couldn't see Yuna anymore.
The princess as well.
If the two have a secret conversation and swap clothes, it'll be a complete, incredible disaster...
From that point on, I really shouldn't care about the means or methods.
So Aria tried to shout with all her might.
"U-ugh..."
Of all times, the collarbone that got hit by Yuna last time stung and hurt incredibly.
Groping and looking inside my suit, a bruise had suddenly formed and it was swollen.
The inside of my dress shirt was completely covered in damp sweat. I was covered in cold sweat.
I-I definitely thought things like this were all cured...
Aria thought.
In this worldview, magic power can cure most wounds.
Unless it's something that requires surgery, is incredibly painful, or needs stitches, everything can be cured.
But Aria had received such treatment. So she barely managed to save her life.
But seeing a scar left on my collarbone, the answer was truly, truly only one.
'I don't have time...'
Aria's curse.
I don't really know what it is, but I heard it's a curse related to the lungs and magic power.
It recklessly absorbs magic power. So it makes a person die from a lack of magic power.
Originally, if you take an elixir, you can go about your daily life as if nothing happened.
But elixirs were incredibly expensive.
With the money to take such an elixir, it's much better to just buy Yuna a gift of some sort instead...
So, as my magic power slowly begins to deplete, the wounds I thought were cured are going ta-da and reappearing.
Hehehe.
Aria admired her own deductive reasoning skills.
And at the same time, she shed tears profusely.
Pant, pant!
Because Yuna had completely disappeared.
I couldn't even chase after her anymore.
A truly serious situation.
"...Are you alright?"
"B-because of a cold..."
When Aria said that tearfully, people around her kept trying to help.
It was because they thought she was Clara.
If I hadn't been cross-dressing and had fallen over, kicking me would have been the basics, and they would have lightly trampled on my head as they passed by.
Thinking so, Aria tried to burrow into the crowd and set out to find Yuna for now.
Aria sprinted.
She kept sprinting.
Even though her legs hurt so completely that groans of "Ugh-" came out, she kept running straight ahead.
Because it would be too late after Yuna accepted the role of the body double.
Even if she accepts it and doesn't eat or drink anything, the assassin will still come.
You see, the identity of the assassin trying to kill the princess is...
At that moment.
The figure of the princess caught her eye on a 3rd-floor balcony.
Yuna was there too.
"...Hah, if Your Highness needs my help that much, it can't be helped. You'll make sure to compensate me properly later, right?"
"Haha! Thank you. You're the only person I can trust and rely on. My employees will take care of everything, so Yuna, you can just relax and enjoy the ball!"
"How am I supposed to enjoy it when they're hiding around me in such uncomfortable positions. Phew..."
No.
No, no.
Truly no.
'This won't do.'
It's already too late.
Aria desperately began to sprint.
Due to her small physique, she couldn't push through the crowd, but she kept climbing the stairs using the small gaps that opened up here and there.
Leaving both her hat and walking stick completely abandoned.
Without hesitation, she revealed her dragging leg and kept climbing the stairs.
Aria's classmates, who found that sight suspicious, forcefully grabbed Aria.
Because all her actions and appearance seemed like Aria, not Clara.
"Oh my, my mistake."
Wine poured down all over Aria's head, drip, drip, drip.
"It seems you'll have to take off your mask. Lady Clara?"
"...Sorry."
I didn't have time for this right now.
If I deal with these friends, Yuna will face an incredibly, incredibly huge crisis.
So Aria jolted her body and slipped through the classmates.
The classmates tried to chase after her, but.
Seeing Aria crawling up the stairs, they hesitated a little.
Because they were getting the chills.
'No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.'
Yuna had just chosen the option 'Accept the role of the body double.'
But that option encounters poisoned food as a random encounter throughout the masquerade ball period.
Then you'd think, wouldn't it be fine to just not eat any of it, but if you do that, your identity gets revealed.
Whine, whine, whine.
No matter what you choose, only the worst options exist.
Even if you break through everything with luck, a real assassin holding a knife will openly rush at you.
Because all of this is...
Flinch.
Yuna, humming a tune leisurely as she came down the stairs.
No, she made eye contact with the 3rd Princess Ardina.
"Oh my, you look a mess. Are you okay? Your hair is all wet..."
"Y-yo-ou."
"What's wrong?"
I truly hate her.
But right now.
"...I won't let you get away with this."
"Huh?"
The princess tried to quickly leave the spot.
This is a trigger.
The trigger that an incredibly, immensely huge crisis is about to strike Yuna.
So I ignored the princess and hurried my steps.
Because my clothes are all wet and red, it's damp, sticky, and feels unpleasant.
But that doesn't matter.
"...Please eat, 'Your Highness'."
"Ah, yes, well. Then I will enjoy the meal."
Yuna has a good appetite and is the kind of gourmet who eats a whole lot of incredibly delicious things.
So she's the kind of person who makes you smile hehehe because it's nice to watch her.
Those bastards are trying to feed poison to Yuna right now.
I scraped my throat and shouted.
"Wait a minute."
Yuna looked at me with startled rabbit eyes.
Hehehe.
She's incredibly cute.
To the point where I want to take a picture.
I slowly.
Trudge, trudge.
Approached Yuna head-on.
And after looking at the wine glass Yuna was holding.
Smack-, I struck it away with my hand.
At the same time, the contents dripped down stickily onto Yuna's clothes.
And.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing!!!"
Yuna's expression distorted in shock.
'I-is this enough?'
Phew.
A sigh of relief came out.
But suddenly, Keuh-heuk!, my stomach hurt incredibly, immensely, just... so much.
It hurt so much that a few tears squeezed out, and I slumped down right there.
Even my mask flew off due to the shock of getting hit in the stomach.
My vision was blacking out. I couldn't see anything.
Except for Yuna's truly angel-like face.
Even looking down at me with disgusted eyes is truly, incredibly, completely pretty.
I want to keep seeing this...
"Hey, get up."
Yuna's voice could be heard.
Hehehe.
I love Yuna so much.