Chapter 1: An Unexpected Event

Noticing that it was now somewhat later in the afternoon, I hastened my footsteps. Surely they would be worried about me if I took too long. I hurried through the street that had just been bustling with activity only a while ago. It was now sparse, quiet — it was, after all, time for dinner. Delicious smells wafted from the commoners’ homes that I walked by.

I adjusted my grip on the bag that held a variety of sweets, the kind that were only sold to commoners in the downtown districts. It had been a while since we’d had anything like this, so I knew she would be happy. As I thought about the person who would be most pleased by these candies upon my return, a smile naturally formed on my face.

My coming to purchase them was a secret. Under normal circumstances, I would have never set out suddenly to do anything like what I was doing now. But she had been through a lot lately, and I thought that this would make her happy. That was why I’d come here.

However, the shops were messier than I thought, and the whole endeavor took longer than expected. I started walking even faster, making my way through the streets under the now-orange sky. That was when it happened.

Someone was now standing before me. If I had to guess, they most likely stepped out from one of the countless alleyways and side roads that branched off this one. A deep hood and cloak covered their being, but the individual did not look very bulky. In fact, I could see a bit of a dress underneath that cape...

A woman, perhaps? Who could this be? It was strange that they would just appear right there and then, so coincidentally, as if to bump into me. No... this person was standing there intentionally. In fact, they were now staring at me in a most suspicious manner.

“It’s been a while,” the person before me said. A woman’s voice, unmistakably. However... it was not a voice I recognized.

“...And who might you be?” I asked, alarmed, in a low voice.

The woman responded in an almost theatrical way as she slowly closed the distance between us. “Well, you really shouldn’t say that, you know? Asking who I am... as if we were complete strangers,” the woman said, pulling her hood down. Her long hair cascaded down her back.

“!” Surprise and bewilderment; those were the emotions I felt as I stared at the woman.

The woman merely smiled, the corners of her carmine-red lips curling up. “Say... there is a certain wish I would like fulfilled. You’ll hear me out, won’t you?”

Upon hearing the woman’s needlessly dramatic voice, I felt my expression stiffen. The look on my face right now would most likely be described as grave.

★★★★★★

“That’s quite enough! Please wake up this instant, young miss. If you continue to dally, you will be late for your lessons!”

I could hear a voice that was getting increasingly strict. Reluctantly, I opened my heavy eyelids. The curtains had been drawn back, and the sun’s rays were streaming in.

With a mighty yawn, I stretched, rubbing my half-closed eyes absent-mindedly. As soon as I got up, Anne, my personal maid, immediately started doing my hair and getting me ready for the day. After thanking her for her efforts, I finally got up from the bed, still half-asleep. It was time to get ready and set off for campus.

It has almost been two years since I, Katarina Claes, started attending the Academy of Magic. It was such a short time ago, but before I knew it, I was now close to graduation. Ah... how time flies.

Now that I thought about it, when I first came here, I wasn’t even sure I’d make it to graduation safely. Things turned out very differently than I’d expected. I thought back on how things had been back then as I remembered last year’s opening ceremony.

I, Katarina Claes, am the daughter of Duke Claes. I am indeed a noble lady, and I suppose there aren’t too many daughters of dukes hanging around in this kingdom. But despite my relatively high social standing, I am still very much a normal girl on the inside.

If there’s one abnormal thing about me, it would be the fact that I tripped and hit my head on a rock when I was eight, and the impact caused me to remember all the memories of my previous life.

My previous life... I was born to a normal salaryman, and was the oldest daughter of the family. I eventually grew into an upstanding otaku high-school girl. Manga, anime, and games were how I spent my days, and it was wonderful. Those days wouldn’t last, though; due to an unfortunate accident, I died.

After that, I was reincarnated as Duke Claes’ daughter. Of all the people to be reborn as, I found myself in the shoes of Katarina Claes, villainess extraordinaire! She was the antagonist in the otome game I was playing before my untimely death, Fortune Lover.

Fortune Lover was highly recommended by a certain otaku friend of mine. Katarina was the main villain of this game, the fiancée of one of the romanceable characters, and also the protagonist’s rival. Yes, that’s right — I had been reincarnated as one of the most annoying characters in that game I had been playing...

To make things worse, there were no good endings for Katarina! She was a villainess who only had bad ends... exiled from the kingdom if the protagonist got a happy ending, being killed in the bad ones. There was no winning with this character.

That was the truth I realized at the age of eight. This was why I worked hard, coming up with various countermeasures to subvert the game’s Catastrophic Bad Ends. I simply had to prepare as much as I could before the game started — at the opening ceremony of the Academy of Magic.

I kept this one goal in mind, my determination that I would not lose to any of these Catastrophic Bad Ends, as I started attending the Academy of Magic in the spring of last year. To think that it would all end uneventfully in the form of the Friendship Ending, of all things...

The game’s protagonist, Maria, was beautiful, gentle, and was very good at baking. She would be the first person on anyone’s mind if they were looking for a bride. She was a very charming girl. But when the game’s timeline finally ended during last year’s graduation ceremony, I was greeted with an unexpected reality — everyone stayed friends, and with that Friendship Ending, I made it through the end of the graduation ceremony without any problems.

It was a surprising and sudden end to things. As a result, I didn’t end up using a single one of the countermeasures I’d prepared. The Catastrophic Bad Ends passed me by, just like that, and they were all gone. I safely advanced into my second year at the academy.

While I did get into some trouble after that, things eventually worked out, and now it will be time to graduate soon. These recent days have been peaceful, almost unbelievably so, considering how I felt when I first came to the academy.

Now that we are approaching the end of the year, we have fewer lessons, though I did have some classes today. Even my grades, which were pretty shaky in the beginning, are now somewhat more stable, thanks to my skilled friends.

All that time I had spent worrying about exile or losing my life to the game’s machinations seemed far away in the past now, almost as if those problems never existed to begin with. As I come so close to my eventual graduation, I am suddenly faced with a new problem...

“Young miss, flowers and a letter for you have arrived, again,” Anne said, handing the items over.

The bouquet of flowers was cute, sporting pinkish flowers at its base. But when I saw it, I let out a sigh. These bouquets were the one problem I found myself faced with these days, now that I had overcome all the Catastrophic Bad Ends.

“We’re going to see each other again soon, right? It’s not necessary to keep sending these flowers and stuff...”

Anne laughed wryly as she neatly transferred the flowers into a vase. While I didn’t get items like this in the mail every day, the flowers were showing up on a regular basis, which was clear from the fact that my room was filled with them.

Picking up the letter that arrived with the bouquet, I sighed, audibly louder than I had before. I supposed the letter contained more prose and poetry to make me blush — after all, I had zero experience when it came to things like love.

...Why did Jeord get like this all of a sudden? The one who had sent me this letter, and all these bouquets, was none other than Jeord Stuart.

Jeord Stuart was originally one of the potential love interests in the world of Fortune Lover. He was the third crown prince, and a genius at just about everything. As a result, he grew tired of this world, and lived each and every day in boredom. Upon enrolling into the Academy of Magic, however, Jeord would cross paths with the bright, lovable, and innocently simple protagonist, and then fall for her. At least, that’s how the story goes.

Of course, the antagonist would show up to get in the way of the protagonist’s love. Said antagonist was me, Katarina Claes. In the story of Fortune Lover, Katarina sustained an injury to her forehead while playing with Jeord when she was younger. Using this as an excuse, she pressured Jeord into an engagement. Upon noticing that Jeord had feelings for the protagonist, Katarina would then do everything she could to get in her way — including bullying and sabotage.

As a result, she would eventually be tried for her sins and exiled from the kingdom... or she would rush at the protagonist with a blade, only to be cut down by Jeord and die. Yes, Katarina only ever had Catastrophic Bad Ends.

Honestly, though, I didn’t do anything like that to Maria. In fact, I ended up utterly terrifying and scaring away those who had been attempting to bully my cute and wonderful friend. And I hadn’t latched onto Jeord at all! I even requested multiple times for the engagement to be called off!

Even so, should an unexpected Catastrophic Bad End come for me one day, I had made my preparations. To be exact, I had set aside a complete set of agricultural tools for me to escape with if I were exiled from the kingdom. And then there were the projectile snake toys that I had made...

Although no one got in their way, Maria and Jeord never did get an ending of any kind. And in the end, I was unable to get Jeord to cancel our engagement — and so I still remained his fiancée even as I advanced into my second year at the academy.

From what I knew of Fortune Lover’s plot, Jeord had only kept Katarina in the engagement as a means of deflecting other potentially interested suitors. That was why I had my suspicions that Jeord would fall for some other woman instead of Maria... and if that happened, my role would be over. I never doubted that. In fact, I was simply hoping for Jeord to find a partner soon! Those were my usual thoughts on the matter.

But... something completely unexpected happened recently. It was during the school festival. I had been on cloud nine from the fact that I had safely overcome the Catastrophic Bad Ends. I was even thinking of enjoying myself to the fullest during the famed school festival at the academy. But then I found myself in trouble again when I was suddenly kidnapped.

While I did get kidnapped, nothing terrible was done to me. Perhaps I had been riding a little bit too confidently on the coattails of my recent success, but I had absolutely no sense of any impending danger. From what I was told, I was put to sleep with some kind of drug. When I woke up, I found myself in a room with a gentle and capable maid. I was provided with three full meals, and allowed to sleep in for however long I wanted. It was an awesome experience.

...This isn’t something I’d say to my friends and everyone else, of course, since they’d been so worried about me. But it felt a lot easier to live in that room than in my quarters back at the dorm or at Claes Manor.

Although I was enjoying myself, kidnapping was a crime, and soon enough I was freed from the manor I was being held captive at by my friends. It was then that it happened — Jeord kissed me upon my rescue.

It was the first kiss I’d ever experienced in my life. Well, if I were to count the previous, it would be the first one in two lifetimes! It was too sudden, and I soon passed out from the confusion and unexpected development.

When I woke up the next day, the only conclusion I could draw was that it was all a dream. After all, I was nothing more than a deterrent to Jeord, meant to fend off other suitors. At least, that was what I thought, so... why?

When I crossed paths with Jeord back at the academy again, he had the sweetest expression I had ever seen on his face, and he leaned in for yet another kiss.

“So you had thought it was a dream? But I assure you... what happened just now, and what happened then — neither of those were dreams,” he said, smiling faintly.

“B-But why?”

I was still shaken by the events when Jeord hit me with the stunning truth.

“I presume you are asking about the kiss, yes? But of course, Katarina, it is because I love you so.”

It was unbelievable. Stunning. Shocking, really. To think the day would come that I, someone who was never destined to have love in my life, would be confessed to... on top of all that, by a potential love interest in an otome game, too! A fairy-tale prince!

When Jeord was just a two-dimensional image on a screen, he always looked lovingly at the player. But for an actual three-dimensional Jeord to be looking at me in such a way, right in front of my face! Wah! I could feel my face heating up as I re-lived the memory.

Ugh... what should I do? If I were the popular protagonist of an otome game, then maybe I would be better equipped to deal with a proposal or two, no matter how many suitors approached me. But... I was nothing more than an innocent girl in my previous life — one who never even had the slightest brush with love. Yes, I had zero experience points in the love category.

I was just proposed to for the first time in this, and my previous, lifetimes! All I could do was remain shaken, panicking and bumbling this way and that. To make things worse, the person proposing to me was a popular and handsome prince! I could feel the mental tremors increasing in intensity.

“Ahh...” Once again, I let a long, drawn-out sigh escape from my lips.

“But... why me, of all people?”

“Huh? What are you going on about suddenly, Big Sister?”

I was muttering continuously as I finished my preparations and started heading toward the academy. Before leaving, Keith, my kind and gentle adopted brother, would always meet me so that we could walk to class together.

“It’s about Prince Jeord... I don’t understand why it would be me...”

“Ah, that. I see,” Keith said, sounding lonely. The expression on his face was stiff, which was enough for me to know that Keith was different from his usual self.

“I mean, Prince Jeord... he’s so popular, right? So many girls would love to marry him.”

It was true, Prince Jeord was very popular amongst the ladies of the kingdom. Not only was he the handsome crown prince, he was also intelligent, and capable at sports. To top it all off, his magical capabilities were also impressive. It was simply impossible for a lady to not be entranced with this seemingly perfect man. As a result, Jeord had been approached by many noble ladies, even with Katarina Claes as his fiancée.

“Surely he has many wonderful candidates to choose from?” I continued. After all, it was that way in the game too. Jeord lived his days in boredom and relative disinterest until he crossed paths with the bright and innocent protagonist, and fell for her in the process. “In that case, why would he choose someone like me? Someone so... unremarkable?”

While I was the daughter of a duke, I was born with the face of a villainess — I was hardly stunning or beautiful in the traditional sense. I wasn’t smart, either, and my magical power was dismally weak. I was terrible at dancing too, and the only things I was good at were climbing trees and catching fish. Really... I was just a normal girl.

“What does Prince Jeord see in my normal, uninteresting, and plain self...?” I really couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Big Sister... perhaps it would do you well to look up the definition of ‘normal’ in a dictionary,” my adopted brother responded with a faraway look in his eyes.

“?” What’s that supposed to mean? I could almost feel a question mark floating above my head.

“Good morning, Katarina,” a breezy voice called out from behind me.

Ah, speak of the devil... I turned around, and as expected, the person in question was approaching me with a brilliant smile on his face. Katarina Claes’ fiancé, and the third crown prince of the kingdom... Jeord Stuart.

“...Good morning. Prince Jeord,” I responded, still somewhat shaken.

Jeord wasted no time in closing the distance between us. “I have sent flowers and a letter today. Did you receive them safely, pray tell?” he said, now at incredibly close range.

T-Too close! Far too close! The presence of this three-dimensional beautiful human being will be the end of my poor heart! Although I had simply dismissed this kind of thing before, thinking that perhaps Prince Jeord was simply bad at gauging normal distance between people, I had grown used to it and accepted it as a way of life. But lately I couldn’t dismiss it like that anymore.

“U-Um... Prince Jeord, you’re a little...” Too close. Could you please step away a little? was what I would have liked to say... but Jeord had retreated before I had finished my sentence.

Now that I took a good look though, I saw that it wasn’t Jeord stepping back on his own volition — he had been pulled back by the hand of someone else. “Prince Jeord. You are a little too close, no?”

The one who had pulled Jeord away was my adopted younger brother, Keith. He had a remarkable smile on his face too, one that was comparable to Jeord’s. Ah, thank you, my dear brother. Thanks to you, the integrity of my heart and its chambers have been preserved... for now.

“Keith. Katarina and I will be united in marriage one day. I do not see the issue with me being a little closer with her,” said Jeord as he extended his arm and placed a hand on my cheek. I involuntarily shivered at the sensation of his fingertips brushing across my face, and quickly retreated to a safe distance.

Keith, upon seeing this, furrowed his brow. “What marriage? You are scaring her, do you not see? Please, this way, Big Sister...”

I quickly hid behind Keith’s back, grateful for his quick thinking. But dear brother of mine... I would not exactly say that I was scared...

“Ah... but you see, Katarina is not scared of me — hardly! She is merely becoming aware of my presence.”

It was as if Jeord was reading my mind! What he said was true. I wasn’t scared of him, no... but I wasn’t used to these things, especially when it came to love, so I was caught off guard. As expected of the perfect Prince Jeord... he really does see through everything. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of appreciation for Jeord’s sharp senses, even as I continued hiding behind Keith.

“Unlike a certain someone, who does not seem to register in her mind in the slightest... no, not even a fragment,” Jeord said with that same defiant smile.

I felt Keith twitch at those words. Register? Mind? Hmm? Who is Jeord talking about? Judging by the way Keith reacted... does he know who it is?

Looking up at Keith, I was surprised to see a certain sorrow in his features. “Um...” Just as I was about to call out to him—

“Good morning, Lady Katarina.” That cheerful greeting was from Mary Hunt, a close friend of mine. She was here with her fiancée, Alan Stuart. Her bright voice immediately dispelled the strange atmosphere that had been hanging over us.

“Good morning, Mary, Prince Alan.” I returned her greeting with a smile. Mary responded in kind. Ah, her smile really is lovely.

Mary was the very image of a noble lady. She had that perfect smile and aura of elegance no matter the occasion, whether at an event in noble circles or a public space. The smile she showed when speaking to us was different though. It was warmer.

On the other hand, Alan, who had been trailing behind Mary, simply responded with a simple “yeah.” There wasn’t much to his greeting, but this was how he always was. He was nowhere as friendly as Jeord. Maybe he could just use a tiny bit more of Jeord’s sociability, but Alan’s fans actually preferred his gruff nature.

I was baffled by this whole situation. The complexities of a maiden’s heart were indeed numerous. With the two of them here, the atmosphere changed. Mary, who had been smiling at me just a second ago, now suddenly had the smile she usually reserved for social affairs on her face.

“Well, if it isn’t Prince Jeord. Is it really all right for you to be here at this point in time? I do recall quite the amount of work piling up at the council chambers...” she said to Jeord. While it almost seemed like Mary was actually worried about unfinished work at the council, that strange atmosphere was back again.

“Why yes, it was quite the workload indeed. However, all I had to do was actually put my mind to it. I have already finished it all, you see.”

“I see... how nice to hear...”

Hmm. What is this? It’s Mary’s smile, sure, but something about it seems off.

“Even so,” Jeord continued, “I feel like the workload at the council has increased quite a bit as of late. I wonder why that would be the case?”

“Perhaps it is due to the impending graduation ceremony?”

“Is that so? It almost feels as if a certain individual is funneling work toward me, so as to unjustly rob me of my time... I cannot help but think of that, no?”

“Surely you jest, Prince Jeord. Perhaps your work and tiredness have gotten the better of you, for you to become delusional like that? Perhaps it would be best for you to get some quality rest on your own today?”

“Hmm. Perhaps I shall simply attribute it to that for now. However, no matter how much work gets piled up on my desk, I will hardly see it as a trial of any kind.”

“Ahaha. As expected of you, Prince Jeord. I see you are as capable as ever.”

Although the two were all smiles, the aura emanating from their conversation was somewhat unpleasant.

“Good morning, everyone. Should we not be headed to the campus soon? We will be late if we dally...” a somewhat sleepy, yet panicked Sophia said.

With that, the conversation ended, and we all headed toward our classrooms together.

By the way, it seems that Sophia did oversleep, as I thought. Apparently she’d stayed up all night reading novels again. The one she was reading sounded really good, so I asked to borrow it from her.

When we finally reached campus, we waited for Maria, who lived in a different dormitory. Then we all went to our classrooms to attend the few remaining lectures this term.

“I went to the Ministry yesterday and met with Lady Larna. She was eager for you to come along next time as well, Lady Katarina,” Maria told me when our lecture ended and lunch break began.

Maria Campbell: the original protagonist of the otome game, Fortune Lover, and one of the few Wielders of Light in the kingdom. Maria had decided to work for the Ministry after her graduation. With our lessons at the academy steadily decreasing in frequency, Maria had been visiting the Ministry.

Maria’s future superior was Larna Smith, someone I had met during a certain incident not long ago. I didn’t know who she was then, but I’d spent some time with her when she was going by “Lana.” She was easy to talk to, and seemed like a candid person who didn’t mince her words. I never would have guessed that she was actually some important person from the Ministry!

From what I heard, Larna had a senior position there, too. For some reason she’d become interested in me, and arrangements were made for me to start working at the Ministry after I graduated. In fact, she was personally recommending me for the position.

If I were to just graduate normally, it was likely that Jeord would whisk me away to formally become his bride. I mean, it’s not like I disliked him. But the problem was that he was royalty, and if I married him, I’d become royalty too! Honestly, maintaining my social status as the daughter of a duke already took too much effort. Even if I tried my best to play the role, Mother always complained about my performance.

It hadn’t taken me long after regaining my memories to realize that I wasn’t cut out for this noble thing at all. I’d make a better farmer, or at least some common townsperson. But me, of all people, becoming royalty? Standing at the top of the kingdom...?

A little while ago, I was pondering what I’d do with my life once Jeord found someone he really liked and called off his engagement with me. Most nobles preferred that their daughters get married as soon as possible, but my family was different. My father spoiled me like crazy, and my mother couldn’t care less. “Let Katarina do as she pleases!” my father said. “If she were to get married she’d embarrass herself even further, so wouldn’t it be better for her to stay home instead?” my mother said. So the two of them never really campaigned for me to get married.

This was why I had been happily thinking about what I could do after graduation without a care in the world, only for Jeord to suddenly go on an all-out romantic offensive. At this rate, I’d really end up becoming a member of the royal family!

To prevent that, I had to enter the ranks of the Ministry at all costs. The one who had informed me of this potential way out was Raphael, a friend of mine who was currently working at the Ministry. After all, the Ministry was the next most powerful organization in the kingdom, second to royalty. So joining the Ministry’s ranks would provide me with some protection. Even if a prince wanted to marry me, I couldn’t simply be whisked away to the royal castle.

Although that was supposed to be my salvation, and the only way out of this mess... I now wasn’t so sure. After all, my magical power was low — the bottom of the barrel at the academy, really. If I was good at my studies then maybe I could join the Ministry as a researcher or academic, but my grades were average at best.

Would a normal, relatively boring and plain girl like myself have any business tunneling into the Ministry, the nest of elites? Although I was often scolded by my parents in my past life for being brazen and cheeky, this was too much for me. I didn’t have any skills or abilities, and to just wiggle my way into the most elite organization in the kingdom via a connection... it felt wrong, even for me.

So I hadn’t given Larna a response yet, even after she went out of her way to invite me into the Ministry. Of course, I didn’t expect to suddenly have powers on par with Maria’s, but I at least wanted one special skill of some kind that would mean I could enter the Ministry without shame.

All I could do was keep trying to come up with something, all while giving Maria vague answers, despite her earnest push for me to join the Ministry with her. There were only a few months left until graduation, and the path I would take remained undecided.

Ever since his proposal after the kidnapping incident, Jeord’s aggressively romantic approaches showed no signs of stopping. With his beautiful face, Jeord would approach me elegantly, then lean in with whispers of love and desire for intimacy. These incidents turned me various shades of pale blue and deep red, and each time my friends would come to my rescue. But honestly, I had zero resistance when it came to love, and I felt like my poor heart couldn’t possibly keep up. I felt like my heartbeats in this short span of time had already gone way past the heartbeat count of the rest of my lifespan combined.

Honestly, having a handsome prince like this almost tackle me with his aggressive approaches was... difficult. For a novice at love like me, shouldn’t we start with exchanging notes or something like that instead?! I’d prefer a slower start like that!

Today was the same as ever. Jeord’s relentless approaches had left me tired, and I now found myself in Keith’s quarters. “I’m... s-so tired,” I groaned. With that, I collapsed on Keith’s sofa, taking up the whole thing myself and complaining all the while.

Keith, however, merely smiled bitterly at my antics. “Ready to give up, I see,” he said, while handing me some snacks I liked and pouring the tea I loved.

“Fan kyuu...” I said, with my mouth stuffed full of the snacks he’d offered me. Normally, Keith would be upset at my lack of manners. But today, he merely looked on with that smile and forgave my transgressions.

I’d been doing this for a few days — sneaking into Keith’s room and doing nothing but complaining the entire time. But he never once seemed bothered by it, and instead listened with an empathetic ear. I really did have a wonderful younger brother.

Come to think of it, Keith had always been covering my tracks and supporting me ever since we were children. He was always there after I was lectured by Mother, or if I did badly at a tea-party. He would stay with me until I cheered up.

It made me think of my somewhat rougher older brother in my past life. Upon seeing his sister depressed, he would usually cheer me up, although he chose to do it with a pro-wrestling move. That was the kind of brother he was. I didn’t dislike him or anything, but I always found myself thinking, Maybe you should understand the intricacies of a maiden’s heart, or at least try, you dummy!

Compared to him, Keith had a much better understanding of said intricacies. Even if he did get something wrong, he would never come at me with some pro-wrestling move. Instead, he’d present me with snacks and tea that I liked. Keith was gentle, caring, and considerate — he really was a wonderful brother. He would never have any issues marrying into any other noble family. Well, I suppose our family would be the one the bride would be getting married into, not the other way around.

Keith would definitely be very popular amongst the ladies. As his adoptive older sister, I really did hope for Keith to find a good bride. At the very least, not someone like Mother... that would be really worrisome. The ideal was someone like Maria, cute and kind.

Just as I was indulging myself in the thoughts of who my adoptive younger brother should marry...

“Hey, Big Sister... do you really have reservations about marrying Prince Jeord?” Keith asked with a serious expression on his face.

“Of course I do, Keith! After all, if I were to marry Prince Jeord, I’d become royalty! Royalty! I’d stand at the top of this kingdom! I couldn’t possibly fulfill such a role!”

Even Mary, who was the very epitome of what a noble lady should be, didn’t find the prospects of becoming royalty very pleasant at all. She often talked about how troublesome it’d be. If Mary couldn’t do it, there was no way I would be able to. Such was my spirited response.

“Haha. I suppose so. It would be a little difficult for you to play the role of a royal.” Keith smiled, now strangely happier than before. However, his serious expression soon returned. “But... Big Sister, if you ever... feel that way about Prince Jeord...”

“?”

“No. It’s nothing.” Keith stopped speaking. For some reason, he looked sad, like how he looked way back then when he had just arrived at Claes Manor. My heart tightened at the sight.

However, Keith soon returned to his usual self and started speaking again. The conversation soon shifted to me complaining once more, and before long, I had all but forgotten about the tightness in my heart. It wasn’t long before I felt refreshed and returned to my room.

We would be on a short break from the academy starting tomorrow, and I had decided to return to Claes Manor. At the very least, I would be able to escape from Jeord’s intense approaches for a while. That was a relieving thought.

The next day, Keith and I returned to Claes Manor as planned. I immediate changed into my gardening overalls, and for the first time in a long time, headed into the gardens to tend to the fields.

In the past, Mother would always try to get me away from doing field work. Now, she simply said this with a tired expression: “Just... refrain from uttering those strange sounds of yours, and... do as you like, Katarina.”

“I understand!” I cheerfully replied, although I wasn’t quite sure what the strange sounds she was talking about were. Have I been making strange sounds without noticing? Maybe a “haa...” here, or a “hyaah!” there...? Hmm. I guess I should be careful.

With that, I took my hoe into my hands and... “And a one! Hup! And a two! Hup!” I started my agricultural work as usual.

As expected, Jeord didn’t show up at the manor today. I supposed he was taking his rest too. And Keith immediately left after we got to the manor, claiming that he had “matters to attend to.” As a result, I spent my time with Grandpa Tom and Anne, and gave it my all in the fields.

In the past, Anne would make a face and say something like “A noble lady working the fields...!” But maybe because Anne had stuck with me every time I did field work, she now assisted me instead — if anything, she’d become more knowledgeable about agriculture than me.

She even gave me advice now! “Ah, young miss, it is still a little too early to harvest those. Perhaps that row over there would be a better choice,” she would say. She’d also become very skilled at planting seeds and saplings, and gave me all sorts of information. She’d suggest different fertilizers and farming tools. It was really very useful.

It had been a long time since I had the opportunity to do anything like this, and I was soon fully absorbed in the process. Before I knew it, the sun was already setting. It was well worth the work, though — the fields were now a lot cleaner, and we had our fair harvest of vegetables and crops.

I eagerly wished to show off the fruits of my labor, and so I found myself walking to Keith’s room while still dressed in my gardening getup.

“Hey, Keith! We have made some improvements to the fields, would you like to... hmm?” I had knocked quite a bit, and the door had opened. “Eh? Has Keith not returned yet?” There was no one there — the room was empty.

I’d thought that since Keith left so early that he should have already come home by now. Was he somewhere else in the manor? I quickly located Sebastian (not really his name), our butler, and asked, only to be told that Keith had not returned.

Is he out doing something that takes a lot of time? That’s a bummer, but I guess there’s no helping it. I turned around to return to the fields, only to cross paths with Mother, who had just left the tea room. As her eyes met mine, her demeanor changed. She was so happily speaking with the maids not long ago, but now her brows furrowed and rage flashed in her eyes.

E-Eh?! Why? What happened? Just because I crossed paths with her? I found myself paralyzed by Mother’s piercing gaze. Her expression shifted to look behind me and her angry expression intensified.

Eh? What? I turned around, only to see that I had left a trail of mud and soil where I’d walked. To make things worse, this mud trail extended all the way into the corridor and back. I, of course, was still dressed in my gardening overalls... my muddy, dirty field work gear.

This... was bad. I could instinctively feel it — a sense of primal danger. I had to escape from this place, but alas, my opponent was faster than I was. Before I could make a run for it, Mother had me by the collar.

“Katarina... you would do well to come with me... to my room...” Her voice was terrifying and low, as if she had become an emissary from hell itself.

And so I brushed off what remaining soil there was on my overalls, before being dragged to Mother’s room like an unwilling prisoner. I would then be lectured for several long, tedious hours...

With the lecture finally over, I was released, and I once again found myself heading to Keith’s room for the express purpose of complaining, and to report the results of my harvest. The sun had already set, after all. Surely he’d be in his room by now?

“Keith...?” There was no response. The room was as silent and still as it had been before.

That day, Keith never came home to Claes Manor.

Until now, Keith had never left home like this. Everyone was shaken. Then, just as there was talk of sending out a search party, a single letter arrived at the manor. Written in the letter was...

The pressure of carrying on the good name of Duke Claes has become too much for me. That is why I have left. Please do not search for me.

Sincerely,

Keith

It was written in Keith’s handwriting, without a doubt. Upon receiving the letter, the entire house was thrown into chaos.

“To think that our perfect Master Keith would suddenly say that he cannot bear the pressure of succeeding the Claes name... It doesn’t seem plausible.”

“Did he not shadow Duke Claes on numerous occasions? Master Keith is so smart — they’ve been entrusting him with more important tasks recently too.”

“He really did not seem to be having any problem with the pressure...”

All the servants and other staff members who worked at the manor had similar things to say. And I felt the same way. It had been over a decade since the Claes family took him in, and Keith was always capable and quick to learn. He blended into noble society very quickly, and had always been more socially agile and wittier than me. In fact, Keith was seen as the perfect heir to the Claes name. Why would he think that the pressures of inheriting that name would be overbearing?

As I sat in my room, with almost-visible question marks hovering over my head, a voice called out to me. It was my mother. What is it? Did we get new information about Keith?

“Katarina... it’s about Keith,” Mother said with a serious expression as she entered my room.

As I thought, she must have gotten new information. I listened intently with an equally serious expression.

“About Keith’s letter... as I suspected, his disappearance does not seem related to the pressures of taking on the Claes name.”

“...Of course.” Hmm. So Mother is on the same page as I am. I nodded emphatically.

“And so I decided to speak with the servants about it, ask them some questions, and then...”

“And then?” There was strength in Mother’s eyes. I leaned forward a little without even realizing it.

“It would seem that Keith has been somewhat depressed, unhappy as of late. Several servants reported witnessing him in such a state.”

“Keith was... sad? Down?” I hadn’t ever seen Keith looking like that. Had I simply not noticed?

“Yes. And from what I have been told, he only had such an expression after meeting with a certain person.”

“Eh?! A certain person?” But who? Who could it be? Is that person linked to Keith’s troubles? Then we should speak to this person right away... “But Mother, who is it?”

“...Well, you see...” With that, Mother paused, before staring straight at me. “It is none other than YOU, Katarina!” Her declaration made her sound like one of the famous detectives in the television programs I’d watched in my past life, in scenes where they point out the true perpetrator of a crime.

“...E-Eh?! M-Me?”

I could only gape in surprise as Mother continued, as if finally cornering the elusive criminal with her flawless deduction. “Yes you, Katarina. According to various testimonies I have received from the servants, Keith always seemed depressed after speaking to you as of late.”

“After speaking to me...” While I had been complaining to him quite often recently, was he ever depressed? Thinking back on it... hmm. Oh yes, there was that one day, right before we returned to that manor, when Keith made that sad face. “Ah, come to think of it...”

Before I could finish my sentence, my mother gave a deep sigh. “As I thought... so it was you.” Just like a detective during a mystery’s parlor scene. And then...

“The reason Keith ran away from home had nothing to do with inheriting the Claes name at all. The reason why he left... was due to the stress of having to clean up after you all the time!” Mother declared, her voice reaching a peak.

“E-Eh?! Clean up after me?” Hmm. I suppose Keith has been supporting me and covering for me when I make mistakes, but... cleaning up after me?

“I am sure he feels tired, having to look after his sloppy sister throughout all these years. But of course... Keith is such a gentle child. That is why he could not come clean with the facts. That is why he sent this letter...” Mother said sorrowfully, hanging her head as she did so.

“...” Well, the question of ‘cleaning up’ after me aside, I supposed I had been barging into his room to complain a lot lately, and he’d had to put up with that. If that was what caused his apparent tiredness, then I could understand that. “...What do I do?” If Keith had really gotten tired of my antics and decided to never come home...

Seeing how deflated I was, Mother shot me a grave look, before gripping my hands tightly. “There is no use crying over spilled milk. Firstly, you shall sincerely apologize for everything you have done up until this point. And you shall inform your brother of how you will work hard and never trouble him again. If you sincerely communicate that to him, then Keith, being the gentle child he is... will surely forgive you.”

“...M-Mother...” I was moved at her words. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I returned her grip with an equally earnest force. “Mother, I will apologize to Keith! And I’ll tell him that I’ll work hard not to trouble him again!”

“Yes, work hard indeed, Katarina!”

And so somewhere, in a room of Claes Manor, a very mismatched mother and daughter pair held each other’s hands, shouting energetically.

All right! We will now commence an insightful analysis on how we would get Keith to change his mind and return to Claes Manor.

Meeting chairwoman: Katarina Claes. Meeting representative: Katarina Claes. Meeting secretary: Katarina Claes.

“Well then. The subject of discussion for this particular meeting is the ways and methodologies with which we could convince Keith to return home. Everyone, let’s hear your ideas.”

“Yes. But as for ideas... wouldn’t simply carrying out Mother’s suggestions be enough? Like she said, we could just apologize and promise not to cause any more trouble.”

“That’s the basics of it, but I feel that we need to be more sincere in this kind of situation.”

“Sincere?”

“For example, we could offer to do something for him, to make up for all the trouble we’ve caused up until now?”

“Oh ho, now that’s a good suggestion. But what should we offer to do?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead!”

“That’s not something to say so proudly, Miss Claes.”

“Maybe a present of some kind? Or a treat?”

“I guess that would be fine, but would he be satisfied with just a treat?”

“Hmm, then how about new seeds or fertilizers?”

“That’s what Katarina would want.”

“In that case, then... how about I.O.U.s for shoulder massages or friendly back-washing in the shower?”

“Well, Father would like that kind of thing, but I don’t know about Keith. Hmm, it isn’t a bad suggestion though. It would be like a accumulation of the daily gratitude that we feel for him, represented by our actions.”

“Well, it’s decided then! We will apologize to Keith when we see him, and then express our gratitude with tangible actions.”

“And also promise we won’t cause him any more trouble!”

“Yes, definitely. For instance, no more eating too much and getting stomach aches, or rough housing indoors and breaking things. We should swear we’ll be more aware of those things and not make the same mistakes.”

“That’s perfect. Well then... all that’s left is to go talk to Keith.”

“That’s right!”

“So... where’s Keith, again?”

“!!”

“Perhaps we should start by actually searching for him?”

“Words of wisdom indeed, Katarina Claes! That’s just what we should do.”

“Yes, first we should set off in search for him. If he went through all the effort of running away from home, it isn’t likely that he’s anywhere nearby. We may have to set out on a journey.”

“A journey to find Keith! It’s like that movie, something-something-in Search of Mother!”

“Yes, but in this case it would be ‘In Search of Keith’ instead!”

“So then, our first course of action will be to set off in search of Keith. Are we all agreed?”

“Yes.”

And so, I made up my mind to set off on a journey in search of my adopted younger brother.

Just after I resolved to go off and find Keith, news of my decision was quickly leaked. Before long, a bunch of people showed up wanting to come with me.

One of them was my fiancé, Jeord Stuart. “I shall come with you, Katarina, out of worry.” I couldn’t refuse.

The next was Larna, who somehow heard about this all the way at the Ministry. “It’s a good opportunity, don’t you think? Let me come with you. It’ll be a good chance to train up new Ministry staff.” Although I was surprised that Ministry employees went on excursions like this, having a big-shot like Larna with me would be helpful on the journey, so I took her up on her offer.

Also tagging along were the new staff that Larna had mentioned — Maria and Sora. The one who was now going by the name “Sora” was Rufus, the same person who had kidnapped me a while ago. Although he had used the Dark Arts to carry out a kidnapping, he had shed a lot of tears and portrayed himself as an unfortunate victim. “My master made me do it!” he’d claimed. Now he was in the Ministry’s custody. Though Sora didn’t really seem like the type to cry and claim he was threatened, from how he’d acted when he’d kidnapped me...

Anyway, that was how our motley crew — Jeord, Larna, Maria, Sora (Rufus), and me — set off on our journey in search of Keith.

“Come to think of it... there is something I would like to ask you, young miss,” Anne said as she finished up her preparations for my upcoming journey. She was almost done with sorting out my hair and clothes. Although Anne usually accompanied me everywhere I went, she wouldn’t be doing so this time. “I cannot help but be worried at you heading out on your own,” she said in a somewhat severe tone.

Keith’s disappearance hadn’t been made public, and we had resolved to keep the search party relatively small as a result. Even so, we had quite the impressive roster. Larna, one of the strongest and most capable individuals in the Ministry, was with us. On top of that, we had a Wielder of Light and a Wielder of Darkness. And of course, a prince who could do just about anything. With this search party, given its unreasonably strong composition, I didn’t think I had much to worry about.

I reassured Anne with those facts, but she was still hesitant. “I am referring to my worries about your daily life, young miss...”

Personally, I felt like I could take care of my own business. But Anne seemed to disagree. “You do not tidy your hair, nor do you iron out the wrinkles in your dresses! Whatever do you mean by taking care of yourself, young miss?!”

I mean... my hair’s pretty wavy anyway. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little messy. And as for my dresses, a few wrinkles here and there doesn’t impact my ability to wear it. It’ll be totally fine! “I’ll make sure to do it right...” I said to Anne. But...

“That which you consider ‘right,’ young miss... is hardly appropriate for most situations...” This was Anne’s response. What a terribly strict maid!

Even Jeord, who was a crown prince, wasn’t accompanied by anyone. Having Anne along would be reassuring, but honestly, if I alone brought along a servant, I’d seem too sheltered. If possible, I wanted to go without any servants accompanying me.

My savior appeared in the form of Maria. “In that case, I shall assist Lady Katarina with her personal grooming,” Maria said, smiling like a goddess.

Upon hearing her offer, Anne immediately agreed, quickly responding with, “If you would be so kind, Lady Maria.” What a drastic difference from her earlier dismissal!

While the sudden change in Anne’s attitude between talking to me and talking to Maria was less than ideal, in any case, with Maria’s help I was able to avoid looking terribly sheltered and spoiled. That said, Anne still helped me a lot and looked out for me as we prepared for the journey.

“Young miss, firstly... have you even decided on the direction of your search?”

“Eh? Direction?” I started gaping like a goldfish.

“You are on a search to locate Master Keith, yes? Then surely you would first have to head to a certain destination, or a location?”

“...Eh?” I froze up completely at Anne’s question.

“...Um, young miss... have you not thought of where your search party would be headed toward, at all? Judging by how spirited you were and the volume of your declaration, and how all preparations had been completed... Did you perhaps not have a destination in mind from the start?”

“...”

“...Young miss.”

Ah, Anne... please don’t look at me with those eyes. I’m just as surprised as you. In my enthusiasm at the prospect of setting out on a journey in search of Keith, I had completely forgot to even think of a destination.

Honestly, we didn’t have a single clue about where Keith had gone. Perhaps he went west? East? North? South? I had no idea. Where were we even going, then...? Hmm. What should I do? The departure date was dangerously close.

What should I do?!

The next savior to appear was the Ministry big-shot herself. Larna soon fished me out of my predicament.

Although we were planning to leave very soon, I hadn’t come up with a destination. I talked about it with Larna, who exploded into peals of laughter as she listened. Then she smiled with that cat-like smile of hers and said, “As expected of you, Katarina.”

Then she said, “In that case, I do have something special for this occasion.” She left, asking me to wait for a while. When she returned, she was holding what appeared to be some kind of plush toy. It had brown fur, round ears, and beady eyes. A stuffed bear?

“Um... Lady Larna. What’s up with the toy?”

Larna responded with that same smile once more. “This is a magical tool — one we can use to locate Keith.”

“A magical... tool?” It wasn’t a phrase I’d heard before.

Larna provided an explanation while holding up the bear. Apparently, magical tools were the main subject of her research. She had made a great number of these tools, but said they were not very stable. She was still in the prototyping phase, apparently.

“If more advancements are made in the field of magical tool crafting, then we’ll be able to grant the blessing of magic unto tools and objects...” Larna said, her eyes sparkling as she rambled on.

After that, Larna’s passionate talk of magical tools went on for some time, eventually reaching a point of conceptual philosophy. I could only nod and respond with the occasional “Oh... I see.”

As Larna continued on her impassioned explanation, I saw the plush toy next to her... move. E-Eh? I rubbed my eyes and stared once more... only for my gaze to meet with that of the stuffed bear’s! Given that the bear had been put down with its head hanging downward... shouldn’t it be looking down?! Why was it looking at me?

“W-Why?!” I blurted, surprised.

Larna soon followed my gaze. “Ah, yes. I was about to come to that,” she said, once again holding up the plush bear. “This is something a certain weird— I mean, something a very important person in the kingdom asked me to make. It’s a magical tool used to find people.”

“A magical tool for... finding? People?”

“Yes indeed. You just have to strongly think of something of great value to the missing person, and you’ll eventually pick up on their trail. It’s useful for research into the Dark Arts as well, but...” Larna’s explanation trailed off from there.

From what I understood, all I had to do was imagine a certain thing that was particularly important to Keith, mentally suggest that to the plush toy, and it would then magically show me where he had gone. According to Larna, its success rate was still somewhat varied at this point, but given that we had no clues, this tool was a lot better than nothing.

More importantly — “Um, Lady Larna... Did that plush bear just move?”

While Larna continued to speak, the plush toy seemed to squirm a little in her hands, moving this way and that. I couldn’t help but notice.

“Ah, yes. It is, after all, a tool to locate people with. What good would it be if it couldn’t move and lead the way?”

“Eh?! That plush toy will lead us to Keith?”

“That’s right,” Larna said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

A plush toy that leads the way...? Well, I did wonder how a toy like that would be able to help us search. But a bear leading the way...? “Um. Why a plush toy, though?” I asked with a somewhat serious expression. Was there a deeper meaning to all this that I wasn’t seeing?

“Ah. Because it’s cute,” Larna responded casually.

Eh?! That’s the reason? Just because it’s cute? Does its cuteness make it better somehow? I stared long and hard at the plush bear in Larna’s arms. I’d been wondering ever since she returned with it... Is this plush toy really cute? I feel like... it doesn’t really look cute at all.

Perhaps it would be a bit ironic for someone like me to say, given that I had the face of a villainess, but, this bear... it looked... ugly. Most plush toys are cute, but there was something about its face. Something about it was off. Where was this toy even found? I didn’t say what I was thinking, but...

“Ah, I found it at a gift shop in town, you see. It was love at first sight,” Larna said, smiling happily.

Ahem... to each their own, I suppose.

In any case, I guess we would now be using this strange-looking bear to search for Keith’s whereabouts. In order to locate him, I needed something of value to him. So I returned to the manor and started searching for something that would fit the bill.

But hmm... what does Keith value? I had been with him all this time, but I couldn’t think of anything. With that in mind, I decided to ask the servants who were usually in Keith’s service.

“What Master Keith treasures? Hmm... Perhaps it would be something in this wooden chest?” The servant fetched me a large wooden chest from Keith’s room. It was really fancy and ornamental for a chest. Hmm, I’ve never seen this before.

“Under normal circumstances, it would be most unbecoming to take out something like this without Master Keith’s permission, but we are in most pressing circumstances...”

“Thank you. I will apologize personally to Keith, don’t worry about that.”

The box was somewhat heavy. I placed it on a table and opened the lid. “Eh? This is...” I remembered these things. They were the birthday presents that I had given Keith, year after year. “Wow... even this, from all that time ago!” Among the items was a slip of paper with some childish handwriting on it that said: “Whatever you wish for! Wish-granting ticket.” Judging by the writing I was the one who had written it, but honestly, I didn’t remember doing it.

He had set all these things aside... it’s so touching. Keith really did think a lot about his big sister!

Since I couldn’t decide on which item would be the best, I ended up bringing the entire thing to Larna.

When I went to meet up with Larna again, I found one other person in her room.

“Well hello, Lady Katarina Claes.”

I remembered this person and their flippant smile. It was Jeffery Stuart, the first crown prince of the kingdom, and the older brother of both Jeord and Alan. Huh? Why is the first crown prince here...? In spite of my hesitation and mild shock, I still managed to issue a ladylike greeting in the way that noble society had taught me to.

As if reading my troubled expression, the still-smiling Prince Jeffery glanced at me and said, “Actually, I asked Larna to develop a certain magical tool for me, and I am here to check on its progress, you see.”

“A magical tool?” I hadn’t even heard about magical tools until recently. Unlike me, Prince Jeffery apparently knew enough to put in requests for them to be made. As expected of the royal family... But I wonder what Prince Jeffery had asked for? From what Larna had told me, there was a wide variety of magical tools.

“What kind of tool did you request?” I asked the prince.

It was Larna, however, who responded. “Ah, it is the tool for locating missing persons.”

“Missing persons... Hm? So does that mean...” Although I wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, I picked up on that point somewhat quickly. A magical tool for locating people... Isn’t that the very same one that I was about to borrow? That ugly bear!

“Yes. It’s the tool that we’ll be using during our journey,” Larna said, still sounding casual.

Eh? Is it really okay for me to simply grab something the first crown prince requested? Wouldn’t that be bad? I started to panic.

“Ah, there is no need to worry, Lady Katarina. I have already heard all about the matter,” Jeffery said, sounding as carefree as ever. “I am not really in a rush, you see. We don’t really know how it would work, after all. Take this as its first run, and if it does work, I will use it next.”

“...Is that so? Thank you, Prince Jeffery.”

The prince merely waved his hands this way and that. He didn’t seem upset with me borrowing the tool at all. It would seem that our search party would be able to use it first without any issues.

Prince Jeffery really didn’t seem like royalty at all. Jeord and Alan didn’t put on any airs either, although Alan was pretty haughty in his younger days. Even so, neither of them had that carefree, casual atmosphere that Prince Jeffery had about him.

I had met him at the school festival, and according to Anne, Prince Jeffery was seen as a very capable person, and he had a large political following. But I couldn’t quite make a connection with that image now that I was here and speaking to him in person. I suddenly realized that I was staring at him.

“Hmm?” He just responded with that same friendly, flippant smile.

“U-Um... if I may ask, Prince Jeffery, what do you intend to use that magical tool to do?” I couldn’t tell him that he didn’t seem like a royal, so the question just slipped out before I thought about it. But then it occurred to me that this probably wasn’t an appropriate question to ask someone who I barely knew. Perhaps it was for some really important mission on behalf of the throne. I started to feel uneasy as I thought about it.

“Hmm! Well, you see... I’d just like to know where the ones I love the most are at all times!”

“Th-The ones you love most?”

“Yes, the ones I love most in the whole world, indeed! I’d like to know where they are... all the time.”

“...Is that... some mission you’re doing for the kingdom?”

“Hardly! It has nothing to do with that, actually. This tool is meant for my personal use.”

...So it has nothing to do with the kingdom, I see. Even so, there’s something about his line of reasoning. To know where the ones he loves the most are at all times... wouldn’t that make him some kind of stalker? Hmm. No... I should stop thinking too deeply about this. I felt like I could see something truly terrifying behind this flippant prince’s smile.

I quickly erased the thoughts in my mind and changed the subject. “Well then... with your permission, Prince Jeffery, we will use it first.”

“Why yes! Of course, of course,” the prince replied, with that smile still plastered across his features.

With the prince’s permission obtained, I handed Larna the wooden box I had taken all the way from Claes Manor, only for her to raise her voice in surprise as she lifted its lid. “What... is all this?”

I figured she’d be surprised, given that she hardly had any context. “These are all presents I’ve given to Keith. It would seem that he treasured each and every last one of them.”

At my words, Prince Jeffery, who had been peeking into the box beside Larna, had something to say too. “This... is quite something,” he said, sounding impressed. “He treasured all your gifts this much... they must really mean a lot to him.”

“Treasured?” I asked, unsure of what the prince meant.

He smiled at my meaningfully. “Well yes, Lady Katarina. This means that he treasures you that much.”

“Yes... he really does appreciate his sister,” I responded with a smile of my own, only for Prince Jeffery and Larna to shoot me strange looks. Hmm? Did I say something weird?

According to Larna, the object of value that the plush toy needed had to be presented to it at regular intervals, so something I could easily take along with me would be best. With that in mind, we isolated several contenders from the box. In the end, we chose an embroidered handkerchief that I had given Keith a long time ago.

Honestly, I had forgotten about it completely, but Keith had kept it in very good condition. It had been beautifully preserved; there wasn’t even a speck of dirt on it. We decided to present it to the plush toy.

“How do we have the bear remember this item?” I asked.

Larna merely flashed me a confident, anticipatory smile as she handed the handkerchief to the bear. “Just watch and see.”

The plush bear, which had apparently gained the ability to move after becoming a magical tool, soon nodded, accepting the handkerchief. It brought it close to its nose — which was just a button of some kind, by the way — and started sniffing it.

Eh?! It’s sniffing like a dog would? Actually, do plush toys even have a sense of smell?! I could only watch on, stunned, as the bear did its thing. It handed the item back to Larna, nodding in a way that suggested it was aware of its actions.

“Um... Lady Larna. Will this really help us in our search...?”

“Yes, perfectly. All right, Alexander, tell us where Keith is.”

“Eh...? Alexander?”

“Yes, it’s this bear’s name. It’s a cool name, if I do say so myself.”

“I... see...” I no longer understood if Lady Larna wanted a cute bear or a cool one. In any case, it didn’t fit a bear as ugly as this one!

I suppressed my feelings about it as Alexander the plush bear stood up and pointed in the eastern direction of the room.

“Oh, Alexander! Well done!” Larna said, seemingly impressed.

Slowly, I turned my eyes toward the bear, unsettled by its behavior... only to see it glance ever so slightly in my direction, and then, as if to mock me, do a little “harumph.”

...For some reason, I felt that Alexander the Ugly Bear and I would not get along.

In any case, now that we at least had a direction to work with, as pointed out by the Ugly Bear (I really didn’t want to call it “Alexander”), our plans were more or less decided, and we prepared to set out right on schedule.

All I had to do was wait at the academy’s gates for the arrival of Larna and Sora from the Ministry. Also gathered here were Mary, Alan, Sophia, and Nicol.

Sniff. “...I wish I could go with you as well, Lady Katarina...” Mary said with a lonely look on her face.

“Nothing we can do about it this time, you know,” said Alan, Mary’s fiancé, as he offered her some words of comfort.

“Me too, Lady Katarina...” Sophia also seemed very sad. She was practically being propped up by Nicol, who was standing behind her.

I would have liked to take everyone along too, but that would make our group too large. And also...

“It would be unthinkable for members of the student council to simultaneously vanish during this busy time.” At Nicol’s words, Sophia’s expression became one of determination, and Mary’s brows furrowed.

“It is as Master Nicol says. At this busy time, when the graduation ceremony is so near... to think that the president himself would be away! Unbelievable,” Mary said as she leveled a stern gaze in Jeord’s general direction.

But Jeord merely responded, “But you see, most of my work has already been squared away. Consider that Nicol is with you — if anything were to happen, I am sure he would offer his assistance. You are all but prepared.” He sounded completely carefree. On the other hand...

“I-I’m sorry... to be stepping away at such a crucial time...” Maria said, beginning to apologize frantically.

Mary started becoming flustered at the sight of this. “Ah, but your presence is needed for this particular event! Please pay it no heed...” she said desperately.

Having escaped from Mary’s clutches, Jeord immediately approached me, holding my hand in his. “I will make sure to protect you, Katarina.” He smiled faintly.

“...R-Right...” Why is he getting so close to me so quickly? I thought as I replied in an absent-minded fashion. I noticed Jeord’s expression change. Hmm? What was it?

“C-Could this be...” For some reason Jeord, who was always calm and collected, seemed terribly shaken.

Nicol interjected with his usual calm demeanor. “She has forgotten, most likely. She probably has nothing but Keith’s safety on her mind.”

“?” What are they going on about now?

“It is as you say... there was, after all, that one incident where she forgot a string of recent events and thought of it as a dream — but to think that she would be... to this extent...” For some reason, Jeord’s shoulders slumped.

Mary had been listening to the conversation from the side. She was in such a bad mood before, but she started smiling again almost immediately. And then there was me, Katarina Claes, with an almost-visible question mark floating above my head.

“Ah, it is nothing, Lady Katarina. Please, pay it no heed.” Maria flashed me one of the best smiles I had seen to date.

How am I not supposed to think about it? Well... if Maria says it’s fine, I guess I can let it go.

Before long, Larna and Sora arrived.

“It is good to see you again, Lady Katarina.” The person who said this while bowing was a blue-haired, almost playboy-looking young man. I hadn’t seen Sora since the kidnapping incident. He still had the same smile, but I did notice one difference — he was now speaking very formally to me.

“Yes, it’s good to see you too—”

As I responded, Jeord darted between us, positioning himself in front of me. “Ah, Master Sora, yes? It is a pleasure to meet you.” He flashed Sora one of his fairy-tale prince smiles.

“Oh, just Sora is fine, Prince Jeord. The pleasure is all mine, I’m sure.” Such was Sora’s polite response... but for some reason, I could feel tension sparking in the air. Perhaps I was just imagining things?

“Sorry to keep you waiting! Well then, since we are all present, I suppose we should be off,” Larna said, oblivious and impervious to the tension in the air.

With a few goodbyes and waves, I said my farewells to my friends, and our little party set off on our journey in search of Keith.

★★★★★★

When I awoke, I found myself in a room I’d never seen before. I could not move my arms or legs. From what I could see, I had been bound with rope, and was laid down on a bed. It was obviously not a normal situation.

I remembered following the woman who invited me into an alleyway... and my memories stopped short there. From that point on, my recollections were hazy. Perhaps some things happened... perhaps they did not. I could not remember a thing.

I deeply regretted blindly following after that woman. To begin with, she was really good for nothing. I thought I had understood that from way back then. I suppose it was because I had been living happily all this time. Because I was always with my sister, and was influenced by her... I had started doubting people less.

In any case... endlessly regretting my circumstances would get me nowhere. Firstly, I had to confirm my situation. Just as I started to look around, the only door to the room opened. A man I had never seen before entered the room.

Upon noticing that I had woken up, his eyes narrowed and he walked toward me slowly. “Been a while.” The man walked up to the bed and looked at me with a twisted smile on his face. Messy hair, a seemingly endless amount of flesh on all parts of his body — to the point where even his face was almost buried under it. His skin shone under the tension of fat under skin, and I could see rolls of it escaping his clothing.

This man... I did not remember ever meeting such a person. That was why I thought it was best to remain silent and see what he would do. Perhaps that upset him. The man’s face seemed more and more displeased.

“Yeah, don’t say anything, then. Guess you don’t want to say anything to lower-class nobles, huh!” He practically spat out his words in his rage, and that revived some old memories. Memories of my childhood... one of the boys who was raised in the same place as I was.

“...Thomas?”

The moment I said that word, a streak of pain flashed across my face. The man, now red-faced, had apparently swung his fist across my features.

“D-Don’t you dare... someone like you... say my name so freely! SOMEONE LIKE YOU!” The man known as Thomas raised his fist once more, striking me. Although he now looked completely different from his younger self... yes, he was just like how he used to be.

With my arms and legs restrained, all I could do was endure the beating. Ah. An almost nostalgic sensation. Back then, I always held it in. Endured it. I would close off my heart and wait for the storm to pass. It had been a while since I’d felt anything like it. I had never crossed paths with this feeling since.

As I hazily entertained those thoughts and looked at Thomas, who was still railing on me, in an equally hazy way... I became aware of a woman standing behind him. Her black hair had no order to it — it just flowed. She appeared to be almost the same age as I was.

Her form naturally drew my eyes to it. It wasn’t because she was stunning, or beautiful, or anything like that. It was because she was smiling. She was smiling as the red-faced man before me continued pummeling his fists into my body.

Her innocent smile sent shivers down my spine. I felt an intense sense of fear — not of this man who was hitting me, but the woman who smiled as she watched. Perhaps she sensed my gaze, as her eyes soon met mine. Those eyes were innocent, like a child’s.

Ah... what will become of me? Will I never see her again? I thought... as the smile of the woman I loved most in the world floated into my mind.