Volume 3 - CH 12

About a week had passed since I became Imperial Princess Charlotte’s guide. Today, Imperial Prince Harold and Imperial Princess Charlotte were hosting an evening party together on a day when we didn’t have school. While the guests were primarily students of the Academy, a written invitation had been delivered to their guardians as well.

There was little time to prepare for the party so the invitations wouldn’t reach those who lived in areas away from the capital in time. However, it was the social season at the moment, so it was apparent that the number of those present definitely wouldn’t be small. At this party, I was given the duty of introducing the party-goers to Imperial Princess Charlotte, and Lady Sophia was granted the role of introducing party-goers to Imperial Prince Harold.

While, nominally, we were guides, in actuality, we were very close to being their partners, because neither the Prince nor the Princess were escorted by anyone. To be exact, they were each other’s partners. However, they were both doing different things and were thus standing separate from each other.

As a result, Lady Sophia and I looked like we were their partners. Lady Sophia especially was seen as the Imperial Prince’s partner by the majority of those present. If one were to strain their ears to hear the idle talk of the people around them, comments such as, ‘It’s also good for the friendship between both countries…’ could be heard. 

“It’s just as I said it would be, isn’t it?”

“I never doubted your words, Your Highness.”

As we shared this back and forth, I thought back on Princess Charlotte’s proposition.

“‘Save Lady Sophia?’ You are saying some strange things again. It’s as if you’re implying that Lady Sophia is in a dangerous situation.”

“I am sure you are aware what our purpose in coming to study here is. Or are you saying that if I don’t explain it from the beginning, you wouldn’t understand?”

“…No, that’s not what–”

There weren’t that many reasons for Royalty to study abroad. And in view of the current situation, their reasons were crystal clear.

“Then, there’s no way that you haven’t understood what I meant by ‘saving your Lady’, is there?”

“Are you implying that Lady Sophia is trying to escape a political marriage? That’s impossible.”

Yes, it was impossible. For Lady Sophia to choose to flee from a political marriage was impossible. However, it seemed that Imperial Princess Charlotte didn’t catch the meaning of my words.

“Trying to hide it is fruitless. Miss Sophia is really adorable, isn’t she?”

“That’s an undoubted truth, but… what do you mean by it?”

“She’s so cute, considerate, and both her lineage and academic results are excellent. I wonder why a girl like her still doesn’t have a fiancé.”

“That is…”

‘…because I have ruined her event with Prince Alforth.’ Naturally, I couldn’t say that. When I hesitated to answer, Imperial Princess Charlotte muttered, “So it’s really like that. Could it be that Miss Sophia doesn’t have a fiancé because there is someone she loves, and also because that the person she loves is someone she can’t get engaged to, as the daughter of a Marquis?”

“Perhaps? That’s not something I would be privy to so I do not know.”

“Oh, is that so? But I’ve heard that she has immense trust in you? Or could it be that you haven’t been told because you are that person?”

She was acting as if she saw right through me, to which I responded by letting out an ostentatious sigh. A stir went around the maids accompanying her, but I continued to outwardly express my exasperation.

“You must enjoy gossiping, Your Highness. Or is this a trait shared by all the people of the Flamefield Empire?”

I subtly pointed out that this was viewed as shameful behaviour in the Ephenear Kingdom. Of course, I was her guide—in other words, I was taking advantage of being in this position to advise her, as she was someone who was not familiar with this country’s etiquette. I wasn’t afraid that she wouldn’t notice this indirect, candid advice—or that if she did, she would lose herself in anger. In fact, she just laughed. 

“Oh, I apologize. Since she’s extremely cute, I let my imagination run wild in all sorts of ways. These were certainly impolite remarks. Of course, this is reproachable behaviour in the Flamefield Empire as well.”

“…I see. I myself might have been a bit too obtrusive when I pointed it out.”

I was only allowed to point out the differences in each of our countries’ etiquette. So I certainly wasn’t permitted any behavior such as pointing out her immaturity. Was her retort due to her realizing this, or was she simply trying to protect the image of her own country? In either case, she was a quite troublesome opponent.

“Hehe, you far surpass my expectations. So I’ll tell you one more time. If you cooperate with me, I will help you in protecting your Lady.”

“Even if I were to repeat what I already said, it would be pointless, wouldn’t it?”

‘Lady Sophia is trying to flee a political marriage.’ 

If she wanted to talk with this premise in mind, then she should just go ahead. When I implied this meaning with my behavior, she smiled, satisfied.

“To a certain degree, my goal and my elder brother’s goal overlap. So if you cooperate with me, it will no longer be necessary for my elder brother to choose your Lady.”

It would no longer be necessary, huh? That was an awfully convenient phrase.

However, the current issue was the part where she said that their goals overlapped. Their goal should have been to strengthen the relationship between the two countries and acquire information about the new magical technique. So I perfectly understood Imperial Princess Charlotte’s intention in choosing me as her guide. She would be able to achieve her goals if she were to acquire the information from me, as well as if she were to obtain me, the person who had this knowledge.

But was there any connection between Imperial Prince Harold’s necessity to make Lady Sophia his guide and obtaining me? …There was one, wasn’t there?

If Lady Sophia were to marry into the neighboring country, I would accompany her as well. In other words, it could be said that by obtaining Lady Sophia, it was possible for the neighboring country to achieve two goals at once. However, in other words, that meant that–

“You have quite a high opinion of me, don’t you?”

“That’s how much potential the technique you came up with has.”

Although it was hard to believe, I seemed to be correct. Since her statement made it seem like even getting closer to Lady Sophia was simply with me as the main goal, whatever the circumstances may be, they were overestimating me too much.

Well, this was also caused by me being seen as a genius who had invented an unknown magical technique, even though I already said that I simply rediscovered a technique that already existed.

It was certainly true that this technique didn’t exist in this world. Therefore, if she was stating such things after researching it, it wasn’t unreasonable for them to think of me that way, was it?

They would naturally not be struck with the realization that I simply used my memories of the previous world. If they had realized that much, they’d be something else.1 Or they would simply also be people with memories of the previous world, like Teacher Tristan.

Therefore, since she didn’t reach that conclusion, the possibility that she was a transmigrator was low. Assuming that, was her goal simply my magical knowledge, then?

“Allow me to ask you. What do you want from me, Your Highness?”

“Oh, are you perhaps considering making a deal?”

“No. But how could I even begin to consider it if I don’t know what you are looking for?”

“You’re right. My wish is for you to cooperate with me. Specifically, I want you to move to my country with me after my studies here are over and work at my research institute.”

‘That’s out of the question.’ 

I wouldn’t refuse her mercilessly like this, though.

There was always a possibility of Lady Sophia, as well as Fol, falling ill, at which point it would become difficult for them to release their own powers. It wouldn’t be such a problem for Lady Sophia, who had low magical resistance, but, in case of emergency, Fol needed me. Therefore, I didn’t have the option of moving to another country.

But at the same time, there was a great deal of potential when it came to cooperating in developing magical equipment. If I were to cooperate with the neighboring country, we might possibly reproduce the magical technique that I used to draw out powers as a magical device.

“I am interested in magical research myself. However, since I am Lady Sophia’s exclusive butler, I will never leave her side.”

“But it would be another story entirely if it was for the sake of protecting her, wouldn’t it?”

‘This could become the foundation for protecting Lady Sophia.’ 

Certainly, if that were the case, I would possibly leave Lady Sophia’s side. However, only if I had no other choice, that is.

“Certainly, if we were to find ourselves in the worst possible situation, such a choice would also be possible. However, I do not believe that such an end awaits us.”

“Is that so? Well, I do understand that you want to ignore reality. Therefore, I will wait for your answer until my studies here are over.”

In reaction to her quite crude words, unconsciously, a wry smile appeared on my face.

That was the conversation that we had. Meanwhile, Lady Sophia was currently by Imperial Prince Harold’s side as his guide. It was no different from being his partner, and, from the perspective of the people around them, it must have looked as if both countries wished for their marriage. In other words, what the Imperial Princess told me that day signified that, while she would wait for my reply until her studies were over, she wasn’t responsible if Prince Harold was to take action in the meantime. 

But even if she didn’t tell me, that much was obvious. I accepted some non-alcoholic,  sparkling wine from a waiter and held it out for Imperial Princess Charlotte to try.

“Here, Your Highness, a present from the Rosenberg Marquis household.”

“…This is a present?”

Imperial Princess Charlotte watched the wine inside the glass bubbling and frowned. While she didn’t say it out loud, she probably wanted to call it a dud of a wine.

It was said that originally, sparkling wine was the product of an accident. It was considered a failure at first since the focus of the research was to figure out how not to make wine that contained carbonic acid. 

Such was the information from my previous world. In other words, it was still treated as a dud in this world and it wasn’t generally distributed.

“Please give it a try, if you’d like.”

“…If memory serves me right, I believe that I am forbidden from drinking alcohol due to my age in this country just like in the Flamefield Empire, isn’t that right?”

“Please rest assured. Strictly speaking, this isn’t alcohol.”

She was reluctant to drink it nonetheless, which was probably due to her being on guard against poison. This was a natural reaction from an Imperial Princess.

“Of course, I will not force you. However, the manufacturing method of this wine is somewhat complicated. I used a magic spell to control its state. Perhaps if there was a magical device that could create a vacuum inside the barrel, it would become easier to ma–”

Before I could finish talking, Imperial Princess Charlotte took a sip from the glass. Did she wish to verify the taste of the sparkling wine first after hearing ‘magical device’? Was she truly interested in the taste or was she pretending to be interested in the taste in an attempt to hide her interest in the magical spell…?

“…Wow, it’s filling my mouth with bubbles and it has quite an interesting, satisfying quality to it, right? I can imagine that there are people who enjoy drinking this… Did you say ‘create a vacuum in the barrel?’”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ll answer any of your questions.”

I wanted to feel out her response to see what she displayed interest in.

“Why would it get easier to make if there was a magical device? Is it because you could make commoners supervise the process? Or is there another special reason for it?”

“Your guess is correct. It’s a spell that consumes a vast amount of power.”

The moment I said this, her amethyst eyes definitely sparkled with curiosity. It was proof that she was quite interested in what I had just said. I was able to catch a glimpse of her goals, even if it was just a fleeting look.

“Now that you seem to have taken a liking to the sparkling wine as well, let’s cut right to the chase. It seems that you wish for me, Your Highness, but… why don’t we hold a more constructive conversation?”

“Oh, what kind of conversation, for example?”

“What if you were to conduct magical research during your studies here while working together with me?”

Her amethyst eyes slowly narrowed. 

That was what she desired of me. If I provided her with what she wanted while she was studying here, I would lose my leverage to protect Lady Sophia. 

She must have been thinking, ‘Then why?’

But, once again, this suggestion would fulfill her desire. So while she believed that it was clearly some kind of a trap, she still wouldn’t be able to ignore my proposition.

“…Are you saying that you’d give me your knowledge?”

“Of course, I won’t do it without some compensation. It’s just that, don’t you think that if we were to put our fields of expertise together and cooperate, there is a possibility that we’d come up with new magical devices?”

While I majored in magic in my previous world, I was virtually an amateur when it came to the development of tools necessary for magical equipment, which were called hardware devices. In other words, working on development together with the Flamefield Empire was an attractive prospect to me as well.

“If you worked together with me, then there’d naturally be the possibility of joint development. However, in that case, I believe that these newly created magical devices would be put on the market by our Empire, though…?”

She meant that, even if I were to provide them with my knowledge, we’d be depending on the Flamefield Empire to manufacture these devices. So, for example, even if I were given profits in return, it wouldn’t change the fact that the Empire would be in an advantageous position.

“I’ve also heard rumors of you having leading knowledge even within the great power of magic. So I am interested in doing research together with you, Your Highness. Wouldn’t you agree that this is a sufficient reason to cooperate?”

Even when I told her that I had only rediscovered a technique from a magic book, she didn’t believe me, despite it being the truth. And this time, she was also–

“…Alright. Let’s leave it at that. No matter what your true intentions are, magical research is what I desire the most.”

She didn’t believe me. 

That was my conclusion, after trying to read between the lines of what I said. She was certainly a very insightful young Lady. Knowing that she was a high-spec villainous daughter in the original work, her actions and demeanor were truly befitting of her role. Although it was necessary for one to preface this statement with– ‘for her age’. She was no match for the Lady Sophia whom I raised. She excluded the right answer right from the get go, and she probably won’t be aware of our motives until my Lady or I have achieved our goals.

As I continued to move our deal forward, I continued to fulfill my role as her guide. A short while after, guests arrived and walked towards Imperial Princess Charlotte—or, to be more precise, towards me. It was Alicia and Prince Alforth.

The fact that they were attending the party wasn’t strange in itself. However, it was unusual to see these two together. Could they perhaps be here together as partners? Could the plot have returned to its original route…? Probably not.

As I pondered upon such thoughts, Alicia and Prince Alforth exchanged greetings with Imperial Princess Charlotte. She saw Prince Alforth every day and she had also met Alicia a few times. Therefore, introducing them wasn’t necessary. When I stepped back, Prince Alforth looked at me.

“Your Highness, Princess Charlotte. Excuse me, but would you mind if I borrowed Cyril for a little while?”

“Borrowed Cyril…?”

“Yes, there’s something I’d like to discuss with him.”

“Alright. If that’s the case, then I don’t mind.”  

I had a hunch that something troublesome was about to arise, but the unimportant guide had no right to veto this request, and so, I was dragged away by Prince Alforth and Alicia.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

We were in a lounge outside of the party venue that we were lending out to the guests. For some reason, Alicia hounded me for an answer. And, standing behind her, Prince Alforth definitely had a reproachful expression on his face, too. 

“I would actually like to ask what’s going on instead.”

“For crying out loud! Why is Miss Sophia Prince Harold’s guide?! What are you doing, Cyril?!”

“Being Princess Charlotte’s guide?”

“Glare.”

Whoa… For a Viscount’s daughter, the heroine, to actually say ‘glare’ while glaring at me was… quite the rare sight indeed.

“Cyril, you’re not trying to say that you don’t understand what I’m implying here, are you?”

As she glared at me, Alicia somehow looked like she was about to cry. Then, as if taking her side, Prince Alforth spoke up as well.

“Cyril. His Highness, Prince Harold, intends to choose Miss Sophia as his partner for a political marriage. And yet you’re not trying to stop this?”

“What are you expecting me, a butler, to do?”

“That’s… but… you’d be able to do something, wouldn’t you, Cyril?”

I caught Prince Alforth’s imploring gaze and shook my head.

“Your Highness. It’s not whether I can or cannot do something. If you want to prevent Lady Sophia’s political marriage, shouldn’t you be doing something about it yourself?”

‘Of course, one way of doing this would be using your position as a prince to order me to do something about it. But, it’s different if you don’t think of anything yourself and just rely on me,’ is what I was trying to tell him as my disciple.

“Your Highness, you told me earlier that you want to gain Lady Sophia’s trust, right? But do you believe that something like this would gain you her trust?”

“Ugh… Got it. I’ll go ask Miss Sophia for a dance.”

“Yes. Off you go.”

Prince Alforth turned on his heel. His face brimmed with some kind of determination as he left accompanied by his servants. If Prince Alforth were to ask Lady Sophia for a dance in front of everybody, he would let the people around him know that he was watching Lady Sophia and Imperial Prince Harold, which would probably keep the gossip in check. However–

“Cyril, you’re not fooling me, you know.”

When Alicia began hounding me again, she put her hand on the wall as if to say that she wasn’t letting me get away. I never thought that a day would come when I would get kabedoned2 by a young Lady in this world. 

Well I didn’t expect that either! Gotta love Alicia. If Sophia saw though… she’d probably want to kabedon him too lol.

Also Sophia and Cyril’s plans are so mysterious…what could they be planning?