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Chapter 68: The Unhinged Second Princess (2)
There wasn’t much I could do right there and then.
I couldn’t just introduce Philia, who was out on a secret mission, in the middle of the street.
Most importantly, her reaction was so intense I needed to calm her down.
So we returned to the palace and faced each other again.
First, I asked the most basic thing.
I was genuinely curious.
“Why do you like him?”
“He’s handsome!”
“…?”
“His sharp eyes… that chiseled jawline…!”
“???”
I seriously wondered if a demon had tampered with my perception.
Peto’s face, if I had to describe it, had the long, pointy skull of a halfling’s pottery.
His eyes were narrow slits, barely showing the whites,
His mouth was ridiculously small, though his nose was—somewhat—human-shaped.
All in all, his face looked like someone had grabbed it and stretched it out.
‘And that’s what she calls handsome…’
I checked again, thinking maybe she was lying.
Her flushed face, dreamy eyes, shallow breathing.
It reminded me that preferences really are diverse.
Then Philia said to me:
“Do you know him?!”
“Yeah, well. He’s one of my men.”
“C-could you introduce me…?!”
She gripped my hand tightly and begged so earnestly it made me wary. But aside from that—
“Hmm…”
I had no reason not to do it.
In fact, this might make getting the seal easier.
* * *
Currently, Peto is staying as a guest at my estate.
I figured he’d be useful if left to his own devices, and so far, the only thing he’s done since arriving in the capital is wander around hardware stores buying tools.
It was only now that I heard his encounter with Philia happened during one of those trips.
One more thing: Peto was already aware of Philia’s existence.
“Oh, that little lady. I placed a custom order at a hardware shop, and I check on the progress regularly. Every time I go, I see her peeking at me!”
“So you started avoiding her?”
“Y-yeah. I mean, I was a criminal… hehe…”
“You were afraid she might be holding a grudge?”
“Yeah…”
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
It was a silly concern, but also—“You should’ve lived a better life if that’s your fear.”
I didn’t say it out loud.
I wasn’t exactly in a position to judge others.
Anyway, it was a lucky coincidence.
“Hey, you. Want to work with me?”
“A mission? You mean it? Finally!”
“Oh yeah. It’s super important.”
Thud!
Peto dropped to his knees and looked at me with shining eyes.
“Awaiting orders!”
“Alright.”
I leaned back into the sofa and crossed my legs.
“Seduce the Second Princess. And get me her seal.”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t hear me? Go be a gigolo.”
Peto blinked.
Once… twice… thrice.
“H-HIIIIEEEEK!!! No way! That’s treason! I’ll be executed!!!”
He flailed backward while still on his knees.
I glared at him, and he started to tear up.
Was this really worth freaking out over?
“Why? If it goes well, you could become royalty too.”
“She’s fourteen! What do you expect me to do with a kid…?”
“She said she likes you. Fourteen’s old enough for nobles to start talking about engagement.”
“W-what about you, boss…?”
“Oh, forgot to mention—don’t bring up marriage in front of me. Especially when my sister’s around.”
“???”
“Just listen, okay?”
I gently coaxed Peto.
And eventually—
“You promise, right? If things go south, you’ve got my back…?”
“Absolutely.”
Success.
* * *
“So you really sent Peto to cozy up to the Second Princess?”
Gilgore grinned.
He’d stopped by to say goodbye before leaving and was delighted by this juicy story.
Yuren answered him:
“Yeah. I said, hey, you might really become royalty. He seemed tempted. I just told him to meet her and talk. By now, it’s been about a week… should be some progress.”
“He seems capable but greedy. He’ll die young.”
“He’s quick-witted. He’ll probably run before that happens.”
“Maybe.”
Gilgore chuckled.
This was getting interesting.
Then he asked Ias:
“The Second Princess, huh… Ias, know anything about her?”
“Only rumors. Estro's treasured granddaughter. Somewhat… eccentric taste.”
“And?”
“She’s considered quite lacking in many ways for a royal. But…”
Ias’s face soured.
That piqued both Gilgore and Yuren’s interest.
“What is it?”
With the same uneasy expression, Ias replied:
“…Personally, I find her very suspicious.”
“Suspicious?”
“Yes. She’s supposedly an idiot, yet despite being so generous materially, there hasn’t been a single scandal of a physical nature. Sure, you could say it’s because she’s young… but if she were really as dumb as they say, and considering the kind of people she’s been around, it’s strange there are no such rumors.”
It was a different angle.
Very “Ias-like,” you could say.
It could’ve been nothing—but Gilgore found himself agreeing.
“You’re right. Mercs and gigolos don’t exactly care if the target’s young. And yet there’s no gossip? Did they hold back because she’s royal? Trying to avoid fallout?”
“If they had that much forethought, they wouldn’t have approached her in the first place.”
Sharp observation.
Was the royal family suppressing rumors?
If that were the case, Yuren would’ve already known.
If not, then it meant she’d intentionally kept things from escalating to that level.
Gilgore glanced at Yuren.
He frowned after hearing Ias’s theory.
“Got something in mind?”
“Nah, just… can’t picture her being that clever.”
Yuren stroked his chin.
He said that, but his demeanor looked contemplative.
“What’s up?”
“…No, probably overthinking it. Thanks for the input though. I’ll keep it in mind.”
He said he needed the seal from Estro.
Seeing him run around like this for the Crown Prince—it was a little sad.
So Gilgore offered:
“Want me to steal the seal for you?”
“No way. If the head of Estro gets serious, they could flip the whole capital overnight. If I get exposed, it’s even worse.”
“Counterfeit it?”
“Also no. The seals of Estro and the other noble houses are artifacts. If I mess with them, I’ll get politically cornered. That’s why the Second Princess is the best option.”
Yuren sighed.
Then added:
“We’ll try what we can. If it fails… we’ll find another way.”
So he’s not giving up.
Gilgore understood that.
‘Well, he is going after one of the Three Legendary Swords…’
The Sacred Heaven Sword of Vigo is one of only three blades in the continent’s history so legendary they became myths themselves.
One is lost, another might not even exist.
So the only real option is the Sacred Heaven Sword.
“Is a legendary sword really necessary?”—that question didn’t matter.
A sword with mythical power is essentially a strategic weapon.
If you don’t know how prepared the enemy is, it makes sense to bring your full might.
Gilgore said:
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“Well, if that doesn’t work, I’ll try to find another sword for you. Or maybe a different method.”
“Thanks. Anyway, I should get moving.”
Yuren waved a hand.
Gilgore returned the gesture and turned to leave—
When it happened.
“Booooooss!!!”
Peto burst into the room in a panic.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, and his voice came muffled from inside.
—“I can’t do it! This is a disaster!
—“Why are you crying? You wanna die?
—“No! I’m serious, something’s weird about her!
Ias whispered.
“Shall we watch a little longer before we go?”
“No, let’s leave.”
Gilgore's smile deepened.
At any rate, it was a town where one could never be bored.
* * *
Peto honestly felt wronged.
‘I should’ve just gone to the smithy…’
Regret suddenly flooded him.
Since he’d come all the way under Yuren’s command, he thought he might even earn a knighthood if he did well.
So he went to a hardware shop to get a dagger that matched his ambitions.
The reason he didn’t go to the smithy was to save money.
That was his mistake.
If he had gone to the smithy, he wouldn’t have run into that woman.
He regretted it, but tried to steady himself.
What welled up now was fervor.
To be honest, he didn’t care much about royalty or anything like that, and since the other party was a fourteen-year-old kid, it wasn’t something that stirred romantic feelings.
But he thought that if he did well, he could earn Yuren’s approval, so he gave it his all.
But then—
“…It’s seriously, seriously weird.”
And yet, there was a lingering discomfort.
An unexplainable, instinctual unease.
Peto drank cold water in big gulps and steadied his breath.
“Something’s off. Judging by her actions, it does seem like she likes me! But every time our eyes meet, I get goosebumps…”
“How so?”
“Well, how should I put this…?”
He couldn’t explain it clearly.
That was the problem.
Peto felt frustrated with himself.
So he rambled on.
“When I give her gifts! She watches my reaction. Like she’s checking to see how fast I’ll start liking her!”
“…Go on?”
“When I say thank you, she asks if there’s anything else I want! But at that moment—her eyes don’t smile! Her pupils sparkle, her face flushes, her lips curl up—but her eyes stay completely blank!”
“…?”
“It’s been like that all week!”
Peto trembled as he caressed the dagger on his belt.
It was a dagger from a famous blacksmith in the capital—one that Philia had given him.
“When I gave her this, that’s when it really hit me. She asked, ‘Are you going to kill someone with that?’ and I just got chills…!”
Peto’s body shook.
Sure, it felt good to receive gifts, and it was flattering to be liked by someone—even more so when that someone was a princess of the empire—but that was it.
Just facing her made him feel like his whole energy was being drained.
“She’s sucking the life out of me… I can’t do this. I’m sorry, sir…!”
Peto squeezed his eyes shut.
Yuren was known for his nasty temper.
He tensed up, not knowing what kind of scolding might come.
“No, it’s fine.”
“…Sorry?”
Peto cautiously opened his eyes and looked at Yuren.
To his surprise, Yuren was—
“Sir…?”
Deep in thought.
* * *
What Ias had said the day Gilgore left lingered in my mind.
Then what Peto had tearfully said also lingered.
It had been like that for days, and it led me to a conclusion—
That there might be more to a certain fact I thought I knew.
So I began to recall events from before the regression.
Should I confront it?
Or pretend not to know?
The past days had been filled with this dilemma.
And I finally made my decision.
‘She approached first.’
Then, was there any need for me to run away?
So I entered the imperial castle.
But the Second Princess was not there.
Only a message was left:
“She said, if you come looking for her, to please meet her here.”
Another runaround.
With a sigh, I walked again.
The place I eventually arrived at was a hill outside the capital’s castle.
There, Philia sat on a mat among knights.
“You’ve come.”
Her voice lacked strength.
Her gaze was fixed beyond the hill, toward the capital.
Was it a hidden scenic spot?
The high walls of the castle seemed to swallow the sunset whole.
I approached her.
Then Philia spoke.
“I’m sorry, sir. You helped me, but it didn’t work out.”
A bitter smile.
“Sir Peto must not have liked me. We definitely made plans for another meal… but he never showed up. Not the next day, nor the day after…”
Of course not.
I told him he didn’t need to go, so he probably ran off.
“My subordinate seems to have been disrespectful.”
“No, I’m the one who’s lacking.”
She looked dejected.
I watched her for a moment, then said to the knights:
“Could you all step back for a bit? I’d like a private word.”
“But sir, we’re outside the castle—danger could come from anywhere…”
“Do you really think you can protect Her Highness better than I can? If you doubt it, we can have a go.”
“…Understood.”
The knights stepped away.
I sat beside her.
A brief silence.
Then I asked:
“So tell me,”
“Yes?”
“Why did you approach me?”
Philia froze.
Then she slowly lifted her head.
And only then did I fully understand what Peto had meant.
“What do you mean?”
A trembling voice, moist eyelashes, flushed cheeks, a sorrowful curve of the lips.
Though all these expressed sadness—her eyes alone did not smile.
In other words—
“There’s no need for the act anymore.”
Philia had been acting.
From the very first moment we met.
No—perhaps every moment someone had ever laid eyes on her.
“……”
“Let me ask again.”
I looked her directly in the eyes and asked once more:
“Why did you approach me?”
It had to be Peto.
And I had to be the one he consulted.
Philia was no fool.
Put those three facts together, and it was too obvious what this chain of causality was aiming for.
I had something I wanted to confirm.
Only then did Philia finally give a proper answer.
“…You really do have great insight, sir.”
She smiled—like someone who had just lost.
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