“Selena, Selena.”
Someone was desperately calling my name. As I opened my eyes... someone I did not expect to see was at my bedside.
“Prince... Ian?”
“Selena. I see you have awoken. I am relieved.” With that, Prince Ian held me tight, as if I were someone he loved. It was like something out of a dream. But his warmth was definitely real.
“I heard everything. I apologize... it was my fault that you went and did that for me.” For some reason, Prince Ian was apologizing to me with a heartbroken expression.
“N-No... not at all... It was something I did of my own volition. I acted on my own without thinking... I truly apologize.”
Upon waking up, I realized that my mind was now completely clear. And now that I thought about what I did, as I relived the events in my mind, even I was surprised at my actions.
There was no way that I, being Prince Ian’s fiancée, wouldn’t cause him trouble if I were to be indicted for a crime. I was ashamed at my own foolishness.
“There was nothing that could have been done. You were being controlled. Pay it no heed. More importantly, I am truly relieved that you are safe. I was so worried about you.”
Controlled. I thought to ask what Prince Ian meant by that, but the latter half of his statement blew me away.
“Oh... you were worried...? About me?”
“Of course. You are my dear fiancée, after all.”
Ah... for Prince Ian to say that I was his dear fiancée... but. “B-But... do you not hate me, Prince Ian...?”
“If you wish to know the truth, you have to ask Prince Ian, and that’s that!” I recalled my promise to Lady Katarina, and decided to ask him the question bluntly.
“What are you saying? Of course I would never feel that way about you,” Prince Ian said, looking surprised for reasons unknown to me. It didn’t seem like he was lying, however...
“B-But... we hardly see each other, and all this time, you were distant whenever we did meet...” I drew courage from Lady Katarina’s words as I continued asking my questions. These were things I had never asked before.
But then, Prince Ian’s face reddened. “...Ah.”
I wonder what happened...?
“That... was because... you are simply so lovable, and I would not have been able to restrain myself.”
“!” I froze upon hearing these unexpected words.
“We are merely engaged. We are not yet formally married. As such, I do not feel that it is appropriate to place my hands upon you when I please. I logically understand that, but... As I gaze upon you... your loveliness compels me to touch you. As such, I felt that it would be for the best for me to see you less often and for me to be somewhat distant from you.”
With that, Prince Ian’s face reddened some more — it was a shade of deep red that I had never seen in my life.
“However... it would seem like my intentions were misinterpreted. I apologize. Allow me to formally make a declaration. I, Ian Stuart, love you, Selena Berg. I love you very much,” Prince Ian said, staring straight at me despite his intensely blushing face.
Ahh... it is just like Lady Katarina said. It was impossible to tell what someone else was thinking about. Only the person in question would have the answer, and that was why it was important to have a proper conversation, to talk to each other. It was really just like what Lady Katarina told me.
Overcome with happiness, large tears rolled down my face. Prince Ian quickly wiped each one away with his fingers, all the while fidgeting in concerned embarrassment.
★★★★★★★★★
With the Katarina Claes kidnapping incident resolved, and a report to the Magical Ministry turned in, I found myself holding a copy of said report, walking towards my partner’s room.
I stopped in front of his door. “I’m coming in,” I said.
“Please,” was his response. He turned to face me as I entered his room with that flippant look of his, as always. “Ah! I see that today, of all days, you have made yourself quite plain indeed!”
“Of course. I was disguised as a simple maid with no living relatives. I did have a wig on, though.” Saying so, I lifted the brown wig off my head, allowing my natural black hair to reveal itself.
“No matter how many times I look at it, I must say. Your disguises are really impressive... Susanna Randall.”
“I am most honored by your praise, Prince Jeffery,” I responded to the casually smiling prince in a dignified, ladylike manner.
The professional disguise master of the Magical Ministry, Larna Smith, was none other than Susanna Randall — fiancée of Prince Jeffery, first crown prince of the kingdom.
Other than Prince Jeffery himself, only those that stood at the top echelons of the ministry knew about my true identity. As to why I had disguised myself, and why I used a false name... well. I couldn’t simply continue casually working at the ministry as Susanna, after all.
Well... it was because I had hidden my identity that I was able to accept Jeffery’s request in the first place. It was none other than Jeffery himself who had picked up on Marquess Mason’s strange behavior early, and then made the request for me to look into this kidnapping. As a result, we were able to resolve the incident quickly.
The man known as Jeffery Stuart was, despite his appearance, very capable at his work. If anything, his flippant behavior was a front that allowed him to move quietly behind the scenes. In fact, David Mason was one of Jeffery’s supporters to begin with.
As for why a man who had so many dark rumors swirling around him was allowed into Jeffery’s political factions... well, by allowing these individuals into his political sphere, Jeffery hoped to dig up the dirt on these people — and once the evidence was on hand, they could be summarily destroyed.
Jeffery had purposely taken in people like Mason so as to prevent them from infiltrating Ian’s camp. As a result, there were many questionable individuals in Jeffery’s sphere of influence. Even so, he hardly minded, and was in fact satisfied with this arrangement. Yes, Jeffery Stuart had never really cared for the crown. He had but one wish.
As soon as I finished delivering my report on the incident at hand...
“Hmm. Even so, though. Someone like Mason scurrying around in the dark, and then going after Ian and Jeord... unforgivable. I suppose we will really have to... utterly, completely, crush him, then,” Jeffery said, a dark smile coming over his features.
Just looking at his expression was enough to tell me that Mason was done. If he had just stuck to the small-time crimes that were his specialty, then perhaps he would have been penalized accordingly. But to lay his hands on Jeffery’s brothers, of all things... surely, an unimaginable punishment awaited this man.
“Ah, but I’m glad that it all ended without event! So tell me... are my wonderful brothers doing well?” Prince Jeffery asked, the previously dark smile on his face now replaced with a pleasant one.
“Yes. Well indeed.”
“Good to know!” With that, Jeffery jumped out of his chair, ran towards the wall, and drew back the curtains that hung there. “Ahh, my brothers are truly, truly wonderful.”
Jeffery approached the now-exposed wall — and hung on it were the portraits of the other three princes. This part of his room, which was usually concealed by curtains, displayed these portraits proudly.
Indeed, with this it was easy to see that the true nature of this man was that of an abnormal pervert — one that loved his brothers dearly... and intensely. (Only a few people knew of this side of him, and Susanna was one of them.)
To cover this up, he participated in the struggle for the crown against Ian — all an act, of course. In this charade of a struggle, he would absorb criminals and ne’er-do-wells into his own faction, secretly ensuring that no ill elements wandered into Ian’s faction. He was also constantly on the alert, ensuring that no strange individuals approached his younger twin brothers.
Jeffery Stuart only had one wish — for his beloved brothers to ha
ppily live in peace. To that end, this perverted prince would pull out all the stops. Yes, he would really do anything.
When I had first met him as his fiancée, I said the following to him: “I am not interested in anything but the research of magic. I have no interest in being your queen.” And that was my greeting.
Jeffery, however, had something of his own to say. “I am not interested in anything but my brothers. I have no intent to actually claim the throne, either.”
Ah. It was a good memory, now that I thought about it. It had been ten or so years since that first meeting... and for some reason, I got along with this pervert here swimmingly. I lived my life in service to the ministry, and him in service to his brothers. We both continued our passion of arresting criminals in the kingdom — and those were our days. I had this pervert to thank, somewhat, for allowing me to quickly dodge the annoyances of marriage and the like, and do whatever I wanted at the ministry.
Jeffery continued staring at the portraits. “Ahh... those eyes. Just like mine.” Again and again he mouthed off these incomprehensible statements, lost in his own world. A true pervert indeed.
I supposed he would not be coming back to reality anytime soon... and so I helped myself to some tea in the room that had been prepared beforehand. Hmm, as expected of tea meant for the lips of royals. Delicious.
Anyway, this Katarina Claes was a really interesting girl, even though I was never one to develop this kind of interest in people. It all started back when the two younger twin princes had their birthday party. I had become weary of all the forced interactions, and had been resting in a corner when... she started eating. At an alarming speed.
Next, she started gulping down a cup of wine, quickly got drunk, and then turned the cup upside-down in her confusion. I hadn’t expected to see something like this at a party held within the castle walls. I was surprised... and that was when I developed an interest in this girl.
As I continued looking into her, I heard more and more interesting things. Although I had only met her once, I was already intrigued by her.
We did meet at the school festival once more, but she hardly said anything to me — imagine how lonely that was! But by a sheer stroke of luck, Katarina appeared in my infiltration mission, and I was able to speak with her to my heart’s content.
Now that I had gotten the chance to actually speak to Katarina for an extended period of time, I quickly realized that she was infinitely more interesting and wonderful than I thought.
Ahh... I simply must have Katarina Claes join the ministry, and be within reach.
As I continued indulging in my thoughts, I couldn’t help but notice that my expression began to resemble Jeffery’s as he continued staring at the portraits on the wall.
★★★★★★★★★
Now that everything was safely resolved, I returned to the academy’s dormitory.
But after all that happened, I felt like I’d had some kind of strange dream. My memories of what had happened towards the end of everything were muddled, and I only heard about it from Keith later.
I suppose it was simply because I didn’t sleep well due to the kidnapping, and that was why I had a dream like that. Hmm... yes. That had to be it. Though actually, it would be more likely that the problem was me sleeping too much. Maybe.
In any case, everything was wrapped up in the end. From what I had heard, the mastermind was a marquess by the name of David Mason. He had done it so that Prince Jeffery could take over the throne, but the prince himself seemed oblivious to this.
I suppose that Great Detective Katarina’s deductions were somewhat off, but personally I was glad that the brothers didn’t fight amongst themselves.
Also... Rufus, who had obtained the powers of Dark Magic at Mason’s orders, was now being confined at the Magical Ministry. From what I heard, Rufus spilled the beans on Mason’s operations, plans, and misdeeds, and was claiming that he was forced into it — all the while shedding plenty of tears.
Rufus’ case was helped by the fact that he came from unfortunate circumstances. In the end, he would not be charged for any of these crimes, and would instead remain in the protective custody of the ministry, much like Raphael.
Honestly, I didn’t feel that Rufus was all that unfortunate, and he wasn’t crying intensely when I was speaking to him. I guess he did well hiding his true feelings.
Keith, however, strongly disagreed. “He should be charged with much heavier crimes!”
Although the two hadn’t met for very long at all, Keith seemed to perceive Rufus as an enemy of some kind. I wonder why?
But the most surprising thing that greeted me when I returned to the academy was the fact that I had been awarded a Merit Award of Excellence.
The Merit Award was a recognition that was handed out to several students at the end of the school festival for outstanding creations, productions, displays of ability and the like. One of these awards was given to me for my role in the student council’s play. Apparently my performance had been intense and intimidating, and everyone had loved it.
On another note, Maria’s handmade snacks were very popular too, and she was also chosen to receive some sort of award. As expected of Maria!
These were honorary awards, so they didn’t have any kind of prize or anything. But even so, being chosen for an award like that was a truly honorable thing in the academy. Maria was one thing, but for me to be chosen too? It was a really satisfying achievement. Though in the end, I guess that meant I’d always be the childhood-friend archetype villainess no matter what I did.
I planned to present the award to my parents when I went home to the manor during my next school break. Although my father was busy with his work and my parents hadn’t been able to come to the school festival, I was sure they’d be happy to see it.
After all this, my life at the Academy of Magic went back to normal — although still with some surprises here and there.
Keith had recently become a lot more protective of me. He would follow me everywhere I went. Well, actually Keith wasn’t the only one. All my other friends were like that too, to the point where I started wondering if the council work was being done at all.
Of course, I understood that my friends would be worried since I’d been kidnapped and all that. But even so, they were going above and beyond. Even I needed some time to myself.
So that evening, I silently sneaked out of the dorms and headed in the direction of the fields. When I got there, I saw someone who, unlike my other friends, had hardly shown himself since the kidnapping.
“Prince Jeord.”
“Ah. Katarina. Together again at last.” Jeord approached me with a pleasant smile, but I found myself nervous at the sight of him alone.
This was because of the strange dream I’d had after the kidnapping. In that dream, for some reason I was kissing Jeord, of all people. Why would I have a dream like that? Was it because I hadn’t had any romance in my life, and was feeling pent up? That’s so embarrassing...
I had hardly seen Jeord since then and had almost forgotten about it, but now that he was standing in front of me, I couldn’t help but remember it and feel nervous.
Jeord had no idea what I was thinking of course, and he soon enveloped me in his arms. That was fine, I guess. Though now that I thought about it, his displays of friendliness were pretty intense. Is it because he’s a prince?
Ah, this is why I keep feeling so pent up, and why I had a dream like that! Ugh... I see. It’s all Jeord’s fault.
“So much has gotten between us. It has been most lonely being without you, my beloved princess.”
Those last words were what Jeord, playing the role of the prince, said to Maria’s heroine in the council’s play. They were sweet words, yes, but there wasn’t much of a difference between that and what Jeord said normally. He was always talking like that; in fact, he often whispered things in my ear, like he was doing now.
This was how it always was... but hearing such suggestive words right i
n my ear made my face heat up. Maybe it was because of my dream. I couldn’t look at Jeord normally anymore, and instead felt flustered and embarrassed.
For some reason, Jeord’s eyes seemed to sparkle as he saw my hesitation. “Oh, quite the rare response, Katarina. I suppose even you would become aware of it, given what has recently transpired...?”
Hmm? Recently? What does he mean? “Eh? Ah... no. I just had a strange dream the other day...”
“A dream?”
“Yes... a dream where you and I, uh...”
It’s no good! I was overwhelmed with embarrassment and couldn’t find the words. I could only feel my voice rumbling, stuck in my throat, and my cheeks were burning up. My eyes were practically spinning! I was looking around nervously, and almost felt like I was going to tear up.
After all, I had zero experience with romance in my previous life! I hadn’t even had the chance to talk about love and all that stuff with my friends! Ugh... If only this were happening in a two-dimensional space! I could handle it then.
But to have an impossibly handsome prince who looked like he’d just stepped out of a fairy tale staring at me at such a close range, all while I was thinking about the word “kiss”... I could hardly even speak! And anyway, if I told him something like that, I’m sure he’d see me as a disgusting, desperate person, which would be even more embarrassing!
But for some reason, Jeord looked delighted at the sight of my currently shaken self. I wondered if he realized it, but his cheeks were red now too. Huh? But why? Did my embarrassment spread to him?
“Hmm. So, Katarina... pray tell, what kind of dream was it?” Jeord asked with a blissful expression. And then, just like in that dream, he moved his face close to mine... and I suddenly felt a soft sensation on my lips. This was...!
“!” An exclamation from me finally made the strange object move from my lips, but Jeord simply continued laughing, as if he was pleased.
“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.”
“B-But why?” I’m only Jeord’s fiancée so he can ward off other ladies, right? Why would he kiss me then? Is he just messing with me? Actually, wait! Isn’t Jeord a character who has that kind of personality?!
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 3 Page 20
