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"......"

"The woman standing in front of you is the mother of the girl you tried to kidnap. Whether your neck flies off or not is up to me, you know?"

At that smile, Renzo clicked his tongue and then,

"It\'s obvious, isn\'t it? Because it would be fun."

"Kidnapping the princess?"

"Yeah. Think about it. The empire would be turned upside down, and chaos would ensue. Everyone would be desperate to catch me, just thinking about it gives me the chills."

Philly looked at Renzo\'s face again.

\'Lies.\'

There\'s no need to think about it.

Renzo is here because he ultimately failed in the kidnapping, but originally, he should have succeeded.

It would have been normal to succeed.

He entered the field without being noticed, reaching a place where only Aten and one student were present.

There was no way he could fail.

But even if he had succeeded, what would he gain?

What benefit is there in becoming an enemy of the empire?

Aten Terst is the third princess.

While her name has symbolic significance, from the empire\'s perspective, she\'s not worth that much.

Renzo gains nothing from kidnapping Aten.

The empire wouldn\'t negotiate over just one person, Aten.

They would desperately seek out Renzo to kill him in order to save Aten.

Such is the life of a princess.

Draw swords to save her, but not extend a hand.

Even if it means the princess herself dies.

"The goal wasn\'t to kidnap the princess and then negotiate. The act of kidnapping itself was the purpose."

──Beware the royal palace.

Frondier\'s advice somehow lingers in her mind.

"Well, okay. I\'ll come back later. Let me know if you find the bed or the food uncomfortable."

Philly got up without any hesitation.

There\'s no information I can be sure of right now.

As Philly turned her back, Renzo said,

"You think you\'re so smart, don\'t you?"

It sounded somewhat like the jeering of a loser, like a line one would throw out while making an exit, or like a curse poured out by a coward.

But to Philly, it was an unpleasant resonance that stubbornly lingered.

"Use that smart head of yours to think carefully."

"…What do you mean?"

"I\'m just a small beginning."

Renzo was smiling then.

It was a provocative, arrogant smile.

"The empire will be overturned."

Jeering.

"The royal palace will burn, people will scream, and an unprecedented massive earthquake will split the empire in two."

Exit line.

"I want to see how that arrogant face of yours changes then. To see it crumpled by your own foolishness."

──Curse.

"…Sigh."

Philly let out a sigh.

"If that\'s what you want, take a good look later. Even a severed head has eyes."

With those words,

Philly left the room.

* * *

Discharge was quick.

After all, Aten had fully healed me.

I returned to Constel soon.

Aster, Sybil, and Elodie were worried about my absence for a few days, but I managed to brush it off.

The sad expressions on Sybil and Elodie\'s faces really bothered me.

And then.

"…Yes?"

Aten asked blankly.

I said,

"So, you don\'t have to follow me anymore."

"What do you mean…."

Aten spoke as if she didn\'t understand.

I scratched my head.

Well, it\'s partly my fault for not mentioning this before.

I suppose I\'ve gotten used to Aten following me around.

"You\'ve been following me because of the \'Dragon Heart.\'"

"......!"

"I\'ve already told the Empress everything about the Dragon Heart, so there\'s no need for that anymore."

Aten must have been a spy sent by Philly to extract information from me.

...No, calling her a spy might be too sinister.

Since I was going to Constel anyway, it would have been preferable to have her in my class and, if possible, to obtain information about the Dragon Heart.

That must have been the feeling.

But I\'ve already told Philly everything about the Dragon Heart last time.

Aten no longer needs to go through the trouble of following me around.

The stares and whispers from those around us must have been quite stressful for her too.

It\'s what you call freedom.

"You get it now? From now on, you can live your life here however you want. Make friends too."

"......I see. You knew everything."

"Well, it was too strange."

A princess of the empire following a boy she just met.

No matter how you look at it, it\'s strange.

"Well then, I\'m off to eat."

Although Aten may seem cold, a few words into a conversation reveal her dignity and humility.

She\'ll make friends in no time.

I would only be a disturbance.

\'It\'s more comfortable for me not to worry about it too.\'

It might even be possible to mend my relationship with Aster.

The magic Philly cast isn\'t that strong, after all.

This is what you call a win-win.

With that light-hearted feeling, I walked toward the cafeteria.

...As I walked.

"......Excuse me."

"Yes."

The inevitable reply from behind me.

Aten is still following me.

Still chasing after me.

"Look, you don\'t need to follow me anymore. Just enjoy your school life however you like."

"I am doing so."

Aten said with her expressionless face.

"You told me to do as I wish, so I am."

What does that mean?

Since when did following me become something Aten wanted to do?

I tilted my head in confusion, gave it some deep thought, and when I couldn\'t figure it out, I asked.

"......Why?"

Aten blinked at my question, then looked down, to the side, and up at the ceiling.

"It seems it requires deep thought."

And the answer that came out was,

"I don\'t know."

"..."

What\'s this?

Is this torment again?

Was my previous thought correct?

But Aten seemed to be deeply contemplating something, and then she looked at me with a serious expression.

"Mr. Frondier."

"Hm?"

"I\'m not strange."

"Ah, what?"

"You said I was too strange, but I\'m not strange."

Ah, is that what she was talking about earlier.

"Ah, that doesn\'t mean you\'re strange."

"Right. I know."

"Oh, really?"

Then why?

Aten seemed unable to explain properly, hesitating before speaking to me with that contemplative expression.

"I\'m not strange."

"Okay, so-"

"No."

Aten cut me off.

It might have been the first time she did.

What Aten started to say then was,

"Me following Mr. Frondier."

Like a dam had burst.

"I myself want to do so,"

Like she couldn\'t control it.

"I still don\'t know why, all of it."

As if throwing all her genuine feelings into words.

"It\'s not strange at all."

She poured it all out towards me.

"..."

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

After saying that, Aten pressed her lips together.

She seemed worried if her message got across properly.

"Okay. Do as you wish."

I answered.

In the end, though I don\'t understand the reason for her following.

Even she says she doesn\'t know why.

My allowing her to follow me was, in the end, also without understanding the reason.

"Yes."

Within that brief reply, her small smile blossomed.