Chapter 4: Bookmark

“So I asked my friend about it...”

“O-Oh. Wh-What did she say?” Sitting on a bench facing the courtyard and bathing under the springtime sun, I awkwardly smiled back at Mia.

“...It seems the Kendalls have started to become seriously wary of Dreyfan’s relations with the Second Chivalric Order.”

“Well, that’s pretty much what you’d expect when the party in question heard it right from the horse’s mouth.”

“Sir.” Mia lowered her voice. She likely knew about the dangerous bridge I’d crossed in front of the library.

“...Well, you know. It turned a profit, right?”

The Dreyfans surely couldn’t let down their guard against the third-ranked company within the Culinary Guild. I didn’t directly spur them on or anything. Even if I did directly inform them of our suspicions of the Dreyfans, they wouldn’t have taken action quite so quickly as they had now done.

They’re nothing more than the enemy of my enemy of my enemy of my enemy. They aren’t an ally, especially in the case where my enemy is enormous. The weak joining forces to tackle a greater foe has a beautiful ring to it, but it’s just that much more difficult a position. That’s how beautiful things generally go.

“...”

“Anyway, what’s with that?” I also lowered my voice and glanced to the center of the courtyard where the largest gazebo was installed. That was where the competition took place.

The Spring Festival had come to an end, and school had resumed one week prior. I observed our classmate, who had not attended at all for the past week. The platinum-haired princess was sitting all alone in the center of the gazebo, and the red-ponytailed knight was standing at attention at its entrance.

There were other students coming to the gazebo. Alfina nodded to her aide with a gentle expression, and Claudia laid bare her anger.

“...Refused again?” Watching the students practically run off as her envoy urged them away, I muttered in a sharp tone, intending to keep my voice down. “Isn’t it weird that their attitude has flipped on its head completely like that?” Reminded by the change in attitude of my customers when Dreyfan began obstructing our business, I instinctively clenched my fist.

“You’re also aware that ever since the new school term began, students who talk about the ‘prophecy’ have been nonexistent, right?” Mia asked.

“Yeah...”

It really was true. The students never even mentioned the word “prophecy.” It was like the Academy had just lost interest in it, but now that we were looking under the covers, the scenery was quite different.

“Church-related business is supposed to be unrelated to any factions. She also only hosts tea parties about once every month. However, the only ones to participate until now were four or five people who are indebted to her guardian, Archduchess Berthold, in one way or another,” Mia explained.

“And those are the ones who just ran away?”

“She’s the only Oracle Princess of the royal family, a role that must be filled at all times. Those with royal blood are the only ones with the disposition to get a reaction from Quell’s Crystal, a magical device which has been passed down in the Kingdom for generations. Once appointed, the Oracle Princess can’t retire for twenty years.”

“Well, that sounds pretty rough. She can’t even get married.”

So it’d be something like the imperial princesses appointed to the Ise Grand Shrine back in ancient Japan? Most girls in this country married between sixteen and twenty years old. It was a necessity, considering the average lifespan and standards of medical care here.

“It seems she was named a Crownheight two years ago.”

“Meaning, she’s adopted...?”

“In strict terms, she’s still a child of royal lineage. Her father was the king’s little brother, the preceding Archduke Berthold, making her the king’s niece.”

“So her father is still royalty. In which case...”

“Yes, her mother was from Duke Felbach’s family.”

“The Felbach who rebelled against the Kingdom?!”

“The duke committed suicide immediately after the rebellion was suppressed, and her mother was his granddaughter. Meaning the princess is the rebel Duke Felbach’s great-granddaughter. Several years after her father’s marriage, he retired and yielded his title to his little sister, the current Archduchess Berthold. Five years ago, he died from sickness, and her mother met the same fate two years after that...”

It really did seem convoluted. The incident in question had occurred quite some time ago. It was like the people in the royal palace were dragging out their antagonism to everyone slightly related to Felbach.

“But if that’s the case, why did they reinstate a rebel’s bloodline into the royal family...? Oh, I get it...”

“Right, it was likely to make her the Oracle Princess; a role that nobody wants to fulfill.”

“In other words, they weren’t all that worried about the prophecies. Plus it’s a more convenient way of forcing her into priesthood.”

Even throughout Japan’s history, it wasn’t strange for rebel families to be sworn into religious positions. Once they were monks and priestesses, they were off-limits for marriage, and their bloodline would stop right there.

“In fact, the princess is not granted any sort of personal stipend. Though, their public stance on this is that members of the clergy do not require money, previous Oracle Princesses are a different story...”

“They’re far more inhospitable than I imagined... It’s already been twenty years since the rebellion, so she hadn’t even been born yet when it happened. Moreover, her mother wasn’t officially punished or anything either, right?”

Something feels out of place. With such a string of circumstances around her, even as apathetic as I was towards such chatter, you’d think I would have at least heard rumors about it.

Or perhaps, judging from Rowan’s attitude in front of the library back then, it might just be an untouchable topic, and with the festival it simply came to the fore.

“What should we do?” Mia asked.

I unclenched my fist. Judging from her explanation, the princess’s influence wasn’t just zero, it was in the negatives. The threat she held towards my reverse-branding strategy had completely vanished. In which case, everything would be settled easily if I just didn’t approach her. You could even say it was good fortune that what I thought was an enormous problem would get settled by just ignoring it.

Thinking about it rationally and clearly, the scene before my eyes was truly desirable. It drew my consciousness further and further away from the paper bundle in my chest pocket.

“I do believe it would be dangerous to get any closer,” Mia remarked.

“My thoughts exactly. Don’t worry.”

I informed Mia that I’d already met the princess in the library archive by coincidence. I never intended to get close to her in the first place, but now we knew she couldn’t even provide the patronage of the royal family. She was actually a landmine that would incur their wrath.

“But... Why did she do something like that, despite her tough position...?”

Only the princess and her knight occupied the gazebo. The noble students all walked about as if they were avoiding her. Even the commoner students looking to curry favor hesitated to draw close. The cheerful afterschool courtyard was completely empty exclusively within a radius surrounding the gazebo in the center.

Memories of my classmate’s face bursting into a smile as we talked about flowers under the skylight in that gloomy archive came back to me. The mother she spoke of at the time was likely her real mother.

Also, she seemed genuinely happy that she was able to come to school. Why would she show a strange sense of sympathy for a quarrel between two commoner students...? Perhaps she was just a strange person due to her upbringing? Meaning that the entire uproar with the competition was never intended to force me into her debt at all.

“Oh well. I’ve already gone out of my way to get this prepared already, after all...”

“Sir?”

I stood up and left Mia behind as she quizzically stared at my back. I pulled the small paper package from my pocket and steadily made my way towards the center gazebo.

Back then, this girl stuck up for our company’s merchandise, and for the work I put in. If that was done out of pure kindness, then I need to return the favor. It would only weigh me down if I didn’t repay a debt I owed, after all.

Normally, a debt to a princess would be an unbelievable financial burden. But at this moment, it could be settled with the seemingly insignificant package in my hand. As a merchant, I couldn’t possibly let such an opportunity slip by.

“What business do you have here?”

I came to a stop at the gazebo’s entrance, and Claudia came to greet me with a stiff expression. Upon seeing who I was, she practically spat out at me, unable to hide the contempt in her voice.

“I’ve brought something to thank Her Highness for the other day. Could you please pass it along to her, Madam?”

“The other day...? Oh, the honey? Did you...” Her stern expression was telling me “Did you forget the warning I gave you last time?” I thought she would just drive me away immediately, but her strong-willed expression wavered slightly. She was probably in low spirits over her lady’s misfortune, seeing how loyal she was to her professional duties.

“That voice... is that Ricardo? You’re welcome to enter, if you would like. We have too many sweets and tea here as it is.”

“Your Highness. You mustn’t frivolously allow a commoner to approach you precisely because of the current situation.” Claudia spread both her arms and blocked the entrance, remembering what her original duty truly was. A commoner was approaching in a situation where her lady’s standing was on the wane, like someone trying to make an impression while she was depressed.

“I must decline your offer. I only came to deliver this.” I had no intention of getting deeply involved. I had no reason nor leisure to do so, after all.

The princess had come all the way to the entrance of the gazebo, and I held out my paper package. Claudia snatched the package from my hand and verified its contents. She grimaced, but obstinately handed the package over to her lady.

Inside was a single rectangular piece of paper, and affixed to its surface was a souvenir I got from a village on the border. Upon guessing what it was, the princess’s face lit up immediately.

“The gradient from white to pink truly is beautiful. So this is a lotus flower?”

“Yes. It’s been pressed, but the color and shape have been preserved.”

“This manner of flower blooms over entire fields, right?” Alfina held the bookmark to her chest and smiled, making my cheeks reflexively slacken as well.

“A wildflower on a scrap of paper as gratitude? I assume you’re not ridiculing the princess, are you?” Claudia’s stern expression grew even grimmer.

“Clau. I’m the one who said that I would like to see a lotus flower.”

“But the proper formality for presenting a flower to the royal family is to use roses...”

“I am part of the clergy.”

“Still, it’s not good for someone to approach at such... When did you even have such a conversation to begin with?” Her escort’s wariness continued to grow. And it wasn’t just Claudia. The number of people turning to look at us from the surroundings was beginning to multiply.

“I’m honored that you have found this to be helpful, even a little. Now then, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course. Thank you very much, Ricardo. I will treasure this bookmark...” This time, it looked like she would actually let me off the hook. However, after looking down at the bookmark once more, her words came to a stop, and her expression was dyed with shock. “Ricardo. You said that entire fields of flowers like this can be seen in bloom in the west, right?”

“Yes. Though, only in a small region to the very west. What about it...?”

Her expression was once more filled with sorrow. Is something wrong with it? Does she dislike the color of the string on top or something...?

“...No. Allow me to thank you once more from the bottom of my heart. I shall begin using it immediately.” But in the next instant, her smile returned. Her gratitude was now fully overblown. Moreover, she was going out of her way to use it right now...?

“I’m honored you would do so.”

Claudia seemed to be approaching her limit. I bowed one more time and turned my back to them. As I did, I could see Mia approaching me from the bench across the building’s wall with a sigh.

“Clau. There’s no point in staying here any longer today. We have some extra time, so let us go visit Professor Fulsig.”

“Very well.”

By the time I met back up with Mia, I could hear that exchange between the two girls behind me. I felt like my feet would come to a stop, but I forced myself to keep walking. We left the courtyard filled with a fake calm behind us, and entered the school building.

I stopped and looked down the corridor.

“Are you going to the library now? According to the plans for today...”

“Y-Yeah. There’s something I want to confirm.”

I went down the corridor and opened the door to the library. There were two students seated at the reading tables; one of them noticed Mia and quietly waved to her. After I urged her on, Mia went off towards them, looking like she still had something she wanted to say.

I headed further in past the bookshelves and towards the entrance to the archive. After school, I was summoned to a place nobody normally sets foot in, by a girl in the same grade. Such a situation had never really happened to me back in the other world. But I guess there was a limit to my excessive self-consciousness. She’s still a princess. She’s surely not so simple that she’d be swayed by such a cheap present.

However, judging from the way she looked at the bookmark, the way she said she would start using it today, and the way she timed what she said after that in a way that only I could understand...

“Even if it’s just a one in a thousand chance, creating a grudge here by accident would be the most dangerous thing I could do...” I muttered to myself, as I slowly opened the door to the archive.

I headed towards the skylight within the dim room. Just past the jam-packed bookshelves, a chair was sitting there just like before. And standing before the chair was a single schoolgirl.

“Thank goodness. You came.” After confirming it was me, she put her hand to her chest and let out a large sigh of relief.

So it wasn’t a misunderstanding. However, it still wasn’t the time to be overly self-conscious. What did she want with me? Enlisting me as a supporter in her current situation would be a mistake, since it would definitely backfire on her.

“There is something I would like to ask you regarding this flower.” She didn’t pay any mind to my expression, and held the bookmark I had just given her earlier in her hand. She seemed to be quite concerned.

I cocked my head to the side with a look of bewilderment. She certainly had an interest in lotus flowers. However, I thought it was because she had so little experience with the outside world, and that she looked up to her mother’s homeland.

I shook off the possibility of the flower’s strange meaning in floriography, a vow of love. Her serious expression hinted at nothing of the sort. It was the same expression I saw for just an instant at the gazebo, one filled with sorrow which overturned her usual beauty. I could hardly contain the feeling of unease at just what I had gotten myself involved in.

“I saw it... The sight of people trampling over these flowers as they ran away.” The princess cut right to the chase, as I stood in front of her. This comment threw me off even more. Running away? What is she talking about??