Fenrir's visit was very sudden.
Besides, he was clearly an NPC related to Dietrich's route, yet Dietrich's affection level wasn't particularly high yet. After all, it was the early stages of the game.
However, Presepe let Fenrir inside.
The reason was simple.
She thought she might be able to find out some other information, just in case.
"I am worried that I may have committed a breach of etiquette by showing up so suddenly."
There was hardly anyone in the Imperial Palace who treated Presepe properly. In a way, this was only natural. After all, someone stripped of even her title as an Imperial Princess would have nothing to be desired.
Of course, since Dietrich kept her locked up in the tower all the time, she didn't have any chance to meet anyone other than Ella.
Fenrir, who was close to Dietrich, could not possibly have been unaware of the situation, yet he was embarrassingly polite.
"I am simply grateful that you so readily agreed to meet me."
“No, it’s okay.”
Presepe muttered in a low voice.
"But you said you had business with me..."
“Oh, it’s nothing special.”
Fenrir answered as if to say not to worry.
"Prince Attar and his party returned to the Tain Empire this morning. As I told you then, things will not escalate."
"..."
"Since this is a murder that occurred within the Imperial Palace, we must conduct a thorough investigation from various angles to ensure our safety. We cannot be certain that the assassin was targeting only Prince Attar."
"So, did you find out anything else? Who killed Prince Attar, and how he ended up dead in such a state?"
"I met Noah DeVern yesterday, but I did not find out anything specific. In any case, since the Imperial Princess also saw Prince Attar that day, I have merely come to ask a few questions. I heard that His Majesty inquired about the events of that day as well, but there is no harm in confirming things multiple times."
So, did Dietrich order you to come? In any case, it was a very sufficient reason to visit like this.
"Hmm... but I don't have anything special to tell you. What I conveyed to His Majesty is everything."
Presepe continued speaking slowly.
"Prince Attar committed a breach of etiquette toward me, so I left the place. On my way back to the banquet hall, I heard that he had died. I was so shocked that I went back to check, and since then... it is exactly as you know, Grand Duke."
"Yes."
"Yes, yes?"
“That’s it.”
Huh?
You came all the way here to investigate, and you say this is it?
Presepe opened her eyes wide.
"..."
Whether or not he was aware of Presepe's bewilderment, Fenrir remained silent for a moment. Then, very slowly, he scanned the cramped room with his red eyes.
...I felt a strange sense of shame.
"Does the Princess dislike flowers?"
What does this mean again?
Presepe belatedly followed Fenrir's gaze. And she realized. That she had been staring at the empty vase on the table for some time.
"I am not asking this for the purpose of an investigation, so please feel free to answer."
"A flower...?"
Suddenly?
"I... I don't dislike it. On the contrary, I like it."
"Because the vase is empty."
"..."
"It seems the maid isn't doing her job properly. She's just causing you a lot of trouble for no reason."
At Fenrir's words, Presepe tilted her head slightly.
Come to think of it, Ella was not the kind of maid who would take care of such details one by one. And it wasn't just Ella; all the maids were like that. To them, Presepe was not the kind of person they would look after by meticulously taking care of even things like flowers.
'...But why was there a flower case out of nowhere?'
Presepe suddenly recalled the day she first came to the tower. The very day Dietrich had dragged her here.
At that time, the tower was literally completely empty. Even the few items that are there now were all acquired after Presepe moved in.
...How long has that vase been there? Who put it there?
"If I put flowers in there, it still seems like it would look quite bleak."
"..."
“Wouldn’t you say so?”
Fenrir grinned at Presepe, who was lost in thought. Then he continued speaking.
"Being all alone in here like this, I imagine you must feel quite lonely."
"Ah, yes..."
"What else do you like besides flowers, Lady Presepe?"
At Fenrir's question, Presepe involuntarily let out a weary smile, because nothing to say immediately came to mind.
In a way, it was only natural. Ever since being trapped inside the game, Presepe had thought only about how to win over the male characters to survive.
Or tremble in fear, recalling the moments of her miserable death.
"You may not be aware, but a festival will be held in a few days."
“A festival?”
"Since it is not hosted by the Imperial Palace, it is not that grand, but it is still a festival, so it is quite boisterous. It is a major sales season, especially for the merchants in the market district."
There was something like that too.
Since she was always confined, she had no way of knowing whether a festival was being held or not. Moreover, since such things had absolutely nothing to do with the progress of the game, it was even more so.
"Now that the cold has subsided and spring is approaching, the flowers will soon be in full bloom. It is a very fitting excuse to call it a festival. And we will be able to see plenty of the flowers that you like, Lady Presepe."
"But... I can't go to a place like that."
Presepe unconsciously parted her dry lips.
"Because I always have to be here."
"..."
"Don't you know the truth, Grand Duke?"
Presepe wore a self-deprecating expression, thinking, 'Of all people, he is Dietrich's closest confidant; there is no way he wouldn't know this.'
"Well."
However, the answer that came back was a bit unexpected.
"You never know. Does a person's life really always go according to plan?"
"Yes...?"
"If that were life, wouldn't it be too boring?"
Fenrir managed to smile with the corners of his mouth twisted upward, but Presepe could not do so at all.
Fenrir's words, which kept feeling like he could feel her bones, felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"Anyway, thank you for taking the time to see me today. I have asked everything I needed to, so I should be heading back now."
Fenrir, who had been rambling on about a festival she hadn't even been asked about, rose from his seat without a second thought. Then, he bowed respectfully to Presepe.
Soon, he began to approach the door with long strides, and Presepe remained seated, staring intently at his retreating figure.
And it was just before he grabbed the doorknob that he turned back to Presepe.
"I hope we can talk for a longer time next time. It's just my opinion, but I think it would be good for you, Lady Presepe, too."
"...Me?”
"Lady Presepe, you don't have anyone you can talk to comfortably, do you?"
Presepe hesitated.
Usually, 'someone you can have a comfortable conversation with' probably means, quite literally, someone you can treat with ease.
But...
Did they really mean it that way?
You didn't mean it literally, did you?
"Well then, I'll see you again next time."
Along with a heavy, sinking voice, the noise of a door opening and closing was heard.
Left alone again, Presepe stared silently at the closed door for a long time with a grim expression, then let out a sigh.
"I have no idea what on earth is going on..."
There was absolutely nothing she could figure out. The bugs were causing chaos, Attar suddenly died out of nowhere, and on top of that, an NPC whose information couldn't even be found was coming and going.
“Ugh.”
Presepe, who had been pressing her temples to relieve a throbbing headache, recoiled slightly.
What caught her eye was an empty vase.
That vase Fenrir mentioned earlier
"..."
Presepe reached out and gazed quietly at the vase. However, she could not find anything particularly special about it. It was just an ordinary vase.
If there is just a little thing weighing on her mind...
"...Isn't it a bit modest for something used in the imperial palace?"
Ateloia was the strongest empire in this worldview.
A great power also meant a country that possessed a lot.
The Imperial Palace was always filled with luxurious and extravagant objects. Just looking at the items used by Presepe, who was imprisoned in the tower, was enough. Furniture intricately crafted and studded with jewels. This was the very place where they indulged in luxury even over a single cup.
However, the vase in front of her did not match the image of the imperial palace at all.
Of course, it did have a charming appeal, but...
"..."
At that moment, Presepe's eyes, which had been looking at the vase while tilting her head, wavered greatly.
"...Flower."
Having died and come back to life hundreds of times, she couldn't remember exactly which reset it was, but...
Probably around the time they were attacking Dietrich.
When she returned after suffering the humiliation of being imprisoned in an ice prison, an upcoming event.
One day, the vase on the table was filled with flowers.
"Right, back then... I mean, not long after I was possessed..."
At the beginning of the possession, Presepe targeted Dietrich first.
And she died constantly.
Even now, having gone through those terrible things countless times, she still shuddered like this; needless to say, it would have been even worse in the early stages of possession.
With her mind completely shattered, Presepe eventually took her own life. On the day of Dietrich's celebration, the first event in the game, she escaped the banquet hall and threw herself into the lake before the male characters intervened to advance the main storyline.
Well, it was of no use taking her own life like that, though.
Anyway. And so, the game was reset again.
Sometime after that—was it the episode after next? Or was it even later? It was a night when she returned to the Tower, struggling due to the ice prison event that followed the celebratory banquet.
The reason she discovered the fully bloomed flowers in the vase on the table was.
The flower was a great comfort to Presepe, who had always been trapped in the tower after being possessed by the game.
[If you put flowers in it, it still seems like it would look a bit bleak, wouldn't it?]
Fenrir was right. How much she cried all alone while gazing at the flower, brimming with vitality just like a real thing.
Of course, she forgot about it quickly after going through all sorts of things.
It couldn't have been the ladies-in-waiting. If they had done it, they would have continued to fill the vases afterward.
"...whoever?"
Presepe muttered with a blank expression.
However, no one came to mind.
***
It was very late at night.
As usual, Noah, who was resting in a room filled with stuffed animals, drifted off to sleep for a moment.
However, the sleep did not last long.
It was because of a sudden knocking sound from the front door of the mansion.
"What on earth is so rude as to..."
Noah, dressed in a nightgown, went out into the hallway, muttering to himself.
I hope no weirdo has come to visit.
He was reminded of what Fenrir said a while ago about how an intruder might appear when he had gathered so many rare items.
He opened the front door, even grabbing a decorative sword that was completely unrelated to him.
However, no one welcomed him.
Instead, there was just something enormous wrapped in black cloth.
As if out of consideration to make it easy to move, that something was even loaded onto a makeshift cart.
Noah hesitated for a moment, then gently lifted the cloth.
"This is..."
Then he made a very surprised expression.
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