"Attar, Prince Attar is dead!"
... What?
"Go check it out right away. I'm telling you, it's definitely Prince Attar!"
Presepe's face turned pale at the man's completely unexpected words.
"What do you mean? Please explain it properly!"
“He’s dead!”
The man shouted angrily.
"Looking strange, in such a strange state..."
"Yes...?"
"Stop prying into my head! Go see for yourself and see! Damn it!"
Confusion was evident on the faces of the guards who had begun to gather. Presepe was no exception.
"That is..."
Presepe rubbed her dry lips in a faint voice.
"What do you mean by that...?"
...Why Attar?
Just a moment ago, he was the kind of person who glared at me with wide eyes and lunged at me to shackle me. Suddenly, why?
"Aren't you seeing things wrong?"
"Uh, Lady Presepe..."
Whether he recognized Presepe or not, the man could not shout as he had at the guard.
"You said he died in that short time...?"
...This doesn't make sense
Presepe stood there blankly with a dazed look on her face, then unconsciously started running again.
"Lady Presepe! Please wait a moment... Lady Presepe!"
The urgent voice of a guard came from behind her, but not a single word of it registered.
She didn't have a single thought the whole time she was retracing her steps.
It felt as if her mind had gone completely blank. Or perhaps her thoughts had been completely paralyzed, or maybe it was both.
...In any route, the male characters did not die. That is, except Dietrich, who committed suicide with her.
Even in Dietrich's case, that only happened at the end; no other character died during the game, or even so early on.
'Right, that can't be. That can't be...'
However, Presepe's meaningless rambling vanished in an instant like bubbles not long after.
"..."
A flower garden where darkness has descended.
Presepe, who had returned to the spot where she had fled after slapping Attar's cheek with all her might, collapsed onto the ground without even being able to let out a single scream.
[Prince Attar is dead! He is dead! In a strange, strange state...]
The man was right.
Attar was dead.
And in a very strange state at that.
Presepe, covering her mouth, gazed at Attar's corpse, which still seemed to retain some warmth.
Attar, who was rolling on the ground like a bug, had a shackle around his neck.
[Then shall we do the same thing, so that you can speak properly?]
[W- ...What? Argh! What are you doing! Stop it!]
It was the very shackle that Attar had personally tried to fasten to Presepe's wrist just moments ago.
The shackles were extremely sturdy and strong. It was purely to Attar's liking. Saying that this way, they wouldn't break easily no matter how much she struggled, Attar would mock Presepe several times as she writhed in pain while crushed by the shackles, telling her to try and break them if she could.
That's right. The shackles really weren't broken easily.
Instead, only his thick neck, pressed down by the narrow shackles, was tinged with a very dark red color.
As if it were about to burst and gush blood at any moment.
"H-H-Heeek..."
I've never seen anything like this, not even in horror movies. Is that even possible in the first place? How on earth do you do something like that...?
Presepe slumped onto the cold ground, clutching her left chest with one hand and pushing against the dirt with the other as she thrashed about backward.
However, even that movement did not last long.
It was because Presepe's back had bumped into someone's leg.
"..."
Filled with terror, Presepe looked up in surprise.
Then, Dietrich appeared with a stiff expression on his face.
"Your Majesty!"
Not long after, the Knights rushed in. They seemed to have received a report from the guards.
"W-what is that..."
However, the Knights who approached Dietrich also hardened their faces, unable to easily string together a single word.
Well, of course, it was a sight that was bound to be so. Attar's corpse.
"Right now..."
And Dietrich's tightly closed lips slowly parted.
"Do not let anyone approach this garden."
"Yes."
"First, prevent any word from leaking out, and the same goes for the Imperial Palace. Make sure not even an ant can escape."
"Yes."
"Check the list of attendees at the celebration once again, and compile a list of those who have left the banquet hall."
In any case, Attar Hanan was the Prince of a neighboring empire. Moreover, he was attending the celebration of Dietrich, the newly enthroned Emperor of Ateloia.
In this situation, Attar's death was of no benefit to Dietrich at all.
"But why are you here?"
Dietrich's gaze turned toward Presepe, who was still slumped on the ground.
"Presepe."
"..."
"Answer me, right now!"
She didn't know what to say in response, and there were no options visible.
This time, she couldn't even open her mouth. Presepe's mouth remained sealed shut like a clam.
Perhaps this is because, for Dietrich... She had never chosen a bug option, just like she had with Attar. Presepe thought to herself.
"Your Majesty... it seems Lady Presepe is very surprised."
As if assuming that Presepe was surprised because she couldn't say a word, a knight spoke cautiously.
"We will begin an investigation immediately. It will take time to survey this area, so in the meantime, Lady Presepe, why don't you rest for a moment and tell us what happened then?"
"..."
"Your Majesty."
"I..."
Dietrich spoke, glaring at him as if to kill him with eyes dripping with coldness
"When did I ask you about Presepe's condition?"
"..."
"How dare you."
"...I am sorry. I was thoughtless and committed a breach of etiquette. Please forgive me."
The Knight bowed his head low, and Dietrich gritted his teeth. Then he looked down at Presepe again.
And it was that moment.
"Your Majesty."
It was a very strange voice that she had never heard before.
Presepe reflexively shifted his gaze toward the source of the voice.
Standing there was a man she had never seen even once across all modes—a man she was seeing for the first time.
"...Fenrir."
When Dietrich called his name, a man named Fenrir bowed in greeting.
...Fenrir?
No matter how hard she racked her brain, she had never even heard the name. Besides, with a face like that, she wouldn't have forgotten it in the first place.
It was a complete first meeting.
"Did the Grand Duke come after hearing the commotion, too?"
"Yes, the atmosphere in the banquet hall seemed unusual."
"Prince Attar's bodyguard is looking for him. I heard he said he would be away for a while."
Fenrir continued speaking.
"They have been searching the area around the banquet hall for a while now, so they will soon be coming this way. Wouldn't it be better for Your Majesty to meet with them first before then?"
Fenrir's cold gaze, devoid of a single emotion, fell upon Attar's corpse.
"We can't just show that state as it is, can we?"
There was some truth to Fenrir's words. If Attar's guards saw this sight first, it would surely cause an even greater commotion.
Before that, it would have been better for Emperor Dietrich to meet them in person and explain the situation.
"..."
Dietrich frowned, pressed his temples, and spoke while looking at the Knights.
"Siegfried, have Commander Siegfried stand by, along with Prince Attar's guards."
"Yes."
"While I'm talking, retrieve the Prince's body and remove those damn shackles, too. And then..."
Dietrich's gaze turned back to Presepe.
"Fenrir, take Presepe to the tower."
"..."
"Make sure Presepe goes inside before I come."
“Yes, I understand.”
That was the end of it. Dietrich glanced at Presepe for a moment, then slowly turned around. He then began to leave the garden at a pace slightly faster than usual.
"Lady Presepe, please come with me."
Fenrir strode over and stood beside Presepe with an expressionless face. Then, he looked down at her as if urging her to hurry up and leave.
Eventually, Presepe rose on trembling legs and walked away, still dazed.
So she did not see. She did not see Fenrir, with a look of disgust, trampling on Attar's large, limp hand that had been reaching toward Presepe, as if stepping on a bug.
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