The place where the escort knight guided Presepe was a flower garden not far from the banquet hall.
This garden was a place Presepe knew well, but at the same time, it was also a place she never wanted to visit again.
And rightly so, as this damn flower garden was the ending background for Dietrich's route.
I mean, the very place where Dietrich, who loved Presepe but ultimately could not trust her, committed suicide with her.
'Ugh.'
So, it was inevitable that Presepe’s expression soured the moment she stepped into the flower garden.
'Why does he have to call someone out to a place like this, of all places?'
Anyway, he is a person you simply cannot form an attachment to... That was the thought that crossed jer mind, but the garden in Dietrich was also a special place.
Because it was the place his mother, the late Empress, who passed away long ago, cherished and loved the most in the palace.
Well... It’s even more grotesque that they committed suicide together in a flower garden like that.
"He’s waiting inside.”
As Presepe nodded in understanding, the guard knight bowed respectfully and began to return the way he came.
"...Phew."
Left alone, Presepe slowly caught her breath. In any case, it had been a long time since she last saw him, and above all, since it was the first time they had met since the bug occurred, she had absolutely no idea how Dietrich would react.
'If the character has collapsed due to a bug, just like the game did... is Dietrich not the Dietrich of the past?'
If Prince Attar hadn't died so suddenly, she might have been able to look into it.
As she walked quietly, Presepe was lost in thought to herself.
'Hmm... no, wait. Rather than Dietrich himself collapsing, it would be more accurate to say that the character's established settings crumbled...?'
Come to think of it, the day she left the Imperial Palace.
Dietrich, who asked her if she had anything to say, seemed to have an unusual expression on his face.
A face that is somehow utterly pitiful.
'Then the settings are broken, and Dietrich, having regained his memories and self from the previous episode...'
...What kind of person is he?
Presepe could not find any answers to her own questions.
"..."
Meanwhile, Presepe had already reached the very center of the flower garden.
And not long after, a familiar figure appeared in front of her.
It was Dietrich standing with his back turned.
'As expected, the affection window is still there.'
Above Dietrich's head, as she looked up to confirm, a favorability window still filled with question marks floated.
Of course, things like dialogue options were nowhere to be seen.
Well, she supposed it’s only natural, considering the events happening right now are things that wouldn’t have been experienced in a normal game progression.
How should I start? Since it's been a while, should I ask how you've been? Or ask if you're feeling okay since I heard you were sick?
Presepe hesitated for a moment, then slowly parted her lips.
"I heard that Your Majesty summoned me."
She had gone through a truckload of miserable things because of Dietrich. She didn't really want to ask him for a normal greeting.
It might have been a bit petty, but it was unavoidable.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
Dietrich remained silent for a moment even at Presepe's question. He didn't even turn around to look at her. He simply stood there quietly, keeping his silence with his back turned.
Seriously, if it was going to be like this, why did you even call me?
It was around the time she was just starting to get a little annoyed by herself.
"You seem to have been doing well."
"..."
"I can tell just by listening to your voice. I mean, how you're doing."
"Hmm... I see... Yes. I've been doing well. Grand Duke Fenrir was very considerate of me."
It was Dietrich who had called her out, but he had something to test on the side as well. So, Presepe decided to respond to Dietrich's words as much as possible.
"Right. Since you've left the Imperial Palace, wouldn't it be nice to go anywhere?"
"...What?"
"Because this place will be nothing but terrible memories for you."
"..."
“Isn’t that so?”
Well, honestly, it's not wrong, but...
"As I was thinking about that, I suddenly became curious."
Dietrich continued speaking.
"Was it like that in the past too?"
"I apologize, but if it were the past...?"
"Before I became Emperor."
"..."
"I mean, back when my mother and your mother were alive, and there was absolutely no animosity between you and me."
When we were young?
Therefore...
Tutorial point?
Presepe's eyes sparkled at the unexpected turn of events.
"Was it just unhappy back then, too?"
"Ah. No. That's not true."
She couldn't remember everything that happened during the tutorial. That was also why she was trying to sound Dietrich out.
However, she remembered the rough outline. Because that was the biggest point of the Dietrich route.
"I think it was fun..."
Before their relationship soured, Presepe followed Dietrich closely. Dietrich also looked after Presepe very attentively, and while this was limited to that time, it was the truth.
"...Good thing."
Dietrich spoke in a somewhat cracked voice, muttering.
"Of all the moments of you I remember, that was the only time you were smiling."
Dietrich endlessly recalled his memories with Presepe, thinking only the same thing.
What if even this is just my imagination?
“I had fun too.”
Before the me in my dream—whether it was the future or the past—violated and killed you. Because that was the only time we laughed together.
Dietrich struggled to swallow the words he really wanted to say.
He could not even be certain of that. He didn't even know if Presepe knew this, or if those things had really happened.
"Fearlessly sneaking out of the imperial palace while hiding one's identity, and wandering among the crowd."
...What? That happened? Me and Dietrich? Presepe paused sharply.
"Looking back now, it was crazy, but it was fun."
“Now, in detail.”
"...Ehat?"
"Please tell me a little more. I want to hear it from Your Majesty's own lips. An old story... I mean, a memory."
It was quite a plausible excuse for something made up in a hurry.
“It was a festival.”
"..."
"A low-quality festival enjoyed by commoners and the lowest class, incomparable to the one held at the Imperial Palace. In a way, I was lucky. After all, I went out without knowing that such a festival was taking place."
Dietrich let out a low chuckle.
"I was swept away by the crowd and lost you for a moment, but I found you again. And we returned to the Imperial Palace holding hands tightly."
What suddenly flashed before her eyes was the illustration from the tutorial she had seen at the tower.
So, two small hands holding each other tightly.
Was it Dietrich after all?
"You and I, we... used to do crazy things like that sometimes. Things like skipping class to hide all over the Imperial Palace, or playing pranks on the boring history teacher."
"..."
"Until you left my side, it was like that. Always."
"Until my mother was executed and I was driven out, you know?"
"Yes."
Until now, she didn't think much of it.
Presepe's mother, Vanessa, was executed after her infidelity was discovered, so how was Presepe able to remain safe without receiving a single punishment?
It's just that she has to keep the game going, so Presepe can't just die with Vanessa like that.
But it was different now.
<Presepe in a Cage> had more settings and a larger worldview than she expected. This is evident just by looking at the existence of the real male protagonist, whom she never anticipated.
...Then. Could it be that there was some reason why Presepe was able to leave the Imperial Palace alive and well?
"To be honest, I thought I was going to die back then. After all, the late Emperor executed my mother right before my eyes. But I survived and was banished; that is where Your Majesty and I went astray. It was then that Your Majesty began to misunderstand me."
Dietrich did not answer, but Presepe cautiously continued speaking.
"If only I had died with my mother back then, perhaps we could have remained on good terms. I constantly blamed myself for that... and I became curious. Why wasn't I executed?"
"..."
"Do you happen to know the answer, Your Majesty?"
Still, it seemed like she had sounded it out to some extent, but the tension was clearly visible on Presepe's face. It was actually a relief that Dietrich had his back turned to her.
"...No."
"Ugh, damn it, you useless human being to the very end," it was the moment Presepe scowled intensely.
"...But I went to His Majesty, to my father. To beg him to spare you at all costs."
Dietrich still remembered vividly the temperature of that hallway leading to the audience chamber, which had felt nothing but cold.
And what Dietrich saw when he reached the audience chamber was...
"Before that, let me ask you one thing as well."
To me? To what?
Before she could even ask again, Dietrich quickly turned to look at Presepe, and at the same time, a look of bewilderment flashed across Presepe's face as their eyes met.
The escort knight was right.
Dietrich, seen up close, looked much more emaciated than he had from a distance.
A lot of that too.
"If I tell you what you are asking, can you grant my request as well?"
Request?
A request?
That Dietrich, to me?
It was only for a moment that she flinched at his sudden submissive attitude.
Soon after, even more words flowed from Dietrich's mouth.
"Now, return to the Imperial Palace."
"..."
“To my side.”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment