To be precise, the place where Presepe approached and stood was in front of the wall in the inner corner.
The rusty shelves collapsed one after another, seemingly hitting the thin wall quite hard. It was made of wood to begin with, and since it was rotten as well, it was bound to break.
However, what Presepe found was not placed on a shelf or occupying the floor like the other luggage.
It was located inside the wall from the beginning.
So, crammed tightly into a crack that was so worn out it was already broken.
"..."
Soon, what Presepe clutched in her hand was a small bundle. It looked very old. Something wrapped tightly in a cloth that had started to rot a little.
'What...'
The package was still emitting a very faint, yet distinct light. To be precise, it must be due to some object inside the package.
'Is it okay to touch this so carelessly?'
It was just as Presepe was contemplating for a moment.
"Lady Presepe!"
From afar, Malea's urgent voice was heard.
"No. I had too much luggage, so I was moving it outside a bit when I heard a strange sound... Are you sure you're okay?"
The sound of thumping footsteps filled the narrow basement, making her wonder if they were coming this way.
It wouldn't do any good for Malea to see this. Besides, she didn't even know what the item was, so Presepe hurriedly hid the package behind her back.
"Lady Presepe..."
Malea, who arrived in front of the warehouse just then, opened her mouth wide and wore a speechless expression.
"Uh... because I tripped."
Presepe smiled awkwardly and muttered.
"I wasn't hurt, so you don't have to worry!"
"But if the Grand Duke finds out, it will surely cause a huge uproar. Please go up quickly and check the situation..."
"We haven't finished looking around here yet! Malea, please go upstairs and finish looking around the first floor."
"Still..."
"If Malea and I split the work, we can finish faster. Then we can go back quickly and check to see if anyone is injured."
Presepe poured out words rapidly, as if she had a set line.
"Then I will finish searching this place, so please make sure to let me know if you find anything, Malea."
Malea still wore a worried expression, but eventually nodded as if she understood and climbed the stairs again.
Left all alone, Presepe let out a short sigh and pricked up her ears to see if Malea had really left.
Soon, the sound of Malea's footsteps faded into the distance, and only then did Presepe unpack the bundle she had been hiding behind her back.
“This is..."
Presepe tilted her head.
"It's a bouquet, isn't it?"
The bouquet, which looked very old at a glance, crumbled into dust and scattered fleetingly with a rustling sound as soon as Presepe's finger brushed against it.
"But what is so great about this that you hid it away so tightly?" Presepe, puzzled, paused slightly.
It was because of something tiny still emitting a mysterious light among the bouquet and a neatly folded small note.
"So that light came from here."
That palm-sized object emitted a mysterious glow. She had thought it was just black, but when held up to the candlelight, various colors became visible. Just like a rainbow.
Wondering if there might be some kind of magic involved, she touched it very carefully with her finger, but nothing particularly special happened. It didn't hurt, either.
But, definitely
'It looks like animal scales...?'
An ordinary animal would not have scales.
If this were an ordinary village, she would have dismissed it as a strange imagination.
But this is near the Forbidden Forest.
It seemed more likely to be a monster than an animal.
Moreover, if the owner of this bouquet is Vanessa, even more so.
And among the monsters, if it has scales...
"...Dragon?"
Presepe stared down at the scales with a suspicious look, then carefully hid them in her bosom. Then she unfolded the note that had been hidden among the bouquet along with the scales.
"I trust you know well what this scale means to me."
Presepe began to read the contents of the note in a low voice.
As expected, this was indeed a scale.
"No matter how long it takes, I will definitely return to you, so please believe me and know how much I loved you, how I love you, and how I will love you."
I'm desperate.
Presepe, wearing an indifferent expression, took in the end of the note.
"Your eternal Nidhogg."
Maybe... this is the name?
However, it was an unfamiliar name. Throughout the entire game—that is, during those dreadful hours of successfully completing the routes of the five male characters—she had never once heard of it.
"Still, to roughly summarize..."
First of all, Presepe is not the Emperor's daughter. According to Ivan, it is highly likely that she is the daughter of a monster. In fact, just before she was to become a concubine, Vanessa was found unconscious near the Forbidden Forest.
Later, while living in the imperial palace, before being executed, Vanessa told Presepe to go to the Forbidden Forest.
And Vanessa and a being presumed to be a monster named Nidhogg were in love with each other.
“You are my father.”
"She told me that if anyone came looking for her and asked about her whereabouts, I should just say she is dead. She begged me over and over again not to tell them anything else, even though they might come looking for her today, in ten years, or decades later... She pleaded with me to make sure I did exactly that."
If you look at it that way, Malea's story made sense too. Since Nidhogg is a monster, he wouldn't age even if decades passed, so he could have come looking for her as much as he wanted.
However, Vanessa, having caught the Emperor's eye and finding herself in a position where she was forced to become a concubine, may not have wanted to let Nidhogg know. In a way, it was a betrayal, and she likely thought that if Nidhogg found out about the situation, he might attack the Emperor in a fit of rage.
"So now the question is, what kind of foreshadowing is this?"
If the bug hadn't occurred, and if Secret Mode had unfolded properly, would Presepe have followed Vanessa's words and gone to the Forbidden Forest?
Was this really the order to meet the real male lead?
But what kind of being could go there and get entangled with? No matter how much she thought about it, it could only be monsters.
“The church statue..."
What suddenly came to mind was that stone statue.
It was shattered beyond measure.
If that was the clue, then only one person remains who can be suspected as the real male protagonist.
Demon King.
"Lady Presepe, I found a few of Vanessa's belongings here!"
Malea's voice settled upon Presepe's face, which was lost in thought.
"A few outfits that she enjoyed wearing, even though they are all worn out, and things like diaries she wrote when she was very young."
In fact, such luggage was not particularly necessary. After all, Presepe already held in her hands the clues she had been seeking that could serve as a lead.
However, because she was so grateful and thankful for Malea's kind devotion, Presepe answered in a cheerful voice.
"Thank you. I'll go there now."
Presepe carefully placed the bouquet, which was completely dried up and still scattering, back inside the wall. It had no use, but she wanted to keep this at all costs.
She felt like she could understand Vanessa's feelings, the way she hid away the completely dried-up bouquet, unable to bring herself to throw it away until the very end.
Instead, she carefully kept Nidhogg's letter and scales, which would serve as clues.
***
It was already late afternoon when she left Vanessa's house.
"Still, it's a relief that you managed to find something."
Malea muttered while clutching Vanessa's luggage tightly in her hand.
"They are so old. I'm not sure if they will be meaningful to you, Lady Presepe, but..."
"What are you talking about? Malea, of course it has meaning."
Presepe answered with a smile.
"Malea went through a lot of trouble to find it for me, didn't you? That alone is enough."
At Presepe's words, Malea smiled affectionately, as if deeply moved.
"Please go back and get some rest now. I'll bring you another delicious dinner."
"Great."
But what happened to Grand Duke Fenrir? Is he investigating properly? When is he coming back today? Did Siegfried do something unnecessary?
It was around the time when Presepe was worrying about Fenrir.
"Oh my goodness, I'm out of my mind."
The reason Malea, who had been walking in step with her, hesitated and stopped in her tracks was.
"Lady Presepe, I'm sorry. I think I left my bag at Vanessa's house."
"Ah. Then shall we go together?"
"You even fell earlier, so that can't be allowed. Would you mind waiting here for a moment? I'll hurry back and escort you."
Well. Kevin wasn't there, but soldiers were stationed in the village, and Siegfried was likely conducting an investigation with Fenrir, so she wasn't worried. So, Presepe nodded as if to say she understood.
"Hmm..."
Left all alone like that, Presepe fiddled with her chest.
To be precise, the place where Nidhogg's scales and the letter were hidden
'I need to go back for now and think things over again before the Grand Duke arrives.'
Now that she has also found out the name of the being presumed to be jer father, if she is lucky, she might really be able to acquire a lot of information before leaving this place.
'And once the investigation is safely finished, maybe I should ask them to take me to the Forbidden Forest.'
She guessed she really needed to go there at least once to get a sense of things.
"..."
Presepe, who had been lost in thought, suddenly turned her gaze forward.
A path that curves to the left.
"I heard that there is a side path leading to the Forbidden Forest, especially to the west of the village. I did hear that it is under control, though. Please do not go near that area."
Ah. Is that the side path?
Come to think of it, the side path leading to the Forbidden Forest and Vanessa's house were quite close.
'Shall I go take a quick look...?'
Since they said it was under control, she wouldn't be able to go inside, but thanks to that, there wouldn't be any danger. Having thought that far, Presepe cautiously took a step toward the side path.
And she realized that something was strange.
No soldiers were visible anywhere near the side path.
Not even one person.
As if someone had used magic to hide it.
Soon, a wide-open side path that seemed to extend all the way ahead was reflected in Presepe's pale purple eyes.
It was that moment.
[They said the soldiers were guarding it...]
She didn't remember anything at all.
No, she had forgotten for so long that she heard a voice that sounded unfamiliar, as if she were hearing it for the first time.
[...There’s nobody here?]
It was the tutorial period.
It was young Presepe's monologue.
[Yeah, I have to take a look at it anyway....]
Taking in the buzzing voice of her childhood self, Presepe began to approach the side path.
With vacant eyes, as if she had spilled something.
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