“Doesn’t it hurt?”
"... Yes?"
Red eyes stared down at me intently from very close. I belatedly realized the closeness and the languid scent of his body filling my lungs. I naturally became tense, and my chest tightened.
"I-I'm fine. In fact, after using it once, I feel like the heat inside my body has subsided a bit!"
"Really? Hmm..."
His fine, jet-black hair cascaded down slightly, concealing his furrowed brow. It merely looked like he was frowning, though. Strangely, I could feel that he was worried about me. Consequently, I naturally had no choice but to remain still.
No, maybe I can't move. My neck was stiff from tension, to the point where I had to be careful even when breathing.
"If this ability is really exactly the same as mine, I'll help you. But promise me just one thing."
“Which one?”
"Do not show this ability to others. Of course, it doesn't matter if you show it if you destroy the evidence by killing someone."
"Ah... I absolutely won't let you see."
"Why absolutely? Burn anyone who threatens the Princess. I'll take care of the aftermath."
I just gave an awkward smile at Thierry, who was speaking to me as if it were no big deal. And as if conscious of the distance, I kept pulling my body back slightly and fidgeting with the hand I was holding.
Whether he couldn't see me or was pretending not to know, Thierry fiddled with my hand for a while before muttering abruptly.
"Anyway, I guess I should dig through some ancient books. They say powers were passed down from dragons or whatever, but it seems history is all just a facade."
A dragon? For a moment, I recalled the intense red-haired woman I had seen in my dream.
'Come to think of it, that woman changed in the end.'
Magic is fascinating enough, but a dragon? And even though I hadn't really seen one in real life, its appearance was so vivid, as if I had seen it with my own eyes. The more I thought about it, the stronger the feeling became that it was real, even though I knew it was definitely a dream. It was as if it were a warning that I should never take it lightly.
'Should I say this? But it could just be a silly dream, or maybe just an ordinary dragon dream.'
I was a bit worried because I had just dreamt of a scene where everything was burning down.
"What's wrong? Do you have something to say?"
"Ah."
“Tell me it’s okay”
"It's nothing special..."
"Yes."
"I had a dream when I lost consciousness. And of all things, a dragon happened to appear in it... Hmm. Now that I think about it, it doesn't seem like a big deal."
"No. Tell me in detail."
I thought he might just laugh it off, but instead, he reacted seriously. I stared at him blankly, then snapped back to reality when he tightly grasped my hand as if urging me to speak, then let go.
"Ah. As for what kind of dream that was..."
I was a bit rambling, though. Nevertheless, he patiently listened to me calmly.
'Maybe this is a dream?'
He had been doing a lot of strange things for a while, but starting yesterday, he went even further and acted as if he were a completely different person.
"A red-haired woman turned into a dragon?"
He seriously repeated my last words, then raised his eyelids again after briefly lowering them.
"Come to think of it, there was no mention of dragons being male."
"Huh? Are you perhaps talking about the founding myth?"
"Yeah, it's just a myth, but everyone used to say it was obvious that humans were female and dragons were male."
"Ah, but I'm not from the Empire, you know? I wonder if I'm going too far..."
"Well, I don't know. In fact, since we don't know right now, it's better to keep all possibilities open."
That's true, though. It is true, but...
Isn't that completely unrelated? I closed my mouth and tilted my head. Thoughts like, "Anyway, when on earth are you going to let go of this hand?"
But then, the sound of knocking on the door was heard.
"Your Majesty, excuse me."
"If it's not urgent, get out."
Thierry issued an order to kick Wagen out as soon as he entered the room.
“It’s urgent.”
Of course, Wagen approached quickly, undeterred by Thierry's order to kick him out. His lower body was stiff, as if something truly serious had happened. It seemed as though a hint of bewilderment had crossed his face.
“What’s going on?”
"...I will go out and tell you.”
"You can speak here."
"Your Majesty."
Thierry spoke with his back turned to Wagen, as if he had no intention of letting go of my hand. Feeling stuck in the middle, I glanced back and forth between Wagen and Thierry, trying to gauge their reactions.
"...I clearly said I would leave."
What is that?
I focused on Wagen's lips as he tightly closed them with a determined expression and then slowly opened them.
"Lari has appeared."
The strength in his hand that was holding mine suddenly drained away.
***
"Princess, are you feeling alright?"
“Huh? Yes.”
He acted like he would stick with me all day, but ever since he went out with Wagen yesterday, Marie has been keeping the seat next to me instead of Thierry. I snapped out of my daze and nodded.
The palace is a bit noisy today. I heard Duke Joubert entered the palace with a woman; I guess that is the reason.
“...Why that woman?”
"There's a rumor that it's Lari."
Although I had already heard it from Wagen's mouth, my heart sank all over again.
"Didn't you say there were many cases of people getting caught disguising themselves before?"
"Yes. There were many. But this time, it seems a bit unusual. You know the sous chef you meet occasionally? Oh, I heard the sous chef was called in too."
To think they were even called into Maud. I felt frustrated because I had no idea what on earth was going on.
Of course, the woman Duke Joubert had brought couldn't possibly be the real Lari. However, since I was also in someone else's body right now, it was clear that Maud would be confused no matter how much she believed that I was Lari.
Unable to hide my anxiety, I grabbed Marie's wrist.
"Marie, please help me."
“Yes! Please say so.”
"Let me meet Maud."
"Ah... Sous Chef? Well, since the Princess is currently unable to leave your room, shall we ask the Sous Chef to serve you personally?"
Marie offered her opinion without a word. Since everyone seemed to know we had exchanged greetings in passing, saying she had come because she was worried would serve as a reasonable justification. In fact, feeling that I needed to meet Maud even without such a reason, I quickly nodded my head.
"Okay. Please do it right away."
"Yes! I'll be back!"
The door closed, and silence filled the room.
Unable to hide my anxiety, I got up from my seat and paced around the room. It was clearly fake, but for some reason, I kept feeling nervous.
Was it because the person he brought along happened to be Duke Joubert? What on earth was that man thinking when he orchestrated this? I had witnessed the chaos of the past, so I should know how dangerous this situation is, yet the fact that he brought a woman claiming to be 'Lari' into the palace kept weighing on my mind.
'Will he come visit tonight? He will, right?'
I shouldn't have stopped trusting Maud, but my heart kept rustling with anxiety. On top of that, my nervousness reached its peak as Marie, who had been out for quite a while, hadn't returned.
I even went so far as to think it might be faster to just complain about feeling stifled staying in my room and go outside.
How much time has passed?
Knock, knock, the sound of knocking was heard.
Assuming it was Marie, I hurriedly headed to the door to check what had happened as soon as possible. Then, as I was opening the door myself, I paused.
"You're back. Ah, Your Majesty?"
Why is Thierry here? I vaguely thought that I might not see him for a while, so I took a step back with a bewildered look on my face.
"Who were you waiting for?"
"...It's Marie. I was waiting for Marie."
"Ah. Did you send her on an errand?"
"Yes. But may I ask what brings you here so suddenly?"
Fearing he might ask what errand I had sent, I quickly added. Thierry hesitated, standing in an awkward spot where he had left the door open but hadn't fully entered yet closed it.
"You were surprised I suddenly disappeared yesterday, weren't you? Sorry."
“Oh, it’s okay.”
I waved my hands and asked cautiously.
"I heard that someone named Lari has returned. Is that true?"
In an instant, Thierry's red eyes deepened. He stared at me intently with an expression that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking, then nodded once.
I was confused about how on earth to ask. I hesitated, and eventually blurted out whatever came to mind.
“Um... is it true?”
No answer came back immediately. Just a quiet silence slowly tightened its grip.
"That is..."
"Your Highness!"
It was finally time for Thierry to speak. A woman's voice came from behind him.
"Ah. I was told not to call you Your Highness. It just happened out of habit. Your Majesty, you've been looking for me for quite a while!"
A shiver ran down my spine in an instant. It was a voice that was impossible not to recognize.
I really couldn't keep my expression. I looked at Thierry's back with a stiff gaze.
A woman was standing there. A woman with the real face of Lari, not a fake one.
'How...'
There was no way I wouldn't recognize her. It was a body I had lived in for six years, and in fact, she hadn't changed much since she was eighteen before she died, so I was able to be certain even faster.
With shoulder-length brown hair, clear emerald eyes, a height similar to back then, and the only difference being that she was wearing a luxurious dress, it felt like I had gone back in time and was seeing myself.
I didn't feel well. Suddenly, I felt nauseous.
"How did you know to come here?"
Thierry clung to her like that, and I covered my mouth with a trembling hand, shifting my gaze to the back of Thierry's head, which had turned away before I knew it.
His voice was as dry as usual, but considering the time we first met in the Kingdom of Ashtad, it could be said that he was showing a rather moderate reaction now.
"I asked Wagen, and he told me you were here. He seems like a kind person!"
"Wagen, ha... yeah. But why did you follow me?"
"I'm afraid to be alone. Everyone here is a stranger, and Your Majesty is the only person I know in this place..."
Tears welled up in the eyes of the woman who had been responding bravely just a second ago. It was a very rapid change in emotion.
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