―――― I was lucky.
After a few days of singing in the tavern, I received an invitation to a mansion by a person who introduced himself as a marquis.
A fas.h.i.+onable gentleman with a characteristic black beard.
According to the tavern shopkeeper, he often appears in this area.

"Aah, that Marquis Muller isn"t a suspicious person. He"s good-hearted"

Having received the shopkeeper"s approval, I decided to accept his invitation.
Since he"s a marquis, I thought that perhaps I"ll have a chance to get close to the preeminent ducal house.
When asked for a name, I thought a little and gave the name I used in Tarim.
Sion Seth Éventail.
The name I received when I became an honorary citizen. If he notices the last name characteristic to Tarim, I may get reported to the Royal Palace as a person of interest. I haven"t done anything so I shouldn"t be arrested, but this is the only way to get my existence noticed by the higher-ups. After all is said and done, the princess"s father, Duke Vivoir, is the Prime Minister. I don"t know how I"ll work from there. But I"ll do what I can.
But, unfortunately, Marquis Muller showed no reaction to the name Éventail.
I was disappointed, but thinking there should still be a chance, I waited.
Before long I heard that an evening party will be held in the Royal Palace, and luckily I would be taken along there. An evening party where the Crown Prince will appear. Naturally, his fiancée, Princess Lidiana will also be there.

And like that the day of the evening party came.
When I was allowed to enter, the Crown Prince and the princess were no longer there.
Almost simultaneously with the Crown Prince of Sahaja they left their seats.
While I was disappointed, for some reason the King spoke of a reward, so having nothing to lose I expressed my wish "I want to meet the two people who aren"t here. And present them a song".
The King opened his eyes wide at my words that went beyond his expectation, still with "I understand" he promised.
―――― With this I"ll be able to meet Princess Lidiana the next time.
As I found a way to make my wish come true, I resigned from Marquis Muller"s mansion and changed my lodgings back to the tavern where I"d been taken care of before. There"s no point in staying in the Marquis"s mansion anymore.
Let"s take it easy in town until the Royal Palace contacts me. Thinking so, I pa.s.sed my days while frequenting the curry shop.
After all, the curry tastes exactly the same as the one Sakura made, every time I eat it I feel like crying.
It"s so nostalgic I want to return to j.a.pan more and more.

I have to somehow grasp a hint…

While exploring the town despite my impatience, there"s something that catches my eye.
Ever since the time the Crown Prince of Sahaja came, I often catch sight of men with dark eyes and slightly tanned skin.
They"re dressed in black clothes on the whole, probably they"re members of Sahaja a.s.sa.s.sin guilds that I"ve heard of in rumors.
Normally I might not have noticed, but having spent two years as the tactician I can somehow sense it.
War is looming. It seems Sahaja is seriously aiming at Wilhelm.

―――― Immediately after Tarim withdrew, Sahaja. Wilhelm is unlucky.

In spite of going through a bitter experience at war a few years back, Sahaja seems to once again attempt to conquer Wilhelm.
The numerous a.s.sa.s.sins may be aiming at the Crown Prince.
It"s next to impossible to kill him in battle. I also think it may be more effective to attack him by surprise during day while he"s careless.
I don"t want to face that Crown Prince on a battlefield anymore. With him using such nonstandard magic, tactics no longer matter. There"s no way to win.

Now then, what will that Crown Prince do with these a.s.sa.s.sins.
I wonder if, against the expectations, he"ll be easily killed.
While I was walking through town thinking such things, I pa.s.sed by a few soldiers. They all seemed to be in a hurry.
I could hear glimpses of their conversation.

"The Crown Prince is coming with the Princess Consort on an inspection today――――"
"ah!"

I turned around on the spot. But, there"s no way I can ask them about the details.
While thinking about what I should do though unable to follow them, before I noticed I arrived at the usual curry shop.
Habits are terrifying. As I was wryly smiling, I saw the shopkeeper walk to the end of the line with a surprised face. I instantly hid at the building"s side. Because of that I couldn"t quite see what"s going on, only hear it.

"Huh? If it isn"t Master"

At those words I opened my eyes wide. Master? He said Master?
There"s only one person the shopkeeper looks up as his master. The person who produced curry.
Where is this person! Thinking so, I leaned out a little and followed the shopkeeper"s gaze to see a girl with violet eyes and light brown hair whose face I couldn"t see well from this distance, and, standing next to the girl as if to protect her, a black-haired man who I could tell even from distance has well-ordered features.

Which is it?

I wavered for a moment, but I quickly came to the conclusion. The shopkeeper is clearly talking to the girl.
When the girl muttered something, together with the shopkeeper and black-haired man she entered the shop.
From that natural att.i.tude I understood she"s for sure the person the employees call master.
And, the man next to her. I felt a strange déjà vu, but I immediately noticed.

When I thought I"d seen him somewhere, I realized he"s Crown Prince Friedrich.
I couldn"t tell for a moment due to his hair color. But, I have no doubt about that face and the eye color.
That means, the girl next to him is all but confirmed to be his fiancée, Princess Lidiana.
The rumors I"ve been hearing often recently say the Crown Prince loves his fiancée so much that without waiting for marriage he invited the princess to the Royal Palace to live together.
I heard from Marquis Muller that despite still being his fiancée, she was given the proof of a Princess Consort. Hence the Crown Prince"s actions communicate "I want to be with my beloved Princess Consort". Since she qualifies as his Princess Consort, it"s considered natural for her spend the time with her husband, the Crown Prince.
According to the rumors he"s infatuated with her, and indeed the gaze the Crown Prince directed at his fiancée was very kind.
Unlike the piercing eyes I saw at the battlefield, the look in his eyes was as sweet as mola.s.ses.
Seeing the Crown Prince"s expression say how irresistibly in love he is, a feeling of envy arose inside me.
Because, he can have a wife he loves so much.

"… I mustn"t. I have to change my att.i.tude"

It can"t be helped that I"m envious. But, let"s first of all sort the information.
Who entered the curry shop just now was unmistakably Crown Prince Friedrich, his fiancée Princess Lidiana, and the shopkeeper, who calls Princess Lidiana his master, those three.
That means――――.

"It seems there"s no mistaking it that Princess Lidiana is the person who produced curry"

I"d thought there"s no way, but it really seems to be the case.
That means in all probability she"s the one who introduced daif.u.ku to Wilhelm.
She"s still a teenage girl. And yet, she brought curry and daif.u.ku to this world. Moreover, the curry has the taste of Sakura"s. Who in the world is she.
Perhaps, the transported person really was related to Sakura.
I thought a little. She"s still a teenage girl, but supposing she came from j.a.pan, it"s possible she"d be able to reproduce the dishes. But, despite her hair color being fine, there are those eyes. I was convinces seeing the real thing, but they can"t belong to a j.a.panese. I thought about the possibility of her being a foreigner, but violet eyes are rare on Earth, only around 2% of the population has them. As one would expect, that being the case… is not possible.
Besides, she has the status of the princess of the preeminent Vivoir ducal house. It"s hard to think she got transported same as me.

"No, however――――"

Supposing, supposing if.
I remember hearing rumors that the daughter of the Vivoir ducal house was feeble.

"Perhaps, she"s the subst.i.tute?"

She looked healthy before. She didn"t appear feeble at all.
What if the transported girl accidentally came under the protection of the Vivoir ducal house?
And, their feeble daughter - had already pa.s.sed away?
In exchange for protection, they had her take place of their daughter, perhaps it"s that kind of thing.
In any case, their daughter was the Crown Prince"s top fiancée candidate. There"s no doubt the ducal house wanted to marry her off no matter what it takes.
Their daughter died. What if at that time a girl of the same age appeared, in need of protection?
She was a princess who from the start didn"t appear in the high society much. n.o.body would notice as long as the eye and hair color were manipulated. This is a world of magic. Just because I don"t know how, it doesn"t mean the method doesn"t exist.
And what if the Crown Prince fell in love with that princess?

"As expected, it"s too much of a logical leap…"

I wryly smiled at having come up with that.
Because, even looking at them from distance, the princess looks happy to be together with the Crown Prince. She doesn"t look be forced into doing it.
Even so, I can hardly say the possibility is zero.
Was she transported same as me, or did she really make curry and daif.u.ku by chance.
I want to make sure. I thought so from the bottom of my heart.

While I was pondering, the Crown Prince seems to have left the shop with her.
It happens from time to time, but while I"m pondering, I tend to be unable to hear the surroundings.
While impatient over losing sight of them I searched the town, when I heard many metallic sounds. I"m already familiar with them. They"re the sounds of a sword fight. When I approached while killing the sound of my footsteps, I saw the Crown Prince fighting multiple enemies alone. Even from this distance I could understand his overwhelming power. He had multiple opponent, but he immediately finished the fight. It looked like that.
While I was peeping at the situation with my breath held, a magician duo appeared and fired a flame magical art.

―――― Do they want to burn the town!

I was fl.u.s.tered, but I couldn"t do anything. While I was grinding my teeth, the princess, who had been protected behind the Crown Prince all this time, pushed him aside and resolutely came in front. Then, she loudly shouted.

"Disappear!"
"… ah!"

With that alone, the magical art disappeared without a trace. As the surroundings fell completely silent after too many things happened, I clutched my chest.
My heart pounded with a strong beat.
―――― That was neutralization magic.
The magic said to be equal in rarity to my reflection magic. I was astonished to see the princess use it. It"s too much to be a coincidence――――.
… I want to see her face.
People here all have completely different features from j.a.panese people. If I look at her, I"ll know whether she"s j.a.panese. I"d at least ascertain that much.
I want to see her face directly. But, if I shamelessly get so close to the place of that bloodbath, it couldn"t be helped if I was considered an enemy. While I was grinding my teeth over not having my way, I saw the Crown Prince preciously lift his fiancée in his arms.
For an instant, really, for just an instant, I met eyes with the princess.

"Ah"

I couldn"t grasp her facial features, but I understood our eyes met.
I don"t want to be found now. If I"m discovered in such a place, I"ll look suspicious. Thinking so, I hurriedly turned away. It was a precious opportunity, but I don"t want to be caught now. It"s a step forward that I found out that she produced curry and daif.u.ku.
Next time, next.
Next time for sure, I want to at least check her face from up close.
The opportunity is the concert promised by the King. Looking forward to that day, for the time being I returned to the inn.