kscans

Chapter 4 - Chapter 3: Second Half - Reunion

"Pardon me, I'm sorry for the intrusion."

"...Could it be, Ricardo-kun?"

I reflexively threw my hands up, like a man wrongly accused. The princess seemed to recognize me, her expression softening with relief.

"Hehe. This is a place any student can use."

The princess’s smile broke me out of my trance. The situation, just the two of us. Her understated hairstyle was actually more... No, no, this isn't the time for that. Where did this princess even come from? I can't imagine she was in the library before me.

"Your Highness, what brings you to a place like this?"

Instantly, a blush colored her pale cheeks.

"Well, this is actually the time I'm supposed to be in Professor Fulsy's lecture..."

"Professor Fulsy... Ah, the head librarian."

Looking closely, I could see another door at the back of the stacks, different from the one I came through. Judging by its position, it must lead to the librarian's office. I never knew.

"It's a bit embarrassing. I often spend this time reading here. I don't get much time for that in the Cathedral."

"Don't worry. I won't breathe a word of having met you, Your Highness."

"Thank you. What about you, Ricardo-kun? Why are you here?"

I was about to turn back, thinking I shouldn't interrupt her secret reading session, when she spoke to me. This is the worst. With my abilities, I can't tell if she's just asking out of politeness or if she's genuinely interested. It's even harder with the opposite sex.

The princess's gaze was fixed on the book in my hand. It seemed her interest was genuine after all.

"Yes, I was looking for this book..."

I showed her the cover. The next moment, a cold sweat broke out as I remembered the author's background. Quatour Fellbach was from the family of Duke Fellbach, who had led a rebellion twenty years ago. Apparently, he wasn't involved in the rebellion himself, but he died ten years ago while still under confinement. Honestly, I have to say it was a waste of a talented person, but that's not the issue here.

The Fellbach Rebellion was a major incident for a kingdom that prided itself on stability, a stain on its history. How would a person who holes up in the library stacks to secretly read a book by someone connected to that incident appear in the eyes of royalty? My chances for self-preservation were like a candle in the wind.

"M, my company's products are related to the climate and vegetation of the western regions. So I am studying with the help of this academy's wonderful books."

"Oh, could it be about the honey?"

"...Yes. Of course, it's not just that. This book, which describes the western flora and fauna in great detail, has many points of reference."

To emphasize the business aspect, I deliberately praised it honestly. Given my abilities, telling the truth is the best approach in these situations. Besides, the princess was interested in the honey. However, that was just the best option in a minefield.

That village where I taught them beekeeping was the former domain of a Fellbach relative or someone of the sort, and they had been treated poorly even after it became a direct territory of the crown. That was why they were clutching at straws when they accepted the proposal from me, though it was actually my father who did the convincing.

One wrong step and it could be taken as criticism of the government.

I checked her expression. The princess was still smiling. No, in fact, why did she seem even happier than before?

"This is my book."

The princess held up a book with both hands at my eye level. Her white hands, which looked as if they'd never seen the sun, were dazzling against the brown leather cover.

"'The Travels of Young Lord Cornwell'? Actually, I've read it too."

"Really?"

The princess's face lit up. 'The Travels of Young Lord Cornwell' is a travelogue-style romance novel written by a minstrel. It's about a duke's son who disguises himself as a poet and travels around helping heroines in various towns. It has things like a strangely seductive bandit and a careless manservant who has no eye for anything but food.

Of course, the protagonist isn't a spry old man who fights with a staff, but a handsome young noble with a rapier.

I only read it as a reference for advertising methods that would appeal to the people of this world, so I'm not the kindred spirit the princess is hoping for.

"The story is set in the west, so it reminds me of the towns and villages I visited with my father while peddling."

"Oh my. You're very knowledgeable about the west, Ricardo-kun. I've never been outside the Royal Capital. Is the 'field of reddish-purple flowers stretching as far as the eye can see' from the book real? I've never seen a reddish-purple flower."

She asked with sparkling eyes. A field of wildflowers is a rare sight to her? What a sheltered life she must lead. The flashy, large, cultivated varieties like the roses and lilies that bloom in the Royal Capital's gardens are the exception. By the way, the roses here are blue. Anyway, for villagers, those flowers are nothing unusual. Places unsuitable for farming or that haven't been developed are mostly grasslands.

"Well, even if they're small flowers, the sight of a gradient from white to red covering the ground as far as you can see is quite something."

"Oh, that must be as beautiful as a dream..."

The tightrope walk continues. It's true that reddish-purple flowers are rare. But for me, that flower is a source of nectar for beekeeping, a money-making grass, not a tree. It's an all-purpose plant that can be used for pasture and green manure. This topic also requires extreme caution. This is why talking to the upper class is such a pain.

I glanced at the princess's face. ...Her eyes were wide as she listened intently. She really throws me off my game.

The milk vetch flowers only grow along the red forests in the southwest, like near that village. The closest city was, if I recall...

"If you were near Bertold's grand cathedral, you might be able to see them while traveling."

"Bertold? That's my aunt's domain!"

"I, is that so? Then perhaps you'll have a chance..."

As expected of a princess, even her relatives are extraordinary. Bertold is the number one city in the west. No, no, why does it have to connect like this? I checked the princess's expression again. But she just smiled sadly.

"But it's difficult for me to leave the Royal Capital when I have duties. Even attending this academy was a selfish wish granted thanks to my Aunt Euphilia."

This naive princess aside, I have no idea what her aunt is thinking. I should have Mia look into it.

Knock, knock.

Suddenly, there was a knock. It seemed to come from the door leading to the librarian's office. I stiffened, recalling the sharp eyes of the female knight, but the door didn't open.

Alfina slowly closed her book.

"Thank you for the enjoyable conversation today."

As she rose with a rustle of her clothes, I scrambled to my feet as well. My chair scraped loudly. A perfect contrast between a noble princess and a commoner. Alfina, without a word of reproach, offered me her right hand.

"If you wouldn't mind, please tell me more stories again sometime."

"I... it would be an honor."

I took her white hand. Its silky texture and faint warmth seeped into my palm and my consciousness. Our hands parted, and Alfina disappeared through the door. As I watched her go, I felt a strange sense of loss as the warmth faded from my palm. I was finally free, yet I found myself staring resentfully at the closed door.

"A girl from a different world shouldn't matter to me..."

Muttering that, I headed for the proper exit.

When I left the stacks, I saw Mia in the reading room. She was with a few other female students, commoners like us from the look of their clothes. Mia casually stood up and approached me in the shadow of a bookshelf.

"...Change of priorities. I need you to hurry on the Fourth Princess. Especially her connection to the Grand Duchess of Bertold."

"Understood."

Mia accepted the order with a slightly puzzled look. Investigating the backgrounds of our classmates was something we'd done before, even if it had been focused on Dorefano. But a bitter feeling welled up from deep within my chest. ...No, I'm doing what's necessary.

"...Also, I think there was a souvenir in our luggage from the village children..."

I added that small errand as if to shake off the feeling.

It was just one week before the New Year's Festival.