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Chapter : 06
I thought the original story was over, but—Episode 6
Come to think of it, Leopold must have been a thorn in the empress’s side. Ever since the day the current emperor suddenly designated Leopold—who had appeared out of nowhere—as his successor, the empress had disliked him.
“An assassin on such a fine day—what a thing to happen. Thank you for saving the crown prince.”
Even as she said that, the empress didn’t seem to believe that I had actually saved Leopold. Her gaze fixed on me.
“I will order the palace security to be strengthened. In any case… to have saved the crown prince from an assassin—what an admirable deed.”
I could feel her sharp, snake-like eyes scanning me from head to toe. There was something in her red pupils that felt oddly dismissive.
With my current body, I must look barely capable of taking care of myself. And the claim that I had saved Leopold—who was already showing considerable achievement in swordsmanship—would be even harder to believe.
“…It was nothing. I merely did what was natural.”
Reading the contempt hidden in her gaze, I decided to simply go along with Leopold’s story. At least compared to the empress, Leopold had a shred of humanity.
The moment I answered, Leopold spoke up to the empress as if he’d been waiting.
“Your Majesty, may I invite her to the imperial palace from time to time?”
“Pardon?”
“What?”
Voices of disbelief escaped both the empress and me at the same time. Unbothered, Leopold remained shameless.
“I’ve been lonely since I don’t have any friends my age.”
What? As if.
I didn’t know Leopold that well, but I could confidently say this was a lie.
As expected, the empress asked back with an incredulous expression.
“…The crown prince?”
“Yes.”
Leopold answered without even trying to hide the fact that he didn’t look lonely in the slightest. Shameless bastard.
…Usually, when you say something like that, aren’t you supposed to look pitiful and wretched to stir sympathy?
But what was with that brazen attitude? Was that really the face of a thirteen-year-old saying, “I’m sad and lonely because I don’t have friends”?
He looked more like he was about to say, “I’m asking for permission out of courtesy, but no matter what you say, I’ll do what I want. Got a problem? Then fight me.”
It seemed the imperial family taught how to speak politely, but not how to match words with actions.
…Then again, Leopold must have realized that the person standing before him was the one who had just sent an assassin after him. If he could still put on a friendly face, that would make him a psychopath.
“……”
The empress seemed to read that as well, her expression stiffening slightly. She raised her thin, delicate hand to cover her mouth, as if to hide her surprise, and spoke in a pitiful tone.
“…I didn’t know the crown prince felt that way. Still, it’s understandable—you must be lonely. After all, the crown prince has no mother.”
“……”
Huh? Didn’t this empress just insult Leopold very naturally?
“Very well. Invite as many friends as you like.”
At her seemingly concerned words, Leopold’s brow twitched ever so slightly.
Seeing his expression twist, the empress looked pleased. It seemed she, too, harbored lingering resentment toward Leopold for having repelled the assassin she sent.
It was a bit of venting. And very blatant at that—she didn’t look like she intended to hide her feelings.
Come to think of it, even in my past life, the two of them had such a poor relationship that they were practically called sworn enemies.
But Leopold could never beat the empress in a war of words.
“……”
To hell with it. Since I’d already decided to help, I might as well help one more time. Besides, the empress’s suspicious gaze on me was irritating.
Having made up my mind, I moved at once.
“W-What? Please don’t say such things!”
“Hm? What is it?”
With the most innocent expression I could muster, I stepped between the two of them and spoke in surprise. The empress looked at me with eyes that said, What does this little thing know, daring to butt in?—as if I were a trivial insect.
To her, I must have looked like a child who hadn’t even entered high society yet, getting worked up and interfering.
“Your Majesty the Empress, mother of all—Your Majesty the Empress, godmother to His Highness the Crown Prince—if you say the crown prince has no mother while you’re still alive, doesn’t that mean you’re calling yourself dead? Please don’t say such things! You should live a long, long life!”
“…….”
Perhaps she hadn’t expected such a counterattack. The empress stared at me blankly for a moment. Then, as she grasped the meaning hidden in my words, her face flushed bright red.
“What did you say…?!”
“Huh?”
Realizing that I was treating her as if she were dead, the empress seemed furious.
I looked up at her with an expression of complete innocence.
There was no way she’d think that a dull-looking thirteen-year-old who hadn’t even entered society yet would deliberately twist her words with malice.
“Ha….”
But to Leopold, who knew everything, the scene must have been impossible not to laugh at. He turned his head away, his shoulders shaking.
You are laughing, right? You’re not moved to tears, are you?
Meanwhile, the empress’s face—momentarily flushed with anger—had already returned to calm.
“…Very well. Please take good care of the crown prince. That is to say…”
As if deciding to step back, she trailed off and glanced at me with her red eyes. She seemed not to know who I was.
For a moment, I wondered if I could just run away if she didn’t know my name—but it would come out soon enough anyway.
“I’m Tina Valentine. My father is Count Valentine.”
“Yes, Miss Tina.”
I took the hand the empress extended, as if asking for my cooperation. As expected, she clearly didn’t know the name of some minor provincial noble.
Smiling brightly, the empress squeezed my hand firmly once before letting go. There was no mistaking the warning behind it.
“As the crown prince’s first friend, please take good care of him.”
“…Yes.”
Me and Leopold—friends? Please don’t say such horrifying things. Just because you’re the empress doesn’t mean you can say anything.
…Suppressing what I really wanted to say, I answered with a dark expression.
“I would also appreciate it if you kept me informed from time to time.”
“…Yes, I understand, Your Majesty.”
I agreed for now, but I doubted I’d ever be alone with that formidable empress again.
What she really meant was probably, “If you happen to discover the crown prince’s weakness, wouldn’t you like to whisper it to me—just a child’s careless slip of the tongue?”
But how would I know any of Leopold’s weaknesses? I hadn’t known even in my past life.
Watching him from the side, it almost felt like the concept of “weakness” didn’t exist for Leopold at all.
“Then, if you’ll excuse me…”
With that, the storm passed, and the empress left to greet others.
“Phew….”
Once she was gone, I finally relaxed and let out a long sigh.
Maybe I’d overdone it—but her downfall was already set in stone. Even without lifting a finger, she would destroy herself in a few years.
“……Why?”
More importantly, I’d been feeling a sharp gaze on my cheek, almost stinging, for a while now.
I asked cautiously and turned my eyes slightly toward Leopold. The boy who had clearly been shaking with laughter earlier had already returned to his usual cold, expressionless face.
“No, nothing. I’m just relieved you’re still the same.”
“…What on earth are you thinking?”
I asked, genuinely curious.
You’re always telling me to choose my friends carefully, yet you went straight to the empress and declared me your friend without hesitation. What kind of behavior is that?
I’d always thought he was hard to read, but today felt especially bad.
As if unaware of my thoughts, Leopold turned away and spoke casually.
“You like it, don’t you? Playing at being friends.”
“…….”
Playing, he said.
I didn’t know exactly what he meant by that, but I was sure it wasn’t positive.
And I suspected it had something to do with my relationship with Eveline.
He’d always butt in and interfere whenever I tried to be alone with Eveline…
And he constantly told me, like a habit, to choose my friends carefully…
Could it be…?
As I recalled Leopold’s past behavior, a certain assumption came to mind.
“You—could it be…?”
“…….”
“Were you jealous?”
He’d interfered at every turn whenever Eveline and I were together. Was it jealousy toward the person who could be closest under the name of “friend”?
I knew he had a jealous streak, but did he actually want to be friends—even if only as a same-sex friend?
“…Who knows.”
Leopold gave an answer that left an uncomfortable aftertaste.
And so, for the first time, Leopold and I became bound by the name of “friends.”
