Chapter 77 – The First Princess’ Trip (Part 2)

“Over here!” The princess said while showing me the way to the ice cream stall.

I almost killed her by reflex when I bumped into her a while back, but I’m glad I was able to stop myself.

——

Important NPC

Name: Feera von Hermagne Lv.15

Karma: 55 <Slightly Good>

Class: Princess

Status: Normal

Remarks:

Kingdom of Hermagne: First Princess

Kingdom of Hermagne: Third in line of succession.

——

She’s a useful girl for sure, it would definitely be a waste to throw her away now. She will at the very least make things more interesting than if I just killed the crown prince.

“Excuse me, could you give me an ice cream?” Feera said to the granny that owned the stall.

“Oh, of course… Wait, you’re already back?” The granny replied.

“I’m giving her a new one because I accidentally bumped into her and made her lose her ice cream.” I explained.

“I see, you’re a really kind lass.” The granny said, and then gave another ice cream to the princess. “Here you go.”

“Thank you!” The princess exclaimed, then turned towards me, “Let me show you around the city!”

“I’ll be in your care.” I replied.

I didn’t particularly care about the city tour, but I used this opportunity to inspect the terrain, the equipment of the guards, their numbers and the areas they patrol.

“This is the capital’s fountain plaza, one of the things we’re most proud of! The statue in the middle is that of the first queen, Marcy!” The princess opened her arms wide to show it off.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Rena?” Yuu said.

“Whoa…” Maria said in awe.

“Hmmmm…” I murmured. It is certainly beautiful, but I don’t see what’s so impressive about it… I suppose I should play along with them regardless, “It’s certainly quite lively and wonderful.”

I hoped this kind of bland commentary would be enough. I haven’t gone sightseeing tourist spots like an ordinary person before, so I’m not quite sure how to behave.

“It is, isn’t it!? Dad is amazing! Everyone is smiling after all!” The princess exclaimed… A dad… She surely likes him, huh?

“I see…” I replied.

“I’m really proud of being part of my family!” She said with a big smile… So they’re family…

“Of course, you have a wonderful father, don’t you?” I said.

“Y-Young Lady!” The princess’ maid suddenly shouted.

The princess turned towards her and tilted her head, “What’s wrong, Annabella?”

“… No, it’s nothing.” She replied, but her gaze was not directed towards the princess, but to me… Seems like I messed up and let my emotions leak out. The maid must have sensed my bloodlust, what a bother…

“Is something wrong, Rena?” Yuu asked.

“It’s nothing, let’s see the next spot.” I said to both him and the princess. Let’s just make them forget about it by continuing the trip… Oh my, what good timing, “What might that be?” I said while pointing to a weird place. At first it felt like nothing, but one of my skills noticed that there was definitely something hidden there.

“Huh? N-nothing! There is nothing over there! Let’s keep going!” The princess hurriedly said and gestured for us to follow her.

Then let’s try using a skill to analyze that place…

“Just what might you be doing?” Her maid asked me.

“Nothing in particular.” I replied, though I was already done with it.

“Is that so…?” She said. She’s certainly sharp, but she was too slow to notice. In this time I could get the information that this is a secret passage that connects directly to the royal castle, and is of exclusive use of the royal family. I suppose it can’t be helped that she is suspicious of me after me noticing the passage and my previous blunder as well. Such a bother…

******

(Annabella’s Point of View)

That woman is dangerous. Something was really off about her when her highness was talking about his majesty in the plaza. In particular, my <Malice Sensor> skill flared up in response to all the negative emotions that emitted from her.

“This is the store that makes my clothes!” Her highness said while pointing to it.

The woman barely reacted to it… She doesn’t seem particularly interested in this tour. Rather, she seems to be inspecting every nook and cranny of the city on her own. Could she be a spy of the empire? It would make sense when considering she even found the secret passage that led to the royal castle…

Danger. Her expressionless eyes stared at me for a moment and it completely paralyzed me. How can someone make such a cold gaze…?

“Rena, what’s wrong?” The man that accompanied her asked.

“Well… I’m just in a bit of a bad mood.” She replied.

“Oh, I see.” The man answered.

The two people accompanying her must be unaware of this woman’s true nature, they’re both virtuous people that have no malice in them. If I were to try getting that woman away from her highness, they’d probably interfere with good intentions… Yet I have to somehow get her away from her highness.

But how to do that without being suspicious? Especially with how much of a liking her highness took to this woman, she’s so interested in this mysterious ‘Japan’ country that the woman keeps talking about… I’ve never even heard of this country’s existence.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’d like to talk with her for a bit.” The woman suddenly said while pointing at me.

“… With me?” I asked just to be sure.

“Indeed.” She replied. Just what is she planning? I can’t accept this, I need to bring her highness back to the castle right now, and I need to make sure they don’t follow us.

She approached me and whispered in my ear, “If you don’t come, this will be the end of the princess’ life.”

… Why did I let her highness come here? Why did I let her bump into this woman…? She has been so lonely these past few days due to how little opportunities she has had to spend some time together with his majesty… I pitied her situation and thought that it would be fine to let her have a change of pace… What a grave mistake, I should have never given in to her request.

“Your highness… For a little while… Just for a small bit. Please wait, alright?” I told her gently.

“… Annabella?” She seemed worried, I think I let my anxiety leak out from my tone.

“I’ll be back soon, okay?” I told her with a reassuring smile. She doesn’t need to worry about anything, it’s alright like this.

“Yuu, Maria, please protect the girl in the meanwhile. This won’t take long.” The woman told her companions.

“Alright…” The boy said, while the girl stayed silent. He seemed confused, while she seemed to be thinking about something… I’d like to tell them to use this opportunity to escape, but I don’t have any way of doing so, it’s a pity.

“Shall we go?” The woman asked.

“Alright.” I replied, and went into an alley together with her.

… Your highness, I enjoyed each moment with you, please grow up as a splendid woman.