ATPL 26

“…It’s not exactly some desperately yearning first love story, is it?”

Abelard shot a glare at Anais’s words.

What. Why. What.

But Anais wasn’t the type to cower simply because the Imperial Crown Prince was glaring at her.

Of course, if Anais had been sitting before the Crown Prince as Anais Fleur, she would’ve thrown in some flattery like, “Oh my, to be the Crown Prince’s lifesaver!” and left it at that.

But Anais was the type to know her place and acted accordingly.

She had already realized that whether she was a knight or not, as long as she wore the Dragon Knight Order’s uniform, even the Empress would overlook most things.

So Anais listened to the Crown Prince’s story and pointed out the things that bothered her, one by one.

“Aside from being blonde with green eyes, we don’t even know her status, which makes her perfect for impersonation.”

“Lady Florence? You’re quite annoying—how about you reintroduce yourself, then?”

“Reintroduce myself?”

The Crown Prince retorted with a confrontational tone.

“Everyone knows Lord Resaloniki is the Dragon Knight Commander, so that’s fine. If you were his adjutant, I would’ve accepted that.”

“Then couldn’t you just accept it anyway?”

Anais tilted her head, giving a cute look.

It was a harmless gesture, like a small animal, but it only provoked the Crown Prince further.

“I think I have the right to hear an explanation about why you’re here, considering you’re neither a knight nor Lord Resaloniki’s lover.”

“I think the same, my lady.”

The Empress chimed in. Anais glanced at Elliot.

The story about a spirit possessing Anais’s body was confidential, and she wasn’t sure whether to speak freely about it.

But Elliot, who needed to answer, seemed lost in his thoughts.

Finally, Anais gently patted Elliot’s shoulder.

“Lord Resaloniki? May I speak?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. I apologize.”

Elliot, who had been wearing a strangely troubled expression, belatedly nodded and apologized to the Empress and Crown Prince.

“I was briefly in conversation with the Dragon Lord in my consciousness.”

“Ah, that can happen. It’s fine. Go ahead and speak.”

The Empress nodded to Elliot with a slightly amazed expression. Elliot let out a sigh before continuing.

“While this is confidential to outsiders, I should tell you both. Lady Florence is not entirely unconnected to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“What are you saying? Please don’t tell me something frightening like she’s my first love.”

At Abelard’s words, Anais looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, “How dare you say such a rude thing!”, but Abelard just continued glaring at Anais.

Elliot cleared his throat, watching the two of them.

“My apologies, but she’s similar to those who troubled Your Highness…”

“No way.”

“The 33rd possessor in her body…”

“No wonder she bothered me every time I saw her!”

The Crown Prince burst out loudly before Elliot could finish speaking.

Anais shot him an implicit reproachful look, as if saying ‘Shouldn’t you listen to people until they’ve finished speaking?!’

Elliot waved his hand.

“…has come and gone.”

“…Come and gone?”

“Yes. Lady Florence has regained her consciousness completely, and has received the Dragon Lord’s command to find out why possessors remain in this world and how they leave.”

Elliot explained everything that had happened.

After hearing the reasons behind it and learning what Anais had been through, the Empress looked at her with a sympathetic expression and muttered softly.

“So, that’s why this young lady went mad… No wonder she seemed a bit unhinged…”

What? Did I just get treated so smoothly and casually as a mad person?

Anais blinked in confusion.

Regardless, the Crown Prince, now understanding the explanation, propped his chin and responded sarcastically.

“What? Then can’t we just kill this woman and solve everything?”

“No, we can’t!”

Anais quickly replied. The Crown Prince ignored her words entirely and continued speaking to Elliot.

“Why do we need to find my first love? I like living as I am now. Rather than finding a first love I don’t need and am sick of now, why don’t we just kill this woman and restore the rift?”

Elliot answered seriously.

“If killing Lady Florence doesn’t solve the problem, we’d be in trouble. I’ve considered it, but minimal loss of life would be best.”

“You’ve already considered it?!”

As Anais bristled at Elliot’s words, the Empress, who had been quiet, sighed while opening her fan.

“But it’s quite shocking that finding my son’s first love is the process of repairing the world’s rift. Above all, I worry about whether the Imperial family will become a laughingstock…”

“Um… am I being ignored right now?”

“Nevertheless, that is the natural order of things.”

“The natural order is it.”

“Can anyyone actually see Anais? Hello?”

“But Lord Resaloniki’s face looks rather complicated.”

Abelard scratched his chin.

“Could it be that even the Dragon Knight Commander has doubts about this mission?”

“That’s not the case.”

Elliot firmly replied to Abelard’s words.

“The Dragon Knight Order believes without doubt that every step, no matter how trivial it may seem at first glance, is for the continent if it’s ordered by the Dragon Lord.”

“Well, that may be true… but for me to meet my first love and marry them as the natural order? Good grief.”

The Crown Prince’s face became complicated. The Empress looked at the Crown Prince and snorted.

“I’m sorry, son, but my interpretation is a bit different. It seems the Dragon Lord has given quite appropriate and timely orders at the perfect moment.”

“My noble mother, what interpretation did you make?”

“Well, between worrying that the next generation of the Imperial family might have 60 illegitimate children thanks to the Crown Prince seducing this and that young lady, and settling down with his first love, which seems more like the natural order?”

The Empress glanced at Anais, who had quickly jumped in.

“She may be mad, but there are limits. Watch your words.”

Anais smiled brightly.

“Wow, you can hear Anais’s words! I thought you couldn’t hear me, or maybe I suspected you might have already killed me and I was just floating around as a spirit!”

It might seem like she was being overly bold, but she didn’t particularly care to be polite to people who were talking about killing her right in front of her face.

Besides, being treated as a mad person was the icing on the cake.

Watching Anais, Elliot rubbed his face wearily.

“Anyway, finding that first love girl is key. A secluded forest near Reims. Ah, you said it was the Magician’s Forest, right?”

“Yes.”

“Blonde hair, green eyes. You said she was fourteen back then, so we should look for someone around that age from that time.”

Abelard cleared his throat and added belatedly.

“And she was very beautiful.”

“…Ah-ha.”

As Anais nodded knowingly, Abelard, feeling caught, asked, “Why?” Anais smiled sweetly.

“Well, I just assumed she must have been beautiful.”

“…That’s not it, is it? I swear I just heard an echo of ‘all men are the same’ or something.”

At Abelard’s words, Anais clasped her hands together sympathetically.

“Oh my, what should we do? Your Highness seems to be suffering from first love fever, despite what you say. How unfortunate…. I’ll make sure to find your first love for you.”

“Florence, I have a question.”

“What might that be, Your Highness?”

“Are you an imperial citizen?”

“Why are you curious about my nationality?”

The Crown Prince smiled, showing his teeth.

“When I think that people like you could be my subjects, I somewhat understand the tyrants of history.”

“This boy, I swear.”

The Empress pinched Abelard’s arm.

“Just because a crazy person is talking, doesn’t mean you should stoop to their level.”

“Anais isn’t an imperial subject, so no need to worry about becoming a tyrant!”

“…”

Well, being called crazy was a bit upsetting, but at least it felt good to speak freely.

Elliot wrapped up the meeting.

“Thankfully, Reims is on our way to our next destination, so we’ll actively search for that young lady.”

“Next destination, is it? What other trivial yet national mission have you been tasked with besides finding my first love?”

Despite Abelard’s sarcasm, Elliot remained unfazed.

“The Duchy of Neuze.”

“…Don’t tell me. You’re meeting the Duke of Neuze?”

The Empress’s expression hardened at Elliot’s words.

“Yes.”

Since the Duke of Neuze in the North had also suffered from scandals involving the possessed, the Empress’s deduction was only natural.

The Empress sighed regretfully.

“The Duke of Neuze also went through hardships because of those possessed people. I suppose it’s fortunate that he too has his own natural course…”

“He got off easier than I did. I became known as a man who only chases blondes, while the Duke of Neuze became known as Mr. Faithful, and his popularity soared.”

Abelard grumbled. The Empress glared at him.

Her look seemed to say, ‘Isn’t that all because you went around philandering afterward?’

That’s when it happened. A scream was heard from outside the gazebo where the four were sitting.

“Kyaah!”