The Treasury of Contracts, and Secret (2)
“Did something happen?”
“You better remember this. If you continue to work for our country, you will eventually find yourself on the battlefield. When that happens, don’t hesitate to kill the otherworlders, even if they happen to be your countrymen. They often acquire special powers in the process of crossing the worlds. And except for those who appear due to natural phenomena, they are all basically puppets of the Imperial State.”
What do you mean? I didn’t even know otherworlders beside me existed… in other words, other than natural phenomena, there is an artificial technique of summoning otherworlders, and the Imperial State has that technique. And the artificially summoned otherworlders are puppets, which means that the Imperial State is summoning people from other worlds and forcing them to become its war force? And does it apply to me, too, that I gained power in the process of crossing worlds? For example, this eye, or a constitution that is specialized to use magic?
There are a lot of mysteries, but for now, I guess I need to be careful with people from other worlds. If they are controlled by magic tools, I can use my magic power to overheat the tools, but if they are controlled by manipulating souls, there is nothing I can do. And if the Imperial State can do that, I can’t deal with them. This should be addressed. I have decided to hole up myself in the library for a while.
And there’s something else I definitely need to ask.
“… Umm, I…”
Before I could say a word, I was hugged by my brother and Alicia. When was the last time I was hugged so warmly and gently?
“You don’t have to say anything else. Even if you have reincarnated from another world, you are still Alicetia, and that is who you are now. You are my little sister, so you should act more spoiled in the future. You are a little too reserved. There is no need for family members to hesitate to spoil other family members. You are my little sister.”
“I know how you were different from the beginning, but you are my benefactor. You are the reason I’m still here. I don’t care if you have reincarnated or whatever. And even if you are a reincarnated person, you were born as the Princess, so there is no problem at all.”
I cried a little. I always thought they would never accept it. I couldn’t tell anyone because I felt that if I told them, it would be over for me, but I was overthinking things. I cried a little and went to sleep after being told to go to sleep since it was getting late.
Gilbert’s Point of View
“What do you think?”
I left to talk with Alicia in another room. Alicetia seemed a little tired from talking, so I told her to go to sleep, and she immediately fell asleep. She doesn’t usually show this side of hers to anyone, but she must have been very nervous.
“It made sense. However, I am only protecting the Princess.”
Alicia seemed to be relieved to know the philosophy behind Alicetia’s actions. I didn’t know what she was thinking until now, but at least I knew she didn’t have any thoughts of harming the country. That child is a kind-hearted person, after all.
“However, a reincarnated person, huh. The Imperial State is the best on the Continent at enslaving the otherworlders. We have to keep a tight rein on her tools, but we can’t let her know.”
I’m sure she won’t do anything behind my back in the future now that she told us everything. I never thought she would start a rebellion, but she doesn’t even seem to have an inkling of turning on her country.
But it would be easier to defend the country if we had her things. However, if we let them out, they could confuse the world and jeopardize Arland’s position. As I thought, Alicetia doesn’t have much time to relax. I’m fine, I’m ready to devote myself to the country as the Crown Prince, but I don’t want to burden the little girl with that burden.
And there is also the strange feeling I felt when we were talking.
“I believe Alicetia looked quite frightened for a moment there.”
“I also felt that. It may be that her memory was not erased, but sealed deep inside her mind? In other words, that fright must have something to do with the Princess’s previous life. Fortunately, this is a different world, and I don’t think the Princess’s fate will follow her across the worlds.”
The anxiety remained. Even if it was only for a moment, it was an unusual fright. After all, the girl is not stable. If at all possible, I would like her to take her time and grow up slowly. What we can do is to extend that time, even if it’s only for a moment. Fortunately, I have tomorrow off. I will spend the whole day with her. When I go back to our country, I won’t be able to see her often due to my official duties, etc. So I would like my little sister to say, “I want to be your wife in the future.” (If she says that, I will marry her immediately.)
Also, the being called Teth, that is probably one of the pillars of the vanished Creator. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but from what Alicetia told me, he doesn’t seem like an evil fella.
“We will have to maintain the status quo for the time being, if we keep too much malice close to Alicetia she might become desensitized. It’s better here than at the royal palace… however, she’s not very good at making friends…”
She doesn’t have friends of the same age like I do, simply because there weren’t any high-ranking noble young ladies, and she lives her life quietly in the background, so she has many acquaintances but only a few people she can call friends.
I’m worried. As her older brother, I should support her in this area. Now that we finished talking, I left the room too. There was only one destination.
“Your Highness, Princess is asleep. Do not enter the bedchamber of a sleeping maiden.”
“You did not say anything earlier.”
“I had just been contacted by the Black Ops. I have been instructed by His Majesty not to leave you alone in her chambers.”
… As expected of my Father. He has sensed my desire to sleep together with Alicetia in one bed.
“… I will retire quietly for today. The sleeping tiger might burn the inn down if I wake her up.”
“That’s a wise decision.”
The reason why there is only one maid by Alicetia’s side is simple. She is famous even in the royal palace for her bad sleeping habits, thus, no one but Alicia can work with her, as her unpredictable behavior is too much for the normal royal maids whom most are also women of noble birth. In addition, Alicetia is far more terrifying than Mother when she wakes up from sleep. Let’s just say that today was still a good day for me.