Chapter 73: Detective Victoria

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Translator: Soafp

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“Seriously?”

I was left speechless after hearing about the second prince from Victoria.

For the sake of being with the one he loves? He gave up his right to the throne? I don't want to jump to conclusions, but… that person he loves isn't Nee-san, is it?

…Just to be safe, I should confirm it.

“Princess Victoria, by the way, do you know anything about the person the second prince loves?”

“She's a black-haired beauty, apparently from the Kishirika Kingdom. She has the same features as Sister-in-law Fran, so it surprised me.”

“Yeah, okay, that settles it.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“The woman that prince is talking about is probably Nee-san.”

Victoria froze on the spot, mouth hanging open.

Then, after a brief pause—

“Hm. This is definitely going to be interesting.”

Though expressionless as ever, Victoria's eyes sparkled brightly.

She looked genuinely excited.

Well, this world doesn't really have much entertainment beyond novels, plays, and board games. That reaction is understandable.

Even in my previous life, hearing about acquaintances' love lives was pretty entertaining.

Still—

“Please don't treat Nee-san like entertainment.”

“Ask, don't you find it interesting?”

“Extremely interesting.”

“Hm. We'll probably make a good married couple someday.”

As we were having that conversation—

[You two get along well.]

“Kyuuun.”

Chloe stared intently at me, while Kutama rubbed her head against me as if demanding attention.

If I responded to Chloe, Victoria—who couldn't see her—would give me strange looks, so I ignored Chloe and picked up Kutama instead.

Thanks to my careful grooming over the past few days, her fur had become silky smooth.

When I lightly rubbed the base of her tail, she happily rolled onto her back on my lap.

“…Jiiii.”

“Hm? What is it, Princess Victoria?”

“Kutama gets all the attention. That's unfair.”

“Oh.”

Victoria stood up from the sofa across from me, moved next to me, and placed her head on my lap.

“Ask should pet me more too. I am your fiancée. Show me more affection.”

“Uh, okay, I understa—”

“Kyuu!!”

That was the moment it happened.

Kutama smacked Victoria's face with her tail.

Victoria's nose turned red.

Seeing that, Kutama let out a smug little laugh, and Victoria lunged at her.

“I accept your challenge!!”

“Kyuu!!”

“Mgh!”

But Kutama latched straight onto Victoria's face.

“Mmm!! Mmm!!”

“Hmph.”

Unable to breathe properly, Victoria flailed around in distress.

Watching that, Kutama snorted triumphantly.

After managing to pry Kutama off her face, Victoria caught her breath.

They really get along well.

“Pwah!! Hah, hah… Hm. For a mere beast, you're quite capable. I suppose I can acknowledge you as my rival.”

“Rival? Kutama's just a fox, though.”

“Hm. If my intuition is correct, she's a lowly vixen pretending to be a beast to win Ask's affection.”

Pretending or not, she is actually a beast, though.

“Hm. Anyway, back to the topic—what are you going to do, Ask?”

“What do you mean?”

“About Sister-in-law Fran. I want to know how things turn out between her and the second prince.”

“…Hmm.”

Honestly, I'm curious too.

The Duke's son seems concerned as well, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to look into things a bit more.

“Then should we tail Nee-san?”

“Hm. If we're tailing someone, we'll need disguises. I'll call Maidol.”

“Eh?”

Victoria dashed out of the room and returned with a blindfolded maid.

“It has been some time, Ask-sama.”

“Hello.”

“Hm. What's wrong, Ask?”

“Fufufu, it seems you're being cautious of me.”

“Well… yes. Princess Victoria, please don't worry about it.”

I'd been drugged once before. I wasn't falling for the same trick twice.

As I stayed wary of Maidol, her gaze suddenly shifted to Kutama, who was lying belly-up on my lap.

“My, she's taken on quite an adorable form.”

“Kyuu?”

“Maidol? Is something wrong with Kutama?”

“No, it's nothing at all. I've prepared outfits suitable for tailing, so please get changed.”

And so, I changed into clothes meant for tailing Nee-san, but—

“Hm. When you say tailing, you think of detectives. Does it suit me?”

“It looks great on you, Princess Victoria.”

Victoria had tied up her silver hair into a ponytail, topped with a hat and a pair of glasses.

Her brown checkered outfit, combined with the long staff she held, made her look like a famous detective straight out of a novel.

As for me—

“Isn't there some malicious intent behind my outfit?”

“You're imagining things. No matter how you look at it, you're a filthy beggar vagrant.”

The clothes Maidol prepared for me were excessively tattered.

They also smelled bad.

It's hard to describe, but the stench was sharp and nose-stinging—like vomit.

“How did you even get something like this?”

“I stripped it from a vagrant in the slums of the Imperial Capital.”

“Oh, so it's the real deal. No thanks—change.”

“Maidol, did you rob him?”

“Of course not. I paid him properly and purchased it.”

I absolutely refused, so I changed into a detective-style outfit matching Victoria's, just in a different color.

After putting it on, I realized it was a kind of magical item—it slightly interfered with recognition.

In other words, wearing this outfit made it possible to tail Nee-san without being recognized as myself.

Of course, if someone close looked carefully from up close, they'd still notice…

Still, that just made it feel more like a proper tailing job, which got me a little excited.

“Hm. Different colors, but matching with Ask.”

“…When you put it like that, I feel a little embarrassed.”

“Tch.”

Maidol clicked her tongue quietly—too quietly for Victoria to hear—but I pretended not to notice.

“Hm. Thank you, Maidol.”

“It is my pleasure to be of service, Victoria-sama.”

Maidol bowed gracefully.

Victoria and I left the room and headed straight for one of the Imperial Capital's clinics where Nee-san was working—

And there, we witnessed something unexpected.

“My beloved Fran-sama!! Please, I beg you—marry me!!”

“You're interfering with my work. Get lost, or I'll kick you.”

“If anything, I welcome it—agh!! Ahh, Fran-sama!! Why is it that you always kick me in exactly the places I want you to!?”

“…Tch.”

There stood Nee-san, kicking away what appeared to be the second imperial prince, then clicking her tongue in irritation.

Uwa.