Chapter 75: Absolute Zero Gaze

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Translator: Soafp

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For several days after that, I went to check on the clinic together with Victoria.

The second prince was still getting hit by Nee-san's backhand and bleeding from the nose as usual, but he kept proposing again and again without getting discouraged.

“He really doesn't seem like a bad person after all.”

“Mm. He's definitely eccentric, but he seems like a genuinely nice guy.”

“Not yet!! He's just pretending to be nice because Fran-sama is watching!! I'll absolutely expose his true nature!!”

Christina snorted and glared intensely as she tried to dig up the second prince's hidden side.

Stalkers are scary.

“By the way, Christina Onee-sama.”

“Yes?”

“We'll be returning to the kingdom by next week. Have you finished your duties as a princess?”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Princess Victoria, what kind of work is she supposed to be doing?”

If this were about the diplomatic delegation, the person in charge was Duke A**l's son, so Christina shouldn't be involved.

At most, she'd just be attending imperial high-society events as royalty.

As I tilted my head in confusion, Victoria explained.

“Christina Onee-san doesn't have a fiancé, so princes who want to become the next emperor are approaching her. Her job is to gently turn them down.”

“Oh. Why turn them down?”

“Because we don't want to get dragged into another country's succession dispute.”

“I see.”

So this is what politics is like.

“By the way, I was approached too.”

“I see.”

“…Mm. You're not jealous?”

Victoria tugged on my sleeve and puffed out her lips unhappily.

Was she hoping I'd be jealous?

“You turned them down, right?”

“Mm, of course. I'm devoted and not the type to cheat. I'm not interested in other men.”

“Then I don't really have anything to say.”

“Then what if I hadn't turned them down?”

…How am I supposed to answer this?

If Victoria accepted the advances of an imperial prince, there really wouldn't be anything I could say.

She'd cancel our engagement and—

“…That doesn't sit right with me.”

I can't put it into words well, but it doesn't feel good.

If Victoria, who knows No-Face's true identity, married into the Empire, I'd be able to openly use alley healing back in the kingdom.

Is this… jealousy? Or possessiveness?

It's a feeling I've never had before, and I don't really know what to do with it.

“Well, in that case… I'd probably use force.”

“Force?”

“You know, like in those stories where someone goes to steal the bride. Something like that.”

“Mm. That might actually make me happy…♡”

“…Now that I think about it, I just said something extremely embarrassing.”

While Victoria and I were having that conversation—

“There's a part of me that envies how close my adorable little Nee-chan and her fiancé are…”

“Mm. Christina Onee-sama has No-Face, so you should hurry up and find No-Face and flirt with him.”

“Yes, exactly!! Victoria is absolutely right!!”

“Fuf.”

Making sure Christina couldn't see, Victoria smiled smugly to herself.

Yikes.

“Of course No-Face is important, but right now it's Fran-sama!! Ah, the second prince just left the clinic!! Let's follow him!!”

“Mm. Let's go.”

“…Are we really still doing this?”

Christina chased after the second prince as he left the clinic.

Victoria and I followed behind.

“Look!! That prince just went into a suspicious-looking shop!!”

“Mm. We might be able to see inside from the window.”

“But the window's kind of high… Ah! Ask-sama!! Please crouch down a little!!”

“Huh? Ah, okay.”

As instructed, I crouched down in the alley beside the building the second prince had entered, and Christina climbed onto my shoulders.

In other words, a shoulder ride.

The problem was that Christina was wearing a skirt chosen for easy movement while tailing the prince.

She didn't seem to realize it, but…

My head went straight up under Christina's skirt.

“I think I can see inside now!!”

“Jiiii—”

“Princess Christina, I feel like Princess Victoria is staring at me really hard.”

“Jiiii—”

As I broke into a cold sweat under that gaze—no, that absolute zero stare—Christina spoke.

“…It looks like a flower shop.”

“Mm. Maybe he's deciding what kind of bouquet to give sister-in-law Fran tomorrow.”

“Can we go home already? I'm starting to get bored.”

That was when it happened.

“Hey, you there!! What do you think you're doing in a place like that!!”

“Eek!?”

Startled by the sudden voice from behind us, Christina panicked and fell over, pushing me down with her.

Something soft and large pressed against my face.

At the same time, Victoria's gaze dropped below ‘cold' and reached ‘absolute zero'.

Hey, this isn't my fault, okay?

The one at fault is the person who suddenly spoke to us—wait, that voice sounds familiar…

“Lidiel?”

“Ask!? W-wait, wh-what are you doing!? And that person—she's from the kingdom, right!? D-don't tell me she's your fiancée's sister and—!?”

“Mm. What kind of delusion is that?”

“Eek!! Princess Victoria is here too!? Then does that mean the two sisters together—!?”

What on earth is Lidiel imagining?

Since things were about to get very strange, I explained the situation to her.

“I see… So the woman Prince Sidin is obsessed with is your sister, Ask…”

“But you came at just the right time, Lidiel-sama.”

“Ah, yes. What is it, Princess Christina?”

“I'll ask you directly!! What kind of person is the second prince!?”

“Huh? Um, well…”

Lidiel groaned, struggling to put together an awkward answer.

“Well… I don't think he's a bad person. Personally, I don't like him very much, though.”

“Mm. Why not?”

“He has this sort of chosen-elite mindset, and often talks down to fourth- and fifth-class citizens… though, to be fair, most royals are like that.”

“Just as I thought!! People like that are always rotten on the inside!! We absolutely must protect Fran-sama from the second prince!!”

Christina stormed off, snorting furiously.

I'm curious what she plans to do, but getting dragged into it sounds like a hassle, so I'll pretend I didn't see anything.