◇13 The Crown Prince's Misfortune
Wait, wait, hold on a second.
Why is Lucari, the villainess from "2," here!?
I thought Lucari had never come to the Symphony Empire before...!
Lucari tilts her head with a sad look at my confused expression.
"Ramune... is it not good?"
"Ah... sorry. I didn't expect you to be the princess of Prelude Kingdom..."
In a hurry, I pull out a ramune from my pocket, the same one I gave to Estelle earlier, and hand it to Lucari.
Yes. Lucari is a princess. She is the villainess and the younger sister of one of the romantic interests in "2."
In "Starlight Symphony," the term "villainess" doesn't refer to a character who does bad things, but to someone who interferes with the heroine's love life.
Lucari is the villainess who interferes with the relationship between her older brother, the prince of Prelude Kingdom, and the heroine.
"...!? It's delicious! Amazing! This is amazing!"
Lucari exclaims with excitement as she puts the ramune in her mouth. She doesn’t really seem like a princess at all.
"Let me introduce myself properly. I am the daughter of Cloud Li Philharmonie, Duke of Philharmonie, Sakuraile La Philharmonic."
"Ah, I-I am the daughter of Robert Klein Euphonium, Baron Euphonium, Estelle Klein Euphonium!"
Estelle hurriedly curtsies and introduces herself after me.
"Hmm. No need for formalities. This isn't my country, so don't worry about it. By the way, do you have more of this?"
"Eh...? Well... I have some more, but not a lot. If you're in my country, I'd have tons of it, though..."
"Really!?"
I start using more casual language as Lucari suggested. This is the kind of free-spirited character she is.
To explain a little about the story of "2," it begins when Estelle, who finished "1" without pairing up with anyone, is now a second-year student in high school.
Lucari’s older brother, the prince, appears as a senior character.
Estelle becomes friends with this senior prince, but his younger sister, Lucari, tries to interfere with their relationship in various ways.
Huh? You don’t think she seems like the type, right?
You're right. In fact, there's someone behind the scenes who spreads false rumors about Estelle, making Lucari believe them.
That person is none other than me—Sakuraile, who was exiled from the country, changed my appearance, and became a maid in Prelude Kingdom.
Now that I think about it, isn’t it kind of unfair that I was exiled even though Estelle didn’t end up with anyone? Sure, I did a lot of bad things, but still…
Anyway, Lucari believes the lies I told her and bothers Estelle. Some of these things could have even been life-threatening.
In the end, my plot is uncovered, and I am condemned by Estelle and her romantic interest, the prince. I think I got sentenced to decades of imprisonment or something...?
Lucari eventually apologizes to Estelle, and the prince and Estelle end up together in a happy ending.
As you'll see, Lucari... or "Luca" as she’s called, is actually a kind-hearted and honest girl. It was just that I was a bad person in the game... Well, in the game, that is.
I hand her another ramune, and this time she slowly savors the taste, her mouth moving with each bite.
"It's delicious...! We don't have this in Prelude. Do they sell this in your country?"
"Well, it's my special recipe... Would you like me to send some to your hotel later?"
"Really!? I’d be so happy! Thank you, Sakuraile!"
Lucari grabs both my hands and shakes them excitedly. Even though she’s a villainess from "2," it’s advantageous for the Philharmonie family to become close with a princess from another country.
The problem is with her older brother, the prince...
By the way, the hotel I mentioned is actually more like a guesthouse where important people from other countries are welcomed. The chefs and servants who work there are often from the visiting country, so you can choose whether you want your country to take care of it or do it yourself.
Some people prefer their own country's staff because they worry about poisoning, so it’s a matter of security.
When we once hosted guests from the Allegretto Empire, who were on bad terms with us, the entire meal and services were handled by their people. It felt like they didn’t trust us at all. I think that kind of situation could be diplomatically awkward.
But I think that won’t be the case with Lucari.
"Ah, um... Lucari, did you come here alone? Is your brother not with you?"
"Just call me Luca. My attendants came along, but my brother couldn’t make it due to other business."
I let out a deep sigh of relief at Luca’s words. If the romantic interest from "2" shows up, I won’t know how to handle it!
But what’s going on here? Even though the main game hasn’t started yet, there are already parts that differ quite a bit from the setting.
Well, if the story followed the game’s plot, I’d end up ruined, so maybe I should welcome these unexpected developments? But now, things are so unpredictable...
As I’m deep in thought, I glance over at Luca, who has finished all the ramune and is now folding up the cellophane with a sad face. Oh, fine, fine.
I pull out all the snack treats from the hidden pockets. In addition to the ramune, there are candies, caramels, gummies, and the like. I didn’t bring any chocolate because it might melt.
"Estelle, you should eat too. I’m fine."
"Ah, thank you. Um, Luca, is it okay with you?"
"Of course. Let’s eat together."
It’s strange. The heroine and the villainess from "2" are happily eating snacks together. What is this...?
How did things end up like this? It feels a bit like a flag being raised, which is a little scary.
I haven’t even met any of the villainesses from "1," so why is "2"’s villainess here?
Could it be that I skipped past "1" and ended up on someone else’s route from "2?" No, my memory’s a bit fuzzy, but I did finish "2" back in middle school. There wasn’t any route like this...
I’m confused. This feels unsettling...
"Ah, so you were here."
"Ugh!?"
As I’m feeling anxious, I’m suddenly addressed by a familiar voice.
Turning around, I see Crown Prince Elliot, the main guest of the day, standing with one of his knights.
Today, he’s dressed in a regal outfit that makes him look even more princely than when I last saw him. His royal aura is undeniable.
Beside him, a red-haired boy looks at us with curious interest.
Gean Ludra Staccato. The son of the commander of the Seven Knights Order, and another one of the romantic interests.
Great, he brought along even more people!
"So, you’re Sakuraile, huh? I’m Gean! Nice to meet you!"
"Gean, she’s a duchess’s daughter. You should be more careful with your manners..."
"...No, Elliot, my father may be a duke, but I’m just the daughter of a noble. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gean-sama. I’m Sakuraile La Philharmonie."
"No need for the ‘-sama.’ I’m not that important!"
Gean flashes a carefree smile. This is definitely not the way a count’s son should speak to a duchess’s daughter.
Gean is this type of character. He’s fearless and friendly.
In other words, he’s overly familiar and doesn’t know proper etiquette. He should at least learn some manners, right? It’ll cause problems later on.
To be honest, he was one of the characters I wasn’t too fond of in the game. I still managed to complete the route, though...
"Sakurà ile, who are these two?"
"Ah, well, this is my friend—"
"Ah, haha, haha, nice to meet you, Your Highness! I’m the daughter of Robert Klein Euphonium, Baron Euphonium, Estelle Klein Euphonium!"
Estelle introduces herself with a curtsy, slightly stumbling over her words. Why is she so nervous? Though it’s kind of cute.
"Oh, you’re the daughter of the newly titled Baron Euphonium. Are you enjoying yourself? And you are...?"
Elliot seems to be less interested and now turns to Luca, who gives a light greeting.
"I’m Lucari de Prelude. Thank you for inviting me, Your Highness."
The mention of Prelude Kingdom causes both Elliot and Gean to widen their eyes slightly.
"You’re from... Prelude? I’m Elliot Li Symphony. Thank you for coming. Are you enjoying your time here?"
"Mm... no, I mean, yes. The sweets were delicious."
"I’m glad to hear that."
No, Elliot. The sweets she’s talking about are probably the snacks I gave her, not the cookies here.
"Estelle, I apologize for the distance you’ve traveled. I’m sure your father still has many things to do back at the estate."
"Ah, no! It’s an honor to be able to attend such a party! Thank you so much!"
Elliot addressed Estelle, and she’s visibly nervous. Ah, I’ve seen that expression in the game’s still images.
I suppose it’s understandable. She was a commoner until just recently.
Come to think of it, they were supposed to meet when Estelle entered the Academy.
They were supposed to bump into each other in town without realizing Elliot’s identity, and then have the “You’re that person from back then?!” moment at the Academy. That flag is definitely broken now.
I really don’t get it...
"Ah, Sakuraile, thank you again for the wonderful gift. Please pass my regards to my uncle as well."
"I’m glad you liked it."
The birthday present for Elliot has already been sent from the Duke’s household. It was one of those capsule toy animal figurines. If he’s happy with that, then it was worth it. Well, it was really cheap, though.
"By the way, Sakuraile. Look at this."
"Huh?"
Elliot received something from his guard and proudly handed it to me. A six-sided puzzle? All the sides are matched in color. Ah, he managed to do it.
"It’s finally done. It took quite a while, though..."
"Hey."
Clack clack clack clack clack clack clack.
"Wh-What!? N-No, nooo—ahhhhhh──────!?"
As soon as Elliot scrambled the completed six-sided puzzle into a chaotic mess, he let out a strange scream.
I glanced at him to see his face full of despair. It’s a little funny.
"Watch closely."
I quickly began to solve the scrambled puzzle again, aligning all the colors in just over a minute, and soon the puzzle was complete, with all sides matching again.
"Th-That was fast..."
"I think, Elliot, you probably completed it by accident, didn’t you? If you just moved the pieces randomly, it might have happened without you realizing. You probably don’t even know exactly how you ended up with that solution."
"Ugh..."
The six-sided puzzle is, as the name implies, a puzzle with a solution. If you know the method, solving it in this amount of time is perfectly feasible.
"I’ve heard that experts can solve it in just a few seconds."
"So fast!?"
Well, that’s for competitive puzzles, so it’d be impossible with this one.
"So, next time, try solving it while thinking it through. You’ll gradually understand the method. Once you figure it out, you can solve it from any configuration."
As I said this, I started scrambling the puzzle again.
"Ah, ah, aaahhh..."
Elliot let out a pathetic sound, but I ignored it.
Smiling sweetly, I returned the scrambled puzzle to Elliot, and Gene, who was standing beside him, stared at me in disbelief.
"You really don’t hold back, huh..."
"That’s what it means to master something."
I don’t actually plan on mastering it, though.
—