◇15 Rust from One's Own Actions
Tifania, the third princess of the Menouet Kingdom, is a new character who, like Luca, appears in "2."
The boy guarding Tifania is one of the targets in "2."
In the Queen's Kingdom, men hold a lower status than women. As a result, Tifa treats the boy, who is one of the targets, like a servant, handling him roughly.
The protagonist, Estelle, communicates with the boy, who is suppressing his emotions and trying to serve the princess. Estelle makes a bet with Tifania to set the boy free.
There is a legendary item in the Queen's Kingdom. If they can acquire it, Estelle promises to free the boy from Tifania.
To obtain the treasure, the two venture into an ancient desert ruin.
They face life-threatening adventures in the ruins, and in the end, they manage to return with the treasure. As promised, the boy is freed from Tifania.
Of course, things don't go smoothly from there, as the legendary item goes out of control, and so on. In any case, if it's a True or Good End, the two will be together, but in the Bad End, the boy remains under Tifania's control. That's the general flow.
To put it simply, she's a selfish princess. Tifania's role is that of a villainess.
As you can probably tell, Sakuraile doesn't appear in this route—well, not in the main story.
Actually, in this route, there's a still shot showing the citizens of Menouet Kingdom getting swept away in a tornado due to the legendary item going berserk. Among the mob being blown away, Sakuraile's figure is depicted. It is most likely Sakuraile after being exiled. Such unnecessary additions!
There's no depiction of her death, so she might still be alive, but if she was blown so high up, she'd undoubtedly be seriously injured.
I kind of feel the staff's malice here… Though, when I spotted her among the mob, I couldn't help but laugh. I can't laugh now, though.
"I heard that the Princess Lucari from Prelude is here, so I came to greet her, but this is quite interesting."
I stood up from my chair and gave a slight curtsey to greet Princess Tifania.
"I am the daughter of Cloud Li Philharmonie, Duke of Symphonia Empire, Sakuraile La Philharmonic. As for you, Princess…"
"Oh, that's fine, no need for such a long greeting. Treat me like Lucari did. I'm tired of being treated with such formality even when I come to another country."
Tifania waved her hand dismissively. Right. This was the kind of character she was. She hadn't changed since childhood.
Tifania is selfish, but not too harsh toward women. However, she becomes much stricter with men and often speaks sarcastically. It's said to be the culture of her country…
"More importantly, won't you let me join in the fun? I've gotten tired from greeting nobles. I want to play for a bit."
If you're tired, why not just sit down in a chair and rest? I can't bring myself to say it. Wait. Didn't she just say we should treat her like Luca?
"By 'treat like Luca,' does that mean we should speak to you casually, like friends…?"
"That's fine. Can I also call you Luca?"
"Sure, then I'll call you Tifa."
It seems Luca and Tifania have come to an agreement. Estelle is still flustered. It's no wonder. She just got used to Luca, and now another princess is here.
I glanced at Tifania's guard. He was a young man dressed in Arabian-style clothing, with dark skin and a turban-like cloth wrapped around his head.
He clearly isn't the target boy. Maybe he's not even hired as her guard yet.
"Well then, please sit here. We'll start from the beginning."
"Yes, I look forward to it."
We began to play the games we had started earlier with Tifa joining in. Old Maid, Concentration, Poker, and a new game, Seven Uno.
"Ngh!? Luca! You're stopping with the Heart 5!"
"Strategy. You should play Clover 9 quickly. Come on!"
"Ah, well, I'll place the Spade 4 here, and I win…"
"Estelle!?"
And just like that, we all ended up playing cards together. I can't help but think that everyone here is still a child, though I suppose I am too.
The two princesses care about winning, but they don't seem too desperate about it. They genuinely seem to be enjoying the game.
I should be thankful for that since it would be troublesome if they became hostile with each other. However, Estelle seems to be getting a bit overwhelmed by being caught between them. Sorry, Estelle. Hang in there...
"This 'trump' game is fun. What about you, Sakuraile? Could you give this to me?"
"That's unfair! I want one too. I want to play with my older brother in Prelude."
"I’ll deliver them to you later when I get back home. Are you both staying here in the Empire for a while?"
If they're leaving after the party, it might be difficult for me to deliver them.
"Yes, we’re planning to stay until the founding festival a week later. Such an opportunity doesn't come often."
"Me too. I'd be happy if you could deliver them to my hotel. It’ll keep me entertained until then."
The founding festival, huh? I remember seeing it in the Elliot route. It’s the one where the protagonist, Estelle, goes on a date with Elliot. That one was set several years after the founding festival.
The protagonist, Estelle, has been glancing between the card game and me nervously.
"Ah, of course, I'll give one to you too, Estelle."
"Ah! Thank you very much!"
Maybe she found it hard to say that after the two princesses spoke up. She really didn’t need to be so polite.
"By the way, why did Luca and Tifa come to this birthday party?"
I asked a question that had been on my mind for a while. Both of them had never been to the Symphonia Empire before, so why were they invited to the birthday party?
"Well, it’s because an invitation came from Symphonia. Not from my sisters or my younger sister, but specifically for me."
"Same here. They did write that if you want, you can invite your brother, though."
So we invited them? Could it be that the history of the game is changing?
"Well, it’s probably because of a meeting with the Crown Prince. After returning to the country, Symphonia might offer one of us, either Luca or me, an engagement proposal."
"Eh!?"
What does that mean!? Wait, so because I rejected my engagement to Elliot, the focus has shifted to Luca and Tifa!?
Does this mean I’m the one who caused this situation!? This truly is what they call 'the rust from one’s own actions'...
"...I-I’m terribly sorry..."
"Huh? What's this all of a sudden?"
"S-Sakuraile, you're strange."
I collapsed onto the table, deeply apologizing. Ugh... the guilt is overwhelming... Because I didn't want to marry, I ended up putting this burden on these two...
Normally, people might be happy about an engagement to the Crown Prince, but that’s not necessarily the case for them. Considering their countries, even if they don’t want to marry, they might be forced to.
"If you really don't want to, you can refuse the engagement with our Crown Prince! I’ll help you, I promise!"
In my overwhelming sense of guilt, I blurted out those words. The two of them, however, looked completely confused and stared at me with blank expressions.
Well, from the way it sounds, I’ve made Elliot seem like a huge liability, haven't I? I feel terrible.
"I met the Crown Prince earlier... Well, I didn’t feel anything particularly special, really. If he had a little more ambition, he'd be underestimated as king. It left me wanting a bit more."
"I don’t remember much... What did we talk about?"
Tifa’s harsh words aside, Luca's comments were especially brutal. We only met him a while ago, right? Looks like these two have no interest in Elliot at all.
"Don’t worry. No woman from Menouet would marry a man she doesn’t desire. At least not right now, I have no interest in that."
"For me, it’s not possible to marry someone from another country anyway. My father wouldn’t allow it, so I’m fine."
Hmmm... I mean, I don’t want to say it, but I almost feel sorry for Elliot now. Well, Elliot probably has no shortage of options, so he should be fine.
"Forget that! Let’s continue! This time, I won’t lose!"
"Hmph, I won’t lose either."
The two of them grinned as they began collecting the scattered cards on the table.
Hmm... I think the Empire invited these two in the hopes of fostering a good relationship with both the Queen's and King's countries, but it feels like our country is being left out...
Wait, I’m from the Empire too, so maybe it’s not a problem for me. The real issue might be that the person who established these ties isn’t Elliot, but me, a Duke’s daughter, and Estelle, a Baroness from the borderlands. I hope it doesn't become a problem later on.
As the birthday party continued smoothly, we spent our time immersed in our card games. As a Duke’s daughter, I should probably be doing something more appropriate, but I’m deepening my bond with the two princesses, so I guess it can be said I’m setting an example of a good noblewoman... though, it’s a bit of a stretch.
There were other noblewomen watching us from a distance on the balcony, but they didn’t approach us.
Well, they probably wouldn’t casually talk to two princesses like that.
As for me? I doubt anyone recognizes me.
Hmm... I may not be able to make a grand entrance as the Philharmonie Duke's daughter, but at least I can quietly make my presence known, right?
As I thought about these things, the sound of lively music drifted from the party hall.
"It looks like the dance has started."
"Isn’t anyone going to dance?"
"I... I can’t dance..."
"I’m not interested either. My brother didn’t ask me to dance."
Dance is the highlight of any social event, yet no one seems eager to get up. I do feel a little bad for Alisa, the maid who prepared the dance, but honestly, I’d rather not dance if I can avoid it.
At parties like this, if a man invites you, you’re expected to dance unless it’s something really special. Otherwise, it would be rude.
Well, we haven’t even debuted in society yet, so maybe it’s not that big of a deal. But if we can avoid dancing, I’m all for it.
And so, we completely ignored the dance time and continued our card games. Yeah, I have to entertain the two princesses, so this is probably unavoidable, right?
As I made excuses in my mind, Tifa’s attendant, a young man, suddenly stepped forward.
"Princess, it’s about time you greeted His Majesty the Emperor…"
"Huh? You haven’t done that yet?"
At the young man’s words, I turned to Tifa in surprise.
"The main guest this time is the Crown Prince, right? I thought I’d greet him first and then go to the Emperor afterward."
"Oh, I haven’t done it either."
Luca turned to us with a look of realization. Hey, you two, aren’t you underestimating our king a little too much!?
"Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s go and get it over with quickly."
"I’ll go too. Sakuraile, Estelle, you two should come too."
"Huh!? Me too?"
Luca took Estelle’s hand and tried to pull her up from her seat. You can’t just invite people like you’re asking them to go to the restroom together!
But I decided to go along with them.
"This is a great opportunity since you've become acquainted with the princesses of both kingdoms. It wouldn’t hurt to have His Majesty remember your face, Estelle. It might even help your father."
If the four of us go together, we’ll definitely leave an impression. And for the Euphonium family, who only recently became nobility, that recognition could be a valuable asset.
"Oh? So you plan to use us for your benefit?"
"Oh dear, does that offend you?"
"Not at all. That’s exactly what it means to be a noble. You should use whatever you can for the sake of your family and your people. Of course, I’ll be doing the same."
Tifa smirked—an impressive villainous lady smile.
Estelle, though hesitant, decided to come along as well. It’s fine, no one's going to eat you alive.
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