CH 99

༺ Decrypting ༻

“Clana, wait…”

“Hurry, they’re going to close soon.”

Despite my best efforts, I was unable to stop as Clana urged me forward with palpable frustration

Although I initially thought to simply go along with her whims,I didn’t know that the dessert café would have such a romantic atmosphere to it.

“Clana, there’s this other place I know instead…”

“Are you saying we should go somewhere else after coming all the way here? I’m not wasting that much of my time for you.”

I expressed my reluctance and tried to avoid entering the café, but Clana obstinately persisted.

How could a person have changed so much after recalling a single covenant?

“Welco—”

Clana grabbed my hand and dragged me into the store. The clerk initially welcomed us with a cheerful expression but stiffened on the spot when she recognized us.

Indeed, it was quite reasonable to be shocked in such a situation.

After all, the Empire’s Third Imperial Princess and the firstborn son of a Duchy had stormed into their establishment in the middle of the night.

“Take us to your best seats and bring the most expensive items on the menu.”

“Y-Ye-Yes!”

The clerk stood there with her mouth open, staring at us in disbelief,, but swiftly regained her composure and left to prepare Clana’s order.

“Seeing how shocked she was, it doesn’t seem like you’ve been here before.”

“That’s none of your business.”

I had merely asked her out of pure curiosity, but only a brusque response came back.

“…I have visited a few times, a long time ago.”

She eventually ended up answering my question.

‘Long ago… is she talking about the previous timeline?’

I quietly entered the room when I noticed some bitterness in her words.

“You, come over for a moment.”

“Huh? Ah… yes.”

The room was intimately designed with an abundance of romantic decorations that just a glimpse of it could bring a blush to one’s face. As I gawked at the room, Clana summoned a waitress and whispered something into her ears.

“Understood. Then I’ll get it ready with that in mind…”

“Please and thank you.”

After expressing her gratitude and sending the waitress away, Clana turned to look at me.

“By any chance, were you connected to tonight’s incident as well?”

“Mm…”

I pondered for a while at her sudden question before snickering.

“And if I was?”

“Ha…”

I responded with a question to gauge her reaction, and Clana heaved a heavy sigh.

“Are you going to continue being so uncooperative even though we made a covenant with each other?

“A covenant you say…”

“That’s right. By constantly betraying me like this… you’re only providing me with a reason to turn my back on you.

Clana harshly scolded me, her voice tinged with noticeable irritation as she continued.

“And didn’t you swear that if you couldn’t make me into the Empress…”

“That I’d give you my everything?”

“Yes.”

Clana nodded as I recited the line that I heard in her subconsciousness along with Kania.

“If you keep interfering with my ascension to the throne…”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to offer myself up to you.”

Her face flushed red when I said that with a smile.

“Enough with your jokes.”

“Joke?”

“There’s no way you would just offer yourself to me. You wouldn’t have even bothered to cooperate with me if it weren’t for the covenant.”

Clana looked away as she retorted, and I asked her in a low voice.

“What if I’m not joking?”

“…Stop it.”

Clana gave me a cold glare as she released her solar mana.

I guess it was time I stopped teasing her.

“Hey, how much do you remember regarding what happened today?”

“Yes? Well, obviously…”

She appeared ready to reply immediately, but then she began hesitating.

“Huh? Uh? Hm…”

“Oh, the dessert’s here.”

“…Oh.”

I was able to get a rough grasp of her condition from her reactions. I quickly pointed and directed her attention to the dessert and she took a slice, still appearing troubled..

“Hm…..?”

However, the cake seemed familiar as if I had seen it many times before.

“A silver cat?”

It was identical to the one from my dreams and the custom order cake Kania had brought.

Now that I think about it, even in my dreams, it was always Clana who prepared the cake.

What a coincidence.

“Oh my, what are you two doing here?”

“…It’s you?”

A familiar voice suddenly echoed from behind Clana.

“Why are you here?”

“Imperial Princess, why did you drag Frey away?”

I stuck my head out, and as expected, it was Serena, petting her owl that was perched on top of her shoulder.

“I’m treating him out for his birthday since the party turned out to be a disaster. I have an obligation to do at least this much for him.”

“So you’re saying this is an impromptu birthday party?”

Clana quietly nodded her head and Serena’s lips curved into a smile.

“Then, I see no reason why I, as his fiancée, can’t join in.”

“Serena, I had no idea you were this rude.”

“But weren’t you the one who dragged him away without consulting me?”

“I have the authority and the right to do so.”

“I wonder… I believe I still surpass you in both those aspects.”

After vacantly listening in to their conversation, I whispered to Serena.

“Serena, how’s the follow-up to the situation back there coming along?

“It’s such a straightforward incident that even the incompetent imperial investigation squad will suffice. Not to mention, there’s nothing more to be done since the perpetrator has already escaped. However, we’ll still have to look into that suspicious person.”

“What about Kania?”

“…She said that there’s something else she needs to investigate.”

I slightly flinched at the piercing gleam in Serena’s eyes, but stood up in surprise when I noticed someone suddenly barge into the store.

“Princess Clana! Are you alright!?”

“Fer…loche?”

It was none other than Ferloche.

“What did that evil Frey do this time!?”

Ferloche was gasping for breath as if she had rushed all the way here without stopping. Shortly after, she noticed me and began running her mouth.

“You! Because of you, Princess Clana is…”

“Ferloche, sit down for now.”

“…Euuu.”

I hurriedly cut in before she could possibly trigger Clana’s memories of the Ordeal to resurface. Although she made a sulky pout, she plopped down onto the chair.

““……….””

The room was enveloped in silence.

“…Since I already had a birthday party with Kania and Irina, am I having one with them this time around?”

I remembered the information about my birthday party from the Prophecy and quietly asked Ferloche a question.

“How did you get here?”

“Ah, about that. I actually received an invitation to the ball as well, but I got lost…”

According to her, she had still been invited – despite her strained relationship with the imperial family – as a result of her role as the Saintess who only appeared once every 1000 years.

However, she had gotten lost after getting off her carriage to buy some firecrackers. Due to that, she had arrived late, and by then, the whole incident had transpired with the place getting completely wrecked.

In such a situation, she had asked around and found out where Clana and I were headed. Then, she rushed over here, worried I might have done something to Clana who recently had bad rumors circulating around her. And that was how our current situation came to be.

“So, why the firecrackers?”

“That’s… because it’s your birthday…”

After saying that, she pointed the firecracker towards me and pulled.

– Pababang!!

“…Lady Ferloche, that was very rude.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Ferloche appeared to have done it deliberately, but luckily, there were no problems since Serena was able to protect my face in time with her fan. Serena scoldedher, causing Ferloche to shrink  back and become slightly disheartened.

“But, what’s happening here?”

“…It’s a birthday party.”

“Yes?”

“We’re holding a birthday party for Frey.”

Clana averted her gaze as she trailed off, and Serena answered with a smile instead.

“That’s why there’s no need for Miss Ferloche to stay. You must be exhausted, so why don’t you head back…”

It appeared that Serena wanted to ride the momentum from her previous response to chase Ferloche away.

“I’ll stay!”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to stay to make sure Frey doesn’t harm Princess Clana!”

Serena simply sighed and sat right beside me as she saw Ferloche clenching her two fists with a resolute expression.

“…Then, please have a seat next to me.”

“Yes!”

Ferloche sat down once again a short distance from me while Clana, appearing somewhat displeased with the series of events, wished me a happy birthday as she brought out some candles.

“Anyways, happy birthday…”

That was the beginning of my small birthday party.

Out of all the birthday parties I had experienced thus far, I could count the ones that I’ve actually enjoyed on one hand, and this was definitely one of them.

.

.

.

.

.

“Your Highness Clana.”

“Yes?”

Whether it was due to his eagerness to the party or simply because the cake was just delicious, Frey eventually went to the restroom after consuming several portions more than he normally would. In his absence, Serena subtly initiated a conversation with Clana.

“What are your plans for Frey from here on out?”

“Hm…..”

Clana, who was quietly eating her cake, sighed.

“I still find him extremely despicable, but I guess I’ll have to try hard to rehabilitate him.”

“Why did you suddenly have a change of heart?”

Serena clearly remembered how Clana had consulted her for Frey’s assassination. Clana solemnly closed her eyes.

“…It’s nothing you need to know.”

“Hm…”

Having already heard the truth from Kania, Serena looked at Clana with a mysterious glint in her eyes before turning to Ferloche.

“Lady Ferloche, what about…”

“This tastes so good…!”

“…I see.”

Ferloche was like hamster, stuffing both her cheeks with the cake… Serena let out a sigh and averted her gaze.

“Serena, what have you been looking at so attentively?”

Clana tilted her head in confusion. She found it odd that Serena, who was typically infatuated with sweets, didn’t even glance at her cake, and was instead, staring at something else.

“I’m trying to solve a riddle.”

“There’s a riddle that not even you can solve?”

Serena’s serious answer piqued Clana’s curiosity.

Despite her earlier dislike for Serena, Clana was surprised to find that there was a riddle that Serena could not solve.

“It could be that there’s not enough information… or maybe I’m just overanalyzing it… It appears that I still have much to learn.”

Serena smiled bitterly. At that moment, Ferloche, who had been wolfing down the cake, opened her mouth.

“That riddle! I’ll solve it!”

“Yes?”

“I’m confident in solving riddles!”

Serena looked bemused as she gazed upon Ferloche’s sparkling eyes. She soon smiled and responded.

“Well, just like how there’s the proverb ‘Two heads are better than one,’ in the Eastern continent… Perhaps a fresh, unique perspective different from mine will help.”

“W-What does that mean?”

“…I’ll share the riddle with you, so mull over it. Of course, I’d greatly appreciate Miss Clana’s help as well.”

Ferloche’s face lit up in excitement while Clana nodded skeptically.

“‘One coincidence’, ‘Five enlightenments.’ And a… ‘Boomerang that passes between the half moon and the crescent moon.’”

““……?””

Both Clana and Ferloche wore puzzled expressions as soon as they heard the riddle.

“I think I roughly understand the first two… but I don’t have a clue for the last one.”

“What kind of…”

“Something feels off even when I compare it to a solar eclipse… and no related legends come to my mind either… Maybe it’s a metaphor? No. No matter how I look at it, I think I’m overthinking it…”

“Serena?”

“I even cross-checked with Frey by pretending that I couldn’t read it. I suspected there might have been a magic symbol that was only visible to the Starlight family, but he saw the same thing I did. So why…”

Clana scowled as Serena became lost in her thoughts while in the midst of her explanation.

“Hello? You should at least give us more information. What are we supposed to do if you only give us the riddle without the context…”

“We need to uncover the cryptic message behind the riddle. Solving it will reveal  a new path.”

“…Hm.”

As soon as Serena finished explaining, a long silence ensued.

“A half-moon and crescent moon… Wouldn’t it be related to the moon’s cycle? Or it could represent a solar eclipse…”

“I’ve already considered these possibilities.”

“Then it might be a metaphor.”

“…It might be.”

Ferloche, who had previously been confident, was now quiet. Instead, Clana was the one to break the silence as she curiously started exchanging ideas with Serena.

“Isn’t a boomerang… something that comes back? Maybe the boomerang passing through a half-moon and crescent moon represents something…”

“Hm…”

“Is there a term for the phase between a half-moon and a crescent moon? If it’s referring to that…”

“…There’s no such thing.”

Clana, who had been diligently offering her thoughts, slightly frowned at Serena’s quick rebuttal.

“As expected, I dislike the moon.”

“…………”

Serena briefly glared at Clana.

At that moment…

“Please get me a pen and paper!”

““What!?””

Ferloche looked proud of herself.

“If the text is insufficient, we can just try drawing it!”

.

.

.

.

.

At the same time.

“…Alright, this should be good enough.”

The Demon King had been running around for a while under the guise of a hero.

After finally distancing herself from places that were crowded by people, the Demon King’s lips lifted to form a smile.

“Now, it’ll finally start in full swing.”

“Start…?”

A girl clad in a black robe was following closely behind the Demon King.

“…What exactly will be starting?”

The girl’s left ring finger was shining bright.