In the castle of the Albatro Principality, I let out a deep breath, alone.
It had been intense. I wonder how much I've been worrying since I took Leo's place.
To be honest, I'm tired. Pretending to be someone I'm not is exhausting.
"I wonder how Leo is doing..."
I'm worried about him too.
I want to believe that Elna is making him act like Al.
If I'm going to keep up the act, he has to as well.
But I can see that he's struggling more than I am. Leo isn't used to slacking off or living that way.
It's hard to do something you've never experienced.
"Well, there's no point in worrying about it..."
I can only hope he's doing well.
There are other things I need to consider.
The sea dragon, Leviathan.
It's definitely an S-rank or higher monster. There are two quick methods to defeat it that I can think of.
Either I go as Silver, or I get the emperor to send a representative to give Elna the holy sword. One of the two.
But Silver has no reason to come to the south. The Adventurers' Guild probably hasn't received any requests yet.
On the other hand, it will take time for the emperor's representative to travel back and forth.
Neither option is ideal.
"What should I do?"
As I was thinking, there was a knock on my door.
I wanted to be alone, but I straightened my disheveled clothes and hair and responded in a clear voice.
"Come in."
"Excuse me. Eva has come to express her gratitude."
Eva, dressed in a dress, entered.
She's regained consciousness. I wish she had woken up sooner. If she had, we wouldn't have had to take such risks. I tried not to let any of this show on my face and forced a sweet smile.
"I'm glad you're well, Princess Eva. Are you able to walk now?"
"Yes... Thank you for saving me. Everyone says it's thanks to Prince Leonardo. They say you were very kind and brave."
"That's too kind. The crew of our empire worked hard to rescue the survivors, including you. If anyone deserves praise, it's them."
"Well... As Giulio's sister, I want to thank you deeply. I heard you were the first to jump into the sea to save Giulio, even though there might have been a sea dragon. That's truly heroic."
"I was just in a state of mindless action."
Eva smiled gently at my response.
I felt my cheeks twitch.
I've seen this scene many times, but from the outside.
Every time Leo does something heroic, the noblewomen get excited. Eva's reaction is similar. She's getting excited over the heroic Leo who saved lives without fear of the sea dragon.
I wish she wouldn't look at me so intensely.
Because I'm Al. It's really troublesome.
"By the way, how is Prince Giulio?"
"He just woke up. He was thanking the prince. He said you're his ideal prince and that he wants to be like you someday."
"Is that so..."
Heated by his sister, admired by his brother.
This is bad. It's going to be a hassle when we switch back.
What should I do? Should I do something to make her dislike me?
No, that's impossible. I can't do much to the princess or prince of Albatro within the principality. If I do something unnatural, it might expose the switch.
But if I keep acting as Leo, the excitement will grow, and eventually, it will turn into love. I've seen this happen many times.
Eva is already infatuated with the handsome prince of a great country.
It's not surprising. Girls at this age are easily smitten and dreamy. Plus, Leonardo Rakes Ardor has the perfect qualities to appeal to such dreamy girls.
He's a prince, handsome, kind, and can do anything.
I'm not bad at the first three, but the last one is the difference between me and him. Yeah.
Even though we have the same face, I've never been called handsome.
"Prince Leonardo, shall we go inside your room?"
"Eh, oh..."
She's surprisingly forward. Maybe she's not my type.
Due to my trauma from Elna when we were young, I'm not good with active women. Of course, I'm not good with Elna either. But she's an old friend, and I know how to handle her.
But a forward girl I don't know is a bit much.
"Am I intruding...?"
"No, I was just writing a report to the empire. I thought I was busy, but I was also drawn to your offer, Princess Eva."
"Oh..."
Eva blushed and covered her face with her hands.
Oh, what should I do?
I've gone out and played with women many times, but I've never been approached like this.
I don't know how to politely decline, and I can't lower Leo's popularity.
"Excuse me for disturbing you. I'll come back another time. How about we have a meal together next time?"
"I'd be happy to, if my schedule allows."
I gave a safe answer with a smile and closed the door as soon as Eva left.
"This is bad... This is really bad..."
How do I explain this to Leo?
Sorry, a princess fell in love with me?
No, that's definitely not good.
I need to cut off her infatuated admiration somehow. She's just excited about the heroic prince who saved her and her brother. If I don't do anything, her feelings will eventually fade.
"Calm down, me. It's okay, me. I've solved bigger problems than this. I can do it."
With that resolve, I turned to my desk.
No matter what, I'm Leo now, and I need to send a report to the empire.
But how should I report it?
Should I honestly say we switched places? No, that would reveal to the upper echelons of the empire that I can act as Leo.
That's not good. Very not good.
I still want them to underestimate me a bit.
I guess I have to report as Leo.
"How would Leo report this?"
By the time it reaches them, the situation will have changed.
I should report the current situation and look ahead.
The appearance of the sea dragon could cause significant damage to the empire.
To maintain good relations with the Albatro Principality, I should request permission to use the holy sword from my father as a full envoy.
It's a scary thought that by the time this reaches them, a country in the south might have disappeared.
"It would be helpful if the Adventurers' Guild would take the request, but that's probably too much to ask."
The Albatro Principality has a strong navy due to its maritime trade, but its army is weak. On the other hand, the Rondine Principality has a strong army but a weaker navy.
So, whenever Rondine attacks, it's always by land.
To deal with the aggressive Rondine, Albatro has borrowed troops and equipment from friendly countries. This means that despite appearing prosperous, Albatro isn't that wealthy.
Of course, it's not poor, but if they request a dragon slaying from the Adventurers' Guild, it will cause problems when they need to borrow troops and equipment from other countries.
That's why Albatro doesn't immediately request help from the Adventurers' Guild.
To improve this, we need to deal with the Rondine Principality.
If we can handle Rondine, Albatro can focus on the dragon.
"For now, let's deal with Rondine."
With that plan in mind, I started writing the report to the empire, considering the future developments.