After a long time of receiving a massage from Seria’s fists, I was finally able to escape her assault.
She swung so hard that she even seemed a bit out of breath.
Working out this late at night? You’re quite diligent.
…Well, I doubt she planned to admit it so boldly.
It’s late, I’m sleepy and half-asleep, and seeing her randomly injured from somewhere made me panic, so my mouth just moved on its own.
But the truth I blurted out was just a crime that’s hard to overlook.
“What, do you have a problem with the Princess wandering around the Royal Palace?”
Trying to act tough now, but it’s too late.
I’m ready to tease her.
“Seria, that’s a crime. Ever heard of stalking?”
“It’s not like that!! I, I just tried tracking magic for the first time today…!”
“First-time offenders are still criminals.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not like that….”
Seria kept protesting, looking genuinely wronged.
In the end, I let it slide.
On the condition that she never uses tracking magic on me again.
“But I really wasn’t planning to use it again, you know.”
“The first time’s always the hardest. The second and third times are easier.”
“What do you even think of me, Rudion?”
“A stalker criminal?”
“You said you’d let it go!”
What a shameless guy. Thinking his crime would just wash away like that.
…Maybe I should stop teasing her. She’s been more concerned about my wounds for a while now.
Now, how do I explain this?
I thought about it, but no perfect lie came to mind.
“Why are you being so cautious? I won’t ask anymore, so just give me your arm. Let’s treat it first.”
But Seria was the one who brought it up first.
For a moment, I was too stunned to understand what she meant, so she continued indifferently.
“I’ve known you’ve been hiding things for a while now. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? Who do you take me for, an idiot…?”
…Well, yeah. It’s not like I’ve done weird things just once or twice. It would’ve been stranger if she hadn’t noticed.
But still, she’s willing to overlook such a suspicious situation? Why?
It’s not like I mind telling her things, but it’s more about whether she’ll believe me or not.
“Just give me your arm already.”
It’s obvious she’s curious, but she’s trying to act like she’s not.
How could she not notice with such obvious tells? What’s wrong with my instincts?
More importantly, when did she get the medicine and bandages? Did she bring them with magic while we were arguing?
I gave her my arm as she asked, and she started applying the medicine and wrapping the bandages.
But… her wrapping skills are seriously lacking.
“You’ve never done this before, have you?”
“Of course not. Usually, we heal right after getting hurt….”
As expected of the Royal Palace, maintaining a close relationship with the Trier family, experts in recovery.
There’s no way they’d leave wounds untreated.
If I wanted treatment now, I could get it immediately.
But Seria noticed that I didn’t really want that, so she’s doing this instead.
“I wondered why you had bandages you never use, but I guess today’s the day.”
But if you’re going to wrap it like that, you might as well not have done it.
That’s nice.
Princess? Bandages aren’t ribbons.
“All done. How does it look?”
“Thank you. But you’re not very good at this.”
“…I’ll undo it, so wrap it yourself.”
She can’t even do it right and then acts all high and mighty.
In the end, I had to rewrap the bandages myself.
As soon as the makeshift treatment was done, Seria hurriedly left.
“Well, I’ll be going now. Good night, Rudion.”
Seems like she’s embarrassed. As if she’s always been so confident.
What can I say? Suddenly, sleep just flew away.
Might as well read that borrowed book before sleeping.
I went through the trouble of borrowing it, so it feels wrong to leave it untouched.
So I opened the book… and before I knew it, I was asleep.
Books, man. Who needs sleeping pills?
—
“Princess, what brings you here at this hour?”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. I’ll head back to my room now.”
*Click.*
By the time I got back to my room, it was way past bedtime.
I lay down on the bed, but the things I did earlier came to mind, and my face heated up.
‘Why did I even say that back there…?’
*Thump! Thump!*
I took my frustration out on the blanket, but the heat in my face didn’t go away.
Of course, it’s true that I used a tracking spell.
But still…
“Why did Mom have to teach me that…?”
Honestly, it wasn’t entirely my will, so I ended up resenting the person who caused all this.
That’s right. Everything that happened was because of my mom.
After dinner, I was originally supposed to guide Rudion to the guest room.
But then my mom suddenly called for me, and I couldn’t do it.
In the end, I left Rudion’s guidance to a servant and went to answer my mom’s call.
“Mom, what did you call me for?”
“You’re here? Sit down first.”
When I opened the door to the room, my mom was already sitting at the table, as if she’d been waiting.
The table was loaded with my favorite desserts.
There was no reason or need to refuse, so I sat down as she said.
“So? How much do you like him?”
“…Huh?”
It was a trap.
Well, I kinda expected this conversation, but…
The moment I sat down—before I could even take a bite of dessert—she hit me with that curveball.
“Rudion, I mean. Of course, I still don’t want to give my daughter away, but giving my daughter love advice is kind of a romantic thing, don’t you think?”
When I didn’t answer right away, she added an explanation, but I still couldn’t respond.
How much do I like him?
[Current Affection Level: 39/100]
I can’t show her this. And saying “a lot” would be too embarrassing… It was such a tricky question.
But even my silence seemed to be an answer. The corner of my mom’s mouth curled up slightly.
“Let me give you some advice, Seria. In these matters, you have to take the lead. A guy like him is bound to have rivals, you know.”
“There must be someone who can be called, right?”
…
Hearing that, a certain person’s face suddenly came to mind.
Alkiné, the Student Council President.
The passion in her eyes whenever she looked at Rudion was definitely not just a simple emotion.
Lately, that passion seemed to have grown even stronger.
“Lilith also talks to him quite often, but…”
Still, it couldn’t be her. She didn’t seem particularly interested, and above all, she was too busy teasing Rudion and making fun of herself.
In the end, there was only one person who could be considered a rival at the moment.
“There… is someone.”
“Right?”
Alkiné. If you had to pick someone within the Academy who would fit by Rudion’s side, it would definitely be her.
Her combat skills were truly remarkable.
Even though she was always by Rudion’s side now… what if a dangerous situation arose?
What if they had to face a threat that she couldn’t handle?
If that happened… it was highly likely that those two would end up solving the problem together.
She didn’t like that. Just imagining the two of them growing closer made her feel like crying.
She had already confessed her feelings and left the choice to Rudion, but once that thought crossed her mind, the anxiety that followed was unavoidable.
“Want me to tell you the method my mom used?”
“…What is it?”
So, those words were like a ray of light to her.
That’s why she couldn’t refuse… but the content was so outrageous that she was left speechless.
“First, you use tracking and surveillance magic to figure out everything they’re doing. Then you’ll quickly know what they want. Once you target that, it’s over in an instant.”
It was more of a method, but it was closer to a crime committed with magic.
“I know. But it worked, didn’t it? And back then, your dad wasn’t the Emperor.”
She pointed that out, but her mother just calmly replied.
That made it even more absurd, so she couldn’t help but retort.
“He wasn’t the Emperor, but he was the Crown Prince, right?”
“Mmm~ that’s right.”
“That’s not something you can just brush off with ‘that’s right’…”
She knew it, but her mother was more incredible than she had imagined.
On the other hand, since there was no one who could oppose her, it was probably a feasible method, which made her somewhat admirable.
Thinking that, a certain assumption suddenly came to mind.
If she, a member of the royal family, used tracking and surveillance magic on Rudion, a commoner… would anyone really say anything?
“So? Don’t need it? I was going to teach you.”
“…”
She was clearly conflicted, but her heart had already made up its mind.
“You really don’t need it?”
“…Just teach me the tracking magic. That’s enough.”
“Hehe. I’ll teach you both, so you can figure it out yourself.”
And so, she made that decision.
Not learning the surveillance magic was the last bit of her conscience.
In the end, she was forced to learn it… but she didn’t really feel like using it.
Even though it felt like she was already going down the wrong path by learning the tracking magic, when you’re about to do something bad, you need some kind of rationalization.
It didn’t take long for her to put the tracking magic she learned to use.
Before bed. I just had to give him the ‘Journey of the Stars’ series I promised and let him use it.
I was worried that Rudion, who always noticed whenever I used magic, might catch on, but for some reason, he didn’t notice a thing.
It’s not like he’s pretending not to know. He’s not exactly a great actor.
After casting the tracking spell and returning to my room, I could clearly feel Rudion’s location.
Even though we should’ve been far apart, it felt like… we were in the same space together.
“If I keep this up, we can stay together like this forever.”
Of course, Rudion wouldn’t know, but it didn’t matter as long as I felt it.
This sensation… was enough for my own satisfaction.
But I didn’t plan on keeping the tracking spell active for long.
“Even if he doesn’t notice now, he might find out someday.”
Besides, this felt way too creepy.
I admit I’m a bit of a lightweight when it comes to romance, but I refuse to admit I’m a creep.
Not that I’ve never imagined such things… no, I haven’t. Absolutely not.
Whatever it is, this isn’t okay. I need to cancel the spell quickly…
“Huh?”
It was gone.
More precisely, it disappeared.
The target of the tracking spell vanished as if it never existed, leaving the spell lost and wandering.
Just a moment ago, it felt like we were together, but now it was gone, leaving me feeling empty.
This wasn’t the spell breaking. The target of the spell had disappeared.
Thinking something might’ve happened to Rudion, my body moved before I could think.
*Bang!*
I opened the door and retraced my steps.
Arriving at the guest room, I didn’t even knock—I just opened the door and went in.
“…Rudion? Where did you go?”
But the room was empty.
Only the books I’d lent him earlier were left on the desk.
There was no trace of Rudion anywhere.
The tracking spell I’d placed only pointed to the last spot he’d been standing.
…Why did he push the bookshelf aside? He always does that, but I still can’t understand him.
But I know he’s not the type to move bookshelves without a reason or disappear without a word.
“You’re coming back soon, right?”
Muttering to myself in the empty room, I waited for Rudion to return.
Then, suddenly, a flood of text appeared before my eyes.
[Trusting Wait. Affection increased by 1!]
[Affection level 40 achieved!]
[Special reward and exclusive stat acquired.]
[Affection reward: ‘Concept Manifestation’ bonus obtained.]
[Exclusive stat ‘Time’ has increased.]
[Current Time stat: 1]
[Time stat change confirmed.]
[Partial future known by the target has been revealed.]
“…Future?”
After reading all the text, I was filled with questions… but my mind started to fade, and I couldn’t think deeply anymore.
If I stayed still, I felt like I’d collapse, so I quickly pulled over a nearby chair and sat down, then passed out.
