Have We Met Before?

It was going to be a thoroughly chaotic day. A very long one, too.

First, just get inside.

Presepe drew a short, steadying breath. Then, slowly, she stepped into the banquet hall.

And in doing so, she failed to notice.

Far off.

Someone's eyes, hidden in the gaps of the crowd…….

Failed to notice that from the moment she stepped down from the carriage, those eyes had been dogging her without rest.

The celebration unfolded in precisely the order Presepe remembered. Dietrich made a dignified entrance and offered everyone present a brief word of thanks. Guests drifted together in twos and threes to trade pleasantries, while Presepe watched his mood with anxious care, terrified of giving him the slightest offense.

……No one new.

Seated quietly in her place, Presepe had been raking the hall like a madwoman from the very start. But it was the same as ever. What filled the banquet hall was nothing but disposable NPCs. Among the unfamiliar faces—the male leads excepted—not a single person showed an affection window.

And I'm running out of time…….

There was a reason for her impatience. In Normal Mode, Presepe had no one she knew and no one she could comfortably keep company with. Unable to endure the stifling press of it, she eventually slipped away alone and wandered the flower garden in lonely silence—and that was where the heart of this event began.

It was a mandatory event, so no choices were offered at all. Which meant, quite simply, that Presepe had no right to refuse.

No wonder she was frantic.

"……."

Regrettably, it was not long before the next event began.

Entirely against her will, Presepe turned her head and looked at Dietrich upon the imperial throne. He was deep in conversation with a noble from a neighboring empire and spared her not the slightest flicker of interest.

Before long she rose slowly from her seat and set off in search of the quietest place she could find, somewhere as empty of people as possible.

The place she went was the flower garden behind the banquet hall.

It was as still as she remembered, and just as quiet.

If things went the way they should, Atar would be appearing any moment now…….

The heart of this event: her first meetings with the male leads, Emperor Dietrich and Archmage Ivan excepted.

The order went like this. Presepe would meet Atar Hanan first and exchange greetings, and on the way back she would run into Noah Debern, Duke of the North. The moment Dietrich realized she had vanished, he would come charging in and find her. A stalker, plain and simple. And so Presepe would be returned to the banquet hall, where Dietrich would order Siegfried—the knight commander, who happened to be waiting for him—to take her to the tower. Presepe would go back with Siegfried, and the celebration event would end.

Yes. That was the correct order…….

But would Atar truly appear, the way he had in Normal Mode?

Atar's affection window and his Incident Log, both crammed with unknowable question marks. His illustration, smeared pitch-black as though someone had upended a bottle of black ink across it. All of it flashed through her mind.

And it was in that very instant.

"Lady Presepe."

A low voice came from behind her, and Presepe's head turned, slowly.

"There are guards, of course, but it is still dangerous for someone as beautiful as you to be alone in a place like this."

But the one who had called to her was not Atar.

"I am late in introducing myself. I am Noah Debern."

"……A pleasure. I am Presepe."

The line that had already been written for her slipped naturally from between her lips. She was almost grateful that the celebration event offered no choices. Better this than having that strange bug appear before her eyes again. This, at least, was easier on the heart.

But only one thought filled her mind.

Why is he the one who showed up? Where's Atar?

"It may sound rude of me, but I had a great many questions, and it is an honor to meet you like this."

Noah's eyes curved handsomely, and Presepe quietly met his gaze.

……Red hair stirring in the muggy wind. Chestnut-brown eyes that somehow carried a chill. Features so refined they were almost unfair. Noah Debern was exceedingly handsome, exceedingly beautiful—and the Presepe of now was not ignorant of the fact that what lay beneath was the exact opposite.

Yes. Of course he had been curious. The way a hobby of collecting taxidermied animals, sculptures, and famous paintings simply extends itself one step further.

"……Questions? You had questions about me?"

But contrary to everything racing through her head, Presepe only recited the scripted line with an innocent face.

"I am very fond of beautiful things."

"……."

"So I was merely curious. Whether you were truly as beautiful as people claim. And now that I have seen you with my own two eyes……."

Noah Debern let out a soft laugh and went on.

"I think I understand why such rumors spread."

"I'm not sure I follow what you……."

"You needn't. Beauty is always clearer when the one who possesses it does not recognize it—and it shines when someone appears who does."

……Silver-tongued pervert.

"You were taking the air, I see. If you do not mind, might I join you? As I said before, a place like this is dangerous for someone as beautiful as you."

Honestly, the man who had just said that was one of the dangerous elements himself.

"I…… well……."

She felt her clear cheeks flush. Not of her own will, of course. This was exactly what was wrong with the Presepe inside the game. Far too quick to blush, timid, and so lacking in any immunity to men it was almost impressive.

"Then let us go."

Noah smiled brightly and gestured.

Well, let him. It hardly mattered. Dietrich would show up before long, and Presepe was scheduled to be hauled off like a dog anyway.

……But what really happened to Atar?

She had taken exactly three steps with that thought when a voice reached her—one that sounded, somehow, irritated.

"Lady Presepe has a prior engagement with me."

It was Atar, his face twisted.

"……Prince Atar, is it not."

"If you know who I am, then you also know you ought to get out of here. Now."

Noah's left brow crooked, just slightly. A chronic habit of his, one that surfaced whenever his mood soured.

"Once our conversation is finished, I will see her back myself. So step aside."

"……."

"Now!"

Atar was a madman, but Noah was hardly his lesser. Noah, however, was a man who possessed something resembling intelligence. He would know perfectly well that however noble he might be, he could not pick a fight with Atar, royalty of a neighboring empire.

"……I see."

At last Noah conceded defeat, murmuring it with a frigid face.

"I have given offense. Prince Atar."

What on earth…….

What is even happening…….

"Lady Presepe, I shall take my leave, then. I hope there will be another chance to see you."

That was the end of it. Noah offered a proper bow and slowly withdrew.

And in the garden, now sunk into silence, there remained Presepe—who had not the faintest grasp of what was going on—and Atar, staring straight down at her.

"I took you for nothing more than some nobleman's daughter. Seems I was wrong."

It was Atar who broke the silence.

But why was he suddenly speaking down to her? Atar only dropped the formal register after he showed his true colors.

"They say your mother's infidelity came to light, and you were stripped of your rank as imperial princess."

"……."

"And yet I hear you remain in the Imperial Palace because of the Emperor."

"……."

"Presepe!"

"Yes—yes?"

Startled by the sudden bark, Presepe's lips moved on reflex.

And with that, she realized she could speak of her own free will.

Just as it had been last time, after she met Atar and selected that strange option.

"There's something I want to ask."

Atar, continuing slowly, wore an utterly unfamiliar look. A face that was, somehow, confused.

In other words—just like Presepe.

"Have you and I…… met before?"

"……What?"

"I'm asking if we knew each other. Originally."

……What?

Faced with a question from Atar she had never once imagined, Presepe could give no answer. She was unable to.

"……."

The gaze he fixed on her, gone rigid, was sharp beyond measure.

It was a gaze she had always known. The very same one that had watched her while shackles bound all four of her limbs and she writhed in pain.

"Judging by your reaction, it seems I haven't gone completely mad."

"……."

"Answer me."

Was this part of the event, too? Out of habit, Presepe looked above Atar's head, but…….

His affection was still nothing but unknowable question marks.

And not a single one of the choices that always appeared when she spoke with the characters showed itself.

"……."

The pink eyes that held all of Presepe gleamed with something sinister.

Atar's behavior was not without reason. He, too, was lost. He, too, was shaken.