episode_0463

The academy’s winter break began when the first snow fell.

If things had gone as planned, I would have gone back to Blackwood Manor to spend my third year’s winter break… no, my last winter break at the Academy. However, the carriage I was riding in was heading in a slightly different direction than the Blackwood estate.

…because I was heading to the palace of the Kingdom of Dephrin, a friendly nation bordering the Argentia Empire.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Ethan, I, and some of the warrior party were quietly looking at each other in a carriage that was wide enough to fit at least ten people.

To explain this abrupt journey to the Kingdom of Dephrin… we have to go back in time for about a week.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

-Hug.

“… … .”

“Ah, Princess Rainy. Are you doing well today?”

-Nod, nod.

The blue-haired princess who suddenly appeared out of nowhere at an unexpected time and grabbed the hem of my clothes.

Now, I’ve become quite accustomed to such sudden appearances. After meeting him several times at festivals and exchanging greetings like this, I’ve become quite familiar with his appearance.

Since he was a character that had been conquered in the original work, there was a certain level of personal interest.

“Are you looking for Master Ethan? He is probably at the Swordsmanship Training Grounds right now.”

“… … .”

-Twitching.

“Oh, really? Thank you for greeting me like this when I’m the only one.”

“… … .”

-Twitching.

“… … ?”

I don’t think what I just said was something that could be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

As I was flustered by the blue-haired princess who suddenly appeared and shook her head without saying a word, her attendant, Lydia, carefully handed me a letter.

“This is a letter from Princess Rainy. Please accept it, Miss Lilith.”

“Ah, yes… . Should I tell Master Ethan?”

“Huh? No. This is a letter from Princess Raini to Miss Lilith.”

“… … Yes?”

I almost blurted out, “What kind of letter is this when the person in question is right in front of me?” But then I realized that the person in question was Princess Raini, and I was convinced in my heart.

Just like in the original, normal conversational communication with her was impossible.

“Please read it as soon as possible after receiving it. And I am very sorry to have to tell you this, but… I ask that you please respond to the contents of the letter.”

“… … .”

“If you respond as written in the letter, the Deprin royal family will provide sufficient compensation to Miss Lilith. And Princess Raini has expressed her deepest apologies for having to convey her opinion in this way.”

-Nod, nod.

“Oh, yes… .”

“Please read the letter alone if possible. Then, goodbye.”

“Ah, goodbye… .”

Two people who leave behind a letter that gives off an unfortunate feeling just from hearing the explanation.

Actually, from the moment I received this ‘letter of misfortune’, I didn’t feel so good. After all, I knew best what this letter meant, having played ‘Luminor Academy’ 24.9 times.

‘A letter containing Princess Raini’s words… I can’t just ignore it.’

As I said before, Princess Raini’s unique magic was a special constitution called ‘bringing bad luck’. Instead of being born with all the bad luck that she would experience throughout her life, she could eliminate bad luck from the rest of her life.

And Princess Raini at this time is at the height of her power of misfortune, so every word she speaks is accompanied by a curse.

In the most extreme example, if Princess Raini gets mad at someone and tells them to “Get out of my sight!”, that person will actually die in an unfortunate accident shortly thereafter.

Her life itself is misfortune itself, and she is extremely limited in how she expresses her thoughts, not only by opening her mouth but also by writing. This letter is probably only one page long, but she probably spent quite a long time writing it in order to restrain her words as much as possible.

… I don’t know why I am the recipient of such an important letter and not Ethan or the warrior.

“Release, have you been waiting?”

“… No, Master Ethan. I didn’t wait that long.”

“Your complexion doesn’t look good. Is something bothering you?”

“… No, thank you for your concern.”

“If you have something on your mind, tell me anytime. I’ll listen to your story about Lilith as much as you want.”

“Thank you for your consideration, but it’s really nothing, so it’s okay.”

“… Yeah, release.”

Ethan looked at me with an expression that seemed to indicate that he had swallowed what he was about to say, but I didn’t have the luxury of caring.

Just this one letter from Princess Raini was enough to make my head spin.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

I returned to the dormitory in the evening after finishing class.

As usual, I let Ethan wash first, and then, when I was left alone, I took out the letter from my bosom.

‘Princess Raini’s letter… . Considering the timing, that’s probably the only one… .’

The salvation event during the third-year winter break can be said to be the core of Princess Raini’s strategy.

This event was also similar to Liliana Lara in that once you had built up a certain level of affection for the character, the character would ask for your help.

And the fact that she sent me this letter means that I am the person that Princess Raini likes the most right now… or that she thinks I could be of the most help.

‘I guess Ethan is the one I feel the most affection for, so I guess it’s fair to say he’s the one I think would be the most helpful in this case.’

It seems that he decided that it would be helpful after seeing Princess Raini’s one-on-one interaction at the cafe.

Other than that, it could be that she was making up for a play that was almost ruined by her unlucky constitution, or it could be that she just feels close to me because I am her fiancé Ethan’s personal maid.

It was a bit burdensome because the words were confirmed the moment I opened the letter, but I couldn’t just leave this ill-fated letter unread, so I checked Princess Raini’s letter according to Lydia’s advice to check it alone if possible.

“To Miss Release.

I invite you to the Kingdom Villa.

On the first day of winter vacation, we will prepare the carriage.

Rainy Ariete Deprin Dream.”

… It’s a letter just as I expected.

It may feel a bit too formal for a letter written by a princess of a country, but it couldn’t be helped since it was a letter written with as much restraint as possible.

And now that I have received this letter, I cannot refuse the request. It is problematic to refuse a request made directly by the princess of a country from my position, and if I refuse, something bad will happen to me or her because of the words I have spoken.

From the moment I received this letter, it meant that I had to go to the Kingdom of Dephrin during the winter break. Against my will.

‘The problem is that there’s no point in going to the Dephrin Kingdom alone.’

… The final event to overcome Princess Raini’s bad luck was definitely not an event that I could overcome alone.

Even though I was strong enough to be released at this point, I wasn’t strong enough to be able to block the invasion of the Kingdom Villa by myself.

‘First of all, a warrior is a prerequisite, and I’ll need to bring a few more people from the warrior party. It might be good to bring Ethan too, but hmm…’

“Release, you can come in now.”

“… Ah, yes.”

“What’s that letter? Is it a letter from a strange man? ”

“A letter from Princess Raini, Lord Ethan.”

“Ah, it’s a letter from the princess. … … Huh? Princess Raini?”

Just in case the power of the word was working on Ethan as well, I hurriedly put everything in order, put the letter back in my bosom, and carefully asked him about his plans for this winter vacation.

“Master Ethan.”

“Yeah, release.”

“Are you thinking of visiting the Kingdom of Dephrin this winter vacation?”

“… Kingdom of Dephrin?”

“As I said earlier, I have already received the princess’ invitation, so it is confirmed that I will visit.”

“… … .”

Ethan’s expression hardened for a moment as if he was displeased, but what could he do?

Even Ethan can’t ignore a letter written by the princess of a country.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The ‘Defrin Kingdom Expedition’ was created through that process.

Me, the recipient of the letter, and Ethan, who had no choice but to follow me. Gyeomjoseogi, whom I had personally contacted, and Silena, who was accompanying him as his partner. And Natalie, Thomas, and Agnes, who were among the warriors who could freely move across the border.

As a saint of the church, Serista was unable to freely travel across the border, so she was forced to miss this event. The same goes for Seraphine, a member of the royal family, and her escort, Luke.

So, the composition was like Ethan and I were added as extras to the remaining three members… In fact, the members themselves were similar to the original expedition team.

“Did Princess Raini send you a letter too, warrior?”

“… Well, that’s not it. I happened to have some business in the Deprin Kingdom. The princess said she was coming back for the winter break, so I asked if I could take her carriage, and she readily agreed. ”

“Why did you insist on taking the carriage that Lilith and I ride… No, that’s fine. There’s no point in talking about this now.”

Ethan, who was already upset about having to move to the neighboring kingdom, and Geumjo-segi, who was trying his best to hide the fact that I had delivered the contents of the letter and was joking around.

I just prayed that this anxious, time bomb-like atmosphere would never explode and just end.