Ch.2Dubious First Meeting – 2

“Though you spoke only the truth, I regret that I could not give you my trust.”

The Crown Prince shook his head slightly. His dark black hair, which fell to his shoulders, swayed gracefully with the movement. His appearance was so androgynous that one might mistake him for a woman at first glance.

No, even upon closer inspection, his appearance was so androgynous that if someone claimed he was a woman, it would be accepted without much doubt. I was surprised that this person was the Crown Prince—it was somewhat different from what I had expected.

‘I thought I was going to get on someone’s bad side on my first day.’

And not just anyone’s, but the first in line to succession. I lightly brushed my chest and responded, trying to maintain my composure.

“It’s quite all right, Your Highness. I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t experienced it firsthand. Who would believe such an absurd excuse? I’d consider myself fortunate not to be scolded for talking nonsense.”

“Hahaha! I’m relieved to hear that!”

Seeing the Crown Prince completely dispel his suspicions, I relaxed and leaned back in my chair.

I had simply entered and sat quietly, but he had been counting numbers, then looked at me, was startled, and suddenly started crying uncontrollably? Honestly, even I wouldn’t believe such an excuse.

If even I, the person involved, thought so, how must it have seemed to him who entered midway? Naturally, he couldn’t believe it, and he wanted to take me outside to hear more details.

The orange-haired girl had intervened, stopping the Crown Prince. As soon as we tried to leave, she jumped up as if burned and grabbed my sleeve.

Despite crying profusely, she confirmed several times that what I said was true, which helped clear up the misunderstanding.

“It would be difficult for her to stand before the podium in that state, but there’s still plenty of time left, so don’t worry. The preceding events will take at least an hour, if not more.”

The preceding events must be the speeches by the chairman and principal. I thought to myself that even in a romance fantasy novel, long ceremonial speeches remained unchanged.

“Take good care of her. It seems there’s some connection between you two that I’m unaware of. You’re more suited for this role than I am.”

The Crown Prince whispered in a subtle voice after observing us. The orange-haired girl, still sniffling, was clutching my sleeve with all her might, refusing to let go.

Connection? But I was seeing her for the first time today. He seemed to have seriously misunderstood something based on what he saw.

“Come find me ten minutes before my turn begins. If you need more time, feel free to say so. I can buy you another hour on my own.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I’ll do my best to ensure that won’t be necessary, Your Highness.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it. Also—”

His voice dropped considerably. The smile on his androgynous face vanished instantly.

“Do remember that this is not merely an ordinary favor. I too am quite curious about what caused her to react in such a manner.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

He meant that he wanted me to tell him later why the orange-haired girl had cried.

Right, he must have had some ulterior motive. Why else would someone of the Crown Prince’s stature show such consideration to someone like me whom he’d just met?

Being the youngest son of the Crate family, there’s a possibility he might have investigated me beforehand, but this was definitely our first face-to-face meeting.

“I’ll be going now. I’ll come back later.”

After the Crown Prince left and we were alone, I looked down at the orange-haired girl who was still clutching my sleeve, refusing to let go.

After crying for over ten minutes, her eyes were bright red, her voice was cracked, and tear stains covered various parts of her body. Yet her hand gripping my collar showed no sign of letting go.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“…Sniff. Yes.”

“Good. Now, first, let go of this hand—”

“No, absolutely not!”

The girl jumped up and grabbed my wrist instead of my sleeve. It was a momentary action, but the force was strong enough to make me stagger. The obsession bordering on madness was visible in her eyes as she looked up at me.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ve even been ordered by His Highness to hear why you were crying, so why would I leave?”

“But…”

Seeing her determination to maintain her stubbornness even after I mentioned the Crown Prince, I sighed deeply and straightened my posture. There was no choice. I, being the sane one, had to give in first.

“Fine. Do as you wish.”

“…Mmm. Thank you.”

“So, why were you crying?”

I got straight to the point. The woman, hearing my question, stared blankly for a moment, then slowly caressed my hand that she was holding. Plop, plop. Transparent stains bloomed again on her white stockings.

“I’m happy, *sniff*, so happy…”

“Happy about what?”

“That you came in…”

“…Didn’t we just meet for the first time today?”

What could make a woman I met for the first time today cry tears of joy at the sight of me? I pondered deeply but couldn’t think of anything.

“No, it’s not like that… Originally, I mean… someone else should have entered here instead of you. Aria April, she was supposed to be the freshman valedictorian, but…”

‘Huh?’

I heard a familiar name. Aria April. The blonde, blue-eyed woman who introduced herself as the salutatorian. She was saying that woman was originally supposed to be the freshman valedictorian? The more I listened, the more confused I became.

“What do you mean she was ‘originally’ supposed to be the valedictorian?”

But there was something else I couldn’t just ignore.

“…Well, you see.”

The fingers gripping my hand tightened firmly. She squeezed so hard that her knuckles turned pale white. After staying silent for a while in that state, the orange-haired woman painfully opened her mouth to answer.

“The truth is… I’m a regressor.”

That’s quite a significant secret.

“So, to summarize what you’re saying—”

“I’m not your senior. I told you. My name is Priscilla Agnes.”

“To summarize what Agnes senior is saying—”

“Call me by my name.”

“To summarize what Senior Priscilla—”

“You don’t need to use honorifics either.”

“…To summarize what you, Priscilla, are saying.”

Only then did Priscilla nod with a satisfied expression. She still hadn’t let go of my hand.

“You were possessed in this story long before me, and even though you clearly saw the ending, the regression kept repeating endlessly? So you eventually half gave up your sanity because you couldn’t bear it?”

Nod, nod. Priscilla nodded much more vigorously than before. I leaned back against the sofa. Priscilla quickly leaned forward, afraid I might move away. Our shoulders, which had separated, touched again.

My mind was in turmoil. I never imagined there would be someone who was possessed here before me, and much earlier at that.

And that this person would be so broken.

“You said you don’t remember how many times the regression repeated?”

“Yes. After the 100th time, I didn’t want to count anymore… I felt like counting would only increase my despair… so…”

‘How terrible.’

I quietly shuddered inside after hearing her answer.

Starting as 15-year-old Priscilla Agnes and reaching the story’s ending at 20, the time she had lived through was at least well over 500 years.

The fact that she had regressed repeatedly over that enormous span of time was enough to make anyone lose their mind, but there was something even more horrifying.

“So warm…”

When I paused while shuddering, Priscilla smiled vacantly and rubbed my hand against her cheek. She didn’t care that her soft cheek was being squished into a strange shape.

‘I was wondering why she’s been so fixated on physical contact.’

The most horrifying thing was that whenever Priscilla tried to deviate from the “original story,” she would lose control of her body and be forced to move like the character.

Just like how in a linear single-player game, if you try to deviate from the set route, the game either stops progressing or kills the player to force the direction intended by the developers, Priscilla experienced the same thing.

No, it was even worse. At least in such games, the player’s control isn’t taken away just for going somewhere else.

‘She must have been longing for warmth.’

At first, I wondered why she wouldn’t let go of my sleeve, but after hearing her explanation, I felt immense pity for her.

She had been living as Priscilla Agnes since being possessed in this story, for hundreds of years.

If regressions repeated for hundreds of years, that alone would be painful, but Priscilla couldn’t even do anything of her own will. It was remarkable that she was even this sane.

“You said the restrictions were lifted after meeting me?”

“That’s right. The fact that I can be like this now is all thanks to you…”

Tears welled up again in her light brown pupils.

She said that according to the “original story,” she had to sit and wait for Aria April, and she couldn’t move at all, but as soon as she realized I had entered, she was able to move freely.

The tears burst out uncontrollably the moment she realized this fact.

“Um, I don’t know how this will sound to you.”

I placed my hand over hers. Priscilla looked at me with a surprised expression.

“You’ve been through a lot. Really.”

I meant it sincerely. As someone who had been pulled into another story and survived, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain Priscilla must have endured.

Priscilla heard my attempt at comfort, widened her tear-soaked eyes, and then trembled as she shed more thick droplets.

“Sniff… hic… th-thank… thank y-you…”

“I’m sure I told you to comfort the child, not make her cry again.”

And then, as the door opened, an androgynous voice was heard.

I checked the time, wondering how he managed to return at such a timing. Nearly an hour and a half had passed already. Just as he had said, it had indeed gone on for at least an hour.

“There were circumstances that made it unavoidable.”

“Hmm, is that so? I didn’t believe you earlier, so I’ll choose to believe you this time.”

The Crown Prince glanced at my side and took a step back. Though he said he would believe me this time because he hadn’t before, in reality, it was probably because he read Priscilla’s expression.

Priscilla was crying with a much brighter smile than before. It was enough of a difference to notice that some change had occurred in her feelings.

“Let’s end the small talk here. In ten minutes, we need to go before thousands of people to express our aspirations as valedictorians. What do you plan to do?”

As soon as he said that, Priscilla reacted. Her shoulders hunched, her thighs pressed together, and her body trembled. It was a natural reaction for something she must have done hundreds of times before.

I fell into thought for a moment, then magically summoned the speech that Priscilla was supposed to have read originally.

“Hmm?”

“…Huh?”

When I tore the speech I had summoned into shreds, the Crown Prince and Priscilla each showed different reactions. One’s eyes gleamed, while the other’s eyes widened in surprise.

The speech, torn into dozens of pieces, fluttered in the air. I snapped my fingers and burned even the remnants cleanly. Blood-red eyes, half-covered by jet-black hair, turned toward me.

“I’d like to know your intentions. Is there a special reason you’ve done this in front of me? One that could convince me?”

“I’m doing something good for the students. And it’s also good for Senior Priscilla.”

The Crown Prince merely made his eyes gleam without showing any other reaction. It meant for me to continue speaking.

“Since the preceding events were long, wouldn’t it be better for us to keep it short?”