episode_0195

Antonio Roberto Valtoria.

The 5th prince of the Valtoria Kingdom, and the unfortunate prince who was unexpectedly dragged into the power struggle due to the sudden death of the 1st prince.

In the game “Luminor Academy,” his original role was a mediocre supporting character in terms of abilities.

Although he could be recruited as a companion, his mediocre abilities meant that he couldn’t be kept for long, and instead, he could occasionally receive help as a noble character when Serafin was not available.

It was an unavoidable situation for Antonio. He was only ten years old when the succession was decided in favor of Philipson.

How could he have expected that five years later, Philipson would die, and he would be dragged into the power struggle?

While Serafin had some preparation through future sight, Antonio did not possess such abilities.

Thanks to this, from the player’s perspective, he was in a position where he could be used as a noble character without hindering Serafin, just ensuring his own safety.

Nevertheless, from an objective evaluation, he was quite a likable character. In “Luminor Academy,” except for Antonio and the youngest princess, all of Serafin’s siblings were either competitors or obstacles.

In other words, Antonio was supposed to play the role of a recluse, occasionally helping the protagonist as a potential companion without drawing attention from his siblings.

“Please accept my heart, Agnes Elizabeth Blaze!”

“What…?”

I couldn’t understand why he suddenly confessed to Agnes, with my current state of mind.

‘…What did I do wrong?’

No, come to think of it, maybe it wasn’t me but that guy, Ketmyojoshegiwat, who did something wrong. This time, I felt really unjustly treated.

After all, it had only been about six months since I got involved with Agnes, and by the time it reached Antonio, it was almost like we had just met.

Logically speaking, it was undoubtedly correct to think that someone from the hero side, not me, had caused some trouble.

…Yes, that’s right. After all, there is only one variable in this world, and it’s not just me.

And Ketmyojoshegiwat is in a position where he can enjoy an open-world RPG much more freely than me, who can’t go anywhere without Eden, so it’s not impossible to build a relationship with Antonio before the start of the second story…

“From the moment I first saw your beautiful magic, I completely fell for you!”

‘…Magic?’

“Two years ago, you appeared like a comet and saved the alumni of the palace from danger, allowing me to escape as well.”

‘…Two years ago? Palace alumni?’

“I have dreamed of the day I would meet you again since then. There were times when I thought we might never meet again.”

‘Wait, if this story is true…’

Two years ago, palace alumni, and magic.

The only event that overlapped with the keyword Agnes that I knew of was the incident that came to mind naturally during the masked ball of Serafin’s birthday celebration.

‘Wait, does that mean Agnes met Antonio before…’

Could it be that they met while defeating monsters at the palace alumni?

No, why doesn’t this Agnes person properly explain such important information?

Of course, there were times when I didn’t ask properly and just let it slide, but still, for an event of this magnitude, she should have explained it, right?

The successive bombshell statements from the sudden appearance of Prince Antonio were causing the atmosphere to become increasingly tense.

Unexpectedly caught in the gaze of others, Agnes was now sporting the most bewildered expression she had ever shown, rolling her eyes in confusion.

“I, I…”

“Yes, Miss Agnes!”

“I, I don’t know…!”

“…What?”

“Ah, ahhh, ahhh!!”

“Wait, Agnes!”

– Slam!

Overwhelmed by the stares, Agnes chose to flee without being able to handle it.

As Agnes rushed out of the Sunflower Hall at noon, Prince Antonio stood dumbfounded, reaching out with empty hands towards where she had been.

“Quickly bring back the person who just left! They might become a princess consort!”

“Yes!!!”

And immediately, the palace guards who were guarding the banquet rushed out to find Agnes and ran outside the banquet hall.

Taking advantage of the commotion, I also hurriedly ran out of the banquet hall.

“I’ll bring Agnes back! Ed, please wait a moment!”

“Lily?! Wait, why do you think Blaze is…?”

“It’s okay, I can find her!”

Even though I didn’t pay much attention to Agnes in my past life, I knew her basic habits.

So, for now, I had to find Agnes before the palace guards.

Whether I would persuade her to come back or let her go home, I would think about it after finding her.

***

Finding Agnes turned out to be surprisingly simple.

She had a certain rule of moving in a specific direction when faced with a difficult or embarrassing situation.

Even though I never intentionally pursued Agnes, I naturally learned this rule. After all, Agnes was a character with exceptional abilities, having brought her teammates along in nearly 20 out of 24 clears.

“Most likely, the palace guards have scattered to the entrance on the first floor.”

In situations like this, I thought she would run outside altogether.

Of course, the palace guards didn’t have the right to stop a noblewoman from returning home, but at least for now, Agnes had abruptly interrupted her conversation with Prince Antonio, the protagonist of the banquet.

At least I had an excuse to persuade her for a while.

“Originally, the assumption that Agnes ran away was probably wrong.”

Even if she faced a bewildering situation, Agnes was representing the Elizabeth family at this event.

To prevent her from being caught by the so-called ‘old-fashioned’ members of her family, she wouldn’t leave without permission.

Right now, she was probably looking for a place to be alone for a while, and I could roughly guess where she might be heading.

When she needed to think about something, she had a habit of fleeing to a ‘high place.’

“And the only high place she could flee to after running away from the Sunflower Hall at noon is…”

As soon as I opened the door leading to the outdoor garden, a red-haired lady came into view.

Whether by height or physique, it was unmistakably Agnes, who slowly walked out.

“Why did you suddenly run away, Miss Agnes?”

“…Oh, it’s you.”

“Who did you think it was?”

“…Either Seraphine or some unknown prince.”

Agnes’ situation wasn’t entirely wrong. After all, she found herself in a situation where she unexpectedly received a confession from Prince Antonio, whom she had never even thought about. Naturally, she could only see him as someone unfamiliar.

Based on their conversation from about 1-2 weeks ago, it didn’t seem like they had a deep connection. Antonio didn’t even seem to have heard of Agnes before today.

Curiosity naturally arose about the nature of their relationship, and she thought it might help to resolve her dilemma, so she decided to ask.

“What is your relationship with Prince Antonio?”

“…We have no relationship. We just know each other by face.”

“Prince Antonio doesn’t seem to think so. He mentioned meeting you before. When was that?”

“…Do you remember the day two years ago when the Serpent group attacked the palace?”

“Yes.”

“…He fought alongside me that day.”

It seemed plausible.

Well, considering the original game’s story, it was a logical explanation.

During the King Serpent attack, the fact that the North and West gates of the palace weren’t breached was due to the significant characters defending them.

At the Luminoir Academy, Orion defended the North gate during the attack, while Agnes and Seraphine defended the gate where the boss monster appeared. It was a fact that naturally emerged as the story progressed.

The South gate was breached due to lack of defense, leading to Lizzie’s death.

However, the East gate was a bit of an anomaly. If the monsters attacking were at a level that could be defended by palace guards, it was strange that the South gate fell but the East gate held.

But if Antonio had been involved in the defense, the story would have been different.

Even with mediocre stats, he was a capable individual due to his potential as a candidate for a comrade.

Of course, at that time, Antonio was only about fifteen years old, so he probably didn’t perform as well as other characters and likely suffered significant losses.

“At first, I didn’t even know he was a prince. I just thought he was a young knight among the guards.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. When we entered, a couple of people looked in danger, so I provided magical support from the back. The prince seemed tired, so he took a break, and then the rest of us took turns defending. That’s all.”

“It’s a less dramatic story than I expected.”

“…Did you think there would be a story of a prince on a white horse saving the day in a crisis? It was just that.”

Well, Agnes wasn’t particularly physically strong, so she probably didn’t find it as challenging. The guards who defended the East gate before Agnes arrived probably had a different perspective.

There was a possibility that the adrenaline of a life-threatening situation could be mistaken for love.

And the fact that casualties decreased when Agnes arrived was undeniable. In the original story, Prince Antonio would have survived somehow, but some of the other guards probably lost their lives.

“So, did you exchange names at that time?”

“Huh? No, we didn’t exchange names.”

“What?”

“By the time the battle was over, he had collapsed, and all I heard was the guards thanking him for saving the prince. I only found out his name then.”

“Oh, I see…”

“After that, we didn’t have any more chances to meet, so it ended just like that. …So, I really don’t know why she suddenly said something strange to me.”

…So, is this how it is?

In the midst of a life-threatening situation, Agnes suddenly appeared and saved the lives of the guards as Antonio.

He fought alongside her in the front lines against the monsters.

In the midst of it all, he fell for Agnes due to the dizziness effect and collapsed from exhaustion.

When he woke up, the woman who saved him had disappeared without even revealing her name… Is it a similar feeling?

“It’s not like I can’t understand getting excited and rushing in as soon as we meet.”

But confessing publicly at his own birthday party might be crossing the line a bit too much.