That’s right—I hadn’t explained the process of how I’d come back from my rampage in any detail. I couldn’t help but think that the truth would be a bit embarrassing for a young noblewoman to share. But with Larna’s eyes shining so intently, and Cyrus urging me to explain with such a serious expression, I couldn’t stop myself from giving a full confession.
“Well, Prince Cezar saw that something was wrong with me and startled me to snap me out of it. That’s how I came to my senses,” I said, remaining vague about the fine details.
“So, he thought that by startling someone who had taken leave of their senses, he could interrupt their mental processes for a split second, giving them a chance to regain control... The Prince of Ethenell sounds like a quick thinker,” said Cyrus, sounding impressed.
But Larna wasn’t deterred.
“I see... So what exactly did he do to startle you? Shout in your ear, perhaps?” she asked insistently.
Ah... Guess I’m going to have to tell her.
“Um... My nose...”
“Your nose?”
“He...bit it.”
For a painfully long moment, the room was silent, as if time had stopped.
“So, you’re telling us that, in order to startle you, the Prince of Ethenell bit you on the nose?” Cyrus eventually asked, seeking confirmation of the outlandish thing he’d just heard. His face was serious.
“Yes. That’s right,” I answered.
Another spell of awkward silence ensued, until...
“Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Larna’s raucous laughter resounded throughout the room. “Ah ha ha ha ha ha, he bit your nose in order to startle you? Who does that? Wasn’t there any other way? Ah ha ha ha!”
As Larna doubled over from laughter, I finally paused to wonder why exactly I’d been bitten on the nose. At the time, I’d been so startled by Cezar’s act, and so glad to have been saved thanks to him, that I hadn’t asked myself, Why did it have to be my nose?
“Well, perhaps that’s the traditional way of surprising someone in Ethenell?” said Cyrus, seriously considering this possibility even as Larna struggled to stop laughing.
A chaotic atmosphere had descended over the room. I was just glad that at least no one said it was indecent for a young noblewoman to have her nose bitten.
Eventually, Larna finished laughing.
“Well then, I’ll have to note this in my records too,” she said coolly.
“Eh?!” I yelped in surprise. “You’re going to record what I just said? Including the part about me getting my nose bitten?!”
“Yeah, that seems to have been particularly important. We may need this information in the future, if you ever end up in the same condition again.”
“N-No way! Are you telling me that every time that happens, I’ll get bitten on the nose again?!”
“Oh, I hardly think we’ll have to go that far. After all, we came up with some other potential solutions.”
“Ah, that’s right... But aren’t a lot of people going to read those records...?” When that happens, I’m going to get all kinds of comments. So will Cezar. It would be one thing for me to suffer that, but I’d feel so guilty if Cezar had to suffer for saving me.
“Oh, when it comes to anything that might impact your future—or that of the Prince of Ethenell—we’ll really only show it to the few people who need to see it, so you can put your mind at ease,” said Larna.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
After that, they pressed me on some other points, including how I’d sensed Maria was in peril. But since I’d had similar hunches in the past (like the time Raphael caused an incident), we all agreed that I must just be a girl with keen intuition. Though the look in Larna’s eyes indicated that she still really wanted to investigate further.
Then I explained what had happened with Sarah and the mysterious man who appeared at Maria’s house. By the time they finished questioning me, the sun had already gone down.
After Maria and her mother had received a proper examination from the doctors at the hospital, Maria and her parents (her father was also coming, now that the Ministry had contacted him) would spend the night in one of the Ministry’s facilities.
Her unofficial bodyguards also turned out to be okay.
I was told that they hadn’t finished questioning Cezar yet, but I was feeling indescribably exhausted, so I decided to leave the Ministry rather than wait around to talk to him. I could always thank him tomorrow.
After climbing aboard my carriage bound for Claes Manor, I took a big breath and slowly exhaled.
It turned out that the men captured at Maria’s house were all just hired goons, who knew almost nothing about the organization Sarah worked for.
“This girl alone is not an expendable pawn, so I’ve been told to come and collect her when the situation demands it.”
Just as the mysterious man had said, everyone besides Sarah had just been disposable minions. The same was probably true of Katarina in the game. That would explain why she got herself caught during that scene. Her thirst for revenge was exploited to get her to obtain Dark Magic. Then, when she failed in her revenge, she was promptly discarded.
When I considered that, I actually felt a little sorry for the game’s Katarina, even though I’d only ever thought of her as a bad person. However, when I remembered that the threat of that particular Bad End—getting arrested during Cezar’s route—had just vanished, I also felt a sense of relief.
The game’s story wasn’t over yet, and there was still a hidden character whose identity I didn’t know. I also didn’t know what might happen with the other romanceable characters. Even so, with the feeling that I’d overcome another obstacle, I let myself relax as I looked out the window, gazing at the scenery illuminated by the setting sun, and exhaled heavily once more. As soon as I got back to the manor and went to bed I was out like a light.
The next thing I knew, it was morning. And first thing in the morning, Keith came barging into my room to ask me all kinds of questions, before giving me a stern lecture. Though on this occasion, since I was well aware of having stuck my nose into some dangerous business, I apologized sincerely.
Well, that was how I welcomed the morning, but as luck would have it, today was my day off. Since I hadn’t had the opportunity to properly thank Cezar yesterday, I thought I would go to see him to make up for that.