“Marielle!”
I’d been peering down over the fence out of curiosity, but a voice calling me from behind made me jump.
Lord Simeon rushed over. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing. I’m just out for a walk.”
He stood by my side and scolded me with a crinkled forehead. “Have you forgotten that you’re being targeted? You shouldn’t go out alone.”
Ah, right. I completely forgot.
“You forgot, didn’t you?”
“No, of course not.” I wasn’t able to cover it up with a giggle, which earned me a head smack. “Oh, come now. Nothing’s happened since the box incident, and I doubt the culprit would chase me all the way out here.”
“You don’t know that. We have no idea who’s behind this or what their goal is, so you can’t let your guard down. Also, it’s dangerous to lean against the fence like that. If you fall, your injuries would be way more severe than light scratches.”
“Yes, sir.” I really didn’t think there was any danger of me being attacked here. There were guards everywhere, after all.
Turning back to the building, I saw Lagrangian knights and Visselian soldiers guarding the entrance, and some on patrol. They didn’t have time to rest. Good work, everyone.
Lord Simeon was lecturing me but not trying to drag me back inside, so I asked him if I could walk through the garden a bit more.
I’m a simple person, so the anxiety I’d felt when we’d first arrived had been alleviated. It made me happy that Lord Simeon had chased after me and was worried about me—just like he always was. His presence allowed me to relax. I was relieved that my feelings of estrangement had just been misunderstandings.
“Lord Simeon? Why does the ocean have high and low tides? Do you know the reason?”
“It fills up and pulls back... I don’t know the details, but apparently the moon is involved.”
“The moon? Why would that be?”
“I don’t know the reason, but new moons and full moons are when spring tides occur, and the gap with low tides in particular becomes noticeable. On the other hand, half-moons are when the tide is at its lowest. There’s no doubt that the moon plays a role.”
I hummed, interested, and gazed up at the sky. There was still a bit of time left before sunset. Patches of blue sky could be seen between the drifting clouds.
“Last night...or rather, this morning? The moon was fully round.”
I’d pulled an all-nighter, which was why I knew. Right before the sun had come up, I’d noticed that it was strangely bright outside the window; the moon had been shining intensely. I wondered why the vast, great, blue ocean was influenced by that small moon floating in the sky. The notion was so mysterious. Monsters in stories would transform during full moons as well—the existence of the moon itself was a mystery. Ah, I might get an idea from this.
Lord Simeon gazed up at the sky with me. “I see, so it’s about time for the spring tide... People like us don’t see the ocean regularly, so we won’t be able to tell the difference.”
Low tide and high tide each happened twice a day. If high tide were to come early today, it would rise in a few hours. The locals could probably tell that it would be higher than usual.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to tell,” I said. “All of that land over there will be submerged, right?”
“Yes. This location is famous for its low-tide scenery. The current seems rather quick right now, so don’t even think about going into the ocean. You won’t be able to get back ashore if you’re swept away by the waves. In fact—you can’t even swim, can you?”
“All right, all right. I’ll be careful.”
A princess who gets swept away by the waves on the night of the spring tide, with the moon glittering overhead... She’s taken to a palace at the bottom of the ocean, and a prince must come rescue her. That might be interesting. But humans can’t breathe underwater, so she’d drown. Maybe this princess is a monster? Or Neptune? Anyway, she’s protected by a mysterious power of some sort, and the prince...borrows a witch’s magic? He’s able to bring the princess back to land, but because of his promise with the witch, now he’s the one trapped. His form is changed by magic, and the princess must seek him out. She has until the moon wanes completely...until the new moon...
Could I write this as a short story? It seems like it would be long. I’d better write these ideas down before I forget. Lord Simeon watched kindly as I diligently jotted down my ideas in my notebook. The prince is modeled after you, you know. I’m already writing about Prince Severin in my publisher’s compilation, so it’s fine. I was just kidding about him being a background character. He really is the hero.
I put my notebook away and lifted my head. A figure was standing on the third-floor balcony of the hotel. I looked closer and saw that it was Princess Mira. She seemed to be looking at the next island over, and she didn’t look in our direction. She probably hadn’t even noticed us. Lord Hilbert didn’t appear to be near her.
My husband followed my gaze. His expression didn’t change, so I decided to ask him a question.
“Did you talk about something with Her Highness?” There was quite a bit of distance between us and her, so if I spoke quietly, she most likely wouldn’t hear us. “Did she tell you about why she’s doing all of this?”
“No, nothing in particular.” He shook his head and turned back to me, also speaking in a hushed tone. “All I know is what you’ve already heard. She just told me to keep my head down and play along. She also apologized, saying that she wouldn’t go any further than she already had.”
“I see.” I folded my arms and pondered for a moment. “I thought that maybe she was trying to show off and act romantic with you because of her relationship with Lord Hilbert, but...”
“She’s certainly trying to show someone something. But earlier, I felt she was trying to avoid him rather than rouse jealousy within him.”
“Yes, that’s exactly right. They clearly aren’t on good terms. Princess Mira seems to hate him, and his actions indicated that there is no love lost between the two.” I’d only seen a fraction of their relationship, so there wasn’t much I knew for sure, but I felt that Lord Hilbert did not harbor romantic feelings for the princess. “He said he came here to monitor her, but that feels very presumptuous, or...arrogant.”
“Well, he certainly didn’t seem to be speaking about a person he loves,” Lord Simeon agreed.
“I wouldn’t enjoy being spoken of like that. Women are prone to being looked down upon and told they’re too young no matter what age they are, but if he loved her, wouldn’t he respect her more? He purposefully disparaged her in front of other people, so I can’t feel even a sliver of affection. Not to mention that she’s one of the highest-ranking people in Vissel. This affects her kingdom’s dignity.”
When Lord Simeon would scold me, he would make sure I knew that it was because he was thinking of me and my well-being. He was noisy, and there were times it was bothersome, but his warnings were always for my sake. I doubted that Lord Hilbert had spoken up with such pure intent—it’d sounded like he’d been slighting Princess Mira so that he could feel like he was above her. Was that the key? I feel like I’m finally starting to grasp the princess’s true intentions.
I muttered to myself, “The princess was shocked when he first showed up, but she calmed down quickly afterward. However, Lord Hilbert still didn’t back down. As the crown princess and the leader of the delegation, she could’ve ordered him away or reprimanded his impudent actions, yet she didn’t. Does that mean she accepted how he was behaving? Why would she do that when she hates him? What if... What if her true purpose was to show him who’s in charge? The rumors made their way to him... Ah, I know!”
The fragments of information that were floating in my head clicked together and took on a tangible form.
“The rumors!” I exclaimed. “She acted in a way that would incite rumors to spread, didn’t she? Spread all the way to Vissel!”
Lord Simeon took on a surprised expression. “Ah...”
“People who’ve seen her in Lagrange began talking all about her. That information then reached friends and family in Vissel. On top of that, her attendants were watching her the whole time.”
“That’s true. We can assume she ignored local customs to put on a show for the public. That explains why she wasn’t as intense when it was just the two of us.”
Ho ho ho. I clenched my fist with growing determination. “Lord Hilbert came running after hearing the rumors, so this has to be it.”
“If that were her goal, then the princess herself was most likely the one who told her homeland about everything. Rather than wait for rumors to spread naturally, it would have benefited her more to ensure that Vissel received the message. She pretended like she wasn’t involved, but she was actually working behind the scenes.”