Most of the jam had clung to Prisca and her attendants’ clothing and had been taken home by the group, so it likely wouldn’t take much effort to clean what was left on the ground.
After a moment’s hesitation, Helt said, “She mentioned something about a route. Is it the same thing as what you previously described?”
Calling his attitude half-doubtful would be giving him too much credit—in fact, he’d pretty much let it all go in one ear and out the other when she’d told him this was likely the world of an otome game. However, he probably couldn’t leave things as they were after hearing Prisca’s sinister words.
He frowned. “She said that the young Lord Klein would kill you…” Like Amelia had suspected, that was the part Helt was bothered by.
Amelia was more fixated on the statement before that. “She also stated that the villainess of Luke’s route will be abandoned after she’s doted on for a while. Just like I thought, this is either the world of an otome game or something along the same lines.”
She’d always had the suspicion, but Prisca’s words confirmed it.
This world had branching futures—called routes—depending on the partner that the heroine, Prisca, chose. It was currently Luke’s route, which meant that the heroine’s rival in love—no, the villainess who served as the canonical relationship fodder—was Amelia.
“Is that why…Luke’s paying attention to me now?” Amelia muttered to herself.
In addition to the four years after their betrothal, Luke hadn’t responded to her in any way during the three time loops when Prisca had been conquering other men as her trophies. He’d been so unresponsive that calling his attitude cold didn’t cut it—he’d been glacial.
Yet, for the very first time—in this time loop where Prisca entered Luke’s route—he’d chosen to approach Amelia. If Prisca had been telling the truth about her being dumped after being doted on… Luke’s kindness might be the groundwork for his love story with Prisca, whom he’d ultimately end up with.
“In that case, I can just hole up in the Fifth Palace like always and keep him at a wide berth. Then…” When she thought that far, Luke’s earlier smile floated to the surface of her mind.
He was the person who’d been in her heart for seven years. Amelia could vividly recall his warm golden eyes and his tender voice when he’d declared he’d protect her. Just remembering him made her heart swell with happiness. She couldn’t even bear the thought of losing everything he’d given her now.
She closed her eyes briefly. “Not to mention that if I don’t do anything, he’ll be compelled to propose to Prisca, whether he likes it or not.”
If he cast Amelia aside because his affection for her faded, she’d feel despondent, but she could accept that outcome. What she couldn’t tolerate was someone bending his will to their whims by force. Right, she told herself. Protecting Luke’s will was the reason she made a stand to begin with.
“I know! It’s times like these when I need strawberries!” Amelia abruptly raised her fist. “You can do anything as long as you have strawberries!”
Helt gazed at her with fond exasperation. “In short, the young Lord Klein’s affections will shift toward Princess Prisca at this rate, and you might be murdered. Do I have that right? How in the world are you going to resolve this situation with strawberries, of all things?”
“Luke likes strawberries,” Amelia announced. “I’ll feed him strawberries, get him to warm up to me, and earn a moderate amount of goodwill from him while maintaining a natural distance to prevent the doting part. I just need to keep that up and weather the storm until the turning point of the loops, which is the ball on the king’s birthday! Yeah, I think that might work!”
If the plot demanded that she was going to be dumped after she was doted on, she could just prevent the latter. There was no need for her and Luke to become enemies overnight. She would lead her life as his fiancée while keeping a certain distance that was both chaste and proper. It was indeed a simple matter when she looked at it like that.
Helt was skeptical. “Is that really where the issue lies?”
“If I don’t maneuver skillfully now, Luke will be forced to propose to her, and I…might get killed.”
At that last sentence, Helt’s brows twitched. “My princess, I am your knight. If the young Lord Klein truly intends to harm you, I will protect you even if it means risking my life.” He bowed with a serious expression she’d never seen before.
Amelia frantically waved her hand. “Y-You really don’t have to. We’re up against a princess and the son of a duke, you know? I can’t drag even you into danger.”
“Like I have said, the role of a guardian knight is to protect you from such perils, my princess.”
He might be right there, but Amelia had already caused Helt lots of trouble. She didn’t want to burden him even more.
“If that’s what you say, then I’ll run for the hills at the last moment when I’m driven into a corner! Luckily, I have merchandise I can sell—namely, my strawberries—so I should be able to manage one way or another. I’ll work on amassing escape funds just in case push comes to shove.”
If Luke were to be ensnared by Prisca’s charms, it would be dangerous to openly fight back. Considering Helt’s safety as well, the best option was probably sneaking out of the royal court and living as a commoner somewhere out there in the great big world.
Helt gazed solemnly into her eyes. “Assuming such a day comes around, please take me with you.”
Amelia nodded. “But of course. If I leave you behind, they might accuse you of helping me get away and punish you.”
The knight responded with a smile. It was a most mystifying smile, somewhere between sorrowful and happy. “My princess,” he began, “you take after the fifth consort very much.”
“You think so?”
Amelia didn’t have many memories of the fifth consort. They’d been separated by death when she was ten, but she still felt delighted hearing that she resembled her mother.
“I do.” He nodded. “The two of you are strikingly similar. The manner you summon fruits all of a sudden without warning, the manner you have an almost blind faith in fruits…and the manner of your evaluation standard for decisions and views on loss and gain are both outlandish.”
Amelia raised an eyebrow. “Is that really meant to be praise?”
“From the bottom of my heart, yes.”
He bowed profoundly to her, and she couldn’t work up the motivation to get mad at him. Shrugging, she said, “Well, anyhow, I just have to prevent him from doting on me.” She paused. “Actually, he probably wouldn’t dote on me in the first place, don’t you think? Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s all under control!” She energetically raised a fist to psych herself up.
A troubled smile tugged at Helt’s lips. “I forgot yet another trait on that list. Being overly optimistic is something you share too.”
Amelia’s shout of self-encouragement drowned out his whisper, which never reached her ears.