She’s right!
These two were as far as you could get from a normal engaged couple. Normally, abuse from one’s beloved made one sad and angry. But...Prince Igna had special proclivities, and the more abuse he endured, the more excited and aroused he became.
Lady Europa’s current strategy seemed particularly effective against his brand of degeneracy.
But we’d severely underestimated Prince Igna. Despite his situation, his lips actually curled into a smile!
“I see. I understand what you’re trying to say, Europa, but you’re overlooking something important.”
“What?” Lady Europa asked, furrowing her brow.
Prince Igna declared loudly, “I enjoy being ignored too!!!”
And suddenly, his figure was dyed a vivid red.
“Whoooa! Blood is gushing from Prince Igna’s nose like a magnificent fountain! Aaand he’s out!” the announcer exclaimed. “But look at him! He’s smiling from ear to ear! What an upset, ladies and gentlemen!”
Though the sight was traumatic, the children in the audience were...cheering?
“Mom! Dad! Look how much princes can bleed from their noses!”
“I wanna be like Prince Igna when I grow up!”
Really? Of all the role models...
I didn’t want these kids to grow up weird like Prince Igna. Personally, I thought Prince Oz was a much better option. I made a mental note to talk to the children later.
Then I noticed someone else watching that scene from a distance.
“What are you doing, Your Eminence?” I asked.
“Lady Evelyn! U-Um...nothing!” the flustered high priest replied, though he kept stealing glances at the collapsed prince.
He straightened his eyebrows, fixed his hair, adjusted his beard, and smoothed the hems of his vestments. Almost like...
“Your Eminence, are you—”
“N-N-No! Absolutely not!” he interjected before I could finish, frantically shaking his head. “I-I-I don’t like him or anything! He’s a selfish brute!”
The high priest turned away in a huff, his cheeks dyed pink.
Your Eminence...!
Had yesterday’s events opened a new door for him?
I’m rooting for you...
After all, I did bear some responsibility for how it had all come to pass. If there was anything I could do, I was prepared to do it.
Perhaps trying to hide something, the high priest showed me a sheep he’d been hiding behind his back. “R-Right, I nearly forgot! I caught this fine-fleeced sheep by the lake earlier. We should roast it and feast!”
“Oh, what a great idea!” I exclaimed, nodding at his attractive proposal.
Despite the various sheep-triggered events from yesterday—or perhaps because of them—I had a huge hankering for lamb.
“Lady Evelyn. Are you having fun?”
“Prince Oz!”
Prince Oz approached cheerfully through the crowd, accompanied by several guards. We hadn’t had much opportunity to talk, what with yesterday’s commotion, so I took the chance to bow my head and apologize profusely.
“I’m so sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused!” I said.
“Please, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re safe. I’m the one who should apologize, really—my brother couldn’t find you and Kira at all. I should’ve never included him in the search party...”
“Ha ha ha...”
According to Kira, the mysterious pervert who’d talked to us at the bathhouse had been Prince Igna, who had ostensibly come to search for us. Maybe I should try and confirm the identity of every pervert going forward? The probability of any given one being an acquaintance was high...
“I helped set up the Summer of Evelyn Camp, as you may be aware. Did you know there will be featured events held during the evening?”
Wow! Featured events! That sounded fun!
“What kind of events?”
“The first is the Summer of Evelyn Bonfire,” he explained.
The “Summer of Evelyn” part felt unnecessary, but I loved the idea of a bonfire. I was already getting excited about the evening.
“And the second?” I asked.
“The Evelyn Test of Courage.”
“What?”
The words made my spine freeze. It hardly warranted saying at this point, but I wasn’t good with ghosts and spirits. The whole ordeal with the sheep had finally been resolved too! Why did I have to be scared all over again?
“Can we cancel that one?” I asked.
“Lady Evelyn, what’s wrong? You look pale.”
Of course I did!
“I mean, it doesn’t have the word ‘summer’ in it! It doesn’t match the theme of the festival!” I argued, thinking myself quite reasonable.
Prince Oz chuckled dismissively. “What makes you think the word ‘summer’ needs to be there? Oh, are you joking? That was a funny joke!”
It doesn’t need to be there?! What was up with the pattern I’d noticed, then?!
“B-But I don’t have to participate, right? Right?”
Prince Oz pulled a folded paper out of his pocket. “Um, according to the schedule Lady Europa handed out, your name is...prominently listed among the participants.”
He showed me. My name wasn’t just “prominently listed”—it took up the entirety of the paper, painting it an ominous, cursed black.
“Your Highness, I can’t handle scary things! I can’t!” I said, clinging tightly to his arm. “You’ll save me, right? Right?!”
But he only gave me a troubled smile. “I’d love to, but...I’m not confident I can rescue you from Lady Europa’s clutches. I’m sorry...”
“Please don’t be so heartless!”
If Prince Oz abandoned me too, there’d be no one left to save me!
He gasped and snapped, “Let go, Lady Evelyn!”
“O-Okay.” I hurriedly released his arm.
Prince Oz stepped back and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Th-That was close. That jealous gaze could’ve killed me. I’d rather not get horse kicked in the face...”
What jealous gaze?
Lady Europa was the only person I could think of who could curse someone to death with a glance. But she was busy trying to get rid of the blood-soaked Prince Igna, who was clinging to the judges’ seat. She wasn’t even looking this way.
Then who was watching the prince?
“Lady Evelyn! Let’s roast the sheep!”
Before I could figure it out, I heard the high priest calling out to me. I turned to see the other priests behind him, tying the sheep he’d shown me earlier to a thick branch.
“Yes! I’ll be right over,” I said with a smile.
Behind me, Prince Oz muttered, “Come to think of it, I feel like I remember the clown prick falling into the lake at some point during that whole ordeal. Have I seen him today? Oh well. I probably imagined that.”
“Baaa! Why is this baaaaaappening?!” bleated the sheep, whose red fur was starting to singe at the edges.
That...sounded a bit ominous, but surely it was just a sheep. Right?