1.
Breathing in the fragrant scent of Dolores's palm over my mouth,
I studied the prince's necklace closely.
At a glance, it was a moon-shaped necklace with a moonlight gem that glowed a subtle blue.
It was the first four-star piece of equipment I had seen in the banquet hall.
But what did stars matter right now?
‘What options can an ordinary appraiser see?’
[They can only see as far as the ‘Origin Script’ you call flavor text.]
Origin Script.
Then, to everyone else, that equipment looked like this.
─────────────────
[Moonlight Essence Necklace][★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment]
─────────────────
『The goddess of the moon shall caress you with her merciful hand.
May that blessing last forever....』
── In the name of Selaea, Goddess of the Moon ──
─────────────────
Isn't that right?
[And I did a quick search. Apparently, Selaea is a god famous for medicine and sorcery within the Tower.]
...Then after reading that, anyone would have no choice but to think it was equipment that treated illnesses.
It said it bestowed blessings. And it probably did heal its wearer before all the essence was drained.
What blessing? Fucking insane.
I had no idea who Selaea was, but I felt like I ought to report her to the police.
Holding my dizzy head, I sank into thought.
Then someone else beside him caught my eye.
She was just as gaunt as the prince, and she was passing directly in front of me.
The princess's eyes met mine.
─────────────────
[Sun Rising Pendant][★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment][Compatibility][45 / 80]
─────────────────
『The Child of the Sun shall protect you with fervent grace.
That light shall illuminate the path before you.』
── In the name of Solau, Child of the Sun ──
─────────────────
[Restores the wearer by the amount of sunlight essence stored within.]
[When the essence is depleted, it absorbs sunlight to replenish energy.]
─────────────────
That was unexpected.
The princess's equipment was quite good, and its compatibility was decent too.
Then what exactly was the problem...?
Why was she so thin too?
Just then—
Crackle.
The perfectly normal equipment interface warped.
─────────────────
[Special: Lunar Eclipse][Set Effect Activated]
[Forcibly activates when the equipment of the sibling god, Selaea, is nearby.]
[As the moon devours the sun, Selaea's pressure causes it to be consumed by moonlight essence.]
[It extorts the wearer's vitality as well and offers it to the moonlight essence.]
─────────────────
『You're so dazzling, it's pissing me off... Hey, do you want to die?』
『S-Selaea, b-but I'm your older brother....』
『Shut up. Either dim your light or get out and die. Pick one.』
── From the Reunion of Selaea and Solau ──
─────────────────
...So, to put it simply.
If Solau and Selaea were sibling gods, then whenever the moonlight essence ran low—
she bullied and pressured her brother Solau, sucking out even the wearer's vitality?
What kind of shitty set effect was this?
Yuna suddenly came to mind.
She did siphon off two hundred dollars, but at least she wasn't this vicious to me. I supposed I ought to be grateful.
[......?]
Anyway.
That Moonlight Essence Necklace wasn't just screwing over its own wearer.
It seemed to be screwing over the princess's pendant beside it too....
As if proving it, the princess was wasting away despite having decent compatibility.
The real culprit was, in the end, the Moonlight Essence Necklace.
[Essence][3/100]
There was still a long way to go before it was filled.
If he did not take it off, the prince would die.
"......"
By the way, when was Dolores going to remove her hand?
Breathing was becoming a little difficult, and I couldn't stay like this forever, so I discreetly stuck out my tongue and pressed it against her palm.
"......?!"
The effect was immediate.
Dolores flinched in surprise and pulled back her hand....
What? Why wasn't she taking it off?
Boom, boom, boom.
Just then.
Boom, boom, boom.
Before the banquet hall's platform.
The drums faded, and the hall gradually quieted.
When the emperor seated at the head table lightly raised his hand, the already quiet venue fell even more silent.
"Everyone, you have traveled a long way. You have my gratitude for your trouble."
His low voice echoed through the entire hall.
"Today is a meaningful day, celebrating the birth of my two beloved children into this world."
The emperor's gaze turned to the twin siblings standing beside him.
His eyes were full of boundless affection as he looked at his children, but—
there was a shadow somewhere at their edges.
The look of a father watching his two children grow thinner by the day.
Unable even to imagine his feelings, I swallowed my bitterness.
"But let us leave the formalities at that. At least today, I hope you all relax and enjoy yourselves."
A remarkably brief and plain speech.
When the emperor finished speaking and lightly raised his glass, the nobles in the hall all raised theirs in unison.
"To the glory of the Empire."
"To the glory of the Empire!"
Only then did Dolores remove her hand from me and answer the emperor's toast.
The banquet began.
2.
There were probably many ways a banquet could begin.
But perhaps because it was the twins' birthday, the first order of business was presenting gifts.
The nobles stepped up before the platform one by one and presented the gifts they had prepared for the siblings.
Slide.
"This is snow ginseng, said to grow only in the northern snowfields. There is nothing better for restoring one's vitality, so I humbly offer it."
Slide.
"A potent medicine made by grinding pearls from the deep sea. I have heard it is exceptionally effective at treating frail constitutions."
Slide.
"This is a fire crystal mined from the Lava Valley on the 53rd floor of the Inner Tower. It warms the body and invigorates the blood, so may it help preserve Your Highnesses' health."
Slide.
As I idly watched the gifts being presented one after another, I suddenly noticed something they had in common.
They all followed a similar vein. Expensive restorative foods, rare medicinal herbs, potent elixirs said to be good for the body.
Every last one of them was related to health.
In a way, they were less gifts for the prince and princess than offerings to the emperor who wished for their health.
Yuna had told me the two of them were sixteen.
They were not yet at an age where they ought to be managing their health.
Maybe that was why neither of them looked particularly pleased.
"Hmm."
If someone gave thirteen-year-old me a gift of red ginseng, I would probably look like that too.
I leaned slightly toward Dolores, who was seated beside me.
"...Dolores, are the prince and princess unwell?"
Dolores did not answer my question right away.
Stroke, stroke.
She smoothed her hair down, then slowly nodded.
I supposed that meant yes. Their illness was known to the public.
And the gifts relating to curing illnesses kept coming in.
As I watched the platform absentmindedly with that thought in mind, the announcer called the next name.
"The Duchy of Dolores presents gifts to Their Highnesses."
What? Was it our turn?
Dolores rose from her seat and made her way elegantly to the front of the platform.
What she held in her hands was quite different from everyone else's gifts so far.
Not medicine or restorative food, but two beautifully wrapped books.
"They are collections of folktales and adventure stories from distant lands. I thought Your Highnesses might enjoy them, so I prepared them especially for you."
Dolores spoke in an even voice.
"...When you feel confined, I hope that at least within these pages, you may walk through the wide world."
In an instant, the expressions of the twins, who had been wearing nothing but polite smiles, changed.
The prince in particular had his eyes shining so brightly that color came to his pale face for the first time.
Adjusting his glasses, he opened his mouth.
"Is this perhaps the complete edition of [Navigator of the Great Sea]?! I heard it was out of print...!"
"Brother."
The princess gently admonished the prince, whose voice had risen in excitement.
She meant for him to mind his decorum, but a faint smile had spread over her own lips as well.
That was Dolores for you.
She really was different.
Rather than trying to impress the emperor, she was giving them gifts they actually needed.
She saw them not as sickly royalty, but as sixteen-year-old children.
Once the gift presentation ended, the banquet entered its proper flow.
And it was not long before I realized something.
Banquets were more boring than I had expected.
People asked after one another.
They listened to the musicians play, picked food from the large table that had been laid out, and ate without much thought.
That was it.
Before I knew it, everyone had split into two groups.
One group consisted of the adults from each noble house.
The other was their heirs.
They had divided into groups of peers and groups discussing politics and business.
Poke.
Then Ruby poked me in the side.
"Hey, let's go. Just follow me."
"Ohh."
It seemed she was going to take me over to the other kids.
That was pretty reassuring, wasn't it? It had felt a little awkward to keep clinging to Mama's side.
I was about to nod obediently and move, but—
I paused for a moment.
The prince and princess were seated in the center of the other kids' area.
There was something I needed to say first.
I leaned toward Dolores again and lowered my voice.
"...Mama, you know my eyes are good, right?"
"Yes, of course."
Her voice was gentle, as though she did not think much of it.
"...But the prince's and princess's necklaces are a little strange."
"What do you mean?"
First principle.
I had to report everything to Dolores.
Since I knew absolutely nothing about politics, manners, or etiquette, reporting first and acting later was better than acting first and reporting later.
I lowered my voice as much as I could and whispered what I had just seen.
The prince's necklace looked good on the surface, but it was actually sucking away vitality.
And the prince's necklace was consuming the princess's necklace beside it, slowly draining them both to death.
The longer my explanation went on, the stiffer Dolores's expression became.
"......"
She no longer questioned whether I was telling the truth.
I was not a child who spouted nonsense for attention.
She knew that far too well by now.
For a while, she said nothing.
Ruby, too, stopped the finger that had been tickling my side and whispered.
"I'll be over there."
With a tense face, Dolores weighed something in her mind before speaking.
"...We cannot know who gave them those necklaces at present. But there is a high chance they were someone's gift."
"......"
"That is why it would be difficult to step forward now and claim they are cursed objects."
Dolores continued calmly.
"It would amount to directly denying a gift someone else offered to the imperial family. And if it is equipment meant to be worn by royalty... it must have been examined again and again by the finest appraisers."
"......"
"The evidence is too thin for us to claim that such an item is actually draining vitality."
She was right.
I could see it, but no one else could.
I alone could know the truth beyond the Origin Script.
If we stepped up carelessly, we would only be saddled with political risks and dismissed as a crazy child. Dolores might be given some leeway, but I even less so.
"...That said."
Dolores looked down at me quietly.
"If it were somewhere with comparatively fewer such hurdles—say, a conversation among children—then it may be possible."
She chose her words for a moment, then asked quietly.
"Can you prove it?"
If she asked me that, then naturally—
"Of course."
How could there not be a way?
Sorry, but while tracing something to reach a conclusion was difficult, proving a conclusion that already existed was easy.
And just then, I sensed something in her words.
[One more thing.]
[I think Dolores trusts you to an unbelievable degree.]
[She's trying to push you into high society right now.]
Yuna's analysis, too.
Come to think of it, that was true.
She believed and trusted everything I said from beginning to end.
[She thinks the chance that you'll do well is higher than the risk of things going wrong.]
[And even if things do go wrong, she seems confident she can clean it up.]
When I nodded with a confident expression—
Kiss.
Dolores bent down slightly and planted a light kiss on my forehead.
"Do your best."
She added in a gentle voice.
"And do not worry too much if anything goes wrong."
She met my eyes.
"I will always be behind you."
...That was reassuring.
That one sentence erased even the little bit of pressure that had remained, even though I had not felt all that burdened to begin with.
I nodded faintly and headed toward Ruby, who was waiting for me.
3.
Holding Ruby's hand tightly,
I quietly racked my brains as we headed toward the other children.
And throughout the process, Yuna gave me her full support.
The queen of high society, Kim Yuna.
Yuna swept her gaze across the opposite side of the hall, where the children were gathered.
[Let me sort out the situation first.]
[I don't know about the prince, but the princess is acting a little strangely.]
[That girl isn't mingling with the crowd. She keeps circling outward.]
‘Outward?’
[Yeah. When nobles come to greet her, she brushes them off appropriately by saying she needs to read the book Dolores gave her, then she's gradually slipping toward the edge.]
[But she clearly isn't all that interested in the book. She doesn't look like she's enjoying this gathering.]
She was not well, so there was no way she would welcome the noisy center of the room.
[So here's what you do.]
[You take Ruby's hand, exchange only the necessary greetings quickly, and naturally slip out toward the edge too.]
[Keep a reasonable distance from the princess. About five meters?]
[You're the handsomest and most intriguing person in this hall right now, you know?]
Thanks for the compliment.
Even if it was just flattery, I appreciated it.
[But even so, the other nobles can't approach you easily. Do you know why?]
Who knew?
[The prince and princess are the stars of today's event. No one can dare let the spotlight shift elsewhere.]
[If they all flocked to some handsome little boy from an unknown ducal family, it would be like smearing mud on the stars' faces. They have no choice but to watch their step.]
I see.
So I was supposed to stand in a dead zone where I would draw the princess's attention—
but no one would actually be able to come near me?
[So....]
"Ruby, I'm going to take a little break."
"Okay."
Ruby must have noticed that Dolores had said something to me.
The moment I finished speaking, she naturally stepped forward.
"Your Highness, I have an interesting story about that book... Would you perhaps like to hear it?"
Skillfully taking on all the attention, she led the prince and the group of nobles toward the curtains.
Nice, Ruby.
[All right, now you—]
[Keep chewing chocolate about five meters in front of the princess.]
[With a cool expression. Aloofly.]
I had never made an expression like that in my life, but—
I decided to give it a try.
Chew.
With a piece of chocolate in my mouth, I casually took a seat in a chair at the edge of the hall.
Then I just kept chewing chocolate.
Chew, chew.
...Five minutes passed like that.
My mouth was numb from the excessive sweetness.
‘Yuna, is this really right...?’
[It is. Keep chewing.]
[Only chocolate. Keep going, keep going.]
I wondered what kind of strategy this was.
If there were a child in front of me who chewed nothing but chocolate for five straight minutes, I would probably say something to him too.
This was not about my face at all. She was just telling me to draw aggro.
[Never look at the princess.]
Chew, chew.
As I continued demolishing chocolate, I felt a gaze from far away.
It was Ruby.
She was looking at me like she wanted to ask what the hell I was doing.
This was so unfair I could die.
Filled with injustice, I unwrapped another piece of chocolate.
Just as I was starting to think I might pass out from a blood sugar spike—
Chew.
"...If you eat nothing but sweets like that, you might collapse, you know?"
"......"
Someone spoke to me from behind.
A clear, soft voice.
I knew without even turning around.
Got her.
You little thing.
"I was just about to collapse, so your timing could not have been better."
The princess blinked slightly at my glib answer.
[Oh, that's good, but!! It's really good, but mind your manners, manners, manners!!!!!]
Right.
I naturally corrected my posture as though it were part of my greeting.
Bending one knee slightly, I lowered my head.
"...I am Lionel, taken in by the Duchy of Dolores."
Making myself look as well taught as possible, I offered a respectful greeting.
The princess looked down at me for a moment.
Pfft.
She let out a quiet laugh.
And then—
"...I accept your greeting, Lionel."
After laughing for a while, she gradually wiped the amusement from her face.
Then she looked down at me quietly and asked,
"There is something you wished to say so badly that you spent ten whole minutes eating chocolate, isn't there?"
Her final words—
hit the mark exactly.
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