Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 173: “Events in Imperial Territory (11) – Part 2”
—From Prince Ricardo’s point of view—
“What is this sense of defeat? What is this!?”
Prince Ricardo clutched his head in frustration.
A few minutes earlier, he had gone to the minister’s office to inquire about “that box.”
But they wouldn’t tell him anything.
—That matter is top secret.
—We cannot divulge anything without Prince Diaz’s permission.
—Prince Ricardo should continue to devote himself to his magical training, as always.
All he received were polite responses.
Moreover, they weren’t looking down on him.
On the contrary, they were sincerely praising him.
“Prince Ricardo has acquired ‘that box.’ It is a marvelous achievement. You should take some time to relax in the Imperial Capital.”
“…No. That’s not it!”
“What do you mean, not it?”
“I, Ricardo—”
(I, Ricardo, didn’t do anything. It was Sophia who acquired the box. I merely received it!)
However, he couldn’t say those words out loud.
The Empire had officially declared that “it was Prince Ricardo who acquired the box.”
As a prince, Ricardo could not refute that.
Moreover, Ricardo’s achievement had already been recognized, and his subordinates had received rewards.
Sophia would also be rewarded—but that was a separate matter.
“At any rate, inform my brother Diaz. Tell him that I, Ricardo, wish to be dispatched to the border region. That I request such an opportunity.”
“Understood.”
“…I leave it to you.”
Ricardo staggered as he began to walk.
Ever since he returned from the borderlands, he’d been like this.
No matter how much magical training he did or how many times he swung his sword, the feeling of defeat wouldn’t go away.
“I was defeated by Sophia. And by the people from the Demon Lord’s territory who assisted her. Even Daryl Zannor… What am I supposed to do with this sense of defeat…?”
Had he failed his mission, Ricardo would have been punished.
He would likely have been sent to the frontlines, relegated to an idle post, or at worst, stripped of his right to the throne—any of those outcomes could have awaited him.
In that case, there might have been some salvation.
He could have exerted himself to redeem his name.
But Ricardo had fulfilled his orders and returned with the box. There was no one to punish him.
No opportunity would be granted to redeem his honor.
All that remained was the undeniable fact that he had done nothing, and this crushing sense of defeat.
“…There’s no one I can talk to. No one. What should I do…”
The Empire exalts strength above all. There is no place for the weak or defeated.
However, those who… succeed… yet feel defeated… are not accounted for.
That’s why no one understands Ricardo’s sense of defeat.
“…No, there is someone I can talk to. Someone nearby.”
Ricardo suddenly stopped walking.
There was once a royal who had been defeated by the Demon Lord’s territory.
Someone who, while fighting a new species of magical beast, had been saved from death by the Demon Lord’s people.
She might understand how Ricardo felt.
And just as Ricardo was thinking that—
“—Pardon me, Prince Ricardo.”
Before he noticed, a woman was standing by his side.
A lady-in-waiting who served the princess.
She knelt on the floor with graceful ceremony and said:
“You have a visitor, Prince Ricardo.”
“…From whom?”
“From your younger sister, Princess Liana. She wishes to speak with you personally.”
“Liana… requested to see me?”
It was more than he could have hoped for.
Ricardo had also wanted to speak with his younger sister, Princess Liana.
Liana had, in essence, been defeated in the “Magical Beast Gargarossa Subjugation Battle.”
But the Empire had declared it a victory and praised her achievements.
She stood in the same position as Ricardo. She too must have carried a similar sense of defeat.
She might know how to rid oneself of this feeling.
“I’ll go right away. To see my sister—Liana.”
And with that, Ricardo headed to the room where Liana was waiting.
“You’ve come! Welcome, Brother. Now, please tell me everything about Sophia-sama.”
“…Eh?”
As he entered the room, Ricardo found himself speechless, mouth slightly agape.
This was one of the guest rooms in the royal palace.
It was used for conversations between princes and princesses, or to receive guests.
In the room were just Ricardo, Liana, and a few maids. The maids placed tea and sweets, then exited the room. Only Ricardo and Liana remained.
Liana looked… happy.
She radiated the grace befitting the “Princess of the Holy Sword.”
Her expression was calm and cheerful. It even seemed like she was holding back a smile.
Strange, thought Ricardo.
Liana had, in essence, been defeated during the “Magical Beast Gargarossa Subjugation Battle.”
Afterward, she had joined Archduke Kharon in defeating a massive scorpion magical beast, redeeming her name. That was what Ricardo wanted to ask her about… but this didn’t seem like the right mood.
“Liana… Could you answer a question of mine first?”
“A question?”
“Yes. I want to know how you overcame your defeat.”
With determination, Ricardo asked her.
“You were defeated by the magical beast Gargarossa and saved by the Demon Lord’s domain, weren’t you?”
“Ah… You mean that.”
“Of course, you later defeated the giant scorpion magical beast ‘Nozelius.’ You achieved success and redeemed your name. But I want to know what happened before that. How did you overcome your sense of defeat?”
“I didn’t overcome it. I’m still defeated.”
Liana answered with a puzzled look.
“Brother, you’re misunderstanding something.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Yes. I didn’t defeat the magical beast. It was Archduke Kharon’s power and someone else’s guidance that led to its defeat. It wasn’t my achievement. So I didn’t redeem anything.”
“You didn’t… redeem anything?”
“After being defeated by Gargarossa, I haven’t changed at all. I’m still the same me. Sometimes I just zone out, remember the past, and chuckle at it. That’s the kind of person I am.”
“That’s… wrong. That’s not right, Liana!”
“Why not?”
“In the Empire, strength is everything. And you were defeated by a magical beast. If you didn’t redeem yourself, how can you smile? You never know when someone might point at you and call you a ‘loser’! And yet—”
“Because I have a friend I respect.”
Liana declared clearly and firmly.
“I want to be someone I’m not ashamed of in front of that person. That’s all.”
“…Wh-what?”
“I accepted my defeat. And I chose to learn from my immaturity and weakness. It was Sophia-sama… and the friend who accepted me as I am who helped me realize that.”
Ricardo listened to Liana’s words in stunned silence.
Before him stood Liana, the “Princess of the Holy Sword.”
She possessed strong light-based magical power and had been raised under the tutelage of Minister of War Zagran. She was supposed to be a symbol of the Empire.
And yet—
(…Is this really “Princess of the Holy Sword” Liana?)
Liana, standing before Ricardo, looked like a completely different person.
She wore a gentle smile, her cheeks slightly flushed—
—She looked like a normal girl her age, talking about someone she cherished.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? When I think about him, my heart feels light and fluffy. Warm and peaceful. I think that’s why I’m able to smile.”
“Liana, aren’t you the ‘Princess of the Holy Sword’!? Isn’t victory everything to you—”
“It’s not everything. At most, it’s third in importance. What matters most is being someone I can be proud of in front of those I care about. That’s all.”
“…Liana, you…”
“More importantly, please tell me about Sister Sophia. Was she well? What did you talk about? Was there a black-haired boy by her side? Anything is fine. Please tell me everything you saw and heard, Brother.”
“I—I can’t tell you everything because of my mission…”
“Just tell me what you can. Please, Brother.”
Liana stared intently at Ricardo.
A cold sweat ran down Ricardo’s back.
Wasn’t Liana supposed to be a noble, dignified girl who kept others at a distance?
What had changed her? Was it the Demon Lord’s Domain? Or perhaps the “Useless Princess” Sophia?
“…Sophia was well.”
Ricardo finally managed to say just that.
It was painful to talk about Sophia.
Because it reminded him of his own defeat and failure.
“There was a black-haired boy nearby, I think. Sophia… really seems to have recovered. She was strong enough to move something so heavy it would normally require a carriage, with just one punch. I never knew Sophia possessed such brute strength…”
“I see.”
“You’re not surprised?”
“Unexpected things happen in the borderlands, after all.”
She said it as if it were the most natural thing, and took a sip from her teacup.
(…I shouldn’t have come.)
Ricardo clenched his fists on his knees.
(She’s just like the ‘Useless Princess’. Liana is in another league. Even in her presence, I can’t rid myself of this sense of defeat. Sophia and Liana… Are these twins truly different from the other imperial princes and princesses?)
Liana spoke about her battles with a new type of magical beast as if recalling fond memories.
Ricardo couldn’t imagine how she could feel that way.
“Apologies for interrupting. Princess Liana, you’ve received an official decree from His Highness Diaz.”
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
When Liana responded, a civil official entered holding a letter.
Liana accepted the letter and opened the seal.
After reading its contents—
“I understand. Please tell the messenger that I accept the assignment.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll head to Brother Diaz right away. Ah… but I still want to hear more about Sister Sophia. Brother Ricardo, will you wait here?”
“I don’t mind. But…”
Liana looked delighted as she opened the letter.
The same expression she had when Ricardo talked about Sophia.
If that was the case, then the place Liana was heading to as a messenger must be—
“Liana, I have a request for you.”
“A request?”
“If, by chance, your mission sends you to the northern border, I’d like to accompany you. No, of course, it’s only hypothetical. If it’s difficult for me to go as a prince, I’m willing to accompany you as a servant. I beg of you.”
Ricardo stood up and bowed his head to Liana.
In the Empire, it was rare for princes and princesses to bow to one another.
Even among siblings from the same mother, they were rivals competing for merit.
But Ricardo had no other option.
(If I don’t overcome this sense of defeat, I feel like I’ll never be able to move forward again.)
Seeing Ricardo like that, Liana—
“Understood. I’ll speak to Brother Diaz about it.”
“Really!?”
“I said I’d speak to him, that’s all. I must prioritize my duties, after all.”
“…I understand.”
“Then, I’ll be on my way.”
Saying that, Liana left the guest room.
(…I owe Liana now.)
If this became public knowledge, Ricardo would be seen as subordinate to Liana.
People would say, “Prince Ricardo has withdrawn from the race for the throne and become Princess Liana’s subordinate.”
Even so, Ricardo didn’t mind.
Erasing this feeling of defeat was more important to him.
“I’ll go to the borderlands again, defeat Daryl Zanno… and uncover the secret of Sophia’s strength. So that I, Ricardo, can rise again and aim to become a hero…”
Thus resolved was Prince Ricardo.
—Liana’s point of view—
“I’ll get to see Sister Sophia again.”
That night, Liana soaked in her bathtub.
The palace was vast. Liana had several rooms to herself.
One of them was a bathing room.
When she wanted to bathe, she told the maids, and they would prepare the tub. After it was delivered, hot water was poured in, then cooled with magically created water to make the bath just right.
But—
(Still, nothing compares to the ‘fizzy bath’ I took with Sister Sophia.)
Thinking that, Liana stepped out of the bath.
She dried herself with a towel offered by a maid and headed to her bedroom.
Sitting on the bed, she looked at the curtained window facing north—toward the borderlands. Beyond that, far away, was Sophia. And her respected friend, Thor Kanan.
The thought of seeing them again made her heart race.
She had shown her clumsy side to both Sophia and the alchemist Thor Kanan.
Next time they met, she had to act more properly.
“Otherwise, Sister Sophia will be the one who ends up embarrassed.”
Holding her chest, she muttered those words.
After talking to Ricardo earlier that day, Liana had gone to Crown Prince Diaz.
There, she received an official order.
As an imperial envoy, she was to head to the Demon Lord’s Domain.
But first, she was to enter and stay in the town of Nosa.
There, with the cooperation of Princess Sophia, she was to find a suitable date to enter the Demon Lord’s Domain.
For example: holidays, festivals, the founding day, or the birthday of a dignitary.
She was to choose such a day and enter the domain as a messenger bearing gifts.
—That was the order issued by Crown Prince Diaz in the name of the Emperor.
“Brother Ricardo’s request to accompany me was rejected… but I suppose it can’t be helped.”
Liana kept her promise and asked Diaz if Ricardo could join her.
He rejected it.
She relayed the message to Ricardo.
He seemed disappointed, but in return, he told her about Sophia as promised.
About the black-haired boy who had been by her side in the town of Nosa.
It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Liana.
After all, she would see them herself very soon.
“I can’t wait. What should we talk about first?”
Liana sat with her knees neatly together, gazing at the north-facing window.
With dreamy eyes, she spoke in a gentle, hopeful tone:
“First, I’ll ask why Sister Sophia has grown so strong. For that, we’ll need a place to relax. Then, we’ll take a fizzy bath again… side by side, like when we were little…”
“…Um, Your Highness?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Perhaps it’s time you put something on…”
Prompted by the maid, Liana realized she was completely undressed.
She had forgotten.
It must’ve been because she was reminiscing about the fizzy bath.
That bath used steam and mysterious light to hide the bather’s body.
Recalling that experience must have made her feel as if she were back in that bath. She had assumed her body was concealed and walked straight to the bedroom.
“Forgive me, but Your Highness has lately entered the bedroom without dressing after your bath quite often. Is there a reason for that?”
The maid asked curiously, and Liana responded in her usual noble tone:
“It’s nothing to worry about. Just a moment of carelessness.”
“I—Is that so?”
“Many things happen in the borderlands.”
As she dressed in her nightwear, Liana murmured those words.
The maids, upon hearing that, their eyes sparkled—
“W-We understand! Things were so intense on the frontlines, you had no time to dress!”
“As expected of the ‘Princess of the Holy Sword’!”
“It’s an honor to serve by your side, Your Highness!”
“I’ll try copying Princess Liana too!”
—They each exclaimed in admiration.
But Liana wasn’t listening to any of it.
Her heart was already in the borderlands.
She was filled with thoughts of seeing her twin sister Sophia, and her friend Thor, again.
“Please wait for me, Sister Sophia. Alchemist-sama. I, Liana, will fulfill my mission splendidly, so you both can live in peace…”
Gazing at the northern sky, Princess Liana whispered those words.