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Around the time the sun passed its zenith, there was a carriage heading towards Princess Viola’s mansion, accompanied by a group of mounted escorts running before and after. Seated in the lavishly crafted carriage were two individuals in uniform: Jill and Luke.

Since they would travel to the same destination, they had hitched a ride directly from Letindüte (Luke’s intention was to showcase their relationship to Princess Viola by doing so, but of course, Jill innocently remarked, “That seems more efficient,” without realizing it). Feeling uneasy, Luke glanced at Jill who sat next to him, noticing the lack of vitality on her beautiful face.

“Haah… I never expected to meet her here. And calling me ‘big sister’ now, of all times… it’s rather late for that, isn’t it?”

She probably wasn’t conscious of voicing her thoughts aloud. Having gleaned the cause of her discomfort from her muttered words, Luke furrowed his brows with a troubled expression.

(…Princess Euphemia. The youngest daughter of Count Aulanthia, and the half-sister of Princess Syltianna, huh?)

As he was remembering the lively and charming girl, more adorable than beautiful, Luke observed Jill’s melancholic side profile with mixed emotions.

By the way, Euphemia herself should be surrounded by a mountain of colorful sweets, enjoying blissful moments in Letindüte.

(Not much of a resemblance, huh…)

Jill constantly had a recognition-inhabiting magic cast on her, but due to the nature of the spell, it had no effect on Luke.

—No, it doesn’t matter what form she takes, I will never mistake her for anyone else.

Luke reassured himself. Euphemia’s rather ordinary appearance wasn’t comparable to Jill’s peerless, world-class beauty (and that was with her features hidden still). They really had no features in common.

However, he wasn’t really sure if Euphemia resembled her father, Frontier Count Aulanthia, more. So perhaps they both took after their mothers… Speaking of siblings, Luke had a brother or a sister who was due to be born next month, but he had no half-siblings. That was when he thought back to the portrait of Clara the Shrine Maiden Princess.

Jill and Clara. They were the spitting image of each other as if the person inside the picture stepped out into the real world.

(A mere coincidence, nothing more than a lookalike…huh?)

Thinking back on Jill’s excuse that he had heard before, Luke smiled wryly as he pretended to gaze out of the small window. No matter how you examined it, the excuse seemed suspicious and unusually strained, frankly speaking. Although he pretended to accept it, Luke didn’t actually believe it. However, he refrained from pressing further because he trusted that Jill would eventually confide the truth in him.

―Could it be that Jill…? Could it be that she actually…?

Suppressing the urge to confront her here and now, Luke cast his gaze outside the window, his eyes filled with melancholy. As he did, something unusual passed by.

“Salamander…? That’s rare… and it’s a student who is holding the reins. Taming it to become a mount like that is impressive.”

Unlike the selectively bred usual land dragons, commanding a wild salamander was no easy feat. Even among the Empire’s knights, those who rode wild dragons were either born beastmasters or formidable individuals recognized by defeating them. Seeing a boy of their age, with a rather unkempt appearance and seemingly modest means, expertly controlling one, Luke muttered with genuine admiration in his voice.

“Could that be Cestlavie…?” Jill, prompted by Luke, glanced out the window with a puzzled expression, twisting her head.

“Cestlavie?”

That name. Luke felt like he had heard it somewhat recently.

“Yes, he’s a priest of the Saintess’ Church whom I met on my way to the capital. He said he was transferring to the academy, so I was looking for him at the entrance ceremony venue, but it seems he was skipping class instead.”

What a helpless person, that one… Jill sighed with a tone reminiscent of a worried older sister about her younger brother. While feeling somewhat irritated by the tone of familiarity she showed, Luke looked out the window again, but the person in question had already passed by.

“If it weren’t for the circumstances, I’d love to turn the carriage around to have a chat, but… there’s no helping it. —Well, seeing as he is in a uniform, he must be attending the academy as well. There will be chances to meet him again.”

“Besides, he still needs to teach me about his talisman art…” She added with a low voice, out of Luke’s earshot, as she lightly tapped her finger on her chin, smiling.

“Come to think of it, when did he manage to get a salamander as a mount? Now I’m curious, and it looked quite impressive. If he’s keeping it privately, maybe he’d let me ride it if I asked.”

Luke groaned when he heard her innocent remark.

“W- Wyverns are much cooler!”
“—? Why, yes they are. Lord Elmer’s Fubuki is very beautiful and elegant.”

“―So, when are you going to have your own wyvern? How many years away is that? And do you even have a guarantee that you’ll become a dragon knight? It’s been two years since you boasted about going to pick her up with your own dragon, right? Aren’t you worried someone might snatch her away before then?”

Then, an inner voice echoed in his mind, causing Luke to instinctively clutch his head and squirm in discomfort.

“W-What’s wrong, Luke? If you’re feeling unwell, I’ll treat you right away.”

Bending down in the swaying carriage, Jill peered at him with concern. Luke straightened up and forced a confident posture, saying, “N-No, I’m fine. I’m okay.”

However, that didn’t dispel the worried look from Jill’s eyes. Luke took a deep breath to calm himself and offered her a hesitant smile.

(What am I doing? I’m making Jill worry. To think I was on the brink of forgetting our important promise over this status quo.)

With that being said, training with the Empire’s wyverns in a foreign land was out of the question. Moreover, wyverns were national treasures, they couldn’t be taken out of the country.

(My only chance is either to capture a wild wyvern or obtain and hatch a wyvern egg…) Although, that couldn’t sound any more ludicrous. Between them, outright killing a wyvern would be much easier. (—Man, I’m pathetic.)

Jill and Luke, with their myriad of worries, arrived soon at the Safiras royal estate in the carriage.

♢♦♢♦♢

“Ku ku ku, as they say, shoot the horse and the knight will fall… Use the egg and the prince will fall! With that being said, I’ll capture the Prince’s heart and swiftly marry into my royal riches!!”

With determination burning in her expressionless face, Chaton clenched her fists tightly and let out a triumphant cry in front of the Graviol Empire’s embassy, which currently served as Luke’s temporary residence. At her feet lay a wooden crate that could easily contain a bottle of wine or more.

“Dunno what boss meant when he said it’s to ‘level the playing field,’ but if the prince’s a dragon enthusiast, he’ll surely fall head over heels for this dragon egg. My sweet, sweet retirement is just right around the corner. Boss usually never gives such a sensible mission.”

Despite her impassive demeanor, Chaton shook her shoulders with a smug expression.

This area was an aristocratic district, and she was behaving strangely in front of the embassy of the largest nation on the continent, the Graviol Empire. Naturally, it was impossible not to attract attention, but without caring about the gazes around her (or rather, without them even registering in her vision), Chaton grabbed the wooden crate and danced her way toward the main gate.

At that moment, she received a message from the guard post next to the entrance, and about ten fully armed guards were waiting, but of course, such extraneous details didn’t register in her eyes.

“Just you wait, Prince Charming!”

With that, the stern guards leaped towards the skipping girl in unison.

At a certain shady shop:

“Is it really okay to give a dragon egg to the prince?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. The childhood friend got a salamander, so the vanilla target Mister Handsome has to get a dragon. That’s the beauty of style.”
“Is that how it is?”
“Yup. And then the princess will innocently compare them and express her thoughts. And that’s when Jill Missy will say it, the thing!”
“…Huh?”

♢♦♢♦♢

According to a certain rose princess:
“Of course, my child is the cutest! Universal love? What’s that, is it tasty?”

Such exchanges are said to occur behind the scenes.