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Feeling like the princess of a certain Mouseland in the midst of the festival-turned-chaotic town, we spent nearly half a day parading from the main gate to the royal palace, swaying along in the carriage.

Once we arrived at the palace, we were pulled out onto a balcony overlooking the entire courtyard of the now-open palace. Luke delivered an improvised and dignified speech, and I, drawing on skills from my prime days… or rather, switching gears to when I was the Shrine Maiden Princess Clara, was to give a speech to the gathered citizens.

“—That concludes my remarks. Thank you all for your kind attention. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone assembled here, and I sincerely pray that the blessings of the Saintess may be upon you all.”

Though “attention” might have been an understatement—the crowd erupted in cheers loud enough to nearly burst eardrums, and many of the listeners fainted from excitement midway through—I hesitated inwardly but somehow managed to finish according to plan. At that moment, Lady Lieselotte’s father—who, surprisingly, cast a far less imposing shadow than one would expect of a king—appeared. In contrast, Lady Lieselotte’s mother, the queen consort, stood regally and left a far stronger impression than her husband. The king murmured a few words.

In essence, his message was:

“To have the Imperial Prince and Princess study in our country is a remarkable achievement that will go down in history.”
“The Shrine Maiden Princess, in particular, is said to be a descendant of His Holiness Pope Theodoros of the Eunice Theocracy. To say that Livitium is her second homeland is not an exaggeration.”
“Moreover, both are close friends of my daughter, the Third Princess Lieselotte. I hope their friendship remains steadfast going forward.”

Summed up, it could probably have been said in three short lines. Yet, the king spoke for over an hour, layering countless euphemisms and rhetorical flourishes. To top it off, His Majesty wasn’t exactly the best-looking. So, by the end, the citizens had grown weary and restless.

Anyhow, by this point, including the ceremonies before and after, just the greetings alone had taken about three hours.

By the time we noticed, evening was falling, so the stage shifted to the grand hall of the palace for the banquet that followed. Including preparations, we had to wait another two hours before it officially began.

Night had fully fallen, and under the lights of the chandeliers—which were actually magic items that emitted light—the ceremony, following ancient customs like an intangible cultural heritage, stretched on for more than four hours. Finally, the banquet itself began.

One by one, members of the royal family, nobility, and other prominent figures were introduced to me.

A relentless torrent of insincere flattery and social pleasantries.
Noble gentlemen spouting flowery compliments, clearly driven by ulterior motives.
Groups of curious ladies pressing questions about my beauty routine.
Young ladies chirping like little birds as they observed us.
Members of the Saintess Church, nearly transformed into fanatical devotees, practically vibrating with excitement.
And, on top of that, being invited to dance over fifty times in succession.

“—And that’s why people used to say a woman’s happiness is determined by men. But in my opinion, it is a man’s life that is determined by his woman!”
“Is that so? What a profound observation. Truly, it is like scales falling from my eyes.”
“Ha ha ha! Indeed, indeed!”

Before I knew it, there was no one I knew around me, and for some reason, I found myself nodding along to a greasy thirty-year-old ambassador from a neighboring country, talking about his love life. Just then, Princess Lieselotte and Viola arrived together.

“Pardon the interruption to your conversation, Ambassador Dalibor. As her school friends, we wish to rekindle our camaraderie, so may we borrow the Shrine Maiden Princess for a short while?”
“O…oh! Your Highnesses, my apologies! Indeed, indeed, you must have much to catch up on. Well then, I shall take my leave. Ah, Your Holiness, as I mentioned earlier, please do honor our country with your visit!”

Ambassador Dalibor looked for a moment as if Princess Lieselotte had just snatched the last slice of pizza he had been eyeing, but he quickly pasted on a smile and, repeatedly emphasizing his points in an overly insistent manner, excused himself from the gathering.

“Are you all right, Jill? I’ve been watching, and you’ve had that smile for about four hours now, and it still hasn’t changed.”
“Is that so? That’s quite profound, one that truly makes it feel as if scales have fallen from my eyes. …Ah, but there is no problem. Bring me arrows, guns, Ideon, or even the Gurren Lagann—I am ready for anything.”
“Hmm. You’ve completely broken, haven’t you?”

Princess Lieselotte shook her head in pity, holding a wine glass in one hand.

“Honestly… what are Prince Lucas and Cestlavie doing? They’re your Knights, and they leave their important princess unattended?”

Viola frowned sharply in indignation. The two young men—an imperial prince of the Empire and a Eunice priest—had been invited here as distinguished guests, but were not present. (The others had been invited to a different party, hosted by the Adventurers’ Guild, at another venue.)
A passing maid handed over some drinks, sandwiches, and light snacks, like crackers, offering them to me.

Gratefully accepting, I said,

“Well, Cestlavie ran off as soon as the party began. He’s probably showing his face at the other venue. As for Luke, it seems he’s been captured by the queen…consort, and can’t break free.”

Looking in that direction, the queen consort—who was old enough to be Luke’s mother—wore the expression of a cougar in heat as she grabbed Luke’s arm and deliberately pressed her chest to him, like a snapping turtle that refused to let her prey go.
Luke looked bewildered, while the king—sitting right next to her—drank his ale quietly, his presence almost nonexistent.

After being momentarily speechless at the sight,

“Ah, s-sorry, Jill! My mother means no harm. She just… has no restraint with someone she fancies. She’s not trying to take the prince from you or anything… I think?”

Princess Lieselotte hurriedly explained.
Why, at the end, is she speaking in a question?