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“Prince Mikhail, you truly… possess remarkable insight. Even among adults who have lived many years, there are few who could respond as you did. I am deeply impressed by the difference in your innate qualities.”

Great talents show early. He must have seemed different even as a small child.

However, at Ekaterina’s words, Mikhail laughed.

“I’d love to leave you with such an impression, but it isn’t so. Aleksei probably remembers well, but when I was little, I was an awfully arrogant and unpleasant child.”
“That cannot possibly be true.”

You are too modest, Prince~
I cannot imagine him being arrogant at all.

Yet Mikhail lowered his gaze as he spoke.

“It’s true. When I think back on it now, it’s truly embarrassing, but at the time I believed I was the most important person in the world. Well, His Former Majesty and Father and Mother were exceptions, of course… but in any case, I was raised being quite pampered.”

Hearing that, Ekaterina’s eyes widened involuntarily.

I see… when you put it that way, it’s only natural.
The only son of the man who was Crown Prince at the time, the heir who was to succeed to the imperial throne. An only child, and though it sounds crude to say it, with no younger brother to serve as a spare—he was a singular existence. It is entirely plausible that those around him wrapped him in cotton, treasuring him too much to scold him.
If anything, the impressive part is that at sixteen he has already completely graduated from being a brat. He is still very much a child; it would not have been strange at all if he had continued being pampered and throwing his weight around.

“Even after children of the same age came to study with me, I remained completely self-indulgent. They understood status even as children, and did nothing but obey me. In studies, in martial arts, even in play, none of them tried to defeat me.”
“I see… In that case, it seems it could not be helped.”

By study companions, does he mean when he began lessons with tutors? For nobles, that is usually around five years old. So this must have been when the prince was five or six. In my previous life, that would be just before or after entering elementary school….
At that age, even without being a prince, most children are selfish.

“But there was one who was different. Aleksei.”
“My!”

Ekaterina’s brother-complex flared up and her eyes sparkled, while Mikhail gave a wry smile.

“Aleksei showed absolutely no mercy. He was two years older, and in both studies and martial arts, I was no match for him. I had never lost before, so I remember crying and shouting in frustration. While the other children and attendants panicked, Aleksei looked at me coldly—and gave me my first scolding.”

A-as expected of Onii-sama….
Now that I think about it, the prince once said that being lectured by my brother was very painful. I was scolded by him only once, and even with the mind of someone in her late twenties, I found myself hanging my head under that pressure.
So the prince experienced that thoroughly back then.

He handled himself so maturely when he placed third in the academy exams, so it was hard to think there was a time he was being childish. Perhaps that is why he is as he is now?
The ten-year-old Onii-sama I saw in the portrait with Grandfather was adorable. He must have become the prince’s study companion even earlier, when he was smaller. And the prince at five or six… Fufu, he must have been very cute.
Though the one crying and shouting may not appreciate it, the overall picture must have been adorable.

“Did you dislike my brother at that time, Prince Mikhail?”

When Ekaterina asked, Mikhail laughed softly.

“There were times when I did, and times when I didn’t. Even back then, Aleksei had a unique charm. A solitary air about him. Sometimes I didn’t even want to see his face, and other times I was desperate to earn his recognition… but I was certain that he was different from the other study companions. I think I wanted to be friends with him. But Aleksei steadfastly maintained the attitude that I was his future sovereign and he his subject.”

Without saying more, Mikhail let out a small sigh.

Sorry. Onii-sama is that kind of person… the original archetype of a tsundere, so he only has the “tsun” part for anyone outside a specific target. It seems he was like that even from such a young age.

“But one day, he appeared holding the hand of Vladimir, who had gotten lost and was crying. Aleksei was very kind to Vladimir.”

Ahhh.
The original tsundere’s “dere” target has appeared!
So Onii-sama’s type is someone he feels compelled to protect. I can understand why the prince was not the “dere” target. And if he had been soft toward his future sovereign, that would have produced a dangerously devoted retainer. A subject viewing his lord through a filter would be frightening.

“Because the way he treated him was completely different from how he treated me, I sulked about it. I’m the prince, I’m the important one, I would think.”

That is so cute!
A little prince sulking, saying “But I’m the prince”—I want to see that!

Unable to help herself, Ekaterina laughed and covered her mouth with both hands.

“Vladimir was exceptionally gifted as well, and I could not beat him at studies at all. Not just me—he had knowledge that would put adults to shame. But back then he was shy yet gentle, and he mediated between Aleksei and me. Thanks to that, we were finally able to get along.”
“I see….”

If he was able to become close with those two, then the prince must have been quite exceptional even back then. Perhaps the other children did not refrain from trying to win—they simply could not win.
What formidable children with such promising futures. Their Majesties must have watched the three of them with great fondness.

“…But then Duke Sergei suddenly passed away.”

Mikhail’s tone changed, and Ekaterina started.

“Aleksei and Vladimir both abruptly stopped coming to visit me. Aleksei began spending much of his time in the territory after Duke Sergei’s funeral, and Vladimir fell gravely ill, so it could not be helped. But even when I saw them again after a long while, each of them wore a dark expression. Especially Vladimir—he changed from that time onward.”

Mikhail smiled sadly.

…As for Onii-sama, there was no other way. In a house seized by that old hag, he was forced at a young age to take on the role of acting lord and became isolated.
But—and this suddenly occurs to me. Did Vladimir know what his house, Jurmagna, had been doing to ours? Sending people to embezzle large sums of money and appropriating those funds for themselves—a criminal act.
At the time, he was only nine. …Surely he could not have known? But if so, why did he change…?

Setting aside the budding thought for the moment, Ekaterina smiled gently at Mikhail.

“That must have been very lonely for you.”
“Yes. …But perhaps I grew up a little then. Father had told me then, that we are born with a fate to be alone.”

We—those who inherit the throne.
Her chest tightened, and Ekaterina lowered her eyes.

The loneliness of an emperor.
I cannot even imagine it.

Even if you become friends with someone, your friendship will grant that friend privileges or special treatment. Even if that friend does not desire such things, people who wish to connect themselves to you will swarm around them, offering rewards in exchange for favors, corrupting them. Your own friendship becomes something like poison.
And you might one day have to punish that friend yourself.

Even if that does not happen, no matter how close a friend may be, how much strength could they truly lend you? When you ascend the throne and must make decisions that determine the fate of the nation, who can share that responsibility and burden with you? Those decisions will be carved into history under your name.

What can I possibly say?
If there is anything I can say….

Ekaterina lifted her face and looked at Mikhail.

“A fate to be alone—is it. However, even if one is fated to become alone someday…is it not different for the time being? After all, we are still students at the academy.”

You are not yet emperor, but one student among many at the academy, enjoying that life.
You are only sixteen—a child.

From the perspective of someone in her late twenties, you are just a child.
Friends made in childhood need not be weighed so heavily…maybe.
Friends from one’s student days play together and share good memories. Once they enter society, paths diverge, and it is common not to meet so often. Nobody needs to abandon the present for the sake of a future position.

Mikhail blinked in slight surprise, then smiled.

“Thank you. I’m glad to have gained you as a friend.”

Huh?
Ugh.
Gah!

S-sorry. I, too, bear the fate of a villainess, and you are the embodiment of my ruin flag.
So I ought to keep my distance.

My countermeasures against ruin flags have become completely lax, and I did think of him as a good friend, but hearing it put into words in this flow of conversation makes it… somehow… well….
Instead of keeping my distance, I feel as though I must take the position of best friend in place of Onii-sama and Vladimir!

I have come to understand that this world is not the otome game itself but something like its source material, and events have diverged somewhat from the game. Yet even so, just as in the game, absurd events like magical beasts suddenly appearing in the imperial capital—the capital of a great empire—still occur!
It’s frightening!

While Ekaterina flustered inwardly, Mikhail smiled happily.

“Summer break will soon be over, but will you talk with me again like this when we return to the academy? …There are not many people with whom I can have such conversations.”

Auuuhhh.
I-if I reject that, I would be a demon!

“Ah… if my brother permits it.”

My trump card: my brother with the sister complex!

At that, Mikhail tilted his head, looking somewhat troubled, almost sad.

Are you a dog in front of a gramophone? A certain company’s trademark?
Stop it, now I feel compelled to say, All right, I understand, it’s completely fine, just smile!
Waaah, what am I supposed to do with this puppy?

Just as Ekaterina was panicking inwardly—

“So this is as far as it goes,”

Mikhail murmured.
What does he mean? she wondered, when an unexpected voice called out.

“My lady!”

Yvan, her brother’s valet, came running up, unusually out of breath.

“Yvan, is something wrong?”
“His Grace searching for you, milady. When you could not be found, he grew concerned.”
“My!”

Crud, I’ve carelessly let time pass.
Even as she thought so, Ekaterina felt relieved.

“I am sorry to have made you come all this way.”

As she said it, she noticed something.

“Yvan, your hair is disheveled.”
“I was… obstructed by a rather ill-natured fox.”

Saying so, Yvan irritably brushed back his hair.

What fox?

Ekaterina looked around, but saw nothing of the sort.
Instead, she noticed something else.

“My, Luka, your jacket—”

On the sleeve of the uniform jacket worn by Mikhail’s valet Luka, there was a tear and dirt.
Was that also the fox’s doing? He had been waiting with Mina at the entrance to the rear garden. When did that happen? Ekaterina tilted her head.

“You are not injured, are you? Should you not have a physician examine you?”
“Thank you for your concern. It is only the clothing, so I am fine.”

Narrowing his threadlike eyes even further, Luka smiled.
Yvan seemed to glare at him.

“Sorry to have taken your time, Ekaterina. Shall we return?”

Saying that, Mikhail extended his right hand. The scene she had just witnessed vanished from Ekaterina’s mind. Wah—an escort from the prince! Is this all right? From a ruin-flag-avoidance perspective, is this safe?
However, in terms of etiquette, in a situation where Prince Mikhail has offered his hand for an escort, it would be unthinkable for Ekaterina, daughter of a duke, to refuse. Especially after the flow of their conversation.

Fine, it cannot be helped. He’s a puppy!

Escaping into such thoughts, Ekaterina gently placed her left hand upon Mikhail’s arm.