It was already several years ago that I thought that.
“……”
“……”
Inside the rattling train, the person sitting across from Alice was not the one Alice rembered.
Her blue hair, reaching down to her shoulders, had a dreamlike quality. Unlike Alice’s mory, the ends of her untied hair curled into waves, so if she hadn’t looked like she usually did, she could have easily been mistaken for soone from a noble family.
No, she was from a noble family, after all.
When she was very young, she grew up on the streets, and later, she spent so ti in an orphanage that sold people like objects. She escaped after killing the director, but her bloodline ran through the royal family.
In fact, even more than Alice, the rightful heir.
“Did you always do this kind of thing?”
“What kind of thing?”
Suddenly, Claire spoke, and Alice fixed her eyes on Claire, who had been glancing around, and responded.
Claire looked at her with an expression of annoyance.
“Interfering with everything the Emperor himself commanded and forcing your way in to do the sa.”
“……”
It was sothing she had done before.
When she had been feeling jealous and inferior to Sylvia, she had tried to follow everything Sylvia did. Every ti, Sylvia completed tasks more perfectly than Alice could ever manage, which only made Alice feel more inferior.
Ironically, the first real conversation Alice had had with Sylvia in a long while was on this train. Alice had always felt awkward being around Sylvia. But this ti, there were two even more awkward figures on the train, so Alice had no choice but to choose to sit in front of Sylvia.
And the conversation they had in that train made a huge impact on Alice.
“I guess you did.”
Claire snorted and looked out the window.
“You seed so close, I thought you must’ve been best friends since you were little.”
Alice had no reply to that comnt.
“But this ti, there was no choice. I t Charlotte for the first ti here.”
“……Well, I guess that can’t be helped.”
With a sigh, Claire wiped her face.
“I really thought we’d be able to stay together.”
“……”
“Ah, I know. You’re telling to be extra careful, right? Not to bring this up unless I absolutely have to.”
Luckily, Lucas and Jayden were imrsed in their own competition, so they didn’t react to this side of the conversation.
Until now, neither Claire nor Alice had said anything about Claire’s bloodline.
Moreover, the person Lucas had chosen this ti was not Sylvia, who had no Fangryphon blood, but Claire, who truly had the Emperor’s bloodline, which made it even more dangerous. If things went wrong, the world might move exactly as the Emperor had planned.
“But you said it yourself. ‘It won’t go like that.’”
Since coming to this world, Alice had t Sylvia only twice.
Sylvia, who had beco ‘Sylvia Grace’ instead of ‘Sylvia Fangryphon,’ was working very hard at the balls held at the palace.
While Claire had beco a ‘Grace’ because of her swordsmanship, it seed Sylvia had caught the Emperor’s eye with her particular knowledge. As a result, she was living a life very different from the one Claire had lived when she focused solely on swordsmanship as a child. While Claire was one of the inheritors of the Grace-style swordsmanship, ‘Sylvia Grace’ looked every bit the young lady from a noble family.
Unlike the Alice, Claire, and Sylvia who rembered the past, Sylvia’s partner at the ball, Leo, seed not to rember either of them.
This ant that those who were not involved with the relics or the goddess’s plan could not properly rember the world.
“That might not be the case.”
At the Grace estate, Sylvia, having changed her manner of speaking, said that. It made sense since they were at a ball. No matter how close she was to the princess, the daughter of a baron couldn’t speak informally.
But Claire looked uncomfortable seeing Sylvia like that.
“The introduction to the story was different. The past where I was beaten in the carriage, that was actually an impossible past. I had already escaped before that, by rewinding ti, so technically, I should never have even t that man.”
Her tone seed a little softer. Unlike her previous military-like tone, Sylvia’s earnest explanation now made her sound every bit the baron’s daughter. In so ways, even more than Claire.
Seeing Sylvia with her long black hair down, wearing a dark blue dress and acting so naturally, Alice couldn’t help but wonder if she was still the sa person.
...But even during such an important conversation, Alice wasn’t oblivious enough to point that out.
She tried hard to suppress a smile.
“So, the past we’re experiencing now might not actually be the ‘past.’ After all, the goddess wouldn’t have liked what I was doing, and the relic we were holding at that ti wasn’t the completed version. Also, part of my power ended up transferring to Claire, and I’m not sure what changes that caused yet.”
“Are you saying we’re in so kind of illusion?”
“It’s probably not a simple illusion. But at the sa ti, the goddess must have so intention. If ti wasn’t reversed but instead the situation was shifted and then replayed, creating that situation might also be the goddess’s power.”
“…So, does that an you could beco more dangerous in the future?”
Claire asked seriously. Alice, who had briefly lost focus, snapped back to attention at those words.
“That’s what I’m saying. So we need to be prepared too.”
“How?”
Alice asked.
“Well...”
Sylvia thought for a mont and then spoke.
“It’s best if we find the relics in advance.”
“But you just said this might be an illusion?”
At Claire’s words, Sylvia narrowed her brow slightly and, as if organizing her thoughts, spoke slowly.
“Even if it is an illusion, if the space feels just like reality, it’s not a place we can just dismiss as ‘just an illusion.’ It’s likely that this world isn’t very different from the one we lived in. Since the goddess couldn’t have recreated everything from start to finish, it’s more likely that she either created this space based on the world we lived in or temporarily altered it.”
Sylvia lightly moved the glass in her hand. The drink inside shimred. That didn’t seem like sothing that could be imagined and created out of nothing.
“Anyway, the goddess always intended to fix everything from the start. The world might be broken for a while as she removes the impurities, but it’s not a problem.”
“……”
“Besides, honestly…”
Sylvia briefly furrowed her brow before shaking her head.
“No, I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know once I’m certain.”
That was the end of what happened during Alice’s second eting with Sylvia.
Since it had been recreated according to the goddess’s will, Sylvia’s opinion was that it wouldn’t follow the Emperor’s plan.
“That doesn’t an we can ignore everything.”
“…True. You’ve been working hard yourself.”
In response to Alice’s words, Claire answered with a sigh.
After I ca back, ti passed quickly.
No, it passed really quickly.
This isn’t a taphor. It felt like, at tis, mories were disappearing, like the fras of the scenes were unnaturally cutting off. I felt like the story was progressing uncontrollably, regardless of my will.
My will was still being reflected. After making so plans, I could at least tell whether they succeeded or failed.
But when I wasn’t paying attention, when I thought sothing was unimportant, when I was spacing out, ti passed so quickly that it was incomprehensible.
Soone was rushing like crazy.
And I felt like I knew who that rushing person was.
After seeing those two for the last ti, so much ti had passed that it was already ti to enter the academy. At least, I didn’t feel like “years” had passed.
Had Claire and Alice realized this too?
“Sister—”
In a corridor full of people, a familiar voice called out from a distance.
Unlike before, Claire was already sure that I was her ‘sister.’
But before Claire could greet happily and approach, there was soone else, equally eager to rush toward .
“Sister!”
“Ugh.”
Claire couldn’t even hide her surprise at Leo’s voice.
“Leo.”
I quietly responded to Leo, and Claire froze in place.
Hmm, she looked like she had seen sothing creepy.
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