Fenrick's visit was very surprising.
Moreover, he was clearly an NPC related to Dietrich's route, but Dietrich's popularity level was not particularly high. After all, it was still early in the game.
However, Precipi allowed Fenric to enter. The reason was simple.
I thought she might get some additional information.
“I was worried that my surprise visit might be a breach of etiquette.”
There were few in the Imperial Palace who treated Priscipe with proper respect. In a way, that was understandable. After all, she was someone who had been stripped of the title of princess. There was nothing to gain from it.
Of course, it also didn't help that Dietrich kept her confined to the tower, giving her no chance to meet anyone except Ella.
Wenrich, who was fully aware of such circumstances as a close ally of Dietrich, behaved with an almost embarrassing level of tact.
“I am very grateful that you agreed to meet me so willingly.”
“No, it's okay.”
Prisippi murmured quietly.
“So, you said you had business with me...”
“Oh, it's nothing important.”
Fenric answered as if he wanted to reassure her.
“Prince Atari’s entourage returned to the Thane Empire this morning. As I mentioned before, the situation will not deteriorate any further.”
“……”
"But since what happened was a murder inside the palace, we need to conduct a comprehensive investigation to ensure everyone's safety. After all, we cannot be sure that the killer was targeting Prince Attar alone."
"So, have you found out anything else? About who killed Prince Atari, or how he ended up dying this way?"
“I met Noah Duffern yesterday, but I didn't learn anything noteworthy. Anyway, since you also saw Prince Atari the other day, I wanted to ask you some questions. I heard His Majesty asking you about that day as well, but there's no harm in checking a few times.”
Dietrich had sent him, and that was reason enough for him to visit.
“Okay…but there’s nothing I can tell you anymore. I’ve already shared everything with His Majesty.”
Precipi spoke slowly.
“Prince Atari was rude to me, so I left the party. On my way back to the party hall, I heard that he had been killed. I was so shocked that I went to see for myself, and then… well, you know the rest.”
"Show."
“Yes. Huh?”
“That will be enough.”
huh?
Did he really come all this way just to end the investigation like this?
Prisippi nodded, her eyes wide.
“……”
Whether he noticed her confusion or not, Fenric remained silent for a moment. Then, with his red eyes, he slowly scanned the narrow room in the tower.
...It gave her a strange feeling of shame.
“Do you hate flowers, princess?”
What was he talking about now?
Presibe followed Fenric's gaze belatedly and realized. He was staring at the empty vase on the table the whole time.
“I'm not asking for investigative purposes, so you can answer comfortably.”
“Flowers…?”
suddenly?
“Well, no, I don't hate them. In fact, I love them.”
“The vase is empty, you see.”
“……”
“Your maid must not be doing her job properly, leaving the vase bare like this.”
At Fenric's comment, Prisippi tilted her head slightly.
Now that she thought about it, Ella wasn't the type of maid who paid attention to such details. None of the other maids did either. To them, Preseppe was not someone worth caring about, let alone arranging flowers for.
‘…But why is there a vase here?’
Precipe suddenly remembered the first day she had come to the tower—the same day Dietrich had dragged her here.
At that time, the tower was completely empty. Even the few items that exist now were all things Preseppe bought after her arrival.
...When did this vase appear? Who brought her here?
“Putting flowers in a room can make it look less lonely.”
“……”
“Don't you think so?”
Fenric smiled as he said this, as if he was waiting for Prisippi's response. Then he continued his speech.
“Being here alone means you feel very lonely.”
“Oh, well… yeah.”
“What else do you like, besides flowers?”
Fenric Preseppe's question made her smile a weak, empty smile. Nothing came to her mind immediately.
It wasn't surprising. Ever since she fell into the trap of this game, all Preseppe thought about was how to gain the trust of the male characters in order to survive.
Or she spent her time trembling in fear, haunted by memories of her tragic death.
“You probably already know this, but there's a festival in a few days.”
"festival?"
"It's not hosted by the Imperial Palace, so it's not a big celebration, but the festival is still a lively event. Especially for the merchants in the market – it's a very busy time."
Was there such a thing?
Since she was in detention the whole time, she had no way of knowing whether the festival would take place or not. Since it wasn't tied to progress in the game, she never cared.
"The cold is starting to ease, and spring is approaching, so the flowers will be blooming soon. It's a perfect excuse to call this a festival. You will be able to see a lot of flowers that you love."
“But… I can’t go to places like this.”
Prisippi found herself muttering dryly.
“I must always stay here.”
“……”
“You know that well, don't you?”
How could he not do that? He is Dietrich's closest associate, after all. Prisippi smiled self-deprecatingly.
“Okay...”
But the response that came was somewhat unexpected.
“حسنًا، لا أحد يعلم ما قد يحدث. فالحياة لا تسير دائمًا وفقًا لخطة محددة، أليس كذلك؟”
"pardon…?"
“Wouldn't life be so boring if that were the case?”
Fenric smiled weakly, then twitched the corner of his mouth. But Presibe couldn't return the same feelings to her.
There was something unsettling in Fenric's words – an underlying harshness that made her feel uncomfortable.
“على أية حال، أشكرك على تخصيص الوقت اليوم. لقد طلبت كل ما أحتاج إليه، لذا سأغادر الآن.”
After speaking at length about the festival that no one had asked about, Fenric stood up without the slightest hesitation. Then, after bowing politely to Presibe, he began to walk toward the door with his long strides.
Prisippi sat there and just stared at his back.
The moment he tried to reach the doorknob, Fenric turned to look at her again.
"I hope we can have a longer conversation next time. I think this might help you, my princess."
"…I?"
“After all, there is no one here you can talk to freely, right?”
Prisippi froze.
عادةً، تعني عبارة “شخص يمكنك التحدث معه بحرية” شخصًا يمكنك التفاعل معه بشكل مريح، دون قلق.
But…
Is this what he really meant?
Did he say it in that direct sense, or was there more?
“Okay, until we meet again.”
With his heavy voice, this was followed by the sound of the door opening and closing.
تركت وحدها مرة أخرى، حدقت بريسيبي بصمت في الباب المغلق بتعبير صارم قبل أن تطلق تنهيدة.
“What on earth is happening...?”
There was no sense. Bugs kept spreading widely, Atari died out of nowhere, and now an NPC that couldn't even be properly inquired about came and went.
“…oh.”
وبينما كان الصداع النابض يزداد سوءًا، ضغطت بريسيبي بأصابعها على صدغيها، ثم توقفت.
Her gaze fell on the empty vase.
The same vase that Fenric mentioned earlier.
“……”
Reaching out her hand, Prisippi quietly picked up the vase and examined it. But there was nothing at all unusual about it. It was just an ordinary vase.
However, if there was anything that felt a bit unnatural…
“…Doesn’t it seem a bit ordinary for something used in a palace?”
Atiluia was the most powerful empire in this world.
A powerful nation was, by definition, one with enormous wealth.
The imperial palace has always been full of luxury and extravagance. Even the objects Precipe used in this limited tower reflected this – the jeweled furniture, the intricate carvings, and even the cups were sumptuous.
But the vase in front of her was completely out of place in such a luxurious palace.
It was charming in its simplicity, but still...
“……”
Precipe's eyes widened as she stared at the vase, and her expression changed.
“…Flowers.”
She had died and resurrected so many times that she had lost count of the number of resets that had occurred.
But maybe...at the time she was working on Dietrich Road.
At that time, there was an event – the humiliation of imprisonment in the Ice Prison. When she returned to the tower next, she found the vase on the table filled with flowers.
“Yes...at that time...shortly after I was possessed by the demon...”
Early in her possession, Presippi tried to beat Dietrich first.
She died over and over again.
Even now, remembering those horrific deaths makes her shudder, so it must have been much worse back then.
Ultimately, Prisippi ended her life prematurely, feeling broken and exhausted. On the day of Dietrich's celebratory banquet—the first major event in the game involving male characters—she left the banquet hall and drowned herself in the lake.
Of course, there was no point in killing herself. The game has simply been reset.
After some time had passed – perhaps after resetting several times, or perhaps later – there was a night following the Ice Prison event. She returned to the tower, exhausted, to find the vase on the table full of blooming flowers.
For Prisippi, who had been trapped in the tower ever since he was trapped in the game, those flowers were a huge relief.
[“Putting flowers in a vase might make a room look less gloomy. Don’t you think?”]
Fenric's words were true. She cried a lot that night, staring at the flowers that looked as vivid as those in the real world.
Naturally, she quickly forgot about it, considering everything she had been through.
It couldn't be because of the maids. If it had been their doing, they would have continued filling the vase with flowers after that.
“…Who on Earth?”
تمتمت بريسيبي بصوت فارغ.
ولكن لم يخطر ببالي أحد.
***
It was very late at night.
As always, Noah was resting in his room, filled with stuffed animals and other artifacts, when he fell into a light sleep.
But this sleep was suddenly interrupted.
We heard a knock on the front door of the palace.
“Who in the world has such bad behavior at this hour…?”
Noah was only wearing a nightgown, and mumbled irritably as he walked down the hall.
Could it be a stranger?
Fenric's recent warnings about potential intruders monitoring his collection of rare items came to mind.
Grumbling, Noah grabbed an ornate sword—which he had no actual skill with—and opened the front door.
But there was no one to receive him.
Instead, there was a huge body, wrapped in a black cloth, sitting in front of the door.
It was placed on a small cart, as if to make it easier to transport.
Noah hesitated for a moment before carefully pulling the fabric down.
“This is…”
His expression turned into shock.