Drop!! ～A Tale of the Fragrance Princess～ (LN)

Volume 06, Act 64: People who Inherited Red Eyes and the Encounter

Translator: Blushy

Editor: delishnoodles

If we go into town, then we will probably go to the noble district, was what Cordelia had thought, but Rufina wanted to see how the common people lived.

Unlike Rufina, who was dressed in travelling clothes, Cordelia had changed into a dress for her attendance at the castle, therefore she brought a cheap stole so that she wouldnt stand out. However, she still felt uncomfortable since she still stood out in the commoner district.

Its a lively city, isnt it?

Is it different from your kingdom after all?

Our capital city is for the nobles. There are commoners living there, but it feels different. Well, it isnt bad over there either, but it will probably take some time before I can invite you there.

Im glad you didnt say it was impossible for me to visit.

Rufina chuckled at Cordelias words.

As I thought, you are interesting.

When Rufina said that, Cordelia heard the sound of her stomach rumble.

Cordelia and Rufina kept looking at each other, but Rufina eventually started laughing.

Sorry. It seems like Im hungry.

Its alright. It does smell nice around here.

There was a sandwich stall nearby which served thick slices of grilled bacon between bagels.

But you dont eat while standing since youre a Princess, right?

Eating while standing? Thats also fun. Luckily, we dont have any guards with us right now.

Cordelia was hesitant to stand and eat in a crowd, so she brought bagels from the stall and then they stopped by the nearby park at Rufinas request. There werent many people around the park, but there were a lot of trees and shade to rest under.

Cordelia sat down on a bench then handed Rufina one of the bagels she had purchased. However, Rufina stared at the bagel with a somewhat puzzled expression on her face.

( Perhaps.)

Cordelia said one phrase, Pardon me, before taking a bite of the bagel in her hand and held it out to Rufina.

Im sorry for bothering you. Im sure theres nothing to worry about, but Im not used to eating something before its tested for poison.

I already ate a lot in a single bite.

Rufina had said that she was used to being nearly killed, so Cordelia thought that perhaps she needed a poison tester, and it seemed like she was right.

Rufina also took a bite from the bagel that had been bitten into.

Its tasty.

Im glad to hear that.

But there are many good-natured people in this kingdom. If Sylvester-dono had a brother then I would have loved to take him as a husband, but I would also like to have you as a husband had you been a man.

Cordelia rolled her eyes at those words, but Rufina continued without care.

Sylvester-dono will probably become a good king. Ive known him for three years, but I know very well that he doesnt have to worry about anything since hes rounded up a lot of good people.

The neighbouring kingdoms arent pleased that hes too smart, but if it werent for him, then my plan probably wouldnt have worked.

Youre right.

Honestly, we had invaded Crista in the past, but if we were to invade now, Crista has enough power to push back. Therefore, I had to accept a lot of conditions, but he was still able to convince others behind the scene to agree with the conditions. He must have been thinking about the people.

He wants to reduce the burden on the northern border by crushing the flames of war to have a bright future.

What? Are you not happy?

It seems like something thats happening far away

Cordelia had no way of knowing such a thing since she avoided him, and the things that happened to Sylvester were completely different from Cordelias daily life, so she didnt know what to say. As a citizen of this kingdom, she knew that she should be happy about this.

However, she felt complicated about asking this since it was likely that Sylvester was Gille.

This is quite interesting. He said he couldnt lose to a lady and wanted to be proud. I thought he was talking about you, but am I wrong?

I have never had such conversations with His Highness.

I see. Well, it has nothing to do with me. But even if he wasnt talking about you, Im personally interested in you. Ghost is probably interested in you as well because of your red eyes.

Cordelia gulped a little at those words.

So, it wasnt a mistake when you said red-eyed brethrensome time ago?

Rufina narrowed her eyes at Cordelias question.

When I see your red eyes, I think that it would have been great if I had a sister like you. The Pameradias are descendants of a nomad tribe, right? But have you heard about who they were before that?

No.

Your ancestors were originally part of Dulauss royal family.

This was the first time that Cordelia had heard this.

Dulauss royal family you say?

Well, it was so long ago that I dont even consider you my relative. It all started when the man who should be considered as your founder disagreed with the royal family and left the kingdom.

Cordelia had never heard this from Elvis, but judging from the look on Rufinas face, she wasnt joking either.

The Dulaus royal family also originally excelled in plant magic. But they lost that power as a result of favouring direct attack magic that gave them an advantage in war. Thats the reason why the royals are revered as royalty. They couldnt even cope with the food shortage.

And, foolish kings continued to ascend the throne.

The way Rufina said it made it seemed as if she was mocking the Dulaus royal family.

Well, thanks to them, I look smart so isnt it great? Doesnt it seem like this stage was set for me?

I see.

Well, thats far from praise, isnt it annoying? Having said that, its not nice to suddenly be told that kind of thing. But then again, Ghost is also similar.

Excuse me?

He is also from the royal lineage. Unlike your family, he seems to be descended from a man who was executed for betrayal several generations ago. I havent told Sylvester-dono this yet.

Cordelia stared at Rufina wondering if that was the reason why she wanted to go out with her without guards and Rufina nodded. She seemed to have understood Cordelias thoughts.

I dont know what hes thinking, but he once told me that he was getting in my way because Its seems interesting and youre from the same red-eyed family as me. If its because of my red eyes, then I thought he might be obsessed with you too.

Because of my red-eyes?

Even though Earl Pameradias sons also have red eyes, Ive heard that theyre very skilled in martial arts, so I dont think Ghost would go near them. But, youre different from them. Even if he appears before me, it seems like it would be harder to catch him than get in contact with my brother.

Itll be tough.

Cordelia was a little troubled by Rufinas testy look.

(Ghost told me that he knew about me when we first met. But I never asked him when he heard about me.)

But still, Im not convinced that thats why he approached me.

If people with red eyes have poor combat skills, then my sister Malvina is the same. But I havent heard anything about this from her. Maybe Rufina-sama thinks that Im worth mocking, but what she said bothers me.

We might have had the same ancestors in the past. But from what Ive heard, a lot of time has passed since my family left Dulaus Kingdom. Our origins trace back to before the founding of Crista Kingdom, so I think it would be difficult to say that Im from the same red-eyed family as Rufina-sama.

Youre right. But he has shown himself in front of you, has he not?

Shes not wrong.

Cordelia has been involved with Ghost three times in the past.

Although Cordelia wasnt convinced by the things Rufina had said, she couldnt find a reason to deny this no matter how much she thought.

(It makes me uneasy that Ghost appeared in front of Rufina-sama This supports Rufina-samas claim of him approaching people with red eyes.

Ghost had said that he didnt want to approach the Crista Kingdoms castle because its heavily guarded. Nevertheless, he approached Rufina-sama, who is probably just as heavily guarded because shes a part of the royal family.

He approached her even though she always has her guard up to the point where she wont eat something unless its tasted for poison first.

(Hes someone who watches things happen from a safe distance. Its too inconsistent for him to approach Rufina-sama unless he has a reason to. But is that reason really because of her eye colour?)

Even though that question came to her mind, she couldnt think of another reason.

You dont seem convinced. Well, its no surprise.

To be honest, the Ghost who I confronted and the Ghost who you spoke off seem completely different. But no matter the reason, the problem will go away when he is caught.

Thats a very promising thing to say. Then, Ill be relying on you when the time comes. Im not asking you to catch him directly. But if you do have the chance to catch him, then I hope you would put that as your top priority.

Even if you have to risk my safety.

Rufina-sama?

Does that mean the operation has already begun? When Cordelia was about to ask that, strong wind blew in the area along with an unpleasant feeling. Cordelia knew straight away that this wind wasnt natural and had been conjured up with magic.

Cordelia stood up and stood so that she was protecting Rufina with her back. She remembered that Rufina had called herself strong, but still, she couldnt let an important person from another kingdom face Ghost.

However, Rufina was also confident and running away didnt seem like an option to her.

The fool has appeared at last.

The way you say makes it seem like you went out of your way to pick a secluded spot to invite me here. Well, Ill go along with it though.

The person who had emerged from behind the trees after Rufina spoke was the person Cordelia had expected to see Ghost.

Cordelia widened her eyes in surprise since Rufina sounded like she knew that Ghost would come here.

(Did Rufina-sama use herself as bait to lure out Ghost?)

Why did she do something so sudden?

Cordelia couldnt feel any guards hidden nearby. Rufina hadnt asked for Sylvesters help and did this on her own. She could feel the presence of civilians nearby, but she couldnt get them involved with this. The unnatural wind that Ghost had summoned seemed to be stopping sound from leaking out.

Cordelia panicked while not letting this show on her face and Ghost let out a low laughter.

It seems like it would be interesting to push Dulauss Princess into despair when her dearest wish had been fulfilled, so Ive been looking for the chance to do so, but I didnt think that two red-eyed girls would be waiting for me. What a fun miscalculation.

Rufina laughed at the amused Ghost.

Its a pleasant miscalculation for us too. Normally, you wouldnt show yourself in vain like this. Were you lured by two red-eyed beauties?

Rufina boosted her magic while spitting out words that seemed as if they were spoken lightly.

Well, normally I wouldnt think its interesting to appear myself, but I thought it would be fun since you went out of your way to invite me like this.

Then, Ill give you something called a judgment. Feel free to receive it.

Cordelia looked around while listening to the two talk.

There werent many people around just like when they had arrived here. Which meant that they wouldnt get any civilians involved in this situation, but at the same time, she couldnt ask for help.

Cordelia knew that she didnt have the means to catch Ghost directly, but there was a lot of greenery in this park so it was possible for her to at least stop him.

Rufina-sama.

Cordelia-sama, cover me. Ill catch that.

Even though Rufina had said that, Cordelia had no idea what kind of strategy Rufina would use. Rufina was used to it since she said she trained every day, but Cordelia didnt even know what kind of magic Rufina could use. But the uncomfortable feeling remained within her.

(Ghost is quick at getting away, so he wouldnt appear in front of an opponent who he would lose to. If hes interacted with Rufina-sama before now, then theres a good chance he knows about her abilities In other words, he doesnt think he will lose.)

If so, then I can understand just how important my support is. But I cant understand why Rufina-sama forced herself to confront Ghost to this extent. Even if Rufina-sama is stronger, its difficult to back her up from my position.

Besides, another uncomfortable feeling was swirling around in Cordelias head.

(Ghost had given Ted false hope and encouraged Zakharov to follow his desires. If Shelleys curse was also the work of Ghost, then he liked to trick people with flattery.)

Even if he was looking for a chance to see if he could crush Rufina-samas hopes, hes not manipulating people like he normally does to enjoy his cheap play. I cant help but feel that hes acting differently from the past since he showed up to fight Rufina-sama.

(But I shouldnt worry about that now.)

Cordelia tried to chase away her thoughts about Ghost while being nervous about Ghosts and Rufinas movement, and Ghost laughed.

Well, thats how it will turn out, right?

Then, Ghost jumped straight at Rufina without hesitation.

Cordelia concentrated all her magic, sent it flying towards the surrounding plants and trees, and tried to create a wall in front of Rufina.

But the movement she reached her hand out, she felt a strong gaze from Ghost.

Try again.

She realised that Ghost was heading her direction almost at the same time she heard his voice.

She felt a severe impact on her stomach and couldnt even speak as air leaked out from her throat. However, she didnt lose her consciousness, but the impact was so great that Cordelia collapsed to the ground.

Rufina shouted at the same time.

You!

Youre a Princess, so dont raise your voice. Well, Im sure you deliberately wanted yourself to be caught here, but I dont have any obligation to go along with that.

Cordelia withheld the pain, but her body wouldnt move well. She knew that she had to do something about Ghost since he was standing next to her, but she couldnt even take her hands off the ground.

However, Ghosts words threw her into confusion.

(Rufina-sama wasnt just luring him here, she wanted him to capture her? Whats the meaning of this?)

More importantly, I have to tell Rufina-sama to run away as soon as possible. She thought, but the only thing that escaped from her mouth was her breath.

Its alright, Cordelia-san. Ill let Rufina get out of here unharmed. In return, youll have to come with me for a bit. But, how disappointing.

It seems like Cordelia-san has realised something.

Ghost, you!

Dont look like that, Rufina. Its your fault after all. Ah, stay away. I dont want to kill Cordelia-san right now, but I might slip.

Why do you want her?! If you want to undo my efforts, then you should come after me!

Rufina roared and Ghost laughed.

Ill come out if Rufina and Cordelia-san are together that much is correct. Even if I want to crush your dreams, you dont think that I would do this directly, do you? Did you think I would target you because youre from the royal family?

Or were you in such a rush that you overlooked a lot of things?

Cordelia couldnt see Ghosts expression since she couldnt look up. However, it was easy for her to guess that he was enjoying himself.

I told you, didnt I? It seems like it would be interesting to push Dulauss Princess into despair when her dearest wish had been fulfilled. I dont think you would give up if I got in your way, but what if something were to happen toCordelia-san, who is subjected to the Princesss selfishness?

If the people of this kingdom think that something happened to Cordelia-san because you took her out, then they would be furious. And it would be even more interesting if they think that you let me kidnap her. Even if the people arent angry, Earl Pameradia wont let this go.

If things were to get more severe, then it could lead to war.

Cordelia widened her eyes at those words.

If you want Cordelia-san to return safely, then tell Sylvester to come to me alone. Ill be waiting for him at the cabin up the creek in Argel Forest. Ill wait for him until tomorrow, so do tell him to come alone.

Cordelias vision went black immediately after she tried to say that Sylvester wasnt involved in this.