How to Survive as a Princess in a Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 62
We’ll have to investigate this more thoroughly when we return. Still, I feel quite satisfied with today’s unexpected find.
He was looking at the wooden box when something seemed to pass before his eyes. Reacting instinctively, he swung his hand and closed his fist around it.
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, I thought something flew by, so I grabbed it…… a butterfly?”
Carefully opening his fist, he found a familiar shape resting in his palm. The butterfly, still flapping its wings, couldn’t escape as my fingers blocked its path. Each flutter left a trail of shimmering blue powder.
Normally, if I saw an insect like this, I’d release it immediately. However, this butterfly didn’t strike me as particularly unsettling. In fact, it almost felt unreal.
“This isn’t just any butterfly; it’s a familiar.”
“A familiar? Like a spirit?”
“Not exactly. It’s a form of magic, often used for spying or delivering messages. It seems someone was spying on us. We didn’t sense it because of the magic.”
“Spying on us? By whom?”
“Could you hand it over for a moment?”
“Hm? Here.”
Carefully, I handed the butterfly to Reno with both hands. Without hesitation, he grasped both wings and tore them apart.
W-What? He tore……?
“Aaah!”
“As I thought, they’re nearby. They were hiding over there.”
A faint, yet unmistakable cry of pain reached us. Tracing the source of the sound, we saw someone in a hat similar to ours, collapsed on the ground and clutching their chest in agony.
Before I could react, Isaac was already upon the figure, seizing them firmly.
‘A child?’
The figure was far too small to be an adult.
“Let go of me!”
The voice was youthful and trembling. Though the child squirmed in an attempt to escape, they couldn’t budge an inch from Isaac’s grip.
Isaac yanked back the hood of the figure he had caught, revealing a cascade of long, platinum hair, almost cream-colored, spilling down. As the face emerged, I realized it was someone I knew.
“You’re Cirilla?”
She was the third princess of this kingdom and my second youngest sister, the one who often reminded me of Jiyu and lingered in my thoughts.
Why on earth is she here?
“Ugh….”
Realizing she’d been discovered, Cirilla’s resistance faded. Her arms and legs drooped, and she occasionally let out soft groans, her face twisted in pain.
“Isaac, could you release her?”
“As you command.”
Isaac let go of her shoulders.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh, it hurts…….”
“Reno, do you know why Cirilla is like this?”
“It’s because I tore her familiar.”
“Her familiar?”
“I understand it’s a spell that lets the caster share the familiar’s senses. It’s an effective spying spell if undetected, but if it’s discovered and the familiar is destroyed like we just did, the spell is forcibly dispelled.”
“The spell is dispelled? Is that safe?”
“Probably? The backlash causes mana to reverse, which feels like intense chest pain.”
“W-What……?”
Reno’s explanation left me speechless. Although Cirilla was in the wrong for spying on us, the consequences seemed harsher than I’d anticipated.
“Don’t worry too much. She’ll recover quickly.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s not a high-tier spell. Mana reversal shouldn’t cause any serious problems…… well, there could be a risk, given how young the Third Princess is.”
Reno’s confident tone faltered, leaving me feeling equally unsettled.
“We should hurry back to the palace. Or perhaps I should check the supply station and see if there’s a doctor? They must have had one to hand out the medicines…….”
“I-I’m fine.”
It was Cirilla who stopped my frantic worrying. She was still grimacing in pain.
“I’m fine now, really…….”
“No, it’s still best if we go to the supply station and see a doctor…….”
“N-No! Please, no!”
The girl, who had been speaking in a soft, almost whispering voice, suddenly raised her voice. But as if realizing she’d overstepped, she quickly lowered it again, casting cautious glances at me.
“I’m fine. Really, I’m okay…….”
It made sense that she’d be scared, having been caught trying to spy on us. But her refusal was so firm, it left me puzzled. Was there a reason she couldn’t let anyone else know?
“If you insist you’re fine, then we won’t go.”
“Really……?”
“Yes.”
At my reassurance, Cirilla’s expression softened, relief clear on her face. Watching her, I decided it was time to ask the question I’d been holding back.
“So, Cirilla.”
“……?”
“Why were you spying on us?”
“W-What? No! I wasn’t spying!”
“Then what were you doing?”
