Chapter 38
Phew...
I was alone in the castle of the Duchy of Albatro and let out a long breath.
It had been a tumultuous time. Ever since taking Leo's place, just how much had I fretted?
Honestly, I'm exhausted. Stretching myself too far and pretending to be more capable than I am is hard on me.
"I wonder how Leo's doing...?"
I was worried about what was happening over there too.
Since Elna was with him, I wanted to believe she was getting him to act like Al.
As long as I was playing my part, he had to play his too, or the whole thing would fall apart.
But it was obvious that he would struggle even more than I did. Leo wasn't good at lazing around—or rather, he'd never lived that way.
Things you have no experience with really are difficult.
"Well, there's no point worrying about it..."
All I could do was trust that he was managing somehow.
With that in mind, there was something else I needed to think about.
The Sea Dragon Leviathan.
It was unquestionably a monster beyond S-rank. I could think of two quick ways to deal with it.
I could go there as Silver, or have the Empire dispatch an imperial representative in the Emperor's stead and put the Holy Sword in Elna's hands. Those were the two options.
However, Silver had no reason to come south. The Adventurer's Guild probably hadn't received a request yet, either.
On the other hand, sending an imperial representative would take time for the trip there and back.
Neither option was particularly good. They were both far from ideal.
"What should I do...?"
As I was organizing my thoughts, someone knocked on the door to my room.
I wanted to be left alone, but I straightened my disheveled clothes and messy hair before answering in a crisp voice.
"Come in."
"Excuse me. I came to thank you."
Eva entered, wearing a dress.
So she had regained consciousness. I'd have preferred her to wake sooner; then I wouldn't have had to take such reckless measures. But I let none of that show on my face and deliberately put on a gentle smile.
"I'm glad to see you're safe, Princess Eva. Are you already well enough to walk?"
"Y-yes... Um... Thank you for saving me. Everyone has been saying it was all thanks to Prince Leonart. They say you're very kind and brave."
"That praise is excessive. It was the Imperial crew who worked tirelessly to rescue the survivors, including you. If anyone deserves praise, it's them."
"Oh... Then, as Julio's older sister, please let me offer my deepest thanks. I heard you were the first to dive into the sea to save Julio. To dive into waters where a Sea Dragon might be lurking... An ordinary person could never do that. It was truly heroic."
"I was only acting without thinking."
Eva smiled gently at my reply.
My cheek twitched in response.
I had seen this situation, this very scene, many times before. From the outside, at least.
Whenever Leo distinguished himself, noblewomen would become infatuated with him. Eva was reacting much the same way. In short, she was smitten with the heroic Leo who had rescued people without even fearing the Sea Dragon.
Please don't look at me with such adoration.
After all, I'm Al. This is extremely inconvenient.
"Oh, right... How is Prince Julio's condition?"
"He woke up a little while ago and was thanking you, Prince Leonart. He said you were the ideal prince and that he wanted to become like you someday."
"I-I see..."
His sister had fallen for me, and his younger brother looked up to me.
This was bad. Once we changed back, this would become a real problem.
What should I do? Should I do something to make her hate me?
No, that was impossible. I couldn't do anything rash to Albatro's princess or prince while I was in their duchy. Besides, if I acted unnaturally, there was a chance they would discover that we had switched places.
But if I kept acting as Leo, her infatuation would grow, and eventually it would turn into love. I had seen that scene many times before.
Eva's eyes were already captivated by the handsome prince of a great power.
It was only natural. Girls that age were prone to falling in love and dreaming. On top of that, Leonart Lakes Adler had exactly the qualities that dreamy girls liked.
He was a prince, handsome, kind, and, above all, capable of anything.
I wasn't behind him in the first three, but the last was where we differed. Yeah.
Though no one had ever called me handsome, despite our identical faces.
"Prince Leonart. Since standing around talking is a little awkward, may I come in?"
"Huh? Ah..."
She was surprisingly pushy. She might be exactly the sort I had trouble with.
Because of my childhood trauma involving Elna, I had trouble with outgoing women. Of course, Elna herself was difficult for me too. But she was a childhood friend I knew inside and out, so I could somehow deal with her.
But a girl I barely knew who came on this strong was another matter.
"Oh, am I interrupting...?"
"No, it's just... I was writing a report to the Empire. I thought I couldn't leave it unfinished, but I have to admit, your offer is tempting."
"Oh my..."
Eva blushed and covered her face with both hands.
Oh, for crying out loud... What was I supposed to do about this?
I'd gone into town and enjoyed myself with women plenty of times. But I'd never once had a woman make advances to me.
I didn't know how to turn her down politely, and if I was going to keep playing Leo, I couldn't lower her opinion of me.
"I'm sorry to disturb you while you're busy. I'll come again. How about we have a meal together next time?"
"I'd be happy to if our schedules line up."
I gave her a safe answer with a smile; the instant she left, I hurriedly shut the door.
"This is bad, bad, bad... This is really bad..."
How was I going to explain this to Leo?
Something like, "Sorry, but the duchy's princess fell for you?"
No, that definitely wouldn't do.
I had to somehow put a stop to her romantic feelings, which were mixed with admiration. Right now, she was simply thrilled by the heroic prince who had saved her and her brother. If I didn't do anything unnecessary, her feelings would cool off in time.
"Calm down. It's all right. I've dealt with bigger problems than this before. I can handle it."
With that resolve, I turned to my desk.
No matter what, I was Leo for the time being, and at the very least I had to send the Empire a letter reporting the current situation.
The question was how I should report it.
Should I honestly report that we'd switched places? No. If I did, the Empire's higher-ups would learn that what Leo had done was actually me. That, in turn, would reveal that I was capable of playing Leo convincingly.
That would be bad. Very bad.
I wanted them to keep underestimating me a little longer.
So I had to report it as Leo.
"How would Leo report this...?"
By the time it reached them, the situation would have changed anyway.
I should report the current situation while anticipating what comes next.
The Sea Dragon could very well inflict damage on the Empire.
To preserve good relations with the Duchy of Albatro, I should ask Father, in my capacity as the Empire's plenipotentiary, for permission to use the Holy Sword.
At worst, by the time this reached them, an entire country might have disappeared from the south.
"It'd help if Albatro would just file a request with the Adventurer's Guild, but... that's probably too much to hope for."
The Duchy of Albatro had thriving maritime trade, and its navy was powerful, but its army was correspondingly weak. The Duchy of Rondine was the opposite. Its army was powerful, but its navy was nothing special.
That was why Rondine always invaded by land.
To deal with warlike Rondine, Albatro had always borrowed troops and equipment from friendly countries. As a result, though it looked prosperous, it wasn't all that wealthy.
Of course, it wasn't poor, but if it asked the Adventurer's Guild to slay a dragon, that could cause problems when it needed to borrow troops and equipment from other countries.
That was why Albatro didn't immediately ask the Adventurer's Guild to deal with the dragon.
The only way to improve the situation was to do something about Rondine.
Albatro was caught between the dragon and Rondine, but if it dealt with Rondine, it could focus on the dragon.
"For now, let's deal with Rondine."
I had decided on a course of action.
With an eye to what would happen next, I set about drafting my report to the Empire.