Chapter 8

"Let me introduce myself again, I'm Fiona Lemuria."

"I am Iris. Due to certain circumstances, I am concealing my family name, but I am the daughter of the Icefield Duke."

In the training room of the Lemuria royal castle, Iris and Fiona faced each other quietly. Both were dressed in light clothing and held non-lethal magic swords in their hands. These were magical tools that suppressed the lethality to the point of causing only pain upon impact.

Moreover, the only other person present was Fiona's maid; Prince Alvin and other onlookers were not allowed. This was the result of Fiona refusing to let them watch.

"Why did you refuse Prince Alvin's presence?"

"Huh? ...Well, I just felt like it. I thought you might not take it seriously if there were other people watching."

"...Sharp observation."

Indeed, she was just like my past self, praising herself.

In reality, Iris's physical abilities were far inferior to Fiona's. While Iris should have the edge in reflexes and skill, she was likely to lose in a pure sword fight. However, she did not reveal her true thoughts and instead smiled confidently.

"Unfortunately, Princess Fiona, that's a groundless worry."

"Huh... Why?"

"Because the current Princess Fiona can't make me take it seriously. I don't use magic, but everything else is fair game."

Before she finished speaking, Fiona had already kicked off the ground and lunged at her. She was already swinging her non-lethal magic sword, and it seemed impossible to defend against such a sudden attack—except Iris deflected it effortlessly.

"Huh... You blocked that?"

"Your preparatory movements were too large, making your intentions obvious."

She returned a confident smile—though her arm was tingling. Fiona, despite being younger, had overwhelming physical abilities. When Iris was Fiona, she had taken her physical abilities for granted, but now she couldn't help but complain about how unfair it was.

(I hope this provocation makes her movements sloppy...)

Fiona pushed her sword into Iris's, causing her to step back. Using the momentum, Fiona leaped back and pulled her sword. Provoked by the comment about her large preparatory movements, Fiona launched a more compact attack.

(That's right. My past self had that kind of personality.)

For better or worse, she was pure and straightforward. An ideal student, but very troublesome to deal with.

Iris barely deflected Fiona's rapid attack and stepped back. Fiona pursued her, launching a series of quick attacks—right, left, right, and a thrust, leaving no room to breathe.

Feints were not a problem.

With Fiona's memories, Iris knew exactly what feint Fiona would use next, as if she had been told in advance.

The real issue was pure speed and strength.

Iris, trained as a Sage Princess with a focus on magic, did not have high physical abilities. She managed to evade Fiona's attacks, but was gradually being pushed back.

Speed was more effective than feints. Fiona, realizing this, optimized her attacks by eliminating feints.

(Well... This is the expected outcome.)

It was obvious who would have the upper hand in a sword fight between a Sword Princess and a Sage Princess. Iris, not as a Sage Princess but as a Sword Princess, secretly activated the blessing of a sword spirit. She had said that everything except magic was fair game, and the purpose was to secretly use the spirit's blessing while pretending to provoke Fiona. With enhanced physical abilities, Iris pressed Fiona.

"Wha—"

Fiona's eyes widened.

She had been outmaneuvered by someone who was faster despite being less skilled. Despite her shock, she swung her sword at Iris, who had lunged at her. While her judgment was commendable, it was far from enough against Iris, who now had both skill and physical superiority.

Iris easily deflected Fiona's forced swing and aimed her sword at the now vulnerable Fiona. With her balance lost, Fiona had only one way to defend herself.

"Not yet—Not yet!"

Fiona's eyes turned blue.

This was proof that she had activated the sword spirit's blessing to the maximum. With a change that Iris did not have, Fiona boosted her physical abilities. With a godlike strike, she swung her sword faster than Iris, slicing through the air.

"..."

(As I thought, I was still inexperienced back then. From this, it seems she doesn't have any memories from someone else or anything like that.)

She concluded this while watching Fiona, who was flustered by losing sight of her target. Fiona, realizing the fact a moment later, twisted her body—too late. Before Fiona could escape the attack range, Iris had her sword at her neck.

"When did you—"

"Activating the spirit's blessing makes one's mind scattered. Using it at full power at that moment was a bad move. If you had kept it to a minimum, you wouldn't have lost sight of me."

She offered advice, but it could be seen as a provocation given the context of her victory. However, Fiona's eyes sparkled.

"Amazing, amazing! Iris is so amazing!"

"R-Really?"

Iris was hugged.

Reacting to her innocent action, she allowed herself to be pulled into a hug.

"Iris is the ideal tutor I've been looking for!"

"Then, will Princess Fiona recognize me as your tutor?"

"Of course! And you can call me Fiona—though that might be a bit much. But you can call me more casually, and let's get along, Miss Iris!"

She smiled warmly, showing pure goodwill.

(What should I do... My past self is too cute.)

Was it maternal instinct or narcissism? Either way, the urge to protect Fiona grew stronger. I won't let her have sad eyes like my past self—thought Iris as she hugged her former self tightly.

◆◆◆

After Iris and Fiona went to the training room, Alvin, who had been refused to accompany them, was relaxing at a café terrace with a cup of tea prepared by Clarissa.

"By the way, you seemed to have gotten quite close to Iris during the carriage ride. Did you find out why she volunteered to be Fiona's tutor?"

"No, unfortunately, she managed to dodge my questions. But..."

Clarissa hesitated.

"What's wrong? Is there something you find hard to say?"

"Well, she said she was happy to know that the Sword Princess, who is her counterpart, is treated with care. She wondered if she had been treated unfairly in the Kingdom of Rizel."

"Impossible, she's a symbol of the country."

"But her engagement was unilaterally broken, wasn't it?"

"That's true... It does seem unnatural."

The possibility that Iris had been treated unfairly, and her attempt to hide her joy at being treated well, planted unexpected doubts. Whether these doubts would cause problems later was another matter.

Alvin sipped his tea and changed the subject.

"Why are you so fidgety?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried about their return."

"Oh, that. They'll be back soon. There's nothing to worry about."

Clarissa, though visibly unconvinced, stepped back. Alvin chuckled softly.

"Are you worried about Fiona or Iris?"

Clarissa remained silent. The one who should be worried is the princess, and not mentioning it was as good as an answer.

"Is it because you fell for her when she protected you during the attack?"

Clarissa's composed face turned red. Realizing this, she quickly covered her cheeks with her hands.

"N-No!"

"Hmm, you seem quite flustered."

"W-Well, Iris is cool, and when she picked me up, her perfect face filled my vision, and I thought, 'Her eyelashes are so long' and 'She smells so good,' but that's not it!"

"...I see."

Alvin wondered if she really had a crush on Iris but decided not to press the matter. He knew when to back off, having experience on the battlefield.

"Still, Fiona challenged Iris to a sword fight, so you must be worried about Iris, right?"

"...No, I don't think so."

Fiona challenged Iris to a sword fight, and as a Sword Princess, she was far stronger than a Sage Princess. Alvin, noticing Clarissa's prediction, raised a question.

"Do you think Iris will win, Alvin?"

"Probably."

"But—"

"I know, Iris doesn't seem well-trained. She might not even be able to match you in a pure strength test. But you know she knocked down an arrow, right?"

"That's right! She ran to me, hugged me tightly, spun around, and knocked down the arrow with her delicate white hand. It was very impressive!"

"O-Oh. But weren't you unaware of the situation at that time?"

"I filled in the missing information by asking others. Now, I can clearly picture Iris's brave appearance that day!"

"..."

Alvin decided to say no more.

Incidentally, Alvin had only witnessed Iris knocking down the arrow. But she had definitely protected Clarissa from an arrow shot from the forest. The arrow was on a direct course to hit Clarissa, and if Iris hadn't blocked it, Clarissa might have been killed or severely injured.

(He was worried it might have become a trauma, but thanks to Iris, it seems to be fine. It might be a bit much, but it's okay. What about me? What was the meaning of that vow?)

Fiona's parents, Alvin's uncle and aunt, were also killed by monsters. When he lost the people who cared for him, Alvin vowed never to let the same tragedy happen again. Yet, he had put Clarissa in danger.

He almost repeated an irreparable tragedy. Fortunately, it was avoided.

"Alvin?"

"Hmm? Ah... The reason I think Iris will win."

Realizing he had been lost in thought, Alvin shook his head and recalled the scene of Iris knocking down the arrow. While he and Fiona could probably do the same, it was questionable if they could do it with the same physical abilities as Iris.

"At the very least, she is a swordsman on par with Fiona, despite her frail body. Moreover, her reaction during the goblin attack suggests she has extensive combat experience."

"...Now that you mention it, she didn't seem flustered at all during the attack."

"Exactly. No matter how much training one has, the first battle always makes one nervous. I'm still not fully accustomed to it, and Fiona probably wouldn't be able to act as calmly in her first battle."

"Because she's a Sage Princess?"

"Perhaps, but..."

Both Sword Princesses and Sage Princesses are symbols of their countries and are expected to fight in times of war. It wouldn't be strange if the older Iris had already been on the battlefield. However—

"At least, there are no records of her being on the battlefield in the public information."

This was the information Alvin had gathered in the short time before their departure.

"...She's a mysterious person."

"Yes, very interesting."

"Alvin, you're showing a bad side."

Clarissa gave him a disapproving look, something only a trusted maid of a noble lineage and the prince's confidant could do. After glaring at him, her eyes sparkled.

"But Iris is supposed to specialize in magic. Yet, she can handle a sword as well as Fiona... That's impressive."

"Alright, alright. You might as well start a fan club."

"Would you join?"

"It already exists!?"

"Right now, you can still get a single-digit membership number."

"Too many!?"

He was surprised to find that the members included those who had traveled with them in the carriage. They were already recruiting his subordinates—terrifying indeed.

"...But it's rare for you to praise someone so highly. You usually say, 'That woman is after Alvin, don't be fooled!'"

Alvin laughed teasingly.

"I'm just warning you as a friend. All the women you've brought before were only interested in you, not in Fiona's education."

"...I can't deny that."

As a tutor for the princess, the position required a woman. However, the women Alvin chose were all uninterested in the tutoring and only wanted to get close to him. The moment he acknowledged this, Clarissa's eyes narrowed.

"You've always avoided finding a tutor for Fiona. Why did you bring Iris back as a tutor?"

"Indeed, you're observant."

He chuckled and considered how much to reveal. But he realized Clarissa's question was not about why he hadn't found a tutor before.

"Do you not want to know why I didn't try to find a tutor before?"

"I can guess. I trust you. But I want to know why you changed your mind."

"The reason I chose Iris is simple. I thought she might change something by breaking the chains of being a Sage Princess."

"...Change something?"

Alvin did not answer. But he believed that if that something didn't change, Fiona should not become queen. This was why he had avoided finding a tutor and chose Iris.

"Partly out of personal interest, of course."

"Ah, did you fall for her?"

Using his earlier words, Clarissa laughed mischievously. In the past, he would have dismissed it as nonsense. But—

"I can't take my eyes off her for various reasons."

"Can't take your eyes off her?"

He evaded the question with a small smile.

Their meeting was shocking. She called him "big brother" out of nowhere, but her interest was in her cousin Fiona.

She calmly received his killing intent, adapted to the carriage ride like a lady, and didn't flinch when a monster was slain before her eyes. Her actions were un-ladylike, but her demeanor was that of a lady. She used sophisticated language and danced gracefully.

She openly showed her wariness of Alvin but slept soundly in the same carriage. It seemed like a show of wariness, but he couldn't think of a reason for it.

What is she, really? As Alvin chuckled, Iris returned, clinging to Fiona. The result of the combat training was clear.

"...It seems everything is settled?"

"Yes. Princess Fiona—no, Miss Fiona, has recognized me as her tutor. I will be staying in this castle from today."

Clarissa sighed in relief, realizing her concerns were unfounded. Alvin smiled, knowing his interesting subject of observation would remain in the castle. But—

"By the way, about my maid—"

"Oh, right. I'll have candidates gathered immediately."

"No need. I've already decided."

"...Really?"

Prince Alvin, who had been nodding, realized he was looking forward to something. Normally, choosing a personal maid wouldn't be interesting, but with Iris, he thought she might do something unexpected.

"I want to hire her."

Alvin looked at Clarissa with a "See?" expression. Clarissa smiled wryly, "Indeed, she's hard to take your eyes off."

The maid Iris pointed to was Rebecca, the informant he was keeping to expose the mastermind.