A drowsy Princess Mezzlen reappeared before me, using the excuse that she had overslept. However, the 'Whispering Leaf' remained pointed in a completely different direction, motionless.

There was no way an artifact as reliable as the Whispering Leaf had malfunctioned, so the answer was clear.

The Mezzlen standing in front of me, talking casually with Antonio and Seraphine, wasn’t the real Princess Mezzlen that I knew.

'A doppelgänger... I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with one during this festival.'

In the original story, it was a doppelgänger that had delayed the academy while Seraphine was being kidnapped and transported …