"What are you so deep in thought about?"

Claire's question startled Leo, making his shoulders jump.

"Oh, it’s you?"

Realizing it was Claire who had spoken, Leo let out a sigh of relief.

"That relieved expression is oddly irritating," Claire muttered, a little annoyed, realizing that Leo didn’t seem to see her as a woman. Not that Claire saw Leo as a man, of course; they both had no reason to be bothered by such things.

Still, it was annoying for reasons neither of them could quite understand.

…Leo thought it was strange, not even sure why he felt this way himself.

It was late at night, and the weather outside was finally starting to become bearable. Despite its name, Northwood was further south than the capital, so even on such nights, it was slightly warmer here than back in the city.

Northwood had been named back when it was a separate kingdom. Now fully integrated into the Empire, it had long lost its kingdom status.

"So, what are you doing out here?"

"Why? Can’t I go for a walk too?"

But despite her casual response, there was a hint of concern on Claire's face.

Before Leo could ask what was bothering her, Claire smirked mischievously and said,

"Why? Still thinking about that chest?"

"…"

Leo shot her a sidelong glance, but Claire just shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's not that… it's just sad to think that Bella’s in such a situation. And who knows how many others like her might be here."

"That is…"

But hearing Leo’s sincere words stopped Claire from teasing him further.

Leo knew some of Claire’s past. The night she was sold off, Sylvia had helped her and the children escape the orphanage, and thanks to that, Claire and the others were safely taken in by House Grace.

Sylvia, however, had disappeared into the imperial palace.

After hearing that story, Leo had once wondered if Sylvia had been with the imperial family from the beginning… But even if she was, Sylvia couldn’t have been more than two years older than Claire. Even so, no matter how skilled she was, it was hard to imagine the palace using a seven-year-old as an agent.

"Hmm."

Claire closed her eyes, arms crossed, contemplating Leo’s words.

After a moment of thought, she looked up suddenly.

"Alright."

"Alright? What do you mean?"

"Let’s go to the casino."

"Huh?"

Leo blinked, not quite catching up with Claire's train of thought.

"Aren’t you worried about Bella?"

With another shrug, Claire added, "Honestly, I am too."

"…"

Leo stared at Claire, mouth slightly open, as she scratched her head.

"Yeah, I get it. Maybe this is all just unnecessary meddling. Realistically, everyone here probably has their own story. But still…"

Claire smiled, looking at Leo.

"You can't just leave someone in distress. After all, we're part of House Grace."

"Even if you can't save everyone, don’t ignore the person struggling in front of you."

Leo murmured the family creed.

"That’s exactly why I’m here now."

Claire laughed brightly.

---

…This feels a bit too breezy.

I had expected something dignified when I entered with Alice, but now I was second-guessing whether there had been a better way.

Most parts that normally wouldn’t see the light of day outside of dressing and bathing were out in the open.

Even though more than half of me was covered, the black fabric only reached to just under the chest. Above that, bare skin was fully exposed.

At least, unlike Chiara Verati, I hadn’t gone to the extent of adding glitter or anything.

"Don’t stray too far, alright?"

"I’m right behind you. Don’t worry."

After confidently declaring she would prove herself worthy of being an empress, Alice seemed incredibly self-conscious about her attire.

Alice usually dressed impeccably. Well, of course, surrounded by nobles as she was. Still, I didn’t remember Claire’s character being particularly obsessed with prim and proper attire.

And sure enough, like in the game, Claire was… well, bigger than she appeared.

Alice was no different.

In the game, each character’s bust size had been meticulously modeled, especially for costumes like these bunny girl outfits, with painstaking detail down to the folds of the fabric. The community even joked that the developers must have been total perverts for such attention to detail.

Now that I thought about it, it wouldn’t have made sense for a character game to be any different.

Whoever designed Alice’s sky-blue bunny girl outfit knew what they were doing. Her golden hair against that shade of blue was just perfect. It wasn’t too flashy, and the faintly visible skin through the stockings matched well.

The shy expression, barely concealed behind her half-mask, was more than enough to attract attention.

…I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it earlier, before rewinding time.

And, though it’s a bit odd to phrase it this way—

Sylvia Fangriffon’s, well, attributes, weren’t far behind Alice’s either.

I’d often seen it in casual clothing, but in an outfit that pushed things up, the effect was even more, uh, emphasized.

Whoo— 

Someone whistled at us, but we ignored it.

No surprise there. Some people here held their heads high until they got broken in. And some others probably enjoyed trying to break them down.

"As I’ve said, if anyone tries to touch you—"

"—I should kick them right between the legs. I know. You’ve told me enough times."

Even if security came running, we could just reveal our identities. Nobody would dare lay a hand on a princess.

…Though it would probably be safer if I rewound time and suggested a different approach.

"Don’t worry, I’ve got a lead. I’m not here to waste time."

It seemed Bella had tipped her off to something.

"Hey, over here!"

As I carefully followed Alice to avoid bumping into people, someone called out. A few bills were held between the fingers of an outstretched hand.

Naturally, we tried to ignore it and pass by—

"Hey, you’re ignoring me?"

Yeah, in situations like this, there’s always that kind of person, right?

It’s a cliché.

…Not a particularly welcome one.

There was an annoyed muttering from behind as we walked past.

I couldn’t quite tell what he wanted to order us, since we didn’t even have drinks in our hands. Maybe he intended to invite us to sit on his lap or something. Judging by his height, he was shorter than us, even in our heels.

But short or not, he had a rough, muscular look about him.

"Let’s go."

Alice, hearing the voice, grabbed my wrist and pulled me along. As reliable as she seemed, running in heels wasn’t exactly easy.

"Hey, didn’t you hear? I said I like you."

Suddenly, I felt a rough hand grab my wrist.

If I had moved right away, I might have gotten out of this, but with Alice pulling me one way and this guy holding the other, I ended up stuck in an awkward pose, arms stretched in opposite directions.

…Being pulled from both sides in this outfit was a little too embarrassing.

Just as my mind began to blank out from the discomfort—

"Hey there."

As if on cue, another classic cliché moment.

"Let go of her."

"Huh? And who do you—gah!"

Claire, who appeared deceptively delicate, had a formidable grip.

And she looked a little angry right now.

…It was a familiar look, though somehow much more intense than in the game.

The man let go of my wrist.

"Even if it’s not a man, she could still be taken out of here, right?"

Before either Alice or I could respond, Claire pulled a bill from her pocket and stuck it between my chest.

…The way her fingers avoided touching anything in the process was a skill in itself.

"Princess… Alice, this way."

And Leo, who seemed to always follow Claire, appeared next to Alice, slipping his hand around her waist—

—well, almost. He didn’t actually put his arm around her, but he reached close enough to pull her toward him.

Oh, right, so that’s why Alice, Leo, and Claire all showed up at once.

As Claire pulled me along, I worked hard to keep my composure, realizing that was exactly why they had all gathered here.