I soon regretted my outburst, however.
“...No charm... Boring...” Alan’s expression was now stony.
...This is bad. I’ve finally gone and done it... I’ve said something terrible to the prince.
Considering that this all started because I had accidentally used one of his lines... well. What was said could not be taken back.
I felt beads of cold sweat flow down my back.
“...Ha. Haha. This is the first time I’ve been ridiculed to my face...” Steam seemed to be coming out of Alan’s ears — he was positively livid.
“...Um. That just now was...”
Ah, this is what I get for giving in during the heat of the moment. Now I can’t take back what I said!
“Prepare yourself, Katarina Claes. I shall take your train of insults as a thrown gauntlet.”
Wait, wait. I have thrown no gauntlets whatsoever! I’m not going to challenge anyone to any duels! It was just a slip of the tongue...
“I challenge you! To a duel!” Alan said, his nose held high.
“...So. How did we end up like this, again...?” Anne said, with something between confusion and exasperation on her face.
We were now standing in the gardens of the Claes manor. To be specific, we were standing before two tall trees, conveniently located side by side.
“Well, Master Alan did so proudly proclaim that ‘I shall let you, the woman, decide on the contents of the challenge’... and so I did.”
“...Even so! You are the daughter of a duke, young miss! And he is one of the princes of the kingdom! The two of you... climbing trees? This is going too far...”
“Well, Anne. I couldn’t think of anything else I would do better in, so...”
“B-But young miss! Master Alan does not climb trees! Did you not see how he froze when he heard your suggestion, Young Miss?”
“...But he was the one who accepted the terms, you know...”
It was as Anne said — Alan had frozen up the very moment the words “tree climbing” had left my lips. In fact, his expression was akin to that of a gape, and there the prince stood, unmoving for approximately ten seconds.
Out of concern, I had asked after the prince. “Are you perhaps unable to climb trees, Prince Alan?” His response, however, was curt — “Nonsense! I accept your challenge!” And with that, he finally snapped out of his previously frozen pose.
This was how both Prince Alan and I had ended up standing before a pair of tall trees in the gardens of the Claes manor.
On another note, my ever-wise and gentle adoptive brother, Keith, was currently keeping mother busy — all so that she would not notice this spectacle.
The rules of the challenge were simple — the first to reach the top wins.
Although he had stood gaping at the tree for a good while, he eventually rolled up his sleeves, as if steeling his resolve. If anything, the prince’s entourage seemed to be in more of a panic.
The servants pleaded things like, “Oh, my prince, it is most dangerous!” and “Please, please stop this at once!”
I, on the other hand, had changed into an outfit with pants — in other words, I was fully prepared.
“Well then, Prince Alan. Are you ready?”
“...Yeah. Right. Anytime.”
“Well then. We shall begin on the count of three. Anne, my personal maid, shall do the honors.”
“Y-Yeah.”
And so it came to be that I managed to drag a reluctant Anne into my so-called challenge. With her count, the bout began — and then promptly ended... with my overwhelming victory.
To begin with, I climbed trees very often, and was already all the way at the top in a matter of minutes.
Alan, however... Come to think of it, has Alan ever climbed trees in his life?
While I had finished my ascent, he was still stuck on the lowest branch of the tree in question. With this, the challenge ended in my complete, utter victory.
“Prince Alan. We have a clear victor in this contest — could we draw this to a close?” I called down to him.
Hmph. Don’t think you can defeat me, the wild monkey of the back hills, little boy. Have you even climbed a tree before?
I turned to Alan with a victorious smile. Alan, however, stared at me once more, visibly unwilling to accept defeat. “One more time! I challenge you again! This is the first time I’ve climbed a tree — I was simply not used to it!”
Ah, there it is. So the prince himself admits that he has never climbed a tree before. Maybe you should have said so from the very beginning, you show-off.
“That is quite all right. But don’t think you can win so easily, prince.”
“Bring it on!”
Alan would go on to challenge me again and again — the result hardly changed, though. This was perhaps to be expected. Eventually...
“I’ll win next time! Just you watch!” Alan said, spouting lines typical of a defeated rival character. Threatening to show up for another challenge sometime in the future, Alan and his entourage finally left the grounds.
While I didn’t know it at the time, I would continue entertaining Alan’s challenges over and over again in the near future...
Prince Alan showed up again the very next day, shouting about yet another challenge. I, of course, defeated him easily. The prince would show up again from time to time, challenging me to yet another match. He would then be defeated, and for a while these silly days repeated themselves.
As the days passed, we ended up striking up an odd friendship of our own, and it became somewhat customary for Alan and me to have some tea after the inevitable challenges. As of late, the prince seemed a little happier despite his long history of losses. Perhaps I was just imagining things.
With this, I thought that the crisis between the prince and me was over... But then eventually, the day came.
“Jeord?! What are you doing here?!”
It was bound to happen over time — Jeord and Alan had run into each other on the grounds of the Claes manor. Jeord showed up every three days or so, sometimes a little more. Alan, on the other hand, visited once a week — with such timings, it was inevitable that they would eventually meet.
Mary, who visited twice a week, had already introduced herself to Jeord. Although I had told Jeord in passing about the contests between Alan and me, I did not mention to Alan that his twin visited every three days.
While my engagement to Prince Jeord was public knowledge, I also knew of the open hostility which Alan displayed whenever the conversation shifted to his brother. As such, I had hesitated to speak to him in detail about Jeord’s visits.
This was how the two twin brothers, who hardly ever spoke to one another, both met on the Claes manor’s grounds.
“You sound as if me being here is a most mysterious thing. This is the home of my fiancée — my presence here is hardly out of place,” Jeord said, regarding his twin brother with a smile.
Perhaps that’s true — even so, Jeord’s visits seem awfully frequent. Is everyone just this way in this world?
“...In any case, I’m here for a challenge with her today. Don’t get in the way.” For some reason, Alan seemed to have lost most of his edge. Whatever happened to his unbearably haughty attitude?
While Alan was acting somewhat stranger than usual, Jeord seemed to respond in kind. The ever-present smile on his face was a lot more suspicious, perhaps even a little malicious.
“About those challenges... I heard that you have failed to achieve victory, time and time again. Would it not be best to simply give up...?”
While I did have similar thoughts, I would never have said it to Alan in such a blunt way. I looked on somewhat fearfully, afraid that Alan might snap and respond with rage. This was not the case, however — his expression was hardly one of anger, but one of pain.
“...No! NO!! We still need to settle it! I can win this! I... I know I can...!” Alan shouted, desperation evident in his voice.
It seemed like Alan could only s
ee Jeord. A strange atmosphere slowly filled the Claes manor. While I was pretty good at ignoring unpleasant developments of all sorts, this was on another level. This was... bad.
All right then, clearly the solution is to change the subject at hand. I had to — to clear away this miasma that hung in the air. I had just the thing for it... something that had been on my mind for quite some time.
“...Ah. Prince Alan. If you would accept, perhaps we could change the terms of the challenge itself? My mother will surely be greatly displeased if we keep climbing trees.”
To be honest, it was a bit of a miracle that Mother had not noticed up until now, but I didn’t intend to push my luck any further. Mother, of course, had long given up on me — if I climbed trees, then so be it. Inviting a prince to do the same, however... mother’s rage would surely be fearsome.
Due to the fact that Keith had kept my mother occupied on every single one of Alan’s visits, it was perhaps inevitable that she would become suspicious of what exactly I was up to. If I didn’t change the contents of the challenge, I might soon find myself in trouble... once again.
“...If you say so... then. What will the new challenge be?”
“...Hmm.”
At last, Alan was looking my way. The unpleasant atmosphere from just now, too, had slowly started to disperse. Good, good.
Even though I was the one who came up with the suggestion, I was not quite sure what to replace the venerable sport of tree-climbing with. Honestly speaking, both my magic and academic abilities were average at best, and hence not good candidates for a challenge.
There was, of course, the option of me allowing myself to lose to him — perhaps then would the prince be content. I would be left with a bad taste in my mouth, however.
As I continued scratching my head and pondering on a potential replacement, one of Alan’s entourage humbly presented a potential solution.
“Pardon me, Miss Claes, but would a board game not be safe? No one would be hurt that way.”
Alan’s servant was right — if we really did play a board game, no one would be physically injured, and any differences between the genders would not be relevant. I, however, was notoriously bad at these games. Chess, Othello — whatever it was, if it required thinking, I was bad at it.
In this world, chess was apparently the most popular board game, but of course I wasn’t a fan of it. While I could play it, I felt somewhat bitter if defeated. Upon seeing my expression of displeasure, Alan’s servant provided yet another suggestion.
“Ah. Well then, how about a musical contest? A contest of instruments, perhaps? The better performer would win, yes?”
Hmm. A refreshing change, if nothing else. In this world, being able to play an instrument was seen as a status symbol amongst nobility — as such, I was made to learn the piano and violin from a young age.
In my previous life, I had participated in concerts and the like with my recorder and piano. At the very least, I could still play the piano somewhat reasonably. As for the violin — I was unfortunately... not all that suited for it.
“I don’t mind playing the piano,” I responded, somewhat cheerfully. Alan readily agreed.
With this, the challenge between Alan and I was no longer that of tree-climbing, but a musical competition. It had suddenly taken on an aristocratic air when I wasn’t looking. At the very least, I was sure that mother wouldn’t be upset even if she witnessed us competing.
The servants were united in relief, with most of the prince’s entourage saying something along the lines of “Ah, what a relief that all this tree-climbing business is over and done with...” In fact, the servant who had suggested the musical idea was currently being fervently praised by their peers.
And so, all of us present headed towards a room with a piano in it, for the purposes of this safe and aristocratic musical bout.
The piano in the Claes manor was considerably large, befitting its status as the main piano of a duke’s family. It was certainly on a much grander scale than the smaller one I used to play in the school’s music room.
As it was a musical competition of sorts, the servants of both our families were to be the judges. Jeord, who was also present, was called on to rate our performances as well.
With this, the stage was set — I would be first to play, followed by Prince Alan.
I sat down on the bench and turned towards the piano. While I could only play “Der Flohwalzer” in my previous life, I was made to practice from a young age as Katarina. The score sheet was a practice song aimed at beginners and young children.
Although I made some minor mistakes here and there, I felt like I played reasonably well. In fact, Jeord was surprised at my performance — or more accurately, at the fact that I could even play the piano at all. ...Should I take that as a compliment?
Next up was Alan, who turned to the piano and promptly started playing. For the sake of fairness, we were both using the same score.
Although it was the same song, a definitively different sound flowed through the halls of the manor. Everyone present, me included, collectively held our breaths — Alan’s performance was truly splendid. I’d simply assumed that he was a spoiled prince who was full of himself — to think that he possessed such amazing talents!
At the end of his performance, all the servants present burst into applause — something that didn’t happen at the end of my session.
“Amazing! Prince Alan, that was really amazing!” I burst out. While I was pretty tone-deaf when it came to music, I could at least discern between a good performance and an average one.
Alan himself, however, didn’t seem too impressed — he had a hard expression on his face. “...It’s no big deal.”
“That’s not true! You have an amazing talent, Prince Alan!”
“...I don’t have anything that deserves to be called a talent.”
The more I praised him, the harder his features became. What’s wrong with him?
“As Katarina said, that was most impressive,” Jeord said, praising his twin’s performance.
“...But you don’t really think that, do you?” Alan muttered. His expression was one of pain — akin to the one I had seen earlier. Then he shouted, “What is this, pity? I don’t need any of this! I know you simply think of me as a failure who is good for nothing!”
Then, as if running away from one thing or another, he bolted straight out of the room.
While I had no idea what was going on, I felt that such a dramatic escape warranted an equally dramatic pursuit. Disregarding the stunned expressions of the gathered servants, I chased after Alan, much like the heroine in a Shoujo Manga.
It would seem that the adage of people running away to familiar places was indeed true. Alan was standing under those very same trees where we had held our contests. He looked up at me slightly as I approached, but the sight of me did not seem to be of any comfort — he soon hung his head once more.
“...Have you come to laugh at me, too?” Alan said, somewhat suddenly.
“Eh?” I had no idea what he meant. What am I to laugh about? Nothing about this was particularly enjoyable or pleasant!
“...You’re here to laugh, aren’t you? ‘Don’t think you’re all that just because you can play the piano’... something like that, right?”
“...Whatever do you mean, Prince Alan? Just because you can play it? That’s hardly a ‘just’! You have quite a remarkable talent, you know.”
Having witnessed such an amazing performance, I would have assumed that Alan would at least be a little proud of himself. Modesty is the last thing I expected!
Having been exposed to his magnificent playing, I could not help but realize that my own performance was greatly lacking. Compared to Alan’s captivating performance, my self-assessment had slipped from “acceptable” to “not very good at all.”
“I don’t need your pity, Katarina. I’m not good for anything, after all. I’m just what’s left behind after Jeord takes all the glory.”
&n
bsp; While I had assumed Alan was haughty and full of himself, it seemed like he was actually a prince with quite the negative outlook.
“It’s not pity! Prince Alan... why is it that you have so little confidence in yourself?”
“Ha. I’ve been compared to Jeord ever since I entered this world, see. I’ve never won against him in any category. I bet Jeord took all the good stuff for himself when we were still in mother’s womb. So if you think about it... how can leftover dregs such as I have any kind of confidence?”
Hmm. Is that what it is? Come to think of it, Fortune Lover did have such a setting for Alan. Ever since the day he was born, Alan had been constantly compared to Jeord, and yet could never best his twin brother in anything. No matter how hard Alan worked, Jeord would accomplish whatever he sought to do before he did — all the while remaining cool and collected.
I suppose simply telling Alan, who has been in such a situation for all his life, to suddenly have confidence in himself and work hard would be somewhat callous. After all, Mary, Alan’s cute fiancée, was the one who healed his heart in the events of the game.
Alan was by no means unskilled, however. In the setting of Fortune Lover, Alan’s grades in the academy were top-class. The problem here was hardly Alan’s capabilities, but rather Jeord being too much of a savant at everything he did.
Even so, Alan’s previous performance was really something else; perhaps he had an innate talent for music. If I recalled correctly, Alan did play the violin for the protagonist on several occasions. Yes, if I had to guess, Prince Alan must fare better than Jeord in one field — music. At the very least, he had the talent for it.
In other words...
“...Personally, I think it is more that each of you have your own particular strengths. Your own... fortes.”
“...What do you mean?”
Uh-oh. I accidentally blurted it out! To make things worse, Alan’s looking right at me now!
“Umm... Well. I think that Prince Jeord has things that he’s suited to and good at, as well as things that he can’t really handle well. The same goes for you, Prince Alan — I do believe that you have skills you can be proud of, too. It is just a matter of... individual strengths and weaknesses.”
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 1 Page 11