The Clock Tower And A Romantic Mood

The place Isaac led her to was a gigantic clock tower that stood out even within the royal capital.

“Um, is it here…?”

A large padlock hung from the tower door, showing it could not be entered without a key.

But after rummaging in his pocket, Isaac pulled out a rugged amber-colored key.

“I come here from time to time. Though this is the first time I’ve brought someone.”

After unlocking it with practiced hands, he took Cordelia’s hand and began climbing the staircase spiraling along the inside of the tower without letting go.

“So the inside of a clock tower looks like this.”

Peeking down occasionally from the spiral stairs, Cordelia spoke with admiration.

Waiting at the top of the climb was a room containing a device of giant gears and ropes tangled together. Isaac passed through there as well and led Cordelia to another staircase deeper inside.

Before long, the two reached the very top of the clock tower. Beside them hung a large bronze bell, faintly tinted reddish-purple by the setting sun.

Spread before them was the cityscape of the royal capital. Looking down, she saw countless daily scenes she normally never witnessed—people chatting in the streets and others leaning out windows to gather laundry. A little farther away she could also see the plaza they had been in earlier and the royal palace.

“Amazing…! Seeing the view from here feels like a dream.”

Enjoying the feel of the gentle breeze brushing her cheeks, Cordelia cried out excitedly. Then she suddenly straightened her posture.

“S-sorry. We were supposed to talk about the healing gathering… Um, what was it we needed to decide again?”

As Cordelia fumbled to take out her notebook, Isaac grabbed her hand. When she looked up in surprise, he was watching her with a somewhat tense expression.

“…I’m sorry. I should be the one apologizing.”

“Your Highness?”

“I said we came to talk, but that was a lie. …I just wanted to show you this place.”

His ears, unusually, had turned red. Cordelia widened her eyes.

(Could it be… he brought me on a date…? Um… how am I supposed to react at a time like this!?)

Caught off guard, her face rapidly turned red.

She had often gone out with Isaac since childhood, but back then it had been completely one-sided on her part, so she could stay calm. But now things were different.

Now Isaac clearly saw her as a woman, and with the sunset at the clock tower creating the perfect atmosphere, Cordelia was utterly unaccustomed to it.

“It’s been a while since we went out together like this.”

“Y-yes, it has. We’ve been so busy…”

“In that time, I feel like I’ve seen many new sides of you.”

Thinking about it, she certainly had shown Isaac sides of herself he’d never seen before—slapping the Holy Maiden-dono and punching the Sacred Beast, hardly praiseworthy behavior.

“I was surprised about the announcement newspaper too. I thought you all simply charged in, yet you created it in no time. I knew about newspapers of course, but I never imagined using them like that.”

“Well…”

Cordelia hesitated.

(Maybe… this is my chance…)

“Your Highness. …Actually, I have memories of a previous life.”

“A previous life?”

At the unexpected words, Isaac frowned.

“Yes… You might not believe it, but Hina and I knew each other there.”

Cordelia briefly explained her previous life—how her name had been Kana, that she and Hina had been childhood friends, and that she lived in a world without magic completely different from this one.

After listening to everything, Isaac quietly said,

“So mysterious things really do happen… That this world appears in what you called a ‘game.’”

“It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“But that explains why you weren’t shaken when I spoke of breaking our engagement. At the time I thought you simply had no interest in me, but you knew, didn’t you? That the engagement would be broken.”

“There’s no way I had no interest! Your Highness is my number one favorite—no, the one I admire most.”

“Number one? …Is there a number two?”

“Number two is Lord Fenrir.”

Answering firmly, Isaac seemed relieved. Then he peered at her searchingly.

“If it’s Lord Fenrir, I can’t compete. …Anyone else? In your previous life, were you married?”

At the word marriage—so distant from her former self—Cordelia gave a self-mocking smile.

“Marriage, not at all. I was unpopular, so I never even went on a date with a man.”

“…I see.”

It was a short reply, but his voice clearly carried delight. Then Isaac cleared his throat, as if about to say something important.

“So much has happened before I realized how much time passed… but there’s something I want to properly tell you.”

(Ah… c-could this be…!?)

Guessing what he was about to say, Cordelia’s heart pounded harder than ever before.

“I have always—”

‘Oh ho. Looks like you’re thoroughly enjoying your youth.’

But the words she longed to hear were drowned out by a sudden voice before he could finish.

Isaac and Cordelia jerked their heads upward toward the roof. At the very top of the tower, sprawled atop the roof tiles, sat the Sacred Beast Fenrir, appearing again after a long absence.