“Her highness's position marker is just up ahead!”
Using the information displayed on her bracelet, Ruth was heading towards a public park. It was a vast forest park rich in nature that was loved by the inhabitants of Kitsushouharukaze city.
Theia had taken over for Ruth, who was going to be preparing for the dinner, and was guiding Elexis around on Earth. Upon examining Theia's location history, Theia had indeed been guiding him to sightseeing spots around the city. And finally, Theia was for some reason headed this way. But this was an odd spot to be travelling towards as the sun was starting to set. What was even stranger was that even though she had tried to contact Theia, she couldn't get a connection. After entering the park, Theia's position marker had stopped updating.
It could just be a simple system error, but Ruth was preparing for the worst case scenario.
“Your highness, please be safe!”
They were the cases where if Elexis and the military were planning something like what Clan had said or where the military had already learned that Ruth was going to decline in some way.
Even if I decline, there is a chance that I won't have to leave Earth!! If there really is an underlying plot, then there is no way that they haven't accounted for that possibility!! In that case, they must have prepared to strike regardless of where I was!! I was careless!!
The most efficient way to capture Theia was to strike when Ruth wasn't nearby. That's because it would be easier if there were no witnesses from Forthorthe.
Though there was a chance of Ruth leaving Earth if she declined the marriage, it wasn't foolproof. And since relying on a plan that relied on uncertain elements was foolish, there was a need for a more certain plan.
That's why El-sama suddenly came to Earth!! It was to create an opening!!
If her fiancé suddenly appeared, Ruth was sure to be shaken, even by just a little. And because it was just the two of them, the extra work would naturally reduce Ruth's guard around Theia.
Thinking back, just the two of us leaving might have all been part of this plan! I should have spent more time considering the meaning of this situation!
Ruth wanted all of these to just be her needless worries, but the ominous feeling she was getting wouldn't stop. She couldn't think of it as just a simple system error. The only grounds she had to suspect anything were the words of Clan, who had been her enemy just the other day. But what Clan had said had sounded like the truth. And based on Koutarou and Clan's current relationship, she couldn't imagine that Clan would be lying.
If it hadn't been for Clan-sama, it might have been too late... Though it's mortifying, Clan-sama is in a much closer place to Satomi-sama than I am...
Koutarou and Clan had a secret that they hadn't revealed to Theia and Ruth. That fact increased the reliability of Clan's words, while at the same time, left Ruth feeling a little envious of her.