Apparently, Her Highness Princess wants to keep her relationship with me a secret (what does she even mean by 'her relationship with me'?) - 4-4

The Masked Lady

The Eighth Estate. A place where a conflict once shook the entire nation.

“Itose-kun’s magical quirk is famous! I’m counting on you~! Now it’s Jina’s turn! Watch this~!”
Jina-sama pulled a single-edged knife from the pouch on her lap. It was sharpened to perfection, reflecting my image in its polished blade.

“Float—become light!”
The knife floated gently above Jina-sama’s hand… and that was it.

Jina-sama’s magical quirk was simply enchantment. She could only imbue small objects she could hold in her little hands, limiting the scope of her powers.

“Ehehe, how was it? Itose-kun, does this seem useful?”
“……”
I honestly couldn’t understand why someone with such an affinity would aim to enroll at Westminster. Unlike Harold, who excelled in combat, Jina-sama had suffered defeat after defeat.

Yet she still struck a triumphant pose, grinning smugly.
With that self-satisfied look in front of me, I chose to offer praise.

“Thank you, Jina-sama. It’s… very helpful.”
“Really~? But Jina always loses in combat training!”
“It’s my job to make sure your powers can be of use.”
“I’m so glad you’re my teammate, Itose-kun!”

“Just wait a minute! Jina-sama!”
Without warning, Jina-sama stood up and threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around me.
I caught her small frame, though her excessive affection was… well, excessive.

I’ve always wondered—why does she like me so much?!

“Jina-sama, please calm down.”
“Why~? Isn’t it fine~! No one’s watching! You know I like you, don’t you?”

The coachman at the front couldn’t see us, but… there was one more person inside this carriage.
Jina-sama knew that. She was doing this on purpose.

“…Stop that.”
A voice as cold as ice cut through the air—Emma, the princess who reclaimed her place at the top of Westminster’s hierarchy the moment she returned.

“Oh, that’s right. Emma-chan’s here too.”
“Hey… Jina-chan. Isn’t that a little improper? You’re a duke’s daughter, after all. What would people think?”

Emma’s face had paled visibly.
Ah, she must be misunderstanding. Emma still thought I was in love with her.
Maybe she couldn’t stand seeing a loyal dog wagging its tail at someone else. Did she have a possessive streak?
I needed to clear up this misunderstanding sooner rather than later.

Realizing she’d pushed too far, Jina-sama reluctantly sat back down beside Emma. Without expression, Emma showed us her magical quirk.

“A degraded version of Black Hole…”
A black sphere manifested in her right palm—a signature power of the Roman royal family, capable of swallowing everything.

“Whoa! Emma-chan, you’re definitely royalty! I’ve never seen a Black Hole before~!”
“Well… I’m not very good at it… Is this enough, Itose-kun?”
“Thank you, Emma-sama. It’s more than enough.”

Emma sighed in relief, placing a hand on her chest.
The reason Emma, who was supposed to be affinity-less, could use magic was simple—she had discreetly told me before boarding the carriage.
The silver ring on her right index finger—an artifact capable of storing magical affinities. Such relics were nearly impossible for commoners to acquire.

“As expected of a Roman princess,” I murmured.

“But still… I can’t believe we’re headed to the Eighth Estate! It’s like a haunted house! Itose-kun, you look pale.”
“…It was a tragic incident.”
“They tried to overthrow the kingdom. They got what they deserved~.”
“You’re right. I agree.”

Our destination was the Eighth Estate—where I lost everything. This was definitely the Marshal’s doing.
A two-night, three-day survival training at the place where my life fell apart.

“We’ll do our best! Right, Jina-chan, Itose-kun?”

This was surely part of the test to become the Eighth Rank. And I’d dragged them into it. No matter what, I swore to protect them both.

“Oh, Emma-chan. You started calling him Itose-kun, not Orgot-kun. What happened?”
“I… It’s nothing! We’re teammates now, so I thought we should get along better!”
“Ah, are you jealous~?”
“W-What nonsense! I’m a princess—why would I be jealous of anyone?!”

After an hour of riding, the two girls eventually drifted off to sleep, heeding my advice to conserve their energy.
I closed my eyes but couldn’t sleep.

Outside the window, the sun had disappeared behind dense forest.
Once, noble families gathered at the Eighth Estate. Now, the land belonged to the royal family—abandoned and overgrown.
The road was barely passable, wild grass choking what was left of the path.

Finally, we arrived at the estate.
I rose and gently shook their shoulders.

“Emma-sama, Jina-sama… We’ve arrived.”