"Oh, that's right, there's one thing I want to say..." (Mitsuha)
"Y-yehs..." (Mileisha)
Mileisha seemed pretty scared...
"I may be the daughter from a viscount family, but I’m not the viscount's daughter[1]." (Mitsuha)
"……eh?" (Mileisha)
Yeah, it seemed she didn't know.
"In other words, I'm not the daughter of Viscount Yamano, but a titled noble, Viscount Yamano herself! …I am the daughter from a Viscount family, but not the daughter of a Viscount." (Mitsuha)
"……eh?" (Mileisha)
"Huh?" (Guards)
"Whaaaaaat?!" (All 3)
Well, that's surprising... Miss Mileisha and I were from different countries, so there was no direct hierarchical relationship between us as nobles, but I guess she thought that as the daughter of a Count, she was of a higher rank than me, the daughter of a Viscount. But in reality, Miss Mileisha was from a Count family but she had no title; she was merely the daughter of a nobleman, and I was from a Viscount family but was a titled noble myself. Clearly, I was superior—Unless the parents from the other party showed up.
I could have saved this topic for later, but I thought it would be better to be honest if we were going to be on each other's side. It's best not to hide anything that's not a big deal from your allies, especially those with whom you had no fear of being betrayed due to a vested interest. In order to gain their trust—Of course, I wouldn't tell them the important stuff. Obviously.
Also, the fact that she deliberately took an excessively superior stance was a bit off. If I didn't make the hierarchy clear, I'd end up being criticized and opposed to everything I did, and I'd be forced to do strange things, which I'd find unbearable. I didn't want to be yelled at or threatened by the guards. That's why I made it clear that the decision-making power was mine, and that the guards were not to interfere in anything outside of their own duties.
...Well, that's it, let's begin the operation!!
"Well then, for now, let's confirm the identity of the enemy and the reason for the attack." (Mitsuha)
"...Eh? Y-Yes..." (Mileisha)
Mileisha had a puzzled look on her face. …Yeah, well, from what we've discussed so far it seems like it was a complete rejection… It's no wonder people are confused by the sudden turn of events in the story.
But she has been eating well. Even if she didn't understand the reason, she seemed to understand that the situation had improved. I will never miss a good opportunity. That is a lady's hobby, hmm.
"Mileisha is an international student, so she was suddenly thrown into a place where she didn't know anyone. Everyone else was already acquainted with each other... But that is natural given the circumstances and is no reason to attack Mileisha. For the noble women of this country, there are many benefits to being on good terms with them, considering future exchanges with other countries. …But then why are such insidious attacks being carried out? Mileisha, are you already engaged to your own country's crown prince?" (Mitsuha)
"Oh, oh, oh, not at all! How awe-inspiring... Of course, there is a possibility that I could be engaged to royalty, but that would be with the Fourth Prince or the son of the King's younger brother. Even then, the probability is pretty low. For someone like me, if I could get engaged to the third or fourth son of a duke or marquis, that would be a great achievement..." (Mileisha)
Shake shake, Mileisha shook her head from side to side.
Well, unless there are no sons and she is the eldest daughter who will inherit the title herself, there aren't many young ladies who can become engaged to the son of a marquis or higher... It would be a great victory if she could get engaged to the heir to a Count or Viscount family. That's why they think studying abroad is to increase her own value even a little.
"You don't have a fiance yet? So, is it possible that it was someone from a rival country who had their sights on Mileisha's fiancée? And there is also a slim chance that the young lady of this country is trying to get rid of Mileisha, who is making a move on her fiancé..." (Mitsuha)
Yeah, at times like these...
"Sabine-chan, please!" (Mitsuha)
Yes, when in trouble, I can rely on Sabine-chan.
"Hmm, well... I guess there's nothing we can do, ..." (Sabine)
Sabine-chan looks annoyed, but despite what she says, she always manages to make things work. ……Atta-Sabi!
"First of all, Mileisha is merely being 'tried to entrap', but she is not being directly harmed or her life being threatened, right? Normally, if Mileisha was in the way or her existence was dangerous for some reason, you would just kill her quickly, right? If we hire members of a secret organization, we can easily eliminate a helpless girl with only a few guards brought from the country, by stabbing her with a knife, sniping her with a bow and arrow, making it look like a carriage accident, using poison, and so on..." (Sabine)
Mileisha's face turned pale as she listened to Sabine-chan's scary explanation. …Yeah, that's understandable. That's scary…
"Despite the hostile acts, they have not physically harmed you. There are three possible reasons for that, right? First, they have no intention of going that far. ...Unless the perpetrator has the courage to do so. Secondly, you may feel that Mileisha is not worth the effort, or that you are not interested and do not care. ...Third, if it is inconvenient for them to directly harm Mileisha..." (Sabine)
"I see! As expected of Sabine-chan. Atta-Sabi!!" (Mitsuha)
"Hmmph," Sabine-chan said, puffing her nonexistent chest with a smug look on her face. And now, having finally seemingly realized the meaning of Sabine-chan's presence here, and the balance of power between me and Sabine-chan, Mileisha stared at Sabine-chan with wide eyes.
Well, Sabine-chan calls Mileisha by her first name. I call her "Mileisha"[2]... I look younger than her, and we're not friends yet, so I can't call her "chan," and I can't call her "sama" either because I would need to be the one to take the upper hand.
But even though Sabine-chan was the youngest here, she still called Mileisha by her first name. And she called me "ane-sama". And they didn't scold Sabine-chan for calling her by his first name. Furthermore, my appearance was clearly different from Sabine-chan. Unlike me, a commoner with a flat face, Sabine-chan gave off an aura of nobility, and even though she's wearing everyday clothes, the quality of her clothes made it obvious that she's no low-ranking aristocrat—If a properly educated young lady saw this, she would be able to figure out many things.
A noblewoman and her friend, a slightly older lower-ranking nobleman. The daughter of the main wife and a close friend, the daughter of a concubine or mistress who had married into the family from a foreign country. You could imagine many things about my relationship with Sabine-chan. And that you should never confirm it out loud...
...Well, anyway, I'm sure she understands that Sabine-chan is "someone you shouldn't upset."
"So, which of those three cases is this? What is the motive and who do you think the culprit is?" (Sabine)
Yeah, we can't get started until we hear that. Mileisha and I both turned our expectant gazes towards Sabine-chan...
"...You'll have to research that yourself." (Sabine)
"Oh, I knew it?" (Mitsuha)
No matter how genius the little devil Sabine-chan was, there's nothing she could do if there's not much information available...
Translation Note
[1] 子爵家の娘だけど、子爵の娘じゃない Literal translation: I'm a daughter of a viscount family, but not a daughter of a viscount. I can understand the context but still can't find the correct English words. For some people, probably it's a bit confusing.
[2] Mileisha and Mileisha. The former is just a name without title/honorific. The latter has ...嬢 (a title like -san or -sama), if translated literally, it means Young Lady... or Miss.... For now, I'm still not sure what I should use.