In another world as my waifu #1: Brave New World and the Fallen Prince(ss)

Epilogue 1: The Pyrrhic Bet

Ludovica rummaged through her closet's drawers for a moment, pulled out the set of lingerie that was included with the dress, which came with a thong, and put it on before putting on the rest of her now chosen clothes.

"Auros looked so cute in hers! But I am not losing either!"

Fully clothed now and with eyes brimming with the same increasing excitement that permeated her body, Ludovica nodded in confidence at her own words after spinning around and striking a pose in front of the body mirror that was close to her closet. Also, she was quite proud of how good she looked in her new dress despite her real age.

"Non! Non! Non! Those thoughts can fly away! Yes~~! I am an eternal 21-year-old! Yes~~!"

Indeed, her skin was fair and tender, her face was youthful and free of any wrinkle, and gravity seemed to not be doing its work on the parts that it normally would. All thanks to the incredibly well-trained body and mana she had nurtured throughout her whole life.

But that was not close to being a trait unique to her or her occupation, as anyone could achieve those very same results if they only put in the necessary hard work. Alas, not many in Arte did, to the dismay of their Goddess.

"Hmm...but to think that she predicted that they would be my 'plus two' and wrote it on the invitation..."

Having finished with her clothes, Ludovica began moving to her dressing table to do her make-up, all while reminiscing about the contents of the invitation that she had gotten just the night prior, one delivered via the spatial magic of a certain someone, of course.

It was then that another someone knocked on her door.

"Your Holiness, it is Julian, I have the two of them in my custody now and they are dressed as you asked. Shall we go and wait for you in the teleportation hall?"

So said her personal aide and her right-hand man, Julian Gardos.

"Yes~~."

"Very well."

With that, Ludovica wasted no more time and continued doing her make-up.

And as she did so, her usual smile turned into a complex expression.

"Those two...the path they walked was so dangerous. Any misstep and they would have truly fallen. And all for love. It really saddens me..."

As she said that, the memories of a certain confession flooded her mind.

________________________________________

A confession heard only by a certain group of people that was far from those who were celebrating the end of the colorful battle that had just taken place.

A confession that had already been interrupted by the arrival of Ludovica herself, who exchanged a few words with those present. Specifically, with two of the three Kyrie siblings there, Euphemia and Licht, the latter being bathed in Ludovica's pressure as she asked him to continue.

"Nnn...alright. It all started five days before you returned from your mission to subjugate the Mutated Manticore, Elder Sister..."

So...he did, but not before turning his gaze to the person whose reaction to such confession mattered most, Erevain.

"I was investigating a number of irregularities that had appeared in the various reports I usually received. The numbers for certain things like money and crafting resources did not add up, as they were strangely changed. Yet, it was all very subtle. So much so that if it were something that happened once, I would have thought of it as a simple accident. Someone made a typo, someone did not rest enough, someone did not check their math, simple accidents like that. Sadly..."