They sat on the mats they had brought in the shade of the trees by the lake.
Across the lake, they could see other families laughing happily as they talked about something, but they couldn't hear a word.
There seemed to be a few knights standing guard around the area, but they were quite far away, so it seemed unlikely that their conversation would be heard.
“I felt strange when you spoke to me formally. It was awkward and... I was worried that I would be embarrassed if you continued to speak formally to me.”
Winfred spoke first, laughing.
In principle, it was right for Princess Aila to use formal language with him, but since they had been speaking comfortably since their first meeting, hearing her use formal language felt awkward. It also made it seem as if their relationship had grown distant.
“...You have to be careful, because there might be people he planted around you. That’s all.”
Aila shrugged.
In fact, it's not like the relationship between Winfred and her will become awkward just because they haven't seen each other for a while.
Although she was too embarrassed to say it out loud, Aila thought so anyway.
It would be a bit awkward if the world found out that she was talking to the Crown Prince, but she was afraid of that and didn't want to hurt Winfred.
Because he was Aila's only friend.
"I see... You did it so naturally. It was like we were meeting for the first time. I was so awkward that I couldn't do it. I was worried they'd find out because of me..."
Winfred touched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Isn't that because you're honest? I think someone honest and can't hide things well is much better than someone who's used to lying. I... maybe it's because I'm not honest, but honest people seem more impressive."
Aila spoke with a somewhat lonely look on her face.
She meant it.
A life filled with deception and being deceived, and endless lies to tell...
Living that kind of life, she liked honest and unadorned people like Winfred and Lisa.
It is also true that she received a lot of comfort from Winfred during those unbearably difficult moments.
Looking at her sad face, Winfred suddenly took her hand and said:
"It was an unavoidable situation. Your lies... were something you had to tell to survive. You're not the bad guy. The person who forced you to lie is the bad guy."
'You're not bad.'
At those words, Aila felt something welling up in her chest.
Could that really be true? Is she really that bad?
Before her return, she committed an unforgivable sin.
Even if she had been deceived by Byron, she had entered the dukedom with ill intentions. She lied and pretended to be a Princess, even though she didn't believe she was.
And in the end, she committed a terrible act that betrayed her family's ancestry: she killed her biological father, Roderick, with her own hands.
Now, Winfred tells her so affectionately, "You're not bad," but she wonders if he'll say the same thing when he finds out everything she's done.
“If you knew all my mistakes, you wouldn’t say things like that.”
At Aola's self-deprecating words, Winfred tightened his grip on her hand.
"No. I'm going to tell you that whatever you did wasn't a bad thing. I truly believe that, and even if you did something truly, truly bad... I'll be on your side. We're friends."
Aila let out a breathy laugh, though she didn't realize it. She wanted to believe that those words of trust, those words of being on her side... were sincere.
His words are that even if everyone criticizes her, he will stand on the same side as her.
“...You really believe that? What is your basis for that?”
But her words were coming out sharply, contrary to her heart. Standing before Winfred, she couldn't understand why her heart and her mouth were acting so indifferently.
"You saved me. You didn't even know I was the Crown Prince, and you threw yourself into saving me, even though we were complete strangers. Because of you, I trust you."
A girl who didn't mind rolling on the ground and risking her identity being revealed to save someone who might otherwise pass by.
It was my belief that such a girl's nature could not be bad.
"... Thank you."
Aila looked at Winfred with reddened eyes, as if on the verge of tears, and said, "Thank you for trusting me."
And at that moment, she realized her feelings anew. She loved Winfred's kindness.
“Uh, yeah.”
Whenever he held her hand tightly and told her that he trusted her, Winfred's face turned bright red at Aila's words of gratitude, and he let go of her hand.
They gazed at the lake in silence for a moment. Like the sparkles on the calm ripples of the lake, a bright light seemed to twinkle in their hearts.
After a while, Winfred spoke quietly.
“Are you... okay? I was really worried after hearing your story.”
“...Yeah. I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me. I’m really fine now.”
Aila smiled brightly and answered, then brought up the topic she had been curious about.
“Did you... Did you arrive home safely? I’m worried about how you’re doing.”
It's been quite some time since I parted ways with Scott and Debbie. I've wanted to check on their safety several times, but I've been too afraid of things going wrong to do so.
"Yeah, of course. They seemed like really nice people. They seemed really worried about you, so I told them I'd found your biological parents, and they were just as happy as if it were their own."
“I’m so glad they’re safe...”
“They asked me how long they would have to stay there... I thought I would have to stay there until he was caught, so I said they would have to stay for a while longer.”
Winfred, who had said this, looked at Aila's face with a trembling face.
He said that because he had something he wanted to ask, but it was difficult to bring it up, but Aila, misunderstanding that he was expecting praise, smiled brightly and praised him.
"Good job. Tell them I'll definitely come visit once everything's done."
“Uh, uh.”
Winfred nodded with a bashful smile. He hadn't been looking for praise, but it felt good to hear Ajla say he did well.
And then, thinking that maybe now would be okay, he carefully brought out the question that had been lingering in his mind.
“Excuse me, Aila. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
"You know, when you asked me to keep those two safe... it was before I met them. They'd been living in one place for decades, never interacting with anyone else. So how did you know that in advance?"
At Winfred's innocent question, Aila's expression hardened as if frozen.
She was so desperate to save Scott and Debbie that she couldn't think of anything else, and that's how she ended up with a contradiction.
“So... that’s...”
When Aila was too flustered to answer, he blinked slowly.
“Is that difficult to answer?”
If that was the case, Winfred had no intention of pressing her for an answer. He was genuinely curious, but even though they were close friends, he had no intention of forcing her to confess something she didn't want to say.
But Aila closed her eyes tightly as if in pain.
"Later, later, I'll definitely tell you. I promised I'd tell my parents first. And I'll definitely tell you later."
How could she not tell Winfred the truth when he said he would take her side no matter what she did?
She couldn't hide it. She didn't want to.
He was about to say that if it was that hard, she didn't have to talk, but he swallowed his words at the sight of Aila's desperate appearance.
“...You promised?”
"Yes."
At Aila's firm pledge, Winfred smiled brightly and looked out at the lake. It felt like something pleasant awaited him in the future.
“Right, I have something for you.”
Aila, who was looking in the same direction, suddenly got up from her seat as if something came to mind and took the small pouch she had left hanging on her horse.
“What is it?”
“...This is your gift.”
She said it was a gift, but her blunt expression seemed to say, 'I picked it up.'
Winfred, bewildered, opened the pouch Aila had offered him. Inside was a yellow, transparent gemstone necklace.
“Uh, this is...”
It looked familiar, and it was a stone very similar to the ones he'd seen in Inselkov's souvenir shop. He stared at the necklace with wide eyes.
"That's right, I bought it at that shop in Inselkov. I thought it would suit you... well. If you don't like it, just throw it away..."
“Oh, no! I really like it...!”
Winfred shook his head vigorously and shouted, "It's not that I don't like it. It's that you bought it because you thought it would suit me, and I've kept it so dearly ever since. How could I dislike it?"
“So, you...?”
Aila glanced at him blankly and spoke. Winfred looked bewildered, as if he couldn't understand anything.
"What?"
“You bought me two rings back then, didn’t you? Not even one.”
"Do I really have to say this with my own mouth?" Aila glared at Winfred with force in her eyes.
“Oh, that...”
“You didn’t lose it, did you?”
"No, that can't be. I don't have it now... I'll send it home later. Besides that, there are a few other things I bought that I wanted to give you."
He answered, rubbing the back of his head as if embarrassed, and Aila nodded without thinking, saying she understood.
She thought lightly, “How much can there be?”
Across the lake, they could see other families laughing happily as they talked about something, but they couldn't hear a word.
There seemed to be a few knights standing guard around the area, but they were quite far away, so it seemed unlikely that their conversation would be heard.
“I felt strange when you spoke to me formally. It was awkward and... I was worried that I would be embarrassed if you continued to speak formally to me.”
Winfred spoke first, laughing.
In principle, it was right for Princess Aila to use formal language with him, but since they had been speaking comfortably since their first meeting, hearing her use formal language felt awkward. It also made it seem as if their relationship had grown distant.
“...You have to be careful, because there might be people he planted around you. That’s all.”
Aila shrugged.
In fact, it's not like the relationship between Winfred and her will become awkward just because they haven't seen each other for a while.
Although she was too embarrassed to say it out loud, Aila thought so anyway.
It would be a bit awkward if the world found out that she was talking to the Crown Prince, but she was afraid of that and didn't want to hurt Winfred.
Because he was Aila's only friend.
"I see... You did it so naturally. It was like we were meeting for the first time. I was so awkward that I couldn't do it. I was worried they'd find out because of me..."
Winfred touched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Isn't that because you're honest? I think someone honest and can't hide things well is much better than someone who's used to lying. I... maybe it's because I'm not honest, but honest people seem more impressive."
Aila spoke with a somewhat lonely look on her face.
She meant it.
A life filled with deception and being deceived, and endless lies to tell...
Living that kind of life, she liked honest and unadorned people like Winfred and Lisa.
It is also true that she received a lot of comfort from Winfred during those unbearably difficult moments.
Looking at her sad face, Winfred suddenly took her hand and said:
"It was an unavoidable situation. Your lies... were something you had to tell to survive. You're not the bad guy. The person who forced you to lie is the bad guy."
'You're not bad.'
At those words, Aila felt something welling up in her chest.
Could that really be true? Is she really that bad?
Before her return, she committed an unforgivable sin.
Even if she had been deceived by Byron, she had entered the dukedom with ill intentions. She lied and pretended to be a Princess, even though she didn't believe she was.
And in the end, she committed a terrible act that betrayed her family's ancestry: she killed her biological father, Roderick, with her own hands.
Now, Winfred tells her so affectionately, "You're not bad," but she wonders if he'll say the same thing when he finds out everything she's done.
“If you knew all my mistakes, you wouldn’t say things like that.”
At Aola's self-deprecating words, Winfred tightened his grip on her hand.
"No. I'm going to tell you that whatever you did wasn't a bad thing. I truly believe that, and even if you did something truly, truly bad... I'll be on your side. We're friends."
Aila let out a breathy laugh, though she didn't realize it. She wanted to believe that those words of trust, those words of being on her side... were sincere.
His words are that even if everyone criticizes her, he will stand on the same side as her.
“...You really believe that? What is your basis for that?”
But her words were coming out sharply, contrary to her heart. Standing before Winfred, she couldn't understand why her heart and her mouth were acting so indifferently.
"You saved me. You didn't even know I was the Crown Prince, and you threw yourself into saving me, even though we were complete strangers. Because of you, I trust you."
A girl who didn't mind rolling on the ground and risking her identity being revealed to save someone who might otherwise pass by.
It was my belief that such a girl's nature could not be bad.
"... Thank you."
Aila looked at Winfred with reddened eyes, as if on the verge of tears, and said, "Thank you for trusting me."
And at that moment, she realized her feelings anew. She loved Winfred's kindness.
“Uh, yeah.”
Whenever he held her hand tightly and told her that he trusted her, Winfred's face turned bright red at Aila's words of gratitude, and he let go of her hand.
They gazed at the lake in silence for a moment. Like the sparkles on the calm ripples of the lake, a bright light seemed to twinkle in their hearts.
After a while, Winfred spoke quietly.
“Are you... okay? I was really worried after hearing your story.”
“...Yeah. I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me. I’m really fine now.”
Aila smiled brightly and answered, then brought up the topic she had been curious about.
“Did you... Did you arrive home safely? I’m worried about how you’re doing.”
It's been quite some time since I parted ways with Scott and Debbie. I've wanted to check on their safety several times, but I've been too afraid of things going wrong to do so.
"Yeah, of course. They seemed like really nice people. They seemed really worried about you, so I told them I'd found your biological parents, and they were just as happy as if it were their own."
“I’m so glad they’re safe...”
“They asked me how long they would have to stay there... I thought I would have to stay there until he was caught, so I said they would have to stay for a while longer.”
Winfred, who had said this, looked at Aila's face with a trembling face.
He said that because he had something he wanted to ask, but it was difficult to bring it up, but Aila, misunderstanding that he was expecting praise, smiled brightly and praised him.
"Good job. Tell them I'll definitely come visit once everything's done."
“Uh, uh.”
Winfred nodded with a bashful smile. He hadn't been looking for praise, but it felt good to hear Ajla say he did well.
And then, thinking that maybe now would be okay, he carefully brought out the question that had been lingering in his mind.
“Excuse me, Aila. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
"You know, when you asked me to keep those two safe... it was before I met them. They'd been living in one place for decades, never interacting with anyone else. So how did you know that in advance?"
At Winfred's innocent question, Aila's expression hardened as if frozen.
She was so desperate to save Scott and Debbie that she couldn't think of anything else, and that's how she ended up with a contradiction.
“So... that’s...”
When Aila was too flustered to answer, he blinked slowly.
“Is that difficult to answer?”
If that was the case, Winfred had no intention of pressing her for an answer. He was genuinely curious, but even though they were close friends, he had no intention of forcing her to confess something she didn't want to say.
But Aila closed her eyes tightly as if in pain.
"Later, later, I'll definitely tell you. I promised I'd tell my parents first. And I'll definitely tell you later."
How could she not tell Winfred the truth when he said he would take her side no matter what she did?
She couldn't hide it. She didn't want to.
He was about to say that if it was that hard, she didn't have to talk, but he swallowed his words at the sight of Aila's desperate appearance.
“...You promised?”
"Yes."
At Aila's firm pledge, Winfred smiled brightly and looked out at the lake. It felt like something pleasant awaited him in the future.
“Right, I have something for you.”
Aila, who was looking in the same direction, suddenly got up from her seat as if something came to mind and took the small pouch she had left hanging on her horse.
“What is it?”
“...This is your gift.”
She said it was a gift, but her blunt expression seemed to say, 'I picked it up.'
Winfred, bewildered, opened the pouch Aila had offered him. Inside was a yellow, transparent gemstone necklace.
“Uh, this is...”
It looked familiar, and it was a stone very similar to the ones he'd seen in Inselkov's souvenir shop. He stared at the necklace with wide eyes.
"That's right, I bought it at that shop in Inselkov. I thought it would suit you... well. If you don't like it, just throw it away..."
“Oh, no! I really like it...!”
Winfred shook his head vigorously and shouted, "It's not that I don't like it. It's that you bought it because you thought it would suit me, and I've kept it so dearly ever since. How could I dislike it?"
“So, you...?”
Aila glanced at him blankly and spoke. Winfred looked bewildered, as if he couldn't understand anything.
"What?"
“You bought me two rings back then, didn’t you? Not even one.”
"Do I really have to say this with my own mouth?" Aila glared at Winfred with force in her eyes.
“Oh, that...”
“You didn’t lose it, did you?”
"No, that can't be. I don't have it now... I'll send it home later. Besides that, there are a few other things I bought that I wanted to give you."
He answered, rubbing the back of his head as if embarrassed, and Aila nodded without thinking, saying she understood.
She thought lightly, “How much can there be?”
Comments
Post a Comment