“Tri, let’s get some sleep. The area under your eyes is dark.”
I decided to follow my adoptive mother's advice and go to bed. At least pretend to be asleep.
It was a choice to avoid the situation because I didn't know how to deal with the other person.
I'm a person who is very good at presenting myself in a plausible way.
If you are not sincere to the other person, you can always make rational judgments and come up with an answer that suits the situation.
But once you become serious, it becomes difficult to make accurate and rational judgments.
Because emotions go beyond the realm of reason and shake things up and down, left and right.
"Yes, Tri. I'll be in the next room, so call me when you wake up. Yes?"
"Yes."
Soon, I felt the Marchioness rise from her seat and leave. I opened my eyes and glanced around the room, only to find myself alone.
Yeah, okay.
When I closed my eyes, darkness seemed to be closing in, but when I looked at the pure white ceiling, my heart calmed down.
I counted on my fingers and organized the things I had to do.
“First, let’s wait and see how Titiana turns out.”
I spoke quietly, my mouth slightly open, afraid anyone might hear. Just doing this made me feel like my cluttered mind was being cleared.
“It would be fortunate if we just gave up, but if my prediction is correct….”
I have to kill her.
It doesn't matter to me anymore whether the person to be eliminated is the female or male protagonist, or how the story gets twisted.
No matter what the ending, I can't let Shish be consumed by darkness.
I kept my eyes open because I felt like darkness would come again if I closed them, and it became afternoon.
My body was noticeably better, so I changed my clothes and sat in the living room when my senior came to visit.
“The Marchioness is here.”
“You have arrived, Your Highness.”
The Marchioness stood up to greet him, but showed no sign of leaving.
“Lady Hayley and I have something to discuss, so would you please leave?”
My senior asked politely, but my adoptive mother hesitated.
“Mother, please help me.”
When I finally left, the Marchioness looked back several times as she left the room.
The senior sitting on the sofa across from me stared at the closed door and called the maid.
“Did you eat lunch?”
"Yes."
“Then prepare the tea.”
As the maid bowed and left the reception room, the senior opened his mouth.
“Was the Marchioness really that sensitive?”
I asked him, pretending not to know anything, as he seemed puzzled.
“I originally thought she was like that, but wasn’t she?”
"Compared to Marquis Hayley, she's cheerful, but overall, the Marquis's people are calm and reserved. They don't give off the impression of being cared for."
“It seems like you’re quite interested in me.”
"That's right."
The senior seemed curious.
“As expected, the great Creator.”
“Oh, don’t say things like that, even as a joke. It gives me goosebumps.”
"Ha ha ha."
Since it was a story told by a senior who had just returned from a trip, I could at least take it as a joke. If someone else had said this, I'd have thought they were trying to strangle me.
Of course, when my senior first told me this story, I thought he was being mean to me.
"You and the Prime Minister were right. The Knight Commander was in the Tower, and the butler told me of his whereabouts."
“Obediently?”
"Yes."
As the senior nodded, his silver hair fluttered in the air.
“When the Knight Commander left, he left instructions to send any message from the palace to the Magic Tower.”
Dietrich, of course.
I can't give up my loyalty to the royal family.
“So the errand boy also went to the top of the mountain.”
“What’s the reply?”
"Not yet."
Knock knock.
There was a knock on the door, and a maid came in carrying a teapot and a tray with light refreshments.
The senior man motioned for the maid who was trying to make tea to leave, then got into the tea himself. Seeing his skillful demeanor, I realized anew that he was the Crown Prince.
"Ha."
In front of me was a teacup with a rose bud drawn on it.
I prefer cold fruit juice to hot tea, but this palace only serves tea.
“I told you to get a reply no matter what.”
“Titiana might interfere.”
"If you go that far, the Knight Commander has disrespected the Imperial Family. The messenger who fails to respond is derelict in his duty."
The errand boy might die.
Since I'd made this assumption, I'm sure my senior had already reached this point. But he simply calmly took a sip of tea and swallowed it down his throat.
“It seems quiet for now, so I’ll wait a bit.”
“Yeah, that’s right. It wouldn’t be so bad if they just stayed quiet.”
“Why? From what I hear, the Knight Commander and the Lord of the Tower both liked you, didn’t they?”
“That’s because I was the female protagonist.”
When I answered without hesitation, my senior seemed speechless. He blinked several times before speaking again.
"You?"
“What am I?”
“Aren’t you okay that two people left you?”
“It’s not like it’s nothing...”
I understood it in my head, but there was a very small, very small resentment in my heart.
"We were close until yesterday, so of course it feels strange when he suddenly leaves without even looking back. We've always been close."
It's a stretch to say we were close, but they acted like I was their world.
“I wonder if they even remember my name now.”
When I shrugged and smiled, my senior smiled back.
“Still, I’m glad you don’t seem depressed.”
“Thanks to Lily sending me here and there, I don’t have time to be depressed.”
“I already told Lily not to bother you.”
“Thank you, senior.”
Somehow I didn't see Lily today.
Originally, she would have appeared in the morning, asked me every single thing about yesterday, and said she would dress me up or something.
“I have to go back again.”
“Isn’t it all over?”
“Of course. There’s so much work piled up here.”
My senior pretended to be exaggeratedly listless, and I escorted him out of the building.
"Honestly, I enjoyed my time as a student. I only had to do half as much as I do now. It wasn't a burden."
“Wow, you say you don’t feel pressured? And you’re the top student?”
"Isn't this all the arrangement of the Great Creator? Didn't you say I was a Crown Prince with outstanding ability to handle things?"
My senior made an exaggerated gesture of bowing to me as if teasing me.
“Really, senior.”
I put both arms on my waist, and my senior laughed out loud.
“Don’t say that again. Got it?”
“Why? It’s cool.”
“It’s cool. Where is the incompetent creator who can’t do anything?”
“That’s true.”
When I quickly slumped my shoulders in frustration at the affirmative words, my senior laughed again.
Aside from the strange twists and turns of events, this moment was enjoyable. It allowed me to be free of awkwardness and not have to choose my words.
Coming back here, I was wearing a mask.
The mask of Lady Retri Hayley. The few times I could take it off were when I spent time with my senior, and I smiled without worry.
To forget the ominous dream I had at dawn, I deliberately did it louder.
So I didn't know that someone was watching us from afar and then turned away.
In the evening, news came that Balalaratika, a small town near the capital, had been reduced to ruins by a sudden falling ball of flame.
The one who gave me the urgent news was my senior and Shish.
I couldn't help but be astonished when I heard the name of the city.
“Who named the city this way?”
Yeah, me.
"The Emperor from the late dynasty changed the name during his reforms. Is it difficult to pronounce?"
My senior seemed to feel sorry for me.
Senior, it's not your fault, so you don't have to feel sorry.
“If she wants to take Your Highness, the Crown Prince, with her, there is a way to force you to do so. That is strange.”
As Shish tilted his head to the side, his red hair flowed down his body. I wanted to touch him, but I held back, aware of my seniors' presence.
“Of course, Your Highness is only in the palace, so it would be impossible to kidnap the Tower Master, who is forbidden from entering the palace.”
“Your Excellency, there is something you are forgetting: that woman is after you, Your Excellency.”
Shish was silent for a moment. I spoke to help him, who rarely seemed to be able to answer.
"Could it be because of me that she didn't forcefully take Senior or Shish? Why? I think it's because I acted strong when she threatened to kill me back then."
“Maybe so.”
Shish leaned back against the chair.
"The master has never forced anything on us... Yes, the master of the tower would understand. His personality. I think we would have stopped him."
Is Dietrich being treated like an idiot after all?
“But does she know that this isn’t forced?”
A sneer appeared on Shish's thin lips.
“She's stupid.”
I wanted to applaud him for saying exactly what I wanted to say, but I held back. It wasn't the right atmosphere.
For a moment, the living room fell into silence.
“Maybe she just wants to show off.”
Two men looked at me at the same time at the word I blurted out.
"Titiana kissed Yuno in front of everyone. Personally, I think it was a show-off."
As if someone who had nothing until now suddenly gained great power and ran wild.
“So the method she chose is to threaten with strong force?”
The senior who was listening laughed as if he found it ridiculous.
"Lady Hayley, I think I missed something because I was only explaining things objectively back then. Did you tell that woman that I was interested in you?"
I decided to follow my adoptive mother's advice and go to bed. At least pretend to be asleep.
It was a choice to avoid the situation because I didn't know how to deal with the other person.
I'm a person who is very good at presenting myself in a plausible way.
If you are not sincere to the other person, you can always make rational judgments and come up with an answer that suits the situation.
But once you become serious, it becomes difficult to make accurate and rational judgments.
Because emotions go beyond the realm of reason and shake things up and down, left and right.
"Yes, Tri. I'll be in the next room, so call me when you wake up. Yes?"
"Yes."
Soon, I felt the Marchioness rise from her seat and leave. I opened my eyes and glanced around the room, only to find myself alone.
Yeah, okay.
When I closed my eyes, darkness seemed to be closing in, but when I looked at the pure white ceiling, my heart calmed down.
I counted on my fingers and organized the things I had to do.
“First, let’s wait and see how Titiana turns out.”
I spoke quietly, my mouth slightly open, afraid anyone might hear. Just doing this made me feel like my cluttered mind was being cleared.
“It would be fortunate if we just gave up, but if my prediction is correct….”
I have to kill her.
It doesn't matter to me anymore whether the person to be eliminated is the female or male protagonist, or how the story gets twisted.
No matter what the ending, I can't let Shish be consumed by darkness.
I kept my eyes open because I felt like darkness would come again if I closed them, and it became afternoon.
My body was noticeably better, so I changed my clothes and sat in the living room when my senior came to visit.
“The Marchioness is here.”
“You have arrived, Your Highness.”
The Marchioness stood up to greet him, but showed no sign of leaving.
“Lady Hayley and I have something to discuss, so would you please leave?”
My senior asked politely, but my adoptive mother hesitated.
“Mother, please help me.”
When I finally left, the Marchioness looked back several times as she left the room.
The senior sitting on the sofa across from me stared at the closed door and called the maid.
“Did you eat lunch?”
"Yes."
“Then prepare the tea.”
As the maid bowed and left the reception room, the senior opened his mouth.
“Was the Marchioness really that sensitive?”
I asked him, pretending not to know anything, as he seemed puzzled.
“I originally thought she was like that, but wasn’t she?”
"Compared to Marquis Hayley, she's cheerful, but overall, the Marquis's people are calm and reserved. They don't give off the impression of being cared for."
“It seems like you’re quite interested in me.”
"That's right."
The senior seemed curious.
“As expected, the great Creator.”
“Oh, don’t say things like that, even as a joke. It gives me goosebumps.”
"Ha ha ha."
Since it was a story told by a senior who had just returned from a trip, I could at least take it as a joke. If someone else had said this, I'd have thought they were trying to strangle me.
Of course, when my senior first told me this story, I thought he was being mean to me.
"You and the Prime Minister were right. The Knight Commander was in the Tower, and the butler told me of his whereabouts."
“Obediently?”
"Yes."
As the senior nodded, his silver hair fluttered in the air.
“When the Knight Commander left, he left instructions to send any message from the palace to the Magic Tower.”
Dietrich, of course.
I can't give up my loyalty to the royal family.
“So the errand boy also went to the top of the mountain.”
“What’s the reply?”
"Not yet."
Knock knock.
There was a knock on the door, and a maid came in carrying a teapot and a tray with light refreshments.
The senior man motioned for the maid who was trying to make tea to leave, then got into the tea himself. Seeing his skillful demeanor, I realized anew that he was the Crown Prince.
"Ha."
In front of me was a teacup with a rose bud drawn on it.
I prefer cold fruit juice to hot tea, but this palace only serves tea.
“I told you to get a reply no matter what.”
“Titiana might interfere.”
"If you go that far, the Knight Commander has disrespected the Imperial Family. The messenger who fails to respond is derelict in his duty."
The errand boy might die.
Since I'd made this assumption, I'm sure my senior had already reached this point. But he simply calmly took a sip of tea and swallowed it down his throat.
“It seems quiet for now, so I’ll wait a bit.”
“Yeah, that’s right. It wouldn’t be so bad if they just stayed quiet.”
“Why? From what I hear, the Knight Commander and the Lord of the Tower both liked you, didn’t they?”
“That’s because I was the female protagonist.”
When I answered without hesitation, my senior seemed speechless. He blinked several times before speaking again.
"You?"
“What am I?”
“Aren’t you okay that two people left you?”
“It’s not like it’s nothing...”
I understood it in my head, but there was a very small, very small resentment in my heart.
"We were close until yesterday, so of course it feels strange when he suddenly leaves without even looking back. We've always been close."
It's a stretch to say we were close, but they acted like I was their world.
“I wonder if they even remember my name now.”
When I shrugged and smiled, my senior smiled back.
“Still, I’m glad you don’t seem depressed.”
“Thanks to Lily sending me here and there, I don’t have time to be depressed.”
“I already told Lily not to bother you.”
“Thank you, senior.”
Somehow I didn't see Lily today.
Originally, she would have appeared in the morning, asked me every single thing about yesterday, and said she would dress me up or something.
“I have to go back again.”
“Isn’t it all over?”
“Of course. There’s so much work piled up here.”
My senior pretended to be exaggeratedly listless, and I escorted him out of the building.
"Honestly, I enjoyed my time as a student. I only had to do half as much as I do now. It wasn't a burden."
“Wow, you say you don’t feel pressured? And you’re the top student?”
"Isn't this all the arrangement of the Great Creator? Didn't you say I was a Crown Prince with outstanding ability to handle things?"
My senior made an exaggerated gesture of bowing to me as if teasing me.
“Really, senior.”
I put both arms on my waist, and my senior laughed out loud.
“Don’t say that again. Got it?”
“Why? It’s cool.”
“It’s cool. Where is the incompetent creator who can’t do anything?”
“That’s true.”
When I quickly slumped my shoulders in frustration at the affirmative words, my senior laughed again.
Aside from the strange twists and turns of events, this moment was enjoyable. It allowed me to be free of awkwardness and not have to choose my words.
Coming back here, I was wearing a mask.
The mask of Lady Retri Hayley. The few times I could take it off were when I spent time with my senior, and I smiled without worry.
To forget the ominous dream I had at dawn, I deliberately did it louder.
So I didn't know that someone was watching us from afar and then turned away.
***
In the evening, news came that Balalaratika, a small town near the capital, had been reduced to ruins by a sudden falling ball of flame.
The one who gave me the urgent news was my senior and Shish.
I couldn't help but be astonished when I heard the name of the city.
“Who named the city this way?”
Yeah, me.
"The Emperor from the late dynasty changed the name during his reforms. Is it difficult to pronounce?"
My senior seemed to feel sorry for me.
Senior, it's not your fault, so you don't have to feel sorry.
“If she wants to take Your Highness, the Crown Prince, with her, there is a way to force you to do so. That is strange.”
As Shish tilted his head to the side, his red hair flowed down his body. I wanted to touch him, but I held back, aware of my seniors' presence.
“Of course, Your Highness is only in the palace, so it would be impossible to kidnap the Tower Master, who is forbidden from entering the palace.”
“Your Excellency, there is something you are forgetting: that woman is after you, Your Excellency.”
Shish was silent for a moment. I spoke to help him, who rarely seemed to be able to answer.
"Could it be because of me that she didn't forcefully take Senior or Shish? Why? I think it's because I acted strong when she threatened to kill me back then."
“Maybe so.”
Shish leaned back against the chair.
"The master has never forced anything on us... Yes, the master of the tower would understand. His personality. I think we would have stopped him."
Is Dietrich being treated like an idiot after all?
“But does she know that this isn’t forced?”
A sneer appeared on Shish's thin lips.
“She's stupid.”
I wanted to applaud him for saying exactly what I wanted to say, but I held back. It wasn't the right atmosphere.
For a moment, the living room fell into silence.
“Maybe she just wants to show off.”
Two men looked at me at the same time at the word I blurted out.
"Titiana kissed Yuno in front of everyone. Personally, I think it was a show-off."
As if someone who had nothing until now suddenly gained great power and ran wild.
“So the method she chose is to threaten with strong force?”
The senior who was listening laughed as if he found it ridiculous.
"Lady Hayley, I think I missed something because I was only explaining things objectively back then. Did you tell that woman that I was interested in you?"
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