“Oh, yes...”
Reiner answers the woman's question of whether he is okay in a bewildered voice.
The woman smiled faintly and then hurried away. Nike watched her back, as if entranced.
Then suddenly.
He quickly turned his head as he remembered Reiner.
Fortunately, his precious friend was fine. He was feeling every nook and cranny of his body with a bewildered expression.
"Are you okay?"
“Uh, uh...”
Reiner, who was blinking with his mouth wide open, stared at Nike's tear-stained face and then scratched his head.
“Is this a bit embarrassing?”
"...Ha."
Only then did Nike relax and take a deep breath. The embarrassed Reiner jokingly joked.
“But this vicious bastard never granted his dying friend’s wish. Give me a pretty niece!”
“You had it, you little bastard!”
Reiner answers the woman's question of whether he is okay in a bewildered voice.
The woman smiled faintly and then hurried away. Nike watched her back, as if entranced.
Then suddenly.
He quickly turned his head as he remembered Reiner.
Fortunately, his precious friend was fine. He was feeling every nook and cranny of his body with a bewildered expression.
"Are you okay?"
“Uh, uh...”
Reiner, who was blinking with his mouth wide open, stared at Nike's tear-stained face and then scratched his head.
“Is this a bit embarrassing?”
"...Ha."
Only then did Nike relax and take a deep breath. The embarrassed Reiner jokingly joked.
“But this vicious bastard never granted his dying friend’s wish. Give me a pretty niece!”
“You had it, you little bastard!”
Nike shouted. Reiner's eyes widened at the sight of the usually calm man, now more excited than ever.
“Don’t die... keep living...”
“...”
“Just as you wished, you’re the one who has to have it..."
The thrill of returning to the realm of life from the brink of death was equally surprising and heartbreaking.
“But... She's a person with superpowers, right?”
“...”
At Reiner's word, who was barely able to sniffle, Nike looked at the woman again.
A woman who roams the battlefield in an uncomfortable dress and uses her supernatural powers to care for the wounded.
Yes, she was a person with supernatural powers.
The real power in the empire, at the pinnacle of power... the daughter of Duke Edgar Wassenberg.
***
Ryan sat on one side of the barracks, looking at Nike, who was lying down, and Vania next to him with a complicated look.
'Is this right?'
He was still confused.
He wonders if it's okay for Nike to regain his memories now...
Of course, it's a good discovery that Nike can regain his memories without his body rejecting him through contact with Vania.
Ryan still believes that it is dangerous for Nike to dig up his memories alone, and that the pain he experiences when he does so is his body's instinctive defense mechanism.
He doesn't know for sure, but the 'contact' with Vania, who also possessed the <Poem of Retrograde> and was a complete power user... felt like it filled in Nike's incomplete powers.
'If that's true, there are a few more things to experiment with.'
Ryan, who was thinking, stopped.
Vania was speaking quietly to herself, mouthing the words.
Your back... hurts a little?
Then, he lay down, looking at Nike's profile.
'What the heck?'
What should I do with that sneaky rabbit that tries to stick to him at the slightest opportunity?
It's not that he can't understand that kind of behavior. After all, Vania has memories of being deeply loved.
Ryan imagined: What if he regressed and met Clara, the love he loved to death?
Can you stand it?
It must be difficult. Honestly, if you have the spirit of an adult, you might want to do this and that.
Well, since Vania is a girl, it's like this. If she were a boy...
'That's why I'm worried!'
Ryan swallowed a sigh and looked at Nike, who had closed his eyes.
To Nike, who has no memory of her, thirteen-year-old Vania would seem like just a cute little girl. If he had to add a little sentimentality, he probably would think of her as a young fiancée.
Well, it's nothing special since nobles often get engaged when they're little.
But what happens after Nike regains his memories?
“Can you find your memories and come to your senses?”
“What are you talking about?”
"Look at Vania. She clings to you every chance she gets. How could the Prince not do that?"
“...? What do you see people as?”
Nike was extremely displeased...
"Hey, I know you're a gentleman, Your Highness. I'm not saying you're trying to do anything to Vania. What I'm worried about is, even after you regain your memories of being her lover, will you be able to endure seeing Vania? Will it be difficult for you to endure? That's the kind of worry I have."
“Your head is full of shit.”
“...Wow, you’re being too harsh.”
Nike asserted that even if he regained his memories, his treatment of Vania would remain unchanged.
But Ryan saw it differently.
Nike's confidence is probably the baseless confidence of a man who has never been in love.
"The reason I'm trying to find my memories is, of course, because of Vania, but also because it'll help us track down Wassenberg in many ways. You know that."
“That’s true.”
Nikeda, a secret organization of the imperial family, has been following Wassenberg for a long time.
'The benefits are so much greater, I can't stop you.'
Ryan unfolded two already tightly packed sheets of paper and looked through them.
The activities of the secret society were recorded by Nike, who had regained his memories.
Even after returning, there was a lot of information about Wassenberg that Vania didn't know about.
'Oh, I don't know.'
Ryan shook his head and looked at Nike, who had his eyes closed.
‘Find out what you want...’
***
“Your Highness, my name is... Vania.”
That day, the cheek that the woman had treated continued to burn.
The woman was embarrassed and said it was nothing special to Nike, who was expressing his gratitude.
The fact that she treated all the wounded soldiers regardless of their family background, the fact that she was surprised and polite when she heard that he was a Prince, the fact that she was willing to worry about the small scratch on Nike's cheek...
The woman was full of things she didn't understand, considering she knew the Bassenberg family's superpowers.
“Nike?”
“...Ah. Yes, Your Highness.”
Nike, who had been lost in thoughts of women without realizing it, raised his head.
The Crown Prince appeared.
“Anyway, to answer your question, there’s not much information about Princess Vania other than what’s known to the outside world.”
“...Is that so?”
"Unusually, the Duke himself announced the Princess as his successor when she was twelve. I was curious about his plans at the time, but since the Princess rarely engaged in external activities, I had half-forgotten."
The Crown Prince spoke while simultaneously examining the documents he was checking.
"She's interacted with a few children of noble families who are pro-Wassenberg, but not many. She also spent quite a bit of time abroad. It seems the Duke deliberately raised her without exposing her to the outside world, but the reason is unknown."
“...”
“But keep one thing in mind.”
The Crown Prince put aside the documents he had been examining and rested his chin on his hand, looking at Nike.
"The Wassenberg family's superpowered members don't do favors without a reward. The Princess's help this time must have been intentional. While we're grateful, remember that we must always be wary of their hidden agenda."
“...I will keep that in mind.”
Nike nodded and left the Crown Prince's office.
As his older brother had been in a tug-of-war for power with Wassenberg for a long time, his advice was wise and not wrong.
“I’m glad it helped.”
“Your Highness, my name is...”
Nike shook his head once.
It was just a coincidence in the first place, and he will never see that woman again.
He tried to shake off the image of Vania's face that kept coming to mind and headed towards the training ground.
“Ha! Ha!”
Renier is visible.
After returning from the expedition, he had been torturing himself like this for several days under the pretext of training.
“Reiner.”
“Oh, Your Highness. You have arrived.”
“Are you having any worries these days?”
"Yes?"
Reiner tilted his head.
"No?"
“Don’t lie. Are you afraid I won’t even notice something like that?”
“...”
Reiner swallowed hard, his true feelings seen through.
It's Reiner's habit. He swings his sword ceaselessly whenever he's worried or wants to shake off useless thoughts.
“Is it because of Lady Wassenberg?”
Nike asked. Reiner turned to him, his lips quivering. For a moment, he looked embarrassed, then his face turned tearful.
Dump.
He suddenly knelt down in front of Nike.
“What, what are you doing?”
A bewildered Nike looked around. Several knights who had been training were watching with astonished eyes.
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
"Ha."
Next to Reiner, who seemed to have no intention of getting up, Nike finally sat down, level with him, and flopped down carelessly.
"I think I'm going crazy. I'm ashamed to face Your Highness. I'll come to my senses as quickly as possible and return to my normal life."
“Do you keep thinking about it?”
Reiner closed his eyes tightly.
"... Yes."
He expected it. Ever since the day he first met Vania, Reiner's occasional blank expression, his inability to focus on training—it was all because of those changes.
It was crazy, but Nike could understand that Reiner.
A benefactor who appeared like an angel on the battlefield and saved his life. Even when he thanked her, she smiled brightly, saying it was nothing special and that she was glad he was better. A smile as warm as sunlight. Crucially, Vania was... a stunning beauty.
Was it a first meeting that had all the conditions for a man to fall in love, to fall in love at first sight?
“You have nothing to worry about.”
What Nike should be worried about is the possibility that Reiner will lose his mind and follow Vania around.
If the second son of the Marquis of Cruiz, a close ally of the imperial family, and even a member of the imperial family, Reiner, were to try to give everything he had to the daughter of the Wassenberg family...
...it is a situation worth worrying about.
"But I understand if you kick me out. Since Your Highness has already revealed my true feelings, I can't expect you to trust me."
Reinner almost cried.
"I will accept whatever you decide to do with me. Of course, even if I'm kicked out by the Prince, I won't go looking for her or anything, so don't worry..."
“Reiner.”
"Yes..."
“It’s okay. I understand.”
“Whew.”
Reiner closed his eyes tightly and let out a long sigh.
He felt grateful for Nike's words of consideration, but at the same time, he felt frustrated, wondering if it was okay for a superior to back down like this. He felt mixed emotions.
“What if you understand this...?”
"In that situation, any man would have felt the same way as you. I've been there, so I understand your feelings better than anyone. You're human, and you're a man, too. There's nothing you can do."
“No, I...!”
Reiner's eyes widened as he tried to refute.
You understand my heart better than anyone else? Really?
Nike confessed honestly to Reiner, who noticed.
“...I’m like that too, now.”
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