(210) Side Story; Precious and New (4)
Charlotte asked, clinging to the question even though she knew she was acting like a child. Staring intently at Charlotte, Ariana spoke.
“Even beneath a sky darkened by storm clouds, there is surely joy to be found. You may miss the blue sky, and sometimes that longing may make your heart ache so much that you want to burst into tears. But if you keep holding on, you will gather small pieces of joy and small pieces of happiness one by one to form a whole, and perhaps the day will come when that whole becomes a light that illuminates the darkness.”
Only then did Charlotte remember how Ariana had lived.
Ariana always had such pure, innocent eyes that it made her forget how she had been treated in the past.
Ariana, who was in a position worse than a maid at the Bronte household, escaped from there on her own and became the Princess of the Eastern Territory, and those who tried to bring her down received the punishment they deserved.
Charlotte recalled Victoria, who had once visited her. The greedy look in her eyes, filled with the intent to frame Ariana, was still vivid.
Ariana survived even though she was surrounded by such people.
But what about yourself?'
She had merely stepped down from the throne, and no one was hostile toward Charlotte. The White family members were generally kind to the Blenwitt family, and the people of the Kingdom of Stella, a former eastern territory, had no interest in the Blenwitt family.
"Ah..."
A low gasp escaped Charlotte's lips as she was lost in thought. It was because she had spotted two striking figures on the riverbank stretching out outside the window.
Sparkling silver hair and brilliant sky-blue hair.
She could tell who the two people were even from a distance.
'Cyrus.'
She couldn't see their expressions because they were far away, but she could tell that the man and woman sitting on the blanket were very close to each other.
A stinging pain rose in her chest, but it was not as painful as before.
As the carriage continued to move, the figures of the two soon disappeared from Charlotte's sight. Now, all Charlotte could see was the river flowing beneath the blue sky.
'It's okay.'
Charlotte thought.
'At least there are no dark clouds in the sky of this country.'
As Geor trudged down the long corridor, he saw a maid coming out of Ariana's room.
"Has the Princess woken up?"
"The Princess woke up early and is now out on a picnic."
"Picnic?"
“Northern Lord... no, um... the Emperor of the Arcana Empire has arrived.”
"Ah."
The Emperor of Arcana is certainly busy. He must be overwhelmed with official duties, yet he has dropped everything to come all the way here already.
Geor was dumbfounded, but he didn't show it and walked past Ariana's room.
Starting with the war in the Cameria Empire, there were often moments when Geor had to fight alongside Cyrus. Cyrus was strong, commanded his troops well, and was valiant.
Even in the midst of war, there were bound to be men who would set their eyes on women. In fact, among the bloodthirsty soldiers, there were even some who went mad and tried to take women without restraint.
Cyrus dealt strictly with such people, and as if to set an example, he did not even give a glance to a woman who approached him on her own accord.
When was it again?
It was when they were setting up their tent and spending the night before entering the capital of a small country that had secretly formed an alliance with Paganus. A woman secretly visited the tent.
Just then, Geor, unable to sleep, came out of the tent and witnessed a woman being escorted by knights toward Cyrus's tent.
He thought she was quite a beauty, but not long after, he saw the knights who had gone in with her coming out with her body.
Wondering what was going on, he went to Cyrus's tent and found him nonchalantly wiping his blood-stained knife.
"Lord of the North, what on earth is going on?"
"It must be His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince."
No matter how many times Geor heard the title "Crown Prince," it gave him goosebumps.
"Let's just do what we've been doing. No, that's not the important issue... What is it about that woman?"
"It turns out she is the Queen of that country. It looks like she has already become a Paganus and come looking for me, perhaps even after eating a fox's heart."
She said she had begged that she would sacrifice her body in exchange for sparing the lives of her husband and children.
As the woman removed her cloak, her beautiful body was revealed, but Cyrus drew his sword without even blinking.
Geor couldn't believe that this cruel man standing before him was wagging his tail like a big dog, at least in front of Ariana.
'That happened, too.'
That's when he realized it.
Cyrus's gaze softens affectionately only in front of Ariana.
That said, Geor didn't think his feelings for her were inferior to Cyrus's.
'But.'
Now, whenever Ariana saw Geor, she would smile brightly and call him "older brother." Sometimes, she would accidentally call him "brother."
It was the same for Russell. He usually called him 'Father,' but sometimes he called him 'Dad.' Whenever he was called Dad, Russell made a face like melted ice cream.
Charlotte asked, clinging to the question even though she knew she was acting like a child. Staring intently at Charlotte, Ariana spoke.
“Even beneath a sky darkened by storm clouds, there is surely joy to be found. You may miss the blue sky, and sometimes that longing may make your heart ache so much that you want to burst into tears. But if you keep holding on, you will gather small pieces of joy and small pieces of happiness one by one to form a whole, and perhaps the day will come when that whole becomes a light that illuminates the darkness.”
Only then did Charlotte remember how Ariana had lived.
Ariana always had such pure, innocent eyes that it made her forget how she had been treated in the past.
Ariana, who was in a position worse than a maid at the Bronte household, escaped from there on her own and became the Princess of the Eastern Territory, and those who tried to bring her down received the punishment they deserved.
Charlotte recalled Victoria, who had once visited her. The greedy look in her eyes, filled with the intent to frame Ariana, was still vivid.
Ariana survived even though she was surrounded by such people.
But what about yourself?'
She had merely stepped down from the throne, and no one was hostile toward Charlotte. The White family members were generally kind to the Blenwitt family, and the people of the Kingdom of Stella, a former eastern territory, had no interest in the Blenwitt family.
"Ah..."
A low gasp escaped Charlotte's lips as she was lost in thought. It was because she had spotted two striking figures on the riverbank stretching out outside the window.
Sparkling silver hair and brilliant sky-blue hair.
She could tell who the two people were even from a distance.
'Cyrus.'
She couldn't see their expressions because they were far away, but she could tell that the man and woman sitting on the blanket were very close to each other.
A stinging pain rose in her chest, but it was not as painful as before.
As the carriage continued to move, the figures of the two soon disappeared from Charlotte's sight. Now, all Charlotte could see was the river flowing beneath the blue sky.
'It's okay.'
Charlotte thought.
'At least there are no dark clouds in the sky of this country.'
***
As Geor trudged down the long corridor, he saw a maid coming out of Ariana's room.
"Has the Princess woken up?"
"The Princess woke up early and is now out on a picnic."
"Picnic?"
“Northern Lord... no, um... the Emperor of the Arcana Empire has arrived.”
"Ah."
The Emperor of Arcana is certainly busy. He must be overwhelmed with official duties, yet he has dropped everything to come all the way here already.
Geor was dumbfounded, but he didn't show it and walked past Ariana's room.
Starting with the war in the Cameria Empire, there were often moments when Geor had to fight alongside Cyrus. Cyrus was strong, commanded his troops well, and was valiant.
Even in the midst of war, there were bound to be men who would set their eyes on women. In fact, among the bloodthirsty soldiers, there were even some who went mad and tried to take women without restraint.
Cyrus dealt strictly with such people, and as if to set an example, he did not even give a glance to a woman who approached him on her own accord.
When was it again?
It was when they were setting up their tent and spending the night before entering the capital of a small country that had secretly formed an alliance with Paganus. A woman secretly visited the tent.
Just then, Geor, unable to sleep, came out of the tent and witnessed a woman being escorted by knights toward Cyrus's tent.
He thought she was quite a beauty, but not long after, he saw the knights who had gone in with her coming out with her body.
Wondering what was going on, he went to Cyrus's tent and found him nonchalantly wiping his blood-stained knife.
"Lord of the North, what on earth is going on?"
"It must be His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince."
No matter how many times Geor heard the title "Crown Prince," it gave him goosebumps.
"Let's just do what we've been doing. No, that's not the important issue... What is it about that woman?"
"It turns out she is the Queen of that country. It looks like she has already become a Paganus and come looking for me, perhaps even after eating a fox's heart."
She said she had begged that she would sacrifice her body in exchange for sparing the lives of her husband and children.
As the woman removed her cloak, her beautiful body was revealed, but Cyrus drew his sword without even blinking.
Geor couldn't believe that this cruel man standing before him was wagging his tail like a big dog, at least in front of Ariana.
'That happened, too.'
That's when he realized it.
Cyrus's gaze softens affectionately only in front of Ariana.
That said, Geor didn't think his feelings for her were inferior to Cyrus's.
'But.'
Now, whenever Ariana saw Geor, she would smile brightly and call him "older brother." Sometimes, she would accidentally call him "brother."
It was the same for Russell. He usually called him 'Father,' but sometimes he called him 'Dad.' Whenever he was called Dad, Russell made a face like melted ice cream.
Geor didn't want to ruin this scene, this atmosphere, this feeling.
He didn't want to reveal even a fragment of his emotions and cause a wary look in Ariana's eyes, or a mixture of awkwardness and apology.
So, he had to remain Ariana's older brother forever.
Geor walked past Ariana's room and opened the door next to it.
It was the room where Shini was asleep, and there was a guest who had arrived before her.
It was Isabelle.
Isabelle stood beside Shini's bed and turned her head.
“What’s going on?”
“I come often. What about you?”
“I come here often, too. Ariana was always here whenever I visited, but she wasn't today. I heard the Northern Lord came?”
Isabella, perhaps not yet comfortable with the word "Emperor," called Cyrus a Northern Lord
"Yeah, I heard he came. He's so diligent."
“I know. Northern Territory, hmm, the Arcana Empire must be busy in many ways, too.”
“I know. The people of the Northern Realm seem to be naturally diligent. Isaac comes and goes here day in and day out, too.”
"I know. He's a man with a strong work ethic."
“Rather than professionalism... Isn't he just coming to see you?”
Isabelle frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
"When Isaac comes, he spends more time with you than looking after Shini."
"Ha, it's not like that."
“Don’t tell me. You’re well past the age for marriage now, so why don’t you make up your mind before it’s too late? I think Isaac would make an excellent husband.”
“This is ridiculous, seriously. Seriously, why is everyone scolding only me?”
“Why? Is there someone else besides me who scolds you?”
“Right! Everyone! All of them!”
Isabelle shouted angrily.
“There’s only a one-year age difference between Ariana and me. Yet they keep calling her ‘my baby,’ saying they can’t let her go to just any man. But to me, they’re nagging me, asking if I shouldn’t get married soon, too. I mean, my dad is like that, too. You know, people usually feel bad about marrying off their own daughters. Even my eldest uncle is constantly worried that Ariana might get married too quickly, but my dad is pressuring me to snatch him up before Sir Isaac comes to his senses. Seriously, who on earth gives their daughter such instructions?”
Isabelle spat out everything, as if she had a lot of pent-up frustration.
As Geor, intimidated by her demeanor, slowly backed away, Isabelle strode over and grabbed his wrist. Glaring at him with blazing blue eyes, she spoke.
“Where are you running to? This is all your fault.”
“Damn it, why is this suddenly flying? What did I even do?”
“Do you think I don’t know? This whole mess started because you kept blabbing about Isaac to Dad. You said you had to set them up before Isaac fully figured out Isabelle’s temper!”
"Count Fellowes White has a loose tongue."
“Don’t act all solemn now. What Prince in the world—no, is he the Crown Prince now? Does the Crown Prince meddle in every little detail of someone else’s daughter’s marriage?”
“The Crown Prince of the peaceful Kingdom of Stella has nothing better to do, so he might meddle in other people’s marriages. I’ve found that nothing is as entertaining as other people’s love lives.”
Isabelle pouted.
"You should mind your own feelings."
His heart sank, even though he thought Isabelle couldn't possibly know anything.
No, it's fine. She's probably just saying that. There's no way she's found out how he feels.
Staring straight at Geor as he composed his expression, Isabelle spoke.
"Mind your own business and figure out how to handle your own feelings."
Geor involuntarily took a step back at the words that felt like driving a wedge.
"Running away? Again?"
“To think I... ran away.”
The hoarse voice didn't sound like his own.
Only after seeing Isabelle's gaze soften did Geor realize that his cousin, whom he had thought was immature, was actually seeing a great deal.
He wanted to escape her piercing gaze, but Isabelle seemed to have no intention of letting him go. Unable to avoid her unwavering stare, Geor rubbed his face with both hands and asked.
"Since when have you known?"
"It's been quite a while."
"Is it obvious?"
“Just a little. To some extent?”
"I wonder if everyone knows?"
“They probably won’t know. My family is so dense.”
"But you're not like that."
“Well, I didn’t know at first either. Sometimes the way you treat Ariana is a bit different from how you treat me.”
"That's the same for Averaster, too."
“It’s a bit different from that. No matter how I look at Averaster, it feels like he just treats Ariana like a younger sibling, but you... are different. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but it’s different.”
He thinks he knows what that feels like.
That is the nature of love. It is difficult to pinpoint and explain clearly, but it exists there very distinctly and clearly.
"I must look disgusting."
Isabelle frowned at what Geor muttered.
“Why are you disgusting, brother?”
"Because I harbored such feelings for my younger sibling."
“...She’s not my biological sister.”
"She's my younger sister."
“Your biological sister is Wiona, not Ariana. Of course, my uncle adopted you, and you became part of our family, but your biological sister is still Wiona. If you harbor feelings for Wiona, that might be disgusting.”
"That is really disgusting."
"Yeah. But I understand your feelings for Ariana. It's within understandable limits."
"It's not me."
Geor lowered the hand that was covering his face.
“I don’t understand, Isabelle. I just can’t understand this feeling.”
“Isn’t it more amazing to understand how one person falls in love with another? I still can’t understand that feeling of harboring intense emotions for one person. I don’t even know why it happens.”
“That’s not the point, Isabelle. I have received so much love and grace from my father, my grandparents, my uncles, and all of you. I love this country, and I love my father.”
"So, you can't betray their hearts?"
"Yes"
Isabelle tilted her head to the side.
“You’re really strange, Geor.”
He didn't want to reveal even a fragment of his emotions and cause a wary look in Ariana's eyes, or a mixture of awkwardness and apology.
So, he had to remain Ariana's older brother forever.
Geor walked past Ariana's room and opened the door next to it.
It was the room where Shini was asleep, and there was a guest who had arrived before her.
It was Isabelle.
Isabelle stood beside Shini's bed and turned her head.
“What’s going on?”
“I come often. What about you?”
“I come here often, too. Ariana was always here whenever I visited, but she wasn't today. I heard the Northern Lord came?”
Isabella, perhaps not yet comfortable with the word "Emperor," called Cyrus a Northern Lord
"Yeah, I heard he came. He's so diligent."
“I know. Northern Territory, hmm, the Arcana Empire must be busy in many ways, too.”
“I know. The people of the Northern Realm seem to be naturally diligent. Isaac comes and goes here day in and day out, too.”
"I know. He's a man with a strong work ethic."
“Rather than professionalism... Isn't he just coming to see you?”
Isabelle frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
"When Isaac comes, he spends more time with you than looking after Shini."
"Ha, it's not like that."
“Don’t tell me. You’re well past the age for marriage now, so why don’t you make up your mind before it’s too late? I think Isaac would make an excellent husband.”
“This is ridiculous, seriously. Seriously, why is everyone scolding only me?”
“Why? Is there someone else besides me who scolds you?”
“Right! Everyone! All of them!”
Isabelle shouted angrily.
“There’s only a one-year age difference between Ariana and me. Yet they keep calling her ‘my baby,’ saying they can’t let her go to just any man. But to me, they’re nagging me, asking if I shouldn’t get married soon, too. I mean, my dad is like that, too. You know, people usually feel bad about marrying off their own daughters. Even my eldest uncle is constantly worried that Ariana might get married too quickly, but my dad is pressuring me to snatch him up before Sir Isaac comes to his senses. Seriously, who on earth gives their daughter such instructions?”
Isabelle spat out everything, as if she had a lot of pent-up frustration.
As Geor, intimidated by her demeanor, slowly backed away, Isabelle strode over and grabbed his wrist. Glaring at him with blazing blue eyes, she spoke.
“Where are you running to? This is all your fault.”
“Damn it, why is this suddenly flying? What did I even do?”
“Do you think I don’t know? This whole mess started because you kept blabbing about Isaac to Dad. You said you had to set them up before Isaac fully figured out Isabelle’s temper!”
"Count Fellowes White has a loose tongue."
“Don’t act all solemn now. What Prince in the world—no, is he the Crown Prince now? Does the Crown Prince meddle in every little detail of someone else’s daughter’s marriage?”
“The Crown Prince of the peaceful Kingdom of Stella has nothing better to do, so he might meddle in other people’s marriages. I’ve found that nothing is as entertaining as other people’s love lives.”
Isabelle pouted.
"You should mind your own feelings."
His heart sank, even though he thought Isabelle couldn't possibly know anything.
No, it's fine. She's probably just saying that. There's no way she's found out how he feels.
Staring straight at Geor as he composed his expression, Isabelle spoke.
"Mind your own business and figure out how to handle your own feelings."
Geor involuntarily took a step back at the words that felt like driving a wedge.
"Running away? Again?"
“To think I... ran away.”
The hoarse voice didn't sound like his own.
Only after seeing Isabelle's gaze soften did Geor realize that his cousin, whom he had thought was immature, was actually seeing a great deal.
He wanted to escape her piercing gaze, but Isabelle seemed to have no intention of letting him go. Unable to avoid her unwavering stare, Geor rubbed his face with both hands and asked.
"Since when have you known?"
"It's been quite a while."
"Is it obvious?"
“Just a little. To some extent?”
"I wonder if everyone knows?"
“They probably won’t know. My family is so dense.”
"But you're not like that."
“Well, I didn’t know at first either. Sometimes the way you treat Ariana is a bit different from how you treat me.”
"That's the same for Averaster, too."
“It’s a bit different from that. No matter how I look at Averaster, it feels like he just treats Ariana like a younger sibling, but you... are different. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but it’s different.”
He thinks he knows what that feels like.
That is the nature of love. It is difficult to pinpoint and explain clearly, but it exists there very distinctly and clearly.
"I must look disgusting."
Isabelle frowned at what Geor muttered.
“Why are you disgusting, brother?”
"Because I harbored such feelings for my younger sibling."
“...She’s not my biological sister.”
"She's my younger sister."
“Your biological sister is Wiona, not Ariana. Of course, my uncle adopted you, and you became part of our family, but your biological sister is still Wiona. If you harbor feelings for Wiona, that might be disgusting.”
"That is really disgusting."
"Yeah. But I understand your feelings for Ariana. It's within understandable limits."
"It's not me."
Geor lowered the hand that was covering his face.
“I don’t understand, Isabelle. I just can’t understand this feeling.”
“Isn’t it more amazing to understand how one person falls in love with another? I still can’t understand that feeling of harboring intense emotions for one person. I don’t even know why it happens.”
“That’s not the point, Isabelle. I have received so much love and grace from my father, my grandparents, my uncles, and all of you. I love this country, and I love my father.”
"So, you can't betray their hearts?"
"Yes"
Isabelle tilted her head to the side.
“You’re really strange, Geor.”
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