episode_0151

The time when all morning lectures were over. I walked towards the restaurant to have lunch.

I haven’t eaten anything except water for three days, so I feel like I’m going to faint if I don’t eat any more, so I’m only eating, but the truth is, I don’t really want to eat anything, and I don’t have any appetite.

Still, if you want to live, you have to eat, so what can you do? Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to come this far and starve to death because you have no appetite?

I laughed self-deprecatingly and walked towards the restaurant in the distance.

“… … .”

As I was walking towards the restaurant, I had no choice but to stop when I saw the familiar blonde hair blocking my path.

The golden eyes that were looking straight at me were clouded with doubt and delusion as to whether the counseling for my concerns that day was helpful, but their will remained in its right place and stood upright.

It was a little sad that I would never be reflected in those straight eyes, but I felt that I was one step closer to the picture I wanted, so I smiled and said hello.

“See you, the little pillar of the kingdom.”

Hermel didn’t really like this kind of greeting, but since it was natural and natural for me now to not know her likes and dislikes, I deliberately gave her a slightly cringe-inducing greeting.

Of course, I expected Hermel to wave his hands in various colors at my greeting, but he just calmly ignored this cringeworthy greeting and looked at me.

And then I realized it too late. The light look she showed back then was because she opened her heart to me.

I think it’s a long time too late to realize it. I felt my appetite disappear, and I smiled and swallowed the bitter aftertaste.

“Princess Hermel, do you have something to say to me?”

“You said Charlotte, right?”

“Yes. Her name is Charlotte La Rochelle, the eldest daughter of Duke Derquel La Rochelle. Princess.”

Hermel, who had been looking at me intently in response to my answer, tilted his head slightly to one side and narrowed his eyebrows.

Seeing that he seemed quite uncomfortable, I opened my mouth with a small feeling of anxiety buried in my heart, wondering if Hermel’s crazy capriciousness that I had experienced in the previous episode had recurred.

“Princess, based on my limited insight, I don’t know what is making you feel uncomfortable. If I am part of the reason why the princess is upset, I will apologize in advance.”

Unlike a while ago, I couldn’t tell what Hermel was thinking right now, so I lowered my head for now.

“What?”

Hermel blinked and made a dumbfounded noise at my actions.

“Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“The princess seemed somewhat uncomfortable, so I wondered if I may have been rude without realizing it.”

“No, I just had something to think about, so there’s no need to apologize. Because it’s more uncomfortable.”

“Ah… … . I came to a conclusion too hastily. Sorry.”

When I spoke with a small smile, Hermel, who was looking at me with a sullen expression, shook his head.

” That’s okay. Have you eaten?”

‘Charles, have you had lunch?’

At that moment, Hermel’s face appeared overlapping with a bright smile.

Although the atmosphere and words themselves were completely different from what he said back then. I was speechless at those words and couldn’t reply.

I thought that my spirit had been chipped away as I had experienced all sorts of bad things throughout my life, and that I would not be able to get chipped away by anything… … .

“Have you eaten?”

When I heard Hermel’s voice again, I looked ahead with a feeling of coming to my senses.

Hermel was looking at me with a frown, probably because he thought his words had been ignored.

“Ah, ah… … . no. I was on my way to eat now.”

“Then you can just say so. Why are you standing there so blankly?”

When I belatedly answered with a smile, Hermel shot back in a rough voice.

I couldn’t answer that question straight away, so I answered with a grin.

“I was so honored that the princess paid attention to me that I think I was lost for a moment.”

“… … That’s okay, you said you didn’t eat, right? Follow me.”

“Yes?”

Let’s answer that sudden suggestion like that. Hermel, who had his back turned, sighed and looked back at me.

That sigh was not one of irritation or anger. It contained an emotion close to lament.

“Ha… … . The counseling you gave me last time was helpful, so I want to repay you.”

“Ah, yes… … .”

When I answered with a slurred tone, Hermel looked at me for a moment, then turned his back on me without saying a word and started walking away.

I began to walk behind her, feeling a bit of a sense of disconnection from Hermel’s appearance and a bit of longing.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Unlike before, no words were exchanged between her and me, and only the faint sounds of other students talking around us passed between Hermel and me like the wind.

How can we eat together in an atmosphere like this? I thought about that for a moment, and when I thought about it, I remembered that it had been this quiet since I was in the mansion. I walked quietly, wondering if I had ever been this weak.

That’s how we arrived at the student cafeteria. At Hermel’s exclusive seat, which was the same as before, the waiter, who was the same as before, received the same menu as before, gave the same answer as before and left.

The only thing that changed was my relationship with Hermel. It’s a fact that you might be used to by now, but strangely enough, every time I hear that damn fact, it comes back to me and breaks my heart.

“Charlotte.”

“Yes.”

But regardless of my feelings and emotions, I couldn’t show them. I answered Hermel’s call with a calm face.

Hermel, who called me, looked at me for a moment, then rested his chin and continued speaking.

“It may sound like a random story, but it is true. If you go on a trip, where do you want to go?”

“Yes? Are you talking about travel?”

Hermel nodded.

“You said it before. Try wandering the world.”

“Of course, I did say that.”

“The world is big. Since you can’t just wander around that wide area, I’m asking because I think it would be a good idea to decide where to start your trip.”

As Hermel said that, his eyes were looking out the window, not at me.

“It’s the princess’s trip, so why not let her decide?”

“I have never been outside the kingdom. So I don’t know where to go. Exactly, I don’t know where to go alone.”

“If it’s about travel, I think there’s someone else better suited than me… … . Is there a reason why you chose me?”

Hermel glanced at me at those words and then looked out the window again.

I had low hopes, just in case. Unfortunately, or fortunately, a very obvious answer came out of her mouth.

“There was no one else but you. As a princess, I can’t ask an adventurer, and even if I asked Sir Germa, I would never be allowed to travel alone until dirt gets into Germa’s eyes! It was obvious that he would say, ‘Please, please, please respect Okche!’ Because my father and mother are skeptical about travel itself. Brother and sister… … . Well, let me tell you.”

After saying that and sighing, she shook her head and said.

“Since you were born with royal blood, going outside the kingdom itself is considered taboo. You know. So there is no one to ask these things and no one to answer them.”

“So that’s why you’re asking me. Because there is no suitable person.”

“Well, that’s right. So, do you have any good ideas? If you don’t have any feelings, just tell me where you want to go.”

I was silent for a moment at her words.

Where I want to go… … .

“The place I want to go is not there right now.”

“Hmm… … . Well, okay. It looks like you’ve never been outside the kingdom either――”

“But.”

I gently interrupted Hermel and looked at Hermel with a faint smile.

“There is a place I wanted to go.”

“What is that, a pun?”

Seeing Hermel slightly frowning, I smiled lightly and shook my head.

“Hehe, it may have sounded like a pun. I’m sorry for causing any misunderstanding. When I say it’s a place I wanted to go, I’m just saying it’s a place I wanted to go because I can’t go now.”

“You can’t go now. Is it because of the academy? It’s summer vacation soon, so you can go then.”

“The story has become a bit complicated, so it is difficult to tell.”

When I answered with a bitter smile, Hermel looked at me with a slight frown.

Ah, I know that face. It’s a face thinking about something. Still, there are still faces I know.

When I thought about that and smiled slightly, Hermel shrugged his shoulders, leaned back, and crossed his arms.

“So, where is that travel destination that you can’t go to now?”

“It’s the sea.”

There was a lot I wanted to say, but I just said that and kept my mouth shut.

“Sea?”

“Yes, the sea.”

I smiled slightly as I said that, and Hermel seemed to be mulling over the word ‘sea’ without saying anything.

Meanwhile, the waiter who had been quietly waiting behind us came over and placed the food in front of Hermel and me.

“First of all, shall we talk about this again after we finish eating?”

“… … Well, okay. Like that.”

The food that came out that day was truly amazingly delicious.

For the first time since that day, I was able to eat everything without leaving a single thing behind.