episode_0019

Baron Bart politely greeted and stepped back. Then Elaine…

sat down beside me, adjusting her dress hem.

Squeak-squeak…

Feeling the awkwardness, I gently swayed the swing.

Astia leaned against a tree, eyes closed, at a distance.

“Here-”

“My body-”

Elaine and I simultaneously spoke, our words colliding.

“W-Well, you go first…!”

As our eyes met, she quickly averted hers with a tremble.

“Why have you come here?”

She would be of great help to me in the future. That was why I had made such an arrangement.

“Your Highness called for my father. Oh, I just came along because he asked my father to. But I didn’t expect to meet Your Highness here.”

Blushing slightly, Elaine glanced briefly towards Astia.

Sensing my gaze, she looked back at me, then quickly averted her eyes again, startled.

“But, are you feeling alright…?”

She hastily asked, scanning her surroundings.

“Thanks to you, I barely survived. I apologize for leaving without a word.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine…”

Elaine frantically waved her hands, looking down again.

After a brief silence, she finally spoke.

“But how did you know about me having this kind of power…?”

“I learned from an experienced witch.”

I could only vaguely evade with the prepared words. I was hesitant to say this place was like the novel I read.

“An experienced witch…”

Elaine fidgeted with her fingers as if wanting to bring something up.

“What is the nature of your power…?”

“It’s divine power.”

“D-Divine power? But I don’t even go to temples?”

“The divine does not bestow its power unless one is faithful to oneself.”

Those were words I read in the novel.

Having created this world, due to the order she established, only a great being like a saint could intervene in the world.

The Goddess of Light, Aurora.

Elaine was the human most beloved by the goddess.

“Then why… why would someone like me receive such tremendous power…?”

“You are the one who can best practice the will of God.”

Elaine demanded further explanation with her eyes, now enlarged like those of a fawn.

“So, do I need to go to the temple now?”

That’s how it was in the original.

By a stroke of luck, her divine power became known to the world.

She, who had been tied to the leash of the high priestess of the Goddess Church,

would wander around the continent for years, only finding sickly rich people, and would be subjected to torment like a slave, unable to rest properly as the temple’s means of making money.

“The temple has already rotted away.”

“Then what should I do from now on…?”

“You should consider yourself sufficiently as the being most loved by God. Why do you think such powerful abilities have been bestowed upon you?”

“I don’t know, I really haven’t done anything….”

“Do not try to understand the will of God. What’s important to you right now is not to reveal the fact that you possess divine power, no matter what happens.”

If she were to be caught even once,

all sorts of riffraff from the temple would come swarming like a swarm of tropical mosquitoes, persistently clinging to her and sucking every last drop of her blood without leaving a single trace.

“Do you still remember what I said back then?”

She simply nodded her head without a word.

“From now on, let’s be together.”

“Yes…?”

“I will make you happy.”

“Y-yes?!!!”

Elaine reacted extremely, as if she had just been told to give up all her money.

“H-how can you, say such a thing so suddenly…?”

Her neck, face, ears, and even her wrists and the backs of her hands turned bright red.

Strange.

I didn’t say anything wrong.

In reality, her life had been so unhappy.

Before meeting the hero. Afterward, too.

She always suffered abuse.

But if she stays with me.

Many things will change.

I will move the emperor to grant her a noble title, provide her with a mansion where she can live with her mother, and give her a substantial amount of wealth and ensure enough rest.

***

Elaine was walking with the maid sent by the emperor.

She was already quite far from the prince.

Her heart was pounding as if mad, and it wouldn’t calm down at all.

Unable to take a few steps without constantly looking back.

Every time, the prince casually waved his hand with a smile.

That smile felt strangely resentful.

Could it be that he was playing a prank on himself…?

From Elaine’s perspective, it was an unavoidable and rational suspicion.

Certainly.

Otherwise, why would the imperial prince propose to her so insistently?

Moreover, wasn’t he just riding the swing with that incredibly beautiful red-haired lady-in-waiting until just a moment ago?

A deep sense of disappointment settled in, seemingly indelible by time.

To play with someone’s feelings like that.

He even saved her life, how could he do such a thing?

Despite rumors, she had thought he was a good person…

Such thought process.

It was an extreme act of low self-esteem in an extreme situation, but Elaine couldn’t know that.

So, she simply directed her unyielding heart towards the emperor, prodding at a heart that refused to sink.

All she knew was that she couldn’t believe she was in the imperial palace right now.

Actually, this morning my father’s sudden visit was peculiar. He was someone who had never come to see me first. Even when he brought me coffee in the study every morning wearing his servant’s attire, not a hint of a faint smile was seen, nor did he call my name even once. However, today he ordered the maids to dress me up and bring me to the palace. Of course, he didn’t say a word throughout the carriage ride. He just silently gazed out the window. It started from the moment the prince first came to visit. Ever since then, in the suffocating daily life where even the blue sky felt yellow, a rainbow had bloomed. The winds of change were blowing incessantly. Lost in these thoughts, I found myself standing before the emperor. Sitting right beside him was Duke Bart. The emperor asked bluntly, “So, have you considered the marriage with my son?” Elaine clasped the edge of her skirt with both hands and bowed her head. Although most marriages are conducted without the individual’s consent, it seemed…

That was a story applicable only to well-bred children.

Not long ago, I was just a servant girl, and being a lowly orphan, it had nothing to do with me at all.

“I, I cannot do that….”

Even though she clearly conveyed her refusal.

The Emperor didn’t hide the smile on his face.

“As expected, you are different from those noble ladies tainted with greed. Very modest.”

Elaine, unknowingly, raised her head and looked at the Emperor with a bold gaze. She even tightened her grip on her hands.

“A humble person like me cannot be your match, please reconsider, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor smirked as if to say, “Is that so?”

Then, after a brief pause, he chuckled softly and spoke.

“Alright, alright. I understand your feelings as well. My son’s notoriety precedes him, that must be it. But why are you in such a hurry? Let’s start with the engagement, spend some time together, and if you still dislike it then, we can annul the engagement, can’t we?”

At that moment, Lord Bart, who was standing beside them, interjected.

“Elaine.”

It was the first time.

It was the name she had longed to hear from her father.

Perhaps because of this, her vision blurred without her realizing it.

But marriage is a different matter.

The prince didn’t particularly like her.

Since seeing her father’s stern face for the first time from a distance.

Contrary to her imagination, she knew very well that reality would not be kind to her.

Ever since she heard about the marriage proposal from the Emperor a few days ago.

She had been unfolding wings of imagination all along.

At first, it was fine.

Although the high notoriety bothered her a bit, there was no reason to dislike becoming the wife of such a handsome man and enjoying wealth and honor.

And she didn’t dislike Eos, the man who saved her either.

Well, it’s not like she fell in love with him or anything like that, definitely not.

Just thinking of his face made her body heat up, her heart beat faster, and well, she just felt a bit breathless, that’s all.

But then she suddenly realized.

If the prince, who was already plagued by all sorts of rumors, were to be connected to someone like her, a lowborn, it would inevitably become the laughingstock of the entire empire.

Of course, the emperor still seemed to think differently, but in the Mersenne Empire, a bastard was such an existence. An unwelcome child, not even given a surname, a worthless being. That was who she was. If she went along with the emperor’s words, she would undoubtedly bring harm to the crown prince. So she had to dwell on her miserable feelings for quite some time, as if in a world where no one existed, feeling a desolate state as if standing alone in the rain, shivering in the cold. Eventually, when she reached the edge of that feeling, she could only helplessly wither away the inexplicable emotion she had borne alone. But oblivious to such feelings, Viscount Bart solemnly said, as always, “To refuse Your Majesty’s will is tantamount to treason. Are you planning to not only defile our family name but also bring down our lineage?” His gaze was, as always, icy. His cold demeanor seemed as if saying, “I didn’t expect to be born and then be hindered by you, tormenting me once again!” “Oh, Lord Viscount, speaking like that makes it seem as if I’ve become the villain, doesn’t it?” “I apologize, Your Majesty.” The emperor turned to Elaine once more. “For now, what about at least getting engaged?” “May I ask why you are going this far?” His words made the emperor embarrassed. “It seems like you’re a legendary saint.” “You want to carry the power of the temple and reinstate your son as crown prince.” It seemed too cruel to say that to this child. So he casually diverted the topic. “Eos, so… yes! I fell for you at first sight. Th-four years ago, that is. I vowed never to marry unless it was you…” Four years ago? Elaine thought. What was I doing four years ago…? If it was four years ago from now, she was fourteen. Did I ever encounter the crown prince? She had always stayed at the Viscount’s estate, working tirelessly as a maid, so there was absolutely no way. Then why…? No, how? How could the crown prince have feelings for me? A timid witch?

“Could it be that you went around to avoid revealing your true feelings? Many questions, seemingly without answers, filled my mind. But then, a belatedly remembered phrase swept them away coolly. Like rough waves covering a sandy shore, the words effortlessly subdued my wandering thoughts. It was what the prince had said just a little while ago.

‘Let’s be together from now on. I will make you happy.’

I thought it was a joke… but maybe it really was a proposal. The emperor wouldn’t lie. Besides, hadn’t the prince come to help me secretly as a viscount?

So, perhaps he really said those words because he likes me. Unconsciously, my hands rose to cover my mouth.

“This can’t be true…”

Unbeknownst to her, even as she expressed it as mere greed, in reality, it was her true desire. The emperor carefully observed Elaine’s expression, his eyes flickering with disbelief, surprise, fear, and a faint, deeply buried joy that was just about to surface.

‘Alright…!’

The emperor managed to suppress the twitching corners of his mouth. He felt a little sorry for deceiving her, but this would create a good situation for everyone. It felt like enjoying a well-prepared feast without appetite or guilt. After all, his son and Elaine had been seeing each other for four years. Who secretly dates for so long without intending to marry? That would be more wrong. There was no need to ask anyone else.

***

Kki-eek – Kki-eek –

Astia sat next to me again, assuming the exact same posture as before.

“Can you sit still for a moment?”

“I was sitting here first. If you don’t like it, you can get up.”

“Ugh, seriously…”

“Seriously what? I’m the prince. If you raise your fist like that, you could end up in a real underground prison.”

Whether due to the revival of Eos’s memories and emotions, I found myself behaving like Astia’s younger brother without realizing it.”

“However, why did you propose so unromantically? How disappointed must that lady be.”

Astia opened his eyes and said with a sneer.

But wait a moment.

What did he just say?

I felt as if Astia’s fist had grabbed my head.

“A proposal?!”

Astia, who had risen abruptly, glared at me with a disgusted expression.

“What, then. Was that a joke? And you call yourself a person?”

“N-no, it wasn’t a joke, I was just…”

I simply spoke the truth.

But even to me, the words I had spoken seemed to have an ominous hint of a proposal that couldn’t be erased.

That was when I sensed something and slowly turned around, only to find Elaine standing behind me.

It seemed appropriate to explain now before it was too late.

It definitely wasn’t a proposal.

It was just that the meaning was a bit ambiguous.

However, looking at Elaine, who had turned red and seemed on the verge of tears, I found it hard to speak.

From her perspective, she might think I had feelings for her.

Even so, I had no choice but to muster the courage.

“Uh, Elaine-”

“Let’s get engaged, us!”

…Wait, what…?

“Hey, let’s get engaged, us!”

Elaine shouted with her eyes tightly closed.

And I…

Merely from that short phrase.

It felt as though the whole world had come to a halt.