episode_0029

It was after returning to the castle that I remembered my conversation with Elsie and felt ashamed.

I was happy on the way back.

The squirrel that was quietly sitting in my pocket was a squirrel with dark brown and white stripes on its head and body, which is what you usually think of when you think of a ‘squirrel’. It looked cute, and it was very fluffy and warm when I held it in my hand.

I don’t know much about these types of creatures, but I’ve heard that animals collected from the wild rarely obey people’s instructions. Did you say, ‘There’s a reason all the creatures that are cute but aren’t widely kept as pets are that way?’

It smells, or has habits that make it difficult for humans to raise it.

If you think about it, there must be a lot of these squirrels around, but hardly anyone in Delquish keeps these pets. Of course, it may be that they just don’t keep them because they are so common around them, or, as Elsie said, there are simply no other animals for people to eat. It may be because they have no intention of taking responsibility for the animals.

But putting all those reasons aside, for now I was just happy to have gotten such a cute creature. It didn’t have the kind of habits that usually come to mind when I think of wild animals. Even when I placed it on my hand, it just stayed still, and it looked up at me while tilting its little ears. The sight of the squirrel was so cute that my heart skipped a beat.

Even as I was riding back on the wolf, I was excited enough to forget the fear, but—

As I came back, the things I said to Elsie came to mind one by one.

Elsie did not blame me for wanting to raise this child. On the contrary, she said that she would need food to raise this child, so she took out a lot of acorns stored in the child’s nest, put them in her pocket, sealed the entrance tightly, and handed them over.

There was no expression on Elsie’s face that said she felt sorry for me or looked at me like I was a strange person… … .

“… … ha… … .”

When I returned to the room I was using in Delkish Castle and asked the maid to get a basket to put the squirrels and food for the squirrels in, I remembered how selfish and dismissive the words I had been were.

A thick blanket was placed in the basket, food was poured on it, and a squirrel was placed on it.

At first, the squirrel couldn’t understand the situation, so it looked around. Then, it burrowed into the blanket and stopped moving. Just in case, I lightly touched it with my finger and found that it was breathing lightly. Well, it had just woken up from sleep. If I were to follow my instincts, it would be right to go back to sleep.

To me, its cute appearance seemed lovely, but to the people of Delki City, it would look completely different.

“Why did I do that… … .”

There is a term called cultural relativism, which means that it is right to respect the other person’s culture if it does not infringe on one’s basic rights.

Even if it is not the story of Delki City, there were many countries in the world where I lived where rodents were eaten without any hesitation. It was not just because the food situation was not very good, but in some places they were cooked as a delicacy, and in other places they were just food that had been eaten for a long time. Even so, I don’t feel much resistance.

If I came to Delki City, I had to move in Delki City’s way. The reluctance I feel is because it is rather strange when seen from the perspective of Delki City people.

Strictly speaking, I was from a family with blood ties to Delkisi.

When I read about Amelia’s behavior in the novel, I cursed her.

Amelia, who was vicious but acted somewhat foolishly and simply in Part 1, may have been awakened by what she experienced in Part 1, but after being almost kicked out of Delkish in Part 2, she acted as if she had reflected on herself.

Of course, it was all a calculated move.

Although he seemed cold on the outside, in reality, he simply seduced the innocent Elsie, made her not trust the heroine, and subtly manipulated and used her behind the scenes. He only thought of it as a means of revenge.

In the end, Amelia also faces destruction once again, but the wounds Elsie received in the process were not that easy. Even though Elsie was not the main character, there was little significant portrayal afterward. She became the subject of condemning the villain or the villain. Because he was in a very different position from the male protagonists who received compensation after condemning him, he was just an infinitely pitiful character.

However, at least while she was ‘acting’, Amelia strictly followed the rules of Delki City. Otherwise, Amelia would not have been able to fool the entire Delki City.

And perhaps, although it was not described separately in the novel… … In this way, people from other regions would have been shocked to see food, but they would have ate it with a nonchalant expression.

“… … I’m worse than Amelia.”

Haha, I let out a long breath and fell down on the desk with the basket on it.

If it were me, we could have been sincere friends.

I thought that was a pity when I saw Amelia using Elsie.

But at the same time, after I was reborn here, I tried to end the story by not coming to Delkisi as much as possible. Because Delkisi was too cold and barren to actually come and stay. Rather, the Grand Duke’s highway was a much better place to stay.

After finding out that El Cido was possessed, my thoughts changed a little, but I still seem to have viewed the people of Del Kishi from a different perspective.

… … When I think about it, I came this far because I didn’t trust Elsie in the first place. I was afraid that Elsie might seduce the crown prince.

My prediction was somewhat correct in the sense that I had an accident, but it was completely wrong in the emotional aspect.

The fact that I was a modern person is not a reason. Rather, Elsie is a modern person and came here at a much younger age than me, but she also became a person of Midel Chisi.

What if what I showed today was too selfish?

What if we judged Amelia as a villain?

In fact, even this thought is too selfish. It’s not whether Elsie considers me a friend or not, but because she sees me as another character who will lead me to destruction.

“… … .”

As I looked at the blanket rising and falling lightly, I took a long breath.

Okay, let’s apologize.

I probably won’t be able to stay here on a yearly basis like the prince because I don’t have enough justification, but I plan to continue to visit often as long as I know that Elsie is a living person. And in order to continue our relationship like that, I needed to honestly apologize and reflect on my mistakes.

Let’s apologize tomorrow.

That’s what I decided.

*

“I was sorry yesterday.”

Amelia said she was looking for me in the morning, so I wondered why she did that, but she apologized as soon as she met me.

I was just staring blankly, wondering what was going on, and Amelia looked a little embarrassed and revealed the reason for her apology.

“Yesterday, that… … I’m sorry for making such an expression when you see your prey. It’s probably only natural for people from Delki City.”

“Ah.”

that.

I didn’t think anything of it?

Well, it seemed like I was reacting a little unusually, but there are foods that everyone can’t eat.

For example, I didn’t eat the pupa even after it died. To be honest, it’s a bit disgusting, right? The smell is also a bit off. In my past life, I ate everything else, but I never went near the pupa.

Among my friends, there was one who couldn’t eat kimchi, and another who couldn’t eat melon. To be honest, it was incomprehensible to me, who ate all of that, but there was nothing more meaningless than fighting over something like that.

And compared to that, not being able to eat squirrels is understandable.

However, I had already lived in Delki City for several years, and Prince Evan, who later admitted that it was hunting and tried to take the squirrel in my hand, was a man. As expected of a romantic fantasy male protagonist, he may have had a lot of courage.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, right?”

So I answered that way.

“It’s not something you should apologize for in the first place.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, there are foods that everyone can’t eat.”

If the people of Del Qui City had done that, they would have been nagging. In Del Qui City, food is a precious resource, and it is often in short supply.

However, Amelia is a guest. Moreover, the Grand Duke’s family always sends supplies to our family, and Amelia and Prince Evan even brought all the food for the group. Of course, Prince Evan’s amount was not enough to last a year, but It seemed like supplies would probably come from the royal capital.

I don’t know if it’s a situation where you can’t take responsibility for your own consciousness, but you’re stubborn, but it’s your heart that makes choices when you can take responsibility. It’s not something we can say.

“… … But still, didn’t it sound like you were ignoring me?”

hmm… … Southerners, I thought.

But it wasn’t because he was ignoring me. It was because he looked scared while looking at the ride.

If it was ignored, then I was the one who ignored it.

Of course, I have no intention of saying it out loud.

… … It seemed a bit against the family motto, but it would be okay to have this much flexibility. Didn’t my brother say the same thing when I had to spar with the prince?

“Are you planning on ignoring us?”

“Of course not.”

“Isn’t that what happened then?”

“Is that so… … ?”

“That’s right.”

When I nodded, Amelia still looked astonished.

Who is the villainess? I wonder if she is the villainess.

Anyway, I’m sincere.