episode_0039

“Whaaang!”

Lucica Rapisle was a huge crybaby and coward since childhood.

A personality that is so weak and timid that it is difficult to talk to others.

For a weak noble with such a personality who moved from the frontier to the capital, there were unreasonable things that followed him around like taxes.

Other noble materials you encounter in the Academy’s elementary school. Or ill-tempered commoners.

They still had a young mind and tended to differentiate themselves from others by class, but also by place of origin.

A child born and raised in a remote rural area is considered inferior to someone who has lived in the capital since birth.

Lucica Rapisle has had to constantly endure this childish, innocent malice ever since she moved to the capital.

“Hey~! You’re a country bumpkin~! Your hair is a strange color too~!”

“Ha, don’t do that… !”

After classes at the academy, the dominant kids in the class would band together and bully the weaker kids as if it were a game.

“Are you some kind of noble? You’re more picky than the city’s commoners.”

“You’re a noble… You even have a family name… !”

A group of playful boys surround Lucica Rapisle.

They took a peripheral pleasure in harassing others and were always poking Lucica with their fingers.

“How do you know it’s a lie?”

“That’s not a lie… !”

Lucica Rapisle always felt like a snail, curled up at her desk, hoping they would lose interest and go away.

“But what do you eat in the countryside? You eat frogs and stuff? Hehe.”

“Aren’t you just going to eat cockroaches? Ugh, so dirty!”

“Ahahaha! Is that why your body smells like poop?”

But the group that harassed her never turned back until they had achieved their goal.

“Ugh, huh!”

It was the cry that Lucica Rapisle always burst into.

“Wow! I cried! Puhahaha!”

“Here we go again~! Crybaby Lucica~!”

“Errellicolelli~!”

“Don’t do it…! Don’t do it…! Aaaaah!”

Once she burst into tears, even the children who had previously shown no interest in her began to look at her and give her looks mixed with laughter and annoyance.

“Eww, wooow!”

That day too, Lucica cried as the children wanted and became everyone’s laughing stock.

It was a day like any other.

Except for one thing.

“Hey you bad guys!”

A boy shouted and threw his bag on the floor.

Plain face, plain black hair.

A small, undeveloped body with a shabby appearance that looks like it has the words “commoner” written on it.

A boy who was just like any other, an ordinary boy who could be found anywhere, started to attack the group that was bullying Lucica.

“Huh? What are you?”

“… I think he was a commoner who did something like that.”

Under the looking down gazes of the noble male students, the boy strode towards the group and shouted confidently.

“My name is Erto! Don’t you even know the names of your classmates?!”

“What if you don’t know? You’re just a commoner.”

“If you’re a noble, can you harass a girl like that?! Stop it right now!”

“What kind of order is this? Do you want to be hit?”

“I want to get hit, what can I do!”

Boom!

The boy who jumped at me like that,

“Kkeuk… !”

Due to his weakness and numerical inferiority, he was beaten unilaterally and ended up lying on the ground.

“What the? This kid is so weak, right?”

“I thought you could do anything since you jumped in alone.”

“If you keep nagging me, I won’t let you off easy.”

The male students spat on the boy’s body, which was now covered in dust from being kicked countless times, then lost interest in the whole situation and left the classroom.

Lucica Rapisle was naturally forgotten among their targets.

“… ”

She approached the boy who was struggling to get up from the floor.

“Ayaaya… Damn, if only I were a little stronger.”

“Are you okay?”

The crying suddenly disappeared.

What filled Lucica’s heart was curiosity about the boy.

The boy staggered to his feet, dusted himself off, and looked at her.

He had a bruise around one eye and a torn lip, but he smiled at the girl as if nothing had happened.

“This is nothing! Have you had a hard time?”

“Ah… Yeah… ”

The boy spoke confidently, pounding his chest.

“I’ll protect you now! Don’t worry!”

“But, but… you’re weak… ”

“No… That’s true… But anyway! I’m going to get really strong from now on!”

“… Are you stupid?”

“Hey…?! What kind of tone are you using to talk to the person who saved you? Huh?! Ouch… ”

A boy who was startled and hit his elbow on the locker behind him, causing pain.

As she stared intently at the boy’s face, one thought occurred to Lucica Lapisle.

Prince.

He is a prince.

He’s not handsome, he’s not strong, and he doesn’t ride a white horse.

Even though I was beaten by a villain and rolled on the floor, and I didn’t have any princely qualities,

A cool guy who comes to rescue a captured princess with courage, just like I read in fairy tales when I was younger.

iced coffee,

This guy is definitely my prince.

That’s how Lucica Rapisle’s young first love began.

“Erto… you said?”

“Yeah, you’re Lucica Lapisle, right?”

“Can I be friends with you?”

“Then! I saved you because you’re my friend!”

“Eh… Hehe! Oh, thank you! ”

The two became friends, and Erto always protected Lucica as he said.

Because he was weak, he always ended up getting beaten up by a group of bullies, but he never whined and stubbornly shouted out his resistance to the group that tormented Lucica.

It was Lucica who thought that maybe he was weaker than her.

But regardless of whether she was weak or strong, it was impossible for Lucica to have the courage to face a group that was stronger and more numerous than her.

That’s why Lucica relied on Erto and also had a crush on him.

Why does he protect himself like this?

Why would I, a lowly person with no power and no knowledge of city life, be among the nobles?

‘By any chance… hehe!’

Whenever I had such fantasies, my heart would tickle and I would feel like I was going crazy.

I wonder if Erto likes me too.

Otherwise, there’s no reason to protect me since you won’t get anything from me.

We are like superiors and subordinates… I wonder if we like each other with the same heart.

As the days passed, the excitement in Lucica’s heart grew stronger.

But it didn’t take long for that dream to be shattered.

“What are you guys doing?”

As usual, after the elementary school classes at the academy were over, a group of bullies naturally surrounded Erto and Lucica.

A girl’s voice, soft yet strong, was heard from outside the classroom door.

The group of Iljin, Erto, and Lucica all looked at the girl who appeared there.

There stood a silver-haired pretty girl who looked like she came out of a fairy tale book.

“Oh, Tirisia. What are you doing here… ”

For some reason, Erto recognized the girl with a happy face.

“Erto. These people harassed you?”

The girl named Tirisia looked at her friend with kind eyes.

“No, not me. It’s the guys who were bullying him… I was just about to knock him down.”

“I see.”

The gentle gaze instantly turned into an icy coldness, and he looked back at the group of bullies.

“Is that true?”

The group of bullies paid no attention and instead bared their teeth and threatened the girl.

“What are you doing again?”

“Do you think I’d be scared if I added another girl?”

“I’m having fun right now, so get out of here.”

The girl in front of him was someone he had never seen before in elementary school, so no one in the group of bullies knew who she was.

but,

[Can you disappear from my sight right now?]

The moment the girl uttered a word that froze the space with a gentle smile,

The cold air radiating from her made goosebumps appear on the boys’ skin.

Some of them, who had noble names of their own, recalled the names of great nobles whose faces they did not know, but whose speech they could speak.

“B, brewed… ?”

“What? He’s a brewer?”

“I can never win! Let’s run away!”

The boys ran out of the classroom in a panic.

Tirisia didn’t even glance at them, but approached Erto and caressed his swollen cheek.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s nothing! By the way, Tirissia, didn’t you say that you only did tutoring at home until middle school? ”

At the boy’s question, Tirisia smiled innocently and took his hand.

“I wanted to follow Erto! I insisted on it with my parents, so starting today, I will be going to elementary school.”

“Oh, really? That’s great!”

“By the way, Erto has already made a new friend?”

The moment those beautiful emerald eyes turned towards her, Lucica unconsciously flinched.

“Ah, me, I… ”

“This is Lucica! Lucica Lapisle. A noble from a faraway place!”

“I see.”

Tirisia let go of Erto’s hand and this time she held both of Lucica’s hands together, smiling brightly.

“Hello, Lucica! My name is Tirisia Brewerd. I’m Erto’s friend.”

“Ah, yeah… I, I’m Lucica Lapisle… Nice to meet you.”

The moment we shook hands like that,

The moment my pink eyes filled Tirisia’s face,

Lucica realized it.

The fact that there was already a princess next to Erto.

Unlike herself, who thinks she is a princess despite having nothing special about herself,

A ‘real’ princess who seems to have jumped out of a fairy tale book.

She said that they were childhood friends before she met Erto.

Since Bruard was from one of the most prestigious noble families, he had planned to skip elementary school and enroll in middle school, but he persuaded his parents to let him go with Erto.

From there, Lucica already felt that she was different from herself.

Neither origin, nor skills, nor looks, nor even personality.

There was nothing that could defeat her.

If only I had had the weapon called time, like the one I had met Erto first.

Even Tirisia had more memories of Erto than Lucica.

No, more than anything else.

I felt that Erto’s gaze towards Tirisia was completely different from when he was looking at me.

His eyes were overflowing with warmth and love, more than when he looked at anyone else, including Lucica Rapisle.

That alone was enough evidence to realize the reality.

The two people already loved each other.

No opportunity is given to those who join in late.

‘iced coffee…’

I thought I had a sweet dream.

I guess I’m not a princess from a fairy tale.

They’re just supporting characters who make the prince and princess shine even brighter.

Lucica was jealous of everything about Tirisia.

The many virtues she possesses. Charms that she doesn’t have naturally.

What was most heartbreaking of all was the fact that even in the areas in which he could do things, he was inferior to Tirisia.

“Erto, I love it!”

Tirisia smiles brightly and hugs him.

She had the honesty to express her feelings without hiding anything.

Just a sincere smile and words of love.

Even such an act, where no one interfered, was extremely difficult for the cowardly Lucica.

How can someone who can’t even properly say that he likes someone win over a princess in a fairy tale?

That’s why I had no choice but to admit it.

He said that he was a supporting actor, and that the person who suited Erto the best was Tirisia.

That’s also why I started acting, hiding my true feelings.

He said that he never liked Erto in the first place.

I’m willing to take on a supporting role for the sake of two people’s happiness.

So, wearing a mask and disguising her true self, she began to forge her own path.

The two will eventually become a couple and the time will come when he will have to withdraw further.

When that time comes, you should never rely on those two for your safety.

I need to get stronger.

Enough to be able to stand on your own without their help.

So that they do not become a trivial obstacle to their happiness.

Lucica Rapisle would be content to stay in that position, wishing for the couple’s happiness from afar.

Lucica, who had made up her mind like that, thoroughly sealed her feelings for Erto.

For several days, for several weeks, for several months, for several years,

I just watched from the sidelines as my loved one looked at another woman.

However, the human mind is not something that moves only according to one’s will.

At some point, the humiliation of being a loser began to linger in my heart.

Why was I made so I couldn’t have what I wanted?

Why did Tirisia have everything from birth?

He resented the innate differences and turned the arrows of his anger towards the innocent Erto.

Tirisia is a great person, and Erto, a commoner, is a worthless swindler.

The act of repeatedly belittling him and praising Tirisia was, in fact, nothing more than rationalizing that his defeat was an inevitable outcome.

It was only natural that I would lose to the great Tirisia.

Erto said that it is a blessing to be in love with someone like that.

Every time he took out his anger on Erto, his own heart became more and more worn out, but he couldn’t bear it if he didn’t do that.

So when he told me he had broken up with Tirisia, I was outwardly angry, but inside I was happy.

Two people who were thought to be destined to be together broke up.

I thought this was a heaven-sent opportunity.

Could it be that this time, the fake prince who was abandoned by the princess can finally be taken by the fake princess herself?

Erto, an ordinary prince with nothing special about him, is probably more suited to me.

Likewise, she is an ordinary princess with no special talents.

While enjoying such a mean pleasure, Lucica felt excited about the new future that had unfolded.

But the character that had been hardened over a long period of time was not easily changed.

She is still a coward and has not been honest to the end.

He poured out his resentment towards Erto for letting Tirisia go, and after learning the full story of the incident, he began to resent Tirisia for toying with Erto’s feelings.

And at the same time, I resented Lucica Rapisle for not being honest from the beginning and wasting my time in vain.

In retrospect, I realized that in the end, I had only resented everyone, including myself.

I was accomplishing nothing and was just throwing a tantrum like a child.

Suddenly, another future possibility began to cross her mind.

If only I had confessed my true feelings to him from the beginning.

If only I hadn’t admitted defeat to Tirisia.

If only I had the courage to be like Erto, who was attacked by a group of bullies.

If that were the case, would something have changed now?

Although such a feeling of emptiness and regret remained, it was now a meaningless regret.

but,

If there is something we can do now that so many things have been ruined.

If you have the opportunity, even if it is already too late.

There was one thing I absolutely wanted to achieve.

To him who has suffered the greatest wounds now,

Lucica Lapisle’s heartfelt words―

*

When I opened my eyes, there was an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Ayaaya… !”

The moment she came to, Lucica Lapisle groaned in excruciating pain throughout her body.

There was literally no place that didn’t hurt.

The nerves and muscles, overworked by the rampage of the magic circuit, scream in the aftermath.

I wanted to struggle, but I didn’t have the strength to do so.

As she turned her head, wrapped tightly in bandages, with great difficulty, and looked around, Lucica realized that she was in a hospital.

On a hospital bed at the Academy Hospital.

The clock on the wall shows 4 o’clock.

Looking at the darkness outside the window, it seemed like it was 4 a.m. and not daytime.

and…

“Ah.”

Lucica found the boy lying face down on the bed next to her.

A black-haired boy sleeping soundly with his face resting on his arms.

The prince who has still been by her side for ten years.

Lucica unconsciously called his name and stroked his head.

“Erto… ”

“Um… ”

His eyes opened, then grew large and his head shot up.

“Lucica!”

A color came to his face when he saw that his friend had regained consciousness.

“Are you okay?”

Lucica snickered and told him her honest feelings.

“It hurts so much… ”

“The doctor said you should stay still for three days. Don’t get up.”

“But what about Tirisia?”

At that question, Erto sighed deeply and looked at the floor.

“Tirisia… went home. She will be locked up for a while now.”

“I see… ”

“Lucica, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Erto explained to Lucica what he knew about Tirisia’s true feelings.

“What Tirisia said at the disciplinary committee was a lie. I think Durakal probably persuaded Tirisia to say that.”

“Why do you think so?”

Lucica asked, looking up at the ceiling.

“Because… After that incident in the mirror… Tirisia came to my house to apologize. She said she wasn’t qualified to be my girlfriend or a normal friend anymore… She was sorry. If that’s true, then it would be a lie that Tirisia planned everything.”

“That’s right… ”

Lucica felt a weight lifted from her heart.

It’s true that he betrayed Erto, but at least all the years he spent with her weren’t a lie.

“I’ve been waiting to tell you that. I’m going to go back now. Get some rest.”

It was when Erto got up from his seat with bleary eyes and was about to turn his back.

“Erto.”

Lucica moved her trembling arm and grabbed his hand.

“Yeah.”

When he turned around, Lucica looked at his face with a sad look and asked.

“Why… aren’t you angry?”

“What?”

“I… I said something harsh to you… ”

The girl’s hands that were holding him began to tremble, and it began to show in her voice.

“I blame Erto… I treated him badly… ”

The boy stared at the girl’s face with an indifferent expression.

“I said those words that shouldn’t have been said… I hurt you… ”

Her eyes looked like she wanted to pay for what she had done.

“Ah… That? It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The boy shrugged and shook his head.

“You didn’t know the situation. I understand how you feel.”

But Lucica shook her head with all her might and denied his forgiveness.

“No… No… It’s not just this time… I’ve always been like that. I’ve always been mean to Erto… ”

“Lucica.”

But what the boy showed her was the same smile he had back then, covered in dust from countless kicks.

“It’s okay.”

Erto stroked her head as if nothing had happened, just like he always did when he saved Lucica.

“Don’t worry. I’m your friend. Still am.”

“E… Leto… ”

Relief and regret filled her pink eyes.

“Ugh… Ugh!”

Lucica raised her body with all her might and hugged the boy in front of her tightly.

“Erto… Erto… !”

“Yeah, Lucica.”

The sobs grew louder and louder, and the girl’s true feelings, which she had not been able to express for a long time, overflowed from her mouth.

“I’m sorry…! I’m really sorry…!”

“It’s okay.”

Lucica buried her face in the boy’s arms and poured out her unstoppable feelings.

“I… like Erto! For a long time… since the first time I met him… ! I’ve always liked him… !”

The boy hugged her quietly and listened to her age-old confession.

“I love Erto… I really love him… ! And I’m sorry… !”

Even though it’s already too late,

Even if it is irreversible,

This feeling had to be conveyed now.

“Erto… Erto… Erto… !”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Erto, ugh, ugh, Erto… ! Ugh, huaaaang!”

So the girl continued to call the boy’s name and cried endlessly.

Just like when I was a child, a crybaby who purely loved boys.