episode_0046

Tick-tock-

Tick-tock-

The hour when the deepest darkness descends.

A grandfather clock standing on the wall of a large space that doesn’t seem like it could accommodate one person is making a regular ticking sound.

A luxury grandfather clock with a sun and moon shaped craft on the top of the clock that moves up and down depending on the morning and afternoon, and it looks like a lot of technology was put into it.

The time displayed there was 3 o’clock, with the hour and minute hands below the moon. In other words, it was dawn.

Anyone who has to be outdoors during the day should be getting a deep sleep at this time.

At that time,

In a large, dark room, the girl was sitting alone on the floor next to the bed.

“Why…Why…”

The girl, with her face buried in her arms on the bed, was mumbling something incessantly.

Celdiane Elconza.

She, who was never seen in a disheveled state at the academy, was now lying on the bed, her golden hair a mess, her forehead pounding.

“This idiot… shouldn’t have done that… that idiot… ”

Even though it was late in the morning, she had not yet fallen asleep and had been spewing insults at someone for hours.

The target is none other than your past self.

From the time I met the commoner boy named Erto until just yesterday, it was Celdiane Elkonja.

When I first met him, I was looking for some new stimulation in my very flat and boring life.

A life where you can have whatever you want, where a golden carpet is laid out for you from the moment you are born.

In such a life, the people I met were all filled with pretense and vanity.

Commoners never considered themselves equals, but feared and avoided them.

The same was true for most nobles.

Only a few of them were not afraid of themselves, but it was only to save face.

Even those who treated her like a friend and showed her kindness, in the end, they were only looking at Elkonja, not Seldianne.

Because as a noble, it was of the utmost merit to have friendly relations with the noble Elkonja family.

Having lived in relationships full of such hypocrisy since childhood, Celdianne had reached a level where she could instinctively know how the other person was looking at her.

In her entire life, only that boy had treated her like a girl.

He had no expectations of himself.

I just want to convey my simple wish to get along well as friends.

Those eyes that simply looked at Seldianne, a girl of the same age, without any fear of facing someone stronger and greater than herself, or any greed to receive a piece of cake.

It aroused a great curiosity in her mind,

Seldiane Elkonja… no, the teenage girl Seldiane began to test him.

Ever since our first meeting,

He continued to harass the boy for days, weeks, and months, trying to figure out how long he could keep up this behavior.

If he thought of himself as an equal, he was wrong, he shouted harshly.

He repeatedly emphasized and reminded him of how great and high a noble he was, and continued to demoralize him so that he would not dare to speak against the name Elkonja.

There was only one reason for such foolish behavior.

He, Ertoga,

Because no matter how big the gap was, she wanted to be seen as Seldianne and not Elkonza.

Because he wanted to remain his equal and friend even if the whole world, and even himself, shouted otherwise.

Because he desperately wanted someone to be by his side with his unwavering conviction.

That is why, paradoxically, Celdianne decided to antagonize Erto.

“Ahhh… Aaaahhhh―!”

Seldianne, who was lying face down on the bed, groaned in pain as she messed with her hair with both hands.

Why, why, why, why, why,

‘Why did the lady do such a foolish thing?’

All night long, a constant stream of regrets raged in her head.

It should have been stopped before it was too late.

There were several opportunities to repair the relationship before it became irreversible.

I was given a long time to come to my senses.

For example, for example,

Before I truly loved him―

*

After getting to know a human named Erto the commoner.

As the months of persecution continued, an idea gradually became more solid in Celdianne’s mind.

He really is the person he had hoped to be.

It didn’t take long for that to turn into confidence.

Because no matter what he said or did, Erto remained the same distance away, without changing.

The feeling she got from Erto was that of a deep-rooted tree that had lived for hundreds of years, a solid presence that would stand firm even when wind and rain blew.

And Celdiane soon realized that that feeling was what she called ‘liking’.

I am, Celdiane Elconza, the girl Celdiane,

I like a boy named Erto―

Once I became aware of that feeling, the faint sense exploded into size.

My heart was pounding.

Excitement and joy sent a sweet tickle through my entire body.

The joy of having someone look at you as a complete person was beyond imagination.

I could definitely be sure.

Even though he may not have any good qualities, he is the prince he has been searching for.

But the feeling of love that I felt for the first time since I was born,

It burned black as soon as it started.

Because the princess was already by the prince’s side.

Tirissia Brewery.

When her affection for Erto blossomed, he had already developed a romantic relationship with a girl who was his childhood friend.

The first love I finally found after so many years had been in the hands of another woman for a long time.

What blossomed in Celdianne’s heart when she realized that fact was a red-hot jealousy and a dark, deep despair.

Why, why am I not even given a chance?

The person who thought he was better prepared for himself than anyone else was actually better suited for someone else.

It was all taken away from the start, without even time to fight.

Isn’t this, isn’t this, isn’t it too much?

Such disappointment and emptiness filled her mind,

The backlash began to show in the way she treated Erto.

At some point, Celdianne started saying such things to Erto.

How dare a commoner like you have such a deep relationship with a nobleman?

Are you coveting an impossible position without even knowing the subject?

Why don’t you know that what awaits you at the end of your greed is only certain destruction?

He denied the relationship between the two people more loudly than anyone else.

If they are even a little influenced by their words and want to break up.

Seldianne knew very well that the words that reminded her of the wall between commoners and nobles were actually harmful to her as well.

But there was no other way.

Erto and Tirisia Bruard had no problems whatsoever, except for their respective positions.

Because when I saw the two of them eating together, they looked happier than anyone in the world.

Even the Lady of the Brood was superior to him in many ways.

Neither ability, nor character, nor even social prestige,

Even if they compete from the same starting line, they are a formidable opponent who cannot guarantee victory, and even that starting line is already far behind.

So, in order to turn around a match that was already lost, there was no choice but to resort to force.

Even if those words apply equally to you.

The commoners and the nobles could never be together—that was what had to be insisted upon.

Because at least their relationship had to fall apart to get at least a minimal chance.

Since she was also a noble, it was okay for her to like him even if it contradicted her usual logic.

That was a problem for later.

After Erto broke up with Bruard, he thought he could tell him his true feelings and make him his own.

Since childhood, I have been confident in my ability to fight with persistence and stubbornness.

No matter how long it takes, if Bruard lets go someday, he will be able to apologize to Erto for his rudeness and verbal abuse and tell him that he loves him.

Actually, I’ve really liked it for a long time.

I want to walk into the future together by your side.

With that heartfelt confession in her heart, Celdiane continued acting close to self-destruction.

So much time has passed that the year has changed―

Finally, Celdianne was able to reach the starting point she wanted.

The breakup between Ertot and Bruard.

When she heard that story, she was so happy she thought she would go crazy.

Finally, finally, finally,

I guess I too am getting an opportunity.

I was able to confess my passionate feelings to Erto.

She was a girl who was in a state of ecstasy and planning her future actions,

‘Huh, huh?’

Reality was flowing differently than expected.