episode_0193

Isabelle was very happy when I showed her the nerve vine I had hidden in the forest.

At this point, I was appalled when they asked me if I had actually become a different species, but I did my best not to show it.

When asked if he would use his abilities on other plants, he did not answer. However, even if we did not say anything, I thought that he would come to the place where Amelia and I were staying together someday.

We were planning to conduct research to improve the food situation at Grattenmount.

When Amelia and I said that we were going to quit Ma Tower’s classes, the Master of Ma Tower was very sad.

But what could I do? I couldn’t force people who wanted to quit. Amelia had talent, but she herself didn’t want to dig deep, and needless to say, I had no talent for magic at all.

and-

“I heard that they would go back.”

“Yes, that’s what happened.”

There were many nobles who came to visit us after hearing that we were planning to leave the royal capital, but few of them had a proper relationship with us.

If you think about it, we’ve never done a good job here.

Well, it looks like Amelia’s previous uncle didn’t do anything special either.

“Still, it would have been okay to stay a little longer. Wasn’t there anyone who wanted to attack you?”

“My father called me.”

“… … Are you going there to get some kind of punishment?”

Amelia didn’t say anything in response to the prince’s question.

In fact, what the Crown Prince said was not wrong. At least on the outside, this was a call to punish us for doing something so crazy.

Even if we denied the charges and even if there was no evidence, Count Hoover had already decided that we were the culprits.

He did not have the right to punish, but that did not mean he could not exert influence.

At a time when all of our self-destruction has not yet been revealed, we are using our influence to the end to spread negative rumors about us.

So, as long as Amelia and I are here, Grattonmount’s image will suffer at least a little.

The Archduke summoned Amelia to superficially punish her.

Of course, the Grattonmount family and the Delki family already know in detail what we did. They were even protecting Diane.

Even within the Archduke’s family, we were in favor of weakening the influence of Hoover, so no one stopped us while we were doing it.

At first glance, it was a mess, but when I thought about what our ultimate goal was, all we wanted to do was finish the job and go back.

“… … .”

But the crown prince didn’t seem to think so at all.

He kept his mouth shut for a while as if he was a little angry, and then he said this.

“When I went around the estates of the families included in the list, some of them reacted sensitively just by mentioning the story.”

“Of course, there would have been no ‘evidence’ that the list was ‘real’.”

Amelia spoke leisurely, sipping tea.

“Yes, but there are a lot of things in the world that can be done without such evidence. Although I cannot directly torture them to extract information.”

The crown prince said, slightly lifting the tip of his lips.

“I have already reported the overlapping names in the list to my father—His Majesty the King. And I will also become emperor with the same list. I plan to take a very long time to slowly and painfully stop the families on the list.◦ #◦

This is it.

In the next few decades, the era of absolute monarchy may come.

Well, as long as there is no war until I die of old age, I will be satisfied with that.

“Or, the people in his family may die suddenly like their predecessors did. Who knows?”

“I will trust you.”

“Um.”

The crown prince nodded at Amelia’s answer.

For a while, there was only the sound of tea rustling in the room.

“Oh, by the way.”

He opened his mouth as if he suddenly remembered Amelia.

“What do you do with the remaining couplets?”

“… … .”

When Amelia said those words, I opened my mouth and looked at Amelia.

The crown prince looked at me and let out a short laugh.

“Now, if I ask her to keep that promise, will the Lady of Delki City really do so?”

The crown prince looked away a little, lost in thought, and spoke.

“When I was young, I mistakenly thought that was true. I mistakenly thought that there might be hope even after I got a little older. But, in my own way, I am also a person who learned the life of the people of Delkish. At least I have eyes for nature.”

“Is that so?”

Amelia smiled and answered.

“Yes.”

The crown prince said that and put down his empty glass.

And then I got up.

“Then, let’s meet again someday.”

“Yes, I don’t know when that will be, but if you happen to come to our territory, we will welcome you.”

Amelia also got up and answered.

I also got up.

The crown prince looked at me quietly with a slight smile on his lips—

—Soon he turned around without saying anything.

*

If the Grand Duchess were to move, there would naturally be a lot of luggage that had to be moved.

There were a lot of people moving.

For both of us, it was right to be in the carriage.

But Amelia was a little pushy.

He said he wanted to leave alone with me, the strongest of the escorts next to him. He asked that he be allowed to be alone with me, at least while moving to the next city.

Anyway, Amelia usually went to the forest near the royal capital alone with me, so the request was accepted quite easily.

To be honest, I liked it too. Riding a horse alone with someone I like was fun because it felt like taking a walk.

“… … .”

After remaining silent for a while, the first person to speak was Amelia.

“There’s something I haven’t told you yet.”

“A story that wasn’t told?”

When I asked while tilting my head, Amelia looked ahead and spoke calmly.

“Actually, there is a novel we read.”

“Yes.”

“There were 2 copies.”

“Huh?”

“There, Amelia Grattonmount was exiled to the North, where she met Delkisi’s only daughter. She somehow got her on his side, used her to gain power, and then abandoned her. ”

“… … .”

uh… … .

It was a story I had never heard of. In the novel I read, Amelia was never exiled.

“The reason I often knew things you didn’t know was because I knew the contents of Part 2 that you couldn’t read.”

Ah, I see… … .

hmm… … .

that… … .

so?

The atmosphere became a bit heavy, so I couldn’t bear to ask that question again. Because it would break the weight that Amelia had managed to hold on to.

“Why don’t you ask?”

“What?”

“Why didn’t I bother to tell you.”

“… … .”

In response to Amelia’s question, I kept my mouth shut for a while.

There is no need to ask.

In the novel she read, Amelia may have been a villain, but in the novel I read, she wasn’t.

I closed my mouth for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“There’s something I didn’t tell you either.”

“Huh?”

“Actually, what I read is different from what you read.”

“Huh?”

Actually, I didn’t want to tell you until the end.

I wasn’t going to do it.

I think I know a little bit about why Amelia told me that story.

Amelia… … I didn’t want to deceive me. If I didn’t tell you about the bad relationship between the characters Amelia and Elsie, it would be like deceiving me.

“The novel I read was not the romantic fantasy novel you read, but a story about a villainess. You were the main character.”

The sound of the horses’ hooves stopped, so I stopped my horse too.

Amelia was looking at me with a slightly blank expression.

“Besides, it was lily water, yes.”

When I lowered my head and spoke in a quiet voice, Amelia, who had been speechless for a while, finally opened her mouth.

“… … If I were the main character and Lily, who would I end up with?”

“There, Adele.”

“… … .”

Amelia didn’t say anything for a while.

When I finally mustered up the courage to slightly raise my head, Amelia opened her mouth as if she had been waiting.

“Then, what do you think it will be like here?”

“Huh?”

“No, well, it’s not worth going into detail about it above, but it might be interesting if you take the time to listen to it slowly. Still, this is an important issue among them all.”

Amelia said, rolling her eyes back and forth.

“If I had hooked up with Adele in that novel—who do you think I would like here?”

“That’s… … .”

“Want me to tell you?”

“… … .”

Amelia asked with a slightly playful expression, and I nodded blankly.

She giggled and—

“Hey!”

I drove the horse I was riding.

And he turned his head to the front, even far away.

There was Amelia in the distance, whose expression I could barely see.

Shoot—the wind blew and the grass along the road lay to one side. Amelia’s black hair flowed beautifully.

Amelia took a deep breath,

“—I like it!”

I shouted with all my might.

“I like you, Elsie! I’ve liked you for a really long time!”

Amelia’s voice rang out loud.

“I was always happy to be with you! So—!”

I saw Amelia’s smiling face.

“Can we continue to be together in the future?”

My heart was racing.

It was probably the same for Amelia.

Maybe that’s why I went that far and shouted. Because I wanted to pour out the words that were in my heart. Because I wanted to say them with all my might.

I’m too embarrassed to get close to my face—

So, instead of answering with words,

“Hey!”

I drove my horse as hard as I could and ran to Amelia.