episode_0228

Chapter 228 – Sense of Loss

After several hours, we, having thoroughly enjoyed swimming at the private beach, changed our clothes and headed out to the bustling street to get lunch.

Perhaps it was because of its distance from the Empire? Its independently developed architectural styles and culinary culture captivated our eyes.

“Hmm… what should we eat?”

“Ruan. How about that? They say those are dishes made with seafood only found here!”

“There are also dishes made with buffalo that live in volcanoes!”

Every single one of them was something we’d probably never get to eat again if not here, so we agonized over what to choose. The others in our group seemed to feel the same, busily looking around and admiring the food.

It was then.

“Huh?”

“Why are you here….”

I ended up making eye contact with Skadia, who was just stepping out of a carriage. It was surprising that we found each other amidst such a vast crowd, but the fact that it had to be Skadia, of all people, was irksome.

After a brief staring contest, we both turned our heads away without a word. My intention was just to pretend I hadn’t seen her.

The problem was that there were quite a few people present with sharper eyes than mine. Among them, there was one woman in particular who disliked me very, very much.

“Oh my? Lady Skadia Maryland? What a coincidence to meet you in a place like this!”

Regina shouted, as if for everyone to hear, and quickly latched onto her. Skadia frowned, but perhaps unable to outright ignore a descendant of the Great Solias Imperial Family, she approached us.

“It has been a long time, Your Imperial Highness.”

Skadia, presenting perfect etiquette regardless of her own feelings. Our group gladly welcomed her.

“It really is Skadia!”

“You came here for vacation too? Nice to see you!”

“…Yes. Nice to see you.”

Perhaps unable to be rude to Uni’s brightly smiling face, Skadia sincerely answered her, even though she seemed to be in a bad mood. A brief conversation ensued between the two of them. I stood idly by with the two women glued to my sides, observing the scene. I glanced at Isis, and she was also watching Skadia with an awkward expression.

‘Let’s just wait until they part ways like this.’

There was nothing good to gain from needlessly intervening, so simply waiting was the best course of action.

However, there was someone who wouldn’t allow that. It went without saying who it was: none other than Skadia, the source of this lingering awkwardness.

“What are you all doing over there? Come here and let’s all chat. Huh? Isis!”

“Re-Regina-nim. I…”

“Are you two still uncomfortable with each other? I thought you made up during the last tournament.”

Regina blinked her eyes innocently, as if she truly knew nothing. Her act was so detestable that I wanted to immediately run over and smack her in the back of the head. Skadia, seemingly fully aware of Regina’s ploy, sighed and spoke.

“No, it’s fine. There was just a slight misunderstanding in the first place. Right, Chairman-nim?”

“…Yes. There are no longer any bad feelings between us.”

It seemed like there were still a tremendous amount of bad feelings, but when those two acted like that, others couldn’t intervene. Regina grabbed the two of them, and this time, pulled me in too.

“Young Master Ruan, come quickly too. You two are fine now, aren’t you? The broken engagement was something that happened at Lady Skadia’s request, and Young Master Ruan now has a new fiancée, so there’s no problem. Right?”

This lunatic casually brought up such a sensitive topic. It was infuriating how actively she used her imperial lineage.

At the remarks that freely crossed the line, Skadia’s gaze flickered from me to Deborah, then to Alisa. Alisa flinched for a moment, then soon hugged my arm even tighter and confidently met Skadia’s gaze. At the same time, Skadia’s brow twitched.

Soon, she hardened her eyes even colder and nodded.

“That’s right. There’s no problem at all. It’s actually good that this happened. I had some questions about the two of you. How about we have a meal together? I have a restaurant reservation.”

“Really? Then we’d love to. Everyone agrees, right?”

Of course, I couldn’t agree. It would make for a sudden awkward silence, but just as I was about to refuse, Alisa whispered in my ear.

“Just accept it.”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay. Just trust me. I’ll make sure they can’t even make a peep!”

Alisa made such bold promises. Did she know? That the more she acted like this, the more anxious I became.

‘Can I trust her…’

As I was pondering, this time Deborah whispered from the opposite side.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help too.”

“Deborah…”

“Honestly, we have nothing to be embarrassed about, do we? As Her Imperial Highness the Princess said, they were the ones who first proposed breaking off the engagement. We did nothing wrong.”

Deborah’s violet eyes sparkled. It looked as if she had peeked into the future, and an inexplicable sense of trust surged within me. I made a decision.

“I agree. I guess I’ll get to enjoy a delicious meal after a long time.”

“That’s a good decision! What about the others?”

One by one, they expressed agreement to Regina’s question. For the rest of the group, it didn’t matter as long as I was fine with it. Only Isis barely agreed after staring at my face for a long time.

And so, we followed Skadia into the restaurant. Guided by the manager, we sat around a table, and not long after, a sumptuous feast of various seafood and meats was served. It was a feast of aromas and visuals unlike anything I had ever experienced.

But I didn’t give the food more attention than necessary and refocused on Skadia. I was curious what she would say. However, the words that came from her were a little different from what I expected.

“Well then, everyone, let’s start with the meal. I’m also looking forward to the food here, as it’s my first time.”

“Yes. Thank you, Lady.”

“I’ll enjoy the meal, Skadia.”

Unlike what I had worried about, the meal began in a rather harmonious atmosphere. While we continued eating in silence for a while, Uni broke the silence.

“But I didn’t know Skadia would come here too. Did you come alone?”

“Yes. My father said I’d worked hard for a year and sent me to rest. What about you all?”

“We entered a travel voucher lottery and won first place, so we came! Isn’t that amazing?”

Watching Uni boast that all of this was thanks to Abel, Skadia twisted her lips.

“Amazing. Of all places to come, it had to be here.”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Nothing. Just that thanks to it, we met.”

Fortunately, Uni, being a mage whose sensory stats weren’t high, didn’t hear it. Conversely, the physically-focused individuals with high sensory stats heard it. Regina still feigned ignorance and wore a bright smile, Isis bit her lip tightly, and Alisa’s eyes blazed. And I played the role of calming Alisa down, tightly holding her hand as she was about to object. She had told me to just trust her, but seeing her about to fall for the provocation from the very start gave me a headache.

I glared sharply at Skadia. ‘She’s deliberately causing trouble to be heard.’ Moreover, it felt awkward to just let it pass, but if I reacted, it was a subtle way of speaking that would turn me into the strange one. It would be nice if she used that smart head for something good.

Still, one positive thing was that Skadia wouldn’t start a fight right away. If she were going to do that, she would have asked directly instead of speaking indirectly. Feeling relieved, I began to enjoy the food.

“Alisa. Try this. It’s delicious.”

“What? W-wait… Mmph!”

As I forcibly stuffed the fried rice with seafood into her mouth, Alisa, who had been engaged in a subtle power struggle with Skadia, struggled. She quickly quieted down, though, perhaps because it tasted good.

Afterwards, as I ate, letting Skadia’s occasional goading remarks go in one ear and out the other, the bottom of the plate was soon revealed. As we were enjoying the afterglow of the meal with a light dessert, Skadia threw out some bait.

“Alisa. The food seems to suit your taste? I worried you might dislike it, seeing as you’re pregnant. It seems your morning sickness isn’t severe.”

“U-uh? Oh, y-yes! T-that’s right! I don’t really have morning sickness. It must be because our baby is quiet.”

And Alisa definitely bit that bait. The whole pregnancy thing wasn’t that important anyway, so I could have just denied it, but with a petty desire to seize the initiative, she ended up making a bad move. Thanks to that, she had no choice but to mix lies into all her future answers. If she was caught, she would be completely cornered.

“Really? No wonder your belly hasn’t shown yet. How long has it been?”

“Ah, th-that… a-about a month? It hasn’t been long.”

“A month? So it’s mid-December? Oh? But didn’t you say you liked Eunrang back then?”

“E-Eunrang?”

“Yes. You even performed a sword dance at the festival. What happened?”

Skadia stared directly at Alisa. Under that enormous pressure, Alisa dripped with cold sweat and couldn’t say a word.

“Don’t tell me you….”

Doubt entered Skadia’s eyes. Eventually, just before Skadia became certain and the initiative completely shifted, Deborah intervened.

“Isn’t that obviously just a fan’s adoration?”

“What?”

“Admiration and love are different. Just because you like a celebrity doesn’t mean you don’t have a partner, does it? It’s the same thing.”

“Fan adoration? Then why can’t you answer? Isn’t it because you have something to hide?”

Skadia’s eyes turned towards Alisa’s belly. Anticipating what she was about to say next, I quickly covered her mouth.

“Stop there. Don’t cross the line anymore.”

“You…”

“Whatever you were trying to say, it’s just speculation. We’ll handle our own affairs. Understood?”

“But…”

Despite my warning, she didn’t back down easily and maintained her stance. Seeing that, Deborah landed a blow.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous?”

“What?”

“Are you jealous, I asked. Do you have lingering feelings now? If not, then stop it.”

Skadia’s teeth ground together. Whether she was hit where it hurt, or simply angry at the preposterous words, I couldn’t tell, but it was easy to see that her emotions were greatly agitated. But fortunately, she quickly calmed her emotions and regained her composure.

“Yes, you’re right. I apologize. I’m sorry, Alisa.”

“It-it’s fine. You might have been curious.”

“No, I went too far. It seems like the meal is mostly finished, so I’ll head out first. See you next time.”

With a clean apology and a farewell, Skadia left the table. Silence briefly settled in the room.

Perhaps finding the atmosphere uncomfortable, Abel stood up with an awkward laugh.

“Sh-shall we go too? Since we’ve eaten, let’s explore the island and do some sightseeing! As I was coming earlier, I saw there were many interesting things.”

“Th-that’s right! Let’s all go!”

“I don’t like feeling stifled, so let’s get out quickly, meow.”

Thus, bolstered by the group’s support, we left the restaurant and walked the streets. Fortunately, just as Abel said, the outside was full of interesting things, and we quickly regained our original cheerful atmosphere.

And several hours later, after grocery shopping for the evening party, we returned to the pension.

“Skadia?”

“……Ruan.”

I ended up running into Skadia, who was just coming out of the neighboring pension. Of all things, to be neighbors with her, I’m losing my mind.