12. Flowing Star – 14
After the damn hearing was held in front of the royal palace, a week passed in an instant. Even when I first entered the imperial palace, I naively thought that if I explained all the circumstances related to the ‘Flowing Star’ in front of the emperor, I might be able to quickly return to the Duchy of Estel, but I came this far as if nothing had happened. I came to the realization that going back home was literally a dream come true.
Regardless of the circumstances involved in it, if you look only at the external appearance, the princess Iris, rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the empire, is a descendant of the 4th duchy of the empire, but at the same time, it is Cain von Estelle of the Duke of Estelle, which is all she has to offer. In other words, a confession that was virtually the same as a marriage proposal to an idiot was a major incident that literally turned the empire upside down. Perhaps he didn’t know, but by now there would be no one among the citizens of the system who did not know the name Cain von Estel.
And as if fueling the rumors that were spreading like wildfire, the emperor suddenly threw another bomb-like remark. The content of that remark, in fact, was not so great. It was nothing more than a very simple announcement that a simple banquet would be held to commemorate him in advance, as a ‘celebration’ might come to the empire sooner or later.
…to be honest, now all I can do is laugh. If there is an organ called the brain in the head and can do the act of thinking, even if the subject does not exist, it is very easy to infer what the emperor means by ‘inclination’.
As a result of sneakily finding out various information through Aria, it was said that preparations for the banquet had been in progress for a week before I arrived in the capital. In other words, Son, the series of situations that are currently flowing like water is by no means a coincidence, but a conspiracy of some kind that is being carried out under a thorough plan.
So, to sum it up, I came to a very simple conclusion that all the ministers of the court, including me, were caught in this magnificent play held jointly by the emperor and Iris.
…That said, he had no intention of blaming the princess. Although the composition is somewhat different from the picture I was drawing, the current situation was not so bad for me.
However, it was also true that my headaches were hurting because of this game the Emperor and Iris had spread, and while I was confined to the room and trying to figure out how to deal with the situation, I congratulated him in advance for his ‘celebration’. The day when a meaningful banquet will be held is approaching.
It was natural if it was natural, but according to the emperor’s edict, I was destined to be compelled to attend the banquet. Well, in the first place, I didn’t even have the slightest intention of coming here and leaving it somewhere.
“…Cain, are you still far away? Like last time, you always seem to have a knack for keeping the ladies waiting. Maybe you don’t have the qualifications of a gentleman.”
With Aria’s help, I felt a momentary sense of my heart sinking at the voice that came from behind me, who was wearing a tuxedo to attend the banquet, without any sign of it. The other day, did she really not know about the concept of ‘knock’?
At the very moment when I turned my head toward the princess–
“…Hmm, how is it? Although I don’t enjoy dressing like this, if I were to wear a dress like this, I wanted to show you this before anyone else. Yes, I would like you to express your impressions of seeing me like this.”
For a moment, I stopped breathing.
In front of my eyes, the figure of the princess in a snow-white dress existed. Uncharacteristically for her who doesn’t enjoy exposure, it was such an outfit that exposed all of her shoulders and forearms without any blemishes, and even the area around her legs that boasted smooth legs.
…For a moment, I had the illusion that I heard the sound of moonlight falling around her. However, it is impossible for the sound to exist when the light falls down. It’s just that a woman named Iris el Devhart had beauty wrapped around her body to the extent that she could have had such an illusion for a moment.
Her hair, like placer gold that seemed to be made by melting gold as it was, fluttered very lightly. Her appearance is like a wind statue, and I thought that it was completed with a nobility that should not be dared to be touched. Just by standing here, she was embodying a beauty.
“…why aren’t you responding? It’s a dress I’m trying on again after a year, but are you saying it doesn’t suit me that much?”
Those words, no different from the princess’s complaint, brought to mind the scenery of the banquet hall from a year ago. Certainly, it was clear that the dress she was wearing now was the same dress she was wearing then.
“…it suits me. That too, very.”
As I stammered and recited my feelings toward her, a smile came to her lips.
“It’s worth wearing a dress like this. Seeing that I feel really repulsive like this.”
Her smile was so bright that I had the illusion that it was dazzling me for a moment. At the same time, I noticed very easily that in her smile, there was only the pride of being willing to be praised by me.
…so it was. She always treated me wholeheartedly. At most, he was always treating me with a serious attitude, to the extent that he was happy with compliments like me.
The princess’s, no, Iris’s child-like candid attitude made me finally feel a resolution in my heart. To put it in an analogy, it could be said that it was a decision that could be said to be the determination to face her sincerity toward me head-on.
“aria. I’m sorry, but could you please leave for a while? It’s because I have a story to share with you, just the two of us.”
“…yes. In that case, I’ll wait for Cain-sama outside.”
Arya unexpectedly nodded her head obediently to my words, and then quietly slipped out through the door. When Aria left this room, only me and the princess’s future remained.
“Hmm, Cain. What was he thinking when he asked to be alone in a room with a slender girl? Could it be that, seeing my appearance, my passions were inflamed?”
The princess only giggled to see if there was any anxiety about being alone in the room with her boyfriend, but unfortunately I wasn’t in the mood to joke with her. I didn’t even want to do that.
“…Lowering. It is not long before we have to go to the banquet hall.”
“It is a fact I am well aware of. Isn’t that why I’m here to pick you up just in time?”
Facing the princess who shrugged and smirked, I asked a question in a calm tone.
“…Lowering. One thing, would it be all right if I asked you a question?”
“It doesn’t matter. If it’s your question, I’ll be happy to answer any of them.”
When the princess smiled and nodded, I quietly closed my eyelids while looking at her.
“Why? Why did you do this to me?”
A strange question with no subject or object, with no bottom or end.
…But even so, the princess seemed to have noticed what I wanted to ask. At this moment, I have hardened my face even slightly.
“No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand it at all. The woman I know, named Iris El Devhart, is a woman who overcomes everything with her own strength and wisdom, putting the pride she believes in above anything else in the world. It was a woman named Iris el Devhart who made uprightness and honesty her life’s creed and was more proud of that way than anyone else. But why-”
But why did he go so far as to go against his own creed and do something so inappropriate?
I scattered my moaning, which I couldn’t bear to speak, into the air.
“…..”
She listened silently to my question, and soon showed only a small bitter smile on her lips. For a moment, I had the strange idea that her smile was like a weathered statue that had been worn and worn over the years.
A breath filled with hesitation escaped from the corner of the princess’s mouth. But even for a moment, she began to look at me with her two sky-blue eyes, as if a single resolution had been tied.
“…Cain, do you know that? About the fact that you always try to take responsibility for the many people around you.”
“…Responsibility, do you mean?”
“Yes, responsibility. Of course, this does not mean that your actions were wrong. Everyone makes mistakes while enjoying life, and the act of correcting and taking responsibility for one’s own actions is never a bad thing.”
“…but your case is a little different. In my view, it is not once or twice that you seem to be struggling to take responsibility for everyone around you after bearing a sense of debt to them.”
Who the hell was that word directed at? Iris was looking directly at me, but her gaze seemed to be looking at something other than me.
“Currently, Bianca del Castana is staying at the Duke of Estel. Everyone probably doesn’t know that the reason why that woman is staying in the Duke of Estelle instead of returning to the Castana Marquis family is because you, Cain, are going to be in charge of that woman. In the first place, the woman herself had no intention of hiding it.”
“I too agree that Bianca del Castana deserves that much happiness. It seems that a girl who grew up without knowing love since she was born and has been struggling with unrequited love for over 20 years has the right to be happy.”
Iris’ words were simply calm. As if he was saying that he was actually only reciting himself.
“However, you acted as if you were trying to take responsibility for Bianca del Castana beyond that. Like a person on a mission to make her happy no matter what.”
“…I can guess why you act like that. The damn elf who neither ages nor dies has whispered many things to me. I also know very well that she played a strange trick on you and learned about your future self that you should never know.”
“…..”
“However, since I am the age who met one end with you, I can confidently speak to you at this moment. you did nothing wrong I have not committed any crime. It’s not your memory. It is just an ending that you may have reached.”
Iris unknowingly bit her teeth tight. She really didn’t like Cain’s naivety. I really hated his attitude of putting everything on his own shoulders.
“I mean, Cain. I want the person you are to be happy. I wish you a lot more happiness than everyone else in the world put together.”
Your hands are not for shouldering responsibilities, and your feet are not for carrying heavy steps.
So, as it is, you will never be happy. Because you, in exchange for your own hardship, are trying to make us happy.
However, Bianca del Castana does not know this.
I am just a foolish woman who only clings to you and longs only for love.
Ariel Thiers also doesn’t know.
She also wants something from you that I don’t know, and is just a woman who longs to share the sorrow she is carrying.
aria? She was also a woman whom he had to guide for the rest of his life, and in the true sense of the word, she was not qualified to stand next to him.
But I’m different. I do not seek love from you one-sidedly. I just want to stand by you and share your equal fault.
Cain, if you are weary of the burden you are carrying, I will share the burden you are carrying.
If you are cold, I will hug you tightly and share my warmth.
If you are in pain, I will be the first to run to you and caress and caress your wounds.
If you have sinned, I will go with you into the streets and kiss the earth as an atonement.
Because I am not the one you have to take responsibility for, but I am walking in step with you, and I am the only companion who deserves to move toward tomorrow together.
“So don’t get me wrong, Cain. I’m not going to be yours you are to be mine All the other girls, including you, will also be embraced by me. I will make it acceptable for them to stay by your side.”
“…So no more, you don’t have to care about anything. All you have to do is enjoy happiness as one of the people of the empire. No, I will definitely make you that way.”
Although I am also a woman who longs for your love.
Unlike other women, I am not a pitiful bitch who wants your protection.
No, I would rather take responsibility for you.
In the end, it will surely make you happy. There will be no room for you to feel lonely.
So, I want you to blame me for plotting to tie you up like this.
Compared to the happiness you will enjoy in the future, the pride I have kept all my life is nothing more than cheap.
…Ah, yes. To be loved by him, to be hated by him, to be by his side more than anyone deserves –
everything, me
Only I deserve to be the top priority of the man named Cain von Estel.
“Is that a sufficient answer? I only wish for your happiness. Only that has become my everything.”
As she said that, looking at Cain, Iris had only a slightly twisted smile on her lips.