47 – For Elize (1)
I gazed at three girls, each wearing different expressions.
The first girl had a very perplexed expression. Sitting next to me, she kept glancing around with an anxious look. With one hand on my hand and the other fiddling with the glasses in her pocket, she seemed extremely uneasy. But, I also had no room to comfort her, and it took a while before I finally held her hand.
Feeling the warmth in our joined hands, I looked up to see another girl smiling directly at us. She was sitting with her chin resting on her desk, smiling playfully and looking at us. No matter how much I couldn’t spit on a smiling face, for some reason, I felt like that smiling face would spit on me. I deliberately turned my head away from that sunny gaze.
Then, I met the eyes of the girl making a sulky expression as if everything was bothersome. No, the term “female” might be more accurate. She looked at me with indifferent eyes, like a cow that had just escaped from the barn. I didn’t know who the idiot was that lost that beast, but I felt like I should fix the barn late.
After looking at the three people in turn, I finally realized that everyone’s gaze was focused on one place. A noble lady. Beastkin. Elf. Since I was the common denominator for these three mismatched individuals, I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to break this uneasy silence.
“So?”
In the end, the one who found the awkward atmosphere most difficult to endure, Gueiro, was the first to speak. With a sullen expression, he asked.
“So, why did you call, Ellen?”
“To be honest, that’s what I wanted to ask. Why did you bring Gueiro, Iriya?”
“Gueiro. He’s useful.”
“Hey, Eren. What’s up with Ilya?”
“I brought him because there’s no sucker to listen. And Ilya, since Gueiro and Yuna can’t communicate through sign language, want me to write it down in a notebook and show it to them? It’d be more convenient.”
[Sure.]
In response to my suggestion, Ilya quickly wrote in the notebook and proudly held it up. Ilya’s proactive attitude always felt more like a burden than reassuring. Yuna seemed to think the same way, whispering quietly.
“…Hey Eren, can I really talk to them about this?”
“Gueiro is fine. He knows about Elise’s issue to some extent and has helped before, right?”
“Well, I’m okay with Gueiro too, but… Ilya…”
“Well… at least we’ll get one more perspective.”
It’s better to leave it where it can be seen rather than hiding it to be observed.
“Anyway, we gathered today to talk about Elise. Lately, she’s been bothering Yuna and me. Yuna, you said she’s doing this because she hopes you’ll torment her again, right?”
“Yeah… that’s why she keeps trying to provoke my temper, somehow wanting me to get angry.”
“What the heck. Was that the intention even in the changing room? That’s insane.”
“Yeah… Gueiro, that’s right. It seems like that was the intention even back then.”
“Oh, I see. Got it.”
The conversation remained awkward, even for those who were watching. Gueiro, scratching his chin gently, threw another awkward question.
“By the way, why do you want to be tormented so much? Don’t you have any friends?”
“It’s not that… in her own words, if I don’t torment Elise, Prince Hwangtae won’t show interest anymore. So, to regain attention, I think I have to play the role of the villain.”
From Noble mtl dot com
[Oh, intriguing.]
“… Ilya, you don’t need to unnecessarily intervene. But from my perspective, it’s a bit surprising. I thought Elise and Claes were on good terms. Even if Yuna didn’t bother her, they seemed to get along well superficially.”
“Yeah… honestly, it’s surprising for me too. In the original, they were such a sweet couple.”
“Huh? The original work?”
“Ah… that… it’s the language used among the nobility. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“Well, from my perspective, it wasn’t that surprising. Ellen, to you, he might have seemed like a kind human prince, but I honestly didn’t view him favorably. Even the way he treats Elise feels somewhat like a pretense.”
“Pretense?”
“Yeah, you know, intentionally mingling with people lower than oneself to boost self-esteem. It’s like a kind of hero complex, or you could call it the protagonist syndrome. At least, that’s how I felt.”
“Is that so? It sounds a bit twisted coming from you, Gwero.”
I responded with a puzzled expression to Gwero’s sharp words. Surprisingly, Yuna nodded in agreement with Gwero’s statement.
“No, maybe Gwero has a point. What we saw was just appearances, and there might have been some political calculations involved. Acting like the Crown Prince is deeply engaging with commoners might align with the intentions of the Empress who values equality.”
“Well… it’s complicated.”
“For a while, with that justification and Gwero’s mentioned hero psychology, they continued their relationship with Elise. But as the situation gradually changes, interest might dwindle. And on top of that, Elise doesn’t have exceptionally outstanding looks. It might be time to push her away.”
Is that so? I thought Elise wasn’t that bad, but she might have appeared lacking in the eyes of the noble Crown Prince. If I think about it that way, it does seem a bit pitiful.
“Anyway, the cause is one thing, but what’s important is the solution. If we leave it like this, we don’t know what Elise might do next, right?”
“Right. The most important thing is that. So, everyone will help, right? Iriya? Gwero?”
[Of course.]
Before I could even cast a glance, Iriya raised a note with bold letters. Gwero, for some reason, kept scratching his neck persistently, then finally nodded firmly.
“Well, you know… I’ve helped once before. And, how should I put it, since Lord Jesu asked, we should help as soon as possible. Don’t you think so?”
“What?”
Blushing at Gwero’s words, Yuna raised her head and, stumbling over her words, finally asked a question.
“W-what are you saying, Gwero?”
“I’m saying I’ll help.”
“No, it’s not that. What do you call me now…”
“Oh. Um… Miss Jisoo… I think. Did I go too far?”
“Well, that’s… um… not really.”
Yuna lowered her head again, and Gue-ro, blushing for some reason, also cast his gaze down. Even I felt a bit embarrassed. In the midst of this, Iriya continued to shake her notebook as if she were having a great time.
[Fun.]
“It’s fun… anyway. Let’s share our opinions. How can we stop Elise from being annoying?”
“Um…”
As I asked the question, the once noisy space fell into a brief silence, as those who were pondering, including Gue-ro, who lacked talent in such matters just like me, spoke up first.
“Just torment her as you like, isn’t that enough?”
“How?”
“Well, you know…”
Gue-ro slowly raised his hand and made a motion as if grabbing the invisible neck of a person and continuously striking it. It was clearly just a gesture, but under that big fist, a chilling sensation as if transparent blood was splattering spread out.
“…Apart from that? Any other opinions from someone or another species?”
I finally turned my head with a somewhat uneasy feeling. At that moment, on the other side of my field of vision, one notebook fluttered around like crazy.
[Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me]
“Yeah. Iriya. What do you have?”
[A lot of things.]
“Um… okay. Yeah. Write them down. What do you have?”
[Drugs. Hypnosis. Confinement. Threats.]
“…Is there anything among those that we can do?”
[If you want. Everything.]
“hahahaha…”
Illya wore a confident expression, and I chuckled with a sense of disappointment. It wasn’t because her proposal was absurd, but rather, a slight fear that an elf like her might actually be capable of it. Illya stared at me, resolute, raising the note decisively.
[If successful. You could command like a slave.]
“Why bother commanding like a slave?”
[To satisfy curiosity.]
“That’s just your personal desire…”
Suddenly, a fatigue, as if collapsing, overwhelmed me, and I unconsciously let out a sigh. Maybe I shouldn’t have talked to them about it. I glanced at Yuna with a hint of guilt.
…
However, unexpectedly, Yuna seemed to seriously consider their proposal, wearing an extremely serious expression. Chewing her lips in contemplation, Yuna finally spoke slowly.
“Um, well…”
“Yeah?”
[?]
“Ah…”
As attention instantly focused on her, Yuna seemed uncomfortable and subtly averted her gaze. Then, in a very timid voice, she continued.
“Um… Well, I think both Gwero and Illya have valid points, but personally, I don’t want to use a method that could hurt Elise if possible…”
“Yeah? Why? Elise has suffered quite a bit from you so far. Even though she says she wants to be harassed, ultimately, all Elise wants is the prince’s attention. I don’t want to make her suffer again in that way.”
“But she made her decision and said things herself, I think.”
“That’s true. Still… I don’t want to do that. Because everyone knows, Elise is actually a good kid. It might have changed a bit now, but I still know she has a kind nature. So, I want to avoid using bad methods as much as possible. At least, that’s how I feel.”
“Is that so…”
I responded with a puzzled nod to Yuna’s words. Well, honestly, I think Elise has revealed her true colors. It’s Yuna who has proven her good nature, not Elise. It’s you, Yuna.
But if Yuna thinks that way, there’s nothing I can do about it. Anyway, Yuna is the smartest among us, and she’s the one involved in this issue. If she decided to help, I thought it would be right to go along with her wishes.
“Yeah. Let’s go with that. Let’s think of a way that causes the least harm to Elise.”
“Oh… I see. It’s a bit regrettable. I wanted to give that guy a good punch or two.”
“You, trying to kill a dog with one punch.”
“Geez… don’t say such things in front of Yuna.”
Guelo lowered his head in embarrassment, and the rest of us also fell silent, lost in thought. However, due to the somewhat demanding conditions, none of us easily opened our mouths. It’s like trying to repel mosquitoes without killing them.
But not being able to open our mouths doesn’t mean we couldn’t express our opinions. After a while, someone shook their hand again as if possessed, signaling that they could express their opinion without opening their mouth.
[Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. I have another good idea.]
I tried to ignore it. But Guelo, who was kinder than me, kindly asked a question.
“What is it again?”
“…”
Another ominous smile passed on her lips. Eliya, who was diligently scribbling something in her notebook with a threatening laugh, soon raised her notebook confidently.
[Let’s impregnate her.]