56 – Because this world does not love you (1)
“Hey, Ellen.”
“Uh.”
“When are you guys getting married?”
“Puhup”
In response to Guerro’s unconventional question, I giggled as if I had been told something. The lack of courage and lack of oxygen simultaneously pressed down on my throat. But that Guero continued his words, indifferently tapping his chair with his tail.
“No, is this really that surprising? You could just ask.”
“I think our perspectives are a little different. They say puppies mate from the age of one, but humans usually don’t do that.”
“But the crown prince is engaged to Elise. Isn’t it any different for you?”
“Well…But…”
I kept my mouth shut at the perfect logic. Since nothing was wrong, there was no room for refutation.
A lot has changed since the night of the prom. A lot of things happened, but the thing that people talked about the most was the unconventional love affair between the crown prince and Elise. It started with a kiss, but the prince, who was drunk, seemed to have engaged in more blatant skinship than that.
Of course, many people knew about the relationship between the Crown Prince and Elise before that, but this incident seems to have driven a wedge. Not only did it become a hot topic in social circles, but it also reached the ears of the emperor who was busy with government affairs.
The crown prince’s unconventional behavior caused quite a stir in social circles, but the emperor, who sincerely wanted equality for the people of the empire, was very happy and showed interest in Elise. When she found out that the commoner who had stolen the crown prince’s heart was a woman who ranked second in the Academy’s academic records and was well-behaved, she even said she was engaged. It seemed that Elise truly liked her.
Yuna said that her engagement had hidden political intentions to drive out corrupt forces like the Richmond family and promote reform, but that was beyond my understanding. What was important to me was that amid the important event of the crown prince’s engagement, the story about a commoner who attended a ball with three women was naturally buried.
Thanks to you, I regained my peaceful daily life. People who had been interested in me for a while gradually disappeared, and the crown prince was too busy with the emperor and people around him urging him on, so he didn’t even pay attention to me. Of course, if you ask whether the relationship between the two people, who were once strained, is amicable, no answer. It was a story I didn’t need to know so I didn’t pay any attention to it.
But Guero seemed to have been affected by his engagement in some way. Since everyone around you was talking about an engagement and all that, you must have been wondering what this was like. From Guero’s point of view, it may have seemed strange that we had only now succeeded in confessing, let alone getting engaged, when our love affair had been much more intense than that.
“…Still, our situations are very different. Our parents have given permission for us. We both have a certain status. And more than anything, I still know.”
“Don’t you have a lot of money these days?”
“I’m richer than before. I’m still a poor orphan.”
“What does that matter? Miss Yuna is rich.”
“No matter what, I need to have extra money… And why on earth did you start to worry about that? Did you start to worry because people around you were talking about engagement and engagement?”
“No, well… I just thought that if you married a rich person like Yuna, I would also benefit. These days, thanks to you and Illya, my pockets have become stronger, so I feel good about spending money.”
“I’m getting married, so why do you benefit?”
“No, you can have expectations. I helped you this time too, but man. I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with just grazing on the playground anymore. This is partly because of you, so take responsibility.”
“hahahaha…”
As I was laughing, the gold necklace hanging around his neck caught my eye. I’m the one receiving support, so why is this guy getting rich? As expected, this world was full of so many questions.
“Ellen!”
“Ah, you’re here.”
While I was pondering the truth of the world, Yuna and Illya approached me from beyond the bookshelf. The two sighed as they put down the sandwiches they were holding in front of us.
“Whoa… Do you know that it was really hard to come here while worrying about what people thought?”
“Why are you paying attention? I’m just buying a sandwich.”
“It doesn’t matter if you have one, but if they see you carrying four at a time, won’t anyone think it’s an errand? Also, how will people view me if they think a noble lady is running someone’s errand?”
“Then I should have won.”
“…Really. I’m said to be useless at rock-paper-scissors.”
“Miss Yuna, did you bet with that guy? He’s a natural at childish games like that. Oh, I’ll be grateful too.”
“Ah, ah. Yes, of course. Please eat, Miss Guero.”
Guero was now speaking quite freely, but Yuna was still awkwardly stuttering her words. Since they were two people who found it difficult to find anything in common, it seemed like it would take quite some time for them to become friends.
“By the way, it looks like you made it there without getting caught by the librarian. Normally, food is not allowed in the library.”
“You were disciplined along with the magic professor for making a fuss during the librarian’s dance. I don’t know if that’s why, but you kept lying on your desk?”
“Well, it was a bit harsh. Thanks to them, things worked out well for us.”
“After all, that wasn’t in the plan, was it?”
“No matter how much Ilya did, that would have been impossible. Right, Illya?”
As I slowly turned my head, Illya tapped her temple with her finger. This time I couldn’t tell if it was calling my name or telling me to think.
Either way, Illya turned her head towards Yuna again and smiled. I don’t know why, but she seemed to particularly enjoy hanging around with Yuna these days. Of course, Yuna felt burdened by her attention.
This time, Yuna tilted her chair towards me as Illya continued poking her cheek and looking at her. She then asked in a very low voice.
“Is that also sign language? What does it mean?”
“Hmm… I guess that’s your sign language name. I think it would be more accurate to call it a nickname. It doesn’t mean anything bad, so don’t worry.”
“What do you mean?”
“Pretty one.”
“Ugh…”
Yuna lowered her head as if she was embarrassed. As she looked at Yuna like that, something suddenly crossed her mind.
“Oh, that’s right, Yuna. I have something to tell you…”
“…!”
At her words, Illya suddenly got up from her seat and approached Guero. She then made a noisy gesture with her hand, yanking her arm wildly.
“Ah. Ouch. Why are you like this? What is it?”
“…! …!”
“Oh, what’s wrong? I’m having trouble waking up. What is he saying, Ellen?”
“Are we going to pick out a s*xy book?”
“I’m not interested in that kind of thing. Oh really. Ah!”
He could have easily gotten rid of her if he had wanted to, but Guero ended up standing up because she was bothered by her continued annoyance. Then he followed her, muttering loudly. Ilya narrowed her eyes at me once and then quickly walked out of the bookshelf.
“hahahaha…”
“Um…There’s no need to do that…”
It was too blatant an action to have gone unnoticed. Yuna also seemed to sense that fact and awkwardly smiled along with me.
“Anyway, Yuna. I wanted to ask you something.”
“I feel a little uneasy for some reason. What is it?”
“Did you talk about anything at home this prom?”
“Ah…That…”
The depth of water spread across his once peaceful face. She didn’t think she would get a positive answer.
“First of all, no letters have arrived. At least not yet. But…Well, I don’t think there will be any good conversations going on. In any case, the crown prince who was my partner was taken away by Elise right before my eyes.”
“But that was something the crown prince did while drinking. I don’t think it’s your fault.”
“Yes. So, it seems that there are actually many people among the nobles who sympathize with me. It seems that people who are disgusted by the fact that the crown prince of the empire is marrying a commoner are also talking that way. But what is important is the duchess’s thoughts. “I can’t even imagine how he will come out.”
“She is still Yuna’s mother. Is it really necessary to treat her so badly?”
“…It’s because I can’t see you, Ellen.”
Yuna answered bitterly and grabbed her wrist out of habit. Her trembling fingers brushed over the invisible wound.
“If she were a duchess, she could bully Yuna in ways I couldn’t even imagine. In fact, it was him who was the root of all the problems.”
“Is it that bad?”
“It’s bad. I didn’t know until I saw it myself. Now, the problem with Elysee has been resolved to some extent, so there’s no need for her to have her head cut off because of her, but now the problem is the Duchess.”
“Uh…Your head gets cut off? What is that all of a sudden…?”
“Yes. Now it seems like Elise has lost her mind. It won’t be a problem anymore. But she hasn’t been able to take a single step forward regarding the Duchess. In fact, it’s only gotten worse.”
“Um…Are you listening to me?”
“What should I do? How can I save her Yuna from her? How can I get away from her…”
“…”
Yuna was already lost in her own thoughts. She thought it might be better to leave it alone for a bit, so she cast her gaze into the air.
…
From Noble mtl dot com
Mom.
There wasn’t an ounce of longing left in those two letters. Unlike other people, she didn’t have the ability to draw things that didn’t exist. Mom. That name is now gone. No matter how much I chewed, no taste of memories came out, like chewing gum that has lost its sweetness. I may have to look a little further into the past to feel memories of her mother.
What kind of feelings does Yuna have towards her mother? If you think about it, the Duchess was like a complete stranger to Yuna. Her real mother must be somewhere in another world that I don’t know about.
However, she did not show any signs of homesickness and was only running towards Yuna’s happiness. Sometimes, that obsession felt scary, but at other times, it felt pitiful. Still in the corner of my memory, there was an image of an unknown girl crying alone in a dark room.
I couldn’t figure out why you were so obsessed with Yuna. Only one thing was clear. Only when Yuna is happy can she be happy too. That much was certain.
…
But it’s still there.
I want you to be happy, more than Yuna.
An indescribable feeling lingered in my mouth. I looked across the shelves in silence. For some reason, even the books on the shelves seemed to be shaking and wandering. As if someone is hiding on the other side.
“Hey, are you listening, Ellen?”
“Huh? Huh? Yes. I was listening. I was listening.”
At that time, Yuna suddenly spoke to me. I nodded urgently, speaking in gibberish. Yuna looked at me suspiciously, but soon opened her mouth again.
“You know, Ellen. That’s what I was thinking…”
“Yes.”
“So…”
Hesitation formed between Yuna’s words. She seemed to think about it for a moment, then suddenly gave a look of determination in her eyes and spoke out her words.
“Should we just get engaged…?”