Translator: Ranzan
「What are you thinking?」
Opening her mouth, Youran seemed to want to interrogate her friend.
Youran Juunishima — 『Shingetsu no Kami』and her room, her only room.
On the display screen on her wall, the image of Leticia in a princess dress appeared.
It seemed that she was projected larger than she really was, but that wasn"t the case.
The girl before Youran"s eyes was just as big as usual, as the display showed the features of her friend clearly.
This was the hotline that connected Youran to Leticia.
This connection cost a great deal to continue over the years, but less for Youran and Leticia, and more for the connection of Shingetsu no Kami and princess of Phili Kingdom, which was absolutely necessary so the payments were always made.
Youran used the connection whenever she wanted to complain to Leticia.
Both of them spoke to one another, seated on their thrones.
『What"s up?』
「It"s about one of your people, why are they looking for places to buy in town?」
『It"s cuz it"s necessary for me to find one.』
「No it"s not.」
Youran immediately cut her off with a refusal.
「You"re going to be his wife, why not just live there with him?」
『I can"t let that happen though.』
「Why not?」
『I"m Phili"s princess, ain"t I? It would be a scandal for me to be livin" with some guy of my generation, the media would eat me alive.』
「The one that owns the castle is Kohaku Azumaya.」
Youran stated with a hand-slam on the desk.
「Even though Phili is the closest country to j.a.pan and everyone there knows proper j.a.panese, the princess of the country does a homestay with the low-cla.s.s locals to learn the life of the j.a.panese undercla.s.s. Maybe you just thought up that scenario for how you talk!」
『That"s a rotten way of sayin" it, yer gonna find yerself hated for stuff like that.』
「That"s not what I mean, and I don"t care about your complaints!」
『…』
Youran rebuked her loudly as Leticia fell into silence.
Youran and Leticia, separated by an overseas hotline.
The light undulations of their chests in breaths over their direct connection, the two suddenly fell into a complete silence.
Five seconds, ten seconds, one minute…
Youran kept glaring at her, while Leticia looked away, a bitter, protracted silence.
After a while, the prepared Leticia now opened her mouth in response.
『Anyway, I decided already. Ya ain"t gonna stop me.』
「I will, I won"t let you live in that town. No matter what, you"re an outsider in j.a.pan.」
『You yerself are pretty much an outsider in j.a.pan too…and…』
Leticia stated to Youran, stopping her words for a second, and then for some reason continuing with a slightly lonesome smile,
『I already decided where I"m gonna live.』
「What did you say?」
Youran"s stare seemed to shake. She looked somewhere, a gesture showing that she was thinking about something that wasn"t present there.
There was no reason for Leticia to put out a bluff like that, and since Youran had let down her ability to interfere momentarily, she had thought that once she saw Leticia move again she would be able to stop her.
There was no reason for Leticia to bluff Youran.
In other words, what Leticia said was the truth.
Youran was shaken, she had lost, was completely defeated.
At the same time, she turned her head back quickly.
To tell her that, there was no reason for her to be told the truth like that.
If she said she already decided where she would live, then why would Leticia send out an operative in search of a place?
Why did she say that?
「Sakimori!」
Youran called out and her underling appeared in the door.
Youran called her over and told her what she had heard from Leticia.
「Well, well, I…」
The girl Sakimori seemed surprised and looked at Leticia on the monitor.
「Do it.」
Youran had returned to her 『Shingetsu no Kami』demeanor, ordering Sakimori abruptly.
「Y…yes ma"am!」
Sakimori said, and then ran from the room.
『Seems like I"ve been found out.』
「Maybe because you tried too hard to clean your tracks, you actually stood out.」
『Well, I never thought I was gonna hide everythin" from you anyway.』
「…What…why do you act so nonchalant?」
『I like to decentralize power, ya like to centralize power.』
Youran was surprised again, and understood the meaning of Leticia"s words.
「That roundabout way, ever since you became his wife, acting like he does like that doesn"t fit you.」
『Heh…Yer too focused on doin" what ya want. Even though ya don"t dress up and go out anymore like ya did, ya got too much power.』
「As if you know the reason why.」
『I do, ya do everythin" straight in one line, I"m just a powerful princess with no ambition, that"s how we"re different.』
「So then, if you do know…」
『Yeah, it"s okay either way. Sakura can"t rule, Adano can"t take Sakura. Right now ya really don"t have anyone to squeeze, right?』
「Leave me alone, we"re talking about you now.」
『Me?』
「Yes. I don"t know where you"re trying to live, stop trying to get your own place and live with him.」
『Are ya tryin" to order me around?』
「Idiot, I"m giving you advice. You"re just being obstinate, that"s why you"re acting like this.」
『Yer the one bein" stubborn.』
「What?!」
Youran"s face color changed.
『Yer just gettin" fl.u.s.tered because yer gettin" desperate, and now ya can feel it!』
「What, don"t use those strange expressions with me!」
Youran stood looking at Leticia angrily.
Leticia knew about her and Taiyou.
She also understood that that relationship with Taiyou planted a seed of misunderstandign between them.
That"s why she was angry and was always trying to oppose Leticia.
『The reason is simple.』
She simply stood and glared at Leticia.
『I bet he didn"t even pull on those twintails of yers today, huh?』
「Whaaaa?」
Guarding her head, she was cut through the belly by Leticia"s biting words.
At least that"s how Youran felt.