*Prince"s POV
I keep thinking ever since that day.
Just where did I go wrong?
It"s been almost 2 months since I crushed my wedding ceremony with the witch Sonia and got rid of the contract that was engraved in my body.
During that time I"ve not left the castle even once.
Probably because just a while ago I had been wandering freely while hiding my ident.i.ty, I couldn"t help finding my current life cramped. The fact that the att.i.tudes of the people in the castle towards me has changed might be playing a part in it too. In the past, even if I spread my wings for a little, the only reactions I"d get would be「good grief」with a sigh, but right now I only get criticizing looks as if they"re disappointed in me.
It can"t be helped. I did something that I shouldn"t have done.
I broke the pact which concerned the whole nation, betrayed the expectations of my va.s.sals and committed a blunder in front of honorary guests from other countries.
My followers have reduced by quite a lot, but it"s still not that bad considering that I"m still being treated as the Prince.
However, ironically, there are people who"ve bettered their impressions of me ever since I broke the engagement.
"I have heard that you are looking for a new fiancee. It is a good thing. Find a woman who will support the kingdom, the people, and above all, you, the future King."
"….That is my intention, Mother."
While lying in bed, the Queen of this kingdom showed a fleeting smile. By now, she was merely a shadow of her past self when she was called the number one beauty of Mistria and looking at her sunken cheeks that had lost their l.u.s.ter was painful.
My mother has a weak const.i.tution and hasn"t shown her face in public for many years now. She was even absent on the day of the marriage ceremony.
The reason for why she"s bedridden is psychological.
My mother is a big witch hater.
Lamenting that her only son was going to marry a witch, her relationship with her husband became tense and ultimately she became emotionally exhausted.
…Mother detests Alonia, the witch of salvation.
During the attack on the capital 20 years ago, Alonia readily returned the throne to Father and withdrew to the countryside.
It seems that at that time it was gossiped among the commoners that "Father and Alonia were perhaps in a romantic relationship".
The reason why the two couldn"t tie the knot was because Father was already married to Mother. Commendable Alonia withdrew and even declined a position as a concubine. However, hoping to at least marry the children who would be born eventually to each other, they exchanged a pledge and separated, or it"s been said.
….It"s the kind of tragic love story that the general public would like.
Of course, it was just unfounded speculation, but my mother, who was mocked as an obstacle for their love probably didn"t find it very amusing.
That"s not all.
Apparently, the pact about eventually marrying the children were independently signed by Father without consulting my mother. My mother comes from a family with a long, esteemed pedigree which descended from the royalty of neighboring kingdom. Having the child she painstakingly gave birth to get engaged with the daughter of the witch from the countryside must have made her seethe with anger.
Mother might have been jealous of Alonia. Because the woman who was revered the most in Mistria was not her, the Queen, but rather Alonia, the witch of salvation.
Still, I"m speechless that she would get so angry that she"d fall ill both in her mind and body…
Only the concerned parties can understand certain air from that time. Maybe something that couldn"t be dismissed as a worthless rumor really did happen between Alonia and my father.
That is also something I am most afraid of.
What if Father and Alonia really were in an unusual relationship?
Perhaps Father was also complicit in the raid on the capital 20 years ago.
Recently, I keep imagining the worst things. Even though I know that it"s impossible, my doubts still don"t disappear.
As my father doesn"t tell me anything, my suspicions only continue to deepen.
It has been the same since my childhood. He never doted on me, acted strict towards me or treated me hardheartedly.
He has no feelings towards me. I have no memories of ever having small talks with my father. Even the permissive parenting should have its limits.
"I am truly glad that you did not tie the knot with the daughter of that vile witch. Unlike His Highness and the foolish peasants, you have refined your eyes to properly look at people. I wasn"t able to be with you when you were little, but you have grown up splendidly…"
I frowned secretly at my mother, who was holding the inner corners of her eyes.
Recently mother seems to be in good physical condition. She seems to be wholeheartedly happy that I and Miss Sonia didn"t get married.
I felt complicated. It"s not like I broke my engagement with Miss Sonia just because I wanted to make my mother happy.
Of course, I can"t say that she didn"t influence my decision at all.
Ever since I was young, every time we met face to face, Mother would whisper to me, "you must not marry the witch." Even though I grew up among people who admired Alonia, my own mother"s words were deeply engraved in my young mind.
The good thing about Father not commanding me was that, not only did I never go to meet my fiancee, I didn"t even invite her to the capital. I was only exchanging letters with her out of politeness.
I naturally started to feel skeptical towards such beings as witches and began to search the archive of my late grandfather. It was because I thought that if I could justify the Witch Hunt, I would be able to annul the engagement with Miss Sonia.
Maybe I unconsciously believed that if I did so, my mother would get well.
It"s ridiculous.
It seems like I"ve already been mistaken since that time. Now that the situation has become as my mother wanted, forget about being happy, I"m even feeling irritated.
"I am going to believe you. Even that Hated Child who"s said to be sheltered the solitary house…you simply used her, right?"
Those words made my heart skip a beat.
Even if she has locked herself in her room and her presence within the castle has become weak, as expected, she"s still the queen. Her intelligence network still seems to be alive.
"I"ve heard that those with the power of precognition are short-lived. Besides, she doesn"t have any relatives, right? It"s very convenient."
"Please stop it, Mother. I truly love Emera――"
"Oh, I am not blaming you. Sometimes sacrifices are needed in order to protect the country. Being clever, you should already understand this, but…I shall close my eyes as long as you only dote on her for a short while in shadows. I also feel some sympathy for a pitiful girl with neither freedom nor future. However, you must absolutely never bring her out to a sunny place. You must not do anything that will make the legitimate Crown Princess suffer."
I avoided my mothers pressing words, implying that she would certainly never allow anybody to do it, with ambiguous words.
Saying that I had governmental affairs to attend to, I cut my visit short and took a leave from my mother"s room.
As I returned to the office, I was a.s.saulted by the urge to kick over the piled up doc.u.ments.
I ground my teeth and endured it. I cannot act unsightly before the servants, who I know nothing about since they have been arranged by Father.
Instead, I heaved a small sigh.
If Sednyl was here, he would have chosen a bit more sensible personnel.
The King"s confidant, who dotted on me since I was young, seems to have resigned from his job because of illness. It came out of nowhere. Even if I wanted to visit him, right now I"m under house arrest and can"t leave the castle freely.
I emptied my mind and got to governmental affairs.
Even if I call it a governmental affair, it"s just writing reports about the problems within the domestic economy and the ways to improve them. It"s almost like the work that students write, but if it"s a useful proposal, it might get picked up at the Congress. It"s a field that tests my abilities and also an opportunity for me to redeem myself, so I must tackle this seriously. I"m not in a position to be able to cut corners, in the first place.
I summarized the issues, while reading the materials.
These past few years, the development of Azurite in the west has been phenomenal. Both people and things have started to gather and the economy also has started to blossom.
The fact that there haven"t been any major disasters plays a part in it too, but the biggest contributing factor is the change of generation in Aspinel family. The shrewdness of Lord Sanigue, the new family head, is an eye-opener.
"…………….."
Speaking of Azurite, it"s a land where Cucurouge, the village of the witches is located. In other words, it"s a hometown of Sonia Carnelian.
Lord Sanigue is Miss Sonia"s guardian. Now that I remember it, I"ve had opportunities to meet with him several times at ceremonies at the castle and ask him about Miss Sonia.
『She is a beauty, who wouldn"t lose even if she stood beside you, Your Highness. In addition, she is very dignified and intelligent. Sonia is a younger sister I am proud of and wouldn"t feel ashamed to show her off anywhere.』
The compliments from the n.o.bles are better off taken with a grain of salt.
Judging so, I continued looking down on Miss Sonia.
…If I paid more attention to the fact that she was a girl who was approved by Lord Sanigue, things probably wouldn"t come to this.
Even now, it"s still vividly etched in my mind.
The flaming red hair that spilled from the pure white veil.
My witch fiancee, who I saw for the first time, was more beautiful than any of the women I have seen in my life,
And above all, she was sharp like a blade that had been polished to the utmost.
I"ve been thinking ever since that wedding ceremony.
Would I be able to continue on my way as the Prince without making any mistakes if I had married Miss Sonia?
If we"re talking about people who are suited to be the Queen, there probably wouldn"t be a woman better qualified than her.
"Prince…Prince Rain, why not take a break soon? Overworking yourself would only be inefficient."
When I came back to myself, Moka, my maid, was beside me and looking at me with a worried face. It was an unusual expression for her, who was usually composed. It seems like I had been engaging in a staring contest with one doc.u.ment for quite a long time. While ridiculing myself for getting distracted by a completely different thing, I decided to take a break.
I moved to the room next door and took a sip from the tea that Moka brewed, There were also pastries and scones arranged before me, but I didn"t feel like reaching out for them. I have no appet.i.te.
"My bad, can you take those back?"
Moka, who took the hint, lowered her eyes.
"If only Will-san was here at such times…."
"You"re right. If Will was here, he would be the one eating instead of me."
At first, he used to firmly decline, insisting that he was on duty, but after I strongly encouraged him, he couldn"t refuse anymore. Looking at him hurriedly stuff his cheeks with donuts and m.u.f.fins so other people wouldn"t seen him was calming for me too.
There were some maids who were scared of Will, but if they witnessed him during those times, I"m sure they"d completely change their att.i.tudes and start to diligently feed him. That"s how much charm he had.
…Is Will being bullied by Miss Sonia by now? Or is he being dotted on?
Before he left the capital, Will spoke enthusiastically about finding the evidence that Miss Sonia was an evil witch.
He does have some simple-minded and stubborn parts, but Will is a hard-worker and very dependable when push comes to shove. Although, this time only, I"m absolutely not counting on him.
The opponent is just too strong, after all.
There"s no way Miss Sonia would let Will grasp her weakness.
No, to start with, we don"t even know if she"s really the evil witch or not.
Clever, elegant, composed.
The impression I got from her was the polar opposite of the childish methods displayed in mystery incidents.
It"s certain that Miss Sonia is hiding something extraordinary. However, isn"t she herself completely innocent?
I"ve started to think so lately, but I can"t just come out and say it.
Because that would mean denying Emerald"s prophecy.
When I finished my work and the sun also went down, I headed towards Emerald"s solitary house.
The building in the middle of the courtyard is said to have been built because of the caprice of a flower-loving princess from three generations ago. Its structure is refined and the interior has been arranged to suit Emerald. She should feel less entrapped than if she was confined in one of the rooms in the castle.
"Please keep the visit short. I will also be recording your conversation."
"I know."
Though, it can"t exactly be comfortable if there are guards standing at the entrance.
Emerald is held captive like this even though she has the power of precognition, but without it, she would probably receive an even more severe treatment. The castle-employed sorcerers advised us to avoid stressing her out at all costs.
However, recently since Emerald hasn"t been able to make any prophecies, people seem to have started to doubt if all talks about her powers were a lie and have been interrogating her. All I can do it encourage her. As pathetic as it might sound, I have no powers to stop them.
Besides, I"m also curious.
Why has she suddenly stopped receiving prophecies? She keeps saying that she just "can"t do it" and doesn"t explain anything. With things this way, I can"t cover for her even if I wanted to.
Inside the simple room, Emerald was sitting on the bed and looked absent-minded without doing anything. Even her usual cheerful self seemed to be worried about something.
"Rain-sama!"
Seeing the girl brighten up the moment she saw me made me feel depressed.
"I"m sorry for being late. Were you lonely?"
"I"m fine. Now that I have seen Rain-sama"s face, I have completely regained all my energy."
She"s as naive and lovely as usual. Just how many times was I healed by that smile of hers during the journey to chase after mystery incidents, I wonder?
Just being together with her makes me feel calm and cheers me up. There are no other women who makes me feel so full of emotions.
Though, to be honest… meeting her right now is painful.
It"s just like how Mother said. I was using Emerald. Whenever we are together, I can"t help but remember that sin. Is this my punishment?
When I sat next to her, Emerald tilted her head to the side. Her mint green colored hair shook gently.
"Are you a little tired, Rain-sama? Since you have been put in a difficult position because of me…"
Seeing her hang her head down like a withered flower, I felt even guiltier.
"You haven"t done anything wrong. Everything is due to my incompetence."
I must atone before Emerald.
I took her out from her village, made her accompany me on a dangerous journey and forced her to push herself. Even though I know that overusing power of precognition will shorten her life span, I"m still hiding it.
It"s for the sake of protecting the country from the conspiracies of horrific witches. Emerald will also be happier not knowing anything.
I keep making up excuses like that in my heart.
Of course, my feelings of love towards Emerald aren"t a lie.
There"s no way I wouldn"t feel attracted after seeing her lovely smile and coming in touch with her innocent heart.
Emerald"s future husband will probably be the happiest man in the world.
However, I"m not an ordinary man.
Eventually, I will become the King who will stand above millions of people and protect their lives.
Lately, I"ve come to fully realize one fact. As Mother said, sometimes protecting many people doesn"t come without a sacrifice. Thus, I have to willingly sacrifice my heart here. That is, I have to make a wise choice as a prince, even if it means shutting away my love for Emerald.
"I"m fine. It"s just that I"m frustrated that I have made you to live like this, Emerald. It"s inexcusable…"
"T-that"s! It"s fine. I"ll be happy as long as I"m next to Rain-sama, in whatever shape it might be,"
My heart fluttered at those words for a second. But my body immediately became heavier,
Staying next to me forever.
If that"s Emerald"s wish, I――
After that, Emerald told me what happened during the day.
"In the morning, Chalot-kun and Citrine come to visit me. They brought me trendy books and flowers that smell good."
"I see…I"m glad."
I"m causing quite a lot of troubles for Chalot.
Preparation of the offerings used during the ceremony of engagement annulment, necessary arrangements with all people and also, information gathering within the country. On top of all, I"m even having him take care of Citrine who doesn"t have anywhere to go.
『Don"t worry about it. I"ll have the Prince repay me back with interest when he ascends the throne!』
What a big-hearted man. While saying that he only values the connection with the royal family as a merchant, Chalot is sticking his neck out without considering the profit and loss.
"But when I heard from Citrine that no letters came from Will-kun…I became very worried."
I got two simple letters from Will saying that there were no issues on his side and no suspicious movements could be noticed in Cucurouge. I"m keeping in touch with him via Airm company and it"s undoubtedly Will"s handwriting so there"s no fear of the letters having been replaced.
It is certain that he"s safe.
I"m concerned about whether or not he"s being threatened or enticed, but we"re talking about straight-laced Will here. He wouldn"t yield to Miss Sonia or change sides unless something big happened.
"You seem to always be worried about Will recently, Emerald."
"Well, I am just really worried…Will-kun"s parents might as well have been killed by Alonia. it"s too pitiful."
She seems to want to say that it"s pitiful to be forced into obedience towards the enemy"s daughter. If Will found out that Emerald was wholeheartedly worried about him, he"d most likely be delighted.
Emerald is quite a sinful woman.
During the trip, she smiled so innocently at Will and stole his heart, and yet she didn"t even notice that and led him around. Seeing how they grew more and more intimate as friends made even me feel quite unsettled.
A natural airhead, I suppose? It would be quite frightening if she did it consciously.
I got impatient, shamefully took a march on Will and further developed my relationship with Emerald. Will most likely never had the intention to become lovers with her. He"s also one of the people I feel indebted to….
"Besides, during the journey, Will-kun saved me many times, so I might just be feeling anxious because we"re apart. I feel restless…"
"Yeah, that"s fair."
Will protected us from magical beasts and witches by putting his life on the line. There were a lot of moments where we"d die quickly if he wasn"t there.
"Rain-sama, would it be difficult to get Will-kun back?"
"…Sorry. Right now, that would be very difficult."
Will is the knight, who was offered as the compensation for the broken engagement. There"s no way I can ask for him to be returned to me.
Besides, things will become a bit complicated if Will comes back right now.
After this, I will say something cruel to Emerald. If Will was here, he would probably absolutely never forgive me. Just how much of a coward am I? I didn"t think that I could come to hate myself this much.
"There is something that I must tell you, Emerald."
"…What is it?"
"It has been decided that I will be searching for a new fiancee soon. I will have to marry a woman other than you, Emerald."
Emerald froze as if caught off guard and after a while, covered her mouth with both of her hands. Immediately after, tears started to well up in her eyes.
"How could that be..!"
"Forgive me."
Tears spilled on her pale cheeks.
I wrapped her cold hands with mine.
"But I don"t want to separate from you. I don"t want to let go of your hand. I want to love only you."
"Prince Rain…"
"Currently, I don"t powers to avoid a political marriage. But, if…."
As I trailed off, Emerald softly squeezed my hand.
"What is it? What should I do so we could become happy together?"
"If…it"s proven that Emerald really has the power of precognition, or…"
Heavy silence enveloped the room.
After letting go of my hand, Emerald wiped the tears that spilled from her eyes one after another.
"I-in truth..there is a future that I can see."
Both my and the expression of the guards" who were listening to the conversation from outside the room changed.
"Really? Why have you been quiet until-…no, it"s fine. Can you tell me about it?"
After fretting over it for a long time, Emerald revealed with a trembling voice.
"I saw the future where Rain-sama was cursed and collapsed…so I didn"t want to believe it."
"I will be cursed?"
Emerald told me bit by bit.
One day, black bruises will suddenly appear all over my body and I will start to groan in anguish. However, the image of the future is blurry, so the surrounding circ.u.mstances aren"t clear. It seems like she doesn"t know when I will collapse or what will happen to me after that.
"I couldn"t bring it up because I kept thinking about what would happen if this prophecy was wrong and that this kind of prophecy was better off being wrong…I"m sorry."
Embracing Emerald, who started to cry intensely again, I contemplated.
A curse.
That is one of the 「Seven Major Taboos」of the witches.
It greatly affects the caster"s psyche and kills the target.
Being the power of emotions, it"s impossible to control and cannot be adjusted into a spell form. It"s a forbidden power that sometimes even brings great damage to the surroundings.
"The fact that I will be cursed means that I"ve provoked someone"s resentment, huh."
I wonder who is it? I"m aware that lately I"ve been shunned by my retainers, but it"s hard to think that any of them would detest me enough to want to kill me.
"It must be that person…that red witch."
Emerald seems to be a.s.suming that Miss Sonia is the culprit. She"s saying that Miss Sonia is undoubtedly the one who will curse me because she most likely still hasn"t forgiven me for breaking the engagement.
I…disagree.
It"s possible for her believers to curse me out of grudge, but I just can"t bring myself to think that she, personally, would direct strong feelings toward me.
"Thank you for mustering up your courage and telling me, Emerald. I"ll try consulting sorcerers if there is a way to fight against the curse."
"Yes. Please, absolutely do not die…!"
I patted Emerald"s small back. I made up my mind even more that I had to make it up for this girl who was made to feel heart-wrenching feelings.
Will this prophecy be a hit or miss?
I scorned myself for having immediately started thinking about which result would be more convenient.
—
Notes:
Prince & Emerald: poor will, I bet he"s suffering right now :”
Will: spoiled by a redhead beauty, getting over his past, attaining validation, making friends
This was by no means a chapter that should"ve taken me a month but hey, at least I managed to finish it before the month was up! This chapter was good and all and I"m glad that we learned more about the prince but I miss Sonia :”< it"s="" hard="" to="" motivate="" myself="" when="" the="" chapter="" doesn"t="" include="">
当時の雰囲気 is what the prince says when he"s talking about the "certain air from that period"
父に命令されないのを良いことに is a bit hard to understand. I think it"s more like "the good thing being that my father didn"t order me"
潤う in 金も潤っている means something like "to profit by; to receive benefits; to receive favors (favours)" so I a.s.sume the whole thing is talking about the economy getting better or something like that.
恫喝まがいの尋問 is something like "interrogation that"s like a pseudo-threat"…I think
方々への根回し making arrangements with people?
I translated 豊かな気持ち as full of emotions but eh
心が潰れるような思い heart crushing feelings
P.S Don"t forget to notify me about mistranslations, typos and awkward grammar
P.P.S Somebody else picked up Fake Cinderella so I won"t be releasing any more chapters.