Part One, Section Two: “Crisis Over My Homeland”
Chapter Twenty-three
“Your Highness Reinhardt, did you also come to pay your respects at Elizabeth’s grave…?”
I never expected to meet Crown Prince Reinhardt here of all places. And the fresh flowers… Did that mean he comes here often?
Did he have a special connection with the late Saint Elizabeth?
“She was my fiancée.”
“I-is that so…”
“So that is Sister Liz’s fiancé, His Highness Reinhardt…”
The prince spoke in a lower voice than usual, saying Elizabeth was his former fiancée.
Since she was a saint… does that mean his proposal to me before was literally asking me to replace Elizabeth…?
“She liked them, you see. These yellow freesias were her favorite. I wanted to give her something better, but… she said the scent suited me too. Back then, I was at a loss how to respond.”
While offering a fresh bouquet, Reinhardt spoke of his memories with Elizabeth.
He seemed somewhat reserved in social interactions, much like me. However, from his words at that moment, I could sense genuine affection.
“That’s not the only reason, but… I gave you these flowers because I too have come to love them before I realized it… I just wanted you to know that.”
“…”
I couldn’t answer at all. I still hadn’t processed his sudden proposal the other day, and I couldn’t read Prince Reinhardt’s feelings. I was praised as a saint, yet unable to even grasp a person’s thoughts… It might be quite comical, I suppose.
“Ms. Grace, have you had any difficulties here?”
“Your concern touches me deeply, Your Highness… I harbor no complaints, as I have been treated exceptionally well by Lady Philia and her servants.”
“I’m glad to hear that. There’s probably no other saint in the world like Ms. Philia, so learn all you can… and use it for the prosperity of the kingdom of Bolmern.”
Prince Reinhardt cast a gaze filled with compassion upon Grace. When he first had laid his eyes on her, he murmured “Liz”, Elizabeth’s nickname. He must have been overlaying the image of his former fiancée onto her.
Perhaps, he was lonely. Prince Oswald said that Prince Reinhardt, his brother, was a person willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the country, but it also seemed that all of that was just a way to disguise his loneliness.
Afterward, we engaged in light conversation for a few minutes, exchanged courteous farewells, and then made our way back to the residence. I then assigned Grace her tasks for the evening, bringing the day to a close. She was an obedient and considerate child. If only Mia was here, they would become wonderful friends…
◆ ◆ ◆
On the next day, I continued to accompany Grace in her training from the morning.
Watching her dedicated practice in activating magic, I was reminded of my own training days.
The one who held me in high regard and guided me like a mentor was Girtonia’s previous saint, Hildegarde Adenauer… in other words, my aunt.
Aunt Hilda was strict, but whenever I achieved something, she would always praise me. She used to say that scolding me was meant to instill in me the strength to withstand the Spartan education I received from my parents.
‘I’m sorry, Philia… It’s not your fault. It’s just that I’ve had a strained relationship with your parents since long ago. I must have come to despise you, who resembles me from my youth, out of sheer frustration.’
Slightly drunk Aunt told me such a thing one day. Come to think of it, she resembled me in appearance more than my parents did. Mia took after our mother and was quite beautiful… In my parents’ eyes, I probably seemed unlovable with both my personality and looking just like someone they hated. It might have been impossible for me to expect love from them.
So, to be honest, I had come to think that leaving the country was a good decision, especially recently.
As I watched Grace’s diligent training and indulged in such ponderings, the royal carriage came to a halt at the gate. The person who came was… Prince Oswald, right?
“Yo! Training with ancient magic, I presume?”
Prince Oswald greeted me with his usual cheerful tone. In his hand, he held a box of cakes from the renowned confectionery in the capital…
Maid Lina received it with a beaming smile.
“Yes. Grace is a sincere and well-behaved child, so her progress is swift, and it’s rewarding to teach her.”
“I see, I see. But you know, I’m voting that the excellent one is the teacher. You might not realize it, but you’re good at teaching. I learned a lot about fertilizers and such from you too.”
“You’re quite skilled at flattery, Your Highness… But I’m still honored to receive your praise.”
Every time I meet His Highness Oswald, he pays me compliments. Just conveying what I know doesn’t make me a skilled teacher… but it’s still heartwarming.
However, it was unusual for him to come in the morning… Did something happen?
“Well, this is kind of hard to say… but Prince Julius of the kingdom of Girtonia… he’s come to request the return of Saint Philia…”
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
I never imagined that Prince Julius would try to get me back… What kind of intention could be behind this? My heart ended up in turmoil and I couldn’t seem to calm down…
Have to say, I love the fancy levels. I don't know how many Translations i droped, because i just couldn't remember who was who. Granted i barely have these problemes with more western Names like here. Still very fancy.
ReplyDeleteYeah, for the ease of remembering the characters and differentiating them, that's what it was all about. But sometimes there are tricky parts. For example, in word combination “I see” highlighting word “I” breaks the flow, because “I see” is basically one word (at least in my opinion). Also, there are more and more characters and I'm running out of colors to highlight them :).
Deletethank you for tranlating and for making things so fancy it is so easy to tell who is who now.
ReplyDeletesome times i loose trace of who is who so the art is nice
ReplyDeleteThe Prince actually asked for her back? He who already spent almost all of the money they sent on stupid things? Tbh I thought he realized that it wasn’t possible and that was why he changed it to blame Philia and Mia’s father, but no, he’s gonna do both?
ReplyDelete