Back to Square One (1)
Escaping the cage that was thought to be eternal, taking clumsy steps toward a new story.
The autumn wind blows, carrying hope.
Shattered leaves.
As the disheveled season colors the streets, the hooves of a running horse leave their mark on the autumn leaves.
We were crossing the long road.
Clip-clop.
Perhaps it was because it was a luxury.
There wasn't even a hint of noise in the rolling wheels.
It just moved forward smoothly.
"······."
I watch the scenery passing by the window.
Colors that add a piece of peace.
It was a scene where red and yellow naturally blended together.
But apart from the peaceful atmosphere outside, an awkward silence lingered inside the carriage.
I quietly look around.
"Hmm."
The children were all silent.
A rose that turns its gaze.
The Little Prince, who seems to be looking around.
Even the maid, who is sweating profusely between the two princesses.
The air was heavy.
'Should I say it's difficult?'
I chew on the quiet murmur.
The invisible wall that exists between the children. Feeling it, I felt a sense of suffocation.
I just sat there, tapping my knees for no reason.
'I wonder.'
Perhaps it was because of the long gap in the relationship.
The feeling of awkwardness was strong.
Having become accustomed to thorns rather than conversation, they might find this calmness unfamiliar.
The mirror of each other, seen for the first time in almost five years, is infinitely unfamiliar.
Especially in the case of Elize.
Normally, she would have made a few insincere sarcastic remarks to push her sister away, but the fact that she was sitting quietly seemed to make her feel strange.
It's like a sense of alienation from an unfamiliar peace.
Although she tries to look indifferent, her shaking green eyes prove her agitation.
I was silently watching such a confrontation.
"······Hey."
Suddenly the silence breaks.
The first person to speak was none other than Charlotte.
The girl still seemed hesitant, but her eyes did not miss the appearance of her sickly younger sister.
She starts briefly.
"Are you feeling okay? Are you recovering well···?"
It was a word of concern for her sister.
She is timid as if she is watching her eyes.
The usual unpredictable 4D girl disappears, and only the figure of the Little Prince who cares about the rose remains.
It also meant that her affection was extraordinary.
"When we arrive at the Academy, all eyes will be on you. If it feels overwhelming, let me know. I can handle it."
"······."
The will to be a source of strength.
Her voice sinks.
Soon, she holds her breath at the cold reaction that will come back.
But unlike her icy resolve, what she heard was not a sharp answer at all.
It was a word from the rose.
"I got it··· so stop it, sister."
Although her tone was still annoyed, it didn't have the thorns like before.
Normally, she would have spat out curses first.
That in itself was already a noticeable change, but there was another part that surprised the other two.
It was none other than a certain title that the girl attached to the end of the sentence.
"Sis, ter···?"
Charlotte mutters the word blankly.
A whopping five years.
A title she couldn't hear since the rose went astray.
Every time she was called 'you', she had a lingering attachment to it like a scar in a corner of her heart.
Maybe she missed her sister.
Because there was a memory of being kind to each other.
"Ah."
Tuk-.
A tear falls.
Was it joy?
I couldn't judge.
I just watched the flowing scene with a faint smile on my lips.
The girl seemed to be gradually soaked in her dreamed hope.
"Y, Your Highness··· don't, don't cry."
Tanya wipes her cheeks with a handkerchief.
In fact, she couldn't hide her own tearful voice.
Having watched the pain of the two people closest, the girl had every right to shed tears at that one word of address.
The carriage was instantly filled with moisture.
I was appreciating each different reaction.
"Wai, wait··· why is everyone crying?"
The rose, who is embarrassed as if she didn't expect this.
"Hngg···! Her Highness has changed!"
The maid who eventually bursts into tears.
"······."
The Little Prince, who silently wipes her eyes.
As I realize the harmonious air, my eyes suddenly meet the blue eyes.
I smile lightly.
Charlotte, who looks at this side with a complicated expression.
Her lips seem to mumble for a moment, then pronounce a word that is barely audible.
"······Thank you."
I answered casually.
"Don't mention it."
A word returned as if it were natural.
The girl smiles faintly.
Mixed with gratitude.
It was a handful of freshness.
***
After arriving at the Academy.
For the transfer procedure of the rose, we immediately went to find the homeroom teacher of Class A.
A woman worn out by fatigue greeted us.
"Teacher."
Long, drawn-out purple hair.
Red eyes with a dull light.
Even a bottle of alcohol that she seems to have no intention of letting go of.
It was a figure full of gaps as always.
When she found me, she let out a deep sigh and pushed aside the documents she was handling.
She seemed to swallow the words she couldn't bring herself to say with alcohol.
"Phew··· You've brought a really big problem this time, Judas."
Dark circles clearly visible under her eyes.
Traces of an all-nighter.
As the news of the 2nd Princess's transfer suddenly dropped, she must have been hit with a document bomb as the professor in charge of the class.
As the person who dropped the bolt from the blue, I felt sorry.
"I'm ashamed."
"I didn't mean to reprimand you. However, it seemed to exceed the scope that I could cover, so I spoke out of a bit of old-fashioned concern."
Of course, Selena didn't show it.
Rather, as if it were no big deal, she offered a few words of concern to this side.
"Judas is really hard to understand."
"Even as you say that··· you don't ask a single question this time either."
"It was that kind of contract from the beginning."
"I'm sorry that I seem to only receive help every time."
"You don't have to worry. The transfer procedures are complete. I'll get you the relevant documents, so you can go back now."
"Thank you."
I received a lot of help this time too.
No matter how much I held the title of chief assistant, there were few professors who were this accommodating.
Even though she seemed to be annoyed by everything, she was still a person who took good care of others.
I left a brief thank you to my teacher and headed outside where the children were waiting.
Until then.
"······."
A strange gaze followed behind me.
***
Even though it was a matter decided only four days ago, the news of the transfer had spread throughout the academy.
The 2nd Princess, who had not engaged in any external activities during that time.
Perhaps it was because she was a veiled figure.
It was a natural course of action for attention to be drawn to the news that she would reveal herself.
Thanks to this, we had to carry subtle gazes.
"······I don't like it."
On the way to the assigned dormitory.
Suddenly, the rose, who was in a wheelchair, expressed her discomfort.
It was because of the eyes that followed her every time she passed by.
It was her first time stepping outside in 10 years, and it seemed to make her feel nauseous to see so much attention from all over.
I soothe her, sensing the atmosphere that had become sharp.
"Please be generous."
"It feels suffocating··· I want to rest in a quiet place quickly."
"As you command."
Elize would know too.
The attention that was pouring in now was not from any bad intentions.
The students were simply curious about the unprecedented news, and they were simply interested in the fellow student they would be spending their academy life with.
It wasn't like there was any particularly rude behavior.
The children didn't even think about approaching, let alone making eye contact.
It was because of the chilly atmosphere.
'Is it because of the gloomy impression?'
On top of that.
She was even glaring as if it bothered her, so the children who saw her for the first time had no choice but to be scared.
You never know what might happen if you get on the wrong side of her.
"The dormitory is just ahead."
I gently pushed the wheelchair.
As we were crossing the street, there were voices that suddenly reached my ears.
"Yo, Young Master···?"
"You!"
Familiar calls.
When I turned around, there was a girl with pink hair and a girl with blue hair standing side by side.
The protagonist and the villainess who had now become best friends.
I greet them, thinking it's been a while.
"It's been a while, both of you."
"You're back···!"
"Where have you been and what have you been doing?"
Regina, who shows a bright smile.
Emilia, who slightly furrows her brows.
The two of them were expressing their own forms of welcome.
Perhaps they had heard the news of my return, they were waiting on the way to the dormitory.
I speak softly.
"I didn't expect you to come out to meet me like this. I'm just happy for your thoughtfulness."
"I was waiting!"
"Don't involve me in this. I'm just going along with the commoner's fuss."
"But, it, it was the Lady who first brought up the idea of meeting him······."
"Don't add unnecessary words!"
"Hing··· I, I'm sorry."
So, the joy of reunion was short-lived.
The children soon turned their attention to the other side.
The wheelchair I was pushing.
To be precise, they were looking at the rose sitting on it.
"Then this person is······."
The ending words that fade faintly.
Both of them seemed to have heard the news roughly, and they seemed to know that the person in front of them was the princess.
The children bow politely and greet.
"We greet the second star of the Empire."
"We, we greet the··· second, second star of the Empire."
The awkward flow of the current.
Elize answers.
"Alright, get up. I don't like this kind of thing, so please don't do it."
The princess who reluctantly accepts the greeting.
As I watch from a step behind as if it were fun, Emilia, who got up from her seat, asks me a question.
It was a whisper that was barely audible.
"What on earth happened in the meantime···?"
"Hmm?"
"Don't pretend you don't know."
The girl was asking about the rose.
In a way, it was a natural question.
The 2nd Princess who had never shown herself before.
She had suddenly announced her intention to transfer, and I was unexpectedly with her.
It was understandable to be curious.
What had happened?
Why was I pushing the princess's wheelchair?
What kind of connection was there between the two?
I put on a sly smile and parted my lips with a leisurely attitude.
"Hehe··· You're asking about my relationship with Her Highness."
I was thinking of teasing her a bit.
If I were to say that I have a close relationship with the princess here, wouldn't I get a pretty interesting reaction?
Just as I was about to indulge my mischievous instincts with a big grin.
"If you want to know about Her Highness and me···!"
"I'll tell them."
"Eh."
Elize, who had been listening quietly, intervened.
"Your Highness···?"
"Be quiet."
The sudden intervention of the person involved.
The girl stepped forward and continued where I left off.
"He said."
The rose takes my hand that was on the wheelchair.
And pulls it into her arms.
The drawn hand rests on the girl's stomach.
The somewhat blatant contact allows me to feel the warmth of her body through the thin fabric.
The eyes of the two girls watching widen.
"He'd make me happy."
A statement full of misunderstanding.
At the sudden bombshell, I could only react blankly.
"Yes···?"
No.
Why would you say it like that?
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even bigger misunderstanding... thanks for the chapter
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