Side Story 68
There was a flurry of activity to clean the items to be on display with a cloth. The last minute work of making the goods presentable was in full swing.
The preparations continued late in the day until Cecia and Ver, who was helping them, were finally able to return to the castle.
“A lot has changed here too.”
Cecia looked out through the window. The carriage was passing by the beach with a view of the sparkling sea.
Ver, who was seated across from her, also looked out the window.
“You always came to look for me.”
Whenever Ben scolded her, she would come out to a place with a good view of the sea. It was the grumblings of a young child who didn’t want to go home. Ver would come at that time, and not once has that predictability gone astray.
“I did indeed.” Ver thought about those times as well.
However, she was immersed in other emotions from her reminiscing in childhood memories.
The Royne merchant company had grown considerably in size, from what he had seen over the course of several days. It was a significant achievement in comparison to how it was shortly after the death of Marquis Grant several months ago.
[TL/N: Man, is it me or did Marquis Grant’s death feel like years ago??]
Ver had to think about where all that wealth came from. Was it from the time when they began managing Minnippi, which had been the family’s territory? He had suspicions that it was perhaps even before that.
But most of all, he didn’t want to go so far as to be suspicious of that. If he were to do so…..
He gave up on those thoughts. What difference would there be now?
So he quieted his mind. Yet, despite managing to restrain himself in this way, his head felt emptied and jumbled all at the same time.
“Thank you for the help”, said Cecia, who was not aware of Ber’s thoughts.
He merely smiled helplessly, aware that she was oblivious to all of this.
“Suppose- and I mean ‘suppose’.” She wavered a bit before speaking carefully. And her evasive gaze that kept darting from side to side turned towards Ver.
“Suppose we didn’t become like this.”
They had been in love but were swept along by the circumstances around them and had no choice but to part ways. So if they hadn’t separated like that, would they still love each other? Would it have become everlasting happiness?
“What would it have been like…..?”
It was a cautious question, but there was an expectation in it. Cecia’s eyes seemed to sparkle a little.
“Even if we didn’t end up like this, those feelings wouldn’t have remained forever.”
Ver spoke firmly and turned away from her gaze.
He thought it was rather fortunate for him now. Had he been in love, he would have had to work harder than he was now to understand this whole situation.
The most difficult matter in that relationship would have been Cecia. There would have been a tough tug-of-war between him and Viscount Royne. They would have hurt each other’s hearts little by little. The end of such love could not have been a happy one. Perhaps he was unknowingly better off now.
“Why do you think so?”
His resolute answer hurt Cesia. Why was he so assertive of a future he had never experienced before? It felt as if he had never dreamt of a future with her.
“Just that, it seems that way.”
Ver couldn’t explain every single one of his words and so, answered back simply. Cecia grabbed her dress at his reply. The carriage quickly passed the place full of memories. A sense of forlorn silence hung in the air of the carriage after that.
“Is it perhaps…. Because of the Young Lady of Marquis Weiand?” The silence was broken by a slightly pent-up voice.
Ver neither affirmed nor denied Cecia’s question. But she knew it was a yes.
“……The Young Lady wished for things to go well for me.”
It was unfair. The woman who had played with her heart was receiving Ver’s attention and love. It was as if Cecia had been deprived of what was hers. It wasn’t that she didn’t think that might not be so.The soaring anger had simply swallowed up that feeling too quickly.
“It was why she told me to go to you. To find happiness with you.” She wanted to show him a true reflection of the Prillance he liked. In truth, she wasn’t a good person.
Ver, whose face had been unresponsive, showed a look of surprise. She felt inwardly refreshed.
“So I want to give a chance to the Young Lady. Not because of the family but for the opportunity to live the life you wish for with the person you want.”
—
She remembered Prillance had spoken antagonistically to her like an enemy. Of course, she had only seemed like an enemy in Cecia’s memory, Prillance’s wishes at the time had been sincere. But her animosity towards Prillance soon faded away over the course of a few month’s time.
“There’s no way she likes you like that.”
Cesia’s words flew into Ver’s chest like a dagger and wounded him. But she did not know that.
“She’s the one who was to marry Duke Tonz. There’s no way such a person would like you. Even if she did, you know that marriage will be unthinkable…..”
“….I know that.”
He said this while clutching at his aching heart. He didn’t want to get confirmation of what he knew. Just because he knew didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt.
“The fact that it can never be.”
Ver’s words were like a resolution; his face looked pained when saying so. Cesia couldn’t say any more. A silence heavier than the one before filled the carriage.
*
Roman dropped by Prillance’s room shortly after the evening meal. Her face was tinged with a glimmer of disappointment at his appearance but it soon disappeared.
“Seems like you are waiting for someone.”
Roman said this as he walked into the room, having read Prillance’s feelings. The person in question would of course be Ver, if his guess was correct.
“What’s the occasion?” She asked instead of answering.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
It was the first time he took the initiative to ask to take a walk.
“It must be frustrating to remain only in the room”, he added.
In actuality, Prillance had also been busy with meeting the knights of the Grant knightage though it was true that she had been unable to look around Minnippi properly as well.
“You’ll feel better after getting some air.”
Prillance saw Roman’s hand reaching out towards her. Prillance, who made up her mind after the imperial ball, had intentionally avoided Roman.
There were so many things distracting them upon arriving at Minnippi that there was no chance of meeting each other.
“It’s just a walk.”
Roman offered a clear response in the presence of the troubled look appearing on Prillance’s face.
“Alright.”
At long last, she took his proffered hand after much agonizing.
It was decided that the walk would be within the castle’s back gardens. The walk was nothing grand or special. It was all about walking a little more leisurely than during the day. On top of that, the difference in lighting compared to the daytime made the scenery a sight to behold.
“It’s nice.”
At any rate, the breeze seemed to have run away with Prillance’s fatigue.
“I’m glad you’re satisfied”, Roman said as he looked at Prillance, whose countenance seemed more refreshed.
There was a comfortable smile on his face. Prillance gazed at Roman’s face. She seemed to know the meaning of that face.
“Sir Duke.”
Prillance called to him.
“I have changed a lot, right?”
Roman’s eyes turned to her then.
“Do I seem strange with these changes? On the one hand, you might wonder what’s wrong with this person. Perhaps she ate something wrong. Wanting to know what sort of ulterior motives there were.”
Roman listened as she disparaged herself.
“That was why you were interested in me. But, those aren’t the sentiments of liking me.”
Prillance was adamant when saying so.
“You’ve known me for a long time. During all this time, you’ve come to disregard, hate, and despise me.”
Roman flinched when he heard her words but the person concerned, Prillance, was calm. She thought she couldn’t help but notice Roman’s air of terrible displeasure.
“I was just jealous. When a person I thought would always be next to me, whose existence seemed so natural, disappears, I feel a sense of regret.”
“And therefore, you want me to stop??”
Prillance nodded her head.
Everyone was the same. One would feel regret if a natural existence disappears. But it would only be for an instance. It was a momentary feeling that would soon disappear if it wasn’t a person one loved.
“I didn’t expect to hear that from you.” Roman laughed a little. He got dumped before he even started.
“Is it because of Viscount Grant?”
Prillance did not answer again. It was unclear whether there was a more definite answer as she had not hesitated in answering the other questions.
“Since when?”
Even though he was asking this, he had a rough sense of what the truth was. It was the day when Prillance suddenly came to visit him and asked for a deal. Or perhaps even before that.
“It was not all of a sudden.”
Prillance’s words were spoken softly but it was clearly heard in their tranquil surroundings.
“……It was like this from the beginning.”
From the moment she read the book. No, it must have been from the moment she first met Ver. Prillance said so, with her gaze directed somewhere.
The beginning? Roman couldn’t figure out when that ‘beginning’ in her answer was. At that moment, her gaze shook momentarily.
Ver and Cecia’s carriage was entering. Though with a somewhat stiff expression, Ver escorted Cecia in an unaffected manner while Cecia accepted it naturally as well.
“The first is an unforgettable moment for anyone.”
It held a double meaning in the hearts of both Ver and Cecia, as well as Prillance. In seeing those anxious eyes, she seemed to understand his intentions.
“Let’s head in.”
Roman took Prillance’s hand. Seeing that her pace was a little fast, it appears she wanted to go in quickly. He kept up with Prillance’s speed. As Roman had announced his presence to some extent, Ver would notice him and Prillance. That assumption did not go wrong.
Right before he was concealed in the dark, Roman and Ver’s eyes collided for a brief moment. The heat, like a flame in those eyes, was startling.
Roman was well aware of that feeling. It was a feeling of jealousy that he thought he couldn’t feel. But it soon left and was concealed deeply within.
He took a brief moment to look between Prillance and Ver, who was quickly heading towards them, and thought: they liked each other but it seems they hadn’t yet taken the step in exchanging their feelings.
Prillance and Ver’s eyes were filled with anxiety.
‘These people are really quite frustrating.’
[TL/N: You feel it too huh, Roman? I agree with you on this on at least lolll]
But Roman had no intention of letting it be known. It didn’t suit his temperament to give up.
After returning late, Ver entered the small drawing room connected to his room. He stood in front of the door that led to Prillance’s room. But he couldn’t open the door.
He didn’t deserve to open it. After standing there for quite some time, he went back.
Prillance also returned to her room and looked towards the drawing room as she laid quietly in bed.
The night grew deeper along with their thoughts.
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