WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

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Chapter 78: Ha

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"......What are you going to do now?"

She meant the last train was gone, so how were we supposed to get back?

"I heard the Base Camp in the Ronwood Mountains is nearly finished. Should we head there?"

"There's no need."

Right then, a train horn sounded in the distance.

Before going to find Aren, I had asked Alicia, who had accompanied me to the hospital, for a favor.

'If there's a problem, you need to deal with it right away.'

Otherwise, the feelings involved were bound to fade.

I'd intended to catch Aren that very day and make her apologize to Cecilia.

That was why I'd asked Alicia to run the Cyrus Express.

When Aren saw the train flying the Imperial flag, she seemed to understand what I meant and nodded.

"This is better than staying out overnight, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

She looked a little disappointed, though.

A moment later, Alicia stepped off the arriving train with a sulky expression.

"Impressive, Junior. To think you'd order an Imperial Princess around so freely. Anyone would think you were part of the Imperial Family."

"I asked Senior, not the Imperial Princess. Still, I'm sorry if it felt that way."

"Even the Cyrus Express, which normally doesn't run... If the Imperial Family finds out, I'll have two more eyes watching me."

"You already have plenty of eyes on you, don't you? Two more shouldn't be much of a burden for you, Senior."

"Listen to you talk."

Her gaze soon shifted to Aren, who clung tightly to my sleeve.

Alicia's sulky expression vanished as she looked Aren over, and her eyes widened.

It wasn't simply because I was an idiot that I'd failed to realize Aren was a woman.

The presence-suppressing bandages wrapped around her body had played a large part.

And now, she'd taken them off.

To Alicia, Aren must have looked unmistakably female.

I'd expected teasing or a joke, but Alicia's expression was unexpectedly serious.

"Both of you, get on first. And Kaizel."

"Yes."

"Make sure the soldiers aboard keep their mouths shut. I'm going to speak with these two, so prepare a separate room."

As soon as we boarded, the train began roaring back the way it had come.

The room prepared for us was a small compartment, screened off on all sides.

Only Aren, Alicia, and I sat inside.

Alicia clicked her tongue.

"That damned old man... Was he really trying to hide something this important from the Imperial Family?"

Aren's expression darkened.

I knew exactly who she meant by that old man.

'Master Jin.'

Aren being the Child of Prophecy was an open secret.

People at the Academy and high-ranking nobles all knew, though it wasn't common knowledge among ordinary citizens like Mine.

Because of that, everyone who knew treated Aren as the Child of Prophecy.

Even the dormitory assigned to her was part of that treatment.

Master Jin stood behind all of it.

As one of the Empire's greatest swordsmen, he'd confidently declared it, so everyone believed him without question.

But the Child of Prophecy Master Jin had vouched for wasn't actually a boy?

It was no different from deceiving the Imperial Family.

"That's clear fraud. Did you know, Junior?"

"I found out just now."

"If I hadn't known, that child would have monopolized all that support as the Child of Prophecy."

Aren drew her shoulders in as Alicia glared at her.

"Do you know that some of the funds given to you come from my personal assets?"

Aren, who didn't know Alicia's personality, could only tremble in fear.

Setting aside her airheaded image and strange behavior, she was still the Empire's only Imperial Princess.

"Who else at the Academy knows? Other than Junior. Aren Bright, answer with your own mouth."

"......Y-Your Highness, and... Lord Halibal..."

Aren looked up at me anxiously.

She was worried Cecilia might have told someone else her secret.

I answered for her.

"Cecilia Ren. Just the three of us."

Cecilia hadn't told anyone that Aren was a woman, not even Senia or me.

That was why Senia had been especially angry at Aren.

After hearing the answer, Alicia fell into thought before snapping open the fan in her hand.

"Then there's no real problem."

"......What?"

Aren asked with a blank look.

I felt the same way.

"Isn't this even better? It means I've gained another card to play."

"You don't intend to tell anyone?"

"Of course not. 'Aren Bright was never really the Child of Prophecy.'"

Aren looked on the verge of tears again.

She still didn't seem used to hearing those words directly from someone else.

"...The fact that everyone who knows that is favorable toward me means it could be a very useful card if I play it well. I can put that child forward and squeeze out support funds wherever and whenever I want."

"......What happens if you get caught?"

"Why should I care? It's not like I did anything wrong."

'That's true.'

If there was a problem, Aren and Master Jin would suffer for it, not Alicia.

"You just put Aren Bright forward and say, 'Hello. I'm here to rob you of support funds. Hand them over.'"

"......"

"Because I'm the Child of Prophecy."

"Th-That's..."

"Isn't that what you've been doing all this time?"

Alicia's pressure, now fully that of Red Scales, filled the small room.

"Listening to this, I can picture exactly what happened. Jealousy and impatience toward Junior must have caused it."

"......I, really..."

"What right did you have? Put the prophecy aside for a moment. While you were happily receiving Master Jin's intensive training in backwater Baran, where he treated even the Imperial Family like dirt, Junior had entered dungeons hundreds of times since he was around ten."

"......S-Sorry."

"Junior has sustained hundreds of injuries. Some of them would have killed him long ago if Mine hadn't been there. Why on earth do you think you need to be better than Junior?"

Alicia's sharp words struck Aren one after another.

She was saying aloud things I'd thought but never voiced.

The light gradually faded from Aren's eyes.

Worried Aren might go dark again at this rate, I stepped in.

"Senior."

"Stay out of this. When you can crush someone's spirit, you should crush it properly."

"Aren probably knows that already."

"No, she's just pissing me off."

Alicia, who had been fuming, let out a long sigh before adding,

"Whew! Aren Bright."

"......Y-Yes."

"I said all that, but I know you've devoted yourself to the Empire all this time."

While I had gone on dungeon runs with Cecilia to clear the Doll Dungeon, Aren had traveled around the Empire with Ran, helping people.

The two of them had resolved countless requests that had existed as quests in the original game.

I'd been able to focus on farming because she had taken care of those things in my place.

That was also why it had been hard for me to feel ill will toward her.

"So take pride in yourself. Forget the prophecy and everything else, and take pride in Aren Bright as a person."

"......"

"If I'd found you before Junior, I would have gone all in on you."

A spark returned to Aren's fading eyes.

Moved that the Imperial Princess had acknowledged what she'd done, Aren cried out,

"Yes...!"

Then Alicia abruptly turned away.

From Aren's position, she couldn't see the wicked grin on Alicia's lips that said everything was going according to plan.

"But now I think I understand why that trash didn't choose a tempting sword like you."

"By trash, you mean..."

"Someone whose name coming from your mouth would get you executed for insulting the Imperial Family."

'Then she means the Prince.'

I knew Alicia had supported me since I was young, so that much made sense.

But Aren had said the Prince had never contacted her either.

Alicia seemed to suspect that the Prince had known Aren wasn't the Child of Prophecy and had avoided approaching her for that reason.

Resting her chin on her fan, she muttered calmly,

"Well, if he won't take a bite, I will. With that in mind, Aren Bright."

"Y-Yes!"

"The position of the longsword is filled, but that of the hidden blade remains empty. Will you obediently enter my scabbard, or will you leave to seek another hand?"

Aren thought for a long time but couldn't easily give an answer.

Watching her, I spoke up.

"That's something to think about later."

"Hm?"

"Let's handle what needs to be done first."

I gestured in the direction the train was traveling.

Nevil. The hospital where Cecilia was.

Aren nodded, her expression half relieved and half worried.

Then she looked at me and gave me a grateful smile.

Alicia's offer was practically telling her to become her subordinate immediately.

Since no one knew what problems Aren joining someone might cause, it was best to put the matter aside for now.

Alicia covered her mouth with her fan and laughed.

"Kuhuhu. Junior is so devoted. Your love for your wife is already this deep."

"Our promise comes first. Please respect the order, Senior."

"Very well. Aren't you tired? We still have another hour to go, so close your eyes for a while."

As she said that, I was starting to feel tired too.

I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.

'Wait...'

I thought I'd heard something strange.

"...What did you just say?"

"Hm? I said your love for your wife was especially deep."

"......Who exactly are you talking about?"

"Who else but the Empire's most famous battered wife? What kind of lunatic punches a duke's daughter in the face?"

'What the fuck?'

I'd thought I'd misheard, but unfortunately, I'd heard perfectly well.

Alicia said that as I'd become famous, the story of my sparring match with Cecilia had also been receiving attention.

The sharp-eyed ones even seemed to have figured out that Cecilia had feelings for me.

As a result, Cecilia was apparently seen as a strange person who'd developed affection for someone even after being punched in the face by me.

"People have even started saying that the first step to making love with the Funeral Sword is getting punched in the face."

"......Are people really saying that?"

"I'm joking."

"That's... a relief."

"I'm serious."

I clenched my fist without realizing it.

The embarrassment of having my dark history exposed to the whole world boiled up from my gut.

If there had been a blanket nearby, I would've wanted to tear it to shreds.

"Are you thinking of hitting me too?"

"......"

"I'm the Imperial Princess, you know?"

"......"

"...If you do, please make it painless."

Alicia's playful joke drained every last bit of strength from me.

Then Aren approached me as I slumped in the chair like a limp squid.

With her eyes squeezed shut, she held her face out toward me.

What?

⁎⁎⁎

"Come in."

Aren opened the hospital room door and entered.

She wore the same outfit she'd worn when going to the dungeon with Cecilia, clothes no one would have taken for a woman's.

Cecilia, propped up in bed, said nothing.

An awkward silence weighed down the room.

'Leave out all the excuses and reasons. Just say you're sorry.'

Halibal's voice echoed in her ears.

Aren clenched her fists.

Then she slowly dropped to her knees.

"......I'm sorry."

Her voice came out cracked.

"I'm really sorry, Cecilia."

She couldn't raise her head.

She expected to hear Cecilia's furious voice.

But no angry voice came.

"Get up."

When Aren raised her head, Cecilia was looking at her with a calm expression.

"Are you going to keep wearing those clothes?"

"......These are..."

"I knew you were a woman from the first time we held hands."

"Th-Then... why...?"

"You must have had your reasons."

Cecilia shrugged, and Aren could only nod without saying anything.

The tears she'd held back flowed from the corners of her eyes.

"Sigh... You cry this easily? The final heir to the Ultimate Divine Sword?"

Watching her, Cecilia sighed and patted the spot beside her on the bed.

She was telling Aren to come over.

Sitting side by side on a bed with a woman was something Aren couldn't have done while acting as a man.

But the person before her was one of the few people who knew her secret.

And she had also been a victim caught up in Aren's rampage.

Aren quietly sat beside Cecilia.

"Fortunately, I wasn't seriously hurt. If you'd truly wanted to hurt me, you would've aimed somewhere other than my shoulder."

"......Sorry."

"It gave me a chance to reflect on myself instead. If I can't properly react even to a surprise attack, I can't carry the name Sword Princess."

Even while seated, Aren was shorter than Cecilia.

"Do you remember what I said then?"

"What...?"

"The man I like."

Aren's face instantly turned bright red.

"So don't worry. I'm busy worrying about him, you know? I don't have time to go around blabbing about your secret."

At Cecilia's promise to keep her secret, the tightly drawn thread of tension finally snapped, and all strength drained from Aren's shoulders.

"Thank you..."

For a while, the hospital room was filled with the chatter of two girls opening their hearts to each other for the first time.

Cecilia treated Aren with a kind smile the entire time, and Aren, seemingly absorbed in this first experience of bonding with another girl, quickly got along with her.

After Aren left with one last apology and word of thanks, Cecilia was alone in the hospital room.

Every expression vanished from her face.

"......Ha."

Sixty-eight times.

That was how many times Aren had mentioned Halibal in just over an hour.

Footnotes:

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