WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 117: Don Quixote’s Reverie (1)
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“Once she graduates from the academy, I think it’ll be time to start considering a match for our Ranne... What do you think?”
Kalax dropped that bomb out of nowhere.
The dining table, noisy with chatter only moments ago, suddenly fell silent.
““......””
It was cold.
A dagger flew straight into my chest.[1]
Even the children who had been chatting among themselves stopped and looked over.
Confusion, or perhaps shock.
Their gazes, filled with a jumble of emotions, moved between Kalax and me.
The count simply wore a hearty smile, unconcerned.
“Father! Wh-what are you saying all of a sudden...?!”
Only Ranne’s flustered cry echoed through the dining room.
Her violet eyes trembled, and her cheeks had flushed slightly.
Her voice failed to break the silence, fading after a brief echo.
The guests at the table held their breath, fidgeting with the utensils they gripped tightly.
‘What is this...?’
There was a strange tension in the air.
Everyone was watching each other’s reactions, yet they also seemed anxious.
The atmosphere only eased after Kalax spoke again.
The man laughed heartily.
“Bwahaha! Don’t be so alarmed! I didn’t ask with any strange intention.”
“Is that so...?”
“Of course! Ranne is reaching marriageable age, so I was only wondering whether there might be a suitable prospect for her. You’re the only male student here, aren’t you? You must have gotten to know many young nobles while attending the academy, so I thought I’d ask whether any of them seemed suitable.”
“Ah, I understand.”
In short, he was asking whether I knew any decent guys.
He wasn’t asking for my opinion. He wanted information from me.
‘The problem is that he specifically asked me...’
Still, it made some sense.
I was the only male student here.
At the same time, Ranne and I were close.
He could’ve asked the rest of the group too, but men generally knew other men better.
‘So that’s why he was asking if any students had caught my eye...’
I nearly got the wrong idea.
Calming my startled heart, I replied.
“I understand.”
“Mhm! What do you think? Has anyone stood out at the academy lately?”
“Not yet, but if it pleases you, Count, I’ll look into it separately.”
“Fair enough, you’ve only just finished your first-year, first-semester field trip! It seems I let my eagerness get ahead of me.”
Kalax nodded at my words.
His hand stroked his beard.
A strangely amused smile lingered on his lips.
“Still... it’s strange. I heard there was a first-year student considered the greatest talent in the academy’s history.”
“Pardon?”
“They’ve been rewriting the academy’s records one after another less than half a year after enrolling. Born a commoner, this student entered as the top student of Class E, then became the top student among all first-years within just a few months. They overwhelmed the eldest daughter of House Glacia, who was called the greatest genius of this year’s class. They arrested a faculty member colluding with the Cult, survived an encounter with an Apostle of the Evil God during practical training, and a few weeks ago, they even became the direct assistant to Chief Investigator Javert, the academy’s de facto second-in-command.”
“......”
No.
Well.
That was...
‘...When you list it all out, that’s seriously ridiculous.’
Fuck. Your mom.
Your mom, past me.
(I can insult him because he doesn’t have one.)
“I hear there are even rumors that the Imperial Knights will make this student a direct recruitment offer after graduation. It’s one of the few special cases since the order was founded. They say someone in that position receives a knighthood along with a noble family name right away. Doesn’t that sound like someone who fits the requirements perfectly? I’ve spoken with that person once before, and despite their appearance, they were quite pleasant...”
“......”
“I’ve only heard that such a person exists.”
“......”
It was cold.
A dagger flew straight into my chest.[1]
That man already knew I was the subject of those rumors.
He was remarkably good at jerking me around, as though he were testing the waters.
“......”
“Bwahaha! It was a joke, a joke! Didn’t I say I didn’t mean it that way?”
When I stayed silent, the count burst out laughing again.
He patted my back and spoke.
“Don’t misunderstand me! As I said earlier, I only want to hear your opinion!”
“...Understood. Once we return, I’ll look into the other students as well.”
“Well... it would be even better if it were you, though.”
“Pardon?”
“Haha! It’s nothing!”
Kalax muttered it quietly, then laughed it off as though it were nothing.
I nodded, though I felt a little uneasy.
The conversation came to an awkward close.
The children, who had also been steeped in strange anxiety, picked up their utensils and resumed their meal.
Of course, the conversation still carried a slight stiffness, and little things around the table felt off.
‘A marriage prospect...’
I turned those words over in my head.
It was something I’d never considered as someone who only knew the original story.
That was because there hadn’t been anything resembling a romance route between characters in the game.
The developers had even made it clear there would be no such thing.
‘...Well, reality must be different.’
Part of me found it surprising.
Weren’t parents supposed to fire shotguns rather than look for someone to give their daughters away to?
‘Especially fathers, or so I’ve heard.’
Maybe things were different because this was a medieval setting.
What?
Medieval setting, my ass. How would I, a guy who’d never had a girlfriend, let alone a mom or dad, know anything about those sensibilities? Wasn’t I just making some wildly off-base guess based on what I learned from fanservice-heavy otaku trash and Korean romance tearjerkers?
...Your mom.
(“Ranne & Elandia Academy: The Märchen.” A flawless acronym. Obviously.)
I sorted through my complicated thoughts.
As I moved my utensils, I discreetly turned to look at Ranne.
“......”
She had calmed down considerably, but her cheeks were still faintly red.
She awkwardly cut her meat as though she were watching everyone’s reactions.
Maybe this kind of talk wasn’t easy for her either.
Watching the silent girl, I brought the precarious dinner to a close.
* * *
Later, after the sun had sunk beyond the horizon and night had fallen.
It was the early hours before dawn, when everyone else was asleep.
I had been assigned one of the empty guest rooms and lay in bed.
After arriving in Kihano territory, time had flown by and struck its target like an arrow.
“......”
I stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
For some reason, falling asleep wasn’t easy.
Unlike my tired body, my mind was wide awake.
‘I can’t sleep.’
Rustle, rustle.
I kept tossing and turning beneath the blankets.
Eventually, I sat up.
Since I couldn’t sleep anyway, I figured I might as well take a short walk outside.
Lua and Carmilla were lying on the bed too, but they looked so deeply asleep that I didn’t want to wake them.
Careful not to disturb either of them, I quietly made my way out.
‘It’s cold...’
I stepped into the mansion garden and onto the thickly piled snow.
The biting cold slowly gnawed at my fingertips.
Whoooosh.
A gentle cold wind tousled my hair.
Amid its cool howl, my white footprints crossed the garden.
Long breaths rose before me, and the pale clouds scattered like flower petals.
“Haa...”
My body grew cold, but the feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
As I lazily made a lap around the garden...
“Oh?”
A familiar figure stood in the middle of the snow-covered scenery.
Brilliant golden hair flowed down her back, while the night rested softly in her violet eyes.
The girl stood there as though she were part of winter itself.
“Miss Ranne?”
“...Ah, Sir Viktor.”
Ranne had been looking up at the night sky.
She only turned toward me after I had approached close enough to stand within arm’s reach.
She must have been lost in thought for some time, since she hadn’t even heard my footsteps.
“What brings you to the garden at this hour?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to get some fresh air.”
“Mhm! Then we’re the same! Since we’re both out here, would you like to walk together for a while?”
“It would be my honor.”
We walked side by side.
Was it just my imagination?
The calmness, gloom, and contemplation that had surrounded Ranne moments earlier vanished in an instant.
She smiled brightly as though nothing had happened and returned to her usual cheerful self.
“Perhaps because it’s summer, the weather is warm! It’s perfect for a walk!”
“Warm? You mean this freezing wind...?”
“By northern standards, it’s plenty warm!”
She wore an innocent smile.
As if looking for a topic to discuss, the girl spoke again.
“Um... Sir Viktor.”
“Yes, Miss Ranne.”
“I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just, my father...”
“It’s all right. It didn’t make me uncomfortable or anything.”
“That’s a relief.”
Ranne nodded, visibly relieved.
I glanced at the golden-haired girl.
The mood was strangely awkward.
Normally, Ranne would’ve said something like, “Mhm! I’m sorry about earlier!” with her usual spirit.
For some reason, her voice had lacked energy since earlier.
She seemed tired somehow.
‘As I thought... She probably wasn’t out here alone in the middle of the night for no reason.’
This was a scene that often appeared in the original story.
A girl gazing at the empty night sky.
It was one of Ranne’s little habits.
Whenever her worries or anxiety deepened, she looked up at the open night sky wherever she was.
The original described it as her counting the stars, the beings that had bestowed their [Blessing] upon her.
As though she were waiting for an answer from them.
“The sky is clear tonight, so the stars seem especially visible! It feels as though they might pour down over our heads at any moment...”
“They do. So this is what the northern night sky looks like.”
“Yes! Before I left my family home, I looked at the night sky here every day!”
“Every day...?”
A cheerful confession.
Its meaning was understood only by the girl and me.
‘Come to think of it... she’d been spacing out a lot lately.’
Ranne had always grown quiet from time to time.
Since the last field trip, it felt as though it had been happening more often.
Had her looking up at the night sky tonight been part of that too?
“Mhm! Looking at the night sky puts my heart at ease!”
She was talking about dawn.
Ranne Kihano.
She was that kind of person.
She always shone brightly, yet hid the shadows cast by that light.
She kept the darkness that was part of her hidden inside, showing the world only the parts that sparkled.
‘Because she’s the protagonist.’
She didn’t show when things were hard.
She didn’t show when she was sad.
Even when she wandered and felt anxious, Ranne never lost her smile.
A child chosen by the stars.
That was why she believed she wasn’t allowed to show hardship, sadness, or uncertainty.
‘How should I put this... It’s like watching a child who grew up too soon.’
It felt strangely familiar.
In my previous life... back when I still lived in the orphanage.
It was something I had seen in a few of the children there.
Sometimes, you carried so much that even relying on someone else became difficult.
The pressure of life turned into a burden, crushing your shoulders from a young age.
‘When living feels like enduring.’
Such cases led to one of two outcomes.
You were crushed by the pressure and turned crooked, or you became an adult several steps before everyone else.
“Miss Ranne.”
For Ranne, it was the latter.
Ever since she was young, she had known how to hide her own light and shadow.
“Yes! Sir Viktor.”
Ranne Kihano.
A girl who acted as though worries didn’t exist.
The cheerful protagonist of the original story, innocent and never losing her brightness.
Yet beneath that exterior, she was always described as someone carrying a sense of burden.
‘Ranne always felt great pressure over her own power.’
The Blessing of the Stars.
Power she had held from the moment she was born into this world.
Ranne was said to have wandered in search of answers to what she should become and how she should use that power.
Yes, since she was very young.
“......”
“Sir Viktor?”
I carefully chose my words.
I still couldn’t talk with her about her honest feelings and the worries she kept hidden.
Ranne still shone too brightly around me, never showing her darker side.
That part of her had not been offered to me.
‘Just...’
Just.
I wished she wouldn’t try so hard.
“Miss Ranne.”
“Eep...?”
Pat.
My hand moved before my words did.
I placed my bare hand on top of her golden hair.
Then I slowly stroked her head.
“S-Sir Viktor...?”
“You’re doing well.”
“Pardon?”
“Miss Ranne, you’re doing more than well enough.”
You’re doing well.
I didn’t add what she was doing well.
My hand simply continued to tell her that she was doing well.
“Sir Viktor? What is this supposed to...?”
“Shh.”
“......”
“Could you stay still for a moment?”
“...All right.”
Ranne stiffened, unsure what was happening.
Still, she was only startled for a moment before quietly accepting my touch.
“......”
“......”
We stood there for quite a while.
Only after my cold hand had turned red did I pull it away.
Ranne’s golden hair had become messy from all the stroking.
I carefully tidied it with my hand.
Between the strands of hair were violet eyes. Those deep eyes no longer looked at the night sky, but at me.
“......”
Silence.
Then...
“...Sir Viktor.”
“Yes, Miss Ranne.”
“It feels like I can always rely on you.”
“That’s more honor than I deserve. To think I could be someone you rely on, Miss Ranne.”
“I truly am grateful. Always.”
The brightness in the girl’s expression became more natural.
A faint smile, gentler and less dazzling than usual, bloomed on her soft lips.
I smiled as well.
“I’m always grateful too. You’re someone everyone can rely on, Miss Ranne.”
“Then I must work even harder. Everyone is relying on me, after all.”
“You mustn’t work so hard that you wear yourself out.”
“Pfft... I’ll try.”
Our gentle conversation rang through the air.
Our breaths scattered across the snowy field with each word.
We exchanged a few silly jokes and left footprints side by side in the snow.
Together, we waited for morning over the white canvas.
That was how we spent the rest of the early morning in good spirits.
* * *
And then,
I went missing the very next day.
Footnotes:
[1] “It was cold. A dagger flew straight into my chest.” alludes to the film Tazza: The High Rollers.
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