Chapter 85
Even without trials or obstacles, even without a backing, what I must do remains unchanged.
I still have pawns at my disposal.
At the end of the long corridor, there is a staircase leading to the top floor of the building, and I place my foot on it. As I slowly ascend the stairs, I hum a tune, but since very few people use this staircase at this hour, I feel no embarrassment.
On the contrary, I think my voice, like the sound of a bell, is quite charming, so I'd love for someone to hear it.
Click... Tap, tap.
Between the first and second floors, there is a large glass window through which I can see the beautiful scenery of the Royal Capital bathed in the sunset. I stop there, turning my face toward the window while listening to the footsteps coming from above.
"......Mirabel?"
The footsteps stop right behind me, and at the same time, my name is called, so I turn around.
An after-school event where I'm captivated by the heroine dyed in the sunset, losing my words.
"Lord Floyd?"
This event belongs to Floyd, Celestia's fiancé.
"Why are you here?"
"Well, I love the view from here, so I often come to gaze at it."
With the window at my back, I innocently spread my arms and say, "Look!" and Floyd, relaxing his shoulders, smiles.
"It's time to head back to the dormitory."
"I know...... But even if I go back to the dormitory, I'll be all alone."
"I often see you with friends within the Academy......?"
"Oh, I do have friends! But, well, they're all commoners. The floor where my room is located is reserved for nobles, so......"
"Don't you have any close noble acquaintances?"
"......"
"There must have been children's rooms at social gatherings or connections through your parents, right?"
"When I was part of a Baron family, I did have close friends. But after becoming the adopted daughter of a Count family...... it seems I've been disliked."
"......In that case, you should get close to a daughter from a family connected to the Rotish family."
"Well, it seems I'm disliked by them too. I'm never invited to tea parties, and even when I greet them, they ignore me as if I don't exist......"
"Ignore you?"
Looking up at Floyd with teary eyes, I weakly nod with a small gesture.
While it's necessary to maintain an appropriate distance to avoid raising his affection too much, this man is an exceptional pawn I absolutely cannot let go of.
"All this time......"
Since the Music Festival, this is the first time we've spoken face-to-face like this, yet it seems his affection hasn't decreased at all. Smiling at Floyd, who mutters while gently patting my head, I slightly shake my head.
"You should have told me."
"Lord Floyd, you're so busy, I couldn't burden you, and I didn't want to worry you, so I kept quiet. I'm sorry."
"Mirabel, you don't need to apologize."
Yes, it's not me who should apologize, but Floyd. Lowering my brows, I inwardly curse at him.
I knew that since we're in different grades, there would be few opportunities to meet, but because he's always with the Crown Prince and his aides from morning till evening, it wasn't just few—it was zero.
At best, I could wave at him when we passed by or when I saw him from a distance to get his attention, and even then, the students nearby would get excited and let their imaginations run wild, which was fine.
"I've been so busy that I couldn't pay attention to you. I'm sorry."
"It can't be helped. Even now, you're in the middle of your duties as an aide, aren't you?"
Glancing briefly up the stairs, Floyd nods with a wry smile.
"At this hour, only His Highness, the Crown Prince, his guards, and his aides are allowed to use this staircase. So, Mirabel, you should leave this place quickly."
"Really......? Oh no, will I get in trouble?"
Trembling slightly and showing fear, Floyd looks at me with eyes as if gazing at a child and gently taps my head.
"Let's leave before you get in trouble. I'll escort you to the exit."
"Um......!"
Raising my voice to stop Floyd as he turns away, I gently grab the sleeve of his arm.
"If I stay here, I might be able to catch a glimpse of His Highness, the Crown Prince, even if just for a moment—that's what I thought when I came here."
"His Highness's......?"
"Yes. During the Music Festival, when I got lost, His Highness protected me from my stepsister who scolded me without even asking why. He spoke kindly to me when I was scared and on the verge of tears, comforting me, and even sent his own guard to escort me to the Ballroom."
"He's such a kind person."
Nodding repeatedly in agreement with Floyd's words, I cover my cheeks with both hands and shyly lower my gaze.
"So, um, His Highness, the Crown Prince is...... my first love."
"......That's"
Raising my face abruptly toward Floyd, who stumbles over his words, I continue with, "But......"
"Just thinking about him isn't a bother, right?"
"There are many daughters who think of His Highness......"
"That's true, he's such a wonderful person."
Turning my face away from Floyd with tears in my eyes, I blink a few times, and the tears spill down my cheeks.
Floyd, who has a decent level of affection for me and harbors feelings beyond that of a sibling, shouldn't be able to ignore me crying like this and will surely lend a hand—that's what I thought.
After all, at this point, Floyd's relationship with his family is broken, and he starts showing possessiveness toward the heroine by his side.
"I just wanted to see His Highness, the Crown Prince's face, even for a moment...... that's impossible, isn't it?"
Even if I can't go to the office, you could at least tell me the time Ludweek returns to the dormitory, right? I thought as I tightly gripped his sleeve and tilted my head.
Now, how can I naturally get closer to Ludweek...... While thinking about such things, an unexpected response came back to me.
"It's impossible."
"......Huh?"
"Not only is His Highness, the Crown Prince busy, but only a limited number of people can meet him outside of class."
"No, it's fine even if I can't meet him. I just want to see him......"
"I can't overlook you waiting here, nor can I tell you His Highness's schedule. Protecting him from danger is also my duty. I'm sorry, Mirabel."
I never thought I'd be refused so bluntly.
After all, he's always believed everything I said and moved like a puppet according to my words.
"Do you think I'd do something to His Highness......?"
"I don't think that, but others might. Besides, this is a rule."
Instead, my arm is grabbed, and I'm pulled down to the first floor while the irritation I've been suppressing boils up.
Others might? Rules? What is that? I'm the heroine, and Ludweek is the main hero, aren't I?
"......In the Count family, my stepsister misunderstood me and treated me coldly. At the Academy, I can't fit into the noble circle. I'm lonely and all alone, but I've been trying my best because His Highness, the Crown Prince, and Lord Floyd are here......"
"Mirabel"
"I've been working hard since I was little to mediate between my stepsister and Lord Floyd, yet Lord Floyd says even my small wish to see His Highness just once is impossible......"
Muttering softly, "I understand," I ignore Floyd calling out to me and descend the stairs alone.
A man starved of familial affection, terrified of losing me, who has always been by his side.
If this continues, no one will be by your side, you know? Hurry up and cling to me.
"Wait, Mirabel!"
As Floyd catches up and stands beside me, the corners of my mouth lift, but to show I'm angry, I puff out my cheeks and look up at him.
"I'm so grateful to you. You encouraged me and supported me when I shrank in front of Celestia."
"Lord Floyd......"
"I want to help you as much as I can and fulfill your wishes."
Nodding at the smiling Floyd, I open my mouth with, "In that case!"
"So, I'll do my best for anything else."
"......Huh?"
"Next year, a young lady from a Marquis family will enroll, and I'll introduce you to her."
"Something else......? Introduce......?"
"You said you're alone in the dormitory, so if you become close with the Marquis's daughter, you won't be ignored anymore."
"That's nice, but that's not it, that's not what I mean......!"
I want to get close to Ludweek, not anyone else.
Whether it's out of kindness or just playing dumb, my cheek twitches at Floyd, who smiles while saying something incomprehensible.
"If Celestia has some misunderstanding, I think it can be resolved if you both speak your thoughts openly."
Eyes filled with sorrow, hints of darkness in his words and actions, and a strong possessiveness due to a lack of familial affection—these are the traits of Floyd Armle, loved by fans.
And yet, who is this?
"The other day, when I accompanied His Highness to the castle, my uncle gave me the same advice. So, I'm thinking of talking to my parents and older brother when I return home in the summer."
Releasing the sleeve I was holding, I curl my fingers and then extend them toward Floyd's face, who smiles brightly like the sun.
"Lord Floyd"
No, you must be that Floyd.
You must always, always remain estranged from your family and be alone.
"What if, after talking it out, you still can't have the kind of relationship Lord Floyd wants?"
"That is..."
"These are the people who have always hurt Lord Floyd's heart, you know? They never noticed his loneliness, sadness, or emptiness."
"But my uncle—"
"What could someone who lives far away possibly understand? I've been by Lord Floyd's side since we were children, so I know him far better than that man."
"But still..."
"You saw it, didn't you? When I tried to talk to my older stepsister who came back from afar, she treated me coldly."
"There was a reason for that."
"What if she hated everything about me—me being adopted into the family, getting along with her fiancé, all of it?"
"......"
"Talking is pointless."
"......"
"Besides, people don't change that easily."
Slowly, gently, she wove words laced with poison.
"Your brother Cain became the Prime Minister's assistant this year, right? Then, did your uncle really give advice out of concern for Lord Floyd?"
"......"
I can't let the scenario change any further.
Watching Floyd's eyes gradually lose their light, I gently stroked his cheek like I used to when we were young.
"I've always been on your side, Lord Floyd."
"......Mirabel"
"Because I'm here with you."
You're still my precious piece.
His unusually bright smile faded into something darker and more shadowed, and I smiled, knowing this was the real Floyd.
"I can't wait for summer to come."
"......Summer?"
I stepped away from Floyd, who tilted his head, and let out a soft chuckle.
"Yeah. Something super important is going to happen to me."
This summer, the younger brother of Dick Aalkvist, the Third Prince of the Kingdom of Srelan, will die, and the conquest will begin. That key figure of a brother had only been mentioned by name in Dick's flashback scene.
"I think it was... Silvio, right?"
A mob who exists solely for the sake of the heroine's happiness.
"You, at least, make sure to fulfill your role properly."