Translator: Nox

Chapter 3

Let’s Be Strangers Now

Episode 3

“I will never marry you!”

Erich’s shrill voice echoed throughout the palace. He had such a powerful pair of lungs that even a maid passing through the hallway flinched, her shoulders hunching instinctively.

Whether he shouted or not, Elisha didn’t even pretend to listen, continuing to draw circles on a piece of paper. Her attitude suggested she was already well-accustomed to this.

For several days since Emperor Bernhardt had dropped that bombshell of an announcement, Erich would blurt out those very words the moment he laid eyes on Elisha.

Elisha had no choice but to get used to it.

Of course, just because she was used to it didn’t mean she intended to let it slide.

“Your Highness.”

Elisha let out a deep sigh as she stared at the crookedly drawn circle.

At that, Erich’s lips twitched. It was a stark contrast to the way he had been screaming at the top of his lungs just a moment ago.

Erich knew exactly what that sigh meant.

A tongue like hell, a terrifying way with words, the very epitome of blunt and harsh truths….

“Your Highness, you can’t tell the difference between a lie and the truth, can you?”

“What?”

“Anyone can see he was joking, yet you’re taking it seriously all by yourself. It’s really foolish. I heard that calling a Prince a fool is an insult punishable by beheading, but I still have to say it.”

“……”

“Your Highness, you are being a real fool.”

Having finished her piece, Elisha tilted her head. Her gaze was remarkably bold, as if challenging him to go ahead and try to cut off her head.

Erich blinked blankly.

That tiny slip of a girl had dared to call him ‘foolish.’

And several times at that.

“You, seriously….”

Erich finally spoke, his blue eyes narrowing fiercely.

Elisha stared back at him blankly, waiting for whatever words would come out of that small mouth.

‘Is he going to say he’ll cut off my head?’

Of course, that wouldn’t actually happen, but at the very least, her etiquette lessons would probably increase.

Ah, perhaps even that would look like a privilege to others. Instead of being beheaded, it just ends with more etiquette lessons.

‘I really should watch my mouth from now on.’

Or, she would have to prove she was useful enough to be treated this way.

Elisha understood the structure of this Imperial Palace perfectly.

To the useful, the favor of the powerful is granted.

‘If I want to keep staying here, that would be for the best.’

It was at the moment Elisha was lost in thought, her eyes wandering here and there.

“Are you the fool?”

Erich spat out the words, his face still twisted in a scowl.

Elisha followed suit, arching one eyebrow and tilting her head slightly.

Erich didn’t miss the opening and continued.

“You don’t know Father.”

“……”

“Once Father says something, he makes sure it happens, no matter what.”

He was implying that the reason she could stay here comfortably was ultimately because of that fact.

The boy’s blue eyes sparkled with a mixture of awe and fear.

This time, Elisha tilted her head to the other side.

It was a look that was somewhat foreign to her.

“So you’re the fool, not me, you fool.”

Erich finished his sentence, crossing his arms and lifting his chin. Elisha immediately looked down at the circle she had drawn.

The young Prince only heard what he wanted to hear and saw what he wanted to see, so he wouldn’t know, but Elisha had seen and heard many things in the Imperial Palace.

Specifically, stories regarding her own treatment.

No matter how much the Emperor liked Elisha, there were reasons why he could never make her the next Empress.

So, there was no reason at all for Erich to get so worked up.

However, Elisha did not bother to voice those thoughts.

Watching Erich fly into such a rage was somehow fascinating to her.

Perhaps it was because she wanted to see more of a side that was so completely different from herself.

Regardless, it wasn’t bad.

“Your Highness.”

Elisha, who had been staring blankly at Erich’s black hair, spoke up.

“What.”

Erich replied curtly, glancing at her. Elisha blinked slowly a couple of times and asked.

“I called Your Highness a fool. Why aren’t you angry?”

Her eyes, filled with genuine curiosity, stared intently at Erich. Meeting her gaze, Erich answered hesitantly.

“Well, because you say things much worse than that….”

“When did I?”

“Just because it’s not a direct insult doesn’t mean it isn’t one.”

You fool.

Erich shrugged his shoulders as if proud of himself for his logic.

Whether he did or not, Elisha asked with an indifferent face.

“So, do you hate me?”

“Huh?”

“It’s what Your Highness says every day. That you won’t marry me. That you hate me. Is it not true?”

“No, no—I mean, it’s not that it isn’t true, it is true!”

After stammering, Erich bit his lip hard and glared at Elisha.

Elisha looked at Erich’s reddened earlobes and then met the blue eyes staring at her.

“How much do you hate me?”

“What?”

“To what extent do you dislike me?”

Elisha’s eyes looked directly into Erich’s. It was a look that seemed purely inquisitive.

Erich blinked a few times before giving his answer.

“As much as vegetables….”

“Your Highness, you don’t actually hate me, do you?”

“What are you talking about! Do you know how bad vegetables taste?!”

“Then even if I told you that you wouldn’t have to eat vegetables if you married me, would you still hate marrying me?”

“Th-that….”

At Elisha’s question, Erich’s eyes wavered.

He looked like someone who had fallen into an irresistible temptation.

Elisha watched him intently and spoke up.

“Picky eater.”

“Look who’s talking!”

“I eat vegetables well. Should I eat yours for you too?”

Gulp.

As soon as Elisha finished speaking, Erich swallowed hard.

Eating his vegetables for him.

When he had eaten raw carrots the other day, he had almost burst into tears.

No, get a grip.

I can’t let her pull me in.

“Th-that doesn’t matter, I’m still never marrying you! Not even if I die!”

Erich, having regained his senses, let out a sharp yell.

Elisha blocked one ear with a finger and frowned slightly.

Even though they received etiquette lessons together, Elisha couldn’t understand why he would scream at random moments.

Of course, that wasn’t what was important right now.

“Yes, I understand.”

Elisha eventually lowered her hand and nodded.

“To be honest, it’s all the same to me whether I marry Your Highness or not.”

“……”

“I don’t particularly like Your Highness, but I don’t hate you either.”

“……”

“So, I hope Your Highness doesn’t die.”

“Why are you suddenly talking about my life?”

Erich asked, his small hand instinctively moving to cover his throat. Elisha shrugged.

“You said you’d rather die than marry me.”

“Well, that’s true, but….”

Hearing her say it so bluntly made him feel like he had said something terrible.

Erich muttered with an uncertain attitude.

Come to think of it, since that girl arrived, there hasn’t been a boring day, so maybe it’s a little okay.

Of course, he habitually spat out the words ‘I hate you!’, but it wasn’t to the point of wanting to die….

‘But I just said I hated her as much as vegetables.’

While Erich agonized over his own confusing feelings, Elisha continued.

“So, if by some chance a situation arises in the future where we really have to get married.”

She let out a faint breath and smiled slightly.

“I’ll be the one to leave then.”

In that instant, Erich stopped all his thoughts and stared intently at Elisha.

For over a month, Erich had never once seen Elisha smile.

She had occasionally expressed discomfort by arching an eyebrow, but she was basically always expressionless.

That Elisha was smiling.

Like the first snow that falls softly overnight.

Erich unintentionally caught his breath. He felt as if he had to.

For some reason, his stomach felt fluttery….

“Even if the future me is smarter and more capable than Your Highness, and everyone wants me instead of you, I’ll still leave. By then, I’ll be able to live well on my own.”

Elisha, who had no way of knowing what Erich was feeling, spoke as she tapped the end of the quill she was holding with her fingertip.

Only then did Erich snap back to his senses, his face crumpling once again.

“That’s never going to happen!”

“It’s sad news for Your Highness, but the world doesn’t like a Prince who only knows how to scream….”

Elisha said in a voice full of pity. Her eyes were still devoid of any emotion.

Erich let out a small, hollow laugh at the sight, unable to imagine that she had just been smiling a moment ago.

‘Even if the future me is smarter and more capable than Your Highness, and everyone wants me instead of you.’

A girl whose only skill was saying bitter things to him?

Erich shook his head violently.

“That will absolutely never happen.”

---

‘That will absolutely never happen.’

Why was that memory coming back to him only now?

Erich pressed his fingertips to his brow and let out a small sigh. In one hand, he still held the letter Elisha had left behind.

Elisha had left.

To keep a childish promise from their youth that he hadn’t even remembered properly at first.

“Elisha.”

Elisha, Elisha.

The man, now fully grown, repeated Elisha’s name in a low voice.

Since she was young, Elisha had never said a nice thing, not even as a platitude.

Because Elisha had never considered anyone’s feelings enough to bother saying something kind on purpose.

That she had spoken those words with her own kind of conviction—a sequence of words that felt like a spell.

The fact that she had remembered what he had said when they were young until now and finally acted upon it was, in the end, part of that same context.

“Mullen Cassus.”

The moment he finished his thought, Erich spoke in a voice that couldn’t be any colder.

“Call the Magic Knight Commander immediately.”

Erich then commanded, as if grinding the words between his teeth.

“……The Imperial Chief Mage has disappeared.”