Chapter 3: Midnight Encounter
For a while, I locked myself in the laboratory alone.
Even after Cain-sama left, I was in such shock that I couldn’t think of anything.
Yet ironically, my hands moved on their own when it came to work.
It had seeped into my body.
I couldn’t go home until I finished this.
I just want to go home… and rest.
“Sigh… Why does it have to be like this?”
Come to think of it, my life had been a series of things not going the way I wanted.
I wasn’t originally from the Roster family.
My mother was a commoner, and my father had a one-night stand with her.
That’s how I was born, and my father accepted me as his eldest daughter to hide that relationship.
But by that time, Aria had already been born, and my treatment in the Roster family was terrible.
My father wouldn’t even look me in the eye.
My stepmother treated me as an enemy.
The servants pitied me.
Even my younger sister Aria made fun of me.
I had no place in the Roster family.
Yet, I found my one and only reason for living.
When I was making magical tools, I felt like I was freed from all other entanglements.
Making things is fun.
I want to invent something that will surprise everyone.
And so, while studying alone to make magical tools, before I knew it, I had become a court magic tool maker.
It was four years ago, when I was 14, and I became the youngest ever to do so.
It was the first time anyone had ever paid attention to me.
Knowing me changed the way many people saw me.
It was around this time that I was approached by the Balmoust family, with an offer to engage with Cain-sama, with whom I had a deep friendship.
I became an adult, engaged, and was able to make things in the best environment at the court.
At that time, I was pleased that the people around me had recognized me, even though I was nothing special.
I felt like something would change in my life.
But in the end, things didn’t go well.
Expectations can also lead to resentment.
I was bullied by senior colleagues and the director, who didn’t like me, and was given unreasonable amounts of work.
Even if I somehow managed to finish it, even more work would come flying at me.
My only comfort when I was exhausted was Cain-sama’s kindness… but I lost that too.
I might be experiencing true loneliness…
“I should just quit…”
How many times have I thought this?
I want to escape.
I want to quit the court and live leisurely somewhere.
“…But it’s impossible, isn’t it?”
It’s just a wish.
Even if I did escape, how would I survive afterwards?
Even finding a job would be difficult.
No decent workplace would hire someone with an uncertain identity.
If things go wrong, I might end up living a worse life than I do now… but I can’t even imagine it.
Sigh
I’ll finish today’s work soon.
It’s almost time for the date to change to tomorrow.
Even if tomorrow comes, I’ll continue to have hectic days like today.
If there’s any difference, it would be that there’s no longer even a small comfort.
It seems like the only thing left for me is to devote myself to work with emptiness.
I can’t do anything but sigh.
❂❂❂
After finishing work, I leave the lab slowly.
I can finally go home and sleep in my bed.
I should be happy, but my steps are heavier than usual today.
Everyone should be asleep at this time, but what if someone is awake and I run into them by chance?
Oto-sama, Okaa-sama, Aria… Even the servants must know about the broken engagement.
Whenever we meet, they always make sarcastic remarks.
And tomorrow, if I come to work here, I’m afraid the director will make fun of me.
Everything feels like a hassle, and even walking feels sluggish.
Perhaps I should spend the night in the laboratory.
I’ve done it a few times before, so it’s not the first time.
I stop in my tracks.
“Maybe I should go back.”
And I turn on my heel.
I just passed through the courtyard.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
“Huh?”
Someone other than me is in the courtyard.
It’s unnatural for anyone to be alone in the palace at this late hour.
I’ve never encountered anyone here before.
I can hear faint breathing.
It’s clear who’s there.
It must be someone who’s not normal.
Could it be a thief… or an assassin?
I suddenly got scared and tried to run away from the scene.
“Haa…h, u…”
The voice I heard from behind the trees in the garden was clearly in pain.
When I realized that, I stopped running away.
If I listen carefully in the quiet night, I can hear someone’s breathing getting louder.
It was clear that something was out of order.
And it was considerably weakened.
I would be lying if I said I had no fear.
However, before I knew it, my body had started moving on its own, rushing towards the source of the sound.
“A-Are you okay…?”
I peeked behind the tree with fear.
There was a man sitting there.
At a glance, I understood who he was.
“Y-Your Highness Julius!?”
