𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲
Knowing that Shiro was safe filled my heart with joy, and I couldn’t sleep easily.
ㅤ
Tomorrow is a school holiday, and we celebrated Shiro being safe, so I’m still excited.
Everyone was considerate, bringing up what kind of person Shiro really is and sharing episodes about him, so I left early.
When I was ready to sleep, everyone moved to the servant’s room, but they might still be drinking.
ㅤ
“Maybe I’ll go have some tea.”
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When I left my room, it was already dark.
Thanks to the soundproofing, or perhaps everyone had left, it was completely quiet.
I prepared tea in the silence and sat on the sofa, enjoying some mindless relaxation for the first time in a while.
The moonlight filtering in through the large window was gentle on my eyes accustomed to the dark.
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“. . .Alice?”
“Roa-sama?”
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One of the doors opened, and it was Roa-sama who came out. In the dim light, his silver hair shone.
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“Is the party over?”
“No, it’s still going on. I just thought I’d be alone for a bit and stepped out.”
“Then I’ll go back to my room. Good night.”
“. . .Would you stay here with me?”
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Roa-sama looked like a dog with its ears down, somehow.
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“Alright. Shall I make some tea?”
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I return after getting Cooker-kun to make some tea that’s supposed to be good for sobriety.
Roa-sama was sitting on the sofa, gazing out the window in a daze.
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“It’s really good that Wanko-sama is safe.”
“Yes. I believed he was alive. . . but hearing he’s safe, I can’t help but feel relieved. I’ll be scolded for being a weak lord who couldn’t fully trust Shiro.”
“Even if you believe, it’s natural to worry.”
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I sit next to Roa-sama and drink tea.
This tea is also said to be good for dieting. I’ve gotten plumper since I stopped working as a kitchen maid.
It might be just a placebo, but I’ll actively keep drinking it.
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We drink tea together in the darkness without turning on the lights, enjoying the silence.
Being with Roa-sama at the end of the day always comforts me. Since coming to school, we spend less time together, so I feel it even more.
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“. . .I realize I’ve been looking forward to talking with Alice at the end of the day.”
“Me too. I was just thinking about that.”
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Then silence again.
Every time I take a sip of tea, Roa-sama’s Adam’s apple moves.
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“. . .Alice, you have a unique way of thinking. You dismiss everyone’s worries and backgrounds as if they’re nothing, and that stays in the heart.”
“A unique way of thinking. . .”
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Had I been thinking like that? I was startled.
Could it be because I have memories of a past life?
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In my past life, values and norms were different. I knew about various information easily through the internet and TV.
Cross-dressing boys were common, and there were many people like Arthur who loved puns.
It was normal for men to like sweets. Many pastry chefs were men.
Is this difference in thinking what’s fresh to everyone?
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“There are many others like me, I believe. You just haven’t met them yet, or you don’t know they think this way.”
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Since I have memories of a past life, it wouldn’t be strange if there were other reincarnated people.
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“Meeting and hearing one’s thoughts is what matters. How do you search for someone you haven’t met? And there’s no guarantee of meeting them.”
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. . .Indeed, that’s correct.
The words were not wrong.
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“One might say they’ve never heard such thoughts, but if only insincere words are spoken, then those ideas might as well not exist.”
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Roa-sama firmly stated that even if there are numerous women with unique thoughts in social circles, if they intend to conceal them, it’s as if they don’t exist at all.
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“I see. . .”
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Everyone seems to find me curious.
Edgardo had said he left home to join the Fourth Knight Order. If he had gone somewhere else before, there probably wouldn’t have been a confession.
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“Edgardo and Rolf are pleased with Shiro’s safety, and in between, they regret things concerning Alice.”
“Regret?”
“The results of the investigation into that merchant’s misdeeds have been sent. It appears he has done some quite terrible things to women.”
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When I was attacked, I got the impression that the person was all too practiced. Their actions were too efficient, as if they had done the same thing many times before.
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Knowing this, Alice understood her discomfort around the opposite sex and regretted carelessly getting close. He was worried that her wounds would spread further.
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. . .I wonder if Roa-sama is aware of the confession.
No, he surely knows. Even within the Fourth Knight Order, he knew of things that happened in his absence.
I want to know what Roa-sama thinks about it, yet I don’t want to know.
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“That’s alright. It was only an attempted act, and I’ve gotten over it now.”
“We must catch that merchant, make him reveal his connections with Dyson, and have him atone for his actions. If Alice wishes to seek personal vengeance, I apologize, but. . .”
“I don’t think that way. Though I suppose it can’t be helped if he gets a bit more injured when caught.”
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Deliberately tackling to scrape a face against the ground, aiming a little too low, increasing the injuries, and so on.
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“. . .I am.”
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After a pause, Roa-sama enclosed the cup with both hands.
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“Having heard Edgardo and Rolf discuss whether it’s better to give up on Alice, I came outside. If I’m chosen, or if one of them is chosen, or if neither’s feelings are reciprocated. . . it will be a good chance to see what happens to their loyalty. Love may not be suitable for someone like me, whose thoughts are steeped in nobility.”
“Roa-sama. . .”
“Perhaps I only pretend to understand love and affection. The only emotions I might truly understand are brotherly love given by my older brother and the respect from my close associates. I. . . was not loved by my father. I think my mother loved me, but what my father wanted from her was not to be a parent, but to remain a woman. I wonder what place I held for my mother.”
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I want to say that can’t be true, but it’s not right to pry into family matters without knowing the situation.
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“. . .It seems I’ve become a bit tipsy.”
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Roa-sama, hiding his pain behind a wry smile, crossed his legs again.
The faint moonlight shone through the window, backlighting Roa-sama’s face, making it invisible. The sparkling silver hair. The carelessly swept-up bangs.
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. . .I’ve seen it before.
This appearance, this pose, it’s familiar.
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It was just as dark then. The face was obscured by light, the beautiful silver hair shimmered, and a low voice carried kindness.
At the balcony of the party during the Founding Festival, I indeed witnessed a scene like something out of a movie.
ㅤ
. . .Could Roa-sama be the royal prince?
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