I took out two cans from the vending machine set up by the gym and handed one to Kayone.
Kayone took it apologetically.
It was my treat for Kayone, who had left her wallet in the classroom and had no money.
She was so agitated and cried so much that her voice was raspy.
âShall we go back to class after finishing this?â
I opened the pull tab of my coffee and asked Kayone.
âI understand. Iâm sorry for the trouble I caused you. Iâll pay you back in class, okay?â
âI donât mind. Itâs a small price to pay for information.â
âNo, thatâs not possible.â
Youâre so persistent. I donât need it, so why donât you just obediently receive it?
Youâre a serious person.
âSo what are you going to do with the prince when you get back?â
You rushed out and left him there.
It seems that one of Utai or Kayone must be by the princeâs side.
I wonder how they are doing now.
âThis kind of quarrel has always been common. I donât think His Highness is that bothered by it, so I think itâll be normal.â
Itâs a good idea to have a little remorse and apology for making a girl cry. Itâs not as if Kayone was at fault.
Well, thatâs impossible.
The prince is too abject.
âItâs been a year since he came to Japan, right? He should have recovered a bit.â
I think itâs amazing that heâs been living in this high school for a year, and heâs been sulky like that this entire time.
Isnât that a little too introverted?
â⊠Iâm the reason.â
She grasped the can with both hands and looked down.
âYou?â
âYes. It was me and the Inteira household.â
She rubbed her reddened eyes once and looked at me.
âAs His Highness said earlier, I was not meant to marry into His Highnessâ family from the beginning.â
âWell, thatâsâŠâ
âI wonder if itâs the brother the prince was talking about. He said he was in Tokyo.â
I honestly donât remember which brother he is. I mean, there are so many siblings in their stories that itâs hard to remember their names.
Thereâs no way I can remember the names of people Iâve never even met. Ahem.
âHis Highness, the Seventh Prince, Tetol Ketsa Coateau Dailan-sama. His Highness Atolâs brother who shares the same mother.â
âHuh.â
In all honesty, I donât know why she explained it to me.
I donât even think weâll ever meet each other.
â⊠From a very young age, His Highness Atol and my marriage was almost a done deal. However, due to the recent succession rights to the throne, Utai and my grandfather, the patriarch of the Inteira household, was desperate for a connection to the royal family, so he broke it off and forced His Highness Tetol and me to get married in order to maintain our connection to the royal family.â
âForced?â
Even though it was in another country, I wondered if it was possible to be so forceful.
Well, thatâs something that I canât help, even if I worry about it.
âMy parents and most of my family were against it. His Royal Highness Prince Tetol is indeed a man of great character, and even though he is a student, he is expected to be a politician, but we, the entire Inteira family, had been watching Prince Atolâs efforts for many years. It would be a terrible thing to give up on His Highness, wouldnât it? Iâm close to His Highness Tetol to a certain extent, but Iâve never even considered marriage.â
⊠No, but youâve thought about marrying Prince Atol?
Hmm. I wonder if he knows.
Itâs like sheâs revealing her fondness for Prince Atol to me.
You canât expect it to go well when not only your family members but also the other party refuses.
âIt is my grandfatherâs fault that once he has made up his mind, it is hard to make him give up. Thatâs why, or perhaps worst of all, my grandfather directly asked His Highness Atol to break off the engagement⊠to the prince in secret from our family, even lying to him.â
Instantly, a large crease appeared between Kayoneâs eyebrows.
She gripped the aluminum milk tea can she was holding so hatefully and so forcefully that the can cracked and crinkled.
As I watched that, I felt a familiar chill and backed away.
Itâs the kind of emotional outburst that Aoi and Mikuma sometimes get, the kind thatâs unique to girls. Kayone also emitted the same aura and oppressive feeling, which was honestly very scary.
Arenât the girls around me too scary lately?
âOh, okaâŠâ
âThereâs no way Iâm going to ask to break off my engagement to His Highness! Whatâs more! Iâm not a loose, light-headed woman who would enter into a marriage with your brother right after breaking off our engagement! The only connection between me and His Highness Tetol was that we were seniors and juniors at the academy, and he is also His Highness Atolâs older brother! Even if thatâs not the case, we only see each other a few times a year, and our words donât go beyond seasonal greetings and the courtesies of a vassal! What reason is there for me to propose an engagement to His Highness Tetol! Youâre the one who believed Grandfatherâs inept lie! Iâve been with you for so long, since you were wearing diapers! You should know everything about me! We even bathed together when we were younger, and I was the one who held you and comforted you when you cried because you had wet your bed! We have nothing to hide, as weâve already played all kinds of embarrassing games, from playing house to playing doctor. What the hell is Atol-sama thinking?â
âStop! Stop, Kayone! Youâre saying things youâll regret later! Youâre letting your momentum get the better of you.â
Come back before you canât take it back!
â⊠Iâm sorry. I lost my composure.â
âA-ah, I feel itâs a little late for that. Iâll pretend I didnât hear you.â
âMy loud voice brought her back to herself, and Kayoneâs tanned skin heated up to the point where I could tell at a glance.â
Holding the now compact aluminum can, Kayone squirmed, ashamed of herself.
The black wings on her back were moving loudly as if to hide her embarrassment or something, and kicking up dust in the space in front of the vending machine.
What an annoying way to hide your embarrassment. If you do this during the pollen season, youâll get complaints from the people around you.
âSo, what happened? Does the prince think you broke off the engagement?â
Is that why heâs sulking like a child?
Whatâs with him? How dumb.
ââŠI canât even begin to understand how he felt. It must have been a shocking experience for him, and he must have been desperate. The only people of his age who were close to him were myself and Utai, so he must have felt betrayed.â
Kayoneâs voice trembled as her downcast eyes clouded over.
You really canât stop yourself when it comes to the prince, can you?
I donât know if itâs okay to expose your true emotions to someone youâve only known for a short time, like me.
âAt first, I tried to deny it gently. But His Highness wouldnât listen to me at all, and that made me sad, so I started to speak more and more strongly, and now Iâve been abusing him like that, and saying things I never thought Iâd say.â
Ah, what the heck.
So that was the reason for Kayoneâs poisonous attitude and words towards the prince.
âBut thatâs still a bit much, donât you think?â
Like trash bug, incompetentâŠ
It wouldnât have been strange to get punched.
â⊠His Highness, who threw everything away and gave up, is angry with me.â
âYes?â
Iâm sorry, I donât understand what youâre saying.
âHis Highness, who was so apathetic when he was back home, responds to my words. Even if itâs anger or frustration with me, it brings a little bit of energy back to His Highness.â
UhâŠ
What are you trying to say?
âYouâre saying that if you make him angry, heâll respond to you, and that makes you happy, so youâve been hurling insults at him?â
âY-youâŠâ
Thatâs a little perverse, isnât it?
Even if thatâs fine with you, wonât that prince be in a bad mood because of your words and become sulkier and sulkier?
No, Kayone is probably aware of this.
âThatâs a littleâŠâ
I was kind of scared of Kayone, so I slowly moved away from her.
Whatâs scary is that Kayone knows about this negative spiral and hasnât stopped it.
She canât stop it. Sheâs sick.
âA-are you guys okayâŠ?â
The darkness in the princeâs heart may be quite deep, but Kayoneâs sickness is also very serious.
She loves him too much.
Itâs too deep, too heavy. What is this?
âThatâs why! Iâm also at fault for what happened in the classroom! Letâs go back like normal! Normally!â
Kayone must have noticed that I was taken aback because she hurriedly raised her head and acted cheerfully.
âOh, if you say so.â
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Turning around, Kayone heads for the corridor that connects the gym to the school building.
I followed after her.
âSomehow, I donât like itâŠâ
My mumbled words were drowned out by the sound of the wind.