âYoung Prince, the discussion is mostly over. Originally, the young princeâs magical power is an order of magnitude greater than ours, so there is no one who would do anything stupid to go against a young prince who has the intention of becoming a King. The idiots who are too stupid to understand are fine, because Ria will make them understand by force.â
âI see. Sorry, Astaroth.â
I hate it, young Prince. Disgusting.
âDamn you, snake, return my gratitude.â
Master Gilbert clicked his tongue in disgust.
Astaroth didnât seem to mind, shifted his gaze to me and smiled.
âLydith, itâs been a long time. Iâve missed you, Iâve missed you, I wish youâd praise me for all my hard work.â
âI heard youâve been busy working. Iâll try my best to be recognised by everyone at the banquet that Astaroth-sama and the others have put so much effort into.â
âLydith-chan, itâs fine as it is. You donât have to change and you donât have to talk. If there are any more people who want to be Lydithâs mistress, Iâll be in trouble.â
âOh⌠youâre right. That would be a problem for me too.â
Itâs good to be liked by other demons, but if there are many people with heavy affection like Astaroth and Ria, even if Iâm as merciful as the Virgin, I might find it difficult to deal with them
Gilbert-sama was jealous, which is not a good thing.
In fact, even now, he is angry next to me. He probably doesnât like the fact that Astaroth and I are talking.
âBy the way, Lydith, why are you wearing the young Prince coat? Can I roll it up?â
âOf course not. Get lost, you fucking snake.â
âHow awful. I wonder how youâd say something like that to me, whoâs working while youâre flirting with Lydith. By the way, young Prince. The wood nymphs have done a great job with the rose garden in the backyard. Why donât you show Lydith around until the food is ready?â
âYouâre wearing a dress so beautiful that you donât want me to see it,â said Astaroth, shrugging his shoulders.
Gilbert-sama nodded frankly, held my hand and headed for the backyard.
âMaster Astaroth, you are very kind,â Mercuris said, looking emotional. I was a little worried.
I had never been inside the rose garden before, only seeing it from afar, although I passed by the backyard whenever I brought gifts to Clonea. Even from a distance I could see that it was beautiful, but somehow I didnât feel like strolling through it alone.
Mercuris said she would help prepare the meal and left immediately, leaving me alone with Gilbert-sama.
After passing through a wide archway, we arrived at a space full of blue roses. The center seemed to be a pavilion, blindfolded by a rose hedge, making it impossible to see what was inside from the surrounding area.
The place used to be rundown and decomposing, but it had been incredibly beautifully transformed.
We entered the pavilion and sat down, and Gilbert-sama helped me take off my coat. The coat was warm but big and heavy, so taking it off made me feel better.
â⌠A little bit, okay? He whispered.
Gilbert-sama put my body on his lap and hugged me from behind.
The tight clothes were even tighter, but because I was surrounded by a cage of roses, no one but Gilbert-sama would be able to see me. I am proud that I am beautiful enough not to be bothered by being seen, but I was still somewhat embarrassed.
âLiddy⌠Liddyâ
âGilbert-samaâŚâ
It was the first time he called me by a nickname and that made my heart flutter.
Gilbert-sama hugged me even tighter as I replied with a clumsy voice.
âI want to end it all quickly and make you mine.â
âAs for me, even now is fine, but âŚâ
âI have done terrible things to you and I want to show you my sincerity. I know itâs just complacency, but I donât want any regrets.â
âYes I understand. Itâs difficult to create a country where no one feels sad, but I want to create a country where everyone can live peacefully with little conflict.â
It would be good if we could make the world a place where different races can respect each other.
We need to think carefully about what we can do to ensure that after the worlds are connected, the Butterfly tribe and the hard-working Nymphs will not have a hard time again.
âLydith, Iâm glad to have met you.â
âYes, thatâs right. I am a miracle from heaven.â
âOh, yes.â
I heard a stifled laugh.
My earliest memory⌠of myself, is of Ariaâs face. Itâs the memory of my motherâs curse, who while weeping in despair, poured her magic power over me and wished for the annihilation of the goddess.â
âOkâ
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
Master Gilbert continued indifferently.
âItâs like having another heart implanted in you. Even now, inside me, Aria is screaming at me to kill the goddess. Lucis keeps whispering that he wants to get the goddess. Yule wants this world to disappear. Itâs not me, but Iâve been trying to take control of this body ever since it was born, as if it were my own feelings.â
âForgive me if I can only reply with commonplace words. It must be very painful for you.â
â I thought âWhy the hell should I be King?â.â
âI didnât know that, and I said some heartless things to you when I first met you.â
I remember thinking, âAs a king, how negligent you are.â
Considering Gilbert-samaâs circumstances, it was inappropriate to say such words to him. I just blamed him, based on my values alone.
âNoâŚYou were always looking ahead, no matter what position you were in, and you never whined. You didnât have enough to eat, your palms were all scratched up, but you didnât whine. Looking at you, I felt sorry for myself, because I had hated Lucis and the others for so many years, but had done nothing about it.â
I was just doing what I had to do, but Gilbert-sama must have had his own thoughts
I couldnât understand all the pain that Gilbert-sama was going through, but if he can be comforted by looking at me, then I think thatâs a good thing. It was worth it for me to be born as a perfect beautiful Lady.
âI love you, Lydith. If I ever lose sight of myself, please donât forget that I myself love you.â
As long as I am around, Gilbert-sama will remain Gilbert-sama. I tooâŚâ
I broke off my words there.
I didnât know what to say.
That I know that Cynthia is the vessel of the Goddess.
That I died once.
I didnât think I should say something about that.
I shook my head lightly and turned to Gilbert-sama.
Then I put my arms around him and whispered in a small voice, âI love you,â and kept my eyes down.
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