What is he doing? This is something only lovers do. Fanora was dumbfounded and remained silent.
“My arm is going to fall off. Come on.”
“Uub!”
When Fanora froze and didn’t respond to him, Aloken shoved the food in his hand into her mouth. The young nobles in the distance were busy making a fuss when they saw it, saying, “The duke and his prospective wife are romantic.”
“…!”
Aloken glanced at the young nobles and acted more confidently. He wiped the crumbs that had fallen around Fanora’s mouth with a handkerchief taken out of his arms and looked at her affectionately, then said, “Looking at your expression, the tart must have tasted bad.”
“…”
“Then, shall I bring you the cherries over there? Aren’t you thirsty?”
Aloken’s serious voice quietly flows into her ears. He acted like a man who loved you for thousand years. So it was only natural that everyone in the room could feel his actions romantically.
“Go ahead and tell me, My Love.”
Aloken addressed her with sweet words, as always.
“…”
She didn’t know if this was a mockery to her or if he had other intentions. But one thing was certain. Fanora could no longer look at his affection with the same eyes as before.
“Fanora?”
When he treated her so affectionately, she wanted to vomit.
Aloken covered his mouth as she began to tremble and pretended to be serious. Of course, the corner of his mouth that was covered by his hand was naturally raised.
“I want to go to the bathroom.”
“But you didn’t drink anything.”
“I can’t stand it any longer. Let me rest for a moment.”
Fanora said she wanted to go to the bathroom in a crying voice. It was an excuse to leave the hall to anyone’s eyes, but Aloken readily allowed it.
“Do as you please.”
Fanora soon left this place with a quick step. The butler, attached by Aloken, followed her.
“Duke, is it okay to allow her like that?”
As they moved away from view, another servant waiting beside Aloken opened his mouth. He didn’t know what was happening between Aloken and Fanora. Still, he knew that his master was watching his fiancée for some reason.
“What do you mean?”
“No matter how much the butler followed her, he couldn’t go into the bathroom. If she runs away…”
The servant’s words gave him a moment’s thought.
“Is there a window in the bathroom here?”
“Yes.”
“Then send a servant in the direction of the window in advance… No, don’t do that.”
He changed his mind to block the window.
“Go and tell the knights at the gate right now. If they see Fanora, please send her back without checking.”
“Pardon?”
“Those on guard duty today are under my command, so if I say that, they will understand. Instead, they’ll guard the carriageway until the banquet is over.”
“Ah, the carriageway. There’s only one way out, for sure. But shouldn’t we just block the window from the beginning?”
Aloken frowned subtly as if he found the response amusing. Then, he sighed softly and explained. “That’s what those who don’t know about hunting said… It’s not about shooting the ones kept in the cage; it’s about the thrill of hitting the ones that are unexpectedly flying around.” He then smiled sluggishly.
The servant felt uneasy at the words of his master but eventually turned to carry out his order.
* * *
It was a little while later.
“…”
Step, step, step. As they expected, Fanora escaped the building through the window. She randomly crossed the road in front of her eyes and eventually arrived at a place. It was in front of the royal chapel.
“Gasp, gasp…”
The chapel lights were off as if there were no priests inside. The only thing that lit up the surroundings was the full moon shining brightly in the sky.
“Urgh...!”
After running for a while, Fanora tripped over a stone she hadn’t noticed before and fell. She caught her breath as she slumped down helplessly.
“…”
She didn’t have any need to get up again anyway. In the first place, she wasn’t trying to escape from his clutches. It was just so frustrating, and all she needed was to try to get out of the situation being watched by someone.
“Huu…”
After a while, Fanora took care of her messy dress and sat down on the grass. Tall trees surrounded the chapel, so it looked like a small forest. Perhaps because there were only a few people, the sound of bugs could also be heard from somewhere.
“…”
She was really alone now. That means she didn’t have to pretend to be found anymore. As she thought so, tears welled up in her eyes.
I… I’ve been too greedy. I wouldn’t have become this unhappy if I hadn’t thought of being happy from the beginning. The sadder Fanora felt, the more she blamed herself.
But I don’t have to worry. He doesn’t know I have Io, so if I put my mind to it…! She even forced herself to think positively to motivate herself.
However, Fanora soon closed her mouth and trembled. Tears that she had held back burst out.
“…Why am I always like this?”
In the end, everything is back to square one.
“Why is it always me?”
From the moment of her birth, while others were blessed, she wasn’t welcomed. Being shunned by her family, being shoved off by her enemies. Even if she stood in the center of society, her surroundings were filled with shallow nobles.
Iva Maquil, who was kind to her, only saw her as a resemblance to her deceased daughter. Would she have dared talk to her if she was the pathetic and depressing Fanora Celsius? Her relationship with Iva Maquil was nothing but the result of her relentless efforts. Furthermore, she could already imagine how Iva Maquil would react if she found out Fanora was a murderer.
“Just once is fine…”
She burst into tears in an injustice and revealed her inner feelings. It was the first wish she ever let out of her mouth.
“At least once… It’s okay to be loved for no particular reason…”
Her eyes were sadly distorted. Hot tears wet the hem of her dress as she sobbed silently.
“It’s okay if there is at least one person in the world who thank me for being born…”
Eventually, her tears flowed until she ran out of breath. Fanora crouched down, hugging her legs. She buried her face in her lap to further muffle her voice. “Hiks…”
But that was then.
“Uaaargh!”
“!”
She raised her head in surprise at the sudden scream. And in an instant, a black shadow fell over her head.
“…?!”
Something shot out of the grass and went well over her. Eventually, the shadow disappeared, and Fanora lowered her head. The moonlight was so bright that she could immediately see what appeared before her.
“Why is there a person in a place like this?! No! First of all, I’m sorry! Huh, I almost hit you!”
“…”
“But if you crouch like this in the middle of the night!”
It was none other than a man on horseback who suddenly came out. She looked up at the man on the brown horse. Kind-looking eyes, furrowed eyebrows, and…
“It’s hard to see because you have black hair…”
Red hair like human blood. Scanning the features of the man who appeared, Fanora slowly opened her eyes wide.
“Uh?”
Carl Andras, who was the opposite, soon made the same expression like Fanora. When he realized that it was none other than Fanora that he had almost stepped on by his horse, his complexion turned blue, and he hurriedly got off the saddle.
“Lady Fanora?”
Carl was wearing the uniform of the Royal Knights. The button on his neck, which should have been buttoned neatly, was gone, but there was no time to care about it now.
“…Are you the guard of the banquet today?”
“Yes? That’s, uh…”
When Fanora asked him a word, he began to laugh awkwardly.
“Well, that’s true. It’s so inefficient to stand still in one spot! Uh, you never know where a suspicious person might appear~”
“…”
“…I’ll be honest. I was skipping my duty and riding on a horse.”
Then I almost hit Lady Fanora.
He told the truth with a sullen face. And Carl soon bent his legs to make eye contact with Fanora sitting down.
“Huh? Did you cry?”
However, Fanora’s face with her head up was simply a mess. Carl appeared before she had time to wipe the stains of tears on her cheeks. Fanora rubbed her eyes as soon as she heard his words.
“Ah, a little…”
“Why?”
Upon hearing her hushed voice, Carl looked worried.
Fanora said whatever came to mind. There was no point in trying to hide anything now. “Many things happened.”
“…”
“If you’re not smart, you shouldn’t be greedy. Ha, I was foolishly scammed.”
She was still hugging her knees.
“I can’t stop crying even when I see you… Really, I’m so pathetic.”
“…”
“That’s why it’s natural for me to be shunned. Why did I live expecting someone to like me?”
Indeed, it was Carl’s face that she hadn’t seen in a long time. He was the only one who knew about the crime she committed but treated her comfortably. In a way, it was a lucky encounter, but her expression was still dark.
“What are you talking about? Does that mean no one in the world likes Lady Fanora?”
“None. Not even one.”
Carl quickly denied the remark. “No. Here it is. Someone who likes Lady Fanora.” He pointed to himself.
Fanora raised her wet gaze and spoke quietly. “I’m not lightly saying this.”
“I’m serious too. That’s right. Lady Fanora is so—”
“The person who likes me so much asked me not to see their face from now on?” Fanora’s tone gradually sharpened.
As her emotions were complicated, she involuntarily raised her voice. “It must be hard to see my face, who asks you to do bad things every time, so why don’t you ride your horse far away now?”
“I, kept my distance, with a mind—”
“And yet, you still say I’m a good person, even though you already know what kind of person I am?”
She expressed her anger openly. Rather than being annoyed by the sudden arrow of reproach, Carl looked at Fanora with a sad face.
“Yes.”
His eyes, permeated by the moonlight, looked straight at Fanora. There was no shakiness in those eyes.
“Because Lady Fanora is a good person to me.”
If it was the old Fanora, she would have taken these words with thanks, but because of the situation, even those words didn’t sound nice.
Fanora cried out in a voice full of anger. However, her unstable, shaking eyes seemed to be very frightened. “Please stop! Stop saying I’m a good person when you don’t mean it! How much more will you all mock me!”
“…?!”
“I told you I’m not speaking in a light way…!”
She finally got up from her seat, unable to contain her anger.
“N-no. That’s.”
“There’s no evidence of your affection anyway…”
Fanora finally couldn’t overcome the anger and shouted out loud. Tears dripped from my eyes. “If you like me so much, give me your life!”
“…”
“Bring me that proud Aloken’s head and tell me!”
She ended up saying something impulsively that she didn’t really mean.
“His head?”
Carl Andras was stunned by her remarks.
“…”
But a normal person’s rage doesn’t last long. After some time, she realized what she had said and slowly became tearful.
“S-sorry.” Fanora, who regained her composure, bowed her head and apologized. She hated herself for doing this even when her self-esteem was already low.
“I shouldn’t have done this to you.”
Carl watched her quietly and said quietly. “You just said it was Aloken’s head.”
“!”
“Then maybe now… Was the reason you were crying because of Duke Aloken Jalier?”
What is he doing? This is something only lovers do. Fanora was dumbfounded and remained silent.
“My arm is going to fall off. Come on.”
“Uub!”
When Fanora froze and didn’t respond to him, Aloken shoved the food in his hand into her mouth. The young nobles in the distance were busy making a fuss when they saw it, saying, “The duke and his prospective wife are romantic.”
“…!”
Aloken glanced at the young nobles and acted more confidently. He wiped the crumbs that had fallen around Fanora’s mouth with a handkerchief taken out of his arms and looked at her affectionately, then said, “Looking at your expression, the tart must have tasted bad.”
“…”
“Then, shall I bring you the cherries over there? Aren’t you thirsty?”
Aloken’s serious voice quietly flows into her ears. He acted like a man who loved you for thousand years. So it was only natural that everyone in the room could feel his actions romantically.
“Go ahead and tell me, My Love.”
Aloken addressed her with sweet words, as always.
“…”
She didn’t know if this was a mockery to her or if he had other intentions. But one thing was certain. Fanora could no longer look at his affection with the same eyes as before.
“Fanora?”
When he treated her so affectionately, she wanted to vomit.
Aloken covered his mouth as she began to tremble and pretended to be serious. Of course, the corner of his mouth that was covered by his hand was naturally raised.
“I want to go to the bathroom.”
“But you didn’t drink anything.”
“I can’t stand it any longer. Let me rest for a moment.”
Fanora said she wanted to go to the bathroom in a crying voice. It was an excuse to leave the hall to anyone’s eyes, but Aloken readily allowed it.
“Do as you please.”
Fanora soon left this place with a quick step. The butler, attached by Aloken, followed her.
“Duke, is it okay to allow her like that?”
As they moved away from view, another servant waiting beside Aloken opened his mouth. He didn’t know what was happening between Aloken and Fanora. Still, he knew that his master was watching his fiancée for some reason.
“What do you mean?”
“No matter how much the butler followed her, he couldn’t go into the bathroom. If she runs away…”
The servant’s words gave him a moment’s thought.
“Is there a window in the bathroom here?”
“Yes.”
“Then send a servant in the direction of the window in advance… No, don’t do that.”
He changed his mind to block the window.
“Go and tell the knights at the gate right now. If they see Fanora, please send her back without checking.”
“Pardon?”
“Those on guard duty today are under my command, so if I say that, they will understand. Instead, they’ll guard the carriageway until the banquet is over.”
“Ah, the carriageway. There’s only one way out, for sure. But shouldn’t we just block the window from the beginning?”
Aloken frowned subtly as if he found the response amusing. Then, he sighed softly and explained. “That’s what those who don’t know about hunting said… It’s not about shooting the ones kept in the cage; it’s about the thrill of hitting the ones that are unexpectedly flying around.” He then smiled sluggishly.
The servant felt uneasy at the words of his master but eventually turned to carry out his order.
* * *
It was a little while later.
“…”
Step, step, step. As they expected, Fanora escaped the building through the window. She randomly crossed the road in front of her eyes and eventually arrived at a place. It was in front of the royal chapel.
“Gasp, gasp…”
The chapel lights were off as if there were no priests inside. The only thing that lit up the surroundings was the full moon shining brightly in the sky.
“Urgh...!”
After running for a while, Fanora tripped over a stone she hadn’t noticed before and fell. She caught her breath as she slumped down helplessly.
“…”
She didn’t have any need to get up again anyway. In the first place, she wasn’t trying to escape from his clutches. It was just so frustrating, and all she needed was to try to get out of the situation being watched by someone.
“Huu…”
After a while, Fanora took care of her messy dress and sat down on the grass. Tall trees surrounded the chapel, so it looked like a small forest. Perhaps because there were only a few people, the sound of bugs could also be heard from somewhere.
“…”
She was really alone now. That means she didn’t have to pretend to be found anymore. As she thought so, tears welled up in her eyes.
I… I’ve been too greedy. I wouldn’t have become this unhappy if I hadn’t thought of being happy from the beginning. The sadder Fanora felt, the more she blamed herself.
But I don’t have to worry. He doesn’t know I have Io, so if I put my mind to it…! She even forced herself to think positively to motivate herself.
However, Fanora soon closed her mouth and trembled. Tears that she had held back burst out.
“…Why am I always like this?”
In the end, everything is back to square one.
“Why is it always me?”
From the moment of her birth, while others were blessed, she wasn’t welcomed. Being shunned by her family, being shoved off by her enemies. Even if she stood in the center of society, her surroundings were filled with shallow nobles.
Iva Maquil, who was kind to her, only saw her as a resemblance to her deceased daughter. Would she have dared talk to her if she was the pathetic and depressing Fanora Celsius? Her relationship with Iva Maquil was nothing but the result of her relentless efforts. Furthermore, she could already imagine how Iva Maquil would react if she found out Fanora was a murderer.
“Just once is fine…”
She burst into tears in an injustice and revealed her inner feelings. It was the first wish she ever let out of her mouth.
“At least once… It’s okay to be loved for no particular reason…”
Her eyes were sadly distorted. Hot tears wet the hem of her dress as she sobbed silently.
“It’s okay if there is at least one person in the world who thank me for being born…”
Eventually, her tears flowed until she ran out of breath. Fanora crouched down, hugging her legs. She buried her face in her lap to further muffle her voice. “Hiks…”
But that was then.
“Uaaargh!”
“!”
She raised her head in surprise at the sudden scream. And in an instant, a black shadow fell over her head.
“…?!”
Something shot out of the grass and went well over her. Eventually, the shadow disappeared, and Fanora lowered her head. The moonlight was so bright that she could immediately see what appeared before her.
“Why is there a person in a place like this?! No! First of all, I’m sorry! Huh, I almost hit you!”
“…”
“But if you crouch like this in the middle of the night!”
It was none other than a man on horseback who suddenly came out. She looked up at the man on the brown horse. Kind-looking eyes, furrowed eyebrows, and…
“It’s hard to see because you have black hair…”
Red hair like human blood. Scanning the features of the man who appeared, Fanora slowly opened her eyes wide.
“Uh?”
Carl Andras, who was the opposite, soon made the same expression like Fanora. When he realized that it was none other than Fanora that he had almost stepped on by his horse, his complexion turned blue, and he hurriedly got off the saddle.
“Lady Fanora?”
Carl was wearing the uniform of the Royal Knights. The button on his neck, which should have been buttoned neatly, was gone, but there was no time to care about it now.
“…Are you the guard of the banquet today?”
“Yes? That’s, uh…”
When Fanora asked him a word, he began to laugh awkwardly.
“Well, that’s true. It’s so inefficient to stand still in one spot! Uh, you never know where a suspicious person might appear~”
“…”
“…I’ll be honest. I was skipping my duty and riding on a horse.”
Then I almost hit Lady Fanora.
He told the truth with a sullen face. And Carl soon bent his legs to make eye contact with Fanora sitting down.
“Huh? Did you cry?”
However, Fanora’s face with her head up was simply a mess. Carl appeared before she had time to wipe the stains of tears on her cheeks. Fanora rubbed her eyes as soon as she heard his words.
“Ah, a little…”
“Why?”
Upon hearing her hushed voice, Carl looked worried.
Fanora said whatever came to mind. There was no point in trying to hide anything now. “Many things happened.”
“…”
“If you’re not smart, you shouldn’t be greedy. Ha, I was foolishly scammed.”
She was still hugging her knees.
“I can’t stop crying even when I see you… Really, I’m so pathetic.”
“…”
“That’s why it’s natural for me to be shunned. Why did I live expecting someone to like me?”
Indeed, it was Carl’s face that she hadn’t seen in a long time. He was the only one who knew about the crime she committed but treated her comfortably. In a way, it was a lucky encounter, but her expression was still dark.
“What are you talking about? Does that mean no one in the world likes Lady Fanora?”
“None. Not even one.”
Carl quickly denied the remark. “No. Here it is. Someone who likes Lady Fanora.” He pointed to himself.
Fanora raised her wet gaze and spoke quietly. “I’m not lightly saying this.”
“I’m serious too. That’s right. Lady Fanora is so—”
“The person who likes me so much asked me not to see their face from now on?” Fanora’s tone gradually sharpened.
As her emotions were complicated, she involuntarily raised her voice. “It must be hard to see my face, who asks you to do bad things every time, so why don’t you ride your horse far away now?”
“I, kept my distance, with a mind—”
“And yet, you still say I’m a good person, even though you already know what kind of person I am?”
She expressed her anger openly. Rather than being annoyed by the sudden arrow of reproach, Carl looked at Fanora with a sad face.
“Yes.”
His eyes, permeated by the moonlight, looked straight at Fanora. There was no shakiness in those eyes.
“Because Lady Fanora is a good person to me.”
If it was the old Fanora, she would have taken these words with thanks, but because of the situation, even those words didn’t sound nice.
Fanora cried out in a voice full of anger. However, her unstable, shaking eyes seemed to be very frightened. “Please stop! Stop saying I’m a good person when you don’t mean it! How much more will you all mock me!”
“…?!”
“I told you I’m not speaking in a light way…!”
She finally got up from her seat, unable to contain her anger.
“N-no. That’s.”
“There’s no evidence of your affection anyway…”
Fanora finally couldn’t overcome the anger and shouted out loud. Tears dripped from my eyes. “If you like me so much, give me your life!”
“…”
“Bring me that proud Aloken’s head and tell me!”
She ended up saying something impulsively that she didn’t really mean.
“His head?”
Carl Andras was stunned by her remarks.
“…”
But a normal person’s rage doesn’t last long. After some time, she realized what she had said and slowly became tearful.
“S-sorry.” Fanora, who regained her composure, bowed her head and apologized. She hated herself for doing this even when her self-esteem was already low.
“I shouldn’t have done this to you.”
Carl watched her quietly and said quietly. “You just said it was Aloken’s head.”
“!”
“Then maybe now… Was the reason you were crying because of Duke Aloken Jalier?”
