Volume 5 Chapter 215, Love Interests At That Time_1 (: Seaweed)

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

POV: Ash

 

“I’m severely lacking Mary components.”

“…Right.”

 

The noble person that I, Ash Austin, Son of Marquis Austin, served, said something I didn’t quite understand.

In a room at the royal castle, with only the two of us present, Vermillion sat in a chair, probably mentally exhausted, and muttered with a serious tone.

While I could understand his feelings, those were unusual words for Vermillion, who normally wore the mask of calmness when not interacting with Mary… no, recently he’s been acting strange in strange places.

Anyway, maybe he was mentally drained from having to behave like a member of the Royal Family for the New Year’s greetings and all the continuous parties.

 

“Ash, why isn’t Mary by my side?”

“… Well, she is a Commoner, and you are not engaged so she cannot be by your side”

“Being a Commoner or not has nothing to do with love, so there shouldn’t be a problem with her staying by my side.”

“… Your Highness Vermillion, are you tired?”

 

What is this man saying? I was currently in the position of an attendant, so I expressed my concern in polite terms.

It wasn’t the question of being in love or not… besides, I love Mary more, so if she was going to be by anybody’s side, it should have been mine.

 

“Why are there women approaching me? Why are people telling me to take care of their Daughters?…  Does it not come across that I love Mary?”

 

… As I expected, that was the reason.

Vermillion had been approached and courted by many women over the past few days, and people of all ranks have been suggesting a new fiancée to him. He must be tired from that.

 

“…Even if it does come across, they must think it’s a temporary infatuation. After all, you cannot get formally engaged to a Commoner.”

“Social status means nothing when it comes to love…I’m prepared to make Mary the Queen and have established my faction, so why would I choose another woman now…”

 

He broke off the engagement with the Daughter of the Duke and chose a Commoner girl. This rumor has spread far and wide, not just among the ability.

Normally, Vermillion’s position within the Noble Faction and the Royal Family would be in jeopardy. In fact, it almost became so right after he broke off the engagement.

However, the cancellation of the engagement led to the conclusion that the main issue lay with Violet Valentine. Combined with Vermillion’s excellence, and the fact that the girl he claimed to love was a Commoner and thus unlikely to become his legitimate Wife, those aiming for that position have begun to emerge.

His abilities are undoubtedly excellent, and thanks to Mary’s influence, his behavior as a royalty has become more honed, so they probably thought if they played their cards right, they could take the spot of the Queen Mother. A lot of time had passed since the commotion over the duel, and now that he was away from the academy, it was the perfect time to carry the favor. It was utterly despicable.

Until now, Violet Valentine… Now Heartfield stood next to him, glaring at other people so hard, hardly anyone could approach him.

 

 

“Mary’s voice… smile… gestures… fuu, I miss everything. It almost feels like we’ll never see each other again…”

“You will meet her at the academy in a few days.”

 

…IIs this man okay in the head?

I love her too and want to see her soon. Whenever he mentions her, I also start to want to see her, so I wish he wouldn’t keep talking so much.

 

“But what’s clear is that no woman…no, a human being can come close to Mary’s charm.”

“I agree.”

 

That was an undeniable fact.

 

“Her charm will shine brightly even when she’s the Queen. She truly has the qualities to be the Mother of the nation. The women who’ve been approaching me these last few days can’t even come close to her.”

“No no, what are you saying, your Highness? She’s a brilliant talent who will contribute more to the nation as the Marchioness.  After all, she and I are a wonderful match.”

“You say some funny things, Ash. It’s rare for you to joke around.”

“Haha, what are you talking about? I’m not joking around. I think you’re the one who’s tired from overworking yourself those last days, Your Highness. No matter how you look at it, she’s a good match for me.”

“Oh? You’re saying that you’re a better match for her than a royalty like me? You could become a jester with all those jokes. Mary will stay by my side as the Mother of the nation.”

“You should only say that after you’ve managed to confess.”

“You’re one to talk. She dodges you nonchalantly every time.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you either, Your Highness. You’re in the same boat.”

“I’m more proactive than you and Char.”

“… Let’s stop here, Vermillion. It won’t benefit either of us no matter how much we try.”

“… You’re right. It just makes me feel empty.”

 

No matter how we spun it, the fact remained that we haven’t been able to confess to Mary properly.

Ever since the school festival, I’ve had this strange feeling that she’s been keeping her distance, as if sizing me up. If I don’t try harder, even just being with her might become more difficult…

 

“I wonder what Mary’s doing right now? As for what the Commoners do on New Year… they go back home, don’t they?”

“That’s about right. It seems like many students who don’t have money spend their holidays in the capital.”

“I see. But in Mary’s case… I heard she doesn’t get along with her parents. I wonder if she’s still at the academy right now?”

 

I’ve heard that it’s standard for Commoners, or rather royal subjects, to spend New Year holidays with their Families. I don’t really feel it myself, because I’m too busy with greetings and such, as I’m doing now.

However, surprisingly, it seems that Mary doesn’t get along with her parents. I heard before from her that she was having trouble communicating her desire to save the others.

I remember her looking a little sad, saying that it was difficult for her to return to her house because of this. Her expression at that moment was so cute that it made me want to protect her, and if Vermillion and Char hadn’t been there, I would have wanted to hug her. When I actually tried to do it, I noticed that I was acting simultaneously with Vermillion and Char, and while we were glaring at each other, I missed my chance.

 

“Knowing her, she might be out gathering materials for her alchemy research.”

“I see, that’s a possibility. It’s a rare vacation, after all.”

“Or, like Nephrite, she might have gone to find Dragons to earn some money and gather the ingredients.”

“What is that girl trying to do?”

 

When I met Nephrite the last time, she said that she wanted to go to Shiki but didn’t have money to use the Warp Stone, so she wanted to join the adventurer’s guild to earn money and ‘hit it big’. I’m not sure how serious she was about it though. I don’t know how to describe it, but at the moment, the term ‘Iron Lady’ seemed to suit her.

 

“Oh, by the way, speaking of Kriemhild…Hm?”

“You seem to have a visitor.”

 

Just as Vermillion looked as if he had remembered something about Nephrite, there was a knock on the door.

Vermillion was sitting in the room and lamenting about his Mary component deficiency, but he was currently in the middle of a party. He snuck out saying that he was going to take a short break, so perhaps a messenger had been sent to tell him to come back.

I told them to wait for a second and exchanged looks with Vermillion.

Then his expression returned to his usual self and he nodded, signaling that it was okay to open the door, so I approached the door and put my hand on the handle.

 

“How can I help you?”

 

I opened the door to see who it was.

 

“Oh! It’s been a while, Ash.”

 

There stood a woman with beautiful, long flowing red hair and the same purple eyes as Vermillion. In other words, it was a beautiful woman possessing the traits of Royalty and a dazzling smile. Behind her stood my childhood friend, Char, averting his gaze with an awkward expression, and Ecul Forsyth, my Senior at the academy and a rival for Mary’s affection.

 

“Is my stupid Little Brother here?”

 

Seeing her smiling brightly, I closed the door and immediately locked it.

… Is there any way I can escape now?