Chapter14，Part2 – Extra Story : Former Fiancee's Regret

I know in my head that this is crazy, but for some reason my heart wells up with joy when I spend time with Pina. I asked my father’s trusted aides, with no other words to be spoken,「Do you have any idea of this inexplicable phenomenon, where the woman’s behavior and words and actions are repulsive to you, but for some reason, your feelings are joyful without your permission?」But I didn’t get the reaction what I was hoping for.「We all do that, more or less, when we have a partner we like during puberty.」He only looked at me with what smiling eyes, and he didn’t take me up on my question about the possibility that she had used charm or mind manipulation magic to get under the protection that I, a royal, wore.

Because it’s crazy, this person… When I’m alone, I miss Remy, but when I’m with Pina, I don’t care about anyone but Pina. It’s like my feelings don’t belong to me and I’m scared.

Pina, who was initially looked at from afar and called「a person without common sense」by the whole school, is now a popular person in all grades. Some of them even came up to us and asked Pina for an autograph, saying「they wanted the blessing of the Star Maiden,」even though they were with us. It was too unnatural.

「Hey, Your Majesty, Will… I wonder if Remilia-sama doesn’t like me.」

「Why would you say that?」

「Because… No, she doesn’t like the idea of a former commoner like me beside her beloved fiancée…」

「Did she say anything to you?」

「Nhn? …No, it’s probably just my imagination.」

She initiated the conversation, but end it there in a brusque manner. If this had been about another person, I would have asked,「What’s your point?」and that person would have choked up.

I felt as if my ability to think had been reduced by Pina, who touched my hand while saying,「It’s okay.」Which one of these am I happy about? …No, I’m glad Remy is jealous of me. I guess I am happy to know that Remy likes me to the point of jealousy. It was never because Pina held my hand.

There are things that even that perfect lady, the talented Remy, can’t control. It’s amazingly cute that she was jealous of Pina, who is just a partner in my country’s business, like a normal girl.

I didn’t realize at this time that the pressure in my heart「to be a king worthy of Remy」had lightened a little. I had accepted it at that time.「Remilia, the duchess who is jealous of Pina.」I gladly recognized it as the truth.

The next thing I heard was Remy’s jealousy becoming more and more irritating… There were several eyewitnesses, so I and my entourage, including Claude, no longer doubted it was true.

I tried to get through to her several times, but Remy stubbornly refused to admit that「she had done anything.」Remy’s friends have told me that she was「actually doing this」and「saying that,」which corroborates Pina’s testimony.

It is bad publicity to be told that the future queen is at loggerheads with the Star Maiden, a symbol of the founding of the kingdom alongside the heroes. Just as we were working to solve the problem somehow, an incident occurred in which Pina was pushed down the stairs by Remy.

Remy was… When people gathered, she stands there with her hands outstretched and says nothing. Irritated by the lack of even a hint of apology, I moved with Pina to the first aid room without speaking to her.

Pina, who apparently twisted her leg and bruised it in several places, was very vocal,「It’s my fault, I’m being favored by Williard over Remilia-sama…」She was being treated behind the curtains while saying such things. The magician treating her was sympathetic to Pina, who often comes to the emergency room with injuries related with Remy.

In an accident, but if it was an accident, why not even an apology? While I was thinking about such things in a roundabout way, as if I was protecting Remy, Miss Pina, who seemed to have finished her treatment, clung to my arm.

「Poor… Will, Your Majesty… You’re engaged to that person like this…」

「That person..?」

How could a duchess be called「that person」by a viscountess, even though she was adopted? In my head I know it is terribly insane and disrespectful, but for some reason I don’t feel like reprimanding her. All along, I’ve been subconsciously restricting my behavior, trying to keep Pina from「hating」me.

「I don’t care how much she like Will-sama, she can’t do this to me… It’s too much…!」

「Remy was,」

She did this because she likes me.

I felt joy as I muttered this. Up until now, Remy has been sneaking around… She was aware of the harassment with not a few witnesses and evidence left behind, as if she was doing it in secret. She doesn’t admit it, but I find it cute when I think it is also her resistance to me. Furthermore, I can’t believe that Remy loved me enough to do this.

The burden of the「too good to be true fiancée」that had been holding my heart down was gone before I knew it.

An incoming queen who is jealous of the Star Maiden and perpetrates harm to her would be considered unfit.

Even with Remy’s achievements up to now, it cannot be said that there were no such flaws. Even outside the academy, this ugly news was circulated, especially among the aristocrats of the parents’ generation.

I set the scene for the hand-wringing, and Remy made a formal apology to the Star Maiden. If I do this much, people around me will be satisfied… Then Remy will thank me. She had no choice but to thank me.

But no matter how much praise she was subsequently heaped on her for being a wonderful queen, this one incident would cast a shadow over Remy’s achievements. In the future, she will not be appreciated with open arms. They may say, “She is competent, but she has a personality problem.” I can just imagine her apologizing before the wedding a few years later, saying,「I’m sorry about that, I liked Will too much at the time, and something went wrong.」

…That’s right, a little crazy is more appropriate for a mediocre crown prince like me. Ahh, Remy has fallen to where I am. We are finally equal.

Claude takes the initiative to organize and arrange the evidence and witnesses so that she cannot be excused as before. If she still refuses to admit her guilt even after all of this, there is no possibility of rehabilitation.

She had not thought about it. I can’t believe she would go this far and still deny it… I don’t think Remy had one because she was a smart woman. Claude says that I could cancel the engagement as a punishment to change Remy’s mind once and for all. He said,「My sister is that stubborn, once she gets stubborn.」

「You’re right. Then… In fact, I’ll break off the engagement. But she was a brilliant woman, and even if she had to retreat to the countryside, it would be easy for her to use her ideas and skills to quickly make achievements and return to aristocratic society once again. At that time, once again, I will welcome her into the royal family, assuming that purification ceremony has been completed and the domestic aristocracy’s opposition is gone. If the engagement is called off, make sure Claude to blast Remy so she doesn’t go rotten and lock herself away.」

「I don’t know if I can hold the reins of my sister.」

I had no doubt at the time. Remy, who had indeed given up on excusing herself, bowed her head, even if only formally, and that was the end of her external appeal. I said I could re-create memories of our school days until the graduation ceremony and marry Remy a few years after I left the academy. That I don’t have to hold somewhat demeaning feelings as I have in the past, and that I can be equal in our relationship by forgiving Remy’s flaws, that’s right… I was thinking about that.

I didn’t expect her to be stubborn to the end. I wanted to speak in a small voice,「Please, acknowledge me,」but I couldn’t do that with Pina strapped to my arm.

Pina smells more than usual of that sweet perfume, and I have to do what Pina wants, or I will ignore the thoughtfulness I should have cultivated as the crown prince.

Remy would not admit to any of the charges. It was as if she really had no idea what we were talking about. Her words that she had done no harm to Pina seemed to be true.「I’m not jealous,」it’s like she’s denying that she has feelings for me… While Pina stuck to my arms conveyed a sense of intoxication… I found myself talking about breaking off an engagement that I had only considered in case I had to do it.

But… I was thinking about this situation, too. Remy will show that even that the countryside can be a city that catches the eye, and with her achievements, she will be reinstated by her fiancée. It’s alright. Remy will atone for her past mistakes and changes her mind, and I will welcome her back, which is a beautiful enough story and will be well received by the people.

I know that Duke Graupner was much more disappointed in Remy than I expected, and even gave her an abandoned village without a single inhabitant as her fiefdom, but I know that she is not a woman to give up in such a small amount. Because… Because Remy liked me enough to do something like that. That’s why she wouldn’t give up her feelings for me because of something like this.

At first it was good. I could only hear Remy talking about how hard she was working from nothing, and I even felt superior that she was working so hard to get back to my side. Furthermore, after graduating from the school, Pina received requests from aristocrats from all over the country. As she traveled around the country in her capacity as guardian of the Star Maiden, Pina and us were applauded each time she gave strength to a thinning farmland or revived a dwindling water source.

After a while, Pina went abroad… She also wanted to go on a journey to defeat demons, and when I kept dismissing it as not possible, her attitude got worse and worse. She began to antagonize those around her, and quickly changed from being allowed some rudeness as「The Star Maiden who was not dyed by the nobility」to「a fool who has been a member of the nobility for more than a year and has not even learned proper manners.」

Even so, she is still occasionally asked for her power as the Star Maiden, but apparently Pina’s power as a star maiden is much weaker than the depiction in the lore, and there are many discouraging reactions. Then Pina would get even more peeved and throw a tantrum.

「My strength is weak because of Will and the others who won’t train with me!!」

Saying that I have an office as the crown prince doesn’t get through to Pina. When I asked her if she wanted to hunt magical beasts on the way to the requested work, she refused for some unintelligible reason, saying,「I haven’t even seen their names in this place, and it’s okay because no events are going to happen.」

Many times, I told her,「Then you can go for a few days with a female knight,」but she said she didn’t want women in the mix. Even though she is a candidate, I cannot allow her to stay out with only the opposite sex for any reason, for physical reasons. Pina was not convinced when I told her so, and she resented it. This was repeated every time.

When I was tired of dealing with Pina. Remy’s achievements began to be appreciated much earlier than I had expected. Contrary to that, my direct control was slowly waning… If you have a city that is starting to prosper and develop a little further away, this amount of population change will happen with a temporary spike in employment, it’s acceptable…

Even the thought of it rekindles my jealousy of Remy, which I thought I had conquered long ago. Ahh… I knew it, she was amazing at everything she does. All I can do is laugh at myself dryly.

Pina, too, I used to think she was prettier when I was a student. Even though I was frustrated with her selfishness, I was willing to listen to her and say,「It can’t be helped.」 Because this girl is safe and loving… Like Remy, I never had the feeling that I would be more miserable than I was, and I guess that’s what made me get into it without thinking about it. I am sure that is why I feel I like Pina. If Remy came back to me, I would have been willing to take her as a concubine or a concubine, as she seems to be not too full of herself. Because if Pina were there, Remy would be jealous. Ahh, obviously, I had no intention of making her my wife, as my patron nobleman had told me. But I would have liked her enough to want her by my side in the future.

Now, whenever she begs me for something that is out of the ordinary, I almost scream out loud out of frustration. I thought she was stupid, I thought she was stupid and inferior to me, and I thought that was cute, but now I was annoyed that she was learning more than a dog.