Published at 30th of January 2021 03:34:10 PM
Chapter 17
That night,
After everyone left, it was just the two of us for dinner .
Today, I helped her to make today’s dinner .
But I’m sure the taste is no match for Lana’s cooking .
Today’s menu is vegetable soup, freshly baked soft bread, butter, and fish from a nearby river cooked with meunière sauce .
I was a little surprised with the soft bread and butter combo, I never thought it could be this delicious…
“You can keep eating, I don’t mind… I’ll just…”
“Is it about something you want to talk about the other day? I’ve got something I’ve wanted to tell Lana, too . ”
I’m sorry I was too nervous .
So, I decided to talk to her to cover how nervous I am .
Lana looked surprised but didn’t seem to mind and presented an envelope to the table .
“What is that?”
“It’s an application for this country’s ‘citizenship’ . ”
“……”
Lana slowly raises her head .
It surprised me, I didn’t expect this .
A decision must be made .
“Once you’ve filled and sent in the application, we’ll have to wait and see if they will get approved and when it gets approved… there’s no going back to ‘Arsegios’ . We will have to start the process to have our noble title renounced . In less than three months, I’ve only heard the news from ‘Arsegios’ once . ”
“Oh! Did they ask about me?”
“Ah, no . They were looking for me . Alfred must have cut you off completely . ”
“……”
I looked straight at Lana’s face when I said that .
She doesn’t show any reaction except when I said I’ve been in contact once .
Instead, her eyes seemed sharper as soon as Alfred’s name was mentioned .
“Okay . Now about that stupid prince!”
“Did you regret this?”
“No! I’d rather not be involved with him anymore! And I’m going to tell you the reason . ”
“?”
“Right . Ano, but France might not believe what I’m going to say…”
And suddenly, the atmosphere around Lana changed .
This is…
“My name is Elana Rousfet Forsyth and I have memories from my previous life . I remember everything on the day when Alfred called off the engagement . This world was from a light novel I loved to read in my previous life and my role as the villainess!”
“……”
That explains something…
“There are too many words I don’t understand, so I need you to explain them to me one by one . ”
“Sure!”
You’re putting your ‘Elana Rousfet Forsyth’ side to make me trust you, aren’t you?
When you make it that far, I certainly can’t help but believe it, either .
After all, ‘She’ doesn’t make a habit of lying .
“What do you mean with memories from your previous life?”
“It literally means memories from my previous life . In my previous life… somehow, I can’t remember my name… but I can remember working for a black company that treated its employees like slaves . Then one day, the president was unreasonable, and I ended up jumping off from the rival company’s rooftop…”
“Uh… you didn’t do that, right?”
“I did . ”
She was getting it off her chest, huh .
I only understood half of it . In other words, she’s a commoner and working for a tyrant nobleman, then she jumped off the roof from the rival’s nobleman residence, something like that?
That’s a lie . She’s not that stupid…
“I think I was born into a duke’s family because of all the good deeds I did in my previous life . Regardless of my last job, I always strived to be the best at my job! Stopped at the yellow lights! Turn my light on when I bike at night! Put the trash into the trash bin! Never jaywalking! As a person, you don’t bother others by following the rules and don’t do things you don’t want others to do to you! I’m proud to say that I’ve lived the life of a modern Japanese!”
“Huh . ”
While I don’t know, she probably lived a pretty sincere life .
“Then I found the pleasure of reading LN! Light novel… or novel! I loved reading the manga too, but I prefer light novels . Well, I guess you could call it a simple, light-hearted novel . Among the stories that I like is a web novel published into a book called ‘Guardian Dragon’s Beloved Child’! The story is about a commoner girl born in ‘Blue Dragon, Arsegios’ and blessed with ‘Holy Light’, she is loved by many peoples and going to ascend her status . In the end, she will live a happy ever after with the prince . ”
“………”
“Hey, don’t give me that look . ”
No way…
“Is this world from a novel?”
“Yup! Because ‘Blue Dragon, Arsegios’ heroine’s name is ‘Rifana’, the prince’s name is ‘Alfred’, and the men who love the heroine ‘Starlet’, ‘Nick’, ‘Carl’ . Everything is a match with the novel, even the villainess name is the same! Moreover, in the scene at the graduation party where the prince breaks off the engagement to Elana, the speech matches word for word! It’s totally the same!”
“………”
Admittedly, it’s hard to believe that suddenly .
However, it doesn’t seem like Lana is lying to me .
This is a world in a novel, right?
“The light novel’s world is fundamentally an opportunistic, reader-friendly world . ”
“?”
“The protagonist has a happy ending . And the bad guys who bullied the protagonist are getting off lightly, so the reader doesn’t feel stressed out . Elana is an obvious example, right? They broke off the engagement and deported her . Besides, after being banished, Elana plans to resurrect the evil dragon for revenge . ”
“Ha?”
“I remember what will happens to Elana after the engagement getting annulled . I’m so glad I remembered that time… . Elana will join forces with the evil dragon to resurrect ‘Evil Dragon, Shinkou’ in Chapter 2 part 2 . In the fifth chapter, the evil dragon will be revived using her father’s financial power . And the evil dragon will try to capture and destroy ‘Blue Dragon, Arsegios’ before it was defeated with Rifana’s ‘Holy Light’!”
“………”
Evil dragon, Shinkou .
It’s ‘Dragon King, Cleareus’ shadow, the dragon that creates this world .
It’s the same divine dragon, the dark part .
He argued that humans should not be protected by dragons but should be independent and live solely on their own .
They should reject the dragon stone tools and be freed from the dragon’s control .
I’m not sure why he’s making that argument, but…
“Lana?”
“Of course I wouldn’t do that, would I? This is ridiculous!”
“Right?”
“I’m not kidding about being swallowed up by an evil dragon and dying . And that’s just for that stupid prince and happy-go-lucky heroine!”
“………”
I don’t see a single negative thing about it!
“I’m not going to die by being forced to rely on a guessing game until my very last moment! This is no different from my previous life . No! I don’t want anything to do with the stupid prince and heroine anymore . You understand what I’m talking about, right?! Eufranc Ditalier Bailey!”
“Well, I think I’m getting the picture . Lana wants to live in this country peacefully…… . is that right?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t even go back even if ‘Arsegios’ begged me to come back, I’m going to live a civilized, cutting-edge life that makes me feel like I won’t have to deal with the evil dragon beliefs forever!”
“I see… . ”
It makes a lot of sense .
It became easy to understand .
So, the reason Lana asked me to make this-and-that was that she wanted cutting-edge technology?
No, but if it’s Lana who asks for something, I’ll make whatever she wants .
“Oh! Besides, it’s not like I wanted to take advantage of you, you know?! I mean it when I say that you should be properly compensated for your talents!”
“Eh? I’m not worried about it . ”
“Really?! Do you believe me?”
“Yeah . ”
She’s practically the one who is so insistent on paying me .
I’m already getting a lot from her .
But there’s still one thing that bothers me .
“In other words, you are not Miss Elana but someone who had lived a previous life, right?”
“Eh? No? I would say it affects you, though . Speak casually? It’s comforting and nicer . Plus, it will help us to fit in with the commoner, won’t it?”
“Are you basically Miss Elana herself?”
“Mhm! Sometimes my emotions can get the better of me and I speak before thinking, but that’s my charm . ”
Really?
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Rather than amusing, she’s on the cute side .
“I mean, if I don’t pay attention to what I’m trying to say, it can come across all jumbled up . Especially when I’m talking to you . And you’re a noble, I had a hard time choosing which one is better . ”
“Both?”
“Hmm . ”
“Oh! Oh, I don’t mind either way . ”
Oh no, did I just say that I like it?
Eh? No, like as in like?
I’m not sure what she meant by how she talked, but I’m going to say it .
But the way she talked, either one is good?
“Um, whichever you’re comfortable with is fine . ”
“Oh, okay . Then, I’ll talk… casually…”
“Yeah, ok, that’s good…”
What’s with this awkward atmosphere?
“ahem . Back to the previous topic, are we going to apply for citizenship for Sergigios? And we have to send a form of renunciation for our noble rank to Arsegios… are you okay with that? You can’t go become a noble anymore . ”
“Eh, I’m fine with it . If I’m going to live like a commoner for the rest of my life in this country, then I’d die as one . It’s not a problem . It’s fine for me, but Fran… you can still live the life you want . You don’t have to take care of someone who was banished after getting her engagement annulled for hurting others . ”
“Huh?”
Lana said that with downcast eyes .
When I asked her to explain further, she didn’t reply .
Huh?
Did she just tell me to ‘live the life I want’ now?
“……”
Alfred never said something like that to me .
I guess he saw me as someone who has to devote my existence to him .
Having me return was undoubtedly convenient .
By all rights, it was Miss Elana’s place to be there .
Because her marriage arrangement with Alfred was for political reasons .
The reason the engagement happened was to get the Duke’s support .
If it weren’t for Rifana, would she be happy with the one she loves?
At least, now—
“Lana . ”
“Y-yeah?”
“You were never harassing Miss Rifana, aren’t you? The way you phrased it now is like you’re admitting to committing harassment against her . ”
“—Believe in me?”
“I can’t in my conscience believe that a duke’s daughter would harass someone with ‘Holy Light’, although her fiancé is about to be snatched away . Honestly, I felt uncomfortable when Miss Rifana didn’t deny Alfred’s explanation at that time . ”
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“Oh… is that the reason why you helped me back then?”
“Ah…”
I mean, well, I had ulterior motives behind it .
Although I had some, I honestly never thought I’d be in a situation where my wishes would come true so quickly .
Maybe I’ll die one of these days .
I used up all my luck .
Or this is all just a dream .
Even now, I still thought about it .
“At first, I thought you were here to keep an eye on me so that I wouldn’t misbehave . ”
“What?”
“But your existence wasn’t clearly depicted in ‘Guardian Dragon’s Blessed Child’ . That’s why I thought you were just an ordinary mob . ”
“???”
What is a mob?
I don’t know, but that doesn’t sound good?
“Fran, did you know that Alfred and his gang gave your inventions to Rifana as if it were their own?”
“Uh, I knew that . ”
“I remember there are scenes like that, even in the second part . Here’s what I think, you’re one of the factors that make the romance going . The author half-assed it, but you’re that kind of character . ”
“……”
I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but I feel like I’m getting shit on?
“It’s very reassuring to know that you’re here helping and supporting me like this as I resist Elana’s fate . ”
“……”
“This is why I don’t want you accidentally getting tangled up in my fate . You should live your life in a way you won’t regret . ”
“I’m not going to leave you . ”
“……”
“I’m not going back to them . They’re going to take advantage of me if I come back . It’s just too much . ”
“Fran…”
“Didn’t you say you’re going to prove my worth? Moreover, you gave me compensation for the work I did . Don’t you think I’d be better off on your side?”
“……”
I intentionally said it lightly .
With a wink .
There are tears in her eyes, but she brushes them off with a smile .
Yeah, there’s no point in going back with this as my reward .
“Um, n-nice to meet you again, Fran . ”
“Please take care of me . ”