The Short-lived Past
"Roush-san"
She really came. Princess Ritona, and standing behind her, Hamirsan is here too
It was indeed unexpected for the princess of a country to want to meet a chore-man such as I.
"Princess Ritona. I can’t believe that you really came…."
"Oh? I told you I would come today, didn't I? Or perhaps you thought I would lie?"
"N-no, I'd never”
Princess Ritona's cheeks puffed up after hearing what I had said. Then, she let out an innocent smile as if she found my apologetic appearance amusing.
Honestly, it was so cute.
"To be honest, I don’t really get to talk to people of my own age too much."
"And so, you want to talk with me?"
"Yes, on top of us being the same age, your childhood friend is also going to be marrying Yuto, right? It got me wondering. And I don’t know how to put it, I feel like you have a gentle air to you or something. Please forgive me if I’m bothering you”
Princess Ritona said as she stared into my eyes. Her pure eyes were like two precious gems.
By the way that she was talking to me, it seems that my “skill” was in effect.
"It would be an honor. To tell you the truth, I also have something I would like to ask you”
"Oh? What is it that you want to know?"
"What do you think of Yuto…sama?"
I unintentionally hesitated when I thought about attaching "sama" to his name.
However, that was what I wanted to ask- just what did princess Ritona think about the hero? If she likes him, then it’ll feel that much better at the time I snatch her away from him. If she doesn't like him that much, then it would be easy to move forward with my plan as it is.
"Yuto-sama?……I love him very much."
Princess Ritona said as she blushed.
If you like him, then you like him. It doesn't matter either way. Even though I should have thought like this, the thought of the hero monopolizing Princess Ritona's pure heart made me jealous.
Why? Why is it like this? Why is it only the hero?—– Such Ugly, wretched, negative emotions smeared over my heart. Pure black and to no end.
"……Hm? Roush-san?"
"Huh, oh, yes?"
"Jeez. What is this all of a sudden? Talking about something so embarrassing and then going silent?”
The princess looked at me with knitted brows.
It seems that I was getting so jealous that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings.
"I-I’m sorry, but princess, you really like the hero, huh? What do you like about him?"
Where do you see anything good in that kind of guy? I almost instinctively said out loud. I desperately held myself back from saying it aloud and as a result, the end of my sentence may have sounded a bit too strong.
"Well, I don't know where to begin. Yuto-sama saved my life during a time of crisis."
"Saved your life during a time of crisis?"
"Yes–"
From there, princess Ritona went on and told me the story of what happened.
Two years ago, when she was visiting foreign countries for diplomatic reasons, she was attacked by a demon while she was on a moving horse carriage.
The demon was strong, and her considerably strong escort guards were all killed.
Just when princess Ritona was in a desperate pinch, the hero Yuto appeared and defeated the demon.
He who had been seeking the princess’s hand in marriage had finally succeeded in getting the king’s approval to be the princess’s fiancé because of that achievement.
I certainly knew about the announcement of their engagement two years ago, but I never would have imagined it had this kind of backstory.
However, there were questionable parts in her story. First of all, it was highly unlikely for such a powerful demon to come out at the route that Princess Ritona took. The reason for how such a demon appeared was completely unknown.
The place that was supposed to be safe was somehow dangerous. The king seems to be hiding some information about the incident in order to avoid raising suspicions from the people of the country.
Then, the next question is what was the hero doing in such a place? Obviously, the heroes at that time should have been in the middle of their journey to subjugate the demon king.
The explanation that was given to the king afterwards was that Yuto temporarily returned to restock on supplies but it seems very suspicious.
Even if that was actually the case, the road that the princess was on was not a road that people would normally take. Why would the heroes go through all the trouble to take that path?
"And at that moment, I felt my destiny. It was like, Ah, this person is my prince. Well, I’m also a princess though."
Was that a royalty joke? You get full points from me if you call that piece of shit hero a prince.
But still, there was a high chance that the hero was acting out his own play again. However, since there’s no evidence of this it would be no use to make a scene out of it. Let’s look into this in my spare time.
"Roush-san, Minsan is your childhood friend, right?"
"Y-yes."
I felt a prickling pain in my heart just now from hearing Mina’s name.
Shit, just how weak am I?
"What kind of person is Minsan? I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to her yet"
"Mina is…yeah, she's a bad woman. She betrayed me. She did not know how much I thought about her, and she betrayed me as if I was a laughing stock… ”
"Roush-san?"
I clenched my teeth as I scowled while I felt my whole body shaking.
I’ve decided to marry Yuto, so don’t talk to me like we’re all close anymore, okay?
I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! I hate all of it!
"Is Minsan such a cruel person?”
"Yes, there's not one good thing about her–"
Roush, look at that flower. Isn't it beautiful?
The Mina from the past appeared in my mind. Beautiful, lovely, and kind. She was that kind of girl.
—Stop.
If that’s the case, then I'll have you provide for me, Roush.
—Stop. Stop it!
I love you, too! I love you. I love you. I love you!
—Enough already, This is too much… This hell.
As I was getting crushed inside my head, I screamed at the top of my lungs,
"–About Mina…There isn't one good thing about her…"
"……Then why, why are you crying?"
"Eh?……"
I wiped my cheeks; my hands had become wet from my tears.
It seems that I was crying. Why…? Why was I crying?
“It’s love, right?…for you too…you love that person”
I couldn't say anything back to Princess Ritona's words.
The silence continued for a bit longer and then the princess slowly stood up.
"Let’s call it here for today. Let's talk again, okay?"
With that said, she left with Hamirsan.
Even though it ended in such a gloomy atmosphere, she said “again" huh? What a strange princess.
But it was unexpected that I somehow cried. I was supposed to have made my resolve but I was still too soft. For the next time I must have such feelings thrown away so I can properly get on good terms with the princess.
But you know, princess Ritona, you were wrong about one thing. I don't love Mina. I “loved” her.
I cried because I saw the past that I cannot return to. The golden days of the past were too bright, so it made me close the eyes of my heart.
I cannot go back to those days anymore. I understand that. That's why I am not going to forgive her. No matter what happens to me, I will not stop my revenge.
That is the only way I’ll be able to conquer my old, hopeless self. It’s my only saving grace.
I know. That is just my one-sided thinking.
"However… I don't feel like stopping."
My murmur wasn’t heard by anyone, as it simply disappeared into the air.