Chapter 284: The Second Princess’s Proposal
Lux’s Side
Something Elizalina-sama had wanted to tell me for a long time…?
…What could it be?
I had absolutely no idea, but if Elizalina-sama said there was something she wanted to tell me.
“Alright. I’ll listen.”
When I answered that…
“Thank you, Lux.”
Elizalina-sama said it with a gentle expression.
Then she continued, opening her mouth again.
“But before I tell you that, would it be alright if I talked a little about my past?”
“Elizalina-sama’s past!? I’d love to hear it!!”
“It’s not a very interesting story, so don’t get your hopes up too much, okay?”
She said that with a small laugh, then continued with eyes that looked as though she were reminiscing about the past.
“You probably already know this, Lux, but I’ve been very smart ever since I was little.”
At her words, I quietly nodded.
I’d known about Elizalina-sama being extremely intelligent even before I ever met her, and it’s a very famous story in this country.
“From the time I was a child, not just the adults around me, but even among the three sisters of ours who were all praised as being unprecedentedly talented, I think that when it came to pure intelligence alone, I was the best.”
Precisely because I’ve met Felisiana-sama and Rezamiliana-sama in person and spoken with them, I could clearly understand what she meant by surpassing those two in pure intellect alone.
“So someone like me studied rhetoric and psychological guidance to deal with the unnecessarily chaotic state of the country caused by conflicts among nobles around the time I was born. Of course, there were exceptions, but even so, I was able to mediate almost all of them.”
“…No matter how many times I hear it, it’s an incredible story.”
“Thanks. But the price I paid was huge.”
“…A price?”
When I asked that, Elizalina-sama nodded.
“Yeah. By the time I’d finished bringing the country more or less under control, I’d become able not only to read most people’s hearts, but to guide their psychology almost perfectly too. Can you imagine it? No matter what the other person said, it was all within my predictions. I could freely guide their hearts, and because I was born royalty, was smart, and had good looks, everything went exactly how I wanted. That kind of world.”
“I understand what you mean in words, but someone like me can’t really imagine it vividly. Still, that world sounds… very lonely.”
When I said that, Elizalina-sama’s eyes widened slightly before she spoke.
“I see… I thought I was just bored, but maybe I really was lonely. Yeah, you’re right. I think I was lonely for a very long time.”
And then, she continued.
“That’s why I used to wish, only in my heart, that I’d meet a boy like the prince from a fairy tale. And then, one day… an unpredictable boy appeared right in front of me.”
“An unpredictable boy…”
When I murmured that, Elizalina-sama looked at me with a gentle expression.
“Yeah. No matter how much I used rhetoric, or psychological guidance, or even tried to make myself look cute using my appearance, that boy wouldn’t go the way I wanted at all. And on top of that, he was dazzlingly pure, kind, and cool. After I met that boy, I stopped wishing to meet a prince like the ones in stories.”
She continued, smiling gently.
“…Because I met a boy even more wonderful than any such prince.”
As I found myself completely absorbed in her story, Elizalina-sama closed her eyes as if switching gears and said,
“I’ve gone on for a while, but that’s the end of my story. So now, I’ll tell you what I wanted to tell you, Lux.”
After saying that, Elizalina-sama opened her eyes again.
Her cheeks flushed red, and with a smile filled with affection, she placed a hand over her chest and looked at me with the warmest gaze I’d ever seen.
“The first boy who was unpredictable to me, and the first boy I ever loved… Lux Rodwell-kun… would you become engaged to me?”