Chapter 385: Regret
Continuing along the corridor inside the royal castle,
They exited through the entrance and stepped outside.
There stood the carriage Florence had ridden to the castle.
And beside it, another carriage, presumably the one Felisiana had used to arrive, waiting next to it.
“For now, it seems we’ll be parting ways here today.”
“That’s right… I’ll say this just in case, but if you get too caught up in what Elizalina-anesama said earlier and fail to act to overthrow Father and those in the royal faction who support him, then everything will be for nothing, so don’t lose sight of that.”
“Of course, I understand… however, for you to worry about something like that, you seem a bit kinder today than usual.”
“It’s for Lux-kun… if we can’t defeat Father, then I won’t be able to be with Lux-kun in the first place.”
“If it’s for Lux-sama, you would even set aside your emotions to form a cooperative relationship with me… as I thought, that’s something I can find myself liking about you, Third Princess.”
“I trust you in that regard as well… so I’ll leave it to you.”
Leaving those words behind, Felisiana boarded her carriage ahead of the others.
With that, only Florence and Violet remained.
“I thought you would feel more resentment about forming even a partial cooperative relationship with me… but it seems the Third Princess is even better than I expected at separating emotion from objective.”
“When Elizalina-sama first spoke of it, she did seem opposed, but after hearing Elizalina-sama’s words, she came to accept it, and now, for the sake of Rodwell-sama, whom she holds as her guiding principle, she appears to be acting with that alone in mind, even trusting you in that regard, Florence-sama.”
“…After repeatedly clashing and engaging in discussions that led nowhere time and again, I’ve truly come to understand the strength of her feelings for Lux-sama. And precisely because of that… it’s truly regrettable that once this matter is over, we’ll have to fight again, Third Princess.”
They had both fallen for the same person.
Having opposed each other, clashing over their differing ideals, at this point, ignoring one another was no longer an option for Florence and Felisiana.
Now that things had come this far, they would have to settle it one way or another.
Florence had her own convictions she couldn’t yield, so she didn’t resist that reality itself, but.
Through everything so far, she had come to understand that Felisiana truly cared for Lux.
And because of that, the thought of continuing to fight someone like her didn’t sit well with her.
“So you find it regrettable, Florence-sama… if that’s the case, then perhaps a brighter future may yet open.”
“Huh…?”
Hearing those words from Violet, whose expression rarely changed yet now seemed somewhat brighter than usual, Florence was confused.
“Violet-sama… just what is it that you see…”
As she began to ask,
“Violet, how long are you going to keep talking? It’s about time we head back.”
Felisiana, already in the carriage, called out to her.
“My apologies… Ojou-sama is calling for me, so I shall take my leave… I sincerely look forward to the day we can brew tea together again.”
“…! Yes… I’m looking forward to it as well.”
Perhaps because it was so sudden, Florence was momentarily surprised, but she quickly replied with a gentle expression.
Violet gave a small bow and boarded Felisiana’s carriage.
The carriage then departed from the front of the royal castle.
After seeing it off, Florence also boarded her own carriage.
Thinking of her love for Lux, the promise, the plan to overthrow the King, and the possibility of a brighter future, she made her way back to her estate.