Chapter 57: My Role
《Claris’s Side》
As the eldest daughter of the Everett Dukedom, I was raised from a young age, thoroughly taught my “role.”
My appearance, lineage, education—all of them were “tools to maximize the Dukedom’s profits”…
I was told this by my father countless times.
At first, I couldn’t understand. But, as I grew older, I came to understand that this was the way of the Dukedom, and that it was the destiny I myself had to bear.
My father is always a cold and calculating person.
He calculates my worth and thinks about how he should use it. No, it’s not just me; he’s a person who sees everyone that way.
For me as a child, it was a terrifying thing, and at the same time, an overwhelming reality. I wasn’t allowed to expect affection; on the contrary, I feared it would become my weakness.
At some point, when I became unable to seek affection.
I met a young Serios.
Having lost his mother, he was a child who threw tantrums according to his emotions, a child completely opposite to me.
I had always lived conscious of others’ eyes, trying not to be scolded by my father and not to be abandoned.
And yet, Serios behaved outrageously, and as a result, was disinherited, abandoned by the King.
At first, my father, who had tried to curry favor with Serios, judged him to be useless and didn’t care about the frontier.
However, the Margrave died in an accident, and he himself took on the role of guardian.
He tried to manipulate the frontier as he pleased.
The result was that Serios changed and repelled Father.
Serios had been different since long ago, and no one had ever been able to repel Father, the Duke, before. That’s precisely why I became interested and started talking to him when he appeared at the academy.
In truth, I should have prioritized my position as Prince Edward’s Fiancée.
For me, it was a “critical mission” given by my father.
As a bridge connecting the Royal Family and the Dukedom, I was required to behave perfectly. Failure was not permitted. The demeanor required to become Queen was also thoroughly drilled into me.
However, Prince Edward, while kinder and possessing a stronger sense of justice than I had thought, was unreliable and, moreover, was a person infatuated with another woman.
He was far from my ideal prince.
While upholding my position as his Fiancée, I couldn’t bring myself to want to direct Prince Edward’s romantic feelings towards myself.
The conflict between Serios and Prince Edward that occurred right at that time, to be honest, I thought it was an unbearable disgrace to witness.
For a gentleman who has a fiancée to chase after another woman’s skirt, and then, upon deciding they can’t handle it themselves, to ask for help from us—it’s pathetic.
If someone like that were to become King, this country would be finished.
Moreover, from the King who protected such a Prince Edward, I was framed as the “villainess” and even sentenced to disinheritance. On top of that, my engagement was annulled, and I was even condemned by the Royal Family for supposedly tarnishing the Dukedom’s name.
When I thought, “Is this the Royal Family of this country?” I could understand why my father sought power independently and clung to authority.
Even if the kingdom is entrusted to such people, it will never improve.
However, somewhere inside, I had accepted that I couldn’t fulfill my role.
The fact that I was punished probably meant that no harm came to Serios.
The grown-up Serios was no longer the tantrum-thrower who exploded with his old feelings, but was trying to become a respectable Lord.
Therefore, I have no regrets. Because I had come to harbor doubts about dedicating my life to someone like Edward.
During the days of my seclusion, I lived quietly. I did embroidery, read books. That was the little freedom I was given, and my way of preserving myself.
Amidst all that, there was a person who would unexpectedly come to my mind.
Serios von Aegrid.
As a child, he was certainly arrogant and didn’t even try to hide his condescending attitude towards others. However, he gradually changed.
He worked on reforming his domain, and at the academy, he began to show himself diligently applying to his studies.
I clearly understood that he was trying to change himself. Every time I witnessed such a sight, I couldn’t help but smile.
I wanted him to be supported by Liese and Faina and find happiness.
That’s what I thought, and yet…
Inside the mansion where I was confined, one day, I spotted a familiar figure outside my window.
It was Serios. Why was he here?
Noticing me looking down from the window, he stopped and stared intently this way.
My heart leaped.
The fact that he had noticed me, the fact that I had been thinking only of him.
He mouthed something. I couldn’t hear his voice, but I could read his words from the movement of his lips.
“I’m coming to get you.”
Those words pierced my heart.
I’ve never wanted to open the window as much as I did today.
The window of my room, where I am confined, cannot be opened. It’s to prevent me from escaping.
I gazed at his figure through the window. There was no hesitation in his eyes.
Does he care for me? His eyes held a will so strong it almost made me delude myself into thinking so.
An emotion that felt like my chest was tightening welled up inside me.
I couldn’t ask him why he would go this far for me. Just, the moment I saw him, I desperately held back the tears that threatened to overflow.
Even after he was out of sight, I remained standing by the window.
His words echoed repeatedly in my mind. “I’m coming to get you.” The more I thought deeply about their meaning, the warmer my chest became.
I, who had watched over his growth, might have become attracted to him at some point without realizing it. No, more than that, my heart was completely overwhelmed by the fact that he would do this much for me.
He is trying to save me.
That was something no one had ever done for me in my entire life. My father saw me as a tool, and Prince Edward didn’t see me.
His attitude was simply that I just needed to fulfill my “role” as Queen.
But Serios was different.
He sees me as “Claris.” Every time I feel that, my heart pounds, and a poignant feeling wells up.
My destiny might not change. Still, by seeing him, a small hope has sprouted somewhere in my heart.
If he truly comes to rescue me…
I am prepared to dedicate everything to him. If I can live by his side, I don’t care what my life has been like up until now.
What can I do for him? Thinking about that, I closed my eyes by the window.
(Serios… if your feelings are real, then I surely…)
Gently wiping my tears, I murmured his name over and over in my heart.
Afterword
Hello, this is the author, Iko.
That’s all for today!
Thank you so much for all the New Year’s gifts yesterday!!
I was also very, very happy about the comments and reviews!! Thank you so, so much!!
I’m still looking forward to more (๑>◡<๑)