By the time the discussion with Prince Lucas had come to an end, the setting sun was already casting its rays through the window. When I returned to my room, Marquis Prime, who served as the Prime Minister, appeared.
According to Marquis Prime, His Majesty the King had recovered as if he had never been ill. However, since he had been bedridden for many days, he would need to take some time to recuperate.
Marquis Prime bowed to Lecty, saying that he would like to express his gratitude at a later date.
“Oh, no need for thanks! I only helped a little…!”
“The Holy Maiden said that she would not have been able to save His Majesty the King without Lady Lecty. There is no need to be modest. You are a hero of the nation.”
“A hero…?”
Lecty’s eyes widened and she was speechless at the outrageous title given to her by Marquis Prime.
Well, it was true that if His Majesty the King had died, the country would have been plunged into civil war, and in some cases, the Kingdom of Reese itself might have been destroyed.
Marquis Prime understood this, which is why he called Lecty a hero of the nation.
“Chancellor, can we talk about the future?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“Thank you. Then, Alissa, I’ll leave the rest to you. Roan and Lucretia, would you come with me?”
Prince Lucas, along with Roan and Lucretia (Merry in disguise), left the room with Marquis Prime. The rest of us decided to return to the Royal Academy.
“Rouge, are you okay…?”
“Yeah. I’m still a little dizzy, but I’m fine.”
Rouge, who had been lying on the sofa, got up and nodded. Her face was still flushed, but she seemed a little better than before.
It seemed that Lecty had used
Lecty’s
I carried Rouge on my back (I tried to carry her like a princess again, but she refused with all her might) and took her to the carriage, and we set off on our way back to the Royal Academy.
I was on guard, thinking something might happen as I looked out at the Royal Capital from the carriage, but we arrived at the Royal Academy without any problems.
Prince Lucas had said that nothing would happen right away, so maybe I was just overthinking it.
I parted ways with Alissa-san in front of the school gate and headed to the dormitory. Lily and Lecty were worried about Rouge and accompanied us right in front of the Men’s Dormitory.
“Rouge-san, are you alright…?”
“Yeah. Thank you, Lecty.”
Rouge, who was leaning heavily on my back, answered Lecty in a still languid voice.
“Hugh, if anything happens with Rouge, please contact me immediately. I’ll tell the dormitory manager, so you can just come to the entrance.”
“That’s a big help. I think you’ll be fine too, but let me know if anything happens.”
Prince Lucas had said that he would dispatch some Knights to support us. Alissa-san was also there, so I thought it was safe to assume that the academy was safe for the time being.
However, it’s frustrating that we don’t have an emergency contact method for when the time comes. It would be nice to have a magic tool similar to a cell phone… Well, I guess that’s impossible. I feel like I could make one if I used the
I decided to think carefully about creating magic tools later, and parted ways with Lily and Lecty in front of the Men’s Dormitory.
When I returned to my room and lowered Rouge from my back, she stumbled and fell onto my bed.
Hey, hey, on my bed… Well, it’s practically Rouge’s bed anyway, so I guess it’s okay?
I straightened out her half-asleep posture and put a blanket over her. When I glanced at the clock, it was dinner time.
“Rouge, are you hungry? If you want something to eat, I’ll get some bread porridge from the School Cafeteria?”
“No, I’m okay… Hugh.”
“What is it?”
“I want you to hold my hand.”
Perhaps it was because of the slight fever, or perhaps it was because we were alone and the limiter was off. Rouge reached out her left hand to me from under the blanket.
Her voice was as sweet as honey. Her flushed cheeks and wet, navy blue eyes made her childish features even more prominent, stirring my protective instincts.
…Whoa! That was close. I almost lost consciousness from her cuteness.
I knelt beside the bed and wrapped Rouge’s left hand in both of mine.
“Hehe. Hugh’s hands are warm.”
“R-really…?”
…Ah, I love her. I desperately tried to suppress the emotions that were about to overflow.
“Thank you, Hugh. For taking me to the castle. Because you pushed me to not regret it, I was able to see my father… If my father had died, I would have regretted it until I died, so…”
“It’s okay, I understand. I’m glad your father recovered, Lucretia.”
“Yeah…”
That was all she wanted to say. Lucretia closed her eyelids slowly with a relieved expression. After a while, I could hear her peaceful breathing.
Maybe we’ve reached our limit of pretending (role-playing). I know that Rouge is Lucretia, and Lucretia knows that I know Rouge’s true identity.
The reason we were pretending not to notice was because we were both afraid to take the first step. If we took that step, it felt like we would run off forever.
To suppress our feelings, our hearts, our impulses, pretending not to know was the best way.
But,
“I love you, Lucretia.”
I put my hands, which were still holding her left hand, to my forehead and muttered.
It wasn’t about reason, it wasn’t about logic, it was just an emotion that overflowed from the bottom of my heart, and it seemed difficult to keep it suppressed forever.