Chapter 12
The brilliant sunlight shone down on the face of Parmes, who looked more like a sculpture than a man.
He was holding a sword, and countless dismembered bodies were piled at his feet.
They’re actually displaying such a brutal, horrifying statue in the middle of a plaza where people of all ages come and go?
Are these people sane or not…?
Watching a little child poke at a severed stone hand with curiosity, I decided I would file a complaint about it someday.
Just then—
“…”
Hearing footsteps approaching, I turned my head.
The person I had arranged to meet today was standing there.
Smiling brightly, I called out,
“Mas!”
Mas stopped in front of me and looked at me.
The white mask made him seem cold, but I could feel the kindness in his eyes.
This was our first time meeting during the day since coming to the capital.
“Hehe, you came exactly on time.”
Mas nodded.
Back in Galnem, we had always been together, but here he said he worked during the day and only visited my room at night.
The only day he was free was the Wednesday of the third week—today.
“But what’s this…?”
I looked at the green bag he was carrying.
When I pointed at it, Mas deliberately looked away.
Still, he didn’t try to hide the bag.
“Can I take a look?”
Inside the well-made leather bag was a blue box.
I carefully opened it.
Inside were sandwiches that looked like they had been made with clumsy hands.
I looked at Mas in surprise.
“Wait… did you make these? So we could eat them together?”
Mas was still avoiding my gaze.
Even though I couldn’t see his face beneath the mask, I could now tell what expression he had just from his eyes.
For some reason, I imagined one eyebrow raised awkwardly and his face slightly red.
You’re cute today, Mas.
The warm spring breeze brushed through our hair.
It was a sunny afternoon.
“I still can’t believe Aunt Piolet was actually Lady Allens, the Minister of the Imperial Household…”
Mas and I sat beneath the shade of a large tree, talking.
“She said she’d help me from now on. It still doesn’t feel real.”
Just like always, I did all the talking while Mas quietly listened.
It felt like we were back in Galnem again.
Like old times, we sat back-to-back while eating sandwiches before strolling through the large park connected to the plaza.
The sandwiches were simple, but surprisingly delicious.
“You know… lately everything feels like it’s changed.”
I reached my hand toward the sky.
Between my short fingers, I could see the leaves gently swaying.
“The people I knew… well, they’re still the same people, but our relationships have changed. And now there are so many more things I have to worry about. I was just a country girl who didn’t suit elegance or noble etiquette at all…”
Beyond the trees, clouds drifted peacefully across the sky.
“This new life still feels strange… but I’ll get used to it. And I’ll rebuild the Myla Marquisate into something truly great.”
Mas slowly turned his gaze toward me.
“I learned in Galnem that it’s better to roll around in the dirt than to just sit there blaming your circumstances.”
I smiled at him.
“You think I can do it?”
When I first realized I’d been reincarnated as Arinel Myla, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t cursed the god who had thrown me into a poor village destined to suffer a devastating famine.
When I was four years old, I even pointed my middle finger at the sky.
But just as my life as Arinel in Galnem had become precious to me…
I believed my completely different future could become precious too.
Mas looked at me for a long moment before nodding once.
“…Let’s do our best!”
Smiling brightly, I searched my pocket and held something out to him.
“This is for you. Thanks for bringing me my things last time.”
Mas accepted the palm-sized glass bottle.
Inside were sparkling red candies.
They were made using the recipe I had invented.
They had been difficult to make since sugar beets were hard to find, but I had managed by buying some at the market.
“…”
Mas stared at the bottle for a very long time.
Long enough to make me self-conscious.
And with remarkable intensity.
“It’s nothing special. Just eat them whenever you’re bored. They melt in your mouth and they’re really sweet.”
I laughed awkwardly, trying to make it sound unimportant.
But even after that, Mas continued staring at the candy bottle before carefully placing it inside his clothes.
Watching him, I finally asked,
“By the way… I meant to ask before. What kind of work do you do here?”
Seeing how carefully he treasured even a simple bottle of candy, I suddenly worried that maybe he wasn’t treated well enough to even eat properly.
Mas calmly picked up a small stick and wrote on the ground.
[Family business]
Seeing the neat handwriting, I widened my eyes.
“Wow! Your family lives in the capital?”
Mas casually nodded.
That eased my worries a little.
Since we had spent an entire year together in Galnem, I had assumed he was an orphan like me.
“So you’re actually a city boy!”
Maybe he even came from a wealthy family.
There was so much I wanted to ask, but Mas always had many secrets, so I decided not to ask any more about his personal life.
We spent a long time together afterward.
It wasn’t until sunset that I finally said goodbye.
With the evening sun behind him, Mas pointed one finger toward me before turning around.
It meant,
“See you again.”
After returning from my outing with Mas, I sat down at my desk.
Now then…
The reason I was sitting there today was to write a letter.
Holding a pen in my small hand, I thought,
If Aunt Piolet turned out to be a noble… then maybe Uncle Amers is a noble too…?
Back then, Uncle Amers had listened seriously when I told him about the coming famine.
If he really was a noble…
And if I ever got the chance to meet him again…
I’ll seriously talk to him about the great famine.
Just as the tyrant Parmes Aslet had become Emperor in the original story…
The famine was bound to arrive in the near future.
The Empire’s condition during the famine had been described so horribly in the novel that I had frowned the entire time I read it.
If I can meet Uncle Amers… maybe he’ll help me. Maybe he’ll even find a way to connect me with the terrifying Duke Siegfried.
Since Aunt Piolet’s real name had turned out to be Piolena, I had asked Adam whether someone matching Uncle Amers’ appearance and personality existed.
I described his appearance, his way of speaking, and how interested he was in economics.
Adam narrowed it down to three likely scholars and gave me the Academy’s address.
Arman Friedrich.
Edmond Taylor.
Hamers Rohim.
The handwriting was a little crooked, but Uncle Amers would understand it if he saw it.
After sealing the envelope carefully, I stretched toward the ceiling with both hands.
I hope Uncle Amers is one of these three…
Just like I had told Mas, even if everything had changed…
I had to do my best.
The Imperial Palace glowed beneath the evening sunset.
Walking through the magnificent underground corridor, the boy pushed open a massive stone door.
Beyond it lay the staircase leading back into the palace above.
Before climbing the stairs, the boy removed his mask.
Holding the white mask in one hand, he stepped forward.
“…”
Beneath the crimson sunset, his appearance slowly emerged.
His brown hair transformed into brilliant silver before the sunlight even touched it.
His black eyes gradually changed as blue spread from the edges toward the center.
The one regarded as second only to the Emperor in the Imperial Palace.
“Your Highness.”
The captain of the Imperial Guard immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing Britton.
Anyone serving in the palace would agree that Britton resembled Parmes perfectly.
Despite still being just a boy, the Crown Prince possessed an overwhelming aura worthy of a supreme ruler.
“…”
Britton Aslet walked past the captain without a word, carrying his usual cold presence.
His long shadow stretched endlessly behind him in the setting sun before disappearing the moment he entered his room.
The captain remained frozen in his bow for quite some time, only moving again after the Crown Prince had gone inside.
Inside the room, the city was already sinking into darkness beyond the window.
Britton took out the bottle of candy he had received today.
The lovely little candies reminded him of her eyes, her lips, and even her fingernails.
“I learned in Galnem that it’s better to roll around covered in dirt than to sit still blaming your circumstances.”
Britton’s dark eyes remained fixed on the bottle for a long time.
His gaze was cold enough to send chills down someone’s spine.
Yet his cheeks were slightly flushed with warmth.
His dry lips quietly whispered a single name.
“…Arinel.”
Closing his eyes, he lifted the mouth of the bottle between his nose and lips, as if breathing in its scent.
