kscans

Chapter 194 - Doodle, Frontier's Romance Scene

"Come to think of it....."

Romel suddenly looked at Dorfen.

Today, the Prince Regent and his wife were inspecting the city. As was natural, the knight guarding Chihiro and his wife were busily taking care of the Little One. It was a familiar, peaceful scene, but Romel found it strange that she had been the one to push their romance forward. Seriously, she had pushed them so hard you'd think she was some matchmaker grandma, roping in Sasha's mother Mārya, silencing Dorfen's father Marquis Kigris, and charging full steam ahead toward their marriage with incredible ferocity. And Romel, upon further reflection, remembered that Chihiro had diligently been connecting many loves.

Chihaya and Meg. Wilfe and Miranda. She seemed to be concerned about Zack's marriage as well, eagerly going to check on the situation. Apparently, someone who had feelings for Zack had consulted with her. By the way, Adonis was now engaged to Hyrulia. The two, who had grown close during the pilgrimage, seemed to have been painting a faint picture of love without anyone noticing. And then there was Vincent from the Torzebisont Kingdom. The duke's son, who had been rejected by Meg, had actually come to study abroad in Frontier in pursuit of the princess. The year after the coming-of-age ceremony. Upon learning that Meg and Chihaya's engagement was settled, he had come with an appearance that made one see hallucinations of a ferocious mane, leading other Torzebisont nobles with him.

But, well, his opponent was Chihaya. Whether he was pestered or protested, it went in one ear and out the other. After his persistent pestering, Vincent was completely and utterly crushed. Not physically, but mentally. He was verbally abused so viciously it was pitiful to watch, his rebuttals were shut down, and he was made to realize just how inhumane his actions had been by Chihaya's venomous tongue.

Really, the members of the Jorje family show no mercy.

Even now, remembering it sends a chill down Romel's spine.

『You don't like Meg, do you? Because her eye and hair color are plain? I think they're beautiful, though.』

『.....! The colors of the Torzebisont royal family are much more vibrant. You, who know nothing.』

Vincent put on a brave front. Seeing right through it, Chihaya laughed fufu, innocently.

『So? I don't care about the Torzebisont royal family. I just fell in love with Meg. I'm happy just having her here.』

『What nonsense. You too must have agreed to this engagement because she is a royal princess.』

『You're the one spouting nonsense. I agreed to this engagement precisely because it was Meg. I don't need anyone else. I have no interest in status or fortune.』

Indeed, he had once refused the engagement. If he had been tempted by status or position, Chihaya would have accepted then. He explained this in detail, narrowed his eyes suu, and twisted the corners of his mouth as if growling.

『What about status? What about fortune? If I need such things, I'll build them myself. My father was originally a commoner. He rose to the rank of count with his own two hands. It's true that in a marriage between nobles, saying you don't need anything is just empty words. But I'm the one saying that's fine. I haven't received an education so pathetic that I can't live without relying on my wife's possessions.』

.....Chihaya's sharp words, spat at the sullenly silent Vincent. These words, in reverse, were meant to belittle Vincent as a shabby man who sought Meg for the prestige of the royal family..... as a fool who needed his wife's status and fortune. Chihaya, who proudly declared he was originally a commoner, must have been unbelievable to Vincent. He stared at Chihaya with the eyes of someone looking at an incomprehensible monster.

『Besides, your eyes are just too blind. The only women as lovely and strong as Meg are in my family. She's smart, considerate, kind, a flawless fiancée. The only other women who wouldn't look out of place next to Hiiro are Hyrulia and Sasha. After that, maybe Mirtisia and Fatima in a close second. You really did something stupid, didn't you, you♪』

In contrast to the beaming, joyful Chihaya, Vincent's complexion rapidly turned from pale to blue. Chihaya's lovey-dovey talk didn't stop, and he went on to explain in painstaking detail just how lovely Meg was, and how blissful he was, even including explicit descriptions.

『That soft body and fragrant hair. I want to thank the gods from the bottom of my heart for the good fortune of being able to entangle my fingers in it and hold her. Oh, and I should thank you too. Thank you for making Meg dislike you. Thank you♪』

The many facts that mercilessly gouged Vincent's heart. He had thrown those kinds of words at Meg. With petty jealousy.

『I.....』

Vincent swallowed hard in his parched throat and moved his tongue falteringly, but he couldn't find the right words.

『You called Meg plain and homely, was it? Oh, I heard you also called her unattractive. As expected of a duke's son. Your standards must be high. I don't understand it, but you must desire a beautiful and graceful lady. Yes, I'm truly impressed. Yup♪』

Chihaya rattled on cheerfully. But his eyes weren't smiling. While wearing a friendly smile, a cold anger smoldered in the depths of his sharp eyes. After thoroughly berating him with eyes that held a look of contempt, Chihaya delivered his final ultimatum.

『Meg is a lady who did not meet your noble standards. I don't know of any family more noble than the royal family, but you must, right? Probably? Fufu, I want to spoil Meg rotten and be loved by her. Ah, I wonder if this is what they call a honeymoon. I want to become an adult soon. I can't believe she's mine. I want you to be happy too, you who indirectly gave me this happiness♪』

Vincent's face turned from blue to deathly white as he was beaten down by the ♪ that Chihaya attached to the end of his sentences with annoying frequency. Praising him to death only to tear him down, discussing his past actions, and explaining at length just how foolish and fortunate it all was, Chihaya smirked caustically.

『.....So. Don't go near Meg, okay?』

A buwari of cold air drifted through the area, and Vincent, who looked up with a gyo, saw something impossible there. The cuttingly sharp look of contempt on the face of Chihaya, who should have been a mere count's son.

.....What is with that scornful look! You're just a count's son!! I am a duke's son, you know!

He doesn't know. The country of Frontier.

Frontier is a meritocracy. Of course, a hierarchy based on status exists, but achievements worthy of that status are also demanded. If one is found unworthy, they may even be considered for ceding their family rank to someone more suitable. A harsh upper class. In such a place, the title of duke's son is as good as a piece of paper. Chihaya, who has achieved numerous accomplishments, and with Romel's backing and his connection to the Little One, receives treatment befitting a quasi-royal, not a count. He was transforming into an indispensable asset to the royal family.

『Meg is, you see, my family now. I don't have any mercy for my family's enemies. If you're going to come at me, come prepared to stake your ducal house, okay?』

Chihaya grinned niiih with a wicked face. That dark, ghastly smile was horribly similar to the Little One's when she was scheming.

Meg's story, heard from his sister. He confirmed it with Meg herself, and Chihaya couldn't stop the goosebumps from covering his entire body. An astonishing amount of anger was coiling buwari in the pit of his stomach. While the ferocious passion welled up, he tried his best to calmly give Vincent a warning. He wanted to break him bakibaki, physically, until he couldn't stand up. But if he did that, it would have repercussions not only for Frontier but also for Meg.

I can't cause trouble for my family.

Though it was infuriating, he supposed it was fine as long as he didn't have to see him. And so, Chihaya glared down at Vincent as if looking down on him.

『You see. I hate trouble. Honestly, you're an eyesore. Your lingering gazes at Meg are, you see.』

Gradually approaching, Chihaya opened his eyes, which held no warmth. Vincent was frozen by that icy gaze, unable to move a muscle. His body stiffened, and he trembled slightly, katakata.

『It would be easy to dice you into five-inch pieces. I'm a multi-attribute user and a skilled magician, you see. I have the seal of approval from not just my teachers, but also the Prince Regent. Just so you know, I'm bragging. I don't usually say it, but you seem slow, so you probably can't read between the lines, right? I have to say it clearly or you won't understand, right? Huh?』

A stagnant magic spread jiwari, clinging to Vincent's body like thin wire. Making the barbed-wire-like magic crawl over his opponent's body, Chihaya whispered in a low voice that seemed to seep up from the depths of the earth.

『.....There are countless ways to make you food for beasts without Meg and the others finding out. But well, you are a guest of the country, and it would be a hassle if you went missing and a search was conducted..... Don't make me do it, you see? Me?』

Vincent, glared at with deranged eyes by the ghastly Chihaya, was terrified to his core and nodded desperately, casting aside all shame and pride.

『Well then, that's the end of our talk. I've warned you. There won't be a second time. I've wanted to try dicing someone into five-inch pieces for a while. I wonder how finely the human body can be cut? Aren't you curious?』

A smile as refreshing as a spring breeze. But in the frigid flame floating in his eyes, Vincent caught a glimpse of a world he should not touch. Leaving behind the duke's son who was shaking his head with all his might, Chihaya walked away from the spot, chuckling kuskusu. Romel, who had sensed the unsettling atmosphere and had followed Chihaya without being noticed, held his head in his hands at the unchanging brokenness of the twin brother. Reason does not work on a rational madman. He is a deliberate offender. A creature that moves not by the world's good and evil, but solely by the rightness or wrongness of his own emotions. There is no ill will or malice. To him, all his actions are correct. What could possibly get through to a beast who is a bundle of contradictions, acting on emotion yet being rational? Still, well. He does have feelings that would make one blush, like wanting to spoil Princess Margaret, so maybe he can't be called a madman after all. The only saving grace is that the standard for Chihaya's actions is Chihiro. Whether Chihiro will dislike it or not. Since he carefully gauges only that, Chihaya has not yet committed any major mistakes.

Well, that child is quite something herself, though.

As for Chihiro, her standards are the extreme dichotomy of 'like' or 'don't care'. For those classified as 'don't care', she is thoroughly indifferent. On the other hand, she is dero-sweet to those classified as 'like', and will forgive anything as long as it doesn't involve a crime.

Ahhh, honestly, if they could just add themselves together and divide by two, they'd be just right!!

It was enough to make one think they had exchanged their important emotions in Sakura's womb.

The Prince Regent slumped down, utterly exhausted.

The Little One, flitting about in the midst of Frontier's romantic circumstances.

Even though the matter itself seemed to be a landmine for Chihiro, Romel was truly mystified as to why she ran around playing matchmaker for others.

.....And so he had asked. Why she supported the fever of love.

『.....Because I want them to be happy?』

Why the question? She didn't seem to quite understand it herself, and the Little One tilted her head.

『You think the fever of love is happiness? And yet.....』

You're so harsh about your own, aren't you?

The eyes say more than words.

Sensing the question in his gaze, Chihiro looked a little surprised. Had Romel still been bothered by the words she had said before? After thinking for a moment, Chihiro let out a big haa sigh.

『.....My bad, nyo. I was still dragging that around back then.』

And in the eyes of the girl who turned back, a fragile light wavered.

『It's a common story, but.』

With that preface, the Little One spoke of an event from her past life.

It was a story that should not be common.

When Chihiro was living on Earth, due to the circumstances of the time, she quit her long-time office job and started investing. Fortunately, she made a decent living online and was able to live comfortably. She also had a boyfriend from her college days, and they were scheduled to be married in six months. But.....

『Well, it was... pretty cliché, my partner cheated on me.』

Chihiro's boyfriend had become her fiancé, and in a last fling before the wedding, he had gotten the other woman pregnant. There was no dramatic scene. The fiancé said he had to take responsibility, and Chihiro nodded, accepted a reasonable settlement, and broke off the engagement. He had been a long-time boyfriend. It was a shock, but struggling wouldn't change the outcome. If the other person was pregnant, whether she had an abortion or gave birth, it would only lead to a mountain of problems. If she did give birth, child support and other expenses would fall on the fiancé. If he still wanted Chihiro, she was prepared to share the hardship, but he did not want that. He said he would wipe the slate clean and marry his affair partner as his new fiancée. It was true that was the least troublesome way. Believing this was his own form of kindness, Chihiro forced herself to accept and agreed to break off the engagement.

『But college..... we had been dating since our student days. Our acquaintances overlapped, and the people we were going to invite to the reception were already decided. .....And that's where he committed the dishonest act.』

Yes. The ex-fiancé had spread the rumor that Chihiro had cheated, so he broke off the engagement. In these things, it's often a matter of who speaks first, and it was difficult to dispel a rumor that had already spread. Moreover, Chihiro, of course, did not attend their wedding or reception. Unaware of the rumor, it was left to fester for a long time. When the matter came to light, she lost all affection for him. Did he want to justify himself that much? So she explained the situation only to a few close friends and left the rest as it was. It wasn't worth the effort to deal with people who didn't matter. Those who believed would believe, and those who didn't came to confirm with Chihiro, so she explained it to them.

She had thought that was the end of it, but ripples spread after that.

Because the affair partner had been pregnant.

The child was born less than six months after the wedding. If the child had been conceived after Chihiro cheated, they broke off the engagement, and he started a new relationship, the birth was too early. Chihiro and her ex-fiancé had both invited their college classmates to the wedding. The two cheaters had cancelled the invitations six months before the wedding, and then gotten engaged and married to new partners. It was only natural that their acquaintances would be suspicious when the due date didn't add up.

Unbeknownst to Chihiro, many small dramatic scenes had occurred, and the affair partners, whom she had long since forgotten, came running to her.

Do something, they said.

Chihiro didn't understand what was going on and asked for details, and after hearing the explanation, they said that at this rate, they would have no place at the company. They would no longer have an environment where they could raise their child. Please, they begged, intercede on our behalf.

Two people, bowing their heads desperately.

Honestly, Chihiro couldn't make sense of it. Just because a crack had appeared in their paper-mache facade built of lies, what could she do? His company had people from the same university. They knew that and had an affair, didn't they? They broke off the engagement with Chihiro and married the affair partner, didn't they? If they were going to be this flustered, they shouldn't have told such lies from the beginning.

Chihiro said so, and the two cheaters cursed her fiercely.

Do you have no heart? Don't you have any feelings of celebration for the two of us on our new journey? They need an environment where they can feel comfortable for the child's sake, and yet they are even being given the cold shoulder by their own families, don't you have any compassion?

.....Of course not.

With a fixed gaze, Chihiro roared.

『You're the one who cheated, right? You're the one who said you wanted to break off the engagement because that slut over there got pregnant, right? I accepted that. What more do you want me to do?!』

Frightened by the cold threat, the affair partner trembled, holding her infant. Her ex-fiancé put an arm around her shoulder and glared at Chihiro.

『It happened, so what can you do! You agreed to it, didn't you!』

At her ex-fiancé's defiant attitude, Chihiro nodded greatly and shouted further.

『That's why I accepted the broken engagement, and I haven't said anything since!』

『I paid you a proper settlement, so of course you wouldn't! And yet why are you saying unnecessary things!』

『Unnecessary things?』

Tilting her head at the unexpected words, Chihiro stared at her ex-fiancé. He showed blatant irritation at this and yelled that Chihiro's close friends had spread the truth of the matter. Ah, Chihiro understood.

『Come to think of it, I did get a few calls. Of course, I told them the truth. What about it?』

She didn't mind if they spread lies, but she couldn't give the cold shoulder to the friends who had called to check on her, worried. The two cheaters looked up at Chihiro, who spoke thus, resentfully, and cursed her in unison.

If you don't mind, then why don't you leave it alone? Why do you expose a private matter? Thanks to you, we're being turned away even from our own homes. They say a shotgun wedding resulting from an affair is shameful. That it's different from what they heard. What's more, because they had to pay Chihiro a settlement, they could only have a modest ceremony. Their current life isn't easy either. And yet, why didn't you protect us, they asked.

Chihiro's mouth almost spasmed as they lined up a string of complaints that made no sense to her.

『Protect you from what, it's all the truth. Your parents are decent people, so why are you two so rotten? It's just your lies coming back to bite you, isn't it? The fact that I kept quiet about the lies except to my friends should be more than enough, shouldn't it!!』

『If you're going to keep quiet, then keep quiet about everything! You only told half the story, that's why this is happening!』

『Don't be ridiculous! You want me to become a liar? For you, who was screwing around with another woman and knocking her up?! I'd like to crack open that head of yours and see just how you arrived at that way of thinking!! In fact, since it's come to this, shall I spill everything? To your company contacts too!!』

Perhaps the words 'company contacts' had an effect, as the two of them became flustered awaawa and fled from Chihiro's apartment without so much as a goodbye.

Chihiro's head was boiling, and she roughly closed the door and put on the chain. Then, she picked up her smartphone that was on standby on the shoe rack, rushed into the room, and used another device to call her friends. Of course, it was to send the contents of the smartphone, which had recorded the entire exchange, to her friends.

『I've had enough. I was thinking of letting it go, but if anyone asks, you can let them listen to this.』

They would probably spread it even if they weren't asked. Chihiro's friends were birds of a feather. They were people who returned kindness twofold and malice a hundredfold.

Chihiro's niyah smirk was not betrayed. Her friends seemed to have maneuvered spectacularly, and by the time the season changed, the two cheaters had disappeared. They didn't know where they had moved. They had quit their jobs and left without telling anyone anything.

"Well, it was the folly of youth, or something. I was young back then too."

Now, it's a page in her dark history.

At the awkwardly smiling Little One, Romel was left speechless, unable to say a word. How on earth did it come to that? Cheating and having a child. It's not unheard of, though rare. But what came after was just too nauseating. Audacious thieves, or shameless and impudent, there's a limit to having no shame. To think that this was Chiihiro's emotional scar, Romel felt an indescribable, complex emotion.

Not all men in the world are like that. The vast majority do not approve of such disloyalty. It's easy to say in words, but that's probably not what Chihiro needs. As a result, she came to not be able to believe in love. The foolish end of a long-term lover. A man who became her fiancé. She can't believe it won't happen a second time. It would be unreasonable to ask her to believe. And Romel realized something else.

That he, who had received a proposal from her, had been recognized as not being that kind of man. She had once said. To believe is to accept everything. To be able to forgive anything. If, by some chance, Romel cheated and had a child, Chihiro would probably just make a troubled face. No, she might even eagerly participate in raising the child.

Ah..... No, I can easily imagine that.

Of course, Romel would not do such a thing, nor did he have any intention of doing so. But the certainty that he was held in such complete trust was embarrassing.

"Chiihiro."

Hugging his small wife from behind, the Prince Regent was lost in deep emotion.

"What is it?"

Completely enveloped by her husband, who was over thirty centimeters taller, the Little One grabbed Romel's arm and looked up curiously.

"I'll make you happy. Also, even though I'm the one who asked..... don't talk about the previous man anymore, okay? It makes me jealous. Yeah."

At Romel, who was red up to his ears, Chihiro's eyes widened, and she smiled mischievously.

"What are you carrying on your shoulders? I'll make you happy♪"

".....Yeah."

Patting Romel's cheek petapeta from behind him, the Little One felt bliss. Her husband, who was shyly averting his gaze teretere, was endearing.

Unbeknownst to them, the people around them who were secretly watching this syrupy scene were smiling lukewarm smiles as if chewing on sugar.

Everything is one's own responsibility.

Struggling and soaking in happiness are part of life. A life where one can enjoy that is probably what people call a good life.

In Frontier, where the happiness of kind people is promised, it would be nice if the two of them could continue their long, peaceful lives, but...

In Arcadia, where things don't go so smoothly, the two of them are living and enjoying their turbulent lives.♪