kscans

Chapter 200 - The Oblivious Little One, Part Three ~An Indomitable Love~

"Young lady?"

"Yes?"

At that moment, Ralphrate felt a sweet scented breeze.

A past self that he did not know. The embers of a love that he couldn't extinguish even after learning of her identity and origins, a love he had met without knowing any of it. He suddenly remembered the fever of his childhood, when he didn't even have a concept of affection. The girl Ralphrate had fallen in love with had lost her memories of him and become a completely different person. The girl he knew was no longer there. The girl called the Little One was supposed to have vanished like mist.

And yet, why…?

Why did the image of the Little One overlap with this new student?

The Frontier Noble Academy entrance ceremony.

A small pair of twins appeared alongside the royal children. A faint stir went through the crowd at the entrance of the teleportation device that only royalty could use. There was a clear air of specialty about them. The two of them, with an atmosphere that set them apart from the others, were unfazed even as they were bombarded by the gazes of the students. Unflinching in the face of the rude stares mixed with suspicion, jealousy, and envy, the small boy and girl were having their new student badges pinned on by the princes. Ralphrate felt an indescribable sense of déja vu at the sight of the girl looking up here and there with sparkling eyes full of curiosity, muttering "Wow…"

...Have I seen this somewhere, sometime?

The memory that should have faded into the far reaches of his mind came back to him vividly.

The person who had a fearless smile and innocent eyes.

The small child who brimmed with an overflowing spirit. The child who ran like a raging fire with the mononoke. And above all, the noble and beloved princess of his first love. Even though Fatima herself was right there in front of him, for some reason, his eyes were drawn more to the small girl next to her than to the princess. The girl in his memories had golden hair and golden eyes. But the grown up Princess Fatima had lost her honey colored eyes, and they were now an amber color, as if a little milk had been added. The spirit that had been overflowing to the point of bursting was also gone, and there was not a trace of her former atmosphere in her calm and composed figure. She had forgotten the past and was living in the present.

...She does not remember me either.

An indescribable emptiness passed through Ralphrate’s chest.

But that was fine. It was because she had forgotten him that he was who he was now. The closest aide to her brother, His Highness Theodore. After the tea party for the baptism ceremony, a letter had arrived for Ralphrate from Theodore. It was a request to serve as his attendant. After some hesitation, Ralph accepted. As the heir to a count's family, it was an unexpected piece of good fortune. He had originally been visiting the castle with such intentions. Eighty percent of the reason was to be near the princess. But she, having lost her memories, did not remember Ralphrate either. The faint love that had sprouted in his heart had also dissipated, and he had lost his vision for the future. For Ralph, who had lost his purpose and couldn't think of anything, Theodore's invitation was a godsend. He became his official aide after graduating from the academy and had been serving him ever since. Until Theodore graduated, he had served mainly at the academy. Most of the students at the noble academy lived in dorms or boarding houses. This was because the academy city and the royal capital were a two hour one way trip apart. The royals could use the teleportation device to travel in an instant, but ordinary nobles could not. This was because ordinary nobles could not use the teleportation device, which required a vast amount of magical power. It was a device that only the royals, with their exceptionally large amount of magical power, could use. That device, which could not be operated without one's own magical power, could only be used by royalty or the head magician of the Magician's Division.

That is why everyone was stunned.

At the twins who appeared with the royal children. This meant that those small children possessed an amount of magical power comparable to that of royalty. Oblivious to the surrounding students who were staring at them with many questions in their eyes, the said twins were walking side by side in a friendly manner. The children had very similar faces. The girl had black hair and jade green eyes. The boy had dark brown hair and black eyes. Despite their un noble like eye colors, it was clear that their magical power was considerable.

When he passed by the two of them.

Ralphrate saw something nostalgic.

No, he felt it.

The sweet breeze that he could not forget even if he tried.

The embers of a love he had drowned in long ago. A warm magical power, like a lantern glowing faintly. What Ralph did not understand at the time was the golden wave of magical power. Even now, he did not understand it. But Ralphrate felt the nostalgic magical power he remembered so clearly from the black haired girl.

"Young lady?"

"Yes?"

The cute girl turned around in a flash.

In that instant, Ralphrate had a dream.

A memory that was not so old, but old for him.

"Are you the Little One?"

"Yes?"

Their first meeting, so disastrous it could be called an embarrassing past.

For some reason, memories of that person came to him one after another.

It was a pointless heartbreak.

Ralphrate shook his head lightly, his eyes softening with a sad look.

"No, my apologies. You just resembled someone I know."

A new love story did not begin.

Ralphrate was now seventeen. There was a ten year age difference between him and the girl before him. How could he see her as a romantic interest? For the two of them, who were just passing by, no new development occurred. Except for Theodore, who was sweating cold in his heart.

...No way, right? He didn't notice, did he?

The Little One did not know.

About the unbelievably indomitable love. Despite having no common features in appearance or age, Ralphrate had noticed the Little One’s true nature. It would be a while before Ralph, who continued to be concerned about the Little One for one reason or another, would see through the girl’s identity. However, the current Ralphrate had no way of knowing that he would once again cry over a broken heart upon learning that the Little One already had a formidable fiancé.

A toast to the Little One’s continuing merry life, and to the people who are swayed by her.♪