“Episode 16”
At that time, I was barely sixteen years old. In terms of past lives, I was in the third year of middle school.
Moreover… I was taken aback by what happened unexpectedly, and then Lucas came crying to me afterwards…
“I shouldn’t have spoken up at that moment.”
By the time I finally regained my senses, the visitor had already left.
After barely managing to organize my thoughts, I could finally speak.
Stay calm, don’t get more involved…
“…So you knew about it since then?”
“Yes, you seem to have forgotten everything.”
Prince Joshua’s expression turned slightly skeptical for a moment, then he sighed while stroking the teacup gently.
“It was quite amusing. Listening to various stories and complaints as I followed you around.”
“…Did I say those things?”
“Yes, it was quite interesting.”
Interesting?
What kind of nonsense did my past self blabber in front of Prince Joshua?
I exhaled as if to calm my dizzy mind and tentatively asked him.
“What did I say?”
“You always seemed reserved in front of Prince Lucas.”
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
Nobody seemed to have noticed my modesty…
No, could they have known but pretended not to?
‘At that time, I still wanted to appear proper in front of Lucas.’
Wait a minute…!
Did he just say “Prince Lucas”?
“…Did you know that it was Prince Lucas?”
Prince Joshua nodded as if it were obvious.
“I was eight years old when Prince Lucas left, so I wasn’t too young to forget his face. Moreover…”
“…”
“Prince Lucas was the one who recognized you first. Even though I was only eight, I wasn’t completely oblivious, and I planned to ignore it.”
Haha, haha.
Prince Joshua’s words hit home.
‘Ah, Lucas, really.’
I realized why Lucas came crying and causing a scene that day.
Until then, he had talked about the deposed former empress, but he hadn’t been so sad and scared.
No, all of those things were his pride.
Even though he was just a deposed prince, he still thought he belonged to a higher place.
Lucas Medleik was exactly the same then as he is now, unchanged.
“…I see.”
I was speechless and lowered my gaze to the teacup, and a bittersweet sigh escaped Prince Joshua.
“Here we go again.”
“…Huh?”
When I raised my head in confusion, Prince Joshua showed a wry smile.
His perfect princely demeanor seemed a bit playful and resentful.
But it suited him very well.
“You always seem to only care about Prince Lucas. Alicia. Then and now.”
His words cut straight to the point, and his unexpected expression left me dumbfounded.
Prince Joshua, who always seemed more mature than his age, suddenly seemed to shine like a peer of mine.
*
Contrary to my expectation that he would delve deeper into the topic of spirits, Prince Joshua seemed to want more ordinary conversation.
During this meeting, I learned something truly unexpected.
“By the way, are your wounds completely healed? You hurt your knee badly and seemed upset. You could hide it with your skirt, but…”
“…Why do you remember that?”
“Because it’s about you?”
“Can you please stop calling me ‘miss’?”
Prince Joshua had a better memory than I thought, and he seemed to enjoy teasing people subtly.
And for some reason, I couldn’t maintain my composed and demure persona in front of him.
Whether he was using some kind of strange magic – though unlikely – I felt like I was returning to the barefoot girl who secretly wandered the forest alone in the Blanté Manor in front of Prince Joshua.
And he even remembered my little escapades.
“It’s a bit bitter for me, those were precious memories to me. They were refreshing. You said that because it was your first time.”
Even though his smile wasn’t mocking at all, it pricked my conscience.
Even…
Lord Blanté, your uncle, recognized you easily and always wore a displeased expression when speaking,” “Oh, my uncle?” “Yes, it was difficult to lie to Lord Blanté as well.” Ha-ha, I must have looked like a real fool. To my uncle. I felt a little melancholic. He’s already a difficult uncle, and now it seems like I’ve given him another reason to scold me. Prince Joshua also gradually revealed some stories about us. Among them, there were some vague memories, and some things were so trivial that I wondered if they really happened. Feeling sorry somehow, I tried to pretend to know, even if it was a lie, but Prince Joshua quickly noticed and even shook his head. “It’s okay if you don’t remember, Miss Blanté.” It took several attempts for him to finally change the title after seeing my furrowed brow. But he didn’t hide his subtle disappointment. “My memories don’t have to be your memories, and it’s in the past anyway. Most importantly…” Prince Joshua slowly interlocked his fingers. “I hope you would prioritize my feelings at least.” “…Yes?” “You always do that, you know. You actually enjoy playing around and don’t like being formal.” His purple eyes quietly stared at me. It felt deep and intense, as if the ground beneath my feet was disappearing. “It’s become a habit for you to consider others and adapt to them to the point where you can’t express yourself unless it’s a stranger.” I suddenly felt scared. My fingertips grew cold. Why? He didn’t say anything frightening at all… Maybe it’s because his words seemed to penetrate my life—my habit that has been ingrained since my past life. The fact that someone else is the protagonist of my life. Warmth suddenly spread through my chilled fingertips. Unable to move, I just stared at him. He stopped reminiscing about his playful past and spoke seriously. “So please, consider this. Miss Alicia Blanté. Even if Prince Lucas didn’t want you to be the beloved daughter of the Blanté family of spirit mages, he wanted you to be his childhood friend.”
