32.
Idle Talk: The Loneliness of the Former Fiancé (3)

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By Antoinette Vanessa February 24, 2022

—Even if you say so…

Even if I was told to not step into the world of women, I couldn’t help but worry about her.

Yet when I asked Lelouche, she’d resolutely answer—

“—That’s correct, Your Highness.
I do feel that it’d be troublesome if an outsider were to barge into my world.
But more importantly, the queen isn’t bullying me?”

At that time, she was about 13-years-old.
Recently, she seemed to have deepened her knowledge regarding the history of the arts.
However, she also had bad memories towards my mother’s treatment towards her.
Due to how she was treated that day, she was depressed.
Thus, I asked her if she was still in pain and if there was anything I could do for her.

Immediately before her social debut, she became able to execute the most elegant curtsey I had ever seen from a noble lady in the last three days.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness Sazanjill, but I’m alright.
Her Majesty scolded me due to my own failure.
I’m grateful she was willing to point it out.”

—She smiled humbly.

That night, as I slept in the castle bedroom, I heard singing from the hallway.

…Eh? A ghost?

I believed that ghosts were fictitious—something out of one’s delusions.
Or to be precise, one’s delusions were the catalyst for that.
As such, the possibility that such mysterious phenomenon could occur existed.
Perhaps, the books only lied about the ghosts being fictitious—

—As I thought…

“…I want to go to the bathroom.”

No matter how much I argued to dispel my fear, I couldn’t suppress the urge to go to the toilet.
To experience wetting myself or to face a mysterious phenomenon.
Faced with those ultimate choices, the latter was the only option for the future king candidate who had already made his social debut.

“Uuh, how cold…”

While holding my sleepwear, I walked through the terrifyingly dark corridor.
Every time I got closer to my destination, the singing only grew louder.

Then, I saw it—

“Aah~ this helmet is so cloudy~ father~ I’m giving up~ this head~”

She had donned a maid’s uniform.
If possible, I wanted to see her wearing such garments in a bright place.
After all, I was sure it would emphasize her gorgeous black hair.

With that a modest appearance, she entwined herself with the decorative armor as if dancing.
She was happily polishing the top of its helmet with a cloth.
Soon, her song reached its zenith—

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“How lovely~ is the vegetable noodle~”

“…”

Thus, Lelouche Elcage met my eyes.
Her cheerful singing stopped.
For some reason, I was giving a round of applause to her.

“What a nice song.”

“Then, is it alright for me to keep singing?”

“Eh?”

For some reason, even after I had reached at the toilet, or even after I fell asleep, her singing party didn’t stop.

Lelouche would be staying at the royal castle for two nights and three days.
Part of her princess education required her to reside in the royal castle day and night to acquire the spirit and taste of the royal family.

Thus, the following day, Lelouche was still in the castle.

Due to my lack of sleep the previous night, I overslept a little.
I had to hurry to the cafeteria.
After all, I had promised to eat with my entire family.
Not to mention, Lelouche would be present.

On the way, I met Zafield who was staring across the courtyard.

“Zafield, if you don’t hurry, mother will scold you!”

“Oh, older brother…”

When I was stunned…

“L, Lelouche!?”

She was rolling around in the courtyard.
Moreover, she was laughing boisterously.
Her dress was caked with grass and mud.

When I rushed to her rescue, she greeted me with a perfect smile as usual.

“Oh my, good morning, Your Highness Sazanjill.
What a fine day this is.”

“Lelouche, what the hell are you doing?”

“Shouldn’t it be obvious? As you can see, I’m practicing cartwheels.”

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“C, cartwheels!?”

“Fufu, it seems that you’re still half asleep.’

Does she think I’m befuddled from sleep deprivation?

But it wasn’t necessary for Lelouche to learn cartwheels, right? Would any lady be cartwheeling at a party?

I involuntarily turned towards Zafield who had already fled.
He probably went to call someone.
Then, all I had to do was calm Lelouche who was smiling.

“A, ah… I see, I just can’t think of anything else to say… Why are you doing such a thing?”

“Because I want to master acrobatics!”

“A, acrobatics?!”

“Indeed.
The other day, I saw the performance of a theatrical group called a circus with my father.
I was truly impressed.”

Certainly, a circus came to the Elcage territory last weekend.
I was also invited, but I couldn’t miss my public-related affairs.

I wonder if it was truly entertaining?

More importantly, I’m glad that she enjoyed it.

“Therefore, I want to dive into a circle of fire!”

“A circle of fire!?”

“Also, wouldn’t it be great if I were to be able to train a beast?”

…Is the beast in her previous statement a metaphor?

However, from the flow of the conversation, I could only assume that she was referring to the real thing.

Well, what should I do?

It had been a while ever since I last saw Lelouche’s black eyes gleaming.
I was truly happy at the sight.

If I were to ride a beast and dive into the ring of fire, would Lelouche be—

—Then, as my thoughts strayed;

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“Brother! Lelouche! I’ve called her father!”

“Zafieeeeeeld—!!”

They came!

As expected of my brother, Zafield!

I was truly relieved, delighted to the brink of tears at having such a competent brother.

Zafield had summoned our parents.
After they had kindly admonished Lelouche, she was made to return to bed.

“…What?”

“Well, I don’t see anything wrong with that.
It’s common for adolescent girls, right?”

—I think my mother’s education might be too strict?!

After saying that to my mother, she casually dismissed me.

“Because you were so noisy, a doctor was called in.
That said, I don’t think there’s anything to be worried about? If she can rid herself of her frustrations every once in a while, won’t she be satisfied?”

“…Should you be speaking in such a manner towards your own son?”

I couldn’t grasp what my mother meant by ‘rid herself of her frustrations.’

My father, who stopped us while sighing, said, “Everything is fine.”

“Of course, you should stop her before she gets hurt.
Once she grows up, I’m sure her eccentricity will calm down.
Until then, kindly keep an eye on her.”

—Even though I was admonished by my parents, I was still worried about Lelouche.

Thus, I asked Lelouche, who was diagnosed as “Not having any issues,” by the doctor, “Lelouche, is there anything I can do for you?”

—In return, I was given an unprecedentedly harsh gaze.

“Your Highness, may I say something…?”

“Of course, tell me anything!”

“Aren’t you being a little self-centered?”

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Self-centered? Me…?

Was it wrong for me, as the elder, to worry about my three years younger fiancée?

Even if she was already 12 years old, I still recalled the vestiges of those days.

That day when she was delighted to ride on my back.
That day she was sad because she couldn’t make a stuffed animal well—I could still recall them…

That’s why, I…

“Thank you for your concern, but I can do it by myself without the help of Your Highness.”

“B, but we’re a couple…”

“If so, shouldn’t you worry about yourself before worrying about me? Don’t the princes also have to take royal education? I’ve heard rumors that your grades are lackluster.”

“Wha!?”

While it was true that the academy I had entered that year require more than the average minimum regarding grades, it wasn’t as strict as top academies.
More importantly, I couldn’t bring public affairs to the dormitory, so I often returned to the royal castle (to see Lelouche).
However, it could be said that I hadn’t been studying enough.
More than that, together with her, I wanted to—

“—To each of their own, let’s do our best first.
I’m alright alone.
I’ll definitely become a queen that suits you.”

—But if that’s what she wants…

I shall hold my breath and watch over her.
I shall also do my best to become a king suitable for her.

However, if her heart broke in that difficult world of women, then…

…I’d definitely support her.
No matter how eccentric she behaved.
No matter how many tears she shed.

No matter who she was, I’d be the man she wanted.

I swore that to the clumsy stuffed animal.

In fact, her eccentricity did diminish as she grew older, but it never went down to zero.

Hence, when she enrolled into the academy, a lot of trouble and misfortune occurred.
At first, I thought I was going to have a seizure.

***T/N: Sometimes I found it difficult to relate to Lelouche due to said eccentricity as well.