Chapter 47

〈 Chapter 47 〉 The Price of Loss (8)

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#16

‘...I guess I can just leave it here for now.’

She was, after all, a princess of a nation. To show at least a minimum of respect for the patient, she placed the bouquet she had prepared next to Rubia’s incense burner.

The scent... I don’t think it’s bad.

But is this okay?

The ward was already filled with the fragrance of flowers, and the aroma rising from the incense burner subtly affected Yurie’s mood.

It shouldn’t be bad, right? After all, it didn’t seem like she had any flower allergies. Yurie, who had been sneezing for a moment, returned to her chair and sat down again.

The surroundings were very quiet.

With Miu and Rubia gone, it was just her and Eijio, who was only breathing. Apart from the ticking of the second hand on the clock hanging on the wall, there was no other noise.

“...Phew.”

This was better. Yurie, who had been caught in the middle of Miu and Rubia’s silent tension without knowing why, felt as if she was suffocating.

Especially when friends she wanted to get along with were arguing, the discomfort doubled.

What are they talking about outside right now?

Thanks to the excellent soundproofing, no sound could be heard from outside the door. They might have moved to a quiet place where only the two of them could talk.

...I hope everything gets resolved well.

If it was a problem Yurie could solve by getting involved, she would have helped, but it seemed to involve some complicated secrets, so she couldn’t act rashly.

Past, mistakes, and all that... From Yurie’s perspective, who first met Miu and Rubia at Frontier, their conversation was full of things she couldn’t have predicted.

But.

There was one thing she could tell.

‘What did you do with them...?’

The focus of the conversation between Miu and Rubia was entirely on this guy in front of her.

The early evening shadows had already spread across the sky, covering it with a black curtain. When she entered the medical center, it was clearly dusk, but now the landscape beyond the window was completely dark.

The falling starlight was cold and desolate.

She suddenly lowered her gaze.

Eijio, with his long eyelashes tightly closed, was in a coma, breathing faintly and steadily. Yurie sat in her chair, lost in thought.

‘...What kind of person are you, really?’

A boy who never really appealed to her from the first day of school.

Even now, not much has changed, but he seemed to have somewhat moved away from the first impression of being somewhat frivolous and inconsiderate of others.

Of course, she still couldn’t understand why Rubia had been attached to this guy since childhood.

Even if they were very close friends in the past, what can I do about it? As a third party, I can only accept it...

“...”

Thinking about it, that’s true.

In the past.

Yurie isn’t completely clueless.

Thinking back, there were moments like when they were kicking the blanket in the dining room, or the reactions of Rubia and Eijio when they met in the dormitory grounds, which made her think that they might not be as close as before.

There’s no reason for her to interfere in their relationship, but she was purely curious.

Anyway,

Even with Rubia.

...It seemed like Miu had some kind of relationship with this guy too.

Sasha Elne or someone. Ignoring any other boy’s words, Miu, who even skipped classes to take care of Eijio, was trying to block any other person’s approach.

In other words, she was very serious about this guy.

Because of this, she had an argument with Rubia, and when it seemed like it would drag on, they left the room to talk separately...

‘Did they all come from the Lorsen Academy?’

She had heard that all three of them came from the same school. It was almost like fate, Yurie thought.

She felt a bit envious. Yurie had been educated through private tutoring until she entered the Frontier Academy’s high school department.

Of course, it was normal for high-ranking nobles, but Yurie had lived a life of being protected in the vast palace without a single common friend, always dreaming of a normal school life.

If they all went to the same school, it must have been fun. But looking at their relationship now, it’s not that simple...

Well.

When was it? It was on the day of the enrollment ceremony.

The scene she saw when she finally managed to escape from King and Queen Artina, who were showing Yurie around the banquet hall as if she were their daughter, and came out to take a breath.

Eijio sitting on a bench near a walkway, Rubia crying in front of him, and Miu, who was also on the verge of tears, sobbing...

Seeing all this, she was sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her.

Making two of his classmates cry on the first day of school. Both at once.

Thinking about this, she wanted to say something to the guy who was walking over after finishing his conversation.

‘What did you do to them?’

‘...What do you mean?’

...But.

‘...Eh, eh... you...’

At that time, Eijio’s expression was worse than theirs, so she couldn’t bring herself to say what she had prepared and could only open her mouth in confusion.

She’s still angry. How can you just touch someone’s head? It was even more negative because he knew she would dislike it. If he ever put his hand on her head again, she would use her ability to get rid of him.

Ah.

...Come to think of it, it didn’t work on him.

No, she will definitely get rid of him. Somehow. By developing her ability. As a precious princess of a nation, she had never experienced so many humiliations and disgraces from a man, and she would repay them tenfold someday.

Thinking about it made her blood boil. She wanted to grab and stretch Eijio’s nose, but she held back.

Anyway.

Eijio, Miu, and Rubia didn’t seem to have a normal friendship, like she saw at the back of the banquet hall.

...Actually, she doesn’t really know. She can’t be sure of anything, but at least they don’t seem to be on good terms now. Yurie found this quite surprising.

Even if they were inseparable friends in the past, could their relationship break so easily? Is there really no such thing as forever in a relationship...

“...”

What do I know. In the end, it must be his fault.

Yurie, sitting in the chair, slowly swung her legs.

The continuous thoughts suddenly stopped, and she felt a moment of silence.

Coming back to reality, Yurie realized that the only people in this large ward were Eijio and herself. She was alone with a man in a closed room. But since he was unconscious, it was a close call. It didn’t matter.

Yurie instinctively felt uncomfortable, even though she didn’t intend to. Of course, Eijio was in a coma, so it was less noticeable, but the uncomfortable feeling didn’t go away.

Yurie’s ruby-like eyes, filled with a mix of emotions, stared at Eijio for a long time.

‘...I can’t help but dislike you.’

...I don’t like men.

I especially don’t like men who look like this.

Should I say he’s slick? Or aristocratic? I’ll go with the former. This boy, with his slick appearance, was, based on years of objective facts, the epitome of male beauty that Yurie had seen, to the point where she really wanted to disapprove of it.

That’s why I dislike him even more. Really.

His long eyelashes, with pieces of starlight hanging from their tips, and his flawless, pale skin, which was even cleaner than that of well-maintained noble women, were annoying.

His smooth facial contours, which seemed almost unnatural, were so perfect that if you touched them, they would probably feel smooth and soft all the way down his jawline.

Of course, she would never do that. Just imagining herself touching Eijio’s cheek made her feel nauseous...

Despite his tall stature, which required Yurio to look up, his face was surprisingly small, almost like a 7 to 8-head ratio, which was absurd.

Despite this, his features were well-defined, with a straight, high nose bridge that stood out prominently in the middle of his face, looking arrogantly high and proud.

Two strands of gray hair hanging from his nose bridge were annoying. It made her itchy just looking at them.

Yurie stared at them for a while, then tried to blow them away with a puff of air.

But she soon stopped.

Yurie, who had puffed out her cheeks, gently swallowed the air. Then she slowly raised her hand.

As she moved out of the shadow around the bed, the cold moonlight fell on Yurie’s pale wrist.

‘...Annoyingly, he looks like him.’

Yurie, who had brushed the hair from Eijio’s nose bridge, suddenly looked down at his hand.

It was quite large. Compared to Yurie’s hand, it was probably about twice the size. Thick knuckles and blue veins were visible on the back of his hand.

Yurie, who had been silently looking at Eijio’s hand, slowly tilted her head to the side.

Swoosh.

Then, resting her elbow on the armrest of the chair, she propped her face with her right hand, covering half of it. A shallow sigh naturally escaped her.

“...”

Yurie, who had started to look into the distance.

A sudden vision seeped into her mind like a fog.

— I’m back, Yurie! I’m sorry I’m late! ...But I brought a souvenir from the southern kingdom of Creton, the best of the continent, so please forgive me this once!

The color of his hair.

The color of his eyes is completely different.

— This guy, Yurie. If you stick to me, your clothes will get dirty. I’ll wash up and play with you, so wait here for a moment.

Just looking at his face.

Just the atmosphere.

It comes to mind without thinking.

— ...Don’t cry, Yurie. I’m not going far. I’ll definitely come back to you before the thirtieth night, so listen to Father and Mother until then. ...I’ll buy the snack you like on my way back. Come on, let’s make a pinky promise...

The thirtieth, the fortieth.

In the end, after nearly four thousand nights.

He broke his promise to her and never came back.

“...Hmph.”

...Am I resenting my brother?

But I still remember it so vividly.

I didn’t want to forget.

But I didn’t want to remember either.

However, this Eijio looked so annoyingly similar to her brother.

Because of this.

The reason why King and Queen Artina kept looking at Eijio for a long time at the enrollment ceremony also kept coming back to her...

“...Huh?”

Was I lost in thought for a while?

Yurie, who had just come to her senses, suddenly realized that her index finger was touching Eijio’s hand.

“Kyaa!”

She jumped back in surprise.

What am I doing...? Touching a man’s body voluntarily. She couldn’t believe she had done it.

Moreover, realizing that she had done it unconsciously, Yurie’s face turned red.

If someone had seen it, it would have been a disaster.

Yurie, who had been shaking her head as if she didn’t know what had happened, suddenly turned to look at Eijio, who was still lying there with his eyes closed, showing no signs of movement.

...No.

“...Huh?”

He’s not comfortable?

“...Ugh, ugh...”

Eijio, who had been breathing normally just a moment ago, was now frowning and sweating.

He was also groaning faintly and twisting his body, as if in pain.

...What is it?

“Hey, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden...?”

Are you in pain somewhere?

...Could it be because I touched you?

No, that can’t be it.

Eijio’s hand was trembling. It was so obvious even from a distance.

Yurie was confused.

Should I call someone quickly? Should I go outside and bring Miu and Rubia?

But the atmosphere between them was intense.

Can I interfere? ...Wait, but isn’t it more important that the patient is suddenly acting strangely? Should I get up?

While Yurie was thinking this, Eijio, who had started to twist and groan, suddenly——

“—Hiep!”

Suddenly clamped her mouth shut.

Yurie’s pupils trembled.

Snap.

The reason was.

Eijio’s trembling fingers, which had been intermittently vibrating, started to grope the bed and suddenly grabbed Yurie’s right wrist.

‘This, this... Suddenly... Scaring people...!’

She thought her heart had dropped. She was so shocked she couldn’t even speak.

Yurie, who had been gripping Eijio’s hand, which was holding her delicate wrist, tried to pull it off with a grimace, suppressing a silent scream. Who’s grabbing whose hand like this——

“Eek... This... Let go...!”

But it didn’t work as she wanted.

Despite not holding it tightly, she couldn’t easily shake it off.

Eijio was still unconscious, only groaning. What kind of dream is he having?

Thinking it was no use, Yurie, who couldn’t pull it off with her own strength, thought about using her ability, but her red eyes only reflected a glint of light.

...Swoosh.

It was.

It appeared for a moment and then disappeared.

Drip.

A drop of moisture formed at the corner of Eijio’s closed eyes and then rolled down his face.

Another drop on the pillow.

And another drop...

...Ha.

“...I really don’t get it.”

The strength in Eijio’s hand, which had been holding Yurie’s wrist, gradually weakened until Yurie could easily pull it off.

Yurie, who had been watching Eijio’s tears, finally let out a shallow sigh and slowly pulled her hand away.

To be precise.

She was trying to.

Snap.

“...Eh?”

Deep in Yurie’s red eyes, Eijio’s half-closed blue eyes reflected.

Eijio, who had slightly raised his head, looked at his hand, which was wrapped around Yurie’s wrist, and then slowly turned his gaze back to Yurie.

Blink.

Blink.

The two of them, who had exchanged a few glances.

“—Hiep! Y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y, y,