CH 35

Michelliaze Arcadia

As I take off the black cloak and reveal my figure, Mize’s eyes widen.

With this exchange, I’m sure she understands the gist of the situation. I am Mize’s escort, and I have been killing many attackers like this until now.

“I know that you must have many questions, but first, shall we change location?”

At our feet were the corpses of the men who had just tried to kidnap Mize.

As expected, it would be difficult to calm down and have a conversation beside corpses.

Mize silently nods, and I walk out of the alleyway.

“Who are you?”

At the edge of the castle town. We faced each other in a deserted alley and decided to divulge our secret with each other.

There are steps nearby that we could sit on, but neither of us are in the mood to sit down and chat leisurely.

“…I can’t answer that question.”

“Then, allow me to make a guess. You are a member of the Special Ops Organization of the Kingdom of Terraria, aren’t you?”

I listen to Mize’s conjecture without lifting an eyebrow.

She continues to explain to me, who is keeping silent.

“I am not aware of the main details, but in One’s kingdom, we have a similar intelligence organization…although the outline of it is still unclear, the Kingdom of Terraria also operates an undisclosed organization, and its members were sent out to the last Great War, at least, that’s what I think.

Now that I think about it, your abilities are specialized specifically for combat. Especially the way you modify your specialty, <Bullet>, by using Compression…No matter how I look at it, that is a technique dedicated for the sole purpose of killing people. It’s not something that you can learn overnight; that can only be the result of spending a long time honing your skills in a harsh environment.”

“…That’s a pretty wild guess for a mere student.”

“There’s no longer any need to keep up the pretences. You should already know my true identity.”

Since I was her escort, it’s only natural that I would know.

I deeply lower my head to Mize.

“Your Royal Highness, Princess Michelliaze. I offer my sincerest apologies for my rudeness until now.”

“…Please stop that. You can speak the way you have done before.”

In response to Mize, who seemed terribly lonely, I also loosen the creases between my eyebrows with my fingers.

I had a vague premonition but, it seems that she doesn’t like being treated as a princess. I suppose it’s because it came from me, who goes to the same school as her.

“I understand, then I’ll do that.”

“…That would be helpful.”

When I returned to my original way of speaking, Mize looked relieved from the bottom of her heart.

“To answer your question earlier…since you’re really confident in your guess, I don’t think you need my answer. You can interpret that in any way you like.”

I suitably evade it.

She may have found out that I was escorting her, but I won’t reveal the existence of the Organization or the Bureau. After all, the Organization and the Bureau are the largest intelligence organizations in the kingdom, and their activities consist of both legal and illegal affairs. If a person from another country– moreover, someone who holds a strong influence in politics and the military, like the daughter of royalty, were to find out, in the worst-case scenario, it could possibly even lead to diplomatic problems.

“Then I’ll move on to the next question. You…no, who is your client?”

“…I also can’t answer that question.”

“Then, does that mean that you also don’t know?”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

What Mize says is correct; I also don’t know it myself.

Mize seems to have read my state of mind, so she explained.

“Perhaps, the client is my father.”

My eyes widen at Mize, who had said that without looking at me.

“Is that so?”

“Yes…Most likely, since his daughter had become a runaway, he kept tabs on me from the shadows. Until now, he had continued to maintain a non-interference policy, but when he found out that someone might be targeting me, he must have been in a hurry to get an escort.”

Mize’s conjecture was mostly similar to mine.

I didn’t know who the client was either, but there is only a limited amount of people who could give a commission to another country’s organization. Additionally, if we further limit those people to those who would find merit in helping Mize, we can normally think that it is a member of Mize’s family– someone from the Royal Family.

But still, there was something outside of my expectations.

And that was, the reason why Mize was staying in this country.

“Mize, did you just say ‘runaway’?”

“Yes, that’s what I said…It looks like you haven’t been given much information about me. I hated the constraints that were placed upon me, just for being born as the daughter of royalty. That’s why I became a runaway.”

That statement was powerful enough to blow away the serious atmosphere we had.

I thought that being a runaway was just an excuse to hide the true reason…but to think it was the truth.

“…how did Your Royal Highness, the Princess, become a runaway?”

“I threatened to expose the injustices of the Royal Family if they didn’t allow me to run away. Things like, when my father was young, he hired assassins from other countries to help him win the battle for the throne. Or things like, the Queen was unable to bear a son, so she adopted a son in secret and tried to pass him off as her legitimate son. Various things like that.”

In the present-day Royal Family of Arcadia, the first son was born from the King’s Consort…in other words, Mize’s mother. The Queen grew impatient at this and prepared an adopted son. But with that said, eventually, the Queen was able to successfully produce a legitimate son. So then, what happened to the adopted son who was no longer necessary…it would be reasonable to assume that they were dealt with.

“It’s pitch-black. Well, most nobles are like that…But are you sure it’s fine for you to tell me all this?”

“Yes. After all, Tweight-san, I trust you.”

I stiffened at that statement.

To my surprise, when Mize faced me, she let out a light chuckle and smiled.

“I’m sorry. To be honest, at first, I wanted to blame you, Tweight-san, for not telling me your true identity. But then…I realized that if there was anyone to be blamed, it should be me instead. After all, I myself was also hiding my identity in the first place. And also, Tweight-san, you have been protecting me all this time, even without me knowing…I’m sorry for placing that burden upon you until now. You have been placed in danger so many times. I’m ashamed of myself, who had been carefreely living my life without noticing.”

With her face bowed down, Mize offered an apology from the bottom of her heart.

I furrow my brows at her behaviour, which was unthinkable from a princess.

“Don’t do that.”

When Mize lifts her lowered face, I continued to talk.

“I fought in order to protect that carefree life. This is my job, but before that, this is out of my own desire. I don’t feel burdened by it.”

As I said this, a tender smile floated on Mize’s face.

“Tweight-san, I felt that you would say something like that…as I thought, I trust you.”

Mize takes a deep breath, in order to calm herself.

“I will tell you anything I know. If you need my cooperation, I will offer it to you. So, I beg of you, somehow, please continue to treat me the way you always have! Not just in the way you speak to me, but in your attitude towards me as well…I like my current everyday life!”

In response to Mize’s plea, I look at her without averting my gaze and replied.

“You don’t have to tell me that; that’s the plan. Rather, I should be the one to ask you.”

Was she relieved by my answer?

With tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, Mize gives a relaxed, loose smile.

Translator’s Note:

In the original Japanese, Mize says 信頼 (Shinrai) when she says trust, as opposed to 信用 (Shinyou) or 信じる (Shinjiru). All of of these terms mean trust but have slightly different nuances. Based on a quick search, 信用 (Shinyou) implies a trust founded on a basis, normally something that happened in the past. An example of this would be trusting you’ll stay on good terms with a friend, since that’s how it’s always been. 信じる (Shinjiru) also means trust, but can also be used to mean believe. In this case, 信じる (Shinjiru) means to trust without any basis. An example of this would be trusting an outrageous story told by a friend; it sounds improbable, but you believe them, nonetheless. However, the term that Mize used, 信頼 (Shinrai) means to both believe (信じて) and rely on (頼りにすること), in other words, it implies that the other party is dependable; that you can entrust something or even everything to them. An example of this would be trusting your friend to get you out of trouble.

For those who were wondering, Mize uses the same word in the Manga version.

Sources (All in Japanese):

http://sugimuratakashi.com/trust/https://meaning-dictionary.com/20717-2/https://biz.trans-suite.jp/48447