It was a smile that seemed genuinely happy from the heart. It resembled the innocent smile of a child in some way. However, in reality, it was different, and It didn’t feel alive at all.
Still, I didn’t look away.
At this point, I thought there was no point in running away, and I didn’t want to run away.
As the golden eyes collided with each other, similar yet different, the prince’s smile deepened.
He confirmed that our gazes met properly before speaking quietly.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you show me some evidence? If there are really those who were forced to participate or lent a hand due to financial difficulties, or those who are genuinely concerned about the country, then come out here and surrender quietly. In exchange, I will take responsibility for deciding their treatment. I won’t do anything bad…I swear to God.”
At the sudden proposal, I couldn’t answer immediately.
I also had a feeling that I couldn’t believe such a good deal right away, and above all, I didn’t think they would accept the prince’s proposal.
Even if they believed and came out, there was no guarantee that the prince would keep his word. Without any assurance, I didn’t think everyone would come out.
“What’s wrong? Have the people you mentioned already fled or are they cowering in the back?”
I glared reflexively at the prince who provocatively spoke with a smile. He must have known what he was saying.
He was far worse in nature than an overbearing middle-aged man.
It felt like I was being told that criminals were just criminals after all.
“Lorraine-oneesama…”
I heard Lucia’s worried voice.
Even though it entered my ears, I couldn’t say anything. At least I thought I could just avert my eyes.
Instead of watching the man as if he were there for entertainment, I stared at him out of sheer stubbornness.
At this moment, I truly understood why Cassini and the others had no choice but to do this.
“Miss Lorraine, why…”
Then, Cassini spoke with a somewhat puzzled voice. Without looking in that direction, I said in a small voice.
“I also have memories…so.”
“…I see. Thank you.”
A grateful word mixed with a bitter smile.
Without averting my eyes from the prince, I said quietly, “You’re welcome.”
After that, there was only tense silence in the room. The breaths of the people there looked like mist.
I couldn’t say anything, and the prince didn’t say a word for some reason.
Then, small footsteps echoed.
Everyone looked over there. The sound came from behind me. In other words, it meant that one of my fellow memory holders had appeared.
While thinking “why,” I turned my gaze towards him to confirm, and I was surprised.
“O, Oji-san?”
There he was, the Oji-san I often talked to. He still had a gentle smile on his face as he slowly walked towards me.
“Oh.”
The prince sounded impressed and looked at Oji-san as if appraising him. I repeated to myself, wondering why he had come now and what would happen.
“Oji-san, if you come now, you’ll get caught…”
“Yeah, I know. I heard it.”
“Then why?”
He could have just run away. As I thought that, he looked at me with his usual calm eyes.
“I didn’t want to make you a liar.”
“Huh?”
“If no one came out, you would have become a liar. Besides, this kind of opportunity may never come again.”
Oji-san looked at the prince with a gaze that was different from what he had directed towards me, as if hiding something.
Even though he was looking at him like that, the prince didn’t change his expression at all.
But he didn’t look down on him either.
I wanted to know why Oji-san was making such a face, so I asked him out of curiosity.
“What kind of opportunity is this…?”
“It’s not every day a commoner gets a chance to talk to royalty. If he listens to what you say properly, I thought it wouldn’t matter even if I got caught.”
“What if he doesn’t listen and it was just talk? There’s no guarantee that what he said earlier wasn’t a lie.”
If it was just an excuse to resolve the situation quickly, then I fell right into that trap.
“Then I would rather be called a liar.”
I hated being used as an excuse to catch everyone. It was the first time in my life that I wanted to curse myself for being so stupid. I was so frustrated that tears came out.
Then Oji-san laughed in a troubled way.
“I don’t like that.”
“Why?”
I didn’t understand why Oji-san would go so far to defend me. There was no reason for Oji-san to do so. We had just met here for the first time, talked a few times, and had meals together. It was just a relationship like an acquaintance.
So I asked him why he was so obsessed with it.
Then Oji-san looked somewhat lonely and said quietly.
“Maybe because you listened to me.”
“Huh?”
“At this age, I have no family. My experience over there got in the way, and I have no income to support myself, so I’ve been alone all this time. So it’s been a long time since someone listened to me properly, and I was really happy about it.”
Oji-san said with eyes that seemed to be looking at a distant place.
I understood that he was thinking about the world outside of here and his experiences there.
“I complained, cried, and said troublesome things. Even so, you tried to understand me. I felt saved…that’s probably the reason.”
“That’s not a big deal.”
In the first place, the motive was impure.
I was asking around for information because I wanted to escape from here.
Well, it had turned into just small talk along the way, but it was fun to listen to someone’s story, and it allowed me to escape from reality for a while.
Even though I didn’t have the right to say such things.
“Still, you didn’t make fun of me or get annoyed even when I talked about my past life. That’s enough for me.”
“But…”
I groaned, still unable to accept it.
Suddenly, a big sigh reached my ears.
It was a smile that seemed genuinely happy from the heart. It resembled the innocent smile of a child in some way. However, in reality, it was different, and It didn’t feel alive at all.
Still, I didn’t look away.
At this point, I thought there was no point in running away, and I didn’t want to run away.
As the golden eyes collided with each other, similar yet different, the prince’s smile deepened.
He confirmed that our gazes met properly before speaking quietly.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you show me some evidence? If there are really those who were forced to participate or lent a hand due to financial difficulties, or those who are genuinely concerned about the country, then come out here and surrender quietly. In exchange, I will take responsibility for deciding their treatment. I won’t do anything bad…I swear to God.”
At the sudden proposal, I couldn’t answer immediately.
I also had a feeling that I couldn’t believe such a good deal right away, and above all, I didn’t think they would accept the prince’s proposal.
Even if they believed and came out, there was no guarantee that the prince would keep his word. Without any assurance, I didn’t think everyone would come out.
“What’s wrong? Have the people you mentioned already fled or are they cowering in the back?”
I glared reflexively at the prince who provocatively spoke with a smile. He must have known what he was saying.
He was far worse in nature than an overbearing middle-aged man.
It felt like I was being told that criminals were just criminals after all.
“Lorraine-oneesama…”
I heard Lucia’s worried voice.
Even though it entered my ears, I couldn’t say anything. At least I thought I could just avert my eyes.
Instead of watching the man as if he were there for entertainment, I stared at him out of sheer stubbornness.
At this moment, I truly understood why Cassini and the others had no choice but to do this.
“Miss Lorraine, why…”
Then, Cassini spoke with a somewhat puzzled voice. Without looking in that direction, I said in a small voice.
“I also have memories…so.”
“…I see. Thank you.”
A grateful word mixed with a bitter smile.
Without averting my eyes from the prince, I said quietly, “You’re welcome.”
After that, there was only tense silence in the room. The breaths of the people there looked like mist.
I couldn’t say anything, and the prince didn’t say a word for some reason.
Then, small footsteps echoed.
Everyone looked over there. The sound came from behind me. In other words, it meant that one of my fellow memory holders had appeared.
While thinking “why,” I turned my gaze towards him to confirm, and I was surprised.
“O, Oji-san?”
There he was, the Oji-san I often talked to. He still had a gentle smile on his face as he slowly walked towards me.
“Oh.”
The prince sounded impressed and looked at Oji-san as if appraising him. I repeated to myself, wondering why he had come now and what would happen.
“Oji-san, if you come now, you’ll get caught…”
“Yeah, I know. I heard it.”
“Then why?”
He could have just run away. As I thought that, he looked at me with his usual calm eyes.
“I didn’t want to make you a liar.”
“Huh?”
“If no one came out, you would have become a liar. Besides, this kind of opportunity may never come again.”
Oji-san looked at the prince with a gaze that was different from what he had directed towards me, as if hiding something.
Even though he was looking at him like that, the prince didn’t change his expression at all.
But he didn’t look down on him either.
I wanted to know why Oji-san was making such a face, so I asked him out of curiosity.
“What kind of opportunity is this…?”
“It’s not every day a commoner gets a chance to talk to royalty. If he listens to what you say properly, I thought it wouldn’t matter even if I got caught.”
“What if he doesn’t listen and it was just talk? There’s no guarantee that what he said earlier wasn’t a lie.”
If it was just an excuse to resolve the situation quickly, then I fell right into that trap.
“Then I would rather be called a liar.”
I hated being used as an excuse to catch everyone. It was the first time in my life that I wanted to curse myself for being so stupid. I was so frustrated that tears came out.
Then Oji-san laughed in a troubled way.
“I don’t like that.”
“Why?”
I didn’t understand why Oji-san would go so far to defend me. There was no reason for Oji-san to do so. We had just met here for the first time, talked a few times, and had meals together. It was just a relationship like an acquaintance.
So I asked him why he was so obsessed with it.
Then Oji-san looked somewhat lonely and said quietly.
“Maybe because you listened to me.”
“Huh?”
“At this age, I have no family. My experience over there got in the way, and I have no income to support myself, so I’ve been alone all this time. So it’s been a long time since someone listened to me properly, and I was really happy about it.”
Oji-san said with eyes that seemed to be looking at a distant place.
I understood that he was thinking about the world outside of here and his experiences there.
“I complained, cried, and said troublesome things. Even so, you tried to understand me. I felt saved…that’s probably the reason.”
“That’s not a big deal.”
In the first place, the motive was impure.
I was asking around for information because I wanted to escape from here.
Well, it had turned into just small talk along the way, but it was fun to listen to someone’s story, and it allowed me to escape from reality for a while.
Even though I didn’t have the right to say such things.
“Still, you didn’t make fun of me or get annoyed even when I talked about my past life. That’s enough for me.”
“But…”
I groaned, still unable to accept it.
Suddenly, a big sigh reached my ears.
