Chapter 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 10

YUKI sat staring in a daze at the grand banquet. After Yuki’s Witch act, Ain’s forces sieged the castle, joining arms with the freed prisoners to take out Isis’ troops and reclaim Fol Castle. Isis, who Yuki had captured, was sent ahead with a small platoon to Adolunde Castle. The rest of the troops were holding a celebratory banquet inside Fol Castle. Luca and Yuki were seated at the area reserved for the guests of honor.

Once things settled down after reclaiming the castle, Ain brought a dazed Yuki back to her carriage. By the time she came to her senses, her clothing was changed to a soft pink dress.

“…Are you sleepy?” Luca curtly asked Yuki. She smiled at him.

“No. Not tired. I just feel like it’s not over yet. I was hit by an adrenaline rush back there,” she explained with a dry smile.

“…You were realistic,” Luca chuckled, remembering Yuki’s Witch act. “That was the first time anyone has ever said my name like that.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. She was embarrassed enough she thought she would die from the shame. Yuki was undeniably the one who endearingly called the prince sitting beside her, ‘Lukey-poo’.

“Sh-Shut up! I thought the Legendary Witch would at least act outside the bounds of common sense and do whatever she pleases!” She turned away, hoping her embarrassment would pass before he saw her face.

Luca chuckled again at her reaction. “Well, we were saved thanks to your quick thinking. You have my thanks, Yuki.”

His serious voice made her look back at him. He sat beside her with his usual unreadable expression, but his eyes had a gentleness to them.

“N-N-No need to thank me. I mean even if I hadn’t done what I did back there, Ain and the other soldiers would have sieged the castle and sorted out the sticky situation for us, right?”

Jumping to a hasty conclusion made her put on such an embarrassing act for no reason.

“Yeah. Well…that’s true.”

I wanted you to at least deny it a little bit, Yuki thought, suddenly remembering the broken eyes of the girl she saw with Isis.

“Hey, what’s going to happen to all those girls?”

Luca glanced at her like he didn’t know what she was talking about, but quickly caught on. “Aah, I had them escorted to the castle with Isis earlier. They will get the help they deserve.”

“I see…”

Isis broke the girls to the point they were like dolls. Silence flowed between them, until Ain dashed over and hopped on the platform with the seats of honor.

“Prince Luca! I AM SO, SO, SO SORRY! Please forgive me! I’m the one at fault for misjudging the timing!” Ain grabbed Luca’s arms and shook him back and forth. Luca sighed and grabbed his hands.

“You are. I never thought we could recapture the castle without bloodshed. On the contrary, I should commend you for messing up the time and waiting so long. Although the commendation is a personal one.”

“D-D-Don’t be absurd!” Ain put his head to the floor with such vehemence it almost looked like he jumped in the air and slammed his forehead on the ground. His head suddenly jolted back up and he stared straight at Yuki. “Yuki too. I’m sorry. If I had stormed the castle sooner, you and Prince Luca wouldn’t have been in danger.”

Ain looked like a puppy abandoned in the rain. Yuki hastily responded, “Don’t be! I wasn’t in any real danger! Don’t worry about it! Besides, I’m glad no one was hurt. So really, don’t let it get to you,” she smiled. Ain got teary-eyed. He smiled broadly before bear hugging Yuki. Startled, she drew back—he smelled terribly of alcohol.

Ah, is Ain drunk?

“Thank you! You really are a great girl, Yuki! I wonder whether this is what it would have been like if I had a sister.” He patted her head like a dog as he squeezed her as tightly as possible.

“Ain, it hurts.”

“Aaaaw! Yuki is too cute!”

Behind Ain’s back a group of soldiers were sending pitying looks toward Yuki—Ain just came from their section of the banquet.

A-Am I their scapegoat!

Overcome with surprise, Yuki gave in to his hug without trying to escape, when someone pulled her arm and her back had hit something. She looked over her shoulder at an exasperated Luca.

“Aw darn! Prince Luca, you meanie! Bully!”

“Ain…you’re still too young to drink.”

“How RUDE! I’m a bona fide adult ‘dis year! As such, I should be able to d’ink alcohol already!” Ain’s complexion was no different from usual, but his eyes were glazed.

“Come on…you should be aware of your position as someone who serves the royal court.”

A soldier appeared with a water jug and handed it to Luca. Luca picked up a flipped over cup, poured water into it, and handed the cup to Ain. “Here, drink this.”

“Yay! Prince Luca served me! Now I hafta drink up! Here!” Ain grabbed nearby glasses and shoved them into Luca and Yuki’s hands. He forced their glasses to clang together, shouting, “Cheers!” and gulped his whole cup in one go.

“Pheeeeew! I knew it! D’inks served by Prince Luca are the bestest! The alcohol tastes differently!” Ain laughed jovially.

Luca smiled dryly, muttering, “It’s water though.”

Yuki smiled, taking a sip of her glass too. “Hehe,” she laughed. All her tension was suddenly let loose. “Aha! AHAHAHA!”

Once the bottle was unplugged, everything and anything was just so funny, she couldn’t stop laughing. Luca was startled by her sudden burst of laughter.

“Oi, what’s so amusing?”

“Nothing—haha! It’s nothing at all…hehehehe!”

I feel as if I may have found the place I’m supposed to be. I’ve felt like a lost child this whole time. I was worried my parents no longer want me since they pushed me off the balcony. Then I was saved by a foul-mouthed handsome prince when I suddenly found myself drowning in a spring. I felt like I was all alone in the vast darkness of having no direction.

Orga glared at me with hatred-filled eyes for no apparent reason, and Isis treated me like a Witch. I learned having violet eyes is condemned in this world too.

Even when she hid her eyes behind color contact lens and pretended to be normal, Yuki really just wanted someone to accept her violet eyes. She was so scared of rejection she didn’t say anything about it until now. She had a fairly good idea what people would say if they learned not only did she not age, but she had violet eyes too.

She couldn’t talk about it when she was in Japan, but right now neither Luca nor Ain treated her any differently because of her eyes. They saved her when her eyes caused problems—they also used her. However, she was happy she was useful to them in saving lives. All those people—the girls, the people imprisoned, the villagers—were free and alive in part because of her actions. Yuki started thinking it might be okay for her to be with them.

I want to return home someday, but…for now…

For now she was annoyed at her parents for what they did, but she wasn’t sad they abandoned her anymore.

For now I want to fully enjoy this world a little longer. She thought in a daze, holding the wine-filled glass in her right hand.

“At any rate, this is amusing,” she snickered. Soldiers were drinking, dancing, and singing in the banquet hall. Up on the guest of honor platform a group of soldiers held down a raging Ain. Luca watched them cynically as he sipped his alcohol.

“…I’m really glad…the people here…weren’t hurt.” Parched, Yuki grabbed a bottle carelessly left lying around and drank from it. The more she drank, the more she felt like she was on cloud nine. By her fifth glass, Yuki’s consciousness fell victim to the depths of alcohol.

***

WHEN she woke up the following morning, not a single person would tell her what happened at the banquet.

“Underage children shouldn’t drink,” Luca scolded her. She glanced over at Ain trying to hide his face and embarrassment behind his hands.

“Like I said, it’s not just me!” Ain had absolutely no memory of last night after he started drinking, but Yuki clearly remembered his jumping face-plant bow, him bear-hugging her, and his attitude toward Luca.

Soldiers clad in armor patted him on the head after teasing him.

“Please stop that!” Ain hissed like a cat with its back arched defensively. “Besides, I’m not the only one who’s a bad drunk!”

“Heh. This is my first time hearing there’s a worse drunk than you. Who is it?” a large soldier chuckled lightheartedly.

Ain fell silent. Lowering his voice, “…Prince Luca.”

For a second, all fell silent. The next moment the soldiers roared with laughter.

“Nah, the audacious Prince Luca is probably the only one among us who has never gotten drunk before, I bet!”

“What? Are you still drunk, Ain?”

The soldiers continued teasing Ain about it, before finally someone said, “But I wonder what happens when Prince Luca does get drunk.”

The soldiers started throwing out random guesses such as he would become a kissing monster, start stripping, lecture others, or maybe challenge people to a duel when he gets drunk.

“So, Ain, what happens when Prince Luca gets drunk?”

Ain stayed quiet. “…He’s a touchy drunk.”

“Huh?”

“What was that? Speak up?” The Soldiers chuckled smacking Ain on the back.

Ain paused briefly, before everyone heard him cry out, “He felt me up!”