The next day arrived so quickly. It was finally ti to face off the unique crown prince again!
This kind of reminded about when we were still children, about when we weren’t really friends. It felt like yesterday, but seven years had passed ever since that ti.
Seven years of friendship. If he didn’t care, then he was surely heartless.
Based on what Mom told , he cared.
So, let’s just confront him, shall we?
But I didn’t directly go to Luca. Instead, I had an audience with the king and the queen, along with my parents.
“Oh my, I really am glad you’re alright, Lyra. It really worried when I first heard what happened. My children were really affected, too,” Queen Shaula said as she patted my head.
“Really, I didn’t expect that they were still lurking silently. It seems that they’ve changed their modus operandi. And to think that they targeted your daughter of all people...,” King Titus said.
They...
I’ve heard from Sarri-sama. Gammians, or those who are following the false deity.
It never occurred to before that they were so close to . When I was Reinst, I felt like it was so far away from whenever I read about cults and so on.
They were eradicated almost completely the last ti I heard the news about them.
“If any, we are glad you are fine,” Queen Shaula seed to notice that the atmosphere would turn sour if the conversation about the cults and false deity’s followers were to continue, so she imdiately shifted the topic back.
“Yes, I’m fine now, Queen Shaula. Thank you very much for your concern,” I curtseyed again.
“Co and play with Leticia for a while after you speak with Luca, okay?” Queen Shaula said.
“Sure, I will. Is Leticia not with Luca?” I asked.
“She is currently playing with Kiri. Luca... he seed to be rather down after the incident that befell you. He’s in the library now,” Queen Shaula said with a wry smile.
“I’m sorr—”
“There is no need for you to be sorry. That’s how my son is. He never really suffered any significant setback, and this is his first ti. I think he’s in the middle of swallowing that setback and learn to rise again,” King Titus interrupted my words.
Setback...
The excerpt of Mom’s words last ti echoed in my mind, ‘Perhaps he feels like he had failed in protecting you.”
I smiled wryly rembering that.
That’s so Luca, though.
“Yeah. I will need to talk with him about it,” I said with a determined look on my face. King Titus nodded, as if my determination reached him—even though there was no way for him to know what I wanted to talk with Luca about.
But seriously... looking at the king—who was supposed to be close with , with Reinst, in terms of age—like this, it was still weird. Even so, I was happy for both the king and the queen, for they managed to fall in love and built a happy family. And that they gave birth to Luca and Leticia who beca my friends.
It was indeed such a weird turn of events, but I was grateful to get to know both children.
If the past was alive, perhaps...just maybe...the royal couple before my eyes wouldn’t be there, and Luca or Leticia wouldn’t be there. There was such possibility as after my—Reinst—‘s coming of age ceremony, my family was supposed to talk about engagent with the royal family.
My parents talked a bit with the royal couple before we excused ourselves. After that, my parents split ways, with following Dad and Mom going to her workplace.
“Before that, Lyra, there are so people who were so worried about you and would definitely love to see your healthy look,” Dad suddenly said.
I turned to look at him before he smiled and asked, “Detour?”
“Sure,” I nodded.
Dad then led to an empty room.
“Here we are,” he said. I tilted my head in confusion, “Eh?”
Just right after Dad closed the door, two people suddenly appeared out of thin air.
“Eeeh! It’s Rupert and Gale!” My eyes shone upon seeing the familiar figures that I hadn’t seen in ages. They were like my family’s friends already.
“Lyra! Good to see you here! I’m glad you look fine!” Gale approached and made a ss out of my hair by patting them roughly.
“Gale, my hair!” I complained a bit as I took off my high twintail that was already destroyed...
“You don’t feel anything out-of-place, do you? Completely fine?” Rupert asked in concern.
“Mm, yeah, I feel refreshed instead,” I answered with a smile to reassure him.
“Really...Next ti you feel sothing is out of place or if you et any of them, you can imdiately call . I will take a look on them imdiately,” Rupert said again.
“Sure, but why?” I tilted my head in confusion. Why Rupert in particular?
“Are you tasked to investigate them?” I asked.
“Kind of,” Rupert ambiguously answered.
It was at that ti we suddenly heard a girl’s energetic voice.
“No, it’s just that Rupert has a thing with them that whenever there’s a suspicion that a case is related to the false deity, he would co running even if he’s not officially tasked with it yet.”
We were silent. I turned to the source of voice only to find...nothing but walls.
Rupert sighed while Gale chuckled.
“Cynthia, co out now,” Rupert said after sighing.
“Hehe~,” the sa voice resounded again as I finally saw...the wallpaper was moving! It then revealed a girl with energetic blue eyes and ponytailed caral hair.
“Cynthia-san!” I greeted her as she approached .
“Drop the formalities. And look at what little Gale did to your hair! You poor thing,” Cynthia said as she patted my hair to make them neat.
“You’re the one who’s little!” Gale said.
“Co here, I will fix your hair...But we don’t have a comb nearby, so let’s make it a low twintail, shall we?” Cynthia grabbed my hair ribbons and started to comb my hair with her hand.
“Thank you so much!” I thanked her before asking as soon as I rembered her words, “What is it about the thing Rupert has with them?”
“Oh, that’s—”
“Cynthia.”
Before Cynthia could say anything, Rupert’s cold voice interrupted us. I felt Cynthia’s hand that was combing stop for a while before she finally said, “Well, yeah, I’m not soone who can talk about it. He just wants to pursue them due to his past, that’s all,” then she shrugged.
“Rupert...,” I muttered as Rupert just smiled at .
It seed like he didn’t really want to talk about it to , so fine, then. I understood that we all had things we didn’t want others to know.
But the fact that Cynthia knew—and that Gale and Dad didn’t really react with questioning look proved that these spies were close enough to one another.
Then, a question ford in my head.
If Rupert’s past has sothing to do with them, does he know Sarri-sama well? How’s their relationship dynamic?
Perhaps I might find out in the future.
After a little talk with the royal spies, Dad wanted to escort to the library, but I already knew the way around here and it wasn’t that far away, so I asked him to let go by myself. So Dad could directly join Rupert and the others.
Though reluctant, Dad found my argunt to be logical, so he let be.
Which brought here—standing alone in front of the royal library’s door. The library itself was big, but I had an idea where Luca might be. Based on my understanding of him, coupled with his mother’s testimony that he was feeling down, I could already narrow down the places.
I took a deep breath before I opened the library and started to scout for him. My best bet would be the restricted area beyond another door in the library. Sure enough, there was already a librarian waiting in front of the door. She had already received information from the king or the queen, it seed, as she quietly opened the door for the mont I was in her sight.
I politely curtseyed and thanked her before entering. The librarian was a quick person, as she imdiately closed the door after I entered.
My guess was proven right the mont I saw the red-haired boy sitting...on the floor, with a thick book on his hands. Several books were all around the floor next to Luca as well.
He didn’t even spare a single glance as he continued to read.
When I was right next to him, I imdiately said, “Long ti no see.”
Luca only glanced a bit to before his eyes were back to the book.
He certainly looked gloomy, and that ceased any spirit to quarrel with him that was inside my heart.
I stood there for a while before I found an idea. I spared my mind no ti as I imdiately sat behind him—with my back touching his back.
Now, if we were to have a talk that was a bit heart-to-heart in nature, his pride won’t allow his expression to be seen. Thus, I chose this way.
“Hey, Luca. I heard about it from Mom.”
The mont I said those words, I could feel his back tensing.
“Thank you for protecting ,” I said again.
“...I failed,” He muttered.
“No, you did it well. Mom told that...Had you not interfered along with Alt-nii, I would suffer more effects,” I said.
“...,” he was silent, but the tense back of his loosened a bit.
“But you still...,” he muttered, and I didn’t let him finish his words.
“Sorry for hiding you about my dark magic. It’s also my fault for not really mastering it diligently, unlike you. You...already found out about my dark magic, didn’t you? Yet, you chose to hide it and hide your dark magic too. Then, you asked Mom to help you hone your dark magic—just to make sure you could help protect in the worst case, right?”
“...”
“So, thank you. Thank you for treasuring as your very first friend. But don’t be too hard on yourself. Like I said, it was also my fault,” I comforted him as I leaned my head more.
“But if only I was more competent...If I were stronger...,” Luca muttered.
“Hey, Luca, do you know about the founder of Riviera, the hero of humanity?” I suddenly asked.
“Of course. Why?”
“He was an amazing person, but you do know that he has his friends who helped him throughout all the hurdles and founded the country with him, right?”
“...I know,” Luca said.
“So...I want you to not shoulder the burden yourself. Well, I admit I am not in a position where I can say that as I’ve been shouldering my burden on my own all this ti. But I want to try relying on others too. Because I know I’m not alone anymore. And so do you, right?” I asked with a gentle voice.
“I am...”
“Don’t say you’re the crown prince, so you must shoulder more burden. Like I said, even the hero and founder of Riviera shared his burdens with his friends. There’s a limit to what a person can do. But with combined power, we can make greater impact and change. There’s a lot more we can do when we are together,” I said to Luca, and at the sa ti, I also said it to myself. To the ‘Reinst’ inside .
“So, let’s share the burdens, okay? That goes with our friends too,” I said.
“...Sure, let’s.”
Luca’s words were followed by a period of silence before...
“...Sorry,” Luca suddenly said with a weak voice.
“...for?”
“For not being capable enough to protect you, despite you being my very first friend,” he said. I slightly turned my head around to see that Luca was leaning his head towards the arms that he crossed around his knees.
“...Silly, then I should be sorry as well for involving you in this. Wait, how did you find out?” I asked as I quickly rose back to my own body’s support and turned to look at him, still sitting on the floor.
“My dark magic is quite strong and yours sotis leaked out, so I naturally noticed,” Luca answered as he did the sa thing—turning around to look at .
“Eeeh, yours is strong too?! Then, be my sparring partner!” I said as I raised my head to look at the ceiling.
“Heh, then you should train hard first,” Luca said, then I felt his back and head loosening as well.
We were currently sitting back-to-back, each of us looking at the sa ceiling as we talked nonsense about rivalry again.
“Have you already overco the darkness of your heart? Or any trials and tribulations that dark magic users have? Did you not crumble to the corrupted darkness?” I was suddenly intrigued.
“Stuupidd. My [Insight] protected from the corrupt darkness. My mind won’t be engulfed completely by them, though so effects might still be there,” Luca answered as if it was a matter of course.
“EEEH?! That’s cheating!” I lightly shook my body in exchange for a ‘joking’ hit.
“Every power cos with a price,” Luca added.
“Well yeah...I can’t imagine what will happen if the next ruler were to be corrupted...,” I nodded as I rembered that Luca was a descendant of the hero and also the greatest magician. This cheat-like Oracle—Insight—seed to be logical when you knew the genes that ran in his body...
“Can you tell more about [Insight]?” I asked as I couldn’t get off my curiosity of the aforentioned power and price.
“Not telling,” Luca said teasingly.
“Aww co on...Fine then, I will eventually find out more about it since we’re friends and all. Look, I even discovered today that [Insight] and [Dark] magic affinity is a very good combo!” I said in amazent. This was really enviable of Luca!
Being the descendant of the greatest magician, it was no wonder he managed to get dark magic, right?
In the end, I managed to make Luca back to his usual self again. Though the way we often quarreled was annoying at tis, I felt that it was better than seeing the ‘gloomy’ Luca, the ‘not-Luca’ Luca.
With my dark magic no longer a secret and how it was accepted without even a single bat...coupled with the presence of a fellow dark magic user, I felt like a burden had been lifted from my heart.
[Mission accomplished: Talking with Everyone After Short Comatose~]
As for what I ought to do next, there’s already a whole to-do-list, so I don’t need to worry about not having anything to do, hahaha... (⋟﹏⋞)
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