Published at 15th of June 2019 11:22 am

Chapter 65

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(Erica’s Pov)

After Harold’s departure, there was an awkward atmosphere within the banquet hall. But, despite his incongruous behavior, there was so much power behind his threatening attitude that nobody seemed willing to blame him.

In the middle of that whole ordeal, Erica had seen the look in Harold’s eyes. It was a look of deep, deep despair.

Then there was those words that Harold was about to speak. Guessing from Harold’s nature and his speech and behavior so far, finding the continuation of his sentence was but a natural deduction.

―― I have no need for things like a fiancee.

He had likely started saying that.

Though Erica couldn’t think of why he hesitated to actually say those words, she believed it had something to do with the hopelessness that was reflected in his eyes.

【”I am extremely sorry. Please allow me to apologize for his impoliteness.”】

Itsuki bowed his head to Mr. and Mrs. Berlioz. On the other hand, the couple told him there was no need to fret over it.

【”It’s fine. It’s my husband who went and said something insensible. Rather, Aurelian should be the one Apologizing.”】

【”Mhm, certainly, I didn’t consider Load’s feelings. Perhaps he has already settled on a companion?”】

【”That’s…”】

Itsuki hesitated to talk as he stared at Erica with sidelong glances. And Aurelian seemed to have guessed something from that.

【”Could that companion be you, Erica? If that’s the case, then allow me to apologize to you, as well.”】

Well, it was natural to have that thought after looking at Itsuki’s reaction. The Berlioz family knew about the story from five years ago regarding a boy named Harold who demanded to break off his engagement with Erica.

However, they did not think that the young man they had been talking to just before was the very same person as that boy, which is why they came to the conclusion that Lord was Erica’s new fiance.

They were correct, but they were also wrong. And Harold would have certainly perfered to reply that they were wrong.

【”There is no need to apologize. Lord and I are not in that kind of relationship.”】

Which is why Erica answered that. She decided not to look at the sad expression on Itsuki’s face.

But still, her heart was aching.

【”Then, does he have someone else?”】(Aurelian)

【”…..I haven’t heard about that. Although we’ve been associating with Lord for a long time, he’s not one to talk much about himself.”】(Itsuki)

Indeed, Erica didn’t know what was really going on in Harold’s mind. Of course, Itsuki and Erica had heard the bad rumors about him, but they did not believe them.

He was often misunderstood because of that behavior of his… Or rather, he made people misunderstand him on purpose.

He took on the disgrace of being a murderer so as to save a parent and her child, he acted in a way that would make Erica hate him so that she could cancel her engagement without having to worry, and he put his life on the line, killing the country’s enemies, in order to save many members of the knight order and the Star Reader Stellar tribe. The result was Harold’s current situation.

He was treated way too unjustly. Still, there were many things he could have done to prove his innocence, and yet he didn’t, so Erica and Itsuki had to respect his choice.

【”He’s a mysterious person.”】(Brigitte)

【”You can say that. But, he’s not a bad person. He’s willing to stand up for other people and to fight for the sake of protecting them.”】(Itsuki)

【”Now that’s a real warrior! Next time, I’d like to have an actual formal bout with him.”】(Aurelian)

【”Right, but there is no fighting halfheartedly against him. Actually, I have…”】(Itsuki)

Aurelian once again got excited. Itsuki, who had had proper bouts with Harold, started talking about their fights.

And like that, the awkwardness in the air vanished.

However, there was a still a little anxiety remaining in Erica’s heart.

Harold’s pupils reflected such a strong despair. She had never seen him have those kinds of eyes before.

At the time, Erica had the illusion that Harold was grovelling in the face of his own destiny. Of course, that was nothing more than an illusion. She was likely just worrying too much.

However, Erica didn’t only know about Harold’s strength, she also knew he had ordinary weaknesses. He was constantly fighting against his inner weaknesses, and it’s for the sake of stepping over those very same weaknesses that he was so strong.

That was Harold’s way of life. He fought off his weaknesses, he fought off people’s evil ways, he fought off monsters, and then, he fought off the world.

Erica felt that, perhaps even she was Harold’s enemy. Which is why she believed he was seeking power excessively.

Training for ten hours a day starting from his childhood was just not normal. In other words, something was pushing Harold to do so without fail.

As if fate had forced him to fight from birth.

(…. As if the idea of fighting off everything had been “planted” inside his brain.)

Those words intuitively went through Erica’s mind.

She could picture the seeds of fate, which were quarreling within Harold, as they were about to blossom. That terrible picture made her shiver.

No way. That couldn’t possibly happen, right?

But still, that unpleasant image was now stuck to her mind and just wouldn’t come off.

She was worried because of how much she cared about Harold, and how little she knew about him. She was worried because she did not know how Harold felt, or what he thought.

In that case, she knew what she had to do. And even if Harold didn’t want it, even if he would hate her for it, she believed that, if it could benefit him, she had to do it without hesitation.

No matter how unfavorable the results would be for Erica herself.

◇

Although Harold had rushed out in spite of himself, he couldn’t just wander inside a stranger’s home. Having said that, despite having rushed outside, he remembered that he might get lost as he was not familiar with the place. Therefore, in the end, he simply covered a distance from which he could keep the Berlioz family’s mansion in his line of sight. He was currently resting his elbows on the handrail of a bridge that went over the waterway.

(Damn I screwed up….)

He had heard criminals on television before claiming【”My blood just rushed to my head for a moment.”】, and now, he felt like he could understand what they meant. Of course, just like them, he was “regretting and reflecting”.

As Harold found excuses for himself, he was confused over his sudden outburst of “emotions that he couldn’t have possibly felt”. He had been trying to make Erica hate him for eight years, he had tried every possible means to cancel his engagement with her, and yet he had almost reflexively blurted out that she was his fiancee.

In other words, what he felt was――.

【”Like hell that would happen….!”】

With a low voice, he groaned in denial of his own thoughts.

There was absolutely no way what he felt was love. Harold was a young and healthy man. He only temporarily lost control of himself from seeing Erica’s attractive figure. It was nothing more than a physiological phenomenon, lust. That had to be it.

However, there was another problem, and that was the sulky behavior Harold had showed while he left his seat without Aurelian’s permission.

Even though Aurelian was also in the wrong, as Itsuki had said, he was this region’s leader. The Berlioz house had an even higher standing than Harold’s family, and yet a youngster like himself went and treated them with that much contempt. It would be no surprise if he was banned from entering the region for the rest of his life.

If that were to happen, he wouldn’t be able to follow Ituski’s request, and he didn’t know what Justus would say about that.

Though he considered apologizing now that he had regained his calm, it was surely going to be extremely difficult for him to express his gratitude properly. Or rather, the situation would most likely grow even worse if he tried that.

Under the light of dusk, Harold was wondering what he should do.

【”What are you doing in such a place?”】

Harold turned around towards the voice that should have had nothing do to here.

And then, in the middle of a street that reminded him of medieval Europe, he saw her, Erica, standing there wearing her Kimono. There was a contrast between her and her surroundings right out of an ukiyo-e, and her amazingly appealing looks might have had something to do with it. (Tln: I don’t know enough about art to understand any of this >

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