Published at 27th of April 2021 9:34 am

Chapter 183: Recollection

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

After Christina left with Hiroaki, Rio, who finally managed to part ways with everyone, went back to his mansion with Celia. When they arrived, they changed their clothes to more casual ones and decided to have some relaxing moments in the living room.

「Thank you for the good job, Sensei. 」

Rio started a conversation with Celia sitting in front of him while drinking his original blended tea.

「Geez, I should be the one to say that you know. 」

Celia replied with a shocked expression on her face.

「Eh, you’re the one who seems to be more tired than me after all. 」

「…. Well, I am just mentally worn out. Especially after hero-sama unleashed the ability of his Divine Raiment. I got goosebumps just by seeing it. 」

Celia gave her honest opinion about Hiroaki with a dumbfounded face.

「Ahahaha, well, I riled him up a little after all. Well I won’t die even if were to receive a direct hit from that kind of attack as I had enhanced my physical body. 」

Naturally a normal person would die if they got hit with that kind of attack, but… Rio treated Hiroaki’s attack like harmless childsplay.

「That isn’t what I was worried about… Well, I guess it’s okay since you say it yourself. Christina-sama has told me the general situation. Hero-sama won’t be able to make any excuses anymore after being beaten in broad daylight in front of so many witnesses. And making a blunder in controlling his own Divine Raiment was the end of the line. 」

Celia said as she pouted her lips.

「Christina-sama should be giving him a severe scolding right around this time. 」

「Of course she is. Not only did he continue to annoy you, the spectators were barely saved in the nick of time. She has no choice but to give him a severe scolding. 」

Celia got angry on Rio’s behalf.

「Well…. She won’t overdo it as doing so will only end up damaging the relationship between Christina-sama and hero-sama. 」

「You’re right, but still…. I think Christina-sama won’t go easy on him since she was quite enraged this time even if it means straining their relationship. 」

「Oh well, let’s leave the matter of hero-sama to Christina-sama. And since I am alright, you shouldn’t get too emotional for my sake too, Celia. 」

Smiling lightly, Rio tried to move the topic away from Hiroaki.

「You really are so nonchalant about this…. fine, I understand. 」

Celia stared intently at Rio and ended up heaving a sigh with a disappointed look on her face.

「I’ve another matter to tell you after all. 」

Rio replied.

「…. What could it be? 」

Celia fixed her sitting posture as she looked at Rio sitting in front of her.

「About the past, mine to be exact and what I have been up to during my journey. It’s not that interesting but, will you listen to my story?」

Rio asked as he stared back into Celia’s eyes.

「… Y-Yes. But, are you sure? 」

Celia asked back with a timid voice even as she nodded to Rio’s query. Celia had never asked Rio about the time when he lived in the slum district. Even while they were together back at the royal academy. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t curious about Rio’s past at all. She just couldn’t bring herself to ask Rio about his past as it could have been painful to him.

「Yes. You should’ve heard the gist of my past when I gave a brief summary about how I saved her highness Flora-sama to Christina-sama yesterday. I didn’t go into too much detail and couldn’t tell you either Since we hadn’t had a chance to be alone like this after I arrived. Naturally I won’t force you to hear my stories either if you don’t wish to hear about my past. 」

Rio said with a glimpse of gloom in his smile. But――、

「Tell me, I want to know more about you. So, please tell me more about yourself. 」

Celia responded earnestly to Rio.

「Understood. 」

After he gave her a short nod――、

「You should’ve known that I lived in the slum district till I was seven years old before being admitted into the Royal Academy, right? 」

He started his story immediately.

「……… Yes. 」

Celia nodded at him.

「In fact, I started to live in the slum district after I was five years old. And the man who was responsible for that was Lucius. The man who killed both of my parents. You should understand the gist of my situation up till this point, right? 」

Rio went on to ask her without any hestitation. He decided against telling her the details of that event since he felt that it might be too much for her. Thus, he made it as simple and easy to understand as possible. And since he already settled his grudge with Lucius, there was no gloomy expression on his face when he told Celia about his past.

「Rio… You lost both of your parents and thus was forced to live in the slum district, right?」

Celia chewed her lips. She had expected that situation to some extent but, hearing it straight from Rio himself hurt her heart even more.

「Yes. I somehow survived the harsh life in the slum district for about 2 years, and as you already know before, I ended up attending the Royal Academy. And became your acquaintance later on. I went toward my parents’ birthplace, sorted out my own feelings, and then came back to the Strahl region. It was around that time I began my pursuit of Lucius for real. 」

Rio continued as he shrugged his shoulder in a slightly awkward manner.

「I see… You resented that man, didn’t you? 」

After she had sorted out her own feelings, Celia looked at Rio and asked that question.

「I hated him so much during the time I lived in the slum district. But then, after I arrived at my parents’ birthplace, along with my growth, I had a change of heart. 」

「But… It doesn’t mean that you forgave him, right? 」

Because Rio eventually tracked down Lucius, and killed him for good.

「Yes, I felt that I couldn’t forgive him. Even so, it doesn’t mean that I hated him or was disgusted by him. I just… Can’t express what I felt toward him into words. 」

Rio replied as he looked at the ceiling.

「…….. What do you mean? 」

Celia tilted her head with a puzzled face.

「Only hating him made me tired at heart you see. Though it seems like I am contradicting myself, my feelings in this matter were more akin to being indifferent. I can’t express this feeling well…though I’ve achieved my goal…that is my revenge…there’s a restlessness in me that I can’t discard…or perhaps I simply can’t run away from that ugly side of mine, but I-」

Rio let out a carefree smile in spite of having trouble explaining his own feelings. Suddenly

「IT’S NOT UGLY AT ALL!!!」

Celia shouted without a moment’s delay.

「… Celia? 」

Rio’s eyes were opened wide, clearly surprised by Celia’s reaction.

「You are not ugly at all. Because I know what kind of a person you are. I will never think of you as a bad person. That’s all I can say about you. 」[TL : F^CK, I KNOW THAT HE IS HANDSOME orz]

「…….. Yes. Thank you very much. 」

「… U-Uhm. 」

After Rio expressed his gratitude to her, Celia nodded back, her face slightly red. Since those words were said spontaneously, it was clear that those words came from her heart and were Celia’s true feelings about him. Thus, following that, a slightly awkward silence was felt in that place for a while.

「…. S-Sorry. For interrupting your story. So, you left right after we arrived at Rodania, does that mean you had already located the whereabouts of your parents’ enemy? 」

Celia asked, pushing Rio to continue his story since she was having a hard time dealing with that awkward silence.

「……. Yes. Though I didn’t know his exact location at that time, I got a clue as to his whereabouts when I escorted you to Rodania. You still remember those mercenaries who ambushed us along the way right?　Lucius was a member of their mercenary group. 」

Rio replied with a kind smile on his face.

「Oh, so that was the case…」

Celia seemed vexed again by that revelation.

Even though we were always together that time, I completely missed the efforts he made for his goal.

However, because Rio had never shown any reaction at all despite her being right beside him. Celia felt extremely miserable when she recalled that Rio always carried such a burden by himself.

「Please don’t make such a face. Rather, I feel guilty for keeping this secret from you. I mean, the me at that time was still hesitant about disclosing this whole matter to you….. 」

Rio said as he scratched his head with a troubled look on his face. Though he had calmed down now that he had achieved his revenge, at that time he was still extremely reluctant to let Celia know about his plan and the fact that he wanted to kill his revenge target.

「Y-Yeah. I don’t mind, so please stop apologising to me. Ah, is Aisia aware of this matter? 」

She asked as if suddenly recalling about her after she stopped Rio.

「Yes, she knew about it all this time. I mean, I basically can’t hide anything from Aisia. 」

Rioreplied, smiling wryly.

「You, are right. I know your feeling since she always resided in me in her spirit form after you left for your journey. 」

Celia gave him an understanding smile. Since they were always together for a while, Celia had a better understanding about Aisia. Thus, the fact that Rio was unable to hide a secret from her was not a surprise to her.

「I wonder what secrets of sensei were leaked to Aisia? 」

Rio chuckled as he asked with an extremely curious look on his face.

「EH……!？Ah, well, nothing, there are no such secrets. 」

Celia responded in a shrill voice and a bewildered look on her face. She recalled back to the time when she had a tea party with Roana and Christina with the topic of whether Celia was an appropriate partner to be engaged to Rio. After she left the room, Celia was at a complete loss when Aisia asked whether she wanted to marry Rio.

W-Well, I already forbade Aisia from telling Rio about this matter. Eh, why did I suddenly remember this matter!?

Celia’s face ended up flushed red when she recalled the flow of events at that time.

「… Celia? 」

Rio looked at Celia with a worried look on his face.

「D-Don’t mind it! Rather, shouldn’t you let Aisia appear since no one but us is here right now? She can change into her spirit form when someone comes in. 」

Celia called Aisia who was still in her spirit form with a flustered voice. Thus, particles of light appeared right beside Rio, and then manifested into Aisia.

「What kind of secret talk did you have with sensei, Aisia? 」

With an impish smile on his face, Rio asked Aisia who sat beside him.

「L-Listen! That isn’t the kind of talk that is supposed to be made public. Aisia, you definitely can’t tell Rio about that matter! 」

Celia said with a flushed red face.

「……… Yes. 」

Aisia replied after staring at Rio’s face for a while.

「Or rather, we have already completely strayed from the original topic. Geez, what were you talking about just now! 」

Celia tried to force the talk back to their original topic. ―、

「Well, I’ve a question to ask. Will you hear me out? 」

Looking extremely serious, Rio went straight to the point.

「Uhmm…….. What？ 」

Straightening herself, Celia asked back to Rio.

「Celia, do you not have any opinions about my quest for revenge? 」

Rio questioned with a slightly strained face. Thus, Celia started to ponder with a serious look on her face. And then――,

「………. I don’t know. Even so, you’re still the Rio that I know. That’s why I’ll respect your way of life. Is my answer good enough for you? 」

Tilting her head, she replied so with a gentle and slightly embarrassed voice.

「That’s enough, thank you very much, Sensei. 」

Rio clenched his fist so tightly due to how happy he was. Even so, he hid his happiness with a smile since he felt that he shouldn’t show everything he really felt on his face.

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