“Oh my, really? Were you worried that big sister would mess things up? Our Sylvia is so sweet!”
“Not like that!”
No matter how much I wailed, Bella kept giggling and said.
“By the way, shouldn’t you call me big sister? If you keep breaking promises like this, you might not be able to make any promises from now on. Isn’t that scary? Right?”
“…That’s not true, big sister.”
As I gritted my teeth and spoke, Bella laughed and patted my head.
“Don’t worry too much. I have feelings, but I’m not foolish enough to spill them all out. If I were, I wouldn’t have survived up until now.”
However, while saying that, Bella shot a sharp glare at the Emperor.
“Thank this kid.”
“……”
The Emperor said nothing.
“Um… I’m sorry.”
Lucas, who had broken the atmosphere by loudly calling out for me, apologized.
I took a deep breath and said.
“It’s fine. It’s no big deal.”
“Really?”
Lucas, alternating his gaze between Bella and me, spoke.
“Then shall we go back? I heard there’s more food coming out. You like eating, right?”
Well, I do like it, but it’s not like you gotta point it out that much.
But still, dessert was tempting. If there’s anything I can indulge in without getting flak in this country, it’s desserts and cakes. Of course, there are things like sardine pie, but considering how it looks, it’s actually pretty good.
“Alright. You guys go ahead. I’m… going to chat with him for a bit before I go.”
“Is that so?”
Lucas glanced between me and the Emperor and shrugged.
“Then should I tell the others to go ahead?”
I nodded.
“I’ll leave you here.”
Lucas patted my shoulder and turned to leave.
No, it’s not like I’m that obsessed with food! I’m just the type who eats when there’s food around.
“……”
Well, whatever.
I took a big breath and turned around.
And faced the Emperor.
“…So, what do you think?”
“Everyone seems to be getting along better.”
“…Do you have any idea how much effort it took to get back to this point? I had to find and persuade each of those kids. It was a mess.”
I sighed deeply and stood by the terrace railing.
On the terrace beside the building, there was a view split with a wide lake on the left and a forest on the right.
The silhouette of the forest bathed in moonlight was both eerie and magnificent.
I could almost understand why they decided to put the terrace there instead of by the lake.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded and looked at the Emperor.
“So, what do you think?”
“……”
The Emperor pondered for a moment and then replied,
“It was quite enjoyable.”
“While sitting quietly without saying anything.”
Well, at least that’s good. If he had kept scraping at his insides like the old Emperor, this gathering would have turned into a disaster.
“Still, having days like this in life isn’t bad, right?”
“…I suppose so.”
The Emperor said.
“Your answer is short.”
I complained.
“Take some time and work on that attitude. Talk to the kids some more. Well, if they don’t want to, that can’t be helped.”
“Do you not blame me?”
“When have I ever cared about such things?”
As I looked back, astonished, the Emperor was just staring at me quietly.
Hmm, maybe I should answer this seriously.
But honestly, to answer seriously, there should be something to talk about.
“I did… blame you.”
I nodded.
“Why did you put us in this situation? Why did you make plans that led me to break things multiple times? Couldn’t you have made things a bit better for the kids from the start?”
But it’s all pointless resentment.
Anyway, we survived. The problems the Emperor created are far too many, and I’ll probably be handling them for a long time. I’ll have to deal with the political repercussions, and adapt to the rapidly changing times.
But, in the end, we just returned to square one.
“So, pay it all back. That grand plan of yours, let’s try to steer it in a better direction this time. There’s no point in trying to pull any tricks. After all, all your useful limbs have become independent.”
At my words, the Emperor chuckled softly.
“Just as I thought, you have the talent to be an Emperor.”
“What a terrifying thing to say.”
“I’m serious. It’s completely different from my way, but you’ve made your own side.”
It’s strange.
If it were the Emperor, he would surely add all sorts of conditions before giving a compliment.
But this time, it was different.
“The next Emperor is only Alice.”
“…Yeah.”
The Emperor said.
“Alice is a good girl. She has talent too.”
This time, there was no ‘but’ attached.
Well, what difference does it make?
It’s definitely proof that he’s changing.
“…Shall we fish again tomorrow?”
In response to my question, the Emperor simply chuckled instead of answering.
*
I had a blast throughout the holiday.
The next day, instead of grilling fish, we roasted a whole pig.
Of course, none of us had the ability to roast a whole pig evenly, so we left it all to the servants.
It was delicious. Honestly, it couldn’t be bad.
We shared various stories.
Most were about our childhoods. Questions about what Alice was like as a child, what I was like as a child, etc. I also heard about Lucas and Jayden’s childhoods, and Bella and Damien’s as well.
Still, we hadn’t yet talked about the times outside the royal family. For that kind of conversation, we would need a lot more courage to share and listen.
But that’s fine.
We still had plenty of time.
Slowly—taking our time, we could get to know each other.
In that way, we are becoming a family again.
*
“……”
Splash splash.
The sound of water broke the silence in the middle of the tranquil lake.
In such a lake, we were on a small boat, just the three of us: me, Alice, and Claire.
It was a boat that had enough space for five people, but we felt a bit awkward in our positioning.
I had my back turned to the front, Claire was looking at me, and Alice was behind her.
To have all three of us converse, Claire and Alice both had to shift slightly.
Floating in the middle of the lake felt like being in another world, even though we could clearly see people coming and going at the distant mansion.
“…So, how was it?”
I asked.
Claire and Alice turned their eyes toward me.
“Was it fun?”
“Of course, big sister.”
Claire answered first.
“I hope you’ll call me next time there’s another outing.”
“I will.”
I smiled and replied, looking at Alice’s peeking head from behind.
“It was fun.”
Alice said.
“I can’t really tell if this is normal life or if it’s these days in the Imperial Palace that are normal.”
“If I ever bring those kids back to the palace, this will become the norm.”
“……”
Alice stared silently at me and opened her mouth.
“You’ve done so much for us.”
“……”
“Really, big sister.”
Claire chimed in.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to be who I am.”
“Same for me.”
“……”
For a while, I couldn’t convey any words, and finally managed to speak.
“Even if it weren’t for me, both of you would have… been just fine.”
Even if there were trials, in the end, they would have overcome them. Claire would surely have survived again. After all, thinking about the game story.
I…
“No.”
Alice shook her head.
“Right. Maybe everything could have magically gone well. But that’s still not us.”
“……”
“Big sister, the ‘me’ who calls you ‘big sister’ exists because of you. Alice is right. Even if I grew up in a fortunate family, I wouldn’t be me today. Our times intertwined and intertwined to become who we are now.”
Yeah, that’s true.
I also…
I too, surely, if nothing had happened, would have been living as an ordinary office worker.
Because of these kids, I became ‘Sylvia Fanggriffon.’
Now, the ‘original work’ or whatever, I couldn’t care less. This isn’t just a few years of a story from a game; it’s the story of a lifetime unfolding in front of us.
We will continue to live on, facing more wounds.
And embracing each other, we will rise again.
“…Thank you.”
Since no one was watching, I spoke honestly to the two of them.
“Really, thank you for appearing in my life like this. Both of you.”
“…Who are you saying that to?”
Claire said with a shy smile, lowering her head.
Alice averted her gaze to the lakeside for no reason.
“I hope we can always be together moving forward.”
“Surely. We will definitely be able to, without a doubt.”
In response to my murmuring, Alice replied.
And I believed that answer.
The ripples of water touching the bow repeatedly flowed steadily forward, to places unseen in the distance.
Never to return again.
Continuing.
Continuing…
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