C133: The Sword in the Shadows (1)
Erendir shook her hands. Her complexion was as pale as a person who heard a secret that should never be heard.
"Are you okay?"
"What? What's wrong?"
"You don't look well."
"Uh, yeah. I'm afraid so."
Erendir managed to answer but as she spoke, she felt something black wriggling up inside her. To be honest, Erendir was feeling betrayed by Rene.
'You were my soulmate!'
The cry that could not be uttered fluctuated in her heart.
Junior Rene is kind, and even pretty. Obviously, there was nothing strange about having a friend who ate with her.
Erendir thought that the reason why she couldn't admit it was because she was lacking.
'Well, still. I was going to tell you what happened at the Kunst auction house while we were eating together!'
She had already drawn the entire script in her head to tell the story. Now she only needed someone to listen to it, but she couldn't believe she had a setback here.
The unbelievable reality made Erendir cry.
"Well, by the way, junior Rene."
"Yes."
"The person who eats with you……Who is it?"
"Uh, well, that's……."
Rene hesitated to answer because the person she had the appointment with was Freuden Ulburg.
Freuden avoided the gaze of her people, because he was a simple person who took care of his own garden, and she was the only one who knew his secret.
-I want you to keep things here a secret.
That was what Freuden asked her.
If she speaks Freuden's name here, she will become a light-mouthed person who freely talks about other people's secrets.
Erendir was shocked again when Rene kept her mouth shut. That nice, innocent junior Rene kept the person she eats a secret from her!
'This is a man! I'm sure it's a man!'
Erendir was convinced that it was a man who was eating with Rene. Her judgment was made in a fit of anger but was surprisingly accurate.
Erendir opened her eyes and hurried to control her facial expression.
"Is that so? Since you're busy it can't be helped."
"I'm sorry, senior. Let's eat together tomorrow!"
"Of course. And I'm not a narrow-minded person who gets upset about things like this. You know, right? I'm not offended or anything."
"What?"
"It's just… It's just that."
"Oh, yes."
At the sight of Erendir talking with a smile, Rene nodded and was relieved.
"It's a relief that you understood with a big heart."
Still, I thought it would be a little awkward, but maybe because she was a senior and a princess, she was considerate of Rene and had a broad mind.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yes. Goodbye."
Rene nodded at Erendir, who was waving her hand, and disappeared through the hallway with staggering footsteps.
Erendir, who was waving her hand to Rene, stood still as if time had stopped as soon as her figure disappeared from view.
'Is junior Rene going to eat with a guy?'
Erendir thought.
Due to her character, there's no way she could have approached someone first. That being said, it is highly likely that the male side approached her first.
A situation was pictured in Erendir's mind at once.
'Clearly, a wolf-like guy seduced my naive junior Rene!'
There were not a few male students who were aiming for Rene. Since she was a commoner, there were many aristocratic male students aiming for her.
No matter how much Rene lifts a wall and hides her secrets she cannot stop everyone who approaches.
'I can't stay like this! I have to do something to help my junior!'
Erendir was filled with a sense of justice since Rene was her first friend since she came to Theon. Her friend was about to go the wrong way, and she couldn't just stay and watch it happen.
Erendir followed Rene in secret.
'There!'
Rene had just left her main building and was heading towards the park.
'The park it's the best place for students to secretly have an affair.'
Erendir knew that there were many such cases.
She followed after Linnaeus, feeling her uneasy imagination gradually becoming a reality.
'How dare you, shameless fellow! Let me see your face!'
As she thought so she saw Rene going to the remote forest adjacent to the park.
Erendir became impatient and thought about going to stop Rene right now or wait.
'Oh, no!'
While thinking about it for a while, Rene entered into the forest.
Erendir hurriedly followed her trail and headed for the forest. After walking for a while, Erendir found a small open space in the forest and stopped her footsteps.
'Is there an open space in this place?'
On one side of the artificially open space there was a flower bed presumably planted by someone. And Rene, whom she was pursuing, was standing in the center of the open space waiting for someone.
That means that the person who promised to eat with Rene was here.
'Where are you?'
It was then that the voice came from behind Erendir, who was hiding behind a tree and looking around.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Erendir, who looked behind her in haste, was startled.
And her eyes widened as she recognized who spoke to her.
"Are you, Freuden Ulburg?"
"……The Third Princess Erendir?"
Freuden Ulburg squinted at Erendir with a cold impression.
"I wondered who came here secretly like a mouse, what are you doing here?"
"No, why are you here anyway?"
Freuden shook his head as he tried to answer.
"There seems to be no reason for me to explain it."
"What?"
"Senior!"
Did she hear the two of them talking?
Rene, who was waiting in the open space, approached.
She saw Freuden and was about to say hello, but when she saw that Erendir was there, she stopped.
"Why is senior Erendir here?"
Then she turned her head and alternated between Freuden and Erendir and a strange silence fell between the three.
* * *
"So."
Erendir, who sat on a mat, glanced at Freuden with a suspicious look.
"Are you saying that this open space and flowerbed were taken care of by you, and that junior Rene meets and eats with you?"
"Is there anything wrong with that?"
Freuden answered bluntly, picking up the food from his lunch box.
Rene, who suddenly got involved in the fight between the two, kept quiet. She thought about what to do with the situation and opened her mouth cautiously.
"What brings you here, senior Erendir?"
Erendir flinched at her question. She hesitated, avoiding Line's gaze.
"Well, that's because I was worried that you were suddenly heading to the park when you said you were eating…."
"I see."
Rene immediately understood why Erendir followed her. If an acquaintance went to the forest to eat, she would have a similar idea but Freuden snorted and refuted Erendir's words.
"You're making lame excuses. That's why you don't have any friends."
"What? I'm not without friends!"
Saying that she had no friends, Erendir slammed her palms on the floor.
Freuden's words were tantamount to digging through her unhealed wounds.
"Hmm. Then what the hell are you doing, Ulburg? It's uncharacteristic of you to cultivate a cute flower bed in a place like this. You're totally different from your usual image."
Freuden frowned at Erendir's counterattack.
"……Don't gossip about other people's hobbies."
"I never dreamed that the cruel wolf had such a girlish taste."
"I think a princess like you should have a girlish taste."
"What?"
The appearance of the two growling at each other was, no matter how much she looked at it, that of a grudge.
Freuden shook his head.
"If we talk like this, we will only consume each other's mind."
"Hmm. That's the same for me. Let's go our separate ways."
"…Why are you eating my packed lunch while saying that?"
Erendir had been eating the food that Freuden had packed for a while.
She who suddenly stopped at his words, decided to shamelessly go all out since she came all the way here anyway.
"What if junior Rene's food doesn't taste good? As a senior, I have to eat to check it out."
Freuden put on an absurd expression at the attitude of this shameless princess. It wasn't like she was checking if a king's food was poisoned.
Even more ridiculous was that Erendir, the princess, says she will check the food for Rene, the commoner. Shouldn't the situation be the other way around?
"Because you're so obsessed, you don't have any friends."
"What…!"
Erendir tried to shout out loud but she closed her mouth since Rene was staring at her from the side.
"Uh, um, I've been feeling this for a long time, but senior Erendir……You don't have any other friends?"
"What are you talking about? I don't have any friends?"
"Isn't that so?"
"No, you saw it properly Rene. Sadly, this helpless 3rd princess is a poor person who couldn't even make a proper friend."
"You…!"
Erendir glared as if to kill him, but Freuden only shrugged.
When Rene heard that, she didn't understand the situation. Why is Erendir unpopular when she's a princess? If you're in a high position, don't people approach you?
"If you're curious about why, it's simple. It's purely because of Eileen the 1st princess that Erendir the 3rd princess became like that."
"If it's the First princess……."
1st Princess Eileen von Exilion. She remembered Erendir warning her that she was a very dangerous and scary person.
"What's wrong with that?"
"It happened because the status of the First princess was so firm."
"Let's stop talking about useless things, right?"
Erendir retorted not to say any more, but Freuden had no intention of doing so. He was also quite annoyed that a guest he didn't invite came to his nest.
"In ordinary families, it is common for children to argue over the right to inherit. In severe cases, there are fights on a national basis."
Just looking at the civil war in Northern kingdom of Utah right now, that's true.
The battle between the princes' faction and the princesses' faction sparked wars across the kingdom of Utah, resulting in many casualties.
"But very rarely, there is no need for such pointless disputes."
"What do you mean?"
"If there is a firm next-generation heir."
Erendir let out an uncomfortable murmur. However, she did not say anything to say to refute because everything Freuden said was true.
"The First princess, Eileen, is an undisputed figure to become the next emperor because she's got everything as a ruler.……."
Freuden once faced Eileen in a banquet at the Imperial Palace. The feeling she felt at that time was like looking into an endless abyss in the sea.
It was like something other than a human being that was contained in empty eyes that was completely unknown.
"As a result, other people's positions are bound to become ambiguous."
In general, fights between heirs to the throne were supported by the nobles and it was normal for them to develop into factional fights. However, if there is an overwhelming heir, such factions do not even form.
Since everyone bets only on the winner, fighting has no meaning.
As the First princess received overwhelming support, the position of the remaining heirs became ambiguous. The nobles did not have to risk being attached to another heir. It was enough just to swear allegiance to the first princess.
"Of course, even so, the strong background of the Third princesses will still be quite attractive to other nobles. If they marry a princess, they can maintain a closer relationship with the imperial family."
"That's true, isn't it?"
"But that was also canceled by the First princess. I don't know why, but she decided not to throw away her siblings, but rather to embrace them."
If someone else did this, they might have been told they are crazy but since it was Eileen the situation was different.
"She's not embracing us. She just needs toys to play with."
Erendir retorted with emotion, but Freuden did not answer it.
"Anyway, the First princess will be the next emperor so there are no aristocrats who do things outside her eyes."
It was for this reason that Erendir was treated like a nobleman within Theon.
The aristocrats did not even approach the Third princess because the act of making friends with her could offend First princess.
Conversely, the common people were not able to approach her because they felt burdened by her high status as the 3rd Princess.
"The 3rd princess didn't know that, and said she would make friends when she was a freshman, so she went around everywhere, such as club activities or volunteer activities."
"Ugh."
"I couldn't imagine how uncomfortable other students would have been."
"Ugh."
As Freuden words continued, Erendir's head turned downward. In the end, the past she had been desperately trying to hide was revealed.
The noble Third princess was actually a loner who couldn't make any friends! Erendir couldn't bear to raise his head in shame.
Rene felt sorry for her so she opened her mouth to defend her somehow.
"Then was the First princess that great since she was young?"
"Surprisingly, that's not the case. There were times when she too was alone without any supporters."
At that time, there were nobles who showed blatant disturbing movements. They viewed the First princess's talent as dangerous and plotted a plot to oust her.
"But all those nobles disappeared without realizing their purpose."
"They disappeared?"
"I don't know the details. It happened a long time ago and it's strictly confidential. However, there is a warning that was secretly spread among the nobles."
It was at that time that Erendir, who had been listening, started talking again.
"Beware of the shadow of the First princess. There is no place that the shadow of the First princess can't reach."
Freuden and Rene's eyes turned to her. Erendir's face was faint but frightened.
"If you face the shadow, you will surely die."
"What is that?"
"The taboos circulating among the nobility."
It may not sound funny, but I had no choice but to say it this way.
"This is why no one can disobey my sister, the First princess."