The place Lucy arrived at, following the memories of her younger self, was Lucy's room.
The room that Benedict and Mira had decorated for her was the kind of princess's room many little girls would imagine.
Various cute dolls. A soft bed. Furniture dotted with pink. A dreamy light pink canopy decorating the bed.
Any child who walked into this room would surely light up with joy, but the owner of this room, Lucy, did not.
Her eyes were dry from crying too much. Her body was so thin it was hard to believe she even ate. Her hair was disheveled. Her lips were tightly pressed together. Lucy was dying alone in this room.
Her mother, who had always embraced her with laughter in any situation, was no longer there.
Her father, who had been a little awkward but still loved her warmly, now hated her.
Even the servants in the mansion, who had once kept an eye on their mistress, now subtly ignored her.
No matter how many high-ranking people scolded the servants, the situation never changed. She had no allies anymore.
At least, that’s how Lucy saw it.
Would she meet her mother again if she died?
Would she be able to hold her mother's warm hand again if she went to the distant place her mother had gone?
Would she be able to go where someone would embrace her?
‘What will I do on the national holiday?’
The girl, isolated and thinking of death, had her thoughts changed by the ugly darkness that emerged.
‘Of course, I’ll go to the palace!’
‘I can’t just stay holed up here forever.’
‘Right! If I catch one man, I’ll say goodbye to that arrogant little brat forever!’
National holiday. The palace. The social hall. The image that flashed through Lucy's mind was of a restless Benedict and Mira laughing as they looked at him. And then herself, smiling brightly, only to hurriedly cover her mouth.
Recalling the past brought a smile to her face, but the happiness, even if faintly engraved in her heart, quickly turned gray.
Why is it that I’m so unhappy, and yet they can still smile?
Why must I be the one who’s unhappy?
What did I do wrong?
Why must I lose everything when I’ve done nothing worse than them?
Why?
Why?
Why?
‘...I hate it.’
I hate it when you’re happy.
I hate being the only one unhappy.
It’s unfair.
Shouldn’t you all be as unhappy as I am? Huh?
I get it. If you refuse to be unhappy, I’ll make sure you become unhappy.
If I can’t laugh alone, then it’s better if we all cry.
When the twisted little girl said she wanted to join the national holiday celebration, Benedict held onto a hope that was misaligned.
He wondered if Lucy had shaken off at least a little of her pain.
So, Benedict granted Lucy’s request. He suppressed his desire to avoid anyone and attended the national holiday festival.
Creating a space wasn’t difficult. Benedict Alrn, the hero, was always welcomed wherever he went.
Even if he had been holed up in the mansion for months, no one would dare to belittle him.
“Alrn, Count!”
“Are you alright?”
“We’re glad you’ve risen again.”
Behind the bright shining Benedict, hidden behind a father desperately trying to mask his uncomfortable feelings, Lucy realized once again that no one would ever like her.
A simple greeting twisted their expressions.
Someone who had been kind until she spoke frowned the moment she opened her mouth.
A child who had approached pretending to be close now clicked their tongue and ran away.
Without Mira, without her mother, without anyone to understand her, Lucy was left alone.
“Hahaha.”
Unable to suppress the emotions welling up from deep inside, Lucy let out a laugh and etched the sight of the king greeting Benedict into her mind.
"Still as cute as ever, Lucy."
"Even after not seeing you for so long, you still have that strange smell. Have you gained weight?"
"Lucy!? What are you saying to His Majesty?"
"Haha. I’d rather be locked in a barn. Oink oink, Your Majesty."
The surrounding emotions—bewilderment, embarrassment, anger, contempt—all of them made Lucy smile. The realization that everyone could be unhappy made her beam.
So she moved even more flamboyantly. To draw all eyes to herself, she raised her voice.
She shouted, aiming to make everyone here just a little more unhappy.
"That’s... that’s something you should never do. Lucy."
After Benedict had taken care of everything, and they were left alone, he grabbed both of Lucy's shoulders and pressed her.
He tried, late as it was, to fix her twisted state.
"Why?"
"Why not, you idiot? Why shouldn’t those fools be unhappy?"
"That’s not the right thing to do, Lucy. You know that."
"Why should I do the right thing? I don’t want to be around those fools."
"Lucy, just calm down and listen to me. Okay? Mira too."
"Mama’s dead!"
In front of the rebellious Lucy, who was showing resistance for the first time, Benedict felt powerless.
"Stop. You idiot."
"...I’ll do it, Lucy."
"Why? Because Mama asked you to?"
"It’s not that. I..."
"That’s a lie. If I were really so precious to you, you wouldn’t have left me like this."
"That’s... that’s..."
What would have changed if Benedict had just said something then?
Would things have changed if he’d broken down in tears and confessed how hard it was for him?
Would there have been hope if he had just held Lucy without saying a word?
"Haha!"
Thinking back now was meaningless.
"Ahahaha!"
Benedict stammered, lowering his head.
"Ah, really."
Lucy took that hesitation as acceptance.
"Trash father."
"Lucy. Lucy."
"I really hate you."
The once harmonious household collapsed like this.
From then on, Lucy continued to participate in social events.
She had no goal to meet anyone, make friends, eat something delicious, or see something beautiful.
She only wanted one thing: for everyone to be unhappy.
Benedict, who should have stopped her, couldn’t bring himself to approach Lucy.
The guilt that resided in his heart was so overwhelming that he thought his own discomfort was the price he had to pay for his mistakes.
With each passing day, Lucy's wish became more and more a reality.
Everyone became unhappy.
The people in the social world. Benedict. Lucy herself.
"Haha. As I’ve heard, you enjoy cruel jokes."
"Do you hope it’s a joke? Yes, you must desperately want to deny it. But what can you do? It’s all true."
"...What part of me is gloomy?"
"I’m not sure how to answer that. You reek of mold from every angle."
"Hah."
"If I must answer... hmm... Ah, your gaze is so gloomy I don’t even want to respond."
"...Lucy Alrn!"
It was within this chain of misfortune that Lucy and Rene met.
Lucy, who wished the social hall would be gloomy, approached the celebrated Prince, as if it were natural, to provoke him. To drag him into unhappiness.
Rene, initially enduring it, eventually became angry, just like everyone else, and raised his voice.
As the ruckus unfolded, Benedict rushed in and tried to settle the situation, but that didn’t change the mood in the hall. Lucy had once again achieved her goal.
"Lady Alrn."
When Rene spoke again, it was when Benedict had left to talk with the host of the event.
"What is it, gloomy, loner prince? Do you want to be my friend? If so, I’ll apologize in advance. I—"
"...Sigh. Lucy Alrn. Can you please shut up? At least let me finish what I have to say."
By now, Rene’s sincere frustration, as an adult, was enough to make Lucy shrink.
Lucy, unwilling to be looked down on, straightened her shoulders, but inside, she felt smaller than ever.
"Tch. What a mistake."
"Heh."
"Wait. No, wait, Lady Alrn, what I said earlier was..."
The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.
"Eh. I’m not crying. I’m not crying! I’ll accept it, please!"
Fortunately, Rene managed to calm Lucy down before Benedict returned.
Her eyes were slightly red, but she had avoided the worst misunderstanding.
Relieved, Rene sighed at Lucy’s glare.
"Well, since it’s all been exposed, I’ll stop pretending. Is that okay?"
"Do you really need permission for everything? I guess you don’t know how to make decisions yourself."
"I’ll take that as ‘it’s fine.’"
Lucy found Rene’s grumbling both frightening and fascinating.
She’d met many people, but he was the first one who kept talking to her.
Most people would speak once and walk away, or after a while, they’d say something harsh, and then ignore Lucy.
Rene was truly the first exception.
"I’ll ask directly. Lucy Alrn. What you want to say and what you end up saying are not the same, right?"
"...Huh?"
"Thinking one thing and having it slip out of your mouth are different."
That’s when Lucy couldn’t accept the fact that Rene had noticed her secret.
"There was someone in the royal palace who could read emotions through actions. I was so curious about what he did, I asked him how he did it. He said I couldn’t follow his method, but he’d teach me anyway. I got so mad at his smug face that I tried my best to learn, and I was able to make some guesses. That guy couldn’t even see through a lie or properly read thoughts, but what’s the use of a technique like that..."
"Hmph. Ugh."
"Wait! What?! Why are you trying to cry?! I didn’t do anything wrong!"
"AAAHH!"
Hearing Rene’s rambling, Lucy finally broke down, tears streaming down her face as she realized what he meant.