Chapter 67- I'm Ruined (Part 2)
Memories kept rushing back to his head like a broken dam and made him frown a little bit but he didn't stop speaking at all. He had no reason to stop speaking when he had already spilled the bean for Elise.
"Before that accident, I was a very outgoing and sociable person. I loved being with friends and being outside, going everywhere, and having fun. Everyone liked me and I also enjoyed that attention a lot. Hell, even my parents were happy for me to be this popular. But, I never thought that trait will become my curse in a sense."
Elise's eyes shifted to his hands, Rin was rubbing them together from time to time in a rhythmic manner. It didn't take a genius to see how much he was hurting just recalling all of that. However, she didn't try to stop him as that would look like she spat on his courage to tell her all of that.
"My friends that saw the accident at the time told everyone else. So, by the time I returned to school after a week or so, everyone was looking at me with weird gazes. They would whisper to each other in secret about me. But, it didn't take long for those whispers to become loud enough for me to hear them. I tried to speak with them again but all I got was 'Don't get near me, you could kill me' or 'You killed your own father, why are you not in jail?' or 'Go away, monster!'"
"... That's…" Elise tried to say something but couldn't find the word.
"But, since I was still blaming myself at the time, I accepted that and I quickly became a loner. All those supposed 'best friends' I tried to be with just left me. Since, then, I decided to change schools to another one far away just so I don't meet another person from my old primary school by coincidence. But, I still kept my distance from everyone just for the sake of my sanity and nothing else."
After saying all of that, he finally looked at Elise again with a small yet extremely gentle smile.
"Yet, here we are. I let down everyone in my life and lost many things and it all had more or less been my mistake. I don't think that anyone could be any worse than that. I'm a complete and utter failure of a human being."
"..."
Seeing that Elise was still silent while gazing deeply at him as if he was the only thing in her world. Rin simply coughed and stood up again.
"That's why… I know for certain that whatever you experienced in the past isn't your fault, Elise. Don't lose hope in fixing that. Not that I have any right to say that to you, haha!"
After that, he walked to the window and put his foot on the edge intending to jump any second now.
"Wait… I-"
"You don't have to tell me now. I want you to first come to terms with it. When that happens, we can talk again. Anyway, let's focus on the huge problem we have. Emotional talks can wait! I will see you later."
*Swish*
After that, Rin jumped off the window. Anyone would've been shocked and thought he was about to commit suicide or something. But, Rin already had a plan.
Straightening himself, he pierced the air as he dived into the ground. A second before he landed straight on his face, he activated his skill. The ground beneath him changed in color and soon, he was engulfed by his own shadow and vanished from the face of the world.
'Damn! That looked so cool! Rate it from 1 to 10, system.' He thought to himself with a cheeky giggle. Swimming inside his shadow was an experience he will never get bored of.
[4/10, host.]
'Ah! Come on! That was at least a 7 or an 8.'
[...] The system didn't respond at all with his usual sarcastic tone.
'What is it?' Rin asked.
[Are you really fine, host?]
At first, Rin was surprised by the weird question but then smiled slightly with a sad look.
'I already grew accustomed to it. I have no other choice but to carry this burden till the end.'
[I compliment your ability to be this cheerful even though you hate yourself that much, host.]
'I want to keep a smile just for the sake of everyone else around me. Do you want me to turn into a gloomy and edgy person?'
[No?]
'Then, I will keep smiling until the end.'
[...]
'But, I hope that Elise will be able to truly find happiness in the near future. She deserves it.'
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After that, inside a huge conference room in the castle. Many people were sitting around a huge table. They were all older people, wearing formal yet also luxurious clothes.
The atmosphere was extremely heavy to the point where the butlers and maids had to excuse themselves before they end up suffocating from the sheer pressure being emitted from each and every person there.
Their faces looked grave as if a disaster befell them and they didn't know what to do about it.
"Is everyone here?" Elise asked as she looked left and right.
After that, she looked to her side to her brother, the crown prince, Arthur.
He nodded his head and said in a loud tone.
"We shall start then!"
Now, many would ask the same question. Elise was the crown princess and Arthur was the crown prince so how is that even possible? Aviresion was a very different empire in that department.
At birth, the king will choose a female and a male as the new crown prince and princess. When they get old, they start a campaign of sorts. Then, the populace will choose one of them as the new king or queen through voting.
This process was good for two reasons: The first one was that it reduced the chances of conflicts between siblings as everything was determined from birth.
The second thing it solves is the matter of who is more capable of ruling the empire. If the female was better than the male then she was going to be the queen and the sole ruler of the kingdom even if she was a 'woman'.
That's why, at this moment, Elise and Arthur sat next to each other in the place of the king as a sign of who are the next successors to the throne.
"As you already heard. The king was assassinated last night in his room. We have no idea who is the culprit." Arthur said.
"It's most likely a rival empire trying to ruin us." One of the nobles said with a low growl of anger.
"We aren't certain whether that's true or not. But, it's a possible case." Elise replied.
"They even dared to use our heirloom sword to do it! Those bastards! If I find them, I shall end their lives with my own hands." Another one added.
"We don't want to jump to conclusions until everything is clear. I witnessed the crime scene with my own eyes and I'm certain there is something fishy about this whole matter. The way his Majesty died without even making a single sound or even some resistance just isn't normal." Elise explained.
"What do you want to say, your highness?" Damian finally spoke with squinted eyes.
Everyone looked at Elise and waited for her to explain what she meant.
"I do think that the king, most likely, killed himself… with his own hands."
A bombshell was dropped that made everyone go silent in shock.
Elise didn't care about their reactions as she continued.
"He most likely used the sword to do that too."
"Wait, your highness. What do you mean? These are not some light words." An old man said as he tapped on the table.
"I know what I'm saying, Viscount Eaglefield."
"There is no way his highness will commit suicide!"
"Yes, that's just not possible."
Then, arguments erupted everywhere as they started discussing with each other.
*Smash*
"Silence, please."
Elise domineering voice made the whole room quiet again. Then, with an exasperated look, she explained.
"Who said that 'he committed suicide'? I merely said that 'he killed himself'. As for whether he did that willingly or not, it's a whole different matter. But, it's almost certain that these people were able to control his majesty in some way… and then they made him end his own life."
"What?"
"No way."
"Your highness." Damian finally spoke and asked.
"What about the other matter? The matter of the disfigured shadow." He said.
The place was submerged in silence again as if every voice heard before was fake. The constant change between silence and noises was truly impressive.
"Well, that's a key point in my theory. These people, whoever they are, can to some extent manipulate shadows, Duke Silvereye."
(A//N: These two are about to pull Rin's feet at this rate. What the hell are they doing, I wonder :))
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