Chapter 7
Translated by Momo and edited by Mary.
Oscar was a child that didn’t behave like one.
He was taught that he would rule the country from the moment he was born and that all the people around him were tools for the sake of building the country. There was incredible pressure on his small shoulders, so he grew up as a child who could not rely on anyone else but himself.
He did not beg or ask for anything, not even to the queen, his nanny, nor to any of the adults around him. If he ever says something, it’s only instructions or orders.
While the surrounding adults praised Oscar’s mature attitude as being “proper” or “befitting”, they also wouldn’t hesitate to say “brazen”.
A tall, cheeky brat.
That was exactly how Oscar was described as during his childhood.
He was always by himself at the Royal Palace.
Neither the Queen nor the nanny had spoken out because of his steadfast attitude, and nobody else approached that dominating tall child. He became lonelier year after year and never realized that something was wrong with his own behaviour.
During that time, he met her at a social event.
The Duke’s daughter, Cecilia Silvy.
Oscar was six years old. Cecilia was five years old.
She was the only daughter of the Duchy of Silvy and was very pretty, but rumours said that she was a selfish girl who was spoiled rotten by her parents.
Oscar was only born a couple of months earlier, and since they had the same birth year, all the noble families anticipated for their engagement.
Honey blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. A straight nose, and thin lips that add a hint of colour to her pale face.
In ten years or so, she will probably become a beautiful lady that attracts everyone’s line of sight.
Even the young Oscar thought so.
While the adults were chatting, she carried her meal intently.
Chicken confit and poiret of freshwater fish. Terrine with colourful vegetables and pork roulette. Grilled goatling meat and braised beef. Ratatouille with salad and soup…
The meals were served as a standing buffet, but Cecilia chose to try one dish after another and ate at the corner of the table without any regard. She was wolfing down food at an incredible pace as if she had been starved for days.
However, having received the proper etiquette training from the Ducal household, she still looked beautiful and sophisticated.
The ballroom is not supposed to be a place to enjoy meals, it’s the background to deepen friendship between nobles and exchange important information. Why would this girl be so focused on eating without even saying a word to anyone?
With that question hanging on his mind he approached her.
“Hey!”
“Fwaaah?”
She looked back with a fork in her mouth.
The stupid expression on her face seemed to have pulled some rarely used facial muscles.
“I was wondering about something.”
She swallowed whatever food was in her mouth and tilted her head.
“What are you doing?”
“What, you mean, having a meal?”
“I can see you are eating. I’m asking why are you so engrossed in it?”
When asked what she was thinking about, Cecilia looked down at her plate and looked gloomy.
“This…I guess this is mindless emotional eating….”
“Emotional eating?”
“Recently, I’ve had many nightmares involving my death. I know it’s only a dream and I really want it to be just a dream, but it feels so real…”
Her face looked ghastly pale as she exhaled deeply.
She starts to grumble to herself as if no one was listening.
“I mean, if this is real, wouldn’t it be the end of my life? It’s really heading towards the end. I don’t want to admit it, but it’s so clear, I can’t really deny it either, then I suddenly think "I need to fill up my stomach while I can” but at the same time “I really can’t accept it” is rampaging in my head… “
"I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“In a nutshell, the future might be bleak, and so I must enjoy my fill sooner rather than later.”
“Hey. What about that story about your dream?”
“I just want that story to remain a dream.”
They’re talking to each other, but he can’t seem to grasp the contents at all.
Honestly, Oscar already had a feeling that she was simply a weirdo.
Without worrying about what he thought at all, Cecilia smiled.
“But after having a good meal I feel refreshed! Especially this terrine, it was amazing!”
“Is it that delicious?”
“Yes! Oh, maybe you haven’t tried yet?”
“Well, I haven’t eaten b-…”
“That’s a waste! It’s a party hosted by the royal family, so you have to eat a lot at this opportunity! It’s free! Such a delicious meal is free of charge!”
“…Don’t you have enough to eat at the Duchy mansion?”
Worrying that the duke’s daughter was too poor and couldn’t even afford decent meals, that question just slipped out of his mouth. But she shakes her head with a smile.
“That’s not the case, but since there’s the opportunity to eat such a delicious meal without paying, there is no way I would waste it! Personally, just instant cup noodles would already be the best, but it can’t be helped that such thing doesn’t exist in this world. ”
“Instant Cup, noodles…?”
“…Please forget what I just said.”
Cecilia suddenly panics. He couldn’t understand what she was saying, these weird phrases like “Instant cup noodles” or “doesn’t exist in this world”, but her attitude while talking was quite different from the selfish girl he had imagined.
Rather, she gives off a bright and innocent feeling.
(You can’t say innocence is a good qualification for a queen. It’s a bit questionable, but this much wouldn’t hinder government affairs.)
The six-year-old Oscar was already evaluating Cecilia in an unthinkable way.
If she was exactly like the rumoured selfish girl he heard about, he had already planned to get rid of her as a queen candidate, but there was no need to do so now.
“For now, if you don’t eat, you’ll miss out… Then, here you go, please have this.”
“What?”
Suddenly, a fork was offered in front of him and Oscar was petrified. On the tip, there is a piece of the terrine, which she had praised earlier.
Perhaps she’s trying to directly feed it to his mouth?
Oscar, who has never been spoiled like that, even by his nanny, takes a step back while blushing.
“W-Well, I’m sorry but I-”
“It’s delicious! Try it!”
“Muguu…”
He was suddenly forcibly fed. With a passing thought of spitting it out as it is, he chews and swallows it. Certainly, the terrine was delicious, but it wasn’t any different from what he always eats.
But…
“Delicious, right?”
She smiled and her facial expression relaxed.
This girl didn’t recognize Oscar as the crown prince. Surely she only thought of him as another child from one of the noble families attending the ball. That may be the reason why his heart was warmed by this friendly interaction with her.
“It’s okay.”
He felt his cheeks heating up by that carefree smile.
Until now, he had no one to call a friend, and for him, meeting Cecilia was also the first time he talked to someone who’s the same age as him.
“Fufufu”
“…What happened?”
“You have a bit of sauce on you.”
Cecilia wiped the leftover sauce on his cheek with a handkerchief.
“You’re a bit clumsy. It reminds me of Gil.”
“You were the one who dropped it on me!”
He grabbed the handkerchief from Cecilia to wipe his cheeks.
She was still smirking while looking at Oscar.
“What? Is something still stuck on?”
“No. I was worried because you looked unwell since a while ago. But I’m glad you look better now. After all, delicious things will make anyone feel better!”
“…Did I look sick?”
“Well, yes. I was a little scared at first because you looked like you were enduring a stomachache.”
“Stomachache…”
Oscar didn’t purposely frown. He just treated her as normal. However, she said he looked like he had this “enduring stomach pain” expression, and somehow it’s no longer there.
“I’m not afraid of your face now, I like it.”
When the world “like” was processed in his brain, he suddenly felt his whole face heating up again.
He turned his eyes to the handkerchief borrowed from her.
On there is a clumsy clover embroidery.
“What is this?”
“Ah. I tried to stitch it. It was my first time, so I made some mistakes.”
“…Yes, it’s crooked.”
“Ugh…”
“But, if I stretch it a little bit, it’s not so bad.”
Oscar was surprised by the gentler tone of voice he used.
Cecilia was also stunned.
“Um, what just happened earlier-”
“Your highness Oscar, you were in a place like this!”
The moment he tried to say an excuse, he was called by a minister that ran towards them with his round body bouncing like a basketball.
“What happened?”
“The king is calling you.”
“Alright.”
“O-Oscar …?”
Oscar looked at her as he heard Cecilia’s trembling voice.
She had a ghastly pale face. Her lips were shaking, and her large eyes looked as if they were going to pop out at any moment.
“You are Oscar Abel Prospere…?”
“Yes?”
When Oscar nodded with an expression that seemed to say “You’ve finally noticed”, Cecilia rolled her eyes back and fell on the spot while foaming from her mouth.
That was also the last time Oscar saw Cecilia.
He went directly to the Duke’s mansion to return the handkerchief, but couldn’t meet her because she was sick.
After that, he visited the mansion for several reasons, but the answer was always the same.
Rumours of her illness spread, and she never appeared again in any social circles.
And twelve years later–
In his hand, he held a handkerchief that was no different from the one received from Cecilia from that time.
“Why does that guy has this handkerchief …”
Oscar groaned, remorsefully recalling him as the “Prince of Wruhel Academy.”