A soft breeze gently strokes her cheeks.
As Alicia opened her eyelids as she was prompted, countless stars were shining in the deep blue sky. Alicia opened her mouth looking out at the sky, alone in a hill surrounded by endless silence, beneath a starry sky that lasted forever.
"I knew you were unfriendly. An unfriendly, mean, awful person."
"It's terrible. Even I have a broken heart."
Naturally, the answer returned. The use of the star that stood in front of me at some point did not differ in dimension from what I saw on a distant day, but remained the same beautiful boy who left the world. Saying it hurts, etc., the use of the stars tilted his little neck with a face that was bare to the back of his back.
"How could Alicia be angry? Because you shut up that the revolution took place because it was at the mercy of Aardar? Or because the revolutionaries didn't tell you that Clovis Cromwell died that night?
"... both. Yeah. That's not all. Everything, you are."
"I never told you."
Alicia swallowed the words and stared at the boy as the use of the stars inherited the rest. Then the boy frowned eight letters, just a little sorry.
"I have a lot of things, too. Crossing the timeline is a delicate problem. Whatever happened to you in your last life, you left only pieces of possibility behind and splashed them apart."
"But if I had known from the beginning that the Prime Minister of Aardhar would not...!
"What do you think happened? Did Aaldar and Heilland get along better? Much earlier than this one, you could have joined hands with Elizabeth?
Alicia tried to answer and shut her mouth without being able to find the words to utter. As I saw through her chest like that, the use of the stars denied it lightly.
"Right? That won't happen, will it? The suspicion you have would have made you anxious as a kingdom and would have exacerbated your relationship with Aardhar. The enemy in that case is not Eric. It could have been Elizabeth."
Again, it's only one possibility, he said.
The use of the stars gently flaunted his shoulders.
"And I mean Clovis, but I didn't think you were going to have this much chest pain. It might be a cold word, but the last time I saw him, you wouldn't have hurt your chest so much for knowing he was losing his life, would you?
"It's..."
"I have nothing to be ashamed of. Though you're a sweet girl, I just met him. Besides, I couldn't even have predicted that The Man Who Killed You In His Previous Life, which just happened to be on hand, would be irreplaceable and important to Alicia."
Alicia remained silent and lay down her eyelids. What the use of the stars said was correct, and so much so that the relationship between Alicia and Clovis was very different from that of previous life.
So Alicia said another question as she leaned down - what she feared most.
"If I fail this re-do, will he die, too?
The boy stared for a while at Alicia, who looked down and held her hand firmly. Slightly, when the use of the stars sighed small, he shook his head as he had noticed.
"I don't know. Like I said, all that's left is a piece of possibility, and I can't tell you what shape it's going to take before a gear named you combines."
But the star's gaze, which connected the words, shot Alicia straight through.
"If there is a crisis in Heilland, many of those you care about will be hurt. Clovis isn't the only one. King James, the neighbors, the city, the merchants, the people of Heilland whom you wish to protect, many of them..."
Things to do, they don't change.
Alicia, who looked up to be drawn to the word, saw a single line connecting herself to the use of the stars gleaming in the wind.
"This is a contract. Save Heilland, Alicia. You think, to protect the people you care about."
A nail eats into his gripping hand and a chilling pain runs. Without paying attention to it, Alicia exhaled thinly and long, closing her eyelids as she prayed. The next time I slowly opened my eyes, the empty eyes that were shaking until just now were directed straight at the use of the stars.
"Okay," she replied. "Nothing will change. I will try to save this country from annihilation in the raw of redemption. Even if you're going to lose something for it."
The wind runs through the hills, fluttering Alicia's hair trapped in bright sky colors. Rin's standing girl had such beautiful stars over her head that her chest ached.
A few days have passed since the star festival ended.
Clovis, a princess aide who woke up in his chambers as usual, shook his head gently before quickly making his way up to the royal castle. I also finished the breakfast the maid from the castle carried me, and now when I tried to leave the room, - his eyes stopped on a hundred glasses decorated on the tabletop.
It was given to me by the Edmond boy when he went under the castle on the night of the star festival.
Clovis reached for a hundred glasses after getting slightly lost and took them up with cautious hands. For a while Clovis, rolling it in his hand, tried to put a wooden cylinder in front of him - stop.
Clovis, with his hundred glasses back in place, confirms the tie tightened to his neck again, as if trying to keep his mind tight. Then he flipped a long, feather-woven robe on top and hurried to the auxiliary room.
When Clovis, who arrived, opened the door, the auxiliary room already had the figure of lead aide Nigel Otto. Shortly after I had a bad feeling about the auxiliary room, which was filled with a somewhat floating atmosphere, including the other aides, Nigel stood up, capturing Clovis.
"Clovis. What the hell is going on? I didn't hear anything."
"What do you mean... what are you talking about"
"No way, you didn't hear that either?
Nigel, with her eyes open, holds down her temples and groans, "If that's the one, it's not even an impossible story..." As the heartbeat solicited, then to the words Nigel had spoken, it was now time for Clovis to feel comfortable that time had stopped.
"Alicia was advanced to King James this morning. As a sign of friendship with Aardhar, he wants to welcome his neighbour Prince Fritz as his own husband"
Under dim cloudy weather, moist rain dampens the glass windows. The voices of the slightly contending men and women echo in Alicia's ears, who stand at the window and look at it.
Eventually, the sound of the door opening blocks the voice and turns into a hasty footstep. As such, it was Clovis who jumped into Alicia's chambers.
"Dear Alicia, Can you explain?"
"Hey, Master Clovis!? How much, because it's you, I'd be in trouble if they broke in like this?"
Anni, who has been chasing after him, raises a protest, but Clovis doesn't seem to hear anything, only looking at Alicia. Confusion mixes with the look of a samurai staring at an aide who doesn't even try to hide her tenacious appearance.
After taking a small, deep breath, Alicia looked back under the guise of all the calm she could. As soon as he did, he seemed frightened by the purple eyes that shot him through, but immediately swallowed the upset he had floated.
"It's okay, Ani. What he's coming for is what he knew. I'm sorry, could you two please?
"But, princess..."
"Please. You two."
Again, Anni clasped her mouth troubled and looked at Clovis. Ultimately, however, they lost faith that this loyal aide couldn't hurt Alicia. A gentle bow as a samurai, she left the room.
The rain seems to have intensified a little. Cold, light rain blows into the window, making a sound like a wind blowing through. Listening behind it, it was as if there was an invisible rain wall between the two facing each other as well.
"I just remembered a little bit about my last life."
It was Alicia who cut the fire out of her mind. Clovis seems to have had a thin eye when it comes to it, penetrating the silence without any particular surprise.
"It was when I visited Edmond's workshop. I knew exactly what I had in mind. The revolution was instigated by neighbouring countries. It was Prime Minister Yugdrasil who was pulling his hand. After I fell, Yugdrasil's men beat the revolutionary army and took His Highness Fritz away."
"... I see, I see that," the aide replies in a low voice, indulging in something overflowing.
"How does that connect with welcoming Prince Fritz to your husband?
"He said it was dangerous to let the prince swim. Yes, I made a decision."
Alicia spins the words repeated over and over in her head pale.
"I don't know if the prince and the prime minister conspired to induce the revolution, or if the prime minister used the prince who happened to be in power. But if the former could have eliminated Yugdrasil from the Senate, it wouldn't have removed all the danger."
As long as Liddy grabs the evidence, charging the Chancellor as a mastermind and eliminating him from the political arena will come true. But sooner or later, it will not be the case with Prince Fritz, who succeeds Aardhar, and it is unclear how far he has his own ambitions in the first place.
Maybe in his previous life he was just being used and had a night of revolution without knowing anything. But Alicia decided she wanted to keep him on hand as much as she could and keep an eye on the way out next time, beyond being able to trust him fully.
But listen to these, the air Clovis brings together is sharp. No, it was no exaggeration to say that it had become an increasingly disturbing one.
"Put it on hand. Let's just say that's a really effective measure? First, I do not believe that the Privy Council or the people will welcome Prince Fritz, the successor of Aardhar, to let go."
"Of course, before marriage, you will officially nominate me as Heilland's next successor to your father. If the fears of succession to the throne are clear, your aversion to Your Highness will be somewhat disputed."
"So what about Miss Charlotte? If there's anything like a prince surrounding him as a pet princess, he won't shut up."
"Poor thing, but if Chancellor Yugdrasil loses his leg, that child will no longer be in a position worthy of being next to His Highness. More importantly, Emperor Elizabeth won't shut up. I'm gonna ask you to give up on Charlotte to get resented by the prince."
"Oh, I see. That's a proposal. But there's got to be another way. Because of this, we have a friendly cooperative relationship with Emperor Elizabeth. While alerting Prince Fritz, if she keeps her relationship with her neighbor stronger while in office......!
"If that doesn't work, a lot of blood will flow!
Painful silence fills the room.
The sound of the rain pounding on the window, which changed and became stronger earlier, unwillingly caught my ear.
"I've made up my mind," Alicia told her as she managed to see her voice tremble.
"I was given a new life to save the kingdom. This mission cannot fail, no matter what. For that, I...!
"- You don't need me. Do you say?"
Clovis, looking at Alicia's face, immediately squeaks "sorry" and turns away. He walked around three or four steps looking for the next word to say.
When he stopped, his eyes were shaking to get lost when he raised his face.
"... just one thing, I want to know. You've been scared of me twice. Once when I fell between the starfrosts. And once, when we first met."
At first, he thought he knew about a past incident - a series of disturbances caused by his grandfather, Zach Graham, Clovis told Alicia, who was hardened by being poked at the pretend.
"Though, you learned about past incidents until Liddy spoke. So what frightened you? Why did you look at me like you saw a ghost?"
Alicia felt her hands and feet cooling rapidly.
I don't like it. I don't want to hear any more about it.
Back to the heart wishing so, the girl listened to the words, stunned.
"I'm the one who took your life in the last life."
A large number of droplets slide down the window, and its shade creates a loose pattern on the floor. Clovis' exhale, distracted by tension, echoes loudly into the room amidst the downpouring rain.
Worst, Alicia thought.
Knowing the facts, Alicia knows exactly how much he hurts and suffers. And yet, how can I comfort him when I'm trying to push him away?... I just can't tell you the truth how cruel I am.
"Yes," replied Alicia in a plundering voice. "Clovis Cromwell. Your sword killed me in my last life."
Clovis groaned. Squeezing out his voice in agony, he closed his eyes and leaned down to catch the pain. After a silence that seemed forever, he exhaled deeply and for a long time, pulling his strength out of his shoulders, which remained much stronger.
Purple eyes did not reflect Alicia anymore.
"Okay," Clovis said as he was tired.
"Today, I have to leave for Rosen territory. You, too, have a visit to the Sheraford area starting tomorrow. We have each other, and the next time we meet in this castle, we will discuss the various directions for coordination with our neighbours."
"... this matter is not to you, but to Nigel"
"I'll do it"
In an unspoken tone, Clovis blocks it strongly.
In front of Alicia, who swallowed the words, he grinned sadly.
"I'm your aide. Don't take it away from me."
Sa 'ah, strong rain blows.
Uncut enough to rip my chest off, and shudder. That's all Clovis told him, and when he put his hand on his chest and thanked him, he quietly left the room behind. After he left, the sound of the closed door murmured into the room.
Alicia, left alone, looked up at the ceiling and then turned her face out the window.
Goodbye.
Words spinning without sound fell to the ground zero with tears.
But then a few days later, things changed dramatically due to the news brought about by the envoys of neighbouring countries.