Muyoku no Seijo wa Okane ni Tokimeku

27. Leo, supposedly (before)

"Fourth time"

Along with those words, he was offered a delicately made porcelain cup, and Alberto raised the face he was letting fall.

Clear red liquid color.

It's his favorite tea.

"... oh. Thank you. What's the fourth time?

Beyond the fragrance, which melted loosely indoors, Natalia looked at this one with a frightened face.

"Don't you even know? number of sighs."

"-... yes"

Alberto shrugs his shoulders small as he grabs the cup thankfully.

In his sinking voice, he muttered only, "That's rude".

What you two are in is a student council room set up on the top floor of the college.

That place, which often brings together the children of royalty and superior nobility, is closer to an elegant salon than to a work room.

Huge windows to take in plenty of sunlight, huge chandeliers to behold as a ballroom, heavy tables on a comfortable sofa to sit on.

Is it just that a wide desk placed on one side of the wall and a bunch of paperwork stuffed on it is a testament to their honesty in their affairs?

All in all, good student council officers rarely accumulate work, etc.

For this reason, the rooms were often well maintained.

And all those competent officers have cleared their jobs early and left, and only two of them are here right now: Alberto and Natalia.

"What is it, Master Alberto? Be so depressed."

A glamorous Natalia poured her own tea and sat down beside Alberto.

"Even while on duty, look far and sigh all the time. I thought Alberto had become a spore-flying fungus."

"... that's terrible. I would have done my job properly today."

Alberto smiles bitterly, but Natalia did not loosen her hand in pursuit.

"- Are you talking about Leonora?

Alberto says nothing. I just tried to get out of my sight and sipped tea quietly.

But Natalia is finally convinced.

Mostly, when it comes to my cousin, who perfectly does everything this disgusting, it's about that beautiful girl.

Natalia gently touched Alberto's hand with her empty hand as she placed the cup on the saucer.

"Dear Alberto, Please talk to me. What are you so worried about?

"... nothing to worry about, etc."

"There you are. I don't care what you think."

To put it perfectly, this is the time he leaked a bitter laugh.

As a prince in the country, as a student chairman in the college, and as a brother in the family.

Always in a position to lead people as leaders, he doesn't do much of a weak pitch, and if you say it, being pushed into a situation that makes you want to pitch a weak pitch is in itself less for him to excel.

But that's why Natalia believed that when things were wrong with him, it was her role to force her to vomit obsession, even though she was forced to.

Come on, when you stare at him like he threatens, the prince finally deepens his bitter smile.

When he slowly returned the cup to the saucer, he thought a little and eventually grumbled pompously.

"- You can't make yourself," he said.

"Doesn't even...?

Natalia blinked.

For it did not seem a proper dialogue to anyone who seemed to have been blessed with the beauty and brilliant brains that everyone acknowledges, the best identity of the Empire, and to have received all the blessings of the world.

"What the hell...? You are the proud 'Spirit Beloved' of the Empire. Weren't those who did not praise Alberto better than those who did not praise Alberto, the president of the students who had distinguished themselves in the history of literature and martial arts?"

"Come on. No, it's just a congrat. In fact, I don't have as much spiritual power as my beloved son, and if you're actually the president of a highly respected student, what happened to Harald?"

"But as it turns out, nobility and citizens are in harmony now more than ever before in the College -"

Alberto deflected Natalia, who objected by climbing out of sight.

"-But at the price of it, I drove a young girl into crisis"

To that bitter voice, Natalia opened her eyes.

"Dear Alberto...?

"... I'm just trying to scare her"

It was clear that the "she" was referring to Leonora von Harkenberg.

Alberto lifts the end of his mouth.

It was just a dark, harsh guilt-filled grin that could be called self-derision.

"- Go to Lower Town for a while this past Sabbath."

He began to talk, trying to gather words.

Through his squire, he learned that Leonora was headed to the orphanage in Lower Town before the Snow Flower Festival.

Having offered to accommodate his own private soldiers because his safety was at stake, he rushed himself too.

That, in the crowd, I found a girl who was forced by a thug and clutched a knife.

"She was the same. Shelter your squire and woman behind you, squeeze the knife in your little hand. Instead of attacking his opponent, he was trying to hurt himself and cut through the phase. When I saw him, I was so angry that I forgot me."

Of course, the object of anger goes mainly to thugs.

I couldn't help but let the girl I cared about shower me with humble words and stretch out that inferior arm, naturally.

But at the same time, Alberto felt so anxious about the girl that she wanted to rip her chest off.

Why would you do that?

Why try to scratch yourself?

How come you haven't been protected in your arms for a long time...

"In front of her, I thought it was no good working with acts of violence or anything, but if I noticed, I was twisting up the other guy's arm. And I told her, too. Why would you do such a dangerous imitation, lock yourself up?"

Natalia blinked her eyes.

I wondered if that was something I shouldn't do.

If you apply it to your own beloved romance novel, that's a pretty cum coming situation.

Even if I subtract my inner desire, wouldn't the girl be a little dodgy if all these beautiful men saved her predicament and forced her to cut?

The love brain I usually seal has been passed on to my cousin.

Alberto looked at Natalia's suspicious expression and shook her head with a bitter smile.

"Think about it. She has been exposed to men's violence and imprisoned since childhood. You shouldn't say anything about ripping your mouth off such as locking it up against someone like that. - Well, I told you, I don't have a brother-in-law to point out."

…………

Natalia looks up all the time. And I chewed my lips and savaged.

It's my bad habit to apply it to two dimensions right away. Make up a love story about a girl and her cousin on your own, consume it conveniently on your own, etc.

"... I am ashamed of myself, too"

"That's exactly what it feels like," the prince grinned bitterly as he murmured in his disappearing voice.

"When I heard that word, I spoke of her faded face. I was seriously scared. I had a rampage, and I was trying to escape.... but still, I couldn't let her go. I was scared. Let go of her hand, and she'll disappear."

Alberto glanced at him and did the trick of staring away.

At the end of his gaze was the sight out the window, but it's actually obvious what he's floating behind his brain.

- On the day of the sorcery presentation, she disappeared, even though she was holding him, the girl.

That day, Alberto, perhaps for the first time in his life, learned of the emotions of pure fear, impatience, and thirst.

"... Always like this"

Eventually Alberto covered his face with one hand.

"She's still young. You should be protected more than anyone, you weak girl. I want to take care of her - I want to protect her, but when I realize it, I do all the things that drive her into crisis, frighten her, and break her heart. If it's not about her, it's mostly about her, but only about her... always, it doesn't work. I just left it empty. The uglier."

From the face I leaned over, I could not see the look on my face.

My voice is pale. I'm not even shaking my shoulders, and of course I don't see tears.

But Natalia looked like her cousin was crying.

"Dear Alberto..."

"It's stupid, isn't it?

Slightly, the prince lowers his hand.

On that neat face was a quiet smile, as usual.

"Before, when I found out that Master Suheiden had taken her arm, I was angry. But in the end, even I have the same hole. If I put her in front of me, I won't be able to stay calm."

"... but that's because I'm trying to protect Leonora -"

"It's the way it works."

Suheiden, Natalia frowned a little on the word, arguing with a nasty, Alberto clearly left it.

"How?"

"Yes.... now I'm thinking about it"

And that's why I can't help but worry.

Unable to read the Prince's intentions, which went on so far, Natalia tilted her neck.

"What do you mean?

"Keep it up. Way to protect her.... how to protect her, not trap her, but frighten her, trying to hurt herself for people right away"

It seems to be a mystery. Natalia swept through its brilliant brains and glanced at the thoughts of her cousin.

Ways to protect a girl who runs immediately to self-sacrifice.

If you're not tying your running legs, how?

"What if..."

The moment I got to the answer, Alberto nodded.

"Save the people she's trying to help before she runs out."

"Save people..."

The prince gets up all the time, and, yes, he mutters.

As he approached the window, he looked at the sight of the city stretching beyond the walls of the College.

"I went down to town a long time ago this time, and I noticed it with these eyes. Affected by the scourge of Harald, we are beginning to see signs of devastation, both in people's hearts and in their lives. In particular, there were many churches in the city of Richiert that list water spirits. Perhaps the impact on water is remarkable."

"Water, is it?

"Oh. I haven't been in full swing yet, but I see signs of water scarcity. The water in the well also seemed to be less transparent. It may be temporary, but even then, the Spirit Festival will be a lonely thing as it is. - Torpe is a flower that grows with plenty of water."

Natalia clouded her expression.

Dysplasia of Torpe.

That seems to be something that is not enough to take, an event that could have a significant impact on the political landscape.

The Spirit Festival is the largest event of the Weitz Empire. The flower of Torpe, which lives on, is also a symbol of the richness of the five grains, because it blooms abundantly every year, meaning that the royal family of the descendants of the dragon is an authentic ruler of an empire blessed also by the Spirit.

As soon as we had a dispute with the Church, Torpe stopped blooming, let alone the scourge of Harald, which is not to say that the Church was generally bad - it was not surprising that there was something wrong with the royal family, that the hearts and minds were shaken.

"It's about her, Satire. Maybe think about it - no, simply, maybe you want to save people suffering from water shortages, but now you're on the run. That's why she's so obsessed with summoning water."

"The formation that summons water, is it?

Alberto explains to his cousin the idea of the formation he is working with the Oscars.

Natalia, familiar with the smugness of the aristocratic society, quickly made her expression look harsh.

"... it's great that water grace goes to the citizens, but you need to negotiate carefully"

"Oh."

Alberto nods too.

Circulars to vested interests in the range in which the formation circulates, obtaining permits, explanations to the Church celebrating the Spirit of Water.

of students. If they run with momentum, it's just an obstacle that instantly frustrates the idea.

In fact, he explained to Natalia that Gustav had found him and bought him a strong anger when the girl made him run ahead and pull the formation that would take the water away from the water spirits.

"Senior Oscar also understands that this is a project that forces politically difficult negotiations, but he's still a merchant there. I defiantly ignore it as something to get over. Leonora is probably too eager to help his citizens rather than not realizing it… and that's not in his sight"

"… in her year, wanting to run for her citizens is a miracle in itself"

"I think so too."

The shaped lips were gently loosened.

Alberto narrows his eyes to the sight beyond the window.

In the city of Richiert, where the sun began to set, the lights that shewed the souls of men began to pound and light.

- Alberto was worried.

For Oscar, if the formation concept that brings moisture to his fellow citizens and family is good, for Alberto, it is inherently the opposite.

Sounds bad when it comes to vested interests, but the aristocracy, which has been in charge of curing water for a long time, is because it was seated on its throne because it was recognized for its corresponding merits, because it is "loyal".

"Master Alberto is the First Prince of the Empire. You're worried that there must be no hands in the field of water cure over their heads who have devoted their allegiance to the Empire?

Natalia frowned at her thoughts.

She herself is a woman who has practiced imperialism since she was a young child, because she may become the Queen of Alberto.

It was easy to imagine how much of an act that might "betray" a minister who should also be likened to friends and family has become a spiritual load for the prince.

but to that inquiry, surprisingly, Alberto replied no.

"-No, Leah. No, it's not."

"Huh?"

"I'm not worried that there should be no encroachment on the territory. I'm worried about having to invade my territory."

Like word play, answers.

But Natalia instantly read the sincerity of her cousin and opened her eyes wide.

"- Dear Alberto, … have you bought the grudge of the nobility and yet you want to proceed with the spread of the formation that summons the water?

…………

Alberto looked out the window with a rugged face.

Its ice-blue eyes mirrored a farther view, not the sight of the college spreading just below, nor the streets stretching ahead.

"... signs of devastation were evident in the lower town"

Eventually he spoke slowly as he distorted his fair beauty.

"Imperial land, precious land, flat ground. As we move away from the royal palace, the number of wells increases rather than sewers. When the lower town came off, there were places where there were no wells. I saw an old man with a crooked back or a child with only a small hand come and go to the swamp holding a large barrel, even though it was a festival day. When I went to the swamp...... the last few days sunlight had reduced the depth of the water and even clouded it. Because of the lag in prayer for the Spirit."

…………

Natalia clouds her expression.

From them spending time trying to bathe in the riches of this world, a world you can't imagine. That even made me hesitate to whine about cheap thoughts.

"With me, it's not like I didn't know the prevalence of water supply as a number. Speaking of Richiert, I also know that Sir Hagmeyer is making progress with the cure under his long-term plan. But... when I saw that reality, it didn't seem like I could make it."

"I can't make it..."

"Yes," Alberto nodded to his cousin, who rebelled at the words.

"Children, the old, the sick, the poor. When the world is distorted, it is the weakest who suffer first. If they were meant to be, they should be the most protected. The scourge has already eroded people. Hundreds of vulnerable people must have even lost their lives before one of the aristocrats realized that already ten civilians were harmed and ten civilians were harmed"

The scorch seeped through the voices, usually spinning a good sound.

"In this country, the authority of the Crown Prince is so small as to be shy. Water cure is not a student, it is the duty of an authorised aristocrat. Getting your hands on the Spirit is an insult to the Church. I know - I don't want to just wait for them to move. I want to do something about this situation and I can't help it."

"Dear Alberto..."

In those sad words, Natalia breathed quietly.

To the best of her knowledge, it was the first time her cousin wanted something so strong.

(I wasn't always caught in anything...... no, that's what I was trying to do (...) Master Alberto...)

First prince of the Empire.

Natalia knew exactly what the title had forced Alberto to do.

Former Prince Augusto's cauldron. Inheritance of Fortune. Son of King Hyena.

He was often hailed as such when Alberto became the first prince of the Empire as a "substitute" for the much-loved Augusto.

Because Alberto's father suddenly inherited the throne, and with it, Alberto, who was only the Duke's decree, was seated on the throne of the next prince.

He was ten at the time.

Suddenly exposed to unwanted heavy pressures, he saw the leopard change around him, how painful or how much it would have been.

But Alberto suppressed the criticism by just accepting it and showing his track record.

The Spirit's beauty, his clear brains, his forged flesh, of course, would have been a gift, but by continuing to hone it he established himself.

Eventually the surroundings even forgot that they were totally slapping him in the pussy, and he began to whisper "perfect prince" and him.

Smile equally at everyone and turn equal attention to any thing. He is just the perfect prince, showing superior talent for everything.

But in exchange, Natalia thinks he's probably lost his simple emotions.

Thinking of someone specific.

To have an impulse that cannot be suppressed by reason.

Stubborn, furious, crying hard, grinning with your belly. Those things.

Now in the last few years, Natalia has never seen him say selfishness or even laugh out loud.

(But... I'm sure Leonora changed that)

Natalia is convinced.

Think of it, my cousin has become richer in emotional expression since I met that abnegate girl.

You float like a boy of your age, or act like an impulse and fall into self-loathing.

Until now, we treated women and other beauty beauties with indifference in the name of a smile.

His strong desire to save the weak is also due to the fact that there is a girl with the same desire - and it must have been because the girl was in a "weak" position in the past.

Alberto must want to save him. the girl of the present, and of the past.

"... you think it's stupid?"

Eventually, Alberto asked, pompous.

The look that turned this way, the sunset slipping through the window turned backlit and I didn't see it very well.

"The only duty of the prince is to remain a prince." To show that the next emperor is secure and to reassure the people. It is to remain a prince without difficulty and excellence, and surely, to 'be' to the emperor. Until then, the prince doesn't need personality or will. "

He leaks a smile all the time.

It was, undoubtedly, self-derisive exhalation.

"Years or decades? If you wait like this, and become an emperor, you get a powerful power to clean up projects like this in an instant. Just wait till then. But... I can't wait for that. I am a prince who will never make it."

Nasal muscles that have passed all the way through or high cheekbones.

To receive a sunset on a blonde's hair is just as elegant as a nobleman among the nobles, a prince among the princes.

Natalia remembered the appearance of former Prince Augusto. He was admired as a graceful prince, a prince among the princes.

(Maybe your brother Augusto, too, was...)

Augusto was wise. It was merciful.

Nonetheless, Flora fascinated me and caused me trouble.

But maybe it wasn't just because I loved her.

I'm sure he was desperate. Or were you in a hurry? To much powerlessness of his creature, the prince.

There, a girl named Flora appeared, shaking her heart violently.

When I could do something myself, I began to feel strongly that no, something had to be done.

Thus, he ran wild and was swallowed by evil.

If so, now Alberto is the foolish prince himself who preceded the scourge of Leonora.

"... go ahead, make a prudent decision. If you cooperate in the creation of the formation now, the same will be true of your betrayal of the nobility. That could be the denial of inheritance. I'm sorry that both of my cousins are devoured."

I think even Natalia is honorable for the way she breaks her heart to the weak.

But their position is not free enough for them to remain emotional.

Natalia was just about to be torn in half by the desire to push her back, to support her, and to stop, please. Both came from the heart of Alberto.

Alberto walked right over here.

Escaping the curse of the sunset, his expression is finally revealed.

He was smiling quietly.

"- I am, Leah. Even if this is a disaster, I'm not going to let people call it the Leonora disaster."

"What the...?

Natalia frowns unexpectedly.

But then he whispered to his ear, to a certain "favor," he opened his eyes wide and shouted even louder.