"--the first thing I saw was my sister being killed by my father."
I couldn't drink instantly the fact that Arnold told me quietly.
Your father is your sister?
Your head refuses to understand what words mean.
Looking down at Riesch, Arnold continued without changing his expression.
"My father gave birth to one of the concubines.A few days after she was born, the Emperor took what the Empress was desperately trying to protect and pierced it with her sword. "
"Oh no...."
The sight came to mind and it stopped reflectively.
(Your Highness's father did wars against countries around the world to have royal women dedicate from various countries)
Lieting on the bunk, Richie scolded the trembling voice and asked.
"Why did you do that?"
"The man forgives only the child who inherits his blood in color.... I said that killing in front of the queen was the punishment for giving birth to a 'baby that isn't'. "
I can't believe you just killed the baby, but it's getting more and more confusing.
How do you judge a newborn baby in front of it?
Arnold already seemed to know that Riesch didn't know.
"--Just like my father, 'Having black hair and blue eyes'"
Arnold looks at Riesch with blue eyes, as he said.
That's how babies survive.
……
To a lesser extent, Riesch frowned.
Not only Arnold, but also his half-brother, Theodore, has black hair and blue eyes.The same was true of the four sister princesses, but I had no idea that such conditions had been imposed.
(Is that why His Highness said that the color of your own eyes is abhorrent?)
It reminds me of a conversation I had on a detached balcony.
Arnold told me that Arnold's eyes were beautiful.
Blue eyes are the same as his father's, and he hates them enough to make a decision.But the reason was not just disgust with my father.
"Blue eyes should be inheritable to children."
Adding the condition of "black hair" to it would be very slight, such as fitting.
"You're right."
"... is there a baby your father didn't approve of...?"
"All were killed without exception in front of the queen who gave birth to the baby."
Lose your words, as you were told.
(... how can you do such a job?)
In my life as a pharmacist, I helped give birth several times.
Healthy postnatal periods for both mothers and children are by no means commonplace.After ten months of modulation, they give birth to their children with anxiety and pain.
And yet, the person who was supposed to be the father of the child has scratched the life that was born.
"Has His Majesty Arnold, who was young, been seated there?"
……
It's getting harder and harder to affirm the name of silence.
"Who cares about His Highness?The queens will surely turn to you..... "
"--all those who resented me and poured hate on me who survived."
Next, it was mostly monologued words that were plump and zero.
"... the mother who gave birth to me must have hated me the most."
Huh?
Arnold's finger is entangled in Riesch's breathing finger.
His voice is more calm and seems to confirm the obvious.
"Along with killing the baby, the man always told me."Your body inherits better blood than any other human being."
A beautiful finger slowly traced Riesch's ring.
"But it can't be. What is the value of that man's bloodline?"
"... Your Highness"
"You have to understand.No matter who I am, no matter who I draw my blood from, it can't be a reason to be respected more than others. "
Arnold tells him with sincere eyes.
"Don't ever say that I should take precedence over your life."
"....."
My left chest felt stiff and dull.
"That's...."
If it was true, I wanted to reply 'I can't do that'.
That said, it's hard to come up with words.
Looking up at Arnold from his bedside, Riesch blinked slowly and carefully at his eyes.
And the next moment.
――……
From both eyes, the tears that were enduring were pouring out.
Eh, hey.
Arnold frowned and let go of Riesch.
Instead, I touched the bandage on my neck and looked down at it with the traffic.A very unusual expression that clearly shows the confusion.
"It still hurts somewhere."
"I'm doing it wrong....!"
If you try to deny it in a hurry, your voice will shake instably.When I pressed the back of my hand against my eyelids, Shizukuzuku stopped overflowing.
Looking down at the next one, Arnold said in a halfway voice.
"... why are you crying here?"
"I'm sorry."
Richie herself is in trouble, and she can't hide it.
I've never cried in front of anyone before.
"Because you're too kind."
……
Riesch noticed.
Some of the knights who have come back from the dangerous battlefield will fight without risking their lives.
When I asked them why, they said it was a 'survival punishment'.
I feel guilty that my friends are dead, that I am the only one alive, and I stand on the battlefield saying I have to make amends for them.
But there's no surviving sin.
"... Your Highness, who was young, didn't do anything wrong..."
……
But Arnold is probably behaving that way.
When the bandits attacked me before, I lowered the knight and pulled out the sword by myself.
Like Fritz was talking about in Ciutena, or the sixth time in his life when Riesch confronted him, he tried to be on the front lines.
Suppose it was a sin in him.
(Must have been since I was a little kid....)
That's all that makes Richie want to cry.
The back of my eyes became hot and my chest really hurt.Arnold must have been told that it wasn't the pain.
"... don't rub your eyes too much"
Hi, let's go.
Those words were followed by Arnold's capture of both hands.
The obstacle to vision disappears, and you can see a blurry and seeping world.Every time I blinked, it became clear, and immediately began to shine again.
The reflected Arnold had a troublesome expression.
Hey.
Arnold asked with his fingers scratching Riescher's tears.
"... how do I stop crying?"
"~ ~ ~ ~"
That's what they say, and they're filling me with tears.Arnold sees it and leaks a blaming voice.
"... Riesch..."
"Because, because."
All he cares about is Riesch, and he doesn't care about himself.
I can't wait to feel it boiled down by the heat that poisoned me.
Thanks to that, I ran over something I didn't quite understand.
"Ah, Ah Tama"
"Head?"
"I want to stroke His Highness Arnold's head..."
Saying so, Arnold deepens the wrinkles between his eyebrows.
Um...
I am aware that it is a word without flashbacks.It's an extraordinary wish to think about adult men.
But now I really want to stroke Arnold's head.
I couldn't reach him when I was young, but I wanted to touch Arnold in front of me.
That's why I look up with a carefree feeling.
"Your Highness....."
…………
As Arnold sighed deeply, he sat on his knees on the couch.
There was a squeaking noise, and the rubbing of the sheets came through.
Arnold, with his hands on the side of Rieschetto's face, looked down over him as if he were covered.
The closer we get to him, the closer we get to him, the closer we get to Richie.
A slightly scattered voice forgave Richie's selfishness.
Whatever you want.
"Ha, yes...."
Slowly, she reached out, crying, and slowly touched Arnold's head.
It feels kind of strange. Arnold looks unfamiliar, but even Riesch is not good at it.
Still, I stroked his black hair gently.
Arnold's hair, which bounced lightly at the tip of her hair, was incredibly soft when she touched it.
For some reason, I can't wait to feel it, and my tears are overflowing.
"Eh..."
"... hey"
Arnold looked at me like he said something was wrong.I know he's in trouble, but there's nothing I can do about it.
"Riesch"
"I'm sorry, I can't..."
"... shit"
Arnold bent over and slowly stacked his forehead with Riesch.Their foreheads were tangled, and they made a chirp noise.
That's how he meditates.
"Please, stop crying."
The plea is spinned with a bitter voice.
"--When I see you crying, I think I can handle my head....."
"....."
It's hard to see Arnold spicy.
I was in a terrible panic that I had to stop crying.But after all, Riesch cried like a child.
It was the first time Richie had been allowed to cry in front of her parents.
Arnold was still in trouble, but he cried all the time until Richie was tired of crying and sleeping.