Chapter 45: Filthy Hands

So delicious!

Razé didn’t say it out loud but her face expression was full of happiness. The imperial cuisines were so exquisite, it really tickled her taste buds. The plate presentation was gorgeous and she was excited every time a new dish was served.

Then she noticed Claude, who was sitting right opposite her, had stopped his hand.

Razé: “Is there any problem?”

Claude: “… No. I was just thinking about something.”

Claude was acting restless during the meal. Perhaps he was used to standby behind as a butler and was not comfortable to eat together with others at the same table.

Razé: “Eating with others always makes a meal better.”

Carna and Folia nodded with a gentle smile on their faces. Razé watched their reaction, and then shifted her gaze to Claude and nodded a little. He seemed to understand what she was trying to say, so he started to move his hand awkwardly.

“Thank you for the wonderful meal.”

After they finished their meal, they were led to another room where they could hang around and relax. Razé felt it was such a blissful life to be able to rest leisurely after eating. They could have a chat or play board games.

The good times went by in a blink of an eye. They left to take a bath before going to bed.

“Good night.”

“Have a sweet dream!”

After taking a bath with Carna and Folia, Razé wished them good night and went back to her room. She had to leave for Beham right after breakfast tomorrow. She thought of a few other options in case the shop rejected their order, but she really hoped they could procure the papers from Happy Leaf.

٩(*´ο`*)۶“Fwaaa～” She let out a big yawn and climbed onto the luxurious canopy bed.

* * *

That night.

Carna woke up from a nightmare.

“It’s the same dream again…”

She clasped her shaking hand together and took a deep breath. She had been having the same nightmare lately.

In the dream, Ruben broke off their engagement, and she turned into something hideous as if she was being possessed by a terrifying thing causing her to attack Ruben and others. They couldn’t hear her no matter how much she screamed. And in the end, Ruben stabbed her through her heart. That was when she woke up.

“Am I destined for a tragic ending?” She held the bed sheet tightly.

“I won’t let that happen.” She recalled the words Razé had said to her. Razé, who was not supposed to exist in this otome game, had become her hope.

“I’m going to be okay. I have Razé.”

So far, they had managed to avoid the events. And most importantly, Carna had become a close friend with the heroine, Folia. She never did and never would bully that girl. She was still unclear of the likelihood of a plot enforcement, but she assumed Razé existence was the proof to reject the possibility.

Carna told herself that she was okay and lifted up her head. She got out of bed and went out to the balcony. There were countless stars shining in the sky.

Maybe I’d feel better after taking a walk for a while.

The nights were cold even in summer. She put on her coat and quietly left her room.

―　―　―

Razé was startled when she heard a creaking sound. She was a light sleeper, a habit she got from doing undercover job for years. It was a surprise that she managed to sleep deeply in the carriage earlier this noon. At that time, she almost made a mistake and grabbed Ian when he woke her up.

Razé surreptitiously slipped out to check who went out to the balcony.

Oh. It’s Carna-sama …

She saw Carna standing in the balcony upstairs and felt relieved that it was not an intruder. She thought maybe Carna couldn’t sleep, and then saw her suddenly went back to her room.

After a while, she saw Carna came back out wearing a coat and watched her jumped off the balcony using magic. The scene looked like a goddess had descended from the sky, but Razé knew it was not the time to think such thing.

Σ(￣□￣lll)?!!

Razé almost screamed in surprise watching such a dangerous and very unladylike behavior.

She jumped from the 5th floor?! That was so dangerous… She almost gave me a heart attack!

The security here was not as strict as the Imperial Palace. Razé was worried if something might happen to her, so she decided to go after Carna.

“Carna?”

Perhaps his fiancé radar was giving him warning signal, Prince Ruben also went out on the balcony. Razé knew very well that he would not let Carna went out alone. Although she felt relieved that someone was there to protect Carna, it was her duty to watch over them, especially the Crown Prince.

Sure enough, Prince Ruben also jumped out of the balcony.

Yeah… right …

Razé quickly changed her clothes and went out to follow Ruben.

―　―　―

Carna had arrived at the palace backyard.

“Wow. This place is so pretty…”

The flower garden illuminated by the moonlight gave an other-worldly outlook.

“Carna.”

Carna was startled by the voice as she thought she was alone. She turned around and saw Ruben.

Carna: “Ruben-sama.”

Ruben: “Didn’t I tell you not to call me that when we’re alone?”

Carna: “…Ru- Ruben.”

Carna’s face turned red watching the person she liked standing right in front of her.

Standing some distance away, Razé was watching the two of them. …Sorry. I didn’t hear anything.

Prince Ruben looked at the shy Carna affectionately.

Ruben: “Hmm. Why did you go out alone? You’re making me worried.”

Carna: “I- I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to take a walk.”

Razé heard their conversation and wondered how did she got into this situation. Both of you shouldn’t go out alone. You’re making me worried!

Huh? At that moment, she noticed a figure stood not far from them.

Oh, it’s Lesir-sama. It’s not easy being him either.

It actually took her a while to recognize him because he wasn’t wearing glasses. It seemed that he was using fake glasses. Claude had a good-looking face, so most likely he wanted to avoid attracting attention because he always stood nearby Ruben. Razé was impressed by his professional attitude as a personal attendant to follow Ruben even late at night like this. At the same time, she felt sorry for him too.

―　―　―

It’s quite cold at night…I hope they[1] won’t get sick.

Claude, unaware that Razé was nearby, was watching over Ruben and Carna. Just like Razé, he also had to suffer watching over his master covertly until late at night.

Claude’s father was originally a commoner. Just like Razé, he had been awarded with honorary title in recognition of his merits. As the son of an aristocrat with honorary title, Claude had made tremendous efforts since childhood so that he could serve the Crown Prince.

Although he had suffered hardship as people used to mock him for his original status, it was all in the past. But the stronger he became, the more dangerous trials awaited him. He must protect Prince Ruben’s life even at the cost of his own. And before he knew it, his hands were so filthy that he felt he should not be allowed to touch Ruben, a virtuous royalty.

Claude habitually pulled up his gloves.

* * *

Ruben: “Let’s take a walk. I have something to show you.”

Carna: “Okay.”

Ruben took her hand and they went deeper into the backyard. After they passed through the forest, they saw a lake. Carna was astonished when she saw the night sky reflected on the surface of the lake.

I know this place…?

She felt the view looked familiar and it gave her a sense of foreboding.

Ruben: “It’s an artificial lake created by the former emperor. Don’t you think it looks like a mirror of nature?”

Carna: “… Y- Yes.”

Carna walked around the lake in a trance. It wasn’t long before Ruben and Claude noticed that something was wrong.

Ruben: “Carna!”

Carna: “Kya!!”

The surface of the water rippled, and suddenly something pounced towards her.

Ruben instantly pulled Carna into his arms, and Claude jumped out in front of them. Claude slashed the red-eyed beast with his hidden weapon. A fish-type beast fell flat to the ground.

Claude heard a rustling sound coming from behind him and immediately threw a knife towards the direction. He heard an animal cry and saw a pack of dog-type beasts appeared from the thick forest.

“Thi- This is…” A forgotten memory suddenly appeared in Carna’s mind.

——There’s no doubt about it. This is the event that supposed to awakened Folia’s hidden skill. Claude would be seriously injured while protecting Folia and Ruben would sustain an injury too.

Carna: “It can’t be. We have avoided the event…didn’t we?”

Ruben: “Carna!”

Her body lost its strength and Carna fell to the ground. Ruben promptly caught her.

Claude: “Your Highness, please look after Carna-sama. I will take care of these beasts.”

Claude continued to kill the beasts that kept coming from the mountain. Night was his time. As someone who manipulated the shadow, he could kill the enemy by killing their shadows.

There are so many of them…

The situation seemed like a ‘stampede’, a wild headlong rush of beasts coming out from the dungeon. Regardless, he couldn’t let any of the beast get through. Claude casted his shadow magic onto the black knives on both of his hands.

Ugh! He had used excessive force to keep the magic stones activated and it had caused severe headaches. His vision was distorted, but he couldn’t stop his magic. He desperately fortified himself to keep his consciousness, but a beast had approached him from behind.

“Oh sh-”

He could see the fangs coming close very clearly. He couldn’t do anything other than glaring at the beast. But suddenly it was gone in a flash. A second later, he saw the beast crushed to the ground. Claude was totally worn out and he might be a little muddleheaded, but the beast was really crushed to the ground.

“Are you alright? I’m sorry for being late.”

Razé Granoli stood in front of him, hitting the beast’s head against the ground like crushing an insect.

“It’s over. Prince Ruben and Carna-sama are all safe and sound.”

Claude finally stopped his magic when he heard those words. It had been a long time since he had strained himself, he was exhausted. He was about to collapse.

“Claude!”

He exerted himself to stand firm when he heard Ruben calling out his name.

Claude: “Your Highness. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Ruben: “How about you? Did you get hurt?”

Claude: “Just a small injury. I’ll take of the rest. You should go and stay with Carna-sama.”

Ruben turned at Razé, so she said, “I’ll help him.” He gave a firm nod, then ran through the heaps of remains and returned to the palace. Claude stared at his retreating figure and then looked down at his blood-stained hands.

“… Filthy.”

His whispered word echoed through the quiet mountains.

―　―　―

In the meantime, Razé gathered the dead beasts in one place using teleportation.

She was the first one to noticed the unusual phenomenon and had reported it to the palace. Adis, Ian, Luca and several knights had also participated in the fight and the beasts were quickly cleared up. Of course, most of them were defeated by Razé. The rest of the investigation should be left to the knights in charge.

She didn’t expect that a stampede would occur at this place. It made her broke into a cold sweat. She heaved a sigh of relief when the incident was over. Then, she noticed her whole body was stained with the beasts’ blood. It had been a while for her to fight against beasts, so she miscalculated her power and caused the unnecessary bloodbath.

Are the beasts normally this weak?

Of course, the beasts were not weak. It was just that her opponents were normally the monsters in Baruda.

She was aware that Claude was having a sentimental moment, but she couldn’t enter the palace in such a messy state and needed his help.

“I’m sorry, Lesir-sama. I can’t enter the palace looking like this. What should I do?”

Claude turned to look at her. ∑(ﾟДﾟ; )

It was dark and hard to see, but when he looked closely, he saw a girl stained with blood all over her body standing close to him. It was dirtier than a child playing in the mud. Razé was also shocked to see Claude’s surprised face.

“Am I not allowed to enter anymore because I’m dirty?! … I understand. How can such a dirty person enter the sacred Jade Palace. Waa-. How did I get so dirty? No one would come close to me,” Razé said with a wry smile.

Then her face expression changed as she stared at Claude. She felt conflicted. “If I’m dirty, does it mean I can’t be by Carna and Folia’s side anymore?”

Claude was startled by her question and was unable to response immediately.

“But I’m not willing to leave my friends. Unless they tell me that they hate me, not to come closer because I’m dirty, I’m not going to leave them.”

Claude looked at her with widened eyes. He had never confided his worries to anyone, so this was the first opinion he had received from someone. He had a lightbulb moment and was convinced that he felt the same way too.

He wanted to stay with Ruben, so he didn’t want to quit the job even though he hated himself for being filthy. But all of that was his own opinion, and Ruben had not abandoned him yet.

—— If that’s the case, then I can do my best. That’s why I’ve been doing my best.

He finally realized that he had nothing to worry about.

Meanwhile, Razé was paying no attention to him, and was fully focused on her clothes. Honestly, she just wanted to say what she was thinking and wasn’t really interested in how Claude would react.

Razé took off her jacket. Her pants were still dirty, but she thought she looked a little better.

“Will it look better if I use illusion? Hmm. But I want to take a shower. What should I do about my clothes? Maybe I should teleport back home first…”

Claude walked up to Razé, who was talking to herself. He took off his gloves, took out a clean handkerchief from his pocket and shoved it to her face.

Claude: “I’ll show you the way. Let’s hurry back so that you can clean yourself.”

Razé: “Huh? Thank you! Lesir-sama!”

Claude smiled when he saw Razé was so happy that she could take a shower.

Claude: “Just call me Claude. No need to use ‘sama’. Both of us are filthy, so let’s be nice to each other. Razé-san.”

Razé: “That was kind of…”

Looking at her dejected face, Claude burst out laughing.

Razé: “What are you laughing at, Claude-kun!?”

Claude: “Hahaha. Your face… It’s very dirty.”

Razé: “Why didn’t you say it earlier?”

Razé felt sad when she realized that she had nodded to the prince with this face earlier. Her face was smudged with the beasts’ blood.

[1] I’m not sure if he meant ‘he’ or ‘they’ here. Subject and indirect object are usually omitted in Japanese sentences. It’s an ambiguous language, everything is up to interpretation. ↩