Chapter 211: Really a beast

It's crude...... like her. Even in Domulit a few years ago, her mouth was already rough. I scratched my cheek.

"Well, calm down. This is, uh, consensual."

"Who doesn't know? Still, he's a bastard."

"Uh......."

"To be clear, it's nothing else, sister."

Francia suddenly smiled brightly.

"The Grand Duke has the power of a beast, so he has to be careful when dealing with weak people, right? The average human's bones are like branches for him."

"...... is that so?"

Yes, the example was a bit bloody, but it was true.

"That beast-like person uses that power recklessly. Then what will it become?"

"What?"

"A beastly bastard."

"......."

I clasped my lips. In fact, unlike what Francia said, Ricdorian wasn't rough. Rather.......

<Iana, relax...... relax just a little bit more....... I, uh, I think you'll get hurt.......>

Even though he broke the bed headboard with his hand, he treated me with great care as if I was a glass artwork. Still, it's painful.......

'Is it because of his other-wordly size?'

I gave up after making a cylindrical shape by hand. It seemed difficult to reproduce.

In any case, it was for the sake of my treatment that Ricdorian brought Francia in a hurry. It was obvious that Francia herself did not know this either, so she was rather upset by this fact.

"I'm sorry I woke you up."

"No. It's not for Sister to apologize!"

Francia shook her head vigorously. Then she smiled broadly and brightly.

"And Sister is always an exception. I can treat you at any time."

I raised my hand without tying the ribbon. I patted her hair and smiled.

"Thank you."

Francia's abilities were truly amazing. As the white light enveloped me, the dull pain disappeared as if washed away.

Then Francia took revenge and erased all traces of Ricdorian from my skin. Like to take it off? If Ricdorian knew about this...... I thought it would just be engraved once again, but I didn't say it to her.

I took out the clothes, put them on and tied them right up to the ribbon, and found myself clean with no traces of yesterday. Yesterday's matter remains only with the disorganized bedsheets and broken bed board. Francia, who was staring at me, gathered her hands in front of her, and then clenched and opened them. She seemed to have a lot to say.

"Well, Sister......."

"Yes?"

"You know. I will ask you honestly."

Francia bit her lip and tried to let go of it to make sure her words came out.

"Do I and the Yellow Rose have to get out of here now?"

Now Francia was not ignorant of what happened yesterday, because Ricdorian had brought her here.

"If the Blue Rose...... chose one. Other roses have to......."

And she seemed to see that as a 'choice'. I looked at her slowly and opened my mouth.

"If I ask you to leave, will you leave?"

"Yes."

"And not see me again for the rest of your life?"

Then, looking at me as if surprised, Francia blinked her eyes wide. Tears filled her round eyes in an instant.

"I don't want that. Still......."

"Still?"

"Because it was Sister's choice."

She bit her lips tightly.

"I will follow you."

The way she endured her tears reminded me of the first time I met Francia. The small, miserable girl, her eyes full of fear and horror, but she never cried.

I grinned. Then I came over and clasped her shoulder playfully.

"Then you can stay here."

"Yes. I'll leave right away...... Huh?"

"You just have to stay here."

Like the day we first met. This time, I took one step closer to her and grabbed both of her hands.

"You can stay with me together."

"......."

"How can you cut a relationship with people in one day? You, Lenag, and Ricdorian too. There is not just one blind relationship in the world."

Francia did not shake off my hand like that day. She just looked at me with eyes swaying like a lost child.

"There is no rule that says that there is only one thing that is important to a person."

Of course, there may be differences in their importance, but nonetheless, the fact that they are all precious does not change. A relationship where I choose one and miserably discard the rest. For nearly a thousand years, someone, no, a lot of unchosen people would have been hurt by this deformed relationship?

"You are important to me too, Francia."

Tears dripped down the back of my hand that was holding her. Francia didn't even blink her eyes, only the tears were dripping down. Maybe it was because it fell from her big eyes. As thick as jade beads, only big tears were dripping, it made me feel sad. Because she looked like it was the first time she had ever heard of such a word in her life.

"I won't be chosen anyway. I thought I would be abandoned."

Francia said, wiping the tip of her chin with her sleeve.

"We are in that kind of relationship. But if only I could see Sister again."

With a calm voice that penetrates my chest even more.

"It would be nice if I could still see you from afar."

"Why are you thinking like that? No. You don't have to do it now."

I'm not good at consolation, but...... Somehow, I had a feeling that my ability would increase a lot in the future.

"Well, can I give you a hug?"

At the end of my deliberation trying to find what would be good to soothe a crying child, without even having time to listen to an answer, a body similar to mine fell into her arms.

Francia had a smell of innocence.

I heard a long time ago that white roses are the most fragrant of the rose varieties,...... I guess they're not wrong.

"I like Sister the best in the world!"

Because her smiling face was full of a scent that I couldn't find anywhere in the world.

"Calisto, what are you doing? You hug too! Now we're stuck with Sister."

Kyao! Waong! Callisto, who was suddenly summoned by her side, hung wide on my legs with its adorable front paws. The actions of the guardian deity and the rose were very similar.

"Sister, I'm sorry."

Francia smiled bitterly with tearful eyes.

"What?"

"...... Uh-huh, I was going to try and hold onto Sister, even if I had to cry. Because it's good to buy sympathy. Because there's never been anything more pitiful than sympathy."

"Are you saying it was acting?"

She replied with a smile. Francia said this, but I never thought that those tears were fake and that she was acting. I wasn't so naive that I couldn't even recognize it. Still, I decided to pretend not to know.

"It's okay. I was happy with your acting."

"......."

Francia stopped at my words and rolled her eyes.

"Sister seems indifferent, but you are kind."

"That is a strange thing to say."

"But I don't think there are any more appropriate words to describe Sister."

She nodded as if she agreed, and then she looked back at me.

"Because you are my Blue Rose. I'm so happy you're our king."

For a moment, something unknown inside her words flashed through her eyes.

"I'm worse than Sister thinks."

Francia lowered her head and brought her forehead to me. She put her forehead on me and gave me a beautiful smile.

"Be deceived by me forever, Sister."

Different colors of light gathered in her different colored eyes. The half-moon eyes were very pretty. I blinked and then smiled.

"Okay. I will."

A rose that will be with me in the future. I acknowledged my life partner in my heart.

***

When I finished talking to Francia and opened the door, I ran into an unexpected person at the door.

"Did you sleep well?"

It was Lenag. Has he been in front of my room? No, strictly speaking, it was the parlor, so it wasn't my room.

"Yes. Good morning....... Well, Lenag. Were you here the whole time?"

Francia had long since left the room. She promised to see me at lunchtime. Francia would have said something if she had seen Lenag, which she probably didn't, but I asked just in case. It felt like an instinct to do that.

He did not answer, but this also an answer. Because Lenag's silence was always close to an affirmation. As always, I glanced over the neat figure.

He looked neat, but something was a little odd. Subtly mis-buttoned, or the long hair tied loosely and slightly disheveled than usual.

"...... Early in the morning while I was walking, I heard footsteps. The Grand Duke rushed to somewhere. I thought something had happened to you."

I wonder. If he had been standing here all the time, I thought he would have listened to all of my conversations with Francia.

The Roses basically excel in physical abilities. With a body different from that of ordinary people, it would not be difficult to hear the voices beyond this door even if they are not like the most excellent Ricdorian.

Of course, that's why all the rooms in Hernim's castle had soundproofing magic as standard, but.......

I glanced at the door. This morning, the doorknob flew off because Ricdorian broke it, and the mouth of the door did not fit slightly because of it. Maybe a leak through the door gap. Either the magic must have disappeared, or it must have been both. I thought about it and lifted my head.

"As you can see, nothing happened. Don't worry."

Even with my words, he couldn't take his eyes off me. Instead of saying the words he couldn't speak, he looked like he was saying a lot of words with his eyes.

"Miss Iana."

He muttered a little. It was so low and small that I could barely hear it if I had not listened to it very closely.

"...... just once."

"Yes."

"Can I, hug you?"

He paused for a moment as if something was caught in his throat while he was speaking, but continued in a low voice that seemed to get cut off. His face was not red. I looked at him quietly and nodded.

The large body hugged me. Ricdorian always felt like he was about to dig into me, while Lenag's was just like a small hug. It was like a warm blanket. He just covered me with his body temperature. It felt like he was paying attention to whether I would be blown away, so he was so careful that he was neither touching me nor not touching me.

"I love you."

I raised my hand and patted him on the back.

I hope this love doesn't hurt him too much. I hope that my indifferent consideration was not a bad choice.

"You just allowed me to love, it's just that but. "

He shed a little bit of his joy.

"I'm glad I wasn't abandoned."

He moved away after whispering in a caring voice. I only realized it after taking a step back.

He was no longer wearing glasses.