I Am Troubled That My Fiance Is a Villain Chapter 5
Every five years, the country celebrates Thanksgiving to give thanks to the goddess of war and fertility, Ejka.
In the beginning, the festival was about giving thanks for war victories and the loot gained, but since there have been no wars in the past hundred years, it became a festival to give thanks for the ongoing peace.
The festival lasts for three days and three nights, with rows of shops set up along the main road that contains the Royal Academy, where the gameās setting takes place.
As for the reason why the venue is separated, the main road is for the common people, while the Royal Academy is for the nobles.
If nobles were to alight from their carriages on the main road, various problems may arise, and no one would enjoy the festival that comes only every five years. Additionally, to tighten security and give enough space, it was decided that nobles would enjoy the festivities in the Royal Academy instead. Nowadays, it also doubles as a big tour of the Royal Academy, becoming one big event.
In front of the Royal Academyās securely shut gates is a line of luxurious carriages. This is an established scene for Thanksgiving.
Unsurprisingly, with all the carriages lined up, it eventually gets crowded. Due to the tons of nobles alighting from their carriages and walking about, the traffic is terrible, and any selfish person would be forced to patiently wait at the front gate in their carriages.
Even though our carriage has yet to arrive at the front of the gate, weāve been waiting for a full hour.
To escape the crowds, Father and Mother will be coming on the third day, and because of that, Iām sitting inside the Brunsmeierās carriage.
Although the carriage is common, itās first class, but it is as expected of my fianceās family. The cushion is so soft that I canāt relax.
Because of my frugality, I fidgeted about and wasnāt able to calm down. Bern and the others misunderstood it as excitement for the festival and laughed. Katerina, being herself, said, āAgain within the last five minutes?ā Stop misunderstanding.
It was the first time that their family invited me in over six months.
In that time, Bern turned 13, and Katerina became engaged to His Highness.
With the Dukeās doting and Katerinaās wishes for it, it was pretty much already decided, but with the preparations for the gameās start steadily approaching, I just couldnāt seem to get excited about it. It would have been okay if you could call this pre-established harmony*.
Compared to that, although my relationship with Bern is going at a snailās pace, Iām still happy about it.
Aside from being able to talk familiarly with each other, not much has happened.
I mean, itās only been half a year, thatās fineā¦
Moreover, Iām still wary about where Bernās true feelings lie.
Itās cause this guy has started smiling more frequently than before, but his eyes werenāt. His small smile back then was more natural.
I feel as if the longer our relationship grew, the more I see an invisible line being drawn between us, and that frustrates me a little bit.
And itās not because Iām not putting in any effort. Even though itās fun when Bern teaches me horse riding, or when I play with Katerina, itās not like heās busy. Yeah, seriously.
Bern escorted me off the carriage, and with a lively energy in the air from the crowds, we moved towards the chatter.
When Katerina alighted from the carriage, I thought that she looked like the perfect lady, but she then soon went to look for His Highness with terrifying speed. No matter how incognito His Highness goes, Iām pretty sure sheāll find him.
Even without running, Katerinaās eyes were that of a perfectly trained hunter, and she disappeared without a trace. I felt genuine fear then and there. āEven if you manage to find him incognito, itās not like you guys can walk around together,ā I wanted to say but wasnāt able to.
I then heard a, āHis Highness ran this wayā!ā And because I support Katerina, I wonāt be helping His Highness. Youāll have to do your best alone, Your Highness.
āWhere do you wanna go, Lizzy?āĀ Bern asks me with a smile.
Ah, again.
This person showed me another fake smile.
āWhy?ā The question floats in my head, making me feel sadness more than impatience and confusion. One by one, thoughts of, āDo you hate me?ā and āDid I do something to keep you on guard?ā flash in my head, seemingly going nowhere.
Giving up, all I could do was show a heartfelt smile.
Today as well, Iām determined to see his true self.
āWhy donāt we go around to the popular ones? I heard thereās an amazing magician hereā¦ā
As usual, Bern reaches for my hand, with his being cold. I miss his warm hands from that day.
āSo good~!ā
Undeterred by the queue for the shaved ice, we were now sitting on the terrace, and I was stuffing my face with the ice.
With it being the end of summer, itās delicious eating shaved ice on a hot day! Covered in syrup and strawberry jam, with its coarsely shaved ice, I rarely get to eat shaved ice in this world.
Ahh~ I really wanna eat ice cream⦠A simple vanilla one would be greatā¦
If this world was a fantasy one with magic, somehow, I get the feeling theyād make this with magic. Regardless of how this was made, Iām definitely loving this ice.
Ah! I canāt!
Realizing that Iām having fun like usual, I panic. Donāt just thoughtlessly eat the shaved ice, me. Ah~ But itās because I donāt usually have this, without thinking, I just had to taste it.
Speaking of the thing with Bern, Iām still worried.
I remember him not being that enthusiastic about Thanksgiving. I wonder if heās worried about something.
Oh yeah, as I was walking with Bern, his gaze looked different. He looked somewhat tense today, with his usual absentmindedness gone. I mean, he also looks cool like that. Even though we were holding hands, his heartless gaze hurt. If there were arrows, they would have been all over my back. I flinched just a tiny bit imagining arrows on my back.
I heard two passing girls say, āWhy is that plain girl withā¦ā
What the hell, why is everyone calling me plain, am I a potato?! Even though Katerina properly helped me out today! Eh? The model is no goodā¦? Idiot! Even though potato chips are made from potatoes, theyāre still really good!
But still, heās beautiful, huh? The girls at the other table have been glancing at us, going āKyaa! Kyaa!ā But if I could look at them and stop them from glaring at me, would I still care?
While I was thinking about random things, a tuft of blue hair caught my attention from behind the absentminded Bern.
āBlueās an unusual color, huh?ā I thought. Upon seeing the owner of that attention-catching hair, I spat out my food.
Glittery, moist, beautiful almond eyes, and luscious, small lips. With her transparent, white cheeks currently stained red in a blush.
The name of that eye-catching, beautiful girl is Lila Caneille. Yes, the protagonist.
āWhyā¦ā
The question came out of my lips unconsciously, and then I suddenly remembered.
Thatās right, Lila meets some of the love interests during this festival. For Lila to become close to His Highness, she has to meet his future friends, and with them interested in Lila, she and His Highness inevitably meet.
I was only thinking of Edwinās route that I clearly forgot. But wait, isnāt this the opening?!!
Whilst realizing my own stupidity, Bern noticed me looking over his shoulder, and turned around to look. I stood up without thinking.
āBern! Iām getting a little cold, so Iāll head on inside, okay?ā
Being suspicious at my weird behavior, Bern stopped.
Lila and Bern donāt meet during this event.
Even so, I still didnāt want him seeing her.
Bern would become enamored by the beautiful, and sweet Lila. I donāt want to see that.
I wanted to pull Bern inside with me. I then suddenly noticed my feelings of wanting to keep him to myself.
Unable to endure being pathetic or ashamed, I gave my shaved ice to Bern, and I quickly told him that I needed to go to the bathroom. And then I turned around, running away.
āLizzy!ā
Ignoring the unusual urgency in his voice, I walked.
I wanted to be alone, to calm myself.
As I fervently walked, I then noticed that I was already near a school building, far from the plaza.
I wonder if Bern is waiting at that shop. Or maybe he got mad, and went home? As I was thinking how heās not that type of person, something suddenly grabbed my arm.
I looked behind me, about to ask them what theyāre doing, but instead, a man I have never seen before looked down at me with cold eyes.
Starting with the next chapter, because thereās going to be mentions of blood, Iāve decided to tag it with violence. Something unexpected happened, so I apologize for the late chapter.
*Read it here cause I canāt think of how to word it better.
This chapter was hella cute. Come on Lizia, realize that you like him! I MEAN HEāS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER FOR GODāS SAKE. Thereāll be more heart-wrenching scenes in future chapters. I canāt wait to get to them.
As always, if thereās any mistakes in regards to grammar, please do let me know.
E/N: Hi there. Nice to meet all of you. Iām celestialconstellation, and Iām the new editor, so youāll probably see me around sometimes. I am kind of new at this so I hope you donāt mind.Ā Ā On another note, have a nice day, and I hope you all enjoy the story.