Feeling empty, huh? It’s something new… or not really. Originally, Violette has ill-developed self-consciousness. She continues to get swept, following what others tell her to do. And in her previous life, she finally blew up after everything is just getting a little bit too much, and lost control of everything.
Now that all of that has been taken away, what’s left is her empty self.
Ahh… Maybe this life is a bit hopeless.
She doesn’t expect her train of thought to reach that conclusion. Getting reminded of the bitterness of life is probably something like this.
Violette wishes to go wherever she wants, fly away once she escaped that house.
But that’s not the case. Freedom is her responsibility and all of her choices are her will. Until now, she never realizes that being free of everything is something very, very difficult.
“…Violette?”
“…!”
The moment she heard someone calling her, Violette immediately regains her thoughts, coming back to reality. It’s Claudia, who is holding a bunch of paper in one hand.
Seeing that, Violette recalls that her current location is close to the student council room. That must be the reason why there’s no one around her. Nobody will want to make a noise nearby people who are working, especially if it’s the student council president who is also a prince.
Claudia’s eyes are widened, probably since he doesn’t expect to see her in this kind of place. Apparently, he unconsciously called her name, not calling her. You can say that he’s confirming that he’s not seeing the wrong person.
Since both of them have noticed each other and Claudia has called her, Violette can’t just leave without saying any word to him.
“You haven’t returned home yet?”
“Yes, well…”
Violette can’t say that she doesn’t want to go home. But she also can’t tell the prince a lie, leaving her not able to make herself quite clear. Perhaps Claudia notices how awkward she’s feeling with how she’s averting her gaze from him. He doesn’t try to ask anything else.
“Claudia-sama. Are you doing student council errands?”
“You can say that… Anyway, it’s about time for most students to go home.”
“Right…”
It won’t be long until the sun sets and the sky turns dark.
It’s only natural that Violette has to go home, but she can’t get used to this time even if she experiences it almost every day. It may be a good thing to look forward to going to school. Even so, there’s always a sense of despair boiling in her chest right after she’s reminded of her dislike towards her own home. She wonders if it’s just her feeling or not.
Claudia doesn’t continue his next words. Perhaps, he notices how Violette’s expression turns cloudy once he mentions ‘go home’.
It’s completely silent for a while. Violette wracks her brain, looking for a reason to leave this place. Even so, her feet are so heavy that she can’t move.
Her hesitation must’ve reached him. It’s Claudia who opens his mouth first.
“Violette, you’re going straight home after this, right?”