Volume 01 Side Story 05 - Side Story 05 Part 02

After that, Rene, his mother and Paolo left with Lord Alan and the guards and were going to be taken to the hospital. I promised that I would go and see them at a later date before they departed, and we returned to the Roma settlement.

I wanted to return the books that Baron Moseley got the children to steal.

On the way, I asked him about the connection between the Romas and my family…

“Fred did something nine years ago,” His Highness said, then he told me what he heard from the Roma chief while smiling wryly.

Nine years ago, brother violated father’s order and visited the Roma market. He saw the mountain of books and was excited. Brother wanted to buy everything like me, but he was a boy, so he had nothing. He became perplexed and rough, wicked men suggested that he gamble with them.

I didn’t know this, but apparently gambling with dice is popular among men, and even commoners frequently gamble with dice.

The men said to brother 『If you win, we’ll give you money to buy those books. But, if you lose, take off all those expensive clothes and leave them.』They were making fun of him. It seems that the men could tell that brother was a noble child, so they wanted to play with him and proposed gambling, but they had miscalculated. Brother had unexpected talent in gambling with dice, and he kept on winning, so he ended up winning a lot of money from the men.

“Oh my…”

I was taken aback. I didn’t know that brother had a talent for gambling. His Highness stifled a smile and continued.

In the end, even the boss who operated the gambling came out, and they had a match, but brother also won this match and brother became a celebrity among the violent men in one day. Since then, it was deeply rooted in the Roma people to be careful if someone who calls themselves a Bernstein appears, and perhaps, father knew this and ordered me not to approach Roma people.

I’m not sure how many times I became flabbergasted today. Sir Glenn, who was with His Highness when he spoke to the chief, pledged, “I’ll never gamble with Fred.”

When we returned the books to old man Lezzi, he also brought up something surprising, “――― Miss, I thought I had seen you somewhere before. You look just like the noble wife who came here nearly 20 years ago.”

“Dear me!” I blinked my eyes, and he told me the story.

He said that a certain noble man came here nearly 20 years ago and hit it off with Thistle Star. The man’s knowledge wasn’t inferior to those of the scholars of Thistle Star, and they immediately got lively when they compared wisdom, theories, and theses, that they even forgot about time. They passed the night talking.

Then the next morning, his pregnant wife, who was worried about the man who had stayed out all night without saying anything, came. She started lecturing him on the spot. The topic of the man, who had knowledge that wasn’t inferior to Thistle Star, being no match for his wife as he was lectured became a hot topic for those in Thistle Star.

Old man Lezzi remembered in amusement and laughed.

“We didn’t see him at all since then, so we thought that his wife banned him from coming here.”

… Oh my. I could only remain silent since that man reminded me of someone very much. His Highness sneered and whispered, “… I can get my revenge against the fox.” I wonder what he’s talking about.

Finally, I decided to ask Dr Lezzi a question that I had for a long time, “――― Did Thistle Star write『Star Travellers』?”

Feeling His Highness’s gaze on me, I stared into the old man’s eyes.

“Rene said that Thistle Star continues to pursue the truth. Are the contents of 『Star Travellers』different depending on the period and kingdom because Thistle Star is writing down the historical facts of that era?”

It was probably an inconvenient truth for those in power in those eras.

I looked at the eyes which weren’t drunk from alcohol and still retained their wisdom, and sharp eyes like the winter stars stared back at me. I felt like my existence was being measured. After a few minutes, he replied, “Hmm.”

“Miss, you’re really that man’s daughter, after all. It’s always that family who finds the truth of Thistle Star.”

He looked at the pile of books, then stared at the sky which was changing to dusk.

“A long time ago, my people opposed those in power and refused to research how to kill people. As a result, my clan was about to be eradicated, so we abandoned the kingdom, and became wanderers. Since then, we, Thistle Star, have always opposed those in power, and have always had the mission of pursuing the truth.”

His gaze turned towards His Highness, who was standing next to me.

“The influential people of Southlynd were probably also protecting people like us, so they tried to protect us, or… they didn’t want to let us go, so they hide us? Right, boy?” The voice of the old man echoed with sincerity.

“When those in power have evil ambitions or obtain powers beyond their means, it’s always the ignorant citizens who become sacrifices. Even you are at risk of committing such foolishness. Don’t forget that Thistle Star is always watching so that that girl doesn’t get too much for you to handle or indulge in her abilities.”

His Highness’s vivid blue eyes and a powerful smile was glued to his face.

“I’ll keep that in mind as a drunkard’s testament. I won’t deny that I’m losing my head over Elli herself,” He said as he kissed my forehead again.

My stammer and the old man’s angry scream, “Who’s leaving a testament?!” echoed through the Roma residential area.

The return carriage was full of books I’d obtained. Because of this, Annie, my maid, and the coachman couldn’t ride in the same carriage… I say, but it was the same when we came here. His Highness had cleared everyone out, and Annie had rode a horse with Sir Glenn.

Annie was uneasy at first because she wasn’t used to horse riding, but she was riding with Sir Glenn, who is popular with women, so she willingly rode with him.

As for me, I was excited, and my heart wouldn’t stop beating as I wondered which book I should start with, so I also ignored His Highness who was watching me and smiling wryly.

Should I reread 『Star Travellers』today no matter what?

When I held the copy that I got from old man Lezzi, His Highness said, “Say, Elli.”

I raised my head, and His Highness reached out to touch my fluffy hair.

“Why did you want to remember the past?”

“Eh… That’s, mm, I… wanted to remember.”

“Hmm?” His Highness’s gentle voice urged me to speak as if it was unravelling my feelings. I reflected once again and expressed my insecurities, “I’m by your side right now because of what happened in the past. So I thought I should remember…”

His Highness smiled gently.

“Mm, that’s right. I’m thrilled that you tried to remember. Then, I’ll be honest… I was actually worried at first.”

“Eh,” I looked back at His Highness who was blinking. His blue eyes were clouded over like how I remember them in the past.

“Elli, you may know this, but my mother became a completely different person after her illness was cured. I know that she was forced to do so because of the situation…. But, I was worried about that. People change. No matter how much I relied on my memories of you and thought of you, I thought you might have changed in the time we didn’t meet.”

“Your Highness…”

The cloud in his blue eyes suddenly disappeared, and I was reflected in them.

“But you didn’t change at all. You were still the same 『Princess Bibliophile』that I knew. Elli. I see the you that hasn’t changed in the last four years, but I also see that you are a little different and have grown, and I fell in love with you again.”

I instantly knew that my cheeks had turned red.

His Highness wanted to say that the past is important, but the four years that I spent as his fiancée reminded him that nothing has changed between us.

I also wanted to respond to his feelings and looked into his blue eyes even though it was embarrassing.

“Me too. Over these last four years, I began to think of you as more irreplaceable than books.”

“Elli.”

His Highness smiled and touched my cheeks. I looked into his clear blue eyes and found the boy that I had met in the past.

My past with His Highness is…

“I feel like I’ve found a treasure.”

I asked his blinking blue eyes.

“Can you tell me the secret spell you promised that day?”

His Highness, whose smile had widened, was so close that I could feel his breath, and he quietly told me the secret spell. I went even redder, and he smiled in satisfaction, then he dropped a gentle and sweet kiss on my mouth.

In the shade of the maze-like bookcases.

A boy walked through it as if he was going on an adventure. His destination was the Princess, who had been caught in the forest of books.

The Princess had fluffy hair, and she reflected brightly in his eyes, even in the darkness. So no matter how much the book forest tries to hide her, he’s always able to find her.

Today too, the boy found the Princess without any hesitation and approached her as she read. Then, he gently whispered the secret spell.

――― You are my treasure.