LMTM 11

chapter – 11

What’s with that reaction? Why the sudden interest in me? He even went out of his way to warn me like that. If this had been the old Reina, she might have been moved to the point of a heart attack. From the way he’s acting now, is it like — he doesn’t want me, but he also doesn’t want anyone else to have me? That’s awful.

“I’ll meet them myself and decide. I don’t think rumors are something you can trust….”

And it’s not like going on one date is such a terrible thing.

“But, Lady Regifield. This really is…”

“No, I said I understand. I’ll be careful. And I’ll keep what you said in mind. But telling me not to meet them at all — that seems like crossing the line, Your Highness.”

Cesar’s eyes cooled. Seeing that somehow made my own heart calmer.

I still think there’s a chance those two are just as bad as Cesar says. Maybe it would be better to avoid them, like he said. But to Reina, the worst person wasn’t them — it was Cesar.

Does he not realize that?

“…There’s nothing between Your Highness and me anymore. Actually, even before, it wasn’t like we had the sort of relationship where you could say things like this. Though back then, if you’d said something, I would have done anything….”

“Friends.”

Cesar spoke quickly — almost urgently.

He looked at me seriously, as if every word he said now was sincere.

“I think we can still be friends. We’ve known each other a long time, and we were friends when we were young.”

Why be friends with someone you used to have a crush on? And did Cesar ever treat Reina like a friend? In her memories, not once. If he had even shown a bit of warmth — even just as a friend — she might have seen some hope. But there had never been any hint of that. So what’s he saying now, out of nowhere?

Got no friends?

Well, I don’t have friends. But even so, I’m not being friends with you.

“I don’t think we’re in a position to be friends. Your Highness has plenty of friends already, so why bother….”

“Lady Regifield.”

Cesar called me in a stiff voice. He looked furious.

“No — Reina.”

All of a sudden?

Ever since Reina had started liking him, Cesar had never addressed her that way. It was as if he didn’t want to give her even the slightest room for misunderstanding. In that sense, he had been exemplary — he’d never let her get confused. Yet even so, Reina had clung to him, obsessed.

Cesar spoke coldly.

“Up to now, everything between us has always been one-sided. You came looking for me whenever you wanted, saying you liked me, and you used Lord Regifield to pressure me. Isn’t that so?”

“I really am sorry about that.”

That part, yes — she should apologize. She’d acted aggressively, using her feelings as a weapon. From his perspective, it must have been uncomfortable and irritating.

“You came crying to me every day and made things difficult.”

“I’m sorry about that too.”

That one stings a little.

“And then, now, you say you don’t like me anymore and that we’ll never see each other again — just like that.”

That too is true. But I do have something to say about that.

“That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? You were always annoyed by me and couldn’t stand being around me. So why, now….”

“I’m saying that, too, was one-sided. Reina has always been one-sided with me.”

He keeps picking only the parts he’s right about.

“…This time, I’m the one asking. This time, I’ll say what I want, Reina.”

I shut my mouth. With a faint sigh, Cesar continued.

“Let’s go back to being friends — back to when there were no problems.”

Why, though…? Didn’t he hate Reina?

“From now on, what I’m about to say is out of concern — as a friend. Those two are no good. Don’t meet them.”

I blinked. I don’t know if it’s okay to think this right now, but he really is handsome. Wow — I almost fluttered. Being around Cesar sometimes makes your heart tighten like that. That face really is a lethal weapon.

Still, I need to say what I need to say.

“Then as a friend, I guess I can say this easily too. I’ll handle it myself, Your Highness. I choose my own man. Oh — but thanks for worrying, as a friend.”

With that, I grabbed the curtain. I didn’t want to argue about it anymore. It’s not like I have to go on dates with Dawson or Tiers — but the way he hates it so much makes me want to do it out of sheer stubbornness.

I will go on that date.

“May I go now?”

Cesar stared at me blankly.

I shrugged and stepped off the balcony.

He must still care, I guess — we’ve known each other for so long. For him to say all that. Pulling the curtain back, I called out to him, who still hadn’t come out.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“…I’m going.”

We’ll just stay friendly for a while — and then I’ll draw the line.

Sigh. Making friends is hard, and cutting them off is hard too.

Nothing’s easy.

＊ ＊ ＊

The next day.

Cesar stood absentmindedly in front of the training grounds. He couldn’t focus. His conversation with Reina yesterday kept haunting him.

This had never happened before — for the first time, he couldn’t sleep because he kept thinking about someone. For the first time, thoughts of someone were interfering with his daily life. He let out a long breath.

“Phew.”

He had felt a firm wall from Reina yesterday.

That, too, was something he had never experienced. Reina was genuinely pushing him away. The heart that had always been open to him had shut completely.

Reina didn’t even seem to want him near her as a friend. Just as Cesar had pushed her away before, now she was giving him no room at all. He learned that Reina could be this cold. He ran a hand through his hair.

At that moment, he saw Rochester walking toward him.

Normally, Cesar would have avoided him — but this time, he stepped into his path.

“…What is it?”

Rochester asked coolly. The reason the two had grown so distant was, of course, Reina.

To Rochester, Cesar was the guy who hurt his little sister. To Cesar, Rochester was the senior who always took Reina’s side. Their relationship had broken beyond repair. Even now that Reina had given up on Cesar, that hadn’t changed.

They were still far apart. Even so, Cesar stopped him. Because even if he was the one who had hurt Rochester’s sister, he was sure — this time — Rochester wouldn’t turn him away.

Rochester’s gaze was icy.

“I have something to tell you.”

It was simply because everything about this bothered him. The rumors about Dawson and Tiers were endless. Just nudging his fellow knights was enough to hear all sorts of things.

And none of those stories were good.

“Something to tell me?”

“It’s about Lady Regifield. Something very important.”

“…Let’s hear it, then. Over there.”

And Rochester was someone who lost his mind whenever it came to Reina. Of course — there was no way he’d brush off anything related to her. In Cesar’s mind, there was no one better to deal with Dawson and Tiers.

Rochester would persuade Reina not to meet them.

This was a perfectly reasonable concern — as a friend. That’s how Cesar justified it as he opened his mouth.

“I heard Lady Regifield is going to go on a date with Gelstone Tiers and Walter Dawson.”

Rochester’s eyebrow twitched.

“Huh. And? What does that have to do with you?”

“I’m… as a friend.”

Cesar answered coolly.

“As someone who’s known her a long time, I thought it would be wise to prepare for anything that might happen. And I thought you, Senior Rochester, would be interested. Was I wrong?”

With not a flicker of hesitation on Cesar’s face, Rochester let out a short laugh. Cesar didn’t realize — this was the first time he had ever brought up Reina on his own.