Vol 1 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6 - Seal of the King of Night
Claudius asked Mimizuku to sit on the carpet next to him Mimizuku responded to his request without hesitation Ever since she began to live in the castle, sitting on carpets was one of her favorite things, though she was often chided by theso
Here, however, there was no one to tell her off
Sitting down directly onto the carpet, Mimizuku looked up at the boy prince, who see in a chairto drown in its plush exterior
”Showthe end of his mouth
Mimizuku obediently removed her hat and showed him her forehead
”That's a really strange pattern”
”Eheheh!” Mihed
”Show me your wrists and ankles”
Just as she was told, she extended her arms to show him her wrists, and stretched out her knees to show her ankles
”They're really discolored”
”Orietta said they can't o away”
”So you were in shackles?”
”Yeah, that's right They were rusted away, or they said so like that”
”Don't you have trouble ?”
”Trouble? Hive me any trouble?”
” I see”
With that, Claudius gave a light smile It was a smile of a certain kind that Mimizuku had not seenin the first place
”If that's the case, then I'm even worse off”
”Okay?”
”Aren't ly discolored?”
”Yeah”
Mily” meant, but they certainly were a color that she had never seen before
”This is how I've been ever since I was born I haven't been able to s, ever”
”You can't move them?”
”That's right Even though I went so far as to take my mother's life to be born like this, I'll surely cause grief to the kingdom”
Saying those words, Claudius averted his gaze from Mimizuku and cast his eyes doard
”It's as if my body is cursed Like this, I can't be seen by the citizens of the kingdoet scared Therefore, ever since my birth, I've been kept in this roo”
Mi Claudius to smile, in that sa or not
”So, you would say I'ht?” Claudius asked
Mimizuku slanted her head to the side
”Unfortunate?”
”That's right”
Unfortunate is when you're unhappy Since the prince called hiht
But why is he asking me?
”So, hoas it? You, being captured by the King of Night, I mean Do you think you'reat Mimizuku with a spiteful expression on his face
”Um”
Mimizuku wasn't taken aback by Claudius's appearance
”I'm happy? In this castle, I'm happy, I think?” she spoke absentmindedly
Mimizuku's words seemed to stab a hole in Claudius He opened his dull emerald eyes wide
”I was told it's thanks to His Majesty, but I suppose you had a part in it too,” Mimizuku said with a smile Claudius looked away
” I don't have any authority at all”
Mimizuku, who didn't knohat ”authority” meant, suddenly stood up She didn't receive permission froe as so beautiful to her
”Wow! Incredible!” Mimizuku shouted with joy
”Incredible, incredible! There's such a great view from here! Hey, you can even see the market!”
”Mimizuku, I'm not finished ta--!”
His words disappeared unfinished into Mi
”Hey, hey! The baked fruits in that stall over there are so delicious! Have you ever eaten them?” Mimizuku asked insouciantly Claudius's face twisted
”I already said! I can't ever leave here!!”
”So you haven't? Alright then, I'll buy soood friends with the
Claudius opened his
” You'll buy me some?” he asked meekly
”Yeah! I'll buy you soood There are also lots of beautiful and fun things there too” Mimizuku nodded several times She felt very content She remembered how happy the man at the stand hen she said the fruit was delicious
Claudius looked up at Mi to Mimizuku
”You”
”Yes?”
”Don't you commiserate me?”
”C commiserate?”
Mimizuku cocked her neck like a bird
”Wouldn't you say I'm pitiable?”
”Um you're pitiable?”
Claudius blushed in an instant and looked away It see his question reflected back at him caused him embarrassment
”I've been called pitiable too, though I don't get what's so pitiable aboutbroadly Claudius stared at her face timidly
” Hey, Mimizuku”
”Yes?”
”Tell oes on around the castle Of what's outside, tell , and what's wonderful,” he spoke, his voice like a whisper
Mihtly nodded her head at his request
”Yeah, alright! I'll tell you all about it And I'll bring you sos in the town And then there are lots of pretty things too!”
””
Claudius was silent, and he hung his head far doard
”Uh Mimizuku?”
”Yeah?”
” Will you, um”
The ears poking out from between strands of his hair turned red
”Will you be my friend?”
Mirinned at his question
”What's a friend?” she responded innocently, refreshi+ngly
Claudius looked up and gave an uneasy laugh It was the first tih
That day, when the king had finished his governmental affairs, he headed to the reception rooreeted hi a fire and sticking it to the nose of Ann Duke's sleeping face, but he considered that he was up against soht better of it He couldn't get careless
”You, over there, hoet out of here right now,” he said in a deep voice
”Alright, alright” the lounger said in a drowsy voice, lifting his body froht had always found this sofa to be particularly snug
”What are you even here for?”
”Just taking a nap”
”Get out”
”Yeah, sure I was about to go hoets mad, you know?” Ann Duke said in a relaxedup He then suddenly re
”By the way, have you heard the talk that Dia and Mi friendly with one another?”
” I have”
”Hestion?”
”Claudius is the one who said he wanted to meet the 'captured princess'”
”Heh he didn't get what he bargained for, as usual Actually, nah, it's okay I was a little surprised when I heard that they ood idea too”
The king turned his cold eyes toward Ann Duke, as stretching out like a cat
”So, what are you trying to say?”
Ann Duke ht words, and then slowly opened his lips
” Shouldn't you look after Dia a littlehi over suddenly exposing hi school somewhere by now Do you know Remit Island? It's an island far from the border, but the schools there are supposed to be excellent”
Whether the king was listening to Ann Duke or not, he did not look at him
Ann Duke sighed, and then continued
” Hey, even though Dia has a body like that he's very smart, you know”
””
The king responded with silence
Ann Duke heaved another sigh, and changed the direction of the conversation
”How's the De?”
”Ah, yes No delays so far”
”I see Well, that's good, I guess”
The king had lifted the sluggish paralysis of the previous conversation, changing the tone of his voice
”What do you want to say?”
”Well, it's just I think this whole thing is going a little too s, after all”
He was the king that had had ruled the forest of monsters for a period of several hundred years It was oddly unbeco of him to fall into human hands so easily
Even when they were subjugating him, they had felt that way
”That is sireat amount of power”
The king's response was firm
”Then that's fine, right? By the hat do you plan on doing with theanyway?” Ann Duke asked with a light tone of voice
” It will be put to use for the sake of the country”
”I see”
Ann Duke nodded to the king's unenthusiastic response, and after a single farewell, left the reception room as he always did
As the king listened to his footsteps grow farther away, he closed his eyes tightly and let out a sh
”Aileidia”
It was a beautiful na woman, became reborn in his mind The only portraits of her were in the reception roo at him noas the deceased queen She was a fine wo and country Rather than living for even a secondforth new life She had only one answer to those who disrupted her in childbirth
”I want to become the one and only queen of this country”
She was dead now, and she was the only queen ever since
The prince also had to bear the burden of the country all by himself
”Prince! Look at this, I picked it up at the edge of the country”
”What is this?”
Claudius looked at the transparent, yellow lump that Mimizuku held out to him
”It's a liquid that ca in there, isn't it?”
”It's true”
Claudius squinted at the lump
”It looks kind of like honey It thought it would be sweet, so I licked it, but it turned out to be not so tasty”
”I wouldn't do anything like that”
”I see, I guess that's just you,” Mi Once every three days, Mimizuku visited Claudius in his room There were times when there were others, like teachers, already in Claudius's room, but the moment he saw Mimizuku's face, he bid them to leave
” Mi me by my own name”
”Huh?”
”As thanks for everything You don't have to call me prince, Claudius is okay”
Being told she could call hiht that Claudius's na and hard to say
She called Andy as such because Ann Duke was too hard to call him by
”Alright, since you're Claudius, I'll call you Kuro--”[1]
She stopped talking suddenly, and became completely still
Huh?
So inside of her head
Ku ro
That's wrong, so
She couldn't call him by that Not that name
Not that name
”Kuro? Don't shortenseedy like that If you want to you can call me 'Dia' like Andy and the others do,” Claudius said, his face beco dim
”Dia?”
”Yes, that's right Dia This is the name I received from my mother”
”Your mother?”
Claudius cast his gaze doard
” After having me, she died I killed her”
”You killed her?”
Mimizuku tilted her neck to the side
”Yes, that's right I killed her My mother's body eak She didn't have any resistance toical power in this country The truth is, her body was never fit to have a child at all”
Hht How does that mean that Claudius killed her?
”But didn't she want to have you, Dia?”
” If that was the case, then it would have been fine, I think”
Claudius's face grew deformed as he spoke
”However, I have this kind of body The king too, he neglects me”
”Neglects?”
Mimizuku turned her head to the side She didn't know the word
” It means he hates me, Mimizuku”
”Eh? I really don't understand, though” Miave a hearty smile ”Even if you're hated, I think it's still best to live And also, I don't hate you, Dia!”
Claudius narrowed his eyes painfully at her words
” Mihed
”Umm”
Mihtly, meekly
”I don't remember”
Claudius thought that her faced see
One day, Ann Duke came into Mimizuku's roorossed in gazing up at the sky
”Mi outside?”
”I was just thinking, there's noaround
”Moon? It's still noon, you know”
”Yeah White I want to see it Gold is fine too”
”Hm You really seem to like the moon, huh Mimizuku?”
For soloomy
”Yeah, sort of It's so out a deep breath
”Hey Orietta, I've been thinking”
Returning to his ownhis feet up, sat down on the sofa and began to talk
”Yes?” Orietta replied, continuing her work in her account book
”I've been wondering if Mi her memories”
””
Orietta's hand stopped
Ann Duke closed his eyes and continued
”I've been wondering if it's good for soet a difficult past so frivolously For exa that sparkle rise above after tears and toil? Isn't that where huth comes from?”
” Hey, Andy,” Orietta said in a faint voice
”Hm?”
When Ann Duke looked up, Orietta had stood up and was pulling a document off of the bookshelf It appeared to be a very old transcript