Chapter 253: Berengar and Honoria II (2/2)
”Suppose I were to say I was reincarnated, from the distant future, in a world far more advanced from this one. What would you say?”
Surprisingly the girl did not call him crazy or think he was joking; instead, she took it seriously and looked at Berengar with disbelief. She quickly blurted out the thought on her mind.
”Are you serious?”
With this, Berengar knew he had revealed something he shouldn't have. If the girl believed him, that could create some troubles, and as such, he quickly shook his head and denied the reality.
”No, I was just joking, Valeria. You shouldn't take comments like this so seriously.”
To this, Honora chuckled awkwardly before responding to Berengar.
”Of course! I knew that!”
After saying so Honoria began to pout; she did not enjoy being made fun of, especially by Berengar. Noticing that she was displeased, Berengar made up some story about how he came to understand these things.
”There's a lot of good information in old books. You'd be surprised what you can find in them. I took their ideas, thought about them for a while, and deduced the things I created. Without those who laid the groundwork before me, I never would have been able to dream up of what I know.”
Honoria bought this line immediately; it sounded far more feasible than being reincarnated into the past from the distant future. Seeing that Berengar was supposedly honest with her, she began to lighten up. Berengar, of course, took advantage of this to push the conversation back towards Honoria.
”So now that I have told you something interesting about me, why don't you tell me something interesting about yourself?”
Honoria froze to this; she did not have anything interesting to say about herself, for she genuinely believed that besides being the princess of the Byzantine Empire, there was nothing remotely interesting about her.
As such, her expression suddenly turned downcast, and Berengar began to change the subject.
”So these bierocks are pretty good, aren't they?”
The moment Honoria heard Berengar voluntarily change the subject because of her sadness, she felt touched and put a smile on her face while sniffling back the tear that had formed in her eye.
”Yeah, they're perfect. I can't believe your people eat such delicacies daily.”
With the simplicity of the meal and the burgeoning middle class, such food was relatively inexpensive, healthy, and exceptionally filling, especially when paired with a glass of milk. As such, the bierock had become a standard item in the hands of those who could afford it.
Honoria shifted the conversation to another question on her mind as she ate from her meal.
”So I hear you weren't always this amazing. Some people even refer to you as a completely different person than you were two years ago. However, nobody ever elaborates, as if they are afraid to speak about it. So I have to ask, what were you like when you were younger?”
Berengar chuckled lightly at this answer; he was not afraid of his past before his reincarnation, so he answered honestly.
”Honestly? I was a weak, lazy fool who tended to throw a tantrum whenever something didn't go his own way. Though I am not proud of it, I have thrown more than my fair share of chalices at people because they insulted me. I am amazed I lived as long as I did because of how much of a pompous ass I was.”
Honoria was shocked when she heard this; compared to the man sitting before her, she simply could not believe Berengar was once such a man. Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked about it.
”If you don't mind me asking, what changed?”
Berengar sighed heavily as he looked away towards the mountains in the distance with a bitter smile on his face. As if he was reminiscing about something serious, after doing so he responded in a grave tone.
”Somebody close to me poisoned me, I survived it, and I suppose you could say being on the brink of death, I realized how much I had wasted my life and desired to turn it around. I am amazed at the man I have become in such a short time...”
Hearing this, Honoria's mouth fell agape; however, she was relatively sharp and quickly pieced two and two together despite being naive. She had an awkward expression on her face as she asked her next question.
”Was the person who poisoned you your brother?”
To this question, Berengar sighed as he stood up from his seat and reached out his hand towards Honoria with a bitter smile.
”It is getting late; I will have to answer that question some other time...”
She noticed that Berengar did not want to talk about such a painful topic any longer; thus Honoria grabbed hold of his hand where he proceeded to lift the princess to her feet. After doing so, the two walked back towards the Castle, gazing at each other with affection as they held onto each other's hands like a loving couple.