The Duke’s Daughter Is Hated

26. I will speak with the former crown princess before I head to the neighboring country

Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV

After the graduation party, Nathe and I, along with some of the lower class noble and commoner children who were not heirs and who had befriended us during our school life, were to head to a neighboring country. They seem to be finding job openings in neighboring countries. This too seems to have been done by Ihmut.

The Second Prince’s group kept showing up like that at the academy and even tried to cause a false accusation of absolution. As a result, the Crown Prince’s position has been put on hold and he is being re-educated. The future that we had taken for granted has now been reaped.

——And Louise-sama was unexpectedly quiet. I heard that she was pale when she found out once again that I was not a “villainess.”

Because the Second Prince’s group have caused things to happen in that way, their centripetal force against the Royal Family has weakened. It is said that a good number of people are trying to leave the country. It will be up to His Majesty and the next king to decide whether or not the country can recover from this situation.

I only met Brother once.

I heard that Brother said that he has no face to meet me, but I guess it’s because he knows that I am going to a neighboring country and have no intention of coming back to this country. I asked to speak to Brother.

「Ottilie… I’m very sorry.」

Seeing Brother apologizing, I was glad that the misunderstanding was cleared up, but my heart wasn’t moved, perhaps because I had not talked to him properly since he became delusional about the Crown Princess.

As a family, Brother and I were not able to establish a relationship.

「No need to apologize. I am sure that Louise-sama was everything to Brother—— I bid you well, Brother.」

I said just that to Brother.

I didn’t even say the word “happy.” I didn’t even said we would see each other again. I didn’t even said a word of forgiveness.

I don’t hate Brother. But I don’t love him as a family member.

Brother just smiled sadly at my words and all he said was,「Ahh… you too, Ottilie.」

Father and Mother are cramming a lot of things into Brother’s life to make him inherit the dukedom. And Brother was working hard at it. Father said it must be hard for him. He was afraid that the people who adored me and Father would look at him harshly, and that the nobles who had seen the false accusations of that day would take advantage of him.

After Father and Mother vacated, they told Brother that they had no intention of helping him. Even if the Duke’s position as head of the Duke’s family is obtained, what awaits Brother will be a life of hardship.

And I had… someone I wanted to meet once before going to the neighboring country.

「Ollie, are you really going to see Louise-sama? Are you okay?」

「Yes. Thank you for your worries. Ihmut. I wanted to know why Louise-sama had to behave the way she did with me. But I am afraid to go alone, so will you come with me?」

「Of course. Please take my hand, my lady.」

「Fufu.」

She was the former Crown Princess who has stopped coming out of a room in the royal castle—— I decided to go to Louise-sama.

That’s why I’m in the royal castle now. The royal castle was a place I almost never set foot in because the Crown Princess hated me. I have been there when I needed to, though.

So I took Ihmut’s hand and went to Louise-sama

I have heard what kind of situation the former Crown Princess is in now. She seems to be saying something in a mumbling manner. She often mutters something like… that the villainess and the heroine get along so well. It is said that Aloige, the former Crown Prince, is devotedly trying to support Louise-sama. And he says,『I am not fit to be a king.』

So it was rumored that His Highness the Third Prince, who is still very young, will succeed to the throne.

And he reported to me that Louise-sama knew us before she met us. We decided to go to the neighboring country after hearing about that from the party.

「Ottilie… Shefinko…」

When I entered the room where Louise-sama was, she looked at me stunned. And the next moment, with a pale face, she bowed to me, saying,「I apologize for the things I have done to you.」

I was amazed at how it looked.

I had never expected this kind of attitude from this person.

「…Louise-sama, please look up.」

When I said this, Louise-sama looked at me as if she expected me to do so.

…I think she is just that kind of person. I am sure it is true that she thought I was a “villainess,” and the naivety with which she now hopes I may have forgiven her is proof that she has lived her whole life without knowing any setbacks.

You don’t know that you’re going to get hurt, and everything is going to be fine—— And the Fairy Princess was raised with great care and attention.

「——You don’t have to apologize. But this doesn’t mean that I accept Louise-sama’s request for forgiveness. For me, it doesn’t matter if Louise-sama apologizes or not.」

I said it as if I was going to push her away. But this is what I really meant. Even though I am glad that the misunderstanding from this person has been cleared up for me, I have no desire to continue to have anything to do with Louise-sama.

I continue to tell her, though she looks hurt.

「Louise-sama, I am not here to receive an apology from you. Why did you want to make me into a “villainess” or a “evil woman” so thoroughly, or why were you so determined? That’s what I wanted to ask you.」

「Haha, how cool of you. Ollie. Louise-sama, I want to ask you something before I go back to my country. Why did you do that to Ollie? You were trying to make Ollie a villain in an unusual way. And as for Miss Weshia, why did you go so far as to say that she was destined for Seanno, me, and such?」

I asked the question plainly in front of Louise-sama and the former Crown Prince, without showing my true colors. Ihmut followed suit and said.

「…I–I, I remember living as a different person from my childhood.」

「A different person?」

「It’s a memory I have from before I was born… I decided to do what I can do because I am the one who has it.」

I was surprised by Louise-sama’s words, which left me pale.

A former life—— It seems that Louise-sama had what is called a previous life. The former Crown Prince looks surprised, as if he is hearing this story for the first time.

Nevertheless, it may be thanks to the memory of Louise-sama that she has been able to develop industries and achieve various great accomplishments with her unique ideas since long ago.

「I remembered that memory and after a while… this is the Otome game I used to play… erm, I realized it was a storybook. The story was one of multiple choices, and the heroine—— Nathe-sama, it was a story of finding happiness. There were a number of turning points… err, how should I put it? It’s a story with many endings, and depending on the actions of… Nathe-sama, there were many different endings.」

「Nathe was its heroine? I understand that it is. But why does that make you behave that way toward me?」

「That was, uhh… Ottilie Shefinko was the “villainess” of the story. As the Second Prince’s fiancée, the villainess used her power to cause all kinds of things to happen for her own greed. In the story of the… there was one route where Ottilie Shefinko got along with the heroine on the surface, but behind the scenes you were trying to kill her. I… The heroine and her partner, the object of attack, in the world of Otome game that I loved so much—— I didn’t want Seanno, Ihmut-sama and the others to be unhappy. That’s why… I think it would be better if the Tziano’s did not suffer any trauma, or if Seanno who’s meeting the heroine later in life did not have a fiancée… I moved on. I thought that whoever Nathe-sama chose, it would end more peacefully because the Seanno’s entourage are wonderful men… I thought you would work that way. I knew you were like that.」

——Louise-sama said that with her eyes downcast.

Was this why she was said to be able to see into the future? I didn’t know what we were, or what Otome game was, but I knew it as a “story.” That she saw me and Nathe as characters in that story—— I can see that.

No, perhaps this person is—— She had been looking at this place with the assumption that it was the world of the “story.” Maybe she saw not only the Second Prince and others who adored her, but even her husband, the former Crown Prince, in that way, like a stage set.

「Is that so? Louise-sama said that Seanno and the others paid for their trauma. So what did you say when you came to a neighboring country and there was misfortune in my country saying,『If only I had gotten there sooner. I wouldn’t have traumatized you.』as if you could do anything you wanted? What does Ollie think after hearing what you just said?」

「I can only say that I am surprised. I guess Louise-sama saw us as just that. It is precisely because of this premise that she stubbornly continued to refer to me as a “villainess…” If I have one thing to thank you for, Louise-sama, it is that you made me aware of it.」

At my words, Louise-sama looks at me strangely.

「It’s because Louise-sama disliked me as a “villainess” that I have realized how I became selfish and arrogant—— I learned how people saw me. And I was able to fix it. I don’t understand how you could continue to dislike me because of such a belief, and although it has caused me a lot of trouble, I am here today because of it.」

「——Did you know that because I hated you?」

I was stumped, because I couldn’t understand why Louise-sama didn’t like me. If Louise-sama didn’t dislike me, it would not have been impossible for us to be friends with the same noble daughter.

——But if I have one thing to be thankful for, it is that Louise-sama disliked me so much that I learned what people thought of me.

I thought I was the center of the world and that everyone would listen to me. So perhaps I might actually have become such an arrogant “villainess” if Louise hadn’t disliked me and treated me like a tumor by the royalty and nobility.

I might not have gotten along with my servants or even with my commoner friends.

「Yes. That’s correct. You know the world of the “story” and that’s why you only know me, Ihmut, Nathe, and such with that kind of eyes… You might not have seen it. But please think about it. How were you yourself in that “story?” Did you dislike me so much that you were wary of me?」

「…No, I played a minor role in that story, and my name was only mentioned here and there. And you were like a queen in that story, with your many cronies. No one could stand against you.」

「At that stage, I think Louise-sama should have realized that reality and stories are different. Louise-sama’s basic premise is that this is the world of the story, and it should work that way because that’s where I, Ihmut and Nathe were. But reality is all about what one person does—— And it is unquestionably you who have made the most transformative move. You are the Fairy Princess, the next queen—— The impact it has had on so many people. With that fact, how can this reality work the same way as that story?」

At my natural words like that, Louise-sama looked stunned.

The biggest change from that story must have been Louise-sama. She may not have understood that that move by the person in question would change reality.

「Ihmut, shall we return now?」

「You’re already done?」

「Yes. I’ve heard what I wanted to hear.」

I have no desire to comfort the stunned Louise-sama. I was almost falsely accused because of her assumption.

There is no need to say anything to lighten Louise-sama’s heart.

「Ollie, were you sure you didn’t need to say more to Louise-sama? Ollie’s life was trampled so much because of Louise-sama.」

「Fufu, somehow, Was Ihmut more angry than me? I’m surprised that the reason she kept hating me was because she was confused with the world of stories, but that’s fine. It is enough for me that Ihmut is so angry for me. Besides, I am going to a neighboring country. I would go to a place where Louise-san and Brother were not around and I would have a good time. I honestly don’t give a damn about them when it comes to the future. I’d rather smile about the future than be angry about people I will rarely see again.」

「Amazing, Ollie, you’re so cool. I’ve fallen in love with you all over again.」

How embarrassing for me to be told what to do.

As it was, I was taken by Ifmut across to a neighboring country.