“No, no, no, not that far… it’s hard to say.”
He suddenly realized that he was in for a real treat.
Not only did the chorus of “Yumiela is the strongest” didn’t stop, but the volume kept rising. Not long ago, their voices sounded desperate, but now there is an air of happiness in their shouting.
“Yumiela is the strongest! Yumiela is the strongest!”
No, no, no. I am indeed strong, unbeatable, and the strongest, but it isn’t very comfortable to be told this by so many people.
If a third party were to see this, they might think that I’m forcing them to do that, or they might even take it as me performing a ritual in praise of the God of Destruction.
And Patrick is standing in front of me.
He isn’t participating in the mysterious ritual of the stones. It is probably my imagination that I hear his voice, too.
Patrick is silent, staring at me.
I wasn’t sure what to say since I was going to think long and hard about an excuse for running away from home later. My first remark was to go with the flow.
“Um… I guess I didn’t make it to the moon.”
It was the wrong thing to say. I could have said something else.
Patrick must be angry. But as he slowly approaches me, I give him a strong hug.
“Good… I’m glad it works….”
What is this? What kind of situation?
He held me in his arms, and I was mortified.
Did you miss me a lot when I was gone, perhaps? For Patrick to be so emotional after only a few days, is he too dependent on me? Well, it’s okay. Although I didn’t have a good impression of the word “dependence,” when your lover depends on you….
“Thank God. I thought the world was about to end.”
This isn’t about dependence or something. What do you mean the world is ending? It seemed like something big was happening where I didn’t even know it was happening.
Looking back calmly, we were right in the middle of enemy territory. This wasn’t a movie, so the enemy wouldn’t wait for us. They would attack at the first opportunity.
Reluctantly, I escape from his embrace by pushing Patrick out of the way and taking a look around.
The first thing I see is the First Prince of Remrest. He is looking at us with tears streaming down his face like a waterfall.
“Huu… how wonderful it is to be alive. I’ve never been so emotional in my entire life.”
I can feel the joy of life. What is this?
The situation is hard to take in, but I won’t forget my purpose. I have to pretend I’m losing. To fulfil my goal, I say, holding my chest painfully.
“Ugh, the seal effects… I have to step back….”
“Yumiela is the strongest! Yumiela is the strongest!”
No one is listening. What is this really about? Is this a new trend?
I would hate it if the most popular word of the year were “Yumiela is the strongest!” I bet it would be trending on social networking sites. I’d be too embarrassed to walk down the street. I hope no one tweeted about it.
Unsure of what to do, I turn to Patrick for help.
“What should I do? I have to lose. Oh, Patrick’s brother told me. If I win—”
“I know about Aniue’s plan.”
If he came here, does that mean he received Gilbert-san’s letter? Then I won’t have to explain it.
With Patrick’s advice, everything should go well. Although it may seem unfair, the original plan was for me to make my move after the letter was sent to the Dolknes territory. The situation was unusual because I hadn’t had a chance to ask his advice, and Gilbert-san wouldn’t have been too pushy if Patrick helped from this point on.
“What should I do now? Patrick can figure out the best way to handle this, can’t he?”
He would show me the best moves. I trusted my lover with all my heart.
Patrick bitterly chuckles and opens his mouth with an expression of defeat.
“It’s impossible. Give up.”
He assured me.
Impossible… if Patrick says it’s impossible, then it’s impossible.
“Oh, okay.”
“Let’s go home. Everyone is waiting for us.”
And with that, we were on our way home.
We walked through the Remrest soldiers in the direction of Ashbaton.
We walked out of the enemy camp and walked together through the meadow as the sun began to set.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. I’m going to learn from this experience, and next time, I’m going to go to the moon.”
“You aren’t reflecting on this.”
Oh, thank God. Patrick was too kind to me earlier, and I was uneasy about the opposite. It was uncomfortable that he didn’t mention it at all, even though I had done something that made him angry.
I apologized again when I heard his jab, which I hadn’t heard in a long time.
“Sorry for running away. I was too selfish not to want to have a wedding.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing. I knew that Yumiela wasn’t comfortable with such events, but I didn’t stop it from getting bigger.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t lose better. This was my chance to get Gilbert-san’s blessing.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Aniue.”
Patrick was kinder to me than usual.
He walked beside me, and I stared at his profile. His face was calm.
“Why are you being so nice to me today?”
“After what happened earlier, I was afraid that Yumiela wouldn’t be able to come back. I’m just happy that you came back safe.”
“Earlier… ah, the seal. Patrick knew I couldn’t be locked in something like that, didn’t he?”
“No, after that….”
“Well, what happened? It’s a little fuzzy; I don’t remember much.”
“If you don’t remember, that’s fine.”
Patrick looked terribly tired and said so.
After the sealing, I had a conversation with the prince and… Oh, did I measure my level? My memory is fuzzy after that.
We slowly climbed a small hill.
What happens when my memory is missing? Patrick seemed to know, so let’s ask him.
As I was about to ask my question, I shut my mouth, which was about to open when I saw who was waiting for us at the top of the hill.
It was Patrick’s brother, Gilbert-san.
I failed. The plan he had designed was ruined. Will he be making any snide remarks, or will he sneer and say that he still can’t approve of our marriage?
But he would greet us with a meek look on his face.
Then he bows his head deeply.
“I’m sorry! I was mistaken!”
“Aniue?!”
I was surprised, but so was Patrick.
What kind of change of heart did Gilbert-san have?
“I always thought Patrick had a bad taste and fell for a terrible woman. But I guess not, Patrick, you did well.”
“……Aniue?”
Thank goodness, his brother’s misconceptions seem to have been cleared up. I was offended when he called me a terrible woman, but that is in the past. Now, he says that, meaning that I’m not in bad taste. After all, he recognized that I was a woman of talent and beauty.
“When I saw it, I understood. Patrick doesn’t want to marry a strange woman, does he?”
“Well, Yumiela is strange in some ways, but—”
“’I’m sorry for not realizing I’ve been so disappointing. Patrick was protecting the world, wasn’t he?”
“The world…?”
“All this time, you’ve been protecting the world from that thing. There was no need for you to sacrifice yourself… but there’s nothing I can do for you. If Patrick’s marriage will bring peace to the world… no, it’s not right. A world built at the expense of one person is wrong!”
Gilbert-san looks at Patrick as if he is about to cry.
He immediately changes his expression and turns his indignant face to me.
“Yumiela Dolknes! I won’t give up. I will watch for an opportunity like a snake, and one day, I will free Patrick!”
“Oh, is that so?”
“You see, brother, I really like Yumiela—”
“I know. I’m Patrick’s older brother, and I know how he’s feeling deep down. Please be patient. I’ll take care of it. I am the eldest son.”
Thus, the encounter with Gilbert-san, Patrick’s brother, ended up creating a new misunderstanding.
Mission failed successfully
Oh well, all’s well that ends well xD
Thx for the chapter!
Thanks for the translation
This is really a good read