The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 150

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 150

“…Of course.”

“Actually, it’s not a story but a request. There’s something I want to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

Gid took a short, deep breath. As if trying to relax and compose himself.

“The National Foundation Day is coming soon.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m going to perform the laurel crown succession ceremony.”

Wasn’t that a ceremony performed by the Emperor? Lillieta tilted her head, then recalled the Emperor who hadn’t shown even his nose during the Frontier Festival and Gideon who had presided over the event in his place, and understood.

“Yeah, so?”

When she nodded and asked back, Gid hesitated.

Like when he had brought the cream puff box, he covered his mouth while avoiding her gaze. Then he continued as if squeezing out the words.

“The Coronator position is… vacant.”

“…?”

Coronator? What was that? Rita tilted her head again, then recalled what she had studied with Lindsey. Then she startled.

The role of placing the laurel crown on the Emperor’s head. That was, in other words, certainly a role mainly taken by the Emperor’s companion…

“I want to ask you to do that.”

Lillieta froze with wide eyes.

Gid took another deep breath and met her gaze. Seeing her surprised face, he smiled softly, his neck and ears turning red.

“Um…”

Whether he knew his neck had turned red or not, he let out a short murmur while rubbing his neck once.

“I suppose proper posture is important when making this kind of request?”

Then he looked down, glanced up at the bright moon for no reason, looked at her again, and with a painted smile hanging on his lips, he bowed.

The pure white cape of his formal wear flowed down to the floor.

Like gentlemen asking for a dance, or like when asking for something else entirely, he knelt on one knee and looked up at her, whispering smoothly.

“Lillieta del Nisa Raskail, Princess.”

“….”

“Would you become my Coronator?”

Moonlight. The gaze looking up at her. A faint smile. The quiet night. A waltz faintly audible through the glass doors. Sounding like a music box.

It was fortunate she was wearing a mask. Even though it was a half-mask that showed her mouth, anyway.

Rita thought this while covering her mouth. Because she couldn’t tell what expression she was making.

At such a simple request, something that in the past she would have simply considered as Gid needing a Coronator and asking her, his closest comrade, something she wouldn’t have thought deeply about the meaning of, yet somehow she found herself so shaken.

Why did she want to attach meaning to it?

Why was she suddenly drawn to the role of Coronator, which she hadn’t even been conscious of until just moments ago?

If someone had to place the laurel crown on him, it had to be her. The person he would look up at while wearing the golden crown also had to be her.

She didn’t want anyone else to take on such a role.

A strange desire she had never felt before.

“Lillieta.”

“Have you ever… liked someone?”

“You have.”

Annemarie’s words flashed through her mind.

When you like someone, you can’t help but know immediately. Because you end up doing things you didn’t want to do. Strange desires arise.

So?

So that’s it.

She couldn’t be confused anymore.

Now she knew for certain.

A sprout that had bloomed without her tending had finally grown into a flower.

The inside of her chest began to beat unfamiliarly. It was truly a strange feeling. As if one layer of emotion being added made everything familiar feel foreign.

She asked back, hoping to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Gid, that… is originally a role taken by the Emperor’s companion, right?”

“That’s right.”

He answered immediately, then observed her for a moment before adding with a smile.

“But I’m not Emperor yet, so it’s fine.”

“What kind of sophistry is that?”

“I mean there’s no law that the Coronator must be a companion. Actually, until last year, Her Majesty the Empress served as my Coronator.”

He slowly stood up and straightened his clothes. Then he smiled playfully.

“Was it too burdensome? Suddenly getting so serious with my posture?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t feel burdened, Rita. This position doesn’t have that much significance. Among the Crown Princes who performed succession ceremonies in place of the Emperor, there were even those who chose different Coronators each year.”

“….”

“In the current situation, the biggest meaning of you taking on the Coronator role would be… yes, a firm declaration that Raskail supports the Crown Prince? Hmm, this would be an important matter. You’d need to discuss it with your family members, right?”

Gid was taking a step back. While creating space for her to avoid, he was also running away.

Like adding lightness to words of affection.

Because she was flustered?

Rita suddenly noticed that he who had stood up was keeping his hands in his pockets.

“That bastard barely slept. He spoke less and less, constantly trembling his hands…”

She instinctively moved closer to him. She grabbed the wrist of him who startled and tried to step back.

“Rita?”

“Gid, you.”

She tried to pull his hand out of his pocket.

He resisted for a moment, then when she pulled with all her strength, he gave up as if he had no choice. He was obediently pulled out. Given the difference in their strength, he could have resisted as much as he wanted.

The hand that was pulled out was visibly trembling.

Rita stared down at that hand, then looked up at him.

Gid wore a troubled smile. His gaze was averted from her. A mask-like smile.

“Oh no, I’ve been caught.”

He said awkwardly, then added.

“I’m nervous. Making this kind of request to you is, for me too, a bit…”

“Gid.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s not all of it.”

“Huh?”

“I heard from Oli. How Beacon returned.”

The smile instantly disappeared from Gid’s face. It was immediately recreated.

“Ah, right. You already heard. That’s earlier than I thought.”

He touched his neck with the hand that wasn’t caught by her, then covered his mouth. Then he muttered in an embarrassed tone.

“It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“What is?”

“I think Oli probably exaggerated what I did. In reality, it wasn’t quite to that extent.”

His voice sounded calm, but the hand she was holding was still trembling.

Rita quietly looked at that hand, then extended her own. She inserted her fingers one by one between his trembling fingers.

“Ri, ta?”

Gid stammered in surprise.

Rita completely intertwined her fingers with his. So that his trembling would be transmitted to her hand. So that she could feel his trembling.

“Gid.”

And she raised her head to look straight into his eyes.

“How many times did you turn back time?”

“….”

“While repeating that one year like that, what kinds of things did you do?”

“….”

“Tell me, everything.”

“….”

“You should do that for me. Right?”

Gid fell into a long silence.

Instead of answering, his pale hand caught in her grasp spoke volumes. Cold and stiff, trembling unsteadily.

Even with her body heat, his hand wouldn’t grow warm.

He slowly closed and opened his eyes. With sunken eyes, in a voice that had dropped even lower, he spoke.

“It’s a long story.”

“I don’t mind.”

“It might be a bit horrific.”

“Do you think I’d care about something like that?”

“Haha.”

After laughing briefly, he suddenly reached out to her. The side that wasn’t caught. His right hand.

Cupping her cheek with that hand, he smiled gently.

“Alright, I’ll tell you everything.”

“….”

“What would I hide from you? So you don’t need to make such a serious face.”

Between her and him, the right hand meant bad things, wrong things, lies.

“But it’s a bit awkward to talk about it here, so next time.”

His right hand coaxing her soothingly. His left hand still trembling. Rita was intuitively certain.

“Hmm… Beacon Garden would be good. You agreed to help train the Tritoma Musketeers, right? Let’s meet there. I’ll tell you everything then.”

Gideon had absolutely no intention of telling her everything.

* * *

Gid Pascal judged that perfect concealment would be impossible anyway. The circumstances weren’t favorable, and Beacon, his colleagues were too competent.

Oli was exceptionally clever. Senior Is had good insight and broad perspective. Ethan was too close to him. Senior Sera was quick to catch on. Luca was the only one worth deceiving, but there was no point if only that guy didn’t know.

He didn’t honestly say that he was repeating time, but he didn’t bother to hide the clues either. He let Beacon figure it out on their own.

To cover a greater truth with a smaller truth.

In the same way, to Rita as well.

Gid distinguished and organized what he could tell and what he had to hide. He would conceal the hideous and twisted parts and only bring out the parts that were reasonably acceptable.

And he smiled at her nonchalantly.

“I won’t hide anything, so don’t worry.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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