The gears of fate are sadly unhinged!

Chapter 05

At breakfast, Lucia received a letter from the royal castle.
She asked for her parent permission and opened it on the spot to check the contents.

"What does it say?"
"His Highness will be back around noon today."
"That's good to hear. Of course, you're going to the Royal Castle to greet him, right?"
"It's....."

To be honest, I didn't want to go.
I don't know what's waiting for me, and I don't have the confidence to stay calm if the worst thing, that I can imagine, happens.
However, common sense tells us that not going to greet him, being his Royal fiancée is not an option.
That's the kind of situation that leads to extra speculation.
　
Maybe the parents sensed Lucia's conflict because they smiled gently and said.

"You don't have to do this. Is it okay to say NO when you're not feeling well, right?"

She almost nodded at her mother's kind words.
But even if she runs away now, she'll have to face him at some point.
In that case, it's better early than later, I should be prepared...

"No, I'll go. I'm going to see Arthur."
"Ok... But, please, go home as soon as you can if anything happens"
"That's right. You don't have to worry about shame or public appearance, ok? I'm not going to allow my dear daughter to suffer, you're the most important thing in the world for me, ok?"

She nodded with a bitter smile at her father's words.
His father, the Marquis, is in an important position in the royal castle, but he has little desire for success and doesn't want to work so hard to leave his family behind for glory or ambition
He didn't want to interfere with Lucia and Arthur's marriage either, because before he was informed of it, it was already arranged, they were happy and got along well.
He gave up with tears in his eyes because his daughter seemed happy and it was the Diering family that he has to dealing with.

"Apparently we're supposed to arrive before noon, so I'm going to go out after I change. ...If something happens, can I come home right away?"
"Of course. Go back home without thinking twice."
"If something happens, shall we go back to our dukedom? Or it would be nicer to get out of the country and travel the world for some time."

Lucia is relieved to see the two smiling as if to reassure her.
Then she left the dining room in a huff and got into the carriage wearing her most favorite blue dress that Arthur has given her.
But on her heart, she felt like a new soldier on the battlefield for the first time.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The royal castle was dominated by an unusual air.
Lucia grabbed a cup of hot tea in the parlor and sipped it slowly.
--Take your time to calm your mind.

It seemed like everyone was paying attention to Lucia's every move.

--This is how you treat your unwanted guests, isn't it?
 

I'm sure that everyone's mind is filled with the contents of the novel that was spread around the capital.
And I'm more than a little convinced, I'm going to be a 'tragic heroine'.... like the novel
I wonder if people in other countries felt this way too, waiting for the ending....
If that's the case, how brave they are.
I'm sure they knew they weren't waiting for a happy ending and nevertheless, the girls probably stood firm until the end.
I wonder if I have the courage to do so, thinking that, nervous, I bite my lip.
Arthur loved me with every fiber of his being, I don't think I was rejecting him but still, I wish I had responded a little more to Arthur's love actions.

"...Lucia-sama,"

As Lucia sinks into her thoughts, a far-fetched voice echoes in her ears.
She looked up to see one of Arthur's attendants standing near the door.

"Master Arthur will be arriving shortly."
"Yes, I understand."

Lucia took a deep breath and settled her mind.
She stood up briskly, raised her head resolutely, and walked out into the hallway.
　
--I don't know how it's going to end.
Still, I mentally vow to NOT BREAK AND CRY, at least not until there's nobody to see my tears.

Just as Lucia was in the front door of the royal castle, the King and his wife came over.
Under the circumstances, the King and Queen were not expected to be here.
A separate audience was to be held, where Arthur was to receive his homecoming greeting.
This time, however, Arthur is reported to have been injured and even lost his memory.
The King also came to greet him back accompanied for the Queen, who was worried about Lucia.

"Lucia..."

It was sure the Queen has heard the details of the situation.
She hugged Lucia's as if trying to comfort her that everything was alright.
The king's hand was still extended in the air as if to blame the Queen for moving so fast away from him, but she quickly turned and gave a weak slap to the hand as if telling to King that there was something more important.
Lucia smiled as she reassured the Queen that she was fine.

"It's okay. ...I'll take it as it comes, no matter how it ends."
"No matter what anyone says, you are the only one I'll recognize as my daughter-in-law."
"My Queen..."
"If he says something stupid, I'm going to push him off the cliff again. Maybe he recovers his memory with that"

Lucia laughed at the queen's snarling announcement, she took the Queen's words as a joke, but the Queen face was serious.

"I'm grateful to that girl for caring for my son who have nobody at that moment. However, it would be a sweet stupid idea of her if she thought that she would discover Arthur, nurses him and become the Crown Princess."

The queen was determined that if he or the girl say something stupid

"I'm going to push Arthur and the other girl off the cliff. "

He's my own child who was born with the pain of my flesh, but I feel for you just as if you were own daughter.

"Master Arthur will be arriving shortly."

Tension ran through my heart as those words echoed.
One after another, carriages with Knights on board entered the garden in front of the Royal Castle.

Eventually, a carriage carrying Arthur's Chest appears.
We are told that the carriage Arthur was riding in from the Royal Castle went down the cliff with him in it and was badly wrecked.
The fact that he returned in a different carriage than when he left made her aware that the accident was terrible, even if he didn't want to tell her that.
A moment later, the carriage in which Arthur was riding stopped in front of Lucia and the others, the chamberlain opened the door and a man came out from inside.

"Oh!"

It was definitely Arthur.
He looked a little worn out from his injury, but he didn't look bad or in pain.
As he stepped out of the carriage, he quickly turned and held out his hand toward the carriage, as if he was escorting someone.

It took a moment for Arthur to turn his face to us.
She was sure that no one else was directly looking at his eyes like her at that moment, and yet, she was shocked that their eyes didn't meet.

Feeling the queen's concern over her, Lucia lifted the edge of her lips in a reassuring way.
Unfortunately, She wasn't able to make it look funny or distended.

Soon, a slender hand appeared from inside the carriage.
It firmly took Arthur's hand and went down from the carriage.
When the figure came into view, everyone in the room gasped...

The words someone unconsciously spilled out made Lucia's heart tremble.
And unfortunately, she couldn't deny those words.
The girl's hair and eyes were a common brown color, but her appearance was terrifyingly beautiful.
She has white skin and big eyes for a town girl, and big gentle red lips, placed in the perfect arrangement.
　
--I wonder if Arthur gave that dress as a gift to her along the way.

The neat light blue one-piece dress accentuated her innocent beauty.
She was a girl who could be said to be the daughter of a nobleman.
The two of them walked towards Lucia and the others side by side.
Arthur was escorting the girl, and the girl was relying on Arthur's arm as well.

--...it's a perfect pairing. I couldn't help but think that they are such a good match.

Lucia looked away thoughtlessly, as if she is looking at a painting.
Arthur first greeted the King and Queen.

"I've just returned. I'm sorry for my long absence."
"I hope your way back home was safe and peaceful. You've had a hard time--"
"Arthur, how is your injury?"

The queen leaned over the King's arm while he was asking about Arthur's return. Even though she cared for Arthur, her eyes were fixed on the girl next to him. There was a melancholy and fighting spirit burning in the Queen's eyes, but fortunately, Arthur didn't notice.

"I think I hit my head hard and my memory is a little fuzzy. But Millenia was there to take care of me, and I'm feeling much better now."
"Millenia?"
"It's her. I was unconscious at the bottom of a cliff, and she carried me to her home and took care of me."

Arthur turned to the girl - Millenia - and smiled.
Millenia wiped her face in embarrassment, but her hands were still squeezing Arthur's arm tightly.

".... Thank you for that. Thanks to you, I can see my son in one piece again."
"No way...,Miss. I just did what I could do."

The queen's words were gentle, but the fighting spirit in her eyes flared up even more.
<<Why are you snuggling up to him like that!>>

But she doesn't want to make Lucia sad by saying something that can make the scene more difficult, so she endured it.

"I wanted to thank Millenia by all means, so I brought her to the Royal Castle. She saved my life."
"Yes, you're right. We've to thank her"

*Queen's Mind *

Why are you going to thank her, even a snake will save a Prince, it's her duty as your subject? No! I can't say that because I'm afraid it's going to turn bad for Lucia, who's here now.

Are you going to marry Millenia as a “Thank You”! I'd like to ask him, but it's too rude to ask, so I can't do that either.

*Queen's Mind*

Just as the Queen was trying to hold on, the King next to her dropped a bomb.

"Arthur, why don't you go to greet the Marquess of Harmony?"
"Marquess Harmony...?"

Lucia's shoulders jumped at the sudden words she heard.
Arthur glanced around with a curious look on his face.
Lucia's heart cracked at the reaction of hearing it for the first time. After all, the memories he had forgotten were of Lucia.

--I want to see Arthur. I'm afraid to see Arthur.

Conflict raced through her mind, but in response, her body froze like a stone, and she couldn't move from the spot.
 

Incidentally, the Queen was stepping on the foot of the King, who could not read the air at all.

"..."
"Ouch!!!"

Eventually, Lucia's figure was found by Arthur's eyes.
At that moment a small voice sound was heard, and Lucia also looked at Arthur's eyes.
As many people watched, their eyes met.