“I’m royalty too!”
Lily shouted as if her emotional thread had snapped.
It was a voice timid Lily, who always wore a smile, had never let them hear before.
“Why do you react like [don’t worry about it]!? Nicola-oneechan, everyone, why don’t you expect anything from me!?”
“Th-that’s not…”
“I’m not as useful as Nicola-oneechan or Sakuya-oneechan… I can’t do anything, but… I can be useful to the country too!”
As Lily desperately shouted, Phil finally understood the situation.
—Inferiority complex.
Compared to her excellent older sisters, she was made painfully aware of her own powerlessness.
That’s why she wanted to take action. To take action and prove she could be useful too.
(Not to prove it to someone else, but to prove it to herself…)
Those around her would say “don’t worry about it,” like Nicola.
But for the receiver, those could also be interpreted as words meaning “we don’t need you.”
Lily disliked that, and such an environment gave birth to her inferiority complex.
I’m royalty. But I’m not skilled in [martial arts] like the First Princess. I haven’t achieved any accomplishments in the previous war.
I’m not skilled in [intellect] like the Second Princess. I haven’t generated great national benefits on paper during the previous war.
—So what about me? Haven’t I done nothing?
That’s when she thought: If I get engaged to the [Hero of the Shadow], I can bring benefits to the country.
(Though a noble of the kingdom, I have no direct connection to the royal family. It’s easy to imagine that they want a stronger relationship with the [Hero of the Shadow] who’s become an idol to the masses—just like any other noble. So Lily tried to arrange an engagement with me.)
If successful, it would certainly be sufficient achievement.
The royal family would be nothing but pleased. After all, engaged to THAT [Hero of the Shadow].
However—
(From her behavior, Nicola-sama thinks engagement is too early for Lily. She also understands I don’t want to get engaged. And… well, she’s simply worried about Lily.)
Being born into nobility makes pure romantic marriage difficult.
Family headship, entanglements, the profit and greed lined up behind—these inevitably show through.
After all, for noble society, marriage is a major card. The benefits brought depend on how you play it.
But judging from Nicola’s behavior, she was concerned about Lily’s well-being.
Pure romantic love might not be possible, but she wanted a partner that would lead to Lily’s happiness as much as possible.
Thinking that way, at her current age it was clearly far too soon.
“Nicola-oneechan doesn’t understand anything! I don’t want to be just a decoration anymore!”
“W-wait, Lily!?”
As Phil was lost in thought, Lily turned her back and rushed out with great momentum.
Surprised by the sudden action, Illya, who had been listening from the sidelines, immediately chased after Lily.
“…I’m worried, so I’ll chase after them too.”
“…Please.”
After whispering briefly to Phil, Kahlua left the room to follow the two.
In stark contrast to the previous commotion, silence spread through the remaining space.
“I apologize, Phil-sama…”
“Please don’t worry about it.”
Please, sit. He urged Nicola to sit.
Nicola gave a small bow and sat on the sofa in time with Phil sitting down.
“Those two went after her so she should be okay for now. This isn’t a situation where I should go right now anyway.”
Phil was in the position of refusing the engagement proposal and obstructing Lily’s goal.
No matter how close they’d become, going to comfort her in this situation would be out of place.
“…That child was surprisingly attached to you, Phil-sama.”
“Is it that unusual? Illya… that small maid became friendly enough to call her a friend.”
“No, it’s truly unusual. That child understood very well that she is [liked by people].”
Nicola took a sip of the prepared tea.
“Because she understood that, the child thinks it has no value. People don’t truly see her, because her heart isn’t something visible.”
Phil recalled words Lily had said before.
—Like Abi-oniichan, you see me as me.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Phil himself didn’t think it was anything special, but to her it must be important.
Being liked by people is invisible. Because it’s invisible, no value is born, and there’s danger of it changing quickly.
Understanding that, she wouldn’t warm up to or truly let her guard down around people who didn’t see her as Lily-Lilac.
The reason she became friends with Illya was probably because they were close in age, and Illya had a somewhat cheeky, irreverent personality.
Illya is a magician. She has a strong awareness of being superior to others.
Therefore, she doesn’t see Lily as royalty, but just thinks of her like any other person.
That became the factor that closed the distance with Lily.
“I want to teach her that’s not true.”
“…………”
“I apologize for the trouble we’ve caused you, Phil-sama…”
Does she look this weak when it comes to her sister?
He couldn’t help comparing her to her appearance when she came before.
Perhaps because of that—
“Please don’t worry.”
“Eh…?”
“I’ll cooperate as much as I can with Lily too.”
Phil took a sip of tea.
“If Lily wants to distance herself from you, Nicola-sama, she can stay as many days as she likes. So she doesn’t have to break alone, I and Kahlua will support her from the side. I’m the one who refused the engagement, so I’ll take at least that much responsibility.”
Besides, Phil showed a small smile.
“She has an older sister who worries about her this much—Lily will realize it someday. That’s what family is.”
I’ll help with anything until then.
Lily is a precious existence like a little sister. He’d do anything to help her face forward—extending her stay, staying by her side, anything.
At those words, Nicola found herself dumbfounded.
However, only for a moment. She soon broke into a small smile.
“You’re as kind as ever…”
“I don’t recall having nostalgic memories with Nicola-sama that would warrant ‘as ever’?”
“Fufu, that’s not true. Though it was only once.”
Nicola narrowed her eyes nostalgically.
“Long ago, two young boys helped a certain small girl who got lost.”
“What are you—”
“For that boy and girl to meet face-to-face again like this, it’s quite mysterious.”
Still smiling, Nicola stood up.
What was she talking about? Phil tilted his head, but the answer immediately came from Nicola’s mouth.
“Though without Abi-sama, the nostalgic reunion would only be lonely.”
“Huh!? N-Nicola-sama… you mean!?”
“Please take care of Lily.”
Saying that, Nicola bowed once more and left the room.
Phil’s attempt to stop her didn’t reach her. Phil was left alone in the space that had been full of people.
Putting down his outstretched arm, Phil found himself looking up at the ceiling.
“…So that child back then was Nicola-sama? That was before I became the [Hero of the Shadow].”
When they met before, she certainly had said she was “helped before.”
But not during the time Phil was active as the [Hero of the Shadow]—during the time of innocent hero play.
Moreover—
“First Lily, then Nicola… you have way too many connections with royalty, don’t you, Abi?”
No one responded to those words.
His soliloquy simply echoed in the silent room.
A little while after Nicola left.
Phil was searching for Lily, who had rushed out of the reception room, wanting to see her.
“Searching is fine, but if I say something weird…”
Arms crossed, Phil walked down the hallway thinking about how to comfort her.
He couldn’t say something careless and hurt her further. As he’d said many times, Phil refused Lily’s request for his own ideals, denying her relief from her inferiority complex. But he still wanted to comfort her.
Such conflicting emotions swirled around in his head.
If there were words that could easily convince Lily, Nicola would have said them long ago.
However, as an outsider… precisely because he was the target of her intentions, there might be things he could say to persuade her.
(I really don’t want to see Lily looking depressed.)
That child looks best when smiling.
That’s why he wished she would smile, but he couldn’t think of any easy methods or words to comfort her.
Maybe Kahlua would be better at this, he thought, suddenly picturing his partner who made it her ideal to stay close to others.
Just then—
“Ph-Phil!”
Kahlua came from down the hallway. Her voice sounded somewhat out of breath.
Kahlua should have been chasing after Lily earlier. Could something have happened to Lily? Anxiety welled up in Phil’s chest.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me something happened to Lily—”
“Sorry, I haven’t found Lily-sama yet. More importantly, there’s a sudden visitor…”
“Sudden visitor?”
Phil tilted his head at the mention of another sudden visitor.
Kahlua would normally prioritize Lily and leave visitors waiting. After all, this was a princess of the nation, plus a sister-like existence they doted on. There were hardly any people in this country they’d need to prioritize more.
Though Illya was chasing after her, what kind of visitor would require handling even while leaving such a child alone?
Combined with her somewhat flustered appearance, he was even more puzzled.
“I really wanted to leave them waiting and chase after Lily-sama, but a servant called me… and it’s a bit much even for me to handle.”
And then—
“The First Princess of the Alarde Kingdom is here… Phil, do you have any idea why?”
Kahlua stated the reason for her prioritized action.
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