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“Anastasia-sama!”
“What’s the matter, Lloyd?”
It’s been a while since dinner was over, so I thought I’d go to bed soon. As I placed my hand on the lamp, someone suddenly rushed to my side. The door swung open with a loud band as my name was called… I wondered if he could appear a bit calmer.
“It isn’t like this, is it?”
“…Is it important enough to visit a lady’s room during nighttime like this?”
“Yes. Yes, it’s extremely important.”
The tone and expression on Lloyd’s face as he said this was clearly not a cat’s that was exclusively for Anastasia. Most likely, he was in such a hurry that he forgot to put on his cat-like demeanor. While thinking this, I tried to only say, “You’re different from usual.” I could then see Lloyd’s complexion turn blue… This was what I could describe as pallor on his face.
“Well, okay. I knew you were only pretending to be a cat in front of me. I’m a very capable woman, you know. So, what brings you to a lady’s chambers at this time of night?”
I asked Lloyd with an innocent smile, like a child who had successfully played a prank… In the first place, Lloyd’s cat-like demeanor often came off when it was related to my brother. In this case, he must have been ordered by my brother to follow me, or he was put in a tight spot after. Thank God that Anastasia’s mind was quick.
“…Matheus-sama told me to go to the royal palace as Anastasia-sama’s personal attendant. It’s because of Anastasia-sama, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Thanks to you, I was pressed by Matheus-sama.”
Lloyd stared at me with an expression that seemed to bite down on a bitter worm. Her beautiful face didn’t fall even after seeing that expression. The fact that she wasn’t a target of the game was even more impressive, as expected of a character in an otome game. The villainess was truly an extremely beautiful girl.
I quietly stroked the thick book’s cover on my lap as I stared straight into Lloyd’s eyes. At that moment, Anastasia’s memory came flooding back to my head… And, at the same time, I also felt Anastasia’s feelings at the moment.
(…Anastasia wanted Lloyd to treat her with his true nature as well.)
The particular memory that flowed back to my mind was of Anastasia sadly gazing at Lloyd, but when she was asked what that look meant, she didn’t answer. Perhaps… Her fierce personality prevented her from uttering the words. No. Maybe it was due to her figure as a daughter of aristocracy that placed its ideals onto Anastasia… That person, even though she was a beautiful girl with high status, her relationship with people was poor.
“Well, it’s not often that you’re getting pressed by my brother.”
I said this to Lloyd as I opened the book on my lap… Lloyd was the final boss of this otome game. At first, I was definitely intimidated by him, but in the last few hours, I’ve come to see that Lloyd hadn’t fallen into darkness now. Maybe there was something wrong with the gears of this otome game, but I don’t know where that is either. Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.
“…Matheus-sama said that even if he threatened the people in the royal family, I will be Anastasia-sama’s personal attendant. That is why I must protect Anastasia-sama… I was going to do that from the beginning, but if Matheus-sama tells me to, I want to try something else.”
Lloyd was slowly approaching me, and I wasn’t sure how Anastasia would react to something like this. I thought about it for a moment but then settled on the conclusion that Anastasia’s personality would have slapped Lloyd on the wrist. But, it didn’t matter to me.
“…You’ve changed, Anastasia-sama, haven’t you? I heard that your personality changed because you were poisoned… Is it really possible for you to change this much?”
Such words reached my ear… Fuuu, it seemed that we haven’t reached the conclusion since the content was different. Then, it didn’t matter. Let’s just push through it since my personality has changed due to the poisoning.
“Yes, it did. It must have been such a powerful poison. It’s been a long time since… I’ve wandered between life and death.”
“That’s true.”
“Then… you will definitely protect me, and you will never betray me.”
With my eyes fixed on the book on my lap, I said this. There was no guarantee that I wouldn’t be betrayed. However, my mouth naturally spun it that way. Perhaps Anastasia’s consciousness still existed in me. No, that possibility must have been overwhelmingly high.
“Who can guarantee such a thing?”
“It’s obvious… It’s Lloyd, so I guarantee it.”
After lightly flipping through the book, I turned my gaze to Lloyd. Lloyd, who was in front of me, was clearly confused. Perhaps he didn’t think that he could be trusted that much.
“…Lloyd likes me, that’s why he’ll never betray me.”
“On what basis?”
“Your attitude and conduct up until now.”
Without any hesitation, I told him this. I’ve never seen any hostility in Lloyd’s attitude or actions until now, and I realized that this was his way of expressing his love for me.
“Because you like me… You like me so much it’s pathetic.” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
I knew that he’s been looking at Anastasia all this time. Besides, these words right now surely meant that… Anastasia must have noticed a little.
“You know, Lloyd. I’m going to be… separated from William-sama sooner or later.”
“What?”
“I realized that I didn’t need a good status. I’m… not interested in the crown princess title nor am I interested in being called a saint. This was also something I thought about while I was in bed from the poison.”
As I said these reasons, I saw Lloyd’s reaction… Lloyd’s eyes were clearly shaken. I had no idea why Lloyd became the final boss, but now I knew why… Lloyd liked Anastasia. He liked her so much that he wanted to steal her away from William-sama.
“…You’re an idiot. You and I are both pathetic people who are madly in love. Don’t you think we’d be a good match?”
Anastasia was harassing Candy-sama since she wanted to be by William-sama’s side… Anastasia wasn’t really interested in the title of saint or crown princess. There was only one thing she wanted. The only thing she needed was the love of that one person.
“If we were a perfect match, would you choose me?”
I shook my head as I stared into Lloyd’s eyes, which were filled with dark emotions.
“There is no choice. I choose… my happiness. That’s it. I don’t need anyone else to be there… I don’t need anyone but me.
I was the only one who needed to be there. Perhaps it was because of ‘that’ event in my previous life that I was the only one who I needed. Even if I had to compromise, I only needed my family. There were people like him who would leave me behind.
“I’ll decide my happiness.”
I wondered to whom the words I had muttered were directed. Maybe it was me… in my previous life.
Author: I may change the title soon, as I feel it fits better than the current one. m(_ _”m)
T/N: Around the Kingdom of Kistler is the final title.