We both walked at a normal pace to the guild… well, even though the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
In the end, I gathered the courage to ask.
"Hime, that time when we first met… you were with Charlotte, right?" (Me)
"Who exactly is Charlotte?" (I asked)
Maybe Charlotte is some kind of Hime's bodyguard, or a special member assigned by the kingdom to protect her?
Better to ask than stay silent.
"Yukito-san, I'm hungry… can we buy some food first?"
She smiled when she said that… but her smile seemed a bit forced.
"I'm kinda hungry too… I guess it's fine to eat first." (I replied)
"Thanks." (She answered)
She only went to a small bakery and bought two pieces of bread. One for her, and one for me (obviously).
"Let's sit in the front park to eat." (She invited)
"I'm not familiar with the places here, but I'll just follow you." (Me)
Besides, since I arrived here, I've never once looked at a map of Necvalion.
Yuu-chan never told me either, even though she usually gets extra information from that old man.
Long story short, we arrived at the park Hime meant.
In the park, there was a large tree standing tall right in the middle.
Benches were lined up beneath it. The air and atmosphere felt so cool and refreshing.
She sat down first on a bench, then patted the empty spot beside her.
"Come here, Yukito-san." (Hime)
The wind blew, swaying her short hair… somehow, here she looked so… beautiful.
My face flushed a little when I heard her invitation.
"I-I… yeah…" (Me)
I sat beside her, looking at the people passing by, each busy with their own lives.
Hime bit her bread slowly, and I followed suit.
Among the people—
"Dad, Dad! It's so sunny this morning!"
"Yeah, let's play with Mom."
"Mom, Mom! Let's play!"
"Let's all play together, okay?"
Then—
"Dear, where should we go for our date?"
"Let's go eat somewhere!"
"Sounds good."
...
We both watched them from afar.
"It's… peaceful here, right?" (Hime asked)
"Very." (I answered)
Why did Hime suddenly change the topic? Did something happen between her and Charlotte?… I don't get it!
"I used to come here a lot with Charlotte…" (Hime)
"....." (Me)
I could only look at her face, her eyes looking slightly teary.
"If you don't want to talk about it… don't force yourself—" (I said)
It felt like I was the one pushing her here… after all, I was taught to never force something on someone.
"I'm not forcing it, besides… you should know about this." (Hime)
"If I tell you a little about my relationship with Charlotte, you'll listen, right?" (Hime asked)
I answered with full confidence.
"Of course!"
"Charlotte was my childhood playmate… Sure, from a status standpoint, we shouldn't have been playing together." (Hime)
"Even back then..." (Hime)
"Hime-chan! Let's play!"
"Yeah, let's play, Char-chan!"
"Look at my new doll, Char-chan!"
"So cute!"
"We played together, ate together, we even slept in the same room once… but that time…" (Hime)
"Hime-chan, won't your uncle be mad?"
"Uncle won't find out."
"The next day, my uncle found out Charlotte slept in the same room as me."
"What are the servants doing in their master's room!?" (Hime's uncle)
"I told you before, Charlotte! Stay away from Hime!" (Hime's uncle)
"If I ever see you two together again… just watch out…" (Hime's uncle)
.....
"The next day, I was playing in the palace courtyard and met Charlotte." (Hime)
"Char-chan, let's—" (Young Hime)
"Don't come near me." (Young Charlotte)
"Since then, we never played together again. Then Charlotte was put into the kingdom's special forces until now."
"When I was little, Charlotte was my only friend… but because of that incident, our relationship became nothing more than master and servant." (Hime)
Hime looked at me.
"Ah… you wanted to know about it, right?" (Hime)
Honestly, yeah. If Charlotte is her bodyguard, she should always be with Hime, right? But now she's not.
"Because yesterday I argued with His Majesty… Charlotte was removed from the special forces as my punishment." (Hime)
"I-Isn't that way too cruel!?" (I asked)
"I couldn't do anything… I could only watch as Charlotte was cast aside… I… I'm really useless…" (Hime)
...
That incident yesterday was between me and Hime. But instead, Charlotte got caught up in it. If I were Charlotte, I would…
But still, I never expected Hime and Charlotte to have known each other since childhood.
Their relationship back then was closer than I imagined.
What can I do to help Hime?
Suddenly, Yuu appeared and joined our conversation.
"Hime, what happened after Charlotte was dismissed?" (Yuu)
"She… lost almost everything she had… I don't know where she went… the only thing Charlotte owns is a small house north of the palace." (Hime)
"It's really far… with a horse carriage it's maybe a week's trip… even up to 2.5 weeks on foot." (Hime)
I was a bit confused about Charlotte's background that Hime mentioned.
"Wasn't Charlotte your servant?" (I asked Hime)
"Actually, my uncle took her in… because at that time, my uncle was looking for a foreigner to be my servant." (Hime)
"Charlotte was originally born into a poor family in the north. Her father died when she was little. She lived with her mother and younger sister." (Hime)
Yuu and I didn't know what to say.
"Yuu-chan, is there anything we can do?" (Me)
"Before that, I want to ask you, Hime… are you really saying you can't do anything?" (Yuu)
"…It's too late to help her now… besides, she must have hated me ever since—" (Hime)
What is this…? I can't just let this go on…
"DON'T RUN AWAY, HIME!" (I shouted loudly)
"Who said it's too late!? Has she ever told you she hates you!?" (Me)
"Has she ever complained about being your servant!? Even if now you're just master and servant… weren't you two once friends!?" (Me)
"Do you want to forget your memories with Charlotte!? Is she that worthless to you—" (Me)
PLAAAAKK
Hime's slap landed right on my cheek.
"I DON'T WANT THIS EITHER!!!" (Hime)
"My memories with Charlotte are more precious than any other memory I have!"
"Because of my mistake, Charlotte lost her job… to me, Charlotte is another one of my precious friends!!" (Hime)
Finally… she admitted it.
"If she's your friend, then there's only one thing you should do, right?" (Me)
She looked at me with determined eyes.
"I'll go to her!" (Hime)
....
"Yukito-sama, you really do understand situations, huh?" (Yuu)
"Shut up!" (Me)