Akuyaku Reijou wa Ringoku no Oitaishi ni Dekiai Sareru The Villainess Is Being Doted On By The Crown Prince Of The Neighboring Country Chapter 52

The Villainess Is Being Doted on by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Country 52

What was beyond the open door, was the sea.

Tiararose immediately covered her mouth out of fear of drowning, but there was no water. A fish was moving its fins as it swam near her and tickled her cheek.

"It is amazing…the sea, I mean, there is no water, but the fish are swimming."

Was it possible to swim in the air then? She wondered. And she quickly told herself that it was not.

-This was a special place for Queen Pearl.

Fish did not swim in the air anywhere else. If you had only ever seen fish swimming gracefully in the sea, you would have never believed that this was possible.

Tiararose watched the pretty fish as she slowly inspected the room.

The beautiful walls were the same white as a sandy beach. There were sh.e.l.ls scattered inside in different places, evoking an actual beach.

There were lamps made of coral installed at equal distances, and they let off a soft light.

The ivory marble floors were covered by a carpet of deep blue. They had delicate golden st.i.tches in them, and Tiararose enjoyed just looking at it.

And, what was beyond all of it-

"…There, the ring of the Fairy Queen?"

Tiararose was looking at the back of the room.

The one pedestal in the otherwise empty chamber. It was tall, and on top lay a ring pillow with lace.

-There should be nothing wrong with just looking at it.

She slowly moved forward until she reached the pedestal. The sparkling ring was beautiful-words could not express just how beautiful.

It was platinum with a light blue hue and had a single pearl set in it. As she looked closer, she saw that air was coming out of it. And she could tell that it was special and important.

"So this is the ring…"

Tiararose felt that it was worthy of a Fairy Queen.

She felt jealous of the heroine who could make it hers-Ais.h.i.+ra. She felt like it was so beautiful, that she could stare at it for hours. Of course, doing so would ensure that Aquasteed would know about her leaving the castle.

"I wonder what will happen if I put it on?"

"Why, this is the first time that Queen Pearl's precious one has come here."

"You came here without even knowing of the ring's effect?"

"What…?"

Tiararose shook with surprise at the unexpected voice.

After all, no one should be here but her.

She quickly looked around, but there was no one in sight. She began to sweat as she wondered where they could be-then it came to her. Except her, the only ones here were the two fish.

-Was it the fish who were talking?

Fairies did exist, so flying fish that could talk-should not be too strange. Surely.

"My name is Tiararose Lapis Marineforest."

Tiararose took a step back and bowed before the two fish.

"Marineforest! Ah, do you mean the king of this country?"

"She was given Queen Pearl's blessing, so she wouldn't be just anyone."

"N-no! I am not the king!!"

Tiararose shook her head violently at this outrageous misunderstanding. It was so ridiculous to think that she was the king. She told them that she was the princess, and the fish nodded with satisfaction.

They fluttered their fins and said, 'we don't get any recent information.'

"We never leave this place, so we don't hear things. We don't know about what's happened in the last few hundred years."

"Is that so…"

The fish said that they only knew of the old Marineforest, and so they asked her about the present.

"Unfortunately, I do not know about the old Marineforest, however, I can proudly say that it is now a most beautiful country. The people are kind and it is very peaceful here."

"Oh, I see, I see. That is good."

"It makes me happy to know that it is beautiful."

The fish swam around happily for a moment before directing a suspicious look towards her.

"Then, why have you come here?"
"What?"

"This is the room where Queen Pearl's ring lies. Tiararose, why have you come here to take the ring?"

The fish asked her gravely. She could hardly say that she was just curious about the hidden stage and stopped by to take a look. Of course, she could not say that.

Tiararose smiled with a troubled expression.

"Ah, I know."

"What?"

"She wishes to kill the current king and take the kingdom for her own."

"Oh, I see."

"No, that is wrong!!"

She would never think of such a thing. She had no interest in the throne. Tiararose explained to them that she wanted to know more about this country, that is why she came here.

"They have treated me very kindly as a girl who has come from a different country. I would never think of doing such a thing…"

Tiararose insisted that she wanted to support Aquasteed, who was the future king.

"Oh, well that is just boring."

"She has such an interesting soul, so I expected more from her."

The fish chuckled to each other. Tiararose sighed.

She felt that she would rather die than kill someone else, but then again, if she had been the villainous daughter she was supposed to be-things might have been different.

-But I won't do anything as a villainous daughter!

"…Interesting soul?"

"It's different than normal humans. There is something else mixed in it."

Tiararose thought that it must be because of her memories from her past life. There was nothing else about her that was particularly strange. And she was not good at thinking about things too deeply.

But more than that, she felt that she might dig her own grave by prying too much.

"You seem to know it yourself. That you are special."

"A little, maybe…"

"But you won't say it, I suppose."

Tiararose offered a smile instead of an answer.

"Tiararose Lapis Marineforest, was it?"

"Yes."

"You should take this ring with you."

The fish touched its fin on the pearl of the ring.

Tiararose's eyes widened in astonishment. She had not dreamed that she would be told to take it. She was not the heroine.

She stood still and looked at the mysterious ring with the pearl.

It was small in size and likely a pinky ring. It was very fitting for Pearl, who was a woman.

-What should I do?

Of course, she was curious.

But she felt that as the villainous daughter, she should not have it. She felt, but-she also felt that she would like to take it, since she had their permission.

After all, Tiararose loved this otome game. She didn't need any more reason than that.

The fish looked at Tiararose who stood still and said:

"As Queen Pearl's beloved child, you have the right to take it."

"…I have the right?"

Even if she was the villainous daughter?

But, it was also true that she did have the right the moment that she was blessed. In that case, maybe there really was no problem with her taking the ring.

"Queen Pearl's ring…"

Tiararose made up her mind and slowly stretched out her hand.

When she touched the ring, she felt a shudder run through her. It was as if the blood in her veins had suddenly boiled, and she hugged herself tightly.

"…Hah, ha…"

-I haven't even put it on yet. But there is such power.

Tiararose shuddered as she was reminded of the power of kings and queens.

She picked the ring up with both hands, and slowly put it on the pinky of her left finger.

A heat spread out from the ring and she could feel it reach every part of her body. It was as if the ring was recreating her body.

"Hmm, it's becoming a part of you now."

"Yes…It should take nearly a day for it to complete, I think?"

"Yes, around that much. You must not take that ring off until a day has pa.s.sed."

Tiararose felt a little frantic and wondered why they hadn't told her something so important first. Well, she would just have to keep it on then.

As she was about to reply to this, she heard a loud bang on the door that she had entered.

"Tiara!"

"Huh!? Aqua!! Why are you here!"

"That is what I should be asking you."

Aquasteed was out of breath as he stood in front of her.

He had come here after speaking with Elliot. Only those who had been blessed by the Fairy Queen of the sea could enter, and Aquasteed had come against Elliot's advice.

"…What is this place? And Tiara, what is that ring?"

Oh!

Aquasteed was smiling, but Tiararose was sweating all over. She had used a secret pa.s.sage to get here, so how had he known that she was here?

She held her left hand tightly and explained that it was the ring of the Fairy Queen.

"Ohhh, so you are the next king then."

"A fish…?"

"This is the place where only Queen Pearl's blessed child can enter. But it is quite the surprise that two people have received her blessing."

The fish chuckled loudly as they swam in a circle around Aquasteed.

"The ring that Tiararose has on is Queen Pearl's ring. Take good care of it from now on."

"There is nothing left for us to say. You two should go now, blessed children."

"Th-thank you so much…!"

Then a wind started to blow as if telling them to leave quickly. The fishes fins swayed, and the door was shut behind them.

Tiararose bowed. She was thankful that she had been able to come here.

She had been so excited and full with joy when going to the hidden stage-but on the way back, she was so scared that she didn't know what to do.

Aquasteed smiled as he walked next to her.

He was smiling, but it was obvious that he was in a bad mood. And she did not know how to fix that.

She had made a promise, and had broken it by slipping out of the castle again with Levy.

After a long silence, it was Aquasteed who spoke first.

"Tiara, did you know that the Fairy Queen's ring would be here?"

The answer was yes.

But how…could a daughter from a foreign country know something that the royal family did not… She was the princess now, but it was still quite unthinkable.

But Tiararose felt that it would be difficult to keep the truth hidden.

"…Lady Akari told me."

"Lady Akari? How did she know-ah, perhaps it is the power of holy prayer."

Aquasteed had conveniently come to his own conclusion, and so Tiararose continued to smile and look ahead.

The power of holy prayer that the heroine had was enormous, and it promised peace and prosperity by just being there.

"Indeed, you and Lady Akari are close. But I wish you would have told me as well."

"I am sorry, Prince Aqua. …I will do so next time."

"Please do. I nearly had a heart attack."

He pulled her shoulders to him and embraced her.

He said that he had been so worried, and his hands ran over her as if confirming that she was not hurt. Her hair, her cheeks, her shoulders, and back. He buried his nose into her neck and chuckled.

"Tiara, you smell like the sea."

He said that it was strange and gently kissed her.

"Mm… Prince Aqua, you do as well. This place is filled with Queen Pearl's power."

"That is true. I didn't know that such a place existed. Now, there's the exit. We have a lot to discuss when we return to the castle. Be prepared, there won't be much sleeping tonight."

"…Yes."

The sweet atmosphere that was there seconds ago was gone. Tiararose could only nod as Aquasteed's mood seemed to darken again.

-What had happened to Levy, anyway?

He had said that he would wait by the entrance, but he was likely gone as Aquasteed was here. It was possible that he had been found, but she didn't think it was likely that that butler would be so clumsy.

"Elliot is waiting at the entrance."

"Yes."

Aquasteed pointed at the exit and said that they should hurry. Tiararose smiled with a nod. She felt a little bad for Levy, but she would return home for the day.

"I do want to drink some of Philiane's tea."

"Yes, we can relax and…!?"

Aquasteed was leading Tiararose by her hand as they went outside. And then they saw that Elliot had collapsed on the ground. Aquasteed immediately moved in front of Tiara to cover her as he looked around to see what had happened.

But there was no one else here. The sun was starting to set, and it was a little dark. He could see well in the dark but decided that it would be unwise to stay here for long.

"Prince Aqua!"

"It's fine. You stay behind me, Tiara…!"

In the next instant, a heavy blow came down towards Aquasteed.

He quickly grabbed his sword and blocked it with the sheath. His hand felt numb from the impact, but there was no time to care about that.

"You move much faster than I expected."

"Levy!?"

Levy was pushed back from the force of the attack but landed quietly on his feet. The man who wore an immaculate butler suit stood in front of them with a smile.

Aquasteed glared at Levy and unsheathed his sword. He calmed his breathing and looked at his opponent's weapon. But there was nothing there.

-Was it magic?

But it didn't seem like it. Aquasteed a.s.sumed that there must be some kind of trick behind it.

"I will take it from you."

"You want-Tiara?"

He would not allow that.

Aquasteed kicked the dirt and dashed towards Levy in a flash. If his opponent was not carrying a weapon, then it would be best to fight him close and personal.

He swung his sword, but Levy easily dodged the attack.

-He was fast.

It was possible to follow him with your eyes, but Aquasteed knew that it was not a speed that he could match. In that case, he must stop him with magic. And just as he was about to use it-a sharp knife came flying towards him.

"Wh…!"

"It's not as if I don't like close quarters combat."

Levy said as he continued to throw the knives at Aquasteed.

"Where did those weapons come from…"

He blocked them with his sword and scowled. How could so many knives be hidden in a butler's uniform? Aquasteed began to sweat as he desperately hit the knives out of the air.

Don't underestimate me, Aquasteed thought, as he unleashed his magic. He did not care for a one-sided defensive battle.

And the sword wasn't the only weapon he was good with. He expertly dodged the knives and began to retaliate with magic.

Levy's expression became troubled, but only slightly.

"…Let's see how you hand this."

"I suppose that you are not one of those princes that leave everything to their guards."

Levy said with irritation. He pulled out another knife from his sleeve and launched it towards Aquasteed. Aquasteed hated how endless his supply seemed to be, but he could do nothing but dodge them until there were no more.

He hit the knives out of the air and concentrated on using powerful magical attacks.

And so he did not notice it.

That Levy was getting closer to Aquasteed, as if mingling with the knives.

And when he realized it, it was too late. A powerful blow went to his stomach, and Aquasteed fell to his knees.

"Well, then."

Levy spun around to look at Tiararose. His eyes dropped to her left hand.

He was after the Fairy Queen's ring.

"Ahh!"

"…Tiara!"

Aquasteed's voice echoed in the bay.

"Stop, Levy…! Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want to save Olivia."

"…What?"

She glared at Levy, but his answer surprised her.

-Was the sequel's villainous daughter involved in some trouble?

She had never met Olivia in person, but she was a villainous daughter just like her. Tiararose could not help but be interested in this.

"But, in that case…why couldn't you ask me? Maybe there was something that I could do to help her."

And so Tiararose talked to him with a calm voice-but his eyes looked at her coldly.

"I intend on helping her in the fastest way."

I don't have time to collude with you.

He seemed to say.

With a speed that her eyes could not follow, Levy took the ring from her hand. However, even after taking the ring, his expression did not change.

"Why…"

He glanced back at Tiararose once and then walked away.