Ohanabatake No Maousama Chapter 5

Chapter 5

If only—if only everyone became miserable.

Such was the curse that the girl muttered to herself as she glared up at the clear blue sky.

If her gaze had a color, she would use it to paint the sky black.

If her anger had a heat, she would turn this entire country into ash.

However, no matter how much she hated and glared, the sky remained blue. And men and women laughed as they walked outside.

It was all horribly wrong.

Why was the outside world filled with such happiness when she was so very unhappy?

As she was thinking of this, something yellow appeared in the corner of her vision.

It was a rose.

A bouquet of yellow roses with a single red rose in the center.

Yellow roses were supposed to symbolize 'jealousy.' And if you sent them to a lover, it suggested you were bored of love. However, if you added just one red rose to the bunch, it meant 'a heart that does not give up.'

It was a complicated message that many would misunderstand, however, not in this case.

A person who was tired of the usual romantic lines might find this more intriguing. If anything, it was a smart approach.

Of course, she couldn't think of anyone who would do this to her, except for one person.

"It's you again?"

"Yes, it is I."

The reply came from a middle-aged man in black-rimmed gla.s.ses.

He was very tall and had a calm face with rather angular features.

His shabby robes hid most of his body, but it at least seemed like his stomach did not protrude.

In a way, he should not have been considered bad-looking. But there was something about the overall effect that just felt mediocre.

"Go away. I am quite busy, and have no time to talk with the likes of you."

She all but flung the cold words at him. But she—who had lost her family name and middle name, and was merely called 'Adelia,' did not actually hate this man who knelt before her.

In fact, she felt rather relaxed around him. He was kind and his soft words were comforting. But more than anything, he did not look at her with the same curiosity that others did.

"Oh, excuse me. But, do you mind if I ask about what you have been busy with?"

—It has nothing to do with you.

She was about to say, but then changed her mind.

Then she smiled and said the following words with much venom in her voice.

"I was cursing my misfortune and wis.h.i.+ng havoc on the people and the world. Now, get out of here."

—It was very hateful indeed.

Most people would have said, 'she's a wicked villain after all…' And then they would have left.

She had expected him to say something like that herself. But to her disappointment, this man was a demon.

Not only that, but he had been one of the Four Kings.

"Ahh, that is important business indeed. I am sorry to disturb you."

"…Are you mocking me?"

Her disappointment was expressed with an angrily raised eyebrow.

However, Kuders shook his head as if he could not comprehend what she meant. He looked confused.

"Never. Did I give that impression?"

"No, you didn't. The only thing that should be mocked here is your face."

She said. Then she chuckled because she found her own words very amusing. When she laughed, the dark atmosphere in the room seemed to clear a little.

Kuders watched as she laughed. Then he put the flowers on the table and looked directly into Adelia's eyes.

And he asked her in a soft voice.

"What is it…that you hate so much?"

In an instant, it was as if Adelia had been pulled away from her happy dream. Her eyes widened and then she looked at Kuders with a smile filled with malice and hostility.

"What I hate? Don't make me laugh. There is no one in this country that does not know my story."

However, Kuders could only scratch his head.

After all, he did not know the reason at all.

"Uhhh, the truth is… I was far away from this country up until a few days ago. So I really don't know."

He answered. Adelia could no longer blame him.

"Oh, I see. It is not something I want to recollect, but I will tell you if you want to know. After all, everyone else in this country already knows."

She declared. And then she gritted her teeth as if she were crus.h.i.+ng her own past. Then she leaned back into her chair and glared at the ceiling as she began.

Her cursed past that was so famous that everyone knew about it.

"I was originally the daughter of a duke. And I was engaged to be married to the crown prince of this country.

And so I was brought up strictly and given the education necessary for becoming the future queen.

I had no freedom. My whole purpose for existing was to be the prince's partner. I had no value outside of that… But one day, as I was studying at the academy in order to accept the burden of this country's future…that country b.u.mpkin appeared!"

She said this as if she were spitting out blood. She was referring to the current lover of the crown prince. A daughter of a baron.

The girl had been raised among commoners and had no idea how to act around n.o.bles. And she used her ignorance to disregard their customs. When she was told about how a proper member of high society should behave, she rejected them bluntly and said things like, 'that's just wrong' and 'people are all equal.'

It was not something that you should say when you were the daughter of a baron who was enrolled at the academy.

They were the kind of words that would sound good to the general public. And these vulgar ideas had rotted away in her mind.

Not only that, but this country b.u.mpkin would also use her sly words to entrap the handsome male students of the academy. She would act friendly to them and treat them as her entourage.

Of course, the Crown Prince was among this entourage. The female students became furious.

Adelia began to think of something to do about all of this.

And then it happened… The Crown Prince who was supposed to be her fiance had fallen in love with the country b.u.mpkin. This girl, who was an enemy to the government and the aristocracy.

According to him, 'she was the only one who saw me as a person, and not a prince.' That alone was not too bad.

This was because Adelia was magnanimous enough to allow him to take a lover.

Yes, it was insulting and embarra.s.sing… But he was weak and she had been taught that such things were a possibility. And so she was able to accept it as long as he fulfilled his role as part of the royal family.

However, the Crown Prince began to keep Adelia at a distance. And then one day…he said something in a place where she could hear him.

—I want you to be my wife, not Adelia.

It was on that day that h.e.l.l was born in her heart.