Chapter 80
“It’s because I have a lot of heat.”
“It’s the exact opposite of me.”
Maeve still disliked this side of him. She disliked how he would sulk but soon forgive and act friendly, and she disliked how he would linger around her, wondering if he could be of any help, only to show a pathetic side while ordering her around as if he weren’t.
Maeve’s thoughts remained unchanged. In the end, one lived in this world alone. No matter how helpful someone might be, the only one who could jump in for her more than anyone else at a decisive moment was herself.
She wished Declan would act elegantly to the point of being selfish, just as he had appeared at first. Not clinging to passing connections, and ordering others—
She wished he would have no hesitation in using her. She wished he wouldn’t do those kind things, trying to grow attached whenever the opportunity arose, as he was doing now.
Maeve opened her eyes, which she had closed without realizing it. Thinking it over, these were things she desired not only from that Prince but also from herself.
She did not want to give her heart to just anyone.
Once she became aware of it, a realization that was even less welcome surged over her. Her mood soured as she felt she was admitting that she had been quite lonely without realizing it, and that such loneliness still existed.
Maeve wordlessly removed the hand that had been covering the Prince’s ear. Then she lay back in a straight posture, staring only at the ceiling.
Now that she realized it, she felt even more embarrassed.
She felt a bit ashamed, remembering how she had committed such a presumptuous act and then spoken harsh words to the Prince, who had just come back from the dead and was craving human warmth. Who was she to say such things to anyone?
“……Ha.”
With a low sigh, Maeve gently covered both her eyes with the back of her hand. It was then.
“Maeve. Open your eyes.”
“…….”
“I know you’re not sleeping. Just look for a moment.”
Maeve eventually opened her eyes. The Prince wordlessly pointed toward the foot of their bed.
Maeve looked with indifferent eyes at their feet lying side by side.
“No, not there—look up. Look at the sky. The moon is truly massive. I think the stars are shining exceptionally bright, too.”
Another sentimental and romantic remark. Maeve thought so to herself, but she followed the direction Prince Declan’s finger was pointing.
Just as he said, the moon was exceptionally large. With a bit of exaggeration, it looked as if it might plummet to the ground at any moment. Prince Declan was in awe, while Maeve was repulsed. It was because she felt a sense of being overwhelmed.
However, unlike the moon, the stars were truly worth seeing. When trying to gauge direction, one inevitably looks at the stars, but looking at them purely for the purpose of appreciation gave it a different feeling.
“There are Argunt’s Boots over there. Do you know the story of the constellation?”
“I know it, but I don’t like it much. In the end, he dies without being able to return home.”
The hero Argunt returned after a long war, but fell into great heartbreak upon seeing his wife’s grave. It turned out to be the grave of his wife and the dog he had raised, but his mind was as broken as his body, and he could not even discern that. Thus, the hero left his shoes near his wife’s grave and jumped off a cliff to his death.
It was content from a book of folk tales she had read more than ten times to kill boredom during the days she lived imprisoned in the cozy jail created by Fergus.
“Ah, there is that version, but there is also another ending.”
“A different ending?”
“Yes. Folktales are ultimately passed down from mouth to mouth, so people process the stories to their own taste during the transmission. Even in the library of Lutea Castle, you can read three different endings. Shall I tell you?”
It was a bother, and drowsiness was gradually washing over her, but Maeve told him to do so. Prince Declan, as if he had been waiting, told her another version of the story he had read.
The hero Argunt returned to his hometown in a shabby state. And discovering the grave of his newly formed family, he cried loudly in despair. It was the grave of the dog he had raised, but Argunt made the same mistake here.
It was the moment Argunt took off his boots to set them down and die. Suddenly, a dog lunged out, bit his shoes, and ran away.
Argunt ran after the dog. His vision, blurred by old age, gradually captured the familiar back of the dog clearly. By the time Argunt recognized the dog, it had vanished without a trace, and Argunt arrived at his own dilapidated old house.
While he was weeping sadly, calling out the name of his old dog that had vanished without a trace, the door of the ruined house opened, and his surviving wife called out to him.
“I like this version better. It’s less tragic and moving.”
After finishing the story, Prince Declan added an unasked-for commentary. Maeve agreed with his thought.
But she did not answer his words. She couldn’t answer.
She was too sleepy.
After yawning, she curled her body into a ball and fell into a deep sleep.
“Or, there’s also an ending like this.”
Prince Declan was talking excitedly, then belatedly realized that Maeve had fallen asleep. He heard the sound of snoring right next to him.
Prince Declan soon yawned like her, then fell asleep just the same.
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