Don’t Remember Me

~ 1.9 ~

“Hnng…”

Flitta rolled her eyes, moving her fingers.
Then, when she heard someone’s footsteps in the distance, she hid behind the pillar next to her.

The child’s white face was hidden behind the pillar.
And shortly thereafter the officials from the official residence came out.

“……Phew.”

It was not until Flitta was alone again that she slipped out from behind the pillar.
Then she quickly turned her head left and right to make sure that no one was there and sighed.

“I’m scared.”

It’s scary, strange, and awkward.

There wasn’t much a child could express.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that what she was feeling was simple.
Flitta pouted her lips after concluding that she was terrified.

She was bored.
This place was scarier than black dress.

“………Daddy.”

She wished her dad was around at least.

For Flitta, ‘Daddy’ was a scary but nice person.
Even though he doesn’t play with her, he was still a nice person.
But he’s scaringly blunt.

“..
Mo, mmy.”

Flitta squatted with her back against the pillar.
And she voiced out an unfamiliar word from her mouth and rattled it out.

‘……Mom.’

 

‘Everyone here has a mom… but why don’t I have a mom?’

That’s what Flitta was most curious about and worried about these days.

‘What kind of person was my mom?’

 

‘Why did my mom leave me behind?’

 

‘Did you abandon me? Did you leave because you hated me?’

She doesn’t have any memories of her mother.
And no one was telling stories about her mother.

One day, she asked her nanny about her mother but was only scolded.

「 “She’s a humble commoner! How can you want to see a woman like that?! The princess is the precious blood of Guinters.
She’s the daughter of the Grand Duke.
That’s the only thing that matters.
Do you understand?” 」

Her nanny grabbed her by her shoulders and said those words as if forcing her to stop asking her about her mother.
Of course, as a child, Flitta had no choice but to give up.
She knew the nanny’s words, but she never understood them.

And after that, the nanny would always blame her mother for being a ‘low’ blood whenever Flitta makes a mistake.

So Plita didn’t talk about her mother anymore.
I don’t want my mom to get scolded because of me.
I’m sorry.

“…….
Hnng.”

Flitta’s pale green eyes were filled with tears.
She shrank from fear and soon shook her head.
Then, she pretended to be brave and made a sound out of his mouth.

“If I am bored, I should play alone! I am not a baby anymore! I am good at playing with myself anyway! Yes, that’s right.”

(TN: Aw, what a pitiful kid.
I want to hug you now, huhu…)

Flitta rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, then stood up with strength in both legs.
And she purposely worked harder, ran across the corridor, put her hand on the window frame, and looked outside.

“Wow…”

Just in time, birds were flying in a row across the sky spread out of the window.
Flitta opened her eyes wide and exclaimed, wondering when she had shrunk.
The child’s small body flinched whenever the birds flapped their wings.

“Let’s play with the birds!”

She was so happy to see the birds while she was bored.
She exited the residence with excitement and followed the group of birds above the sky outskirts of the cemetery.

But no one noticed Flitta oing outside the Royal Cemetery.
Everyone was busy entertaining royalty and nobles gathered for the memorial service of the king and preparing for the memorial service.

Therefore, even if one had seen Flitta, he will not approach the child.

Thus, Flitta went alone to the lake outside the cemetery without anyone’s restraint.

* * *

“…… It must be there.”

Rosé muttered to herself, looking at the building in the distance.

Fortunately, it was not that difficult to find the royal cemetery.
This was because there were many people gathered to commemorate the king.

Of course, not everyone could enter the cemetery.
It was still only for the royals and nobles.
Ordinary commoners could only gather outside the cemetery to pray in memory of the unlucky king who died young.

Rosé avoided those who prayed here and there and approached the fence that blocked access from the inside of Royal Cemetery.
Then she moved slowly along the fence.

There’s a child over there.
And there is a man who cared.

My heart was pounding just by the fact.
Rosé recalled Flitta, the child whom she saw in front of the Grand Duke.

If only she could see her up close.

If only she could hold that little body in her arms for once.

Rosé grabbed the front of her clothes tightly in the desperate desire that came up unknowingly even though she knew it was too much greed.

“Oh? Hey, she’s in danger”

At that moment, she heard someone’s voice.
At the same time, Rosé instinctively raised her head.

‘……Flitta.’

She saw the child toddling out of the cemetery.
It was Flitta, who moved towards the lake without a care of the path ahead of her.

‘No, no! No, baby!’

Rosé’s face quickly turned white.
Rosé stamped her feet for fear that the child might fall into the lake.
But Flitta continued to walk to the lake without looking ahead, not noticing any of Rosé’s concerns.

“No!”

And it happened almost at the same time that Flitta stepped on the wet ground, slipped, fell into the lake, and Rosé jumped over the fence and ran toward the child.

* * *

As soon as he heard his daughter’s name from a maid’s scream, Haven ran out of the official residence.
And what he was greeted with was Flitta lying limp on the ground.

The child looked she just drowned, judging from how her face looked like.
He took a step forward with his eyes wide opened after seeing Flitta.

He had ever said anything sweet to his daughter, but it wasn’t that he didn’t love her.
There was a time when he felt embarrassed by the presence of the child that he didn’t remember having, but he never hated the child.

Haven approached Flitta with his face twisted, feeling like his heart was torn out, only then did he find someone and stopped walking.

He saw a woman with her head down and constantly breathing into Flitta’s mouth.
He could also see the woman’s skin turning blue while the water dripped from her soaking, dark brown hair.

(TN: Rose was doing CPR, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.)

However, the woman continued to breathe into Flitta as if she had not recognized her own condition.

But why?

As soon as he saw the figure, the pain in his heart turned into blackness.
Rather than making sure the child was safe, he wanted to raise the woman’s face and check if she was well.

“Grand Duke, Grand Duke…… Oh, my God.
The P, princess.
That woman is…….”

Everyone was enraptured by the sudden situation, but someone opened their eyes and spoke out as if they had come to their senses when they saw Haven late.
Then someone else rushed up to the woman and pushed her away roughly.

“How can a lowly woman touch a princess!”

One of the employees, who had been watching Haven’s face, stepped up quickly and approached the pushed woman, and kicked her.
As a result, the body of the woman, no, Rosé, went further and fell.

When Flitta woke up with the appearance of the Grand Duke in front of her, the situation was dizzying.

The duke’s daughter fell into the lake.
There are so many employees of the Grand Duke, and no one has been able to protect the princess.
Therefore, to alleviate the responsibility a little, someone would have to be a scapegoat.

And there was the right person for the scapegoat.
She must be a humble commoner just by looking at her clothes.
In addition, she even touched the princess herself to breathe in..

“How dare you!”

She didn’t care that Rosé saved Flitta.
She didn’t even think she had to touch Flitta to save her.
The maid just wanted to avoid this moment.

So, the maid tried to kick Rosé again, and she heard a small cough from Flitta.

“Cough!”

“Pr, princess!”

“Princess Flitta! Are you all right?”

Flitta coughed and spat out water in the employees’ fuss.
At the same time, the child’s breathing began to relax.
As a result, the interest in Rosé disappeared.

Have also gave an order after looking at his daughter.

“Take her away and let her be checked by the Physician.
You have to look closely at she is feeling.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

At his command, the employees took Flitta and disappeared like an arrow.
Haven’s eyes again turned to Rosé as she watched the child move away on the servant’s back.

Even as the water dripped, her body trembled with chills, and her stomach which was kicked a while ago.
She couldn’t even control her own body properly due to the shock she received.
At the same time, her eyes rarely fell off the child.

… It was her.

Haven was sure.
That was the woman he saw on the street last time.
He doesn’t know why she was here, at the royal cemetery, but she was definitely the woman he saw then.

“Your Highness.”

At that moment, Pedwin approached Haven.
Haven turned away from looking at Rosé.

It was necessary to check the child’s condition first.
He opened his mouth again, fixing his gaze at her in front.

“I’ll go to Flitta.
I’ll check the child’s condition myself.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Pedwin bowed his head to salute and took the lead toward the building where Flitta’s quarters were.
The doctor was also called, so he went there.
Haven casually passed by Rosé, who was breathing heavily.

He didn’t notice that she suddenly looked up at him, who was out of breath from shock at the sigh earlier.