The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

 

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Episode 23: A Tale of Two Siblings

“I don't know exactly when I first had a falling out with Al-kun.
Perhaps it was when he got engaged to Euphie.
Or, perhaps you could say that his engagement to Euphie was decided because of me.”

“What? Really?”

Euphie stared at me with a strange look on her face.
She didn't understand what I just said.

“It was likely planned already.
Euphie was chosen because of her outstanding talent, but it was definitely my fault for cementing the engagement in place.”

“How could Princess Anne-Sophia be the cause?”

“Hm…
I didn't mean for it, but hey.”

Ryeini's question was a natural one.
If you ask me why it really happened, I can only say that it just did.

“I know Al thought I was trying to kill him.”

“What are you saying…?”

“In fact, I kinda almost killed him, or…
let him die, or…”

“How could you let that happen!?”

Euphie was taken aback by the facts I spewed.
But, she quickly regained her composure and tsk-tsked me.
I think her reaction was justified.
No, really.
I really do.

*(E/N: In the conversation below below, I'm a bit unsure at this part on who's saying what, but I think it's first Illya, then Anne-Sophia, then Illya again.)

“She didn't mean for it to happen.
She really didn't.
She just wanted to act like a big sister for once.
She tried to make Al-kun happy by sneaking out with him on a little 'trip.'”

“Oh, I've been famous…
since then…”

“Yes, you've been famous since then.
She was so young that it was difficult for her to get what she wanted, so she acted quite recklessly.”

Illya muttered this in a bitter voice, perhaps remembering what happened back then.
No, I'm really sorry about that time…

“So, I took Al-kun with me into the woods.
I wanted to get a spirit stone for myself, and I had the mischievous intention to teach Al-kun some 'naughty' things; just some bad games I thought he would find fun.
The situation wasn't really that funny now that I'm thinking about it.”

“…Have you been studying demonology and magitech since back then?”

“I can't really help but do what comes to mind.
That's why I used to involve Al-kun a lot.
I made him cry and we laughed a lot.
That's why I misunderstood.”

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“…Misunderstood?”

“No, rather, I was ignorant.
I didn't properly consider my position as royalty or the people around me.
I was an idiot, and that's why it happened.”

When I close my eyes, I can still vividly remember that moment.
It was the last time Al-kun and I acted like siblings.

He was somewhat timid and hesitant to follow me when I held out my hand.
Yes, that day was the same as usual.
Nothing had changed.
It was just supposed to be a little adventure.

“We went into the forest to get a spirit stone, and we ran into a demon.”

“…Eh?”

Ryeini gasps in exclamation at these words.
If someone told me they encountered demons as a child without an escort, I'd probably gasp too.

“Two royal children slipped out together and were attacked by demons.
It was really stupid.”

“I'm surprised you're still alive…”

I shook my head to deny Ryeini's words.

“I was fine.”

“…Did something happen to Prince Algarde?”

“Even back then I was reckless, but I had the vague awareness of being Al-kun's sister.
Therefore, I saw it as my responsibility to deal with the demon.
I told Al-kun to run away while I dealt with it.
Al-kun listened and ran.”

I had never cursed my own thoughtless behavior so much before because I knew it was my fault.
At that moment, I truly regretted getting us into the situation.

That was why I felt I had to protect Al.
I didn't care that I couldn't use magic.
It was also a good thing that I had been collecting spirit stones.
I managed to survive against the demon by making good use of the stones.

“The knight who heard the commotion rushed to me and immediately took me into his custody, but we couldn't find Al-kun.”

“Did another demon attack?”

“No, it wasn't like that.
Al-kun simply hid and it was too late to find him.
Without asking, I ran around the forest; I was the one to find Al-kun.”

“Is that the reason for your falling out…?”

“Well, there was that…
But, it was probably what came after that was the problem.
I was in good spirits at the time, uninjured, so I was simply happy and elated that Al-kun had been found.”

“…What the hell did you do?”

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“I didn't do anything!”

Euphie's suspicion made me chuckle a bit.
I wonder if that's what people would think if they knew me, if they suspected I had something to do with it.
I wouldn't deny it, though.

That day, I really was just happy that Al-kun was safe.

“I think it was because I was so happy.
If I had been somewhat injured, I could've explained myself.
Someone, you know, started to say.
Someone said, 'Maybe Princess Anne-Sophia tried to assassinate Prince Algarde.”

Euphie and Ryeini gasped at the words I said.
I continued my story in a matter-of-fact manner, ignoring their reactions.

“I was spiffy, and I was the first to be discovered by the knight.
So, someone started saying that I must've planned it.
I said no, but it's difficult to fight a rumor that's taken root.
Besides, it was said that I had a reasonable 'motive.'”

“A motive?”

“By that point, everyone already knew I was obsessed with magic.
That's why they thought I was jealous of Al-kun, who could use magic; therefore, they reasoned that I tried to kill him.”

When there's smoke, there's fire.
In other words, I was seen as having a suitable motive.
I was obsessed with magic because I couldn't use it, and I was jealous of Al-kun, who cold use it.
Therefore, they thought I tried to kill him.

Even if I denied it, whether or not the people around me believed me was another matter.
I was even more aware of this since I knew I was eccentric.
People even thought I was crazy, so naturally there were people who doubted whether what I was saying was true.

“It was then that I truly realized that 'I'm a child in line for the throne.' I realized that my mere presence might be a hinderance to Al-kun.
So, I attempted to systematically eliminate factors that would make me a political enemy of Al-kun.”

“…Was that what led you to declare that you wouldn't get engaged?”

“I was desperate to get rid of the idea that I wanted to kill Al-kun because I wanted the throne or that I was jealous of Al-kun.
It's true that I was somewhat envious of Al-kun, but I wasn't going to let that get me caught up in that sort of trouble and lose my ability to do research.”

 

“Oh, so Princess Anne-Sophia was at that stage already.”

Well, that's me.
It's because my magical obsession became my heart's desire since the day I became 'me.'

So, I wanted to obtain magic.
That was it.
I didn't want to steal the throne, and I didn't want Al-kun to die.

“It went well.
I acted selfishly, even though it was reckless.
Now no one wants me to monarch or to be in charge of the kingdom.
So, I went to Al-kun and told him not to worry anymore.
I thought it would be best to stay away from him until I cleared the suspicion, but at that point I thought I could apologize.”

“…Were you able to apologize?”

“I apologized.
But, he didn't accept it.
I guess it was too late, or perhaps I couldn't take it back anymore.
So, I guess everything I did was for nothing.”

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I think our differences were sealed the moment I took Al-kun into the forest that day.

“I didn't mean to say that he doubted me.
That isn't the point.
The reason why Al-kun and I don't get along is…”

“Then why did Prince Algarde become estranged from Princess Anne-Sophia?”

“I took it too far.
I disregarded Father, Mother, and everyone around me too much.
I did what I could for them.
I won my freedom by making breakthroughs in magical research; I pioneered magitech.
I was a kid who did what grown-ups couldn't.
What do you think of that?”

“…That's extraordinary, isn't it?”

“Yeah, it was extraordinary.
To Al-kun, I was crazy.
I was as smart and dynamic as an adult.
He told me that 'People will try to kill me whether you want them to or not.
People are constantly telling me how good you are and how inadequate I am.
Quit playing the fool Anne.'” *(E/N: Originally, it was to “not play the priest.”)

Ha-ha-ha…
The laughter that spilled out of me was less hearty than I had expected.

I will never forget the look of fear and despair on Al-kun's face at that moment.

“Everyone compared Al-kun with me.
No matter how much I threw away my inheritance, people didn't see me as I wanted them to.
Al-kun saw me as a monster.
Just by existing, I had become a monster that would take away his place, his things, and everything else.
Because he saw the right of succession as something I deserved to inherit, he saw me as a threat to it.
No matter how much I told everyone that Al-kun was going to be king.”

Am I laughing? I think I'm laughing when I tell this story, but often I'm not seen as doing so.
In fact, I can't really laugh, so maybe it shows on my face.

“No matter how much I wished for Al-kun's future, I could no longer touch him.
He said I could take the throne if I wanted it.
Despite his ability in magic, he saw himself as worthless.
According to him, the only thing he has on me is the fact that he's a man and that he has magical abilities.
He told me that I should be monarch.
He sees me as the enemy.”

I distanced myself from Al-kun for his own good, but that gave the people around Al-kun time to tell him useless things.

The shred of a relationship that remains comes from our biological ties.
I threw myself into magic, and Al-kun was put on the path towards kinghood.

“I did too much.
I overshadowed Al-kun.
I created an alternative to magic to compensate for my lack of magical talent, and became someone who people thought had the potential to be queen.
I stepped aside, saying that it was for Al-kun's sake, but the situation was still troublesome.
Therefore, I told him, 'Do as you please.
I'm going to do what I want too.
I won't interfere with your succession, and I have no intention of doing so.
I won't get involved anymore.'”

“…So, that's why you don't get along?”

“There were other reasons, but I figured if I stayed indoors and neglected my royal duties, no one would think of me as queen.
Unfortunately, some did.
But, I didn't care anymore.
I even thought of leaving the country.”

In fact, if it weren't Father and Mother, I probably would've left the country.
Father and Mother kept me connected to them by respecting my freedom.
They gave me my own home, my trusty follower, Illya, and they didn't condemn me for being an adventurer, despite their anger at my choice.
They even gave me my own budget.

It wasn't a proper family relationship, more like a boss-subordinate relationship that held us together.
Then, I grew up.
Compared to when I was younger, I've learned to be more reasonable.

“Well.
There it is.
Until a little while ago, I thought that even if these things happened, and our relationship sucked, it couldn't be helped with the circumstances.”

“…Ah, so that's why you're so happy-go-lucky, or rather light-hearted.”

“I use it as a shield.
I knew Al-kun would find me a pain in the ass, and that it would be troublesome for me to get involved.”

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“I'm a little confused as to whether you're being thoughtful or not.”

Hm.
They're probably both right.
I just chose not to get involved because of all this.

I had no intention of helping Al-kun when he said he wanted to become king.
I thought he would do it on his own.
I thought that, no matter what people said, Father and Mother would take care of it.

Well, that too has been ruined.
Hm? Is this not funny? No, I guess it isn't.
Al-kun, I really wonder if you can recover from this.

“…Um! I-I'm sorry for ruining your work…”

“Hey! Ryeini! I don't blame you.
It was just at a bad time!”

It's true that Ryeini basically ruined the delicate situation, but…
Hey! Don't space out with those dead eyes! Look at me, Ryeini!

“But, if it weren't for me…”

“Maybe so, but that doesn't mean I approve of what Al-kun did.
When he disregarded the formal engagement annulment procedures, even Ryeini became a force majeure.”

“…I understand…”

“Besides, I may have been the one to put you in that situation in the first place.
I don't know Al-kun anymore.
I just don't understand him.

It makes me feel a little, no, very guilty.

If only I was able to hold hands with Al-kun like we did when we were little.
Maybe there could've been a future where we laughed together.

It's a regret that I can never get back.
Still, I can't help but think about it.

I didn't notice that Euphie kept staring at me as I thought about it, even though I tried not to show it on my face.

/////

E/N:

So goddamn wordy.
Just like the title.
I typed it all in one go…
Typing is way easier compared to writing, but my hands still feel like falling off…

Feel free to mention mistakes.

Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed!