I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 6: I am destined to break off my engagement (6)

I was trying to come to a reasoned conclusion in my head and accept Alex’s apology, but I wasn’t expecting Elise to interrupt our conversation like this.

I felt a strong pressure from Elise’s hand on both of my shoulders.

…Is she angry?

“Eh, Elise?”

“I know that the reason Prince Alexandros and Lady Ariana’s relationship began to go sour was a misunderstanding that stemmed from that incident. I was there, as your servant, and it’s true that, given the circumstances, it looked like Ariana’s did it.”

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden, Elise?”

“But the problem you see, Prince Alexandros, is what happened afterward. You jumped to the tentative conclusion that it must have been Lady Ariana, and you left your fiancée alone and listened to that woman, am I wrong?”

“Elise?! You’re talking to the prince all of a sudden!”

“Even if the circumstances of the case pointed to Ariana as the culprit, as her fiancé, the Prince was supposed to believe her unconditionally, not make an objective judgment based on the circumstances.”

“Eh, Elise! Okay, now stop….”

“And even if there was a lot of room for misunderstanding, in the end, it was Prince Alexandros who failed to make the right judgment. It didn’t stop there, it was your choice to keep Arianna away and Sierra close that led to your narrow-mindedness.”

“Don’t be so harsh, Elise, you’re dealing with royalty….”

“As someone who’s been closest to Ariana for two years and has seen your attitude toward her, I can’t allow you to take advantage of her docile mind, even if it means putting a knife to my throat.”

“That, stop….Please stop….”

“Do you think you can be forgiven in a day or two for a mere few sentences? Of course, if it was Ariana, she would, but not me, and I must tell you, even at the risk of my life, that you, Prince Alexandros, as you are now, will make her unhappy again.”

“Stop it!”

I felt like if I left her alone, she would continue to slander Alex forever, so I had no choice but to yell at her to shut her up.

She looked like she still hadn’t gotten enough out, but when she saw the look on my face, she gulped down the rest of her words.

“Wow, prince. I don’t think Elise meant it in a bad way either, she was doing it for me, so I mean, that….”

What if Alex was so offended by Elise’s behavior that he dragged her away?

Oh, wait, she said it before, as a commoner, so maybe she’s guilty of insulting royalty?

As I pondered my confusion, I focused on the words that came out of Alex’s mouth, and fortunately, they weren’t the brutal ones I had imagined.

“…Yes, Elise is right.”

“Prince?”

“After all I’ve done to you, it’s selfish of me to expect to be forgiven after only a day or two.”

“…You’re not angry?”

“It was Elise’s words, not anyone else’s, and I should take them to heart. She cares enough about you to go to the ends of the earth for you, Ariana.”

I’m well aware that Elise cares about me, but what’s the metaphor for following me to the ends of the earth?

“I’ve been feeling weighed down about what I said, but I think it was a guilty conscience, and thanks to Elise, I’ve been able to figure out what this fluttering feeling I’ve been having is.”

“Well, I see.”

“Ariana, I will wait to be forgiven by you. Just as you waited for me for two years, I will have to show you the same sincerity.

When I’m not ashamed to stand by your side, that’s when I want you to take me back.”

“Yes, yes….”

With that, Alex stood up and walked toward the parlor door.

“Thank you for the tea, I’ll come back another time.”

“Oh, goodbye….”

With that, I could only stare in disbelief as Alex walked out of the parlor with Dale, the butler.

* * *

“Elise, why did you do something so dangerous!? What would you do if Alex was offended?”

As soon as I returned to the room with Elise, I admonished her for fearlessly defying Alex.

She may be a maid to a duke, but she’s dealing with royalty, and there’s a level of behavior that involves putting her life on the line….

“What are you thinking, Arianna, it’s been less than twelve hours since you listened to the advice me and Derek gave you!”

But the listener to the admonishment, as soon as it began, shifted from Elise to me.

“Yeah, what?”

“And didn’t you also hear advice from Kael just before that man came to you, that you should be careful because you never know what he’s thinking. Are you saying that for the sake of Prince Alexandros, you don’t need advice from your family or anyone else?”

“It’s not that….I’m just saying that I think it’s okay now….”

I’ve never seen Elise this angry before, did I do something wrong?

“I’m sorry, Elise. I guess it was definitely my fault that I didn’t listen to you or the others and just made up my own mind.”

Elise was a little frustrated by my attitude and started to share her feelings.

“Of course, everyone has different standards of happiness, and I realize that your happiness has a lot to do with Prince Alexandros.

Even so, when you have to act decisively, you must act decisively. If you continue to show such a finite attitude, Ariana will only be manipulated without any sense of purpose again.”

With that kind of firmness, I couldn’t argue with her anymore.

All else aside, I should be grateful that she did what she did for me.

“…But please don’t do that next time, because I’ll be more assertive.”

“I understand.”

“Remember, not all royals are like Alex, so cherish your life.”

“If my life is worth keeping Ariana happy, it’s a small price to pay.”

“Don’t even get me started on that scary stuff, there’s no way I’m going to be happy after Elise is gone.”

I can’t put a price on happiness, but at least I know it’s painful to never see someone I care about again.

“Oh, I’m not saying you shouldn’t get married or anything, I just don’t want you to be my servant for the rest of your life, and I’ll be happy to congratulate Elise whenever she finds someone she likes, so don’t hold it in too much, and I’ll even do the socializing for you then….”

“…I’m just saying, Lady Ariana, that your attitude is getting old.”

“What?”

“I’m going to step aside so you can get some rest, but please call me if you need me.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll take a break then.”

Elise bowed to me, then quietly left my room.

As the door to my bedroom closed, I thought about what Elise had said.

‘You could be a little more assertive….’

On reflection, surely my demeanor toward Alex and Miss Sierra was overly docile for a young woman whose fiancé had been taken from her.

Part of it was because I was already prepared to let Alex go, but it was also because I had been conditioned by the “game system” to be cynical.

I didn’t start out with a plan to cede Alex to Ms. Sierra, walk off the stage, and live a quiet life.

It was more like I was trying to improve and refine myself so that I wouldn’t lose Alex.

I could overcome my villainous spirit with hard work. That’s what I thought before I joined the Academy.

Thanks to that, we entered the Academy as friends and lovers, not as Alex and Ariana, who were estranged from each other in the original, but as friends and lovers.

We were confident that unless the gods of the world forced us to, we wouldn’t reach an extreme situation like breaking off our engagement.

But then the “Attempted Poisoning of Lady Ariana” happened, and it was enough to shake that resolve.

It’s also a case that’s explored in depth in Academy Light Romance.

It was the first time Ariana, who had always been a shadowy bully to the heroine behind her back, bared her teeth at Miss Sierra openly.

It was also the event that led Prince Alexandros to realize that Ariana had been bullying Sierra and that led to more contact with Sierra.

Since that event was recreated without a single error, I couldn’t help but think that the game system was trying to make me a villain.

So I let it go, thinking that if the heroine’s goal was really Alex, then no matter what I did, I wouldn’t be able to escape the fate of the villainous heroine but if it was Miss Sierra’s own creation, a reenactment of the original to trap me.

If I didn’t have to go into hiding after the breakup of our engagement, and if I didn’t have to make up my mind to let Alex go.

Of course, I don’t plan on being complacent either.

“Maybe I need to be a little more thorough.”

The other person, like me, is a person who came from the outside world.

That is the only explanation for her knowledge of the ‘Attempted Poisoning of Lady Ariana’ and the ‘Destruction of Lady Ariana after the break-up of her engagement.’

Beyond that, she often acted like she’s not of this world, but after my conversation with Alex today, I’m now convinced.

The rest is history, after all, and I’m confident that if I fight with the knowledge I’ve gained in this world, I’ll never be outmatched by Miss Sierra because the hero of my story is me, not someone else.