65
Asked
that by Luca, she couldn't say, "Because I have memories of my
first life and don't want to receive the death penalty again," and she
stumbled over her words. And she certainly couldn't say that the reason she was
executed was because she massacred her siblings and anyone she didn't like just
because she wanted to be loved by her father.
「Umm…… my dream is to have a happy
marriage with the person I love, you see!」
「……I see. That's right.」
「I will marry you, Candice-oneesama.」
「Oh my! Thank you, Arthur.」
「I will try to make Candice-oneesama
happy!」
「Fufu, I'm looking forward to it.」
When
Candice said so while patting Arthur's head, Luca, looking
slightly disappointed, nodded as if convinced.
「I will stand up to any difficulties
from now on. In order to survive in this world……!」
Seeing
Candice confidently puff out her chest as she said so, Luca
opened his mouth.
「When you say it like that, I somehow
feel like it will really come true.」
Luca slightly raised the corners of his
mouth and smiled. It was so beautiful that Candice opened her mouth out
of pure admiration.
「I feel like this is the first time
I've seen your smile, Luca-oniisama, but it is very lovely, isn't it.」
「~~~hk!?」
When
Candice said that, Luca's cheeks turned bright red in an instant.
「Candice-oneesama, what about me!? What
about me?」
Arthur pointed to his own face while
putting on a smile.
「Arthur is an angel.」
「I'm happy!」
That
smile, like a blooming flower, could only be seen as an angel's. While she was
doting on the delighted Arthur, she noticed it was noisy outside the
archives. She thought it was strange to hear an unfamiliar shrill voice, but Luca
reacted immediately, telling Arthur and Candice, 「Hide right now,」 and urging them to go to the back
of the archives.
Then,
the sound of the door opening violently could be heard.
「──Luca, Luca! You're
in here, aren't you!?」
A
woman's voice laced with anger reached their ears.
「Haha-ue……!」
「When I tried to deliver something,
you weren't in the Blue Palace. I thought 'there's no way,' but please
explain what is the meaning of this.」
「……Th-This is.」
「Instead of just reading books all
the time, why don't you offer prayers to God a little!? I told you that before,
didn't I?」
It
seemed the one fiercely scolding Luca right off the bat was Luca's
mother.
（Luca's mother is the Pope's daughter,
and her name is Maria. On the surface, she was beautiful and gentle like
a Holy Mother. I used to think I wanted a mother like Maria-sama, but……
she has quite a rough temper in front of Luca-oniisama.）
There
were many churches in the Diagard Empire. And the citizens of the Empire
offer prayers to the Goddess Diagard,
who is also the origin of the country's name. They receive large donations from
believers and Imperial nobles. In a sense, it could be said that they receive
the most support from the citizens of the Empire.
「But……」
「Don't talk back to me! You failure.」
「……hk」
「Ah, Goddess Diagard…… please forgive this pitiful child. Why did you
send such a defective son to me?」
「Haha-ue, I……」
「With such a spineless personality,
you could never become Emperor. Didn't your grandfather tell you? Even though
your appearance is beautiful, I wonder why your insides are so disappointing.」
Candice was astounded by those words. She
felt like she somewhat understood the reason why Luca gradually closed
his heart off.
（What is she saying! If it were me,
I'd instantly murder…… ahem, send her flying.）
And Candice remembered. The figures of Luca's mother and the Pope, who had met a mysterious death. It connects to the reason why Luca, who now says he wants to save people, willingly advanced his research on poisons. The position of Pope was inherited by one of Luca's relatives, but it had caused massive chaos for a time.