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When
glared at by Valentin, Maria immediately closed her mouth, albeit
looking frustrated.
After
fixing her one-piece dress that had been crumpled by being grabbed by Valentin,
Candice cleared her throat. Candice had wished so badly to enter
his sight and be loved, but perhaps because she now knew that it was absolutely
impossible to be loved and that there was no hope, she was able to interact
with him just like anyone else.
「Because Maria-sama made a
fool of Luca-oniisama's dream and Arthur, I felt frustrated and
ended up saying too much.」
「……Dream?」
「Yes. Luca-oniisama said that
he wanted to save people. I thought it was wonderful.」
The
moment Candice said so, large drops of tears overflowed from Luca's
eyes. Valentin directed his gaze to the piled-up books.
「Also, while I was being taken care
of at the Violet Palace, Luca-oniisama looked after Arthur
and Jeanne.」
「……!?」
「I am grateful for Luca-oniisama's
kindness.」
At
those words, Maria's bloodshot eyes widened greatly. Luca was
making his shoulders tremble as if frightened.
（O-Oh no…… I've made a slip of the
tongue!）
Maria hates Arthur, just like the
previous Candice. She was able to realize, albeit too late, that the
reason Luca placed someone outside the archives might also have been to
keep people away. Candice had forgotten about her own goals and was
desperate to think about how Luca could achieve his goal. It might be
because she was overlapping herself with Luca, who was chasing an
unfulfillable dream.
「Maria-sama hates Arthur! That's
why she tried to strike Luca-oniisama when he protected him! I-In other
words…… in other words, you see.」
「…………」
「──I want to protect Arthur
and Luca-oniisama, so may I take them to the White Palace!?」
She
had just thought she had to protect Luca from Maria no matter
what, but in the end, she didn't know what she wanted to say anymore, and
incomprehensible words flew out. Even though Candice said it while out
of breath, the surroundings fell dead silent.
「…………No.」
Not
expecting to be denied, Candice stared at Valentin with her mouth
hanging wide open. A laughing voice, like a snort saying 「Pfft!」,
could be heard from Hugo, who had soundlessly been waiting behind Valentin.
As
Candice was trembling uncontrollably in shock, Valentin's gaze
turned to Maria.
「Maria, do not approach the Blue Palace
for a while.」
「B-But, Luca needs his daily
prayers at the church—」
「……Did you not hear my words?」
「hk!?」
At
Valentin's words, Maria's shoulders jolted greatly. While
trembling violently, she said, 「……, as Your Majesty the Emperor
wills,」 and bowed her head deeply.
「Hugo.」
「Certainly.」
Perhaps
grasping his intention just by having his name called, Hugo called out
to Maria, urging her outside. However, twisting her body to avoid Hugo,
Maria said, 「You demon, do not touch me!」, which Candice ended up hearing.
『Your hair color, it's just like a
demon's, isn't it!』 『I
wonder if that's what happens when you have a bad birth. How filthy.』 『Don't touch me! I can't believe
someone like you is by my beautiful Otou-sama's side.』
Overlapping
with the figure of Candice saying those things to Hugo and Arthur,
her chest ached. In this way, the previous Candice too had discriminated
based solely on birth and color as if it were only natural.