I Didn’t Even Want to Live, But God Forced Me to Reincarnate!

I wasn’t clear how the dragonkin worked, like if they adopted a hierarchy like us humans and there were royalties or things like that, and how they treated each other…
But Carbuncle?!! Didn’t you study anything at all throughout your long time in the academy with us?!
Did you not know or even forget the crucial lesson that being rude and offensive towards the royal would be enough for the royal to find faults with you and punish you?!!
I do think that Prince Manasye wasn’t the kind of prince that would punish anyone for something like this, but the one thing I was concerned about was…
T-that smack… It was quite a powerful smack, alright?!
If something were to happen to the prince because of it, we’d be held accountable for sure!!
Manasye did fumble a bit after being smacked by Carbuncle, and for a moment, the atmosphere around us turned very awkward and tense…
“K-Kuu! Don’t smack me like that! It hurts!” Prince Manasye quickly pouted and protested at Carbuncle.
Only then I knew that he was alright and wasn’t that offended with Carbuncle’s rudeness, and heaved a sigh of relief.
“So, are you telling us or not?” Carbuncle didn’t promise that she wouldn’t smack Prince Manasye again, and instead she just demanded Prince Manasye to get back to the topic and just tell us what he was thinking about his father’s treatment of Celeste…
“W-well… You know that she’s part-Oni, right? In the negative light, I am viewing it as though my parents are wary of her due to her Oni lineage and want to keep her isolated…”
I went silent for a moment.
What Prince Manasye said sure made sense. As expected of a prince, although he was timid and wasn’t prince-like, he managed to think that far, about that possibility that I didn’t even think of.
Did Alt-nii also think there were such possibilities and didn’t seem to hate Celeste right away due to it?
When I think of it, there were lots of possibilities, ranging from positive to negative, indeed.
First, Celeste simply betrayed us and wasn’t being truthful about her motive from the very beginning. But for what reason was it when the story about her lineage was the real deal? I could only guess that perhaps she had wanted the elven country to fall in chaos for it to fall right into her hands, being the rightful heir based on how her mother was supposed to be the queen, but… There’d be challenges if she were to claim the throne via this road.
Second, did King Deus find out about Celeste’s real identity and somehow reigned her in with the sweet promise of thrones or anything? If it was the throne, I had a feeling Celeste wouldn’t be that stupid to fall into the trap…
Third, was her identity revealed and she pretended to be on King Deus’ side to probe for more information? But that defeated the whole purpose of us supporting her with her plans…
Fourth, it could be as what Prince Manasye said that the elven king was wary of her and Celeste took the bait while trying to separate herself–who was under strict monitor–from the rest of the Riviera delegate… but I heard that it also caused all delegates to be under a stricter monitoring and treatment, so…
“But… It’s my first time talking like this with someone of the Oni lineage. T-they aren’t as scary as what I had originally thought, huh? Though it might be because of our position and the fact that she isn't a full-blooded Oni, but…”
“Hold up–,” I found something intriguing and used the time when he paused to interrupt, “You want to coexist with them peacefully but you feel like the rumor that they’re scary is true?”
“W-well… I do want to be at peace with them so that we can talk about our differences and share stories with ease. After all, we are contrasting and don’t you find yourself curious at something contrasting to you? I feel like the differences shouldn’t be used as something to fight, but instead something beautiful we can share,” Prince Manasye answered shyly.
“Anyway!” Prince Manasye tried to majestically clear his throat, but I found it cute instead.
“That’s all I have to say. What about things on your side? Found anything?”
When he asked that, I saw Eneida was looking at us with a pair of round eyes that clearly showed how she was expectant towards us finding something useful.
Of course, we–or more precisely, Maiara–narrated our whole journey…
I unconsciously gulped. She wasn’t Ein or someone that had Oracle like Ein’s, but the fact that she could give this kind of report told me that she wasn’t someone to be messed with. She was certainly capable… no wonder the royal family entrusted Manasye so much to her.
Although she was this practical, she had the heart to stop and cut down the part when we met with Eneida’s parents, when we could see how the sparks in Eneida’s eyes immediately died and her atmosphere turned gloomy at the mention of her parents.
Deep inside my heart, my sympathy for Eneida had soared even more. I’d help her if I could, even without getting anything. Just getting her to smile and be happy would be enough…
Lastly, when Maiara took out the ancient book that she brought with her, Carbuncle also took out the loot from the hidden area.
“W-wow…” Manasye and Eneida awkwardly said in response to Carbuncle’s loot…
Despite that, I could see Eneida finally being distracted from the thing about her curse and her parents, which was a good thing…
“What does the book say?” Prince Manasye asked.
“About that. We are thinking of taking it to an expert to decipher, what do you say?” Maiara asked.
“Alright, let’s go to my parents after this, Maiara!” Manasye was so excited hearing that we might have gotten a new intel after all, as he suddenly stood up, grabbed Maiara’s hand, and was about to drag her with him.
“W-wait, right now?” I blinked.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to finally be able to help Eneida be free! No time to waste!” Manasye said, and Maiara could only sigh as she shook her head a bit, yet it was apparent that she was still indulging Manasye, for she simply stood and let Manasye drag her around.
“W-what are we to do, then?!” I was surprised, totally not expecting this sudden turn of events.
“You can do anything you want~”
Ein’s voice could be heard from beyond the exit door leading to the stairs…
“Hmm… I guess it’s time to call it a day as well?”
When I turned towards Ein, asking for his opinion, he returned my question with a shrug and just a short sentence.
“I guess there’s nothing we can do,” Clavis agreed.
“Let’s take a nap!” Carbuncle declared.
“It’s almost evening already…,” I reminded her.
“Pfft…”
Eneida’s small laughing voice could be heard and I turned to look at her.
“Eneida… We…,” I stuttered, wondering what I should say.
“It’s okay. You can rest. I need some time to myself as well…,” Eneida said as she cast her eyes downward.
“...We’re here for you,” I could only say that lone sentence, for other stuff won’t sound right if uttered at this moment.
“Thank you… But please, I need some time alone…,” Eneida said with a voice that was holding back tears.
Ein, Clavis, and Carbuncle only looked at Eneida from the corner of their eyes. They seemed to be thinking that it wouldn’t be right to say anything more at this point, since Eneida herself insisted.
Though Eneida tried hard not to think about what befell her, from the curse to her parents’ attitude towards her, it was clear that she minded it so much.
Of course, she is but a little girl…
Since there was nothing we could do and anything we uttered other than my words earlier would only make Eneida feel more miserable, we decided to part our ways there…
Choked sobs could be heard right after we stepped on the first stairs, and we had no choice but to pretend like we didn’t hear it…
For it is what the crying girl wants.
***
That night, in a small room located near Prince Manasye’s room, a lone woman took off the full garments that she had been wearing in order to cover the cursed marks that were all over her body. The moonlight shone over her body from the window illuminated the marks and the faded grey eyes seemed to be blinded by the moonlight, so she quickly closed the window with a curtain.
Maiara then sat down on her bed with both of her hands holding her head, seemingly deep in thoughts.
She wasn’t bothered by the results of her audience with the royal family, for it went smoothly.
But what bothered her was the scene that she had seen several days ago, during the unbelievable little adventure that they had in the small, secluded village.
At that time, her heart almost leapt out of her chest when she witnessed how the conjured chimera almost swallowed–or snapped the little girl whole.
Nobody could have made it in time, and if she were to attack the chimera–with such a close distance, there was no telling what harm she would bring to the girl who was one of the prince’s beloved friends.
Just as she thought that the grim situation was hopeless, and that she could only pray…
Suddenly, the unthinkable happened.
With that speed, it was clear that the chimera would at least injure her.
But surprisingly, the chimera suddenly stopped in its track, no, it felt as if something
that chimera in such an awkward pose and timing, causing it to be unable to attack Lyra at all.
Maiara closed her eyes as she plopped to her bed, gazing at the ceiling.
She was so torn by the current situation…