Maydare Volume 1 Chapter 10 - The Ball (Part 2)

 The moment you've all been waiting for...

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We were feeling tired and thirsty after dancing just one dance.

The four of us excitedly headed for the snack corner at the edge of the venue and drank chilled grape juice there. We were good kids, so of course we drank non-alcoholic drinks. Although I slapped Frey’s hand away when he was reaching for the wine. ...Haa~~, I’m revived.

“Ah…”

I spotted Prince Gilbert, the third prince from earlier, on the second floor.

Speaking of which, I remembered that that prince hurried back when he was told that “Airi is calling for you.”

The second floor was the special seats for royalty. I wonder if Thor’s there…

“!?”

Suddenly, the lights of the chandelier in the hall dimmed, and snow white flowers bloomed in profusion at our feet in a magical display that drew cries of surprise everywhere.

These were pure-white irises, the national flower.

Before I knew it, there was a person standing in the place where it protruded from the archway on the second floor terrace.

“It’s the king.”

“The king of Ruschia…”

Yes. It was the king of our country. He was wearing a gold crown, his sceptre in hand, and he was looking down at us with a stately eye. His kingly air was just as I have seen in newspapers, but the real thing had an even more severe tension. He had on a long mantle that made his presence seem even larger.

Everyone bowed to our king.

“Raise your faces, brothers and sisters of Ruschia.”

The king began his address in a deep voice.

“Do you remember that meteor shower of two years ago? We should have perceived it on that day. That the world will be engulfed in a maelstrom of chaos, just as it had five hundred years ago. The stars have foretold this and bestowed upon Maydare a Savior from another world.”

To those present, the king retold the legend of the Savior and appealed to them.

A newspaper reporter next to me was diligently scribbling away. I wondered if this was something that would be told to the people in tomorrow’s newspaper.

“That girl from another world is here.”

The king turned around and pulled the hand of the girl who had been waiting behind him to stand next to him.

Wearing a pale blue dress, it was my best friend from my previous life, Tanaka-san.

No. I already recognized her as “Miss Airi.” As the Savior, the girl who descended to this world from another world.

“She is the Savior of our era. The girl blessed by Maydare. Her name is Airi.”

After a moment of deathly silence, everyone bowed their heads to her. I did so as well.

She was someone that all the nobles here must respect.

”Today, I announce the appearance of the new Savior and her Guardians! And, history will record her, who arrived in this era, as the ‘Savior of Iris.’”

This time, there was a big cheer. Long live the Savior, long live the King of Ruschia.

Miss Airi picked up her dress and bowed lightly, making herself known in a dignified manner.

She was so full of confidence that it was hard to believe that she was the old Tanaka-san.

“The Savior will have four Guardians chosen by the stars. Bearing the Crest of the Four Lights, they are the ‘Guardians’ who will serve as the Savior’s shield.”

There was another cry of astonishment from the venue. The three Guardians had appeared next to her.

The third prince of the Kingdom of Ruschia, Gilbert Dieke Roi Ruschia.

The vice commander of the Order of the Royal Palace, Lionel Fabray.

Lastly, a magic knight from the Order of the Royal Palace, Thor Bigreitz.

“Thor…”

There he was, the dark-haired knight I knew so well.

He was dressed in fine, aristocratic clothes, and had a perfectly smooth expression on his face. His mature and dignified figure reminded me of the two years we had been apart.

“Everyone, be silent, please.”

The male minister next to the king calmed the noisy hall.

It was because the king wasn’t finished speaking. The king cleared his throat once.

“The final Guardian has still not been found. This is a matter of great importance that has shaken our nation.” 

The king struck his scepter against the floor and declared something very important.

“In the name of the king of Ruschia, Lorentz Roeg Le Ruschia, I decree this! The last Guardian shall come forward immediately. Abandoning the duty of Guardian is absolutely unacceptable! The entire nation must find them, by any means necessary!”

The venue erupted again. That was because it was also announced at the same time that there would be a large reward for whoever found the Guardian.

I was sure that this decree would be known throughout the country tonight and tomorrow, and everyone would start looking for the final Guardian. The whole country would no doubt be in a tumult.

The king’s speech finished with that, and the lights came on in the great hall again.

The nobles here were far more lively than before. Everyone was talking about the Savior and the Guardians, completely ignoring dancing for talking.

“Makia…? Is there something wrong?”

Lapis was calling my name, but my eyes were fixed on the people on the second floor terrace. 

Amidst all this noise, Miss Airi was pestering Thor about something on the second floor.

Thor smiled at Miss Airi, took her hand and kissed the back of it, and escorted her down the stairs. While a resentful Prince Gilbert saw them off…

“Oh my, the Savior, Lady Airi, is dancing!”

“The other person is her Guardian, Lord Thor Bigreitz.”

“They look so good together. All the Guardians are so beautiful that I’m even jealous of Lady Airi.”

“Prince Gilbert and the vice commander, Sir Lionel, are both devoted to that girl from another world. I wonder who will be the one to win Lady Airi’s heart!”

“It’s possible that girl might even be the next queen candidate!”

The ladies, rather than discussing the responsibilities the Savior and Guardians were burdened with, were animatedly gossiping about baseless rumors, only caring about their love lives. My ears couldn’t help but pick up on all these topics.

Airi and Thor went down to the floor, and once again there was the magic performance of irises blooming at our feet. The people in the great hall stepped aside to make a space for the two of them.

In the middle of that, Thor and Miss Airi were gracefully dancing along to the calm music.

The two of them were smiling at each other, as though they were lovers.

His once impertinent eyes were tenderly narrowed, taking the lead with a girl who was inexperienced with dancing. A Thor I didn’t know was there.

Well, I knew it from the beginning, but...seeing them like that made my chest ache.

It wouldn’t be strange if they didn’t just look like lovers, but actually had that kind of relationship.

But, I was supposed to have been the one to find Thor first.

I was supposed to have been the one to teach Thor how to dance.

You said you would always be by my side——

Such strong feelings of “jealousy” welled up within me before I was aware of them.

“...Ugh...:”

For some reason, my head was aching horribly, and I felt dizzy.

I had a flashback to Tanaka-san and Saitou from sometime ago. And then, on the other side…

——Stop it.

——Don’t steal from me again!

A witch with fluttering long crimson hair, wearing a robe dress and a black pointy hat.

For a brief moment, I saw that person grieving and moaning.

My body was shuddering as a dark feeling rose up from my feet.

“Ah…”

I wrapped my arms around my cold body, not knowing what was happening. As though to protect myself.

For some reason, I was terribly afraid. I was afraid of being jealous.

That deeply negative emotion that made me afraid of myself. But, it didn’t only belong to me.

“Oi, what’s wrong, Makia?”

Nero pulled me by my shoulders. Lapis and Frey were also there, worried and confused by my strange behavior. And yet, I was in pain. I was scared. I hate them. I hate them――

“I don’t know...I, I…”

Without thinking, I ran out of the hall, as though to escape the situation.

It might have drawn people’s notice. On the way, my shoe came off on the marble steps, but I abandoned it and fled to the palace gardens. Yes, I was probably running away.

From what?

I didn’t know. The darkness within me.

What would happen to me once I was sure of my feelings for Thor?

In the past, I heard something from Grandmother.

She said that my ancestor, the “Scarlet Witch,” had an unrequited love.

“What was that back then…”

I was in the deserted palace gardens, where I could hear the elegant music of the ball.

Leaning against a marble fountain, which seemed to have been forgotten it was there, I stared blankly at the red roses wet with night dew, listening only to the quiet sound of the running water.

“My shoe is gone...what is this, Cinderella?”

I laughed bitterly and muttered, but my words melted into thin air and disappeared.

I left that place as though I was running away.

Partly because of the strong feelings and special thoughts that came over me, but also because I didn’t want to see Thor watching over another girl who wasn’t me anymore.

I was such a petty woman. It was as if I was no longer myself.

The discouraged me. The me who was jealous of those two.

I was sure that I shocked Lapis, Nero, and Frey. I made a commotion and ran out, so there might be rumors going around now that the daughter of the O’Drielle house was mannerless.

I thought that if I could come to the palace, I would be able to meet Thor.

I wanted to see Thor, find about his past life, and get an answer to my feelings.

But, if I approached him carelessly, I was sure I would get hurt. I would be torn to pieces. That was what I felt like.

He was a Guardian, and he had already forgotten me, only looking at Miss Airi. 

Now that I know how I felt about Thor and what this jealousy was, what can I do?

It was too late, and it was better to quit.

Once I made sure, there was no going back.

“...Milady...?”

Suddenly, a nostalgic voice cut through the rose garden.

A voice that I wanted to hear for a long time.

I jumped up quietly, became aware of my thumping heart, and instinctively put my hand on my chest.

And then, I slowly turned around. A black-haired knight was there.

“Thor…?”

We stared at each other for a while, sea-blue eyes and violet-colored eyes. Just like the first time we met.

However, his masculine face was completely different from that of the skinny boy in rags.

Maybe I was also not the young girl from back then, either.

It was a summer night, and a warm wind was blowing strongly.

It made my hair and the bright red petals of the roses whirl up…

Beneath the moonlight that poured down on us, we met again.

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