My tears had rendered me speechless. Why did the tears keep flowing? It must have been because of Elyneâs sudden gentleness. All we did was fight. I hadnât been kind enough to her.
It was even harder to accept since she was leaving so suddenly. I was such a stubborn princess.
âEven if I donât work here anymore after getting married, Iâll always be your first maid.â
âOkay.â
I guessed Elyne felt troubled because I kept crying. Elyne smiled and wiped my tears.
âDonât cry, princess.â
âIâm not crying!â
Whoâs crying?
I was not crying, I was justâI was justâI was just tearing up. However, my tears prevented me from speaking once more. Why did I keep crying? I quickly wiped away my tears with my hands.
âFarewell⦠and be happy.â
âI will.â
She really was leaving.
Saying goodbye like this made it all so real. I thought Elyne would always be with me⦠even after I grew up. Even after I got married. I was glad sheâs not leaving that far, butâ¦
âIâll be fine. Itâs not like Iâm going off to die, right?â
âI wouldnât let you leave if you were just going off to die somewhere!â
âAww, my princess.â
I thought Elyne was glad that I was crying for her. She laughed, just like when sheâs happy.
âWhat should I do? Youâre so cute.â
âHow am I supposed to know?â
At least, crying calmed me down a bit. Oh, my eyes were so sore. It felt like my nose was all red. Elyne held my hand.
âCome on, Princess. We should go now.â
âAll right.â
I should wash my face.
Now that I had calmed down, I was starting to feel embarrassed about crying. Sheesh, why was I so emotional? I wasnât like this in my previous life. I supposed Seriraâs sensibility was starting to rub off on me! Oh my, how humiliating.
As I raised my hand and wiped up the tears, I realized that I couldnât avoid seeing that person who suddenly popped out of the woods.
âAah!â
âPrincess!â
Ouch, it hurt!
A person who bumped into me also fell out, but my condition was worse since I was attacked while defenseless.
As I was rolling around on the ground in pain, Elyne ran to me and checked my condition. Fortunately, I wasnât wounded or bleeding anywhere. It just hurt so bad.
âBlast, what was that?â
Why that little thing⦠He hadnât apologized even after running into me?
I looked at the guy who bumped into me. I could see right away why I wasnât hurt. He looks like heâs my age. Who is this kid?
âAnd just what are you?â
He frowned at my words.
âWhat?â
⦠It looks like this would take a while. I sighed with my hands on my forehead. First of all, I needed to get inside and wash my face.
âElyne.â
âYes?â
Elyne tilted her head after hearing my call. I ordered lightly and refreshingly.
âBring him in.â