I Stole the Heroines' Tragedy Flags-Chapter 37: I’m Sorry

"...So it really is something connected to the gods."

"Yeah. Without a doubt."

"..."

Beyond the human realm.

If it was someone capable of hiding from her sight, there was only one possibility.

It had to be someone from above.

And it was highly likely to be a god of considerable rank.

'Doesn't seem like that war god bastard, though.'

That one's just a battle-crazed maniac—he’s not the type to scheme and manipulate things like this.

But I couldn’t completely rule out his involvement either.

Something told me this wasn’t the work of just one god.

"Who could it be?"

"We’ll have to find out. It’s not like they’d act directly, so maybe a projection or a pawn... if we keep investigating, we’ll uncover something."

"I see."

"It’ll take a while, but I’ll try to ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) catch them as fast as possible."

"Thank you."

"Sure~ you better keep thanking me~ you’ll have lots of chances to thank me more in the future~"

The principal yawned as she joked around.

She really was always the same. Or rather—such was the nature of dragons.

"By the way, Principal—"

"Lily."

"...Huh?"

"Just call me Lily. That title’s way too long."

"Oh, okay. Then... Lily-nim."

"Drop the ‘nim’ too."

"...Alright. Lily."

Only then did she smile, biting into a new piece of candy with satisfaction.

The sudden change in how I addressed her... it felt ridiculously awkward.

"So? Why’d you call me?"

"Ah, well... I had a favor to ask. If Hella wakes up—"

"She already did."

"What?"

Whip.

I turned my head.

What met my gaze were a pair of crimson eyes.

As soon as our eyes met, those eyes filled with tears.

"...H-Hella—"

"A-Ain...!"

Thud!

Hella rushed over to the sofa where I sat.

She lunged toward me, burying herself in my arms.

Her arms wrapped around me, trembling faintly.

Her entire body was shaking—and then, she started sobbing.

"Huu... Ain... I-I'm sorry...!"

"H-Her Highness?"

"I’m so... sob... so sorry!"

"Please calm down for now."

"I was so naive! So stupid! I didn’t know anything... I only made things harder for you...!"

"..."

Her incoherent words—

Each one pierced herself like thorns.

Watching her in such a dazed and broken state, I placed a hand on her head without saying anything.

'...This just got a whole lot messier.'

What did she see—and how much?

I couldn’t even begin to grasp what she must be feeling right now.

That’s why I just waited, silently, until she calmed down.

I stroked her head, the way I had in the past.

***

I had a dream.

Of memories darker than anything.

She was a princess.

The Third Princess, Hella Leonerit.

A figure unknown to the citizens of the empire.

And that made sense.

A member of the imperial family was only officially acknowledged when they entered the palace at age fifteen.

Until then, they learned the basic knowledge required of a royal elsewhere.

She, too, had gone through that.

But even as a child, I knew.

That I was different from my older sisters and brothers.

That I had been branded as 'different' from birth.

I understood it too.

That I wasn’t someone worthy of the title ‘princess.’

That I could never put others beneath me and radiate charisma.

It just wasn’t in my nature. I didn’t have the makings of a ruler—nowhere close.

What drew my attention then was a single book.

A magic device. The intricate circuits and mechanical diagrams captivated me.

It felt like I had found a long-lost puzzle piece.

My heart raced.

From that moment on, I buried myself in magic engineering instead of imperial studies.

While my siblings learned politics, I dismantled magical devices.

Many looked down on me for it.

Saying it was typical of a girl with commoner’s blood. That I wasn’t fit for the royal family.

Those words, whispered behind my back, wounded me deeply.

I became even more timid.

Afraid to face others, unable to speak properly.

I eventually shut myself away, fiddling only with machines in my room.

And yet, no one interfered.

Because no one expected anything from me.

Though I accepted it as normal, I was still a child—and I cried.

"Hic... h-huu... I..."

Was it wrong that I was born into the imperial family?

Would I have been happier had I been born into an ordinary home?

It might sound like a luxury to some.

But at least for me, it was a real wish.

'Mother...'

I sobbed, calling out for my parents.

But I didn’t even know my mother’s face.

They said she died when I was born.

No one ever told me why.

'Father...'

My father—the emperor.

I knew his face, but I had never met him in person.

Not once. He never came to see me.

'I’m so lonely.'

I was always alone.

The caretakers who looked after me always changed.

There was no one to form a bond with.

Would I end up being alone forever like this?

Every night I cried myself to sleep in loneliness.

And then, one day—someone came to me.

"Hello, Princess! I’m Melena, your personal maid starting today!"

Melena, who treated even someone like me with warmth and care.

She became like a mother to me.

And then—

"...I greet the empire’s little future. Good day, Third Princess."

A memory sweet and radiant as a beam of light.

My meeting with Ain felt like destiny itself.

"Princess. No one is guilty for simply being born."

It was the first time.

Someone not as close as Melena.

Someone who didn’t deny my existence.

Someone who told me I wasn’t to blame.

"You don’t need to worry so much about how others define you. What matters is having confidence in yourself."

"With such amazing talent, how could it be useless?"

"The gift you have is something special. It’s not worthless."

"You should have a bit more confidence, Princess. Please value yourself more."

Tears streamed down.

All the emotions I’d been holding in burst at once.

The dam I had kept sealed, fearing Melena might worry, collapsed.

"Sob... Are... are you really... saying all that sincerely?"

"...Yes. I mean it."

Everything was different.

Everything was new.

I wasn’t alone anymore.

I wasn’t lonely.

And that’s why this bond became even more precious to me.

...

Was it because of that?

Because I was afraid of this bond breaking?

When I heard that the Fourth Prince had died.

Leon... Zeleon Leonerit. Realizing that someone who was both family by blood and a friend was gone.

And when Ain confessed that he had been the one who killed him.

"I was the one who killed him, Your Highness."

"Th-That’s a lie... isn’t it?"

It was such a sudden change.

All of a sudden, Ain began treating me coldly, and that felt more foreign than anything.

He no longer smiled at me. No longer responded to my words.

He no longer... stayed by my side.

Back then, all I could feel toward Ain was resentment. It was simple.

Because I was young, naive, and stupid. I had no idea what Ain was enduring, what he was sacrificing for me.

I simply assumed he would always stay at my side as my butler.

...Like a fool, I truly believed that.

‘Please... stop. Stop showing me any more...!’

This was no sweet dream.

It was a wretchedly bitter nightmare. A tragic story that only exposed my ignorance.

The plots by my siblings to kill me.

The shock that Zeleon, too, had been part of it.

And the truth... that it wasn’t Ain who had killed him.

That the emperor—my own father—denied my very existence with loathing.

Everything was miserable and cruel.

...but to realize that Ain had shouldered all of it and disappeared alone...

Only now was I finally understanding it.

And that truth—

That was what made me hate myself most.

Ain.

...Why did you go so far to protect me?

Someone like me, who didn’t even know the grace you’d shown me.

Why did you keep shielding me?

"I am your escort, Your Highness."

Your escort.

Was that all it was...?

You weren’t doing it as a butler, but as an escort, to protect me? freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Does someone like me... does someone like me even deserve to be protected at your expense?

It felt like my heart had crumbled.

No—it had already collapsed. Torn to pieces, not even a handful of it left.

When he finished everything, and walked out of the palace.

When he tried to leave all alone, scorned and hated by everyone—

What was I doing?

I was asleep in the annex, blissfully unaware.

Even as all hell broke loose, I lived in ignorance.

That the peace I had was thanks to Ain.

That the reason I could now attend the academy and live without worry was also thanks to him.

I realized it all too late.

‘I-I’m sorry...’

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

I’m sorry... Ain.

Because of a foolish princess like me,

I’m sorry you had to suffer wounds you never should’ve received.

I’m sorry for living so blindly, so naïvely. I was stupid.

...Those words—

I screamed them dozens of times in that nightmare, but they never reached Ain.

And when the dream ended, and I met his eyes in reality—

—drip.

The tears wouldn’t stop.

Even though I didn’t have the confidence to face him,

Even though I feared he might disappear from my side again—

I didn’t know what to do, paralyzed by vague terror.

So I threw myself into his arms and cried.

That was all I could do.

"Huu... Ain... I-I’m sorry...!"

Really... I’m sorry.

I won’t be like that again.

So please... don’t be hurt anymore. Ain...