You Think I Won't Talk?-Chapter 677

’Could it be that even if she doesn’t see or hear them, she still is affected by them?’ — I thought almost convinced this could truly be the cause. Also wondering why these fairies were so obsessed with Princess Jasmine’s existence. It was odd, for it was solely when it came to her that they behaved so enthusiastically and obsessively.

"Sigh... what could I be hiding, little brother? There is no such a thing..."

"I do not know... m-maybe you want something and w-won’t tell? Marianne, what do you think?"

"Well... I am not sure... her symptoms seem tricky."

"Princess, princess! Look over here~ We are here~~!"

"Aw... She still cannot hear us... Yet look! What an elegant sigh! Lovely the princess is, hehehe~!"

"Hehehe!! Lovely, lovely!"

Narrowing my eyes seeing how annoyed I would be if I were in the princess’s shoes I repeated in a murmur. — "I... I truly wonder why..."

"Hm~" — Dioclecià pouted, seemingly worried. I had been told by him in secret that they were trying not to come as often because of this but that was also making the princess upset. The matter seemed complex for them. Dioclecià had become closer to his sister and wanted to support her but at the same time...

— Marianne, I am also growing anxious... we have not spent much time together even though we are friends... —

’Hehe... so cute.’ — I chuckled, actually concerned about this.

"Y-Yet... the other day, I heard you tell Mother that you wanted to be closer to Marianne and yet you cannot get the courage to say it!" — Suddenly and quickly, not stuttering as he should have with such an attack, Dioclecià rambled, hiding behind my chair as he finished. Receiving the wide eyes of the princess... deathly wide eyes.

"Dioclecià."

"Oh... uhm..." — I nervously tried to protect him.

"I-It is t-t-true! I heard it!"

"Little boy... Are you now trying to humiliate me before the ninth?! My brother you are, yet you say such unnecessary things!"

"I-I am s-s-sorry!!"

"W-well, it is alright..." — I tried to calm her down as she menaced him.

"Treason like this... I would have expected it from my other brothers but not you, third prince!!"

"S-sister J-Jasmine..."

The tension was quite heavy... much more the guilt of my little friend as he held in the tears after being called a traitor. There was not much to do but to become a bridge between them... and truthfully if what he said is true I am actually quite interested to learn what this means.

"Er... if it is alright to ask... Aren’t the princess and I already close? What is it that her highness is afraid to tell me?"

"... it is nothing."

"S-sister... M-Marianne w-w-wants—"

"I will not talk with you for the moment. I feel betrayed. Therefore, desist from speaking to me, third prince." — Cold, the princess interrupted the regretful little prince. Making it more difficult for me, although I could understand why she was displeased.

"Princess Jasmine, is it that I was mistaken? I thought we were close enough to share our distress... didn’t we converse nicely about our concerns? Even with Paige, we offered advice... what the prince says he heard confuses me vastly."

"... You are not mistaken." — Shaken probably by what I said, she frowned more. Taking a moment to observe us both, before letting the truth be said after sitting again. — "It is a small matter."

"? If it is a small matter please share it with me. I would be happy to help a friend."

"..."

"..."

"... you..." — Having trouble, she decided not to look me in the eye. Staring proudly to her side where many worried fairies became excited by her motion. — "I would also like to call you by name. Dioclecià does... yet I do not..."

"Oh, if so it is alright. Would it be possible for me to also call the princess by name?" — Without even blinking I answered, surprising her somehow.

"Huh? Is it truly alright?"

"Of course? I do not think it is a bad thing... I have been wondering when it could be good to start calling you Jasmine as well, hehe~ perhaps we both were thinking the same?"

An awkward but still soft and elegant laughter was released by her after I said that, and after controlling it she smiled as if unable to contain it, replying and setting a wave of blush in the fairies with it. — "Fufu... with how easy it was for you to agree to it, it makes myself feel silly for doubting, Marianne... many thanks, dear friend."

I also felt a bit of a squeal resound inside me when she said my name. The princess was truly beautiful and gracious even while saying this and I kind of understood the excited fairies that danced around her more energetically now.

"!? Oh goodness... wh-why is it that it is hurting more...?" — Jasmine said right after. Making me more suspicious of this theory.

"... your high— Jasmine, is there something specific that changes whenever this happens to you?"

"Uh... huff... well, it feels noisy although there is no noise..."

’Then it’s obviously the fairies!!’ — I understood immediately with such a description, for whenever Jasmine visited, most of the time the fairies would rush to her side and make a fuss around her. — "Um... Dioclecià, Jasmine, it may seem strange, however, I will look like I am talking to the air for a moment."

"... you will what?"

"Talk to the air, Marianne?" — Dioclecià, the most innocent one, tilted his head at my weird declaration. Yet I ignored the awkwardness and did as warned. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Erna, Estelle, I have asked you before why it is that you run to the princess so much? You guys never leave her alone!"

"Because it’s the princess! We love the princess!"

"Yes, but why? There must be a real reason for that!"

"... can we tell?"

"I do not think we can..." — They murmured between each other while I demanded an answer... being stared at by the princes as if I had gone crazy.

"What can’t you tell me?"

"... what we cannot tell we cannot tell, Ninth..." — Erna said, ashamed. Being protected by Estelle who flew to stand before her. — "Why does the Ninth need to know? We cannot tell now! Aenean would be mad!"

"... but Aenean is not around anymore..." — I said between my teeth, smiling out of patience, knowing that at least there was still a bit of her in my pretty tear but knowing as well that the existence of the guardian spirit itself was indeed gone.