“I know.” He took a deep breath, then turned back to her. “Lady Elizabeth, as I’m sure you’re aware, I have a few attitude issues. I pretend to be perfect around my brother and most people, but I’m afraid that persona isn’t the real me.”
She blinked at him in surprise, startled by the sudden seriousness in his tone, but she didn’t interrupt him.
He furrowed his brow in consternation. “Lecia is a bright young woman, so she suits my brother far better than I do. Nobody with secrets as dark and heinous as mine deserves to stand beside such a brilliant man. If he knew the real me, he’d abandon me without a second thought. You see, I was jealous of Lecia.”
Lars gave me a prompting look, but I made no move to stop Leohardt. If someone like Lecia appeared before Elizabeth—perfect inside and out—I’d feel the same way. Leohardt had been running from his insecurities for a long time, but with Elizabeth’s strength, he was attempting to face his demons. Only her genuine forgiveness could ease his pain. I gave Lars a knowing look, and, satisfied with my answer, he sat with his tail around his feet and waited.
“I wanted nothing more than to be a man worthy of my brother’s love,” he confessed.
“Oh, Prince Leohardt. I can only imagine.” She nodded deeply without breaking eye contact, a soft smile on her face. “But don’t worry. You deserve his love as much as anyone.”
He raised an eyebrow in doubt. “No, but he—”
“It doesn’t matter what kind of person you say you are,” she asserted. “You’ve done all this to make your brother happy, haven’t you? Even if you’re putting on an act, your feelings are yours and yours alone. It’s not who you pretend to be, but who you truly are, and you’ve made that clear to him.”
“You…You really think so?” he replied weakly.
Her reply moved him and me. I always assumed that my true self was something I kept bottled deep inside, and if not for Elizabeth, I wouldn’t be anything like the man I was today. I was convinced that meant that, deep down, I was a wicked soul. If what she told Leohardt was true—if his actions determined his character instead of his innate virtue—then maybe I was the same.
Elizabeth smiled bashfully. “Or at least, that’s what I tell myself. Sometimes it’s hard to keep faith. I’m dreadfully lazy at home, and I often make the most irresponsible demands. Oh, and I eat far too many sweets.”
“Really?” I blurted out awkwardly.
She narrowed her eyes at me slightly. “Of course. Not everyone is perfect—though I suppose you may be the exception who proves the rule.”
Uh… No comment.
I could tell how much she trusted me, and it was unsettling. Lars’ eyes glittered with an ominous mixture of every color imaginable, and he used his mana to release sparkling rainbow-colored vomit all over the floor.
Does he really need to do that?
While the violence Lars was unleashing on the parlor rug brought me to my senses, Leohardt was oddly silent. To him, Elizabeth’s words carried as much weight as Prince Malius’. If she accepted him, cruel streak and all, the conclusion was obvious.
Elizabeth beamed at him as if to give him another nudge toward the light. “Your feelings for your brother are real, Prince Leohardt. I’m sure Prince Malius knows that.”
Leohardt was silent for a long moment, but a glimmer not unlike a shooting star’s glow appeared in his eyes. Before I realized what was happening, his lips curved into a smile. It was the first time I’d ever seen him look genuinely happy—there was no hint of devilish intent, only joy befitting a young man his age.
“Thank you, Lady Elizabeth. The fog that’s hung over my heart for so long has finally lifted. My brother isn’t the type to forsake someone so easily. He won’t cut ties with me, I’m sure. It seems so obvious now, but I was scared to death of just that.”
She nodded. “Everyone feels anxious at times, especially towards those they hold most dear.”
Leohardt reached out to take her hands, but Lars jumped up and into his arms, cutting him off from her.
Good work.
The second prince didn’t mind in the slightest. “I’d best return to Orion, then. I need to give my dear brother’s betrothed a proper welcome by hazing—er, helping her get used to the palace. There’s much to do.”
“I’m sure they’ll love to have you.”
“I’m glad you’re ready to go home.” I smiled at him. “Why don’t I help you pack?”
I signaled to Harold, telling him to prepare Leohardt and his entourage for the journey home. Ideally, he’d be gone by the day after tomorrow—the sooner he left, the less likely he was to change his mind. I was concerned about what he was really planning to do to Lady Lecia, but it was the best I could do given the circumstances. He looked awfully like an abandoned puppy, so I showed him that small kindness.
More importantly, now that Leohardt was out of the way, I could take my rightful place at Elizabeth’s side.
If that’s how she feels, though, maybe—just maybe—she’ll accept me for who I really am, too.
A sharp tug at my sleeve stopped my advance. I turned to find Harold there. He sternly met my eyes. “If I may, Your Royal Highness, I don’t believe your true nature is as wicked as Leohardt’s,” he whispered. “I believe you’re just a simp.”
“A what?”
“A simp. Don’t you know the word?”
“I know what a simp is!”
He fixed me with the frostiest gaze I’d seen in a while. It was less frigid than pitying, or perhaps sympathetic—it was hard to describe exactly. Nonetheless, it made me think twice. I decided to wait to confess my true nature to Elizabeth for another day.
At the end of Elizabeth’s and my year at the Academy, Leohardt returned to Orion proper, and as we prepared for our formal engagement ball, we received an invitation from abroad.