Don't Concern Yourself With That Book
Chapter Side Story 3-4

Side Story 3-4

Translator: yun

Years passed and Rebecca had turned 19. The Coming-of-Age Ceremony that was held for her was, if anything, decent. 

One day, Leah told Rebecca. 

“Rebecca, until you get married, why don’t you work as a lady-in-waiting?”

Leah had felt assured ever since Rebecca had given up on becoming a templar for good. From that day, she had not once experienced any seizures. She now always presented herself elegantly and gracefully. However, Rebecca’s peace was shattered into pieces by her mother’s words. 

“A lady-in-waiting?”

The moment she turned 19, Rebecca had been waiting for her mother to share her pick amongst the myriad of marriage candidates. Her father had also been busy as though he could not postpone her engagement any longer. 

However, Rebecca must have been the only one thinking that her marriage would be decided before the Founding Festival that year. 

Just as she had been beaten awake from her reverie upon hearing that ridiculous suggestion, she had found herself in the Terena Palace. 

“Is there something on my face?”

“N… No? Nothing’s the matter!”

The princess she eventually met was unreasonable. If she dared to say what her first impression of her was… It was the worst. 

For the first time in her life, Rebecca resented Leah. 

What the hell did she bring me here to gain? 

‘The daughter of Auresia.’

Auresia was the name that Leah still could not let go. She was aware of how her mother owed Auresia but she never expected her mother to force her here.

‘Ha… But is she really her daughter?’

Rebecca recalled Auresia whom she had caught a glimpse of as a child. She was a woman who did not come off crude, and instead exuded elegance and grace. She was a beautiful woman. But to say that this plain and unattractive girl was her daughter?

‘More importantly, that scar…’

As soon as Rebecca noticed the state of her palace, Rebecca believed that she could never get close to Ashley, the princess. Alright, she could think of this as a little break before she finally got married. 

At least, that was what she thought. 

However…

“Rebecca…”

Why did she find her smiling face as she held her hand so sweet to see? 

“You are not going anywhere else. You will continue to stay here. And that is enough.”

Her innocent expressions had seeped into her heart. 

“If you become tamed by me, we will grow to never part from each other. You will become the only person in the world on my side and I will become your bestest friend.”

Under a vast, cloudless and clear sky, with an occasional smile, the princess asked her a question. With the most innocent eyes, she looked up at her.

“Rebecca, will you be tamed by me?”

The girl had formed a crack in her heart. 

“If I want to continue seeing you for a long time, I mean I would like to be your friend, Rebecca.”

It was as though she was watching snow piling to form the blanket in front of her. Did the roof collapse because of the last snowflake to join the rest of the pile atop it or the first one to land? 

“Princess. W-why the hell are you…”

“I am doing this just in case because I’m worried you might die.”

Rebecca had never wanted any of this. She never needed this relationship. However, her mind could not change what her heart had become set on. 

What else could she say to the princess who threw her entire body to save her from a large hound? 

“At that moment, I could only see you.”

Eventually, this enormous amount of snow had turned her world white. The snow had melted in her heart to become a river flowing through her heart. Warmly. Warmly…

“Rebecca, what is your ideal type?”

She eventually came to terms with this feeling she could not ignore. 

“Oh, you don’t know? Well, you must have dreamed of it before. A handsome warrior or a handsome prince from a novel.”

The more she spent time with her, the lovelier her mistress became. It happened the moment she stared into her curled eyes as she smiled. 

But it was not just her lovely expressions. 

“Isn’t it natural to follow your father’s decision when it comes to marriage?”

Sometimes, her mistress would look back at her with her head tilted and every time she did, she would throw her a curveball. 

“Rebecca, have you never made a choice for yourself before?”

“Whether it be a dress or hair accessories, I make choices dozens of times a day.”

“Not those kinds of choices, ones that impact your life. Choices like you deciding to follow a mistress like me.”

Rebecca had always been uncomfortable thinking about things like this. Ashley had asked her something she never really thought about. A choice? What did she mean by a choice Rebecca made on her own? Why would her choice be important? Why? 

“I don’t think ideal types are that important to fuss over. It all depends on one’s heart.”

“…..”

“What about Rebecca? What would you like your partner’s hair colour to be? Black? Blue? Gray? And what about his personality? Would you like him to be smart?”

“… No, I don’t like ones who are too smart.”

“Why?”

“Because they wouldn’t be able to live for long.”

She had become perplexed. 

“And? Anything else?”

“I hope he will smile a decent amount, is friendly and has a gentle personality.”

“Mhm, anything else?”

“And I hope I can find a man who can jump in front of any danger for me but… as long as he is not manipulative or brutish… hold on. Why am I talking about this?”

That was how it started. The question she asked that day made Rebecca reflect on the life she had lived so far. Come to think of it, had she ever chosen something herself thus far? 

The words that she heard from god passed her mind. 

“Do you want to carry a sword?”

The day she chose to refuse to be a templar. No. Had it really been her choice? 

“Rebecca.”

“Yes.”

“My blonde hair is eye-catching.”

“… Yes.”

“I also have a bright colour for my eyes. My smile is pretty too. And well, I saved Rebecca’s life before.”

“Yes, and so?”

“Am I Rebecca’s ideal type?”

“… What?”

A little princess who could always hold her own ground when it came down to it. Every time that happened, Rebecca would ask herself. 

Was the princess really a moron? 

But as she stared at her smiling mistress, whilst she swung her legs and held up her teacup adorned with flowers, her question would melt away like snow. 

Who really was the princess in front of her? 

What kind of person was she? Instead of suspicion, it was her curiosity that was piqued. 

“Rebecca, I read somewhere in a book that one has to take responsibility for the pets one adopts. That’s why from now on, I shall take responsibility for you, Rebecca.”

“Uhm, what book was that?”

“Well, a romance novel?’

“… Toss that book away immediately.”

She had always acted as though she was angry with the princess but whenever Rebecca covered her face with her hands, she would still peek through the cracks to watch over her. 

“No, you just need to believe in me. Because I’ll make you happy!”

Her mistress who was smiling so brightly. 

The ice surrounding Rebecca had melted for a long time now. 

***

It was at a banquet the princess had been invited to where Rebecca was convinced that the princess had merely been acting like a moron. 

“Kneel. Why won’t you kneel?”

Could a young girl ever kneel without compromising their dignity? A girl who was known to be a moron?

Rebecca was no fool. On the contrary, she was very smart. The Symposium would only end late into the night. It had already been dawn when the banquet ended and they returned to the palace. 

“Ducal princess.”

Rebecca had encountered Fleon in front of the palace in the midst of her return. 

“… I greet the prince.”

“Enough.”

Fleon stared as Rebecca raised her head elegantly. 

“I have something to say to you.”

“… You do?”

After a brief pause, he opened his mouth. 

“… To tell you the truth, I thought you were plotting something. Because if you hadn’t been, there would have been any reason for you to join the princess’s–the one who had been rumoured to be abandoned–side, you know?”

Fleon did not know Rebecca’s mother, Leah, and the 8th Queen, Auresia, were close friends, which was why Rebecca remained silent. 

“I thought that was the reason why Ashley would act unusually or babble nonsense whenever she was around you. I thought it was because you made her uncomfortable.”

‘Thought’. He was using the past tense. 

“… What about now?”

“I’m not sure.”

Fleon let out a low laugh. 

“I know that you cherish her now. Am I wrong?”

… For some reason, at that moment, she could vividly see Fleon’s smile through the darkness which Rebecca found strange. 

“… You’re not wrong.”

“So, you’re agreeing, almost instantly?”

“… It is not something I find the need to hide.”

Rebecca calmly responded to his playful jabs. Looking at Rebecca, Fleon soon curled his lips upwards. 

“Alright. I know you’re not the enemy now.”

Seeing her own hand being lifted, Rebecca’s eyes widened. Holding her fingertips, Fleon bent over gracefully. 

“So, you must be an ally.”

His lips brushed against her skin for only a moment. 

“My little sister. Please take good care of her.”

He was proud but his etiquette was flawless. 

“… You don’t have to tell me that.”

“Alright. That’s enough.”

“Yes. Safe travels.”

Fleon grinned.

“You too, ducal princess. Have a good night.”

As Fleon returned, Rebecca looked down at the back of her hand. And she looked for a long time. 

…Why could she not look away from the back of her hand? There was no way she could know. 

***

Ashley might be clever but sometimes she could get things so wrong. In other words, she was smart but at times, she would do things no one would ever expect. 

One of those things was her plan to announce Ahasia, a princess from the desert, as Fleon’s fiancée, and to spread the news of her engagement far and wide. 

Rebecca had not understood Ashley’s decision but she still carried out her order to spread the rumour. 

“How is the desert reacting?”

Ashley asked Rebecca with a smile.

“They seem bewildered.”

“They must be wondering how they managed to break through tight security and date, right?”

“Well. That is the case but something troubling seemed to have popped up. The rumours between Princess Ahasia and the Crown Prince seem more serious…”

“Ah. Enough. I don’t want to hear about it anymore.”

Fleon, who had been hanging around the couch, suddenly interrupted. Rebecca glanced back at him before continuing. 

“… There is word that they have deep friendly relations.”

“Can someone stop the ducal princess from talking?”

At just one glance, he looked displeased. 

‘If he feels this strongly about it, why didn’t he refuse from the start?’

That was what Rebecca thought as she stared at Fleon. 

“In any case, the identity of the prince from the rumours has still not been revealed. Amazingly as it is.”

“Of course. Because no one is the prince.”

Although they were rumoured to be engaged, they had never even had a proper conversation before. 

Was this what an engagement looked like?

Of course. Rebecca thought it must be. Even though she served Ashley now, she continued to think marriage was merely a tool. 

Nonetheless, there were still many things about Ashley’s plan Rebecca still could not understand. 

“Rebecca. Do you have anything to say to me?”

Feeling as though she had been caught with her immoral thoughts, Rebecca looked back at Ashley who had been staring at her. 

In the end, Ashley remained adamant in her decision to help Ahasia. But did it have to be a marriage? 

But she was wondering why Fleon and Ahasia had to be engaged. To such a question, Ashley’s answer was simple. 

“Would drawing attention be enough of a reason?”

“You mean you wanted to draw the attention of all aristocrats?”

“Yes.”

“… You didn’t need to do this using Princess Ahasia. So, why are you helping her?’

When asked why she was helping Ahasia when there were only cons, Ashley tilted her head. 

“Well, if it were you, Rebecca, how would you draw attention?”

“Simple.”

“How so?”

“The 6th Prince can be engaged to me, can’t he?”