Sunday, October 4, 2015
Vampire Princess Chapter 2 Episode 14
The Imperial Crimson Empire
==
Familiar footsteps stopped in front of the room, after a short pause the door opened.
This person—despite the details can’t be seen because of back lighting, with only a glance, Carlos understood that the person is someone he’s been waiting for. Carlos showed a faint smile while he continued sitting in his chair.
“—Welcome back, your highness. I thought you wouldn’t make it in time.”
“My bad, there were a lot of idiots who attacked me on the way.”
Hearing that nostalgic yet familiar voice, Carlos was overwhelmed with feeling of wanting to weep and was unable to find any words to say.
“Even so, you don’t seem surprised at all. The other lots were looking at me as if I was a ghost—well, not that it’s wrong.”
Being told that, Carlos’s smile deepened.
“…How’s the situation outside?”
“Hn? Ah, they’ve stopped plundering for now and are in the middle of the public execution of royalties, nobles, and officials. Also, there might be some idiots who will set fire to this place soon, so I guess the royal palace is also finished.”
Even though he said it as if it was somebody else’s business, noticing a tinge of loneliness in his voice, Carlos looked at him with a soft gaze.
“Well, that’s good… or not, as I thought, it’s regrettable.”
“Hah? Which is it?”
“…what’s regrettable is, how the place which is filled with our memories will disappear—“
At that moment, memories of their childhood recurred in both of their hearts.
Everything was sparkling.
Everything was treasure.
Everything is—now in those unreachable days.
“That’s true. We often walked around the royal palace’s subterranean tunnels and secret paths while treating it as an expedition together.”
“Don’t say ‘together’, I was just following your highness. Now that I think about it, if we were found out, though your highness might be fine, they might kill me to seal my mouth.”
Carlos said it as if he was reproaching, and the one who received it seemed to feel bad and scratched his cheek.
Looking at that unchanging bad habit, Carlos’s cheeks loosened.
“My bad. Well, that said, because of that now I can enter the royal palace easily, and I even met father and his companions en route, so result wise it’s not a bad thing right?”
“That’s just coincidence you know. Don’t you know how much hardship I faced every time because of your random conducts? –Incidentally, did your highness pass judgement on them?”
“No, though I killed big brother because he tried to run away. However because father was bawling and begging for his life, the princess felt amazed and decided to throw him to the execution queue. So now he’s waiting for his turn. ……But how should I put it, defeating him who is the symbol of this country should be my main objective, yet looking at the reality of it, all my efforts, my political campaign and such, it really seems like a joke.”
Well, he’s someone who was hard to deal with when I was child though, he grumbled.
“So you finally understand? Good grief, that’s because you weren’t being your usual self, if not you might never have noticed it…”
Bored of the abusive language, the silhouette scratched his hair.
“—you…I heard from the princess that you want judgement for your sins, but when the person himself appears in front of you, why are you scolding?”
“Of course that was my original intention, but when in front of the person himself, I can’t help it. …well, this is the last time, so you may ignore it with a light feeling.”
“…”
Perhaps understanding what Carlos was trying to imply, the silhouette who was standing in the doorway closed his mouth.
“—Yup that’s right, the reason I am not surprised and the reason I said ‘that’s good’.”
While saying that, Carlos swallowed the feeling that gradually rose inside him and took out a sheet of a memo.
“?”
“…The truth is, I also used the royal family’s escape route. I have no right to lecture you. And while this might be disrespectful, since I am afraid that there might some mob who aim at the burial accessories in the royal family’s graveyard, I took the initiative to move Princess Angelica’s remains here. Later, I will leave it to your highness to bury her again. –or perhaps, in her highness Hiyuki’s hands, she can return to this world like your highness?”
Carlos’s expression faintly asked ‘If it’s possible, then I would like to meet her’ , but the silhouette shook his head lightly.
“No, it has been too long after her death, even with Princess’ power it would be difficult. And the Princess seems like she doesn’t want to do it anyway.”
While answering like that, he remembered his conversations with Hiyuki.
[[“This is blasphemy to the dead you know. Well, I don’t mind doing it on unnatural dead or death from an accident, but reviving someone who died from suicide is inhuman right? Returning someone to hell is just pitiful. That’s why, I want her to be reincarnated normally. –I also believe in reincarnation even just a bit.”]]