HOT NOVEL UPDATES



Hint: To Play after pausing the player, use this button

Chapter 1: Atonement 

Outside of Amande’s city walls, in the location where Rio and Lucius had been battling it out mere moments ago, Rio and Flora now stood closely facing each other. 

“U-Umm, Sir Rio...” Flora clutched Rio’s sleeve and whispered his name quietly. 

“Yes.” Without breaking eye contact, Rio nodded with a guilty look, but his heart wasn’t present. After a moment, he slowly looked up at the sun rising in the distant sky. Unreachable and bright, it was like something to be yearned for... 

Flora gently tugged the sleeve of Rio’s shirt, asking once again, “Sir Rio... You’re Sir Rio, aren’t you?” 

“...” Rio looked back down at Flora as though he had been dragged back to reality. But he didn’t speak, instead frowning in thought at how to deal with the current situation. 

Haruto, is everything okay? At the same time, Aishia’s telepathy echoed in Rio’s head. 

...Yeah, it’s fine. Rio calmed himself, and replied to Aishia. I’m just a little busy right now. Can you contact me later? 

Got it. He heard Aishia’s immediate response before the telepathy cut off. Once it did, Rio finally opened his mouth to speak. 

“...Who might you be referring to?” He stared at Flora’s face and feigned ignorance. 

An extremely saddened look crossed Flora’s face before she was enraged by the answer that didn’t meet her expectations. “Y-You, you’re S-S-Sir Rio! Just now, that man said so — that you’re Rio!” she said in frustration. 

“...I was once called that, yes. I have the name of Rio in addition to my name of Haruto. But why are you calling me by such a name, Princess Flora?” Rio cocked his head and asked with an utmost look of curiosity, as though implying the Rio that Flora knew was someone else. 

“...Mm...” Flora felt like she had been strongly rejected, and her face twisted with tears. 

“I currently live by the public name of Haruto. Pardon my rudeness in asking so, but I would be extremely grateful if you could forget what you heard earlier.” Rio cut to the chase with his request without any further explanation. 

“N-No, I don’t want to!” Flora clung to Rio’s chest like a lost child. 

While Rio’s eyes widened, he still managed to speak in a calm tone. “...May I ask the reason why?” 

“T-That’s... because...” Flora’s voice trembled slightly as she looked up at Rio’s face right before her. 

There’s no mistaking the fact she remembers me. What do I do? Rio calmly tried to think of a way to deal with the situation as he looked down at Flora. 


When it came to Flora hearing his conversation with Lucius, he had no regrets. He considered the conversation a necessary ritual to precede their battle, after all. 

However, Flora’s memory of him was clearer than he thought it’d be, and her strong feelings about it were a little beyond his expectations. He had no idea what she was thinking. After all, he’d had no interactions with her at the academy, and their social statuses were far from each other. 

If she’s this desperate about it, it may be impossible to fully deny everything, Rio sensed, which left him with limited options. He could admit to the truth honestly, come up with some kind of convincing excuse, or purposefully confuse her to change the subject... 

At any rate, the decision came down to the fact that Rio didn’t trust Flora. While he believed she wasn’t a bad person, he would be in a bind if his admission caused her to act rashly in response. That was why he had to make the truth as vague as possible. 

Which meant the safest option would be... 

“I... I always wanted to apologize! I always wanted to say thank you!” Flora proclaimed with every fiber of her being. 

She had always felt regret for her own failure in being unable to do anything during Rio’s former academy days, when he was being discriminated against right before her very eyes. That was why she couldn’t simply forget the existence of the person who had saved her. She had made a vow that she wouldn’t forget. The sudden encounter had left her head blank as a sheet, but whether it was coincidence or fate, she couldn’t let this once in a lifetime chance of reuniting with Rio slip past her fingers. 

“Whatever for?” Rio merely tried to divert the truth with a troubled look. 

“For what happened at the academy!” Flora said, getting to the core of the matter. 

After a long moment of hesitation, Rio responded. “...I cannot think of any reason why I should be receiving such words of gratitude and apology from you. If you are referring to this incident, then please do not let it bother you. There was simply some business to attend to between me and that man.” 

Even Flora could read what he was implying with that, body shaking as she asked, “...Am I being a bother?” 

Rio took the clinging Flora by the shoulders and moved her back a distance so that he could speak to her while bowing his head. “Of course not. But right now, I am Haruto. If your Highness insists on feeling gratitude and apology for this incident, I would request that you kindly forget the name Rio. That would be more than enough.” 

“Ah, uh...” That seemed to shock Flora, as her expression was lost for a moment. She tried to say something, but her mouth didn’t move. 

There was a person resembling Rio before her, and the final words coming from him resonated strangely within her head. As her head rapidly cooled down, an indescribable feeling swirled violently in her chest. 

Perhaps this was a punishment for her own foolishness. After how much misery he had been put through by her and the others around her, it was simply too convenient to be given a chance to apologize like this. Once she came to that conclusion, Flora suddenly felt extremely ashamed. 

I... really am a fool... Flora thought bitterly. She felt so sorry and helpless with impatience, as she had been desperately searching for something she could do. Soon, she realized there was only one thing she could do. 

“Of... course. I-I’m sorry. I was... mistaken, and asked something strange... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Flora cried big drops of tears as she bowed her head with a heavily trembling voice. 

“No, there’s no need to cry in apology...” Rio felt rather helpless, but this was for the best. There was no other choice right now, he told himself. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry...” Flora continued to apologize with her head down. She rubbed her eyes, desperately holding back the tears, then bit down hard on her lip and stifled her emotions. 

After a moment, Flora slowly raised her head. There were no longer any tears flowing, but it was clear that she had been crying. She had an awful look on her face. 

“I’ll escort you back to the city.” Rio averted his eyes awkwardly. 

“...Yes, please.” Flora nodded weakly. 



Share This :


COMMENTS

No Comments Yet

Post a new comment

Register or Login