The second Lancelot heard me, he immediately placed his hand onto my forehead.
“You don’t have a fever…”
“I’m very much alright.”
“Of course you would say that, Milady.”
Lancelot replied in such a plain manner. Obviously, he didn’t believe me from the way his ruby-like eyes shone with a sharp glint. How much time had already passed since then? And finally, Lancelot’s hand finally slid away from my forehead. His hand hovered in the air for a moment, as if it were hesitating, before brushing past my cheek and touching a stray lock of hair. Lancelot’s hand moved as it slipped down my silver hair, which was as thin as thread and as glossy as the surface of water.
““Uh…” This was something I hadn’t expected in the slightest. My breath got caught in my throat once it was followed by this tickling sensation. And my heart began to race as Lancelot carefully held a clump of my hair in his hand before bringing it close to his lips. To put it in another way, he kissed the locks of my hair. My reflection was visible in Lancelot’s eyes. He lifted his head, showing me his eyes that were stiff and wide like a squirrel’s.
“Milady.”
“Mm, mmhmm?!” My voice cracked, as a result from being very surprised. My shoulders winced on their own. Lancelot was gazing at me, and he was no longer smiling. I felt as if I was possessed; I couldn’t tear my eyes away from those eyes reflecting such a sharp glint. Then, Lancelot spoke.
“Forgive me for sounding so impertinent, but your joke wasn’t funny.” Just from his lowish voice, a strange, dangerous atmosphere arose albeit its gentle tone; this wasn’t the Lancelot I knew at all. His mention of the word ‘joke’ snapped me back to reality. If it were merely a trivial thought, then I wouldn’t have even said it in the first place. This was how much I wished for Lancelot to be happy. If Charlotte hadn’t used her trumpery of a household as an excuse to thirst for revenge, then none of the tragedies would have happened. Having regained my determination, I closed my eyes for a short while before reopening them again.
“I’m sorry Lancelot, but it wasn’t a joke.” My desire to protect my favourite character is much more serious than you could imagine. I faced Lancelot once more. Perhaps it was because of my fixated gaze, those stern red pupils of his wavered ever so slightly. For some reason, I felt I already knew what was going through his mind; Lancelot was wavering. Why had I suddenly decided to say that? And what he was supposed to do about it? It seemed as though he was trapped in a surge of endless thought and confusion. It’d be troublesome if he was already this shocked. This was only the beginning, after all. I planned to shake up Lancelot’s mind some more.
“Lancelot, I’m going to quit this revenge of mine. My parents and my brothers have already passed away. All that’s left is this trumpery of a noble name called Reinout, and the servants who trust and follow me.” As I began talking about the situation in a calm manner, Lancelot swallowed hard as if he had never expected me to say such things.
Looking at his reaction, I snickered in my mind. If the person before him was the real Charlotte, she would have never said such things. Unfortunately, she only chased after the impossible, even though she was fully aware of those who still respected and worried over her. All because of that one thing: her burning desire to see Duke Vestia again. That part of Charlotte made me despise her. Indulging in that goddamn “love”, she sent everyone who truly cared for her, my favourite character Lancelot included, to spiral down a hellish pit of suffering and demise. In reality, there were countless hate comments on Held A Flower about Charlotte. And as a result, she received the worst amount of votes when the author hosted a popularity poll. But at this moment, Charlotte was none other than me. And I don’t plan on treading down the same path as her.
Once again, I opened my mouth and spoke to Lancelot.
“It would be great to be able to get vengeance on Duke Vestia. But if we look at it logically, we’re far more inferior to ever succeed. It’s clear how the results will turn out if we continue in this situation. And besides, I don’t want to see anyone being sacrificed anymore.”
And especially you, Lancelot. I don’t want to see you sacrificing yourself ever again. I wished I could just say it, but I refrained from doing so, in case I might receive unwanted suspicion.
“......”
Lancelot said nothing. He stood still, holding onto my hair and fiddling with it. I kept flinching from his touch; it was so gentle as if he was touching some priceless pottery.
“Haa…” The long silence came to an end when Lancelot heaved out a heavy sigh and his hand had let go of my hair. It left an odd sensation from all the warmth and fluster.
“Milady, you’ve always said this.” I couldn’t make any sense of Lancelot’s sudden words. Once he placed some gap between us again, Lancelot let out a yearning smile as if he was going to vanish at any moment.
“You’ve decided to give up on him; but whatever decision you make will always be because of him.”
“What?”
Hey, Lancelot. You’re my favourite character and all, but could I have a word with you? What the hell are you on about? While I stood there, being unable to recover from hearing such an absurd statement; Lancelot didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping there.
“Milady, why do you think I’ve learnt the art of swordsmanship?”
“Uh, um…to protect me?” Having not expected such a sudden question, my own reply ended with a question mark instead of a full stop. Lancelot learnt swordsmanship in order to protect Charlotte. It seemed a little foolish to learn it to protect her, keeping in mind the fact that she was often referred to as a Genius of Swordsmanship. But what can I do about it? If that was what my favourite character wanted, I was ready to respect that. Lancelot nodded his head at my answer.
“Yes. It was for you, Milady as you are my patron. Ever since I met you in the Bokua Forest back when we were children, my life has revolved around you, Lady Charlotte.” My cheeks turned steamy red at his sudden confession. And only then did I remember a certain truth that I’d been forgetting all this time. Right, Lancelot had said this line in the novel as well. The problem was that Charlotte interpreted it as merely a token of loyalty from her subject and brushed right past.
But I, a foreigner to this world, was extremely perplexed. Seeing my favourite character on a daily basis was extremely pleasing to my eyes and ears, but it was always in the same way a fan would gaze upon a celebrity. I had no idea how to respond when he shoved the truth in my face with all his strength. While my eyes had begun flickering all over the place and my mouth was at loss for words, Lancelot continued speaking.
“The greatest reason why I learnt to wield a sword was because I cannot protect you using magic, Milady.” It seemed to have left a bitter aftertaste on Lancelot’s lips. He was a magician, after all. However, the Tieris Empire, which was the main setting of the story, was adamant with their rejection of magic. It was because their ancestors had nearly fallen to their demise from using magic or something like that.
So, for this reason, Lancelot went on living while keeping his identity as a magician a secret from a very young age. The second someone found out he could cast magic, he would be greeted with cold stares and ostracization. Charlotte was someone who knew of his identity, and yet did not treat him like such; it was the reason that Lancelot began to fall in love with her.
‘The power of love is mighty.’ It was difficult to be good at one thing, but Lancelot was commendable and flawless in both magic and swordsmanship. The reason being, as he said, was for Charlotte’s sake. Lancelot put his all into making sure Charlotte didn’t get a single scar on her body. That praiseworthy behavior made me want to give him an applause and be proud, but I left it all aside for now. Lancelot also seemed to be lost in thought while I stood there, unmoving. And then, Lancelot began to speak, as if he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Milady, please use me.”
My already wide eyes grew even larger in size. I was about to assume I had heard him wrong, but his expression was rather grave, so there was no way I misheard it. Instead, I wanted to know why.
“What do you mean?”
“Please use my powers. Then, we will be able to defeat them in an instant.” His plainly phrased words made my expression stiffen. To use his powers. I wasn’t stupid; I knew what that meant. Lancelot would expose the identity he worked so hard to conceal for my sake.
‘Is he for real?’ I couldn’t help but be speechless by these ongoing waves of shock. For your sake, and for the sake of everyone else, I said I would give up the revenge story. So how on earth could you say something like that?
“May I ask why?”
“I simply do not wish for you to lose so many things all because you chose to forget him, Milady. Do you not realise? If you give up on seeking revenge, everything you have at the moment will crumble, Milady. And you may need to live the rest of your life as a fugitive on the run. That will only benefit him, Milady, and it will not turn out well for you.” It seemed as though Lancelot continued to see through my actions in my attempt of forgetting him. But I, who had not even the slightest of those thoughts, refuted.
“But right now is no different. People may have taken pity on me for being the last surviving member of the Reinout house. But really, all they do is point their fingers and belittle me for being the rotten apple of Tieris.” As I spoke, Lancelot’s expression twisted into one of sheer panic. His gaze looked as if they were asking how I knew of such things. Well, of course I knew. I had finished reading the entire novel, after all. Swallowing back the lingering truth that got caught up in my throat, my expression didn’t change. I simply continued to talk about the situation in a calm manner.
“Let’s say that we did fight through and managed to defeat Duke Vestia. What comes after? Rumours will only continue to spread. Rumours that the Reinouts, rising back from the ashes, are preying on the throne.” This was something entirely plausible. The successor of the Reinout family would have surpassed the Duke, who was loved dearly by the Royal Family, and will eventually be erased as if never to have existed in the first place. In that case, it would be a much better idea to simply surrender everything and flee the country. I lifted my gaze to look at Lancelot. I hoped and prayed that he understood how I felt.
How much time had passed? After a silent argument broke out between the two of us, Lancelot slowly opened his mouth.
“I will not let that happen.”
“Lancelot, I understand how you feel. But our opponent is none other than the Emperor.”
My chest was filled with frustration. I was thankful for how thoughtful Lancelot was of me– Charlotte, to be honest. However, there were countless things in the world which cannot be fulfilled simply through trust alone. Power was something high up in that regard and was out of our reach. Unlike me who grew increasingly frustrated by the second, Lancelot didn’t seem fazed at all.
“If that is what Milady wishes, then that shouldn't be a problem. If you truly wish for it, I could seat you in the throne myself.” I was speechless from how absurd he was acting. This was a completely different attitude from what I experienced while reading the novel. To think he’d be a mythomaniac. I tried my best to hide my disappointment.
“Lancelot, I’m thankful for your concern, but that's complete nonsense. That would also be treason against the royal family.”
Though I planned to continue voicing my concerns by scolding him to be careful of what he had said, I was cut off immediately. Right in front of me, Lancelot began to undo the buttons of his shirt one by one.
nine
OMG OMG LANCELOT