Katahane no Riku

Chapter 55.Smile

A certain day, at the night party at the royal palace, this topic was talked about.

“Who is the most beautiful girl in this continent?”

It was a topic spoken of very often. However, it was also one that attracted interest. A certain count said the name of a priestess of the east of the continent, and there were also nobles that were doting parents and would say the name of their own daughter.

However, the curtains for this talk were lowered down before long. That is because the host of this party… Catherinne Shiidoru, had immediately given her own answer. While hiding her mouth with a folding fan, she refuted, as if this was a foolish question.

“The most beautiful woman? Is there anyone other than me?”

With her fragile arms crossed, Catherinne said in a composed tone.

If one were to hear this declaration, perhaps one would think of her as a conceited haughty woman. However, nobody was able to have objections about her reply. She being the one hosting this night party, being the princess that will succeed the throne or having political power, none of it mattered. It was simply that there was nothing to object. This was because everyone acknowledged the great beauty of Catherine.

Catherinne Shiidoru was beautiful.

If god exists, she would be his greatest creation.

Golden eyes shining like the sunlight of summer and with smooth pink lips that would make one want to touch them. From the tip of her golden hairs to her long white legs, everything was beautiful.

Anyone that would pass by her side, even if this person was a woman, she would become breathless.

And the beautiful girl, beautiful to the point of it being unfair, was overflowing with kindness.

Looking at each of her attributes, they were all ones fitting of the haughty royalty. Not only she had a personal attendant whose excellence was lower than nobody, but also had contact with the nobles and spiritualists. She had great tolerance with the [people of her territory]. Overflowing with kindness, she would extend her hand to the ones in necessity without hesitation.

All this was known by all the people of the Shiidoru kingdom. The kingdom′s citizens, which were the possessions of her father, the king, were also her possessions. If that is so, then was there even any reason to hesitate in extending her hand to them?

If there was a starving village, she would send food to it herself, and if there was somebody with an incurable disease, she would hold his hand and give encouragement.

Catherinne, who worked for the sake of the people of the kingdom, were reverenced by them as [the goddess princess].

Rook Barusak also liked Catharinne.

She was more beautiful than anyone and was one of the heroines of the game. Not only would the main character be getting closer to her, but in the end, she was the only one that would make him king.

That′s why Rook captured Catherinne. Speaking in accordance to the dialogue of the game, he kept triggering the next events. Until Rook′s existence became from [an subject of showing kindness to] to [a target of love], it wasn′t too long. Now, she had already been hiding her haughty figure and acting “dere”.(TL note: Dere of tsundere. Google it if you don′t know what it means ‘ 3’ Or not)

Rook′s goal was to become the king as Catherinne′s legal husband.

His sister Raku, Mary, Selestinna and Charlotte would serve him as his concubines and they would live their life happily to their last days. And then, seeing off his cute children and his loving spouses, he would die without regrets. (TL note: Scary 0.0)

Such a wonderful life.

Such a wonderful [illusion].

Recently, he became unable to imagine such tender future.

Despite how Catherinne was coming to stay at the Barusak residence for some time, his melancholy wouldn′t clear up for some reason. Rook had been steadily going through Catherinne′s route.

The event of Catherinne coming to the Barusak residence didn′t exist at the other routes.

The following event, [Catherinne′s abduction event], existed at Charlotte′s, Rebecca′s, Kurumi′s and also Asty′s routes. However, she being abducted at the Barusak residence would not happen unless Catherinne had been captured. And then, this event would become the foundation for her route.

“Rook-sama? Catherinne-sama has arrived, however… What should we do about the meal?”

While he was absorbed in his thoughts, a voice came from behind.

The one to timidly ask him was a maid. She was a maid that had been working together with Mary for a long time. However, Rook didn′t know her name. Without being able to call her “girl that used to work with Mary”, he was too embarrassed to ask her name after all this time. While blaming himself by how much he hadn′t been paying attention at his surroundings, Rook gave a vague smile.

“Ah, yes… Go ask my father. If you can′t ask him, then can you go ask Raku-ane? …I will be going out for a moment, you see.”

Rook pushed all the work to his father and elder sister.

He couldn′t have his attention divided into something as worthless as the mealtime.

Without waiting for the response of the maid he didn′t know the name, Rook put on his coat and jumped outside from the window. As if he was running away from the residence, he went running through the streets of the royal capital.

He had triggered Catherinne′s event.

However, the other heroines had died.

And not to end there, he had killed the main character long ago.

What was all this supposed to mean? Where did he do wrong? Him having killed the main character wasn′t something related to other people. While thinking on what to push the responsibility to, he noticed he was the only one responsible of that.

Him having killed the main character was of his own responsibility.

From the beginning, all that he made happen wasn′t the main character doing it. By the results of his own deeds, everybody died. However, the main character′s event was happening just like that. In the end, Catherinne, this goddess that had no doubts about Rook being the main character, was coming to the Barusak residence.

Rook was taken by a bad feeling.

In the game, leading an army, Leivein Adlar would come attack the royal capital. Using this opportunity, a rabbit demon of fast feet would come in.

All the rabbit demon had was speed. He wasn′t particularly strong. Putting off Leivein Adlar for later, he would first save Catherinne, and then, together with her, combining the power of the two, they would defeat Leivein, the villain. With the villain running away, he would deepen his bonds with Catherinne even more. It would be a story like that.

…However, he had a bad feeling about it.

Until now, many events had happened. However, not a single one of them was leading him to the happy end. With this continuing like that, he felt that Catherinne was going to end up dying.

Where did he do wrong?

He didn′t know how many times he had kept asking this himself.

He didn′t know. He didn′t know anything, and didn′t want to know. However, he needed to know it, so he wanted to know.

Rook kept running.

He had felt that if he ran, and kept running like that, he would be able to understand something. However, now he was feeling he wouldn′t be able to understand anything. Perhaps it would have been better if he stopped now, but he didn′t want to. He wanted to run away, run away; run away from everything; everything that was binding him. Why had all ended up like this?

He didn′t know, didn′t know. All he wanted was to run, run and run!

“..!”

He ended up stumbling at the shoulder of a person he didn′t know.

With the impact, Rook noticed that he had ran as far as to the water fountain plaza of the royal capital. He went back to the reality, in this place, filled with the sound of water and the shop stalls at the surroundings giving off its own aura, where people were going back and forth. Hurriedly stopping, he lowered his head to the person he had stumbled at.

“I-I′m sorry!”

“No, I′m fine… Ah.”

This person was a girl. Because of the hood, he didn′t know the length nor the color of the hair, and her appearance was out of order. Perhaps she had been through a long journey. She was wearing a worn out coat and had a long sword at her waist.(TL note: Here it says that her appearance was in order, but then, it says that she was wearing a worn out coat…)

“Um, I′m really sorry. I wasn′t looking ahead of me… Are you… Hurt anywhere?”

“…”

The girl stopped speaking.

And then, turning her back to Rook, she left the place. As if Rook was being urged by something, he grasped the girl′s arm. Why he did that he didn′t know. However, he had the feeling he couldn′t let that girl go away.

“Could you let me go?”

The arm he was grasping shook him off with a strength that couldn′t be imaginable to a girl.

And then, she glared at him enraged. Did she not like having her arm caught? Or maybe there was another reason for that. As if she was full of killing intent; no, with something that went beyond killing intent, she turned her eyes to him.

“S-sorry. It was my fault. Uh… As a apologize… If you want, I can do anything.”

Before he could think what a main character would do now, those words left his mouth.

He was truly scared of the girl in front of his eyes. The girl rubbed her thin fingers in her chin. After thinking for a brief moment, she gave a smile full of happiness.

“Thank you very much. There is one thing… I want to ask of you.”

It was a smile that seemed it would break just by touching.

That smile shook his distant memories. He couldn′t completely remember it, but he strongly felt a sense of deja vu.