Free Web NovelChapter 45: Chapter 45 - Princess’s Feeling ( Part 5 )
And The Royal Dance Festival came to an end.
Laughter in The Grand Ballroom became silent whispers of the night.
Crystal chandeliers started to go dark one by one.
Servants were cleaning empty glasses.
The musicians were packing the instruments that provided beautiful music for so many hours.
But outside...
The Academy grounds returned to its usual state of calmness.
The Moon shined brightly above The Royal Academy, making the garden look like a fairy tale place covered by the silver light.
The sweet scent of blooming roses flew in the air, coming from the empty stone paths.
It was a night when silence felt very appropriate.
Jennie Queens walked silently through the royal gardens.
She had already changed into the usual maid uniform.
However...
As gorgeous as the ceremonial gown was...
She preferred the maid uniform much more.
"...At last."
She stretched her hands.
"At least my feet survived."
Excalibur, lying quietly on her hair as a hairpin, sounded with amusement.
"Master."
"Yes?"
"You danced wonderfully."
Jennie smiled.
"Thanks to my wonderful teacher."
"Lady Martha will definitely be happy about that."
Jennie chuckled.
"I bet she’d tell me to fix my posture first."
"...It is."
She continued to walk through the garden.
There was a quiet pond in the center of the garden.
It reflected the Moon like a polished mirror.
There were white lilies calmly floating on the surface of the pond.
Fireflies lazily hovered over the flowers.
Jennie sat down under the big cherry blossom tree.
The pink petals fell down slowly.
"...Beautiful."
She hadn’t admired such scenery in a while.
In her old life...
There had been battles, other kingdoms and other wars.
But today...
It was a night of peace.
Silent steps could be heard behind her.
Jennie didn’t need to turn her head.
"I knew you’d find me."
Princess Lilia KingHeart smiled, sitting down under the same tree.
"I always do."
Jennie patted the place beside her.
"Sit down."
Lilia happily followed the command.
They stayed silent for some minutes.
Just watching the reflection of the Moon on the pond.
The silence was comfortable and not awkward.
It never was when the two were together.
It felt...
Natural.
Eventually...
Lilia broke the silence.
"...Thank you."
Jennie tilted her head.
"For what?"
"For today."
Jennie blinked.
"For the dance?"
"The dance."
"For the tea?"
"The tea."
"For the studying?"
"The studying."
"For the flowers?"
"...For everything."
Jennie smiled warmly.
"You don’t need to thank me."
"Yes."
"It is my duty."
Lilia quietly shook her head.
"No."
"It isn’t."
Jennie looked at her.
The blue eyes of the princess were shining in the moonlight.
"When we were kids..."
"You saved me from drowning in the river."
Jennie chuckled.
"I climbed a tree that I couldn’t climb down from."
"...I was adventurous."
"You were reckless."
Lilia smiled guiltily.
"...Perhaps."
She continued.
"You’ve protected me from everything."
"You stood in front of me during that carriage accident."
"You carried me through the forest after the bandit attack."
"You’ve always been there for me."
Jennie looked up at the stars.
"I couldn’t leave you alone."
Lilia lowered her gaze.
"...Why?"
Jennie answered instantly.
"Because you are important."
It was simple.
It was honest.
It was completely innocent.
Lilia felt her heart skipping a beat.
"...Important?"
Jennie nodded.
"You are my family."
"..."
Lilia smiled.
A bittersweet smile.
Family.
Jennie still hasn’t realized the truth.
For Jennie...
Lilia was the little princess she watched growing up.
The little girl who threw a temper tantrum because of sweets.
The little girl who wanted to join the sword practice.
The little girl who cried after scraping her knee.
The little girl who laughed the loudest among others.
For Jennie...
Protecting Lilia has become second nature.
It wasn’t difficult for her, and she never asked for anything else.
She just did it.
Lilia looked at Jennie quietly.
The silver-white hair of her was sparkling in the moonlight.
Her crimson eyes looked peaceful.
Gentle.
Kind.
Nothing like the legend Sword King hiding inside her.
"...Jennie."
"Hm?"
"What do you want to do after graduation?"
Jennie laid down, leaning on the tree.
"I’ve been thinking about that."
"And?"
"I want to travel."
Lilia blinked.
"...To travel?"
Jennie nodded.
"There are many places which I haven’t visited yet."
"Ancient ruins."
"Hidden forests."
"The northern glaciers."
"The eastern islands." freewёbnoνel.com
"I want to visit different parts of the world."
Lilia listened quietly.
"...So you are going to leave?"
Jennie smiled apologetically.
"Soon."
"I don’t think I can stay at the same place forever."
Those words hit Lilia harder than any blade could.
Leave?
The thought itself was hurting.
She tried to smile.
"...I see."
Jennie heard the sadness in her voice.
She lightly pushed her shoulder.
"You are a princess."
"You will have your own adventures."
Lilia quietly looked down.
"...These are not the adventures I want."
Jennie didn’t hear her words.
A breeze carried them away.
Above...
Goddess Miasa sighed dramatically.
"Oh, Leonis..."
"She almost confessed."
Excalibur sounded quietly agreeing with her.
"Master is completely oblivious."
The Goddess shook her head.
"The Demon King understood her feelings before Leonis does." freёweɓnovel.com
But below the cherry blossom tree...
Jennie looked up at countless stars shining brightly in the night sky.
"...They are beautiful tonight."
Lilia didn’t watch the stars.
She looked only at Jennie.
For her...
The stars were not the most beautiful things in the sky.
Jennie was.
Slowly intertwining her hands, gathering all the courage she lacked for many weeks.
She had something she wanted to say.
Some words trapped in her heart.
Words which she hadn’t said to anyone else yet.
Even not to herself.
Tonight...
She wanted Jennie to hear them.
Cherry blossoms fell down around them like a snow.
The whole world seemed to go quiet.
It waited...
For a promise...
Which would change their lives quietly...
