24
それはいつもと変わらない、なんの変哲も無い一日になるはずの日。
「レベッカ様ぁ、ご相談があるんです!」
なあに、エミリア。
それを最後に私は言葉を失った。
「私、殿下のことが好きになっちゃいました。レベッカ様の婚約者であることはわかってるんですが...何とかなりませんか?」
鈍器で殴られたかと思った。その方がまだましだとも。今まで見てきた彼の姿が次々と浮かんでは消えて行く。
初めて会った時、私を両腕に抱きとめてくれた彼。手作りのクッキーを「美味いな」と全部食べてくれた彼。お風呂上がりの私を見て固まってしまった彼。怒りに我を忘れた私を呼び戻してくれた彼。グルーの背の上で、風に髪をはためかせながらこちらを振り返る彼。私とエミリアを助けに来てくれた彼。怪我はないかと心配してくれる彼。
笑った彼、眉を寄せた彼、困った顔の彼、楽しそうな彼。
最後に、夕焼けを背景に私を優しい目で見つめる彼が脳裏をよぎった。
握ってくれた手の温かさも、夕方の王都の匂いも、今でも全部ちゃんと思い出せる。それでもまるで遠い昔のことみたいに思えた。
そのときやっと気がついた。私は殿下に恋をしている。
自覚はなかった。初めて出会ったその時から、息をするよりも自然に、あなたのことが好きだったから。それは私にとってあまりに当たり前の感情すぎて、わざわざ考えたことがなかったのだ。
なんだ。はっきりと言葉にしたことがないのは私もじゃないか。
全てから目を背けて瞼を閉じる。
シナリオからは、逃げられない。
***
時は遡って7月中旬、レベッカ・エミリア・メリンダの3名がキューイ子爵邸にて第2回お泊まり女子会を開催したとき。
レベッカが完成した美しい花かんむりに満足して、庭の芝生に寝転がりすよすよと健やかな寝息をたてていたとき。残された二人は額をつき合わせて唸っていた。
「まさかここまでひどいと思ってなかったわね...」
二人は夏季休業に入る前から、レベッカとルウェインの微妙なすれ違いに感づいていた。大事な親友たるレベッカが、時折不安そうな、物憂げな表情を見せるのを知っていたからだ。
先日、レベッカとルウェインがデートに繰り出したまでは良かった。しかし帰ってきたレベッカに話を聞けば、楽しかったと心から言いつつも、どこかほんの少し浮かない様子。
デート『みたい』、恋人同士『みたい』と繰り返すレベッカに、二人はやっと漠然とした違和感の正体に気づいた。
「レベッカ様はどうして根本的なところでご自分に自信がないのでしょうか...」
「さあね。行動で当たり前に伝わっていると思って言葉にしていない殿下も悪いんでしょ」
「それでも今回はレベッカ様に非がありますよねぇ、完全に...」
そして信じられない事実はもう一つあった。「レベッカ様は殿下がお好きなんですよね」と確認した二人に、あろうことかレベッカは「そんなこと考えたこともなかった」とのたまったのだ。
あれは照れ隠しなどではなかった。本気でキョトンとしていた。そのとき二人は事態の深刻さに愕然とした。
銀色の少女は少し何かを考え込むようにしてから、一層美しく笑った。
「ちょっとつっついてみましょうか」
「良いけど、私やあなたが殿下に進言したところで、レベッカに伝われば『好きだと言えと言われたから言ってくれた』としか思われないわよ。
もっと心から、殿下が自分をどう思っているか、自分が殿下をどう思っているかを思い知らせないと」
「私もそう思います。ちょっと頑張ってみましょう。でもレベッカ様は絶対に傷つかないようにしたいですね。泣かせてしまったりしたら『腹切り』する他ないですから」
「なにその危ない思想?」
二人はそれから作戦会議を行い、「良い案かもしれないが王太子に睨まれたくない」と言った子爵令嬢のメリンダではなく、「極刑にでもされない限り王子など怖くない」と言い切ったエミリアがその任に就いた。
『王子を好きになってしまったので、私は平民ですが、婚約を解消して彼を私にください』。
それは、本来なら冗談にも取ってもらえないようなただの戯言。100人いれば99人が......レベッカ以外の全員が、真面目に取り合わないであろう荒唐無稽なお願い。
エミリアがなんか変なこと言いだして、友達だからちょっと真面目に考えてあげたら、殿下を取られるのが嫌だと気付いて、私殿下のこと好きなんだーってなって、殿下は殿下でそんな婚約者の様子に気付いて、ちゃんと「好きだ」って伝えてはいハッピーエンド。
エミリアとメリンダが期待したのはその程度の展開だ。
しかし二人は知らなかった。
レベッカだけは、その嘘みたいなお願いの内容が、現実に可能だと知っていることを。レベッカにとってエミリアだけは、心のどこかで敵わないと負けを認めてしまっている相手だということを。
だから二人は夢にも思わなかった。
エミリアから相談を受けたレベッカが、まさか本気でルウェインとエミリアの仲を取り持って身を引こうとするなんて、本当に、夢にも思わなかったのだ。
Ch 24
That should have just been another normal, uneventful day.
"Rebecca-sama, I have something to consult with you!"
"What is it, Emilia?"
That was the last thing I said before I lost my words.
"I, I have fallen in love with His Highness. I know that he is engaged to Rebecca-sama, but is there any way that could change?"
I felt like I had been hit with a blunt weapon, or maybe that would have been better. Images of him kept appearing and disappearing in my mind.
The him who held me in his arms the first time we met, the him who ate all the homemade cookies and said they were delicious, the him who froze when he saw me after a bath, the him who brought me back to reality when I lost myself in anger, the him who turned around on Grue's back while his hair fluttered in the wind, the him who came to save me and Emilia, the him who worried if I was injured.
The him who smiled, the him who furrowed his brows, the him who looked troubled, the him who looked happy.
Lastly, the him who looked at me with gentle eyes while the sunset was in the background, appeared in my mind.
Even now, I still clearly remember the warmth of his hand, the smell of the evening in the Royal Capital, but it felt like it was from a distant past.
That's when I finally realized. I am in love with His Highness.
I hadn't realized it. I had liked him from the moment we first met, more naturally than breathing, but it had been such a natural feeling that I hadn't even thought about it.
That's right. Even though I haven't said it clearly, I haven't been honest with myself either.
I closed my eyes and turned away from everything.
There is no escaping the scenario.
***
It was mid-July, and Rebecca, Emilia, and Melinda held their second sleepover at Viscount Cuey's residence.
Rebecca was satisfied with the beautiful flower crown she had made and was lying on the lawn, making peaceful sleeping sounds. The remaining two were sighing with their heads held together.
"I never thought it would be this bad..." said the girl with honey-like eyes.
The two had noticed the subtle differences between Rebecca and Llewayne before the summer vacation began. They knew that their important friend Rebecca sometimes had anxious and worried expressions.
It was fine until recently when Rebecca and Llewayne went on a date. But when Rebecca returned and they asked her about it, she said it was fun but she seemed a little bit off.
Rebecca, Repeating that it was like a date, like a couple, the two finally realized the vague discomfort.
"Why doesn't Rebecca-sama have confidence in herself fundamentally?"
"Well, it's not just Rebecca-sama's fault, the prince not expressing himself in actions also has a responsibility."
"Even so, this time there is something wrong with Rebecca-sama, completely..."
And there was another unbelievable fact. When the two of them confirmed that "Rebecca-sama is the one the Crown Prince likes," to their surprise, Rebecca retorted "I never thought of such a thing."
That was not a pretense of hiding. They were honestly shocked. At that moment, the two of them were amazed at the seriousness of the situation.
The silver-haired girl thought about something for a moment and then smiled even more beautifully.
"Let's try to poke her a little."
"Sure, but even if you or I talk to the Crown Prince, Rebecca will just think that we are telling her to say that she likes him because we were told to.
We need to let her know from the bottom of her heart, how the Crown Prince feels about her and how she feels about the Crown Prince."
"I agree. Let's try our best. But we definitely don't want Rebecca-sama to get hurt. If we make her cry, there's no way we can avoid being [cut open]."
"What's with that dangerous idea?"
After that, the two of them held a strategic meeting and it was not Melinda, the Viscount's daughter who said "It might be a good plan, but I don't want to be glared at by the Crown Prince," but Emilia, who confidently said "I am not afraid of the Prince even if it means being punished severely." took on that role.
[I fell in love with the prince, even though I am a commoner, please let him go and give him to me.]
That is, originally it is just a frivolous joke that can't be taken seriously. If there are 100 people, 99 people...Everyone except Rebecca would not take it seriously, it's a ridiculous and absurd request.
Emilia starts talking about something strange, and when she thinks seriously about it as a friend, she realizes that she doesn't want to lose His Highness to her, and that she likes His Highness, and His Highness notices the appearance of such a fiancee, and properly conveys "I like you" for a happy ending.
Emilia and Melinda were expecting that kind of development.
But they didn't know.
Only Rebecca knows that the contents of that request, which seems like a lie, is actually possible in reality. For Rebecca, Emilia is someone who she cannot help but acknowledge as an unbeatable opponent in her heart.
That's why they never even dreamed of it.
Rebecca, who was consulted by Emilia, never dreamed that she would actually mediate the relationship between Llewayne and Emilia and retreat.
The Villainess Carries a Strategy Guide
その悪役令嬢は攻略本を携えている
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-villainess-carries-a-strategy-guide/
Fantasy Josei Romance Shoujo
Academy Adapted to Manga Aristocracy Doting Older Siblings European Ambience Female Protagonist Love Interest Falls in Love First Magic Nobles Otome Game Reincarnated in a Game World Villainess Noble Girls
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n6554fr/
岩田加奈