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Chapter 78 Part 3 – The fortune teller ‘Mother’ appears. The 「True History」 is starting to be revealed little by little. Our love story is beginning to move. Carrying various emotions, the curtain rises on the night of the dance ball.

The final decisive battle with 「her」 who caused the greatest war in human history.
‘That girl’ …… Uun, no, ‘we’ had finally cornered 「her」, but it was done at the price of losing the majority of our comrades.

And Bradd, who was seriously injured and on the verge of death, proposed to me. …… It was a farewell.

「…… I’m so pathetic. To think that I would propose to you after Seraphy and the others have passed away. They would have laughed wryly at me. This makes me look like a hyena looking for an opening. I wish I could have proposed to you in a fair and square manner ……」

Bradd wryly chuckled with blood running down his face.

By the time he confessed to ‘that girl’ …… or should I say ‘me’, he already had the shadow of death looming on his face.

「You can scorn me for being a coward. But if I don’t tell you now, I will definitely regret it ……」

Bradd gave 「her」 a blow during an exchange of attacks, but he was fatally wounded in exchange.

I burst into tears and shook my head.

‘…… No, that’s not true. You have never been a coward in your entire life. I’m the cowardly one. Everyone loved me, but I kept stalling from giving an answer. I was afraid of choosing one person and hurting the others. And yet, they all died …… to protect such an indecisive me.’

I looked up to the heavens and wailed.

「…… I’m sorry ……!! Seraphy …… Arnold …… Rudy …… Solomon ……!! If only I had more courage, I’m sure you all would have been able to choose a different path long ago and wouldn’t have died!! I …… I’m the worst ……!! I ended the lives of you all who wholeheartedly loved me ……!!」

As I tore out my hair in anguish, Bradd gently restrained my hands and embraced me.

「…… Don’t cry anymore. They would have stayed by your side and fought with you even if you had chosen one of us. I can assure you of that. Because I would have done the same. Besides, you couldn’t give us an answer for so long because you love us all. All of us are well aware of that. So don’t blame yourself.」

As I cried, he comforted me and patted my head gently as usual.

「And …… Flora, too.」

Hearing that name, I immediately raised my head.
Bradd nodded with a gentle expression.

…… Flora.

The girl whom I loved like a little sister. The only daughter of Matzo and Mary. The two people who treated me like their own daughter. To repay their kindness, I vowed to make her happy. She always smiled gently and called me 「Scarlet onee-sama」.

But she also had a fierce flame hidden inside her. She wanted to be of help to me and never stopped trying to improve herself. She was in fact a brilliant girl, but there were times when she suffered because she placed too high of a demand on herself.

Flora, who acted as a sort of assistant for me, grew up watching the conflict between me and 「her」. That was unfortunate for Flora. 「She」 was in a completely different league. Even I was shocked that such a monster could exist in this world. Words like ‘hard work’ and ‘talent’ do not do it justice. I can only describe 「her」 as a monster. Even the renowned genius Princess Margaret was no match against her and the organization and personnel she had nurtured were completely taken away.

Even though Flora had done a good job even though she was still just a little girl, she ended up wishing that she could at least get close to 「her」 feet. She said that if things continued at this rate she would feel embarrassed and wouldn’t be able to be of help to me. It was a reckless attempt to get closer to the stars in the sky. I and everyone else desperately tried to stop her, but it was to no avail.

Flora’s heart ended up breaking. She lamented that she no longer had the confidence to support me and withdrew. Flora became so haggard and emaciated that Seraphy was unable to just watch without doing anything and volunteered to become her educator. Seraphy was also a genius at teaching. Since he had risen in the merchant world as the leader of the Orange Privateers at an early age, he had experienced the fear and pain of dealing with higher-ranked opponents. In a sense, he was Flora’s predecessor.

After studying under Seraphy, Flora gained strength and energy. She also regained the smile she had when she was young. I loved and was proud of the hard-working Flora.

…… But Flora passed away to protect me from 「her」.

Flora desperately begged me to leave her because the injury was too serious and she could not be saved. She said that if I didn’t, both of us would have died for nothing. But I couldn’t bear to do it. So, although I followed what Flora said and walked away for a moment, I quickly turned back.

At that moment, I heard Flora’s heartbreaking cries as she called out Seraphy’s name.

「…… Seraphy onii-chan ……!! …… I don’t want to die ……!! …… I’ve always loved you ……!! …… I tried my best because Seraphy onii-chan taught me to do so ……!! …… I should have been more courageous ……!! I don’t want this!! I don’t want to die without being able to tell you anything ……!! …… I want to see you again ……!! …… Seraphy onii-chan ……!! …… If I could choose …… I wish I could at least die by your side ……!! …… Seraphy …… onii-chan …… Sera …… phy …… onii …… -cha ……!!」

Her voice was strained, as if she was about to throw up blood at any moment. Thinking that I was already gone, Flora let out her true feelings. The feelings that she had been suppressing so as to not make me worried. She uttered it in a place where no one would listen.

And then Flora passed away. She kept calling Seraphy’s name until the very end.

Flora. The girl who had always been by my side while smiling gently with a smile that resembles Mary. She passed away with such a frustrated expression on her face. Her eyes were wide open and tears were streaming down her face.

「…… Flora ……!! I’m sorry ……!!」

I closed Flora’s eyes, hugged her body, and wept.

Seraphy had already passed away …… together with an entire fleet of ships. All in order to protect me.

I was well aware that Flora loved and admired Seraphy. So I kept it from Flora that Seraphy had already passed away so as not to shock her. Because that’s what Seraphy had asked me to do before he sailed on his last voyage. They were as close as real siblings. Flora looked very happy when she got praised by Seraphy

But neither Seraphy nor I had noticed Flora’s secret love for him. What a cruel thing I’ve done. Because I treated Flora like a child, she would keep waiting for the day when the person she loved would return, not even knowing that he had passed away. And she passed away all alone while regretting that she couldn’t tell him how she felt ……!!

I put in Flora’s hand the hair clip that Seraphy had entrusted to me.

…… It’s a hair clip in the shape of a gazania flower, an exotic flower that has just entered this kingdom. Its flower language is 「I am proud of you」. Its flower language is given by the shape of the flower, which is reminiscent of a medal. It was the last message Seraphy left for his shy student, Flora. It was something Seraphy had asked me to give to Flora when she was ready to accept his death.

If I had told Flora the truth without being afraid that the truth would hurt her, I could have at least handed her this hair clip while she was still alive ……!!

「…… I can guess the gist of what happened just by looking at your face. However, if all you do is grieve and regret, then Flora’s death will have been in vain. You understand that, right?」

Bradd understood everything without me having to say a word. He always did. As I clung to him and cried while remembering Flora’s death, Bradd comforted me and gently stroked me.

But his fingertips were trembling slightly. The blood drained from his face.

「…… Oops, I almost forgot. So, what’s your response to my proposal? Princess.」

He said with a joking tone, but his voice was gradually becoming quieter. I paled. Normally, he would never break off his comforting words to me in the middle and turn the topic back to what he brought up. That meant only one thing. Bradd was running out of time.

I clung to Bradd. I wanted to share my body temperature with him even if it’s just a little.

「…… I’m not a princess anymore. I’m just a spinster. I have the worst personality and even I hate myself. I’m a failure who couldn’t even fulfill her role. All I have left is my body. Even so …… will you still accept me?」

Bradd will be gone soon. I don’t even have time to caress him with my emaciated body, the only thing I have left. I would never be able to repay Bradd for everything he had done for me. I began to tremble. The sense of loss seems to have opened a large hole in my chest.

And yet, Bradd smiled so happily.

「That’s all right. I don’t need anything else as long as I have you, Scarlet. Even if you hate yourself, I will love you many times more. So, hold your head high and come to me. You are the best bride ever.」

Then Bradd hugged me as if to fill the hole in my heart.

「…… Besides, I’ve now been given a lifetime’s worth of happiness. That’s already too much dowry.」

「Me too, Bradd. I love you. I really love you. And I’m very happy now. To the point that I would have no regrets even if I were to die right here and now.」

We exchanged a sad kiss of vow. A kiss filled with a lifetime’s worth of feelings that we were supposed to share as we walk together from now on. It was a wedding ceremony with no one in attendance, just the two of us. Instead of flowers and confetti, fire sparks flew, and instead of applause, the sound of walls and ceilings being burned and collapsing deafened our ears. The people who were supposed to congratulate me on my new chapter of life are all gone. And the tears of joy that streamed down my cheeks as a bride were also the tears of sorrow from having to part with my loved one.