The Reincarnated Villainess Whose Romantic Trauma From Her Past Life Is Too Strong Is Sweetly and Painfully Doted On by the Prince of the Neighboring Country - Chapter 41

—The day of my grandmother’s funeral, a gentle rain was falling.

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“Makita-san! I’ll take care of the rest, so you can head out for the day!”

Taking the kind offer of her junior female colleague to heart, Chieri thanked her and left the office.

It had been a little over two weeks since Grandmother’s funeral.

Before and after her passing, and right up until the funeral was over, Chieri had been living in a haze of exhaustion and shock. But time is a great healer; she was finally beginning to regain her composure.

Chieri, who had lived only for the sake of others until now, spent her days not knowing how to navigate this hollow, shell-like existence.

“Haa…” she sighed, blowing warm breath onto the fingertips she held to her lips.

From the sky, which had been forecast for snow since the afternoon, white crystals began to flutter down. But Chieri felt it was too much effort even to open her umbrella. She walked home sluggishly, warming her fingers with her breath.

(…In the end, I couldn’t even show Grandma that I’d gotten married…)

Grandmother had always said, “I can’t die in peace until Chieri finds someone and gets married.” Until the dementia progressed to the point where her sense of self was almost gone, she had never stopped worrying about Chieri.

In the early stages, before the symptoms worsened, Chieri had tried dating someone just to put her grandmother at ease. At first, she thought he was a good person, but because she was always worried about her grandmother and kept her attention there, he eventually started saying things like, “In the end, your family is more important to you than I am, isn’t it?” It didn’t last long.

(Sigh…)

She didn’t know what to work for, or why she should keep living. Even if people told her, “You finally have time for yourself, so live however you like.”

(If I try my best to find a purpose, will I actually find one…?)

Lost in these aimless thoughts, she kept walking. Then, she felt a presence, someone had held an umbrella over her head.

(…………Eh?)

Chieri stopped her sluggish pace and looked up at the person holding the umbrella. A black coat. Tall. Pale skin. A man with a beautiful face.

“…Chieri.”

The voice called her name. There were only a handful of people who would do something like this for her. Among them, the name of the most likely person came to mind. Even so, she spoke it slowly, filled with doubt.

“…Ryu-kun?”

“Yeah.”

Holding the umbrella over her, Ryuto now fully a young man answered softly. As Chieri stared at him with eyes as if seeing something unbelievable, Ryuto let out a little chuckle, placing a hand on her back as if to warm her.

“You can’t do that, Chieri. You have to use an umbrella. What if your cold comes back?”

“…How are you…?”

“Don’t you remember?”

Ryuto tilted his head slightly at her question. Don’t remember what? While she searched her mind, Chieri honestly apologized for her total lack of memory regarding whatever he was asking. “…I’m sorry.” Ryuto’s face twisted into a wry smile.

“………… I stopped by Grandma Rie’s funeral the other day, but I couldn’t say hello properly then. So, I came back today to do it right.”

“…Oh.”

With Ryuto’s explanation, the pieces finally clicked for Chieri. —That day, that time, during the funeral. It was true that Chieri’s consciousness had been hazy most of the time. The mental strain of serving as the chief mourner had caused her to collapse with a fever and stay in bed for a while afterward.

Whether it was a reaction to that or not, Chieri didn’t properly remember the people who had come to pay their respects at the funeral.

(But still, to not even remember that Ryu-kun came…)

To think that she hadn’t responded properly to her former ward, who had taken the time to come and say his final goodbyes. All because of her own pathetic state.

As Chieri was sinking into shame, he asked:

“So, if it’s okay with you, Chieri, could I pay my respects to Grandma Rie again today?”

Of course, Chieri had no reason to say no. After all, Ryuto had lived with her grandmother for seven years.

Accepting Ryuto’s offer gladly, she led him to the old apartment where they used to live.

“…You haven’t moved out yet.”

“There are too many memories here. Plus, the rent is cheap…”

The 2DK apartment where the three of them once lived had now become Chieri’s solitary castle. Or rather, a dilapidated shack that barely deserved to be called a castle. The rooms had become far too spacious for one person; perhaps she really should consider moving, just as Ryuto suggested. However, when she thought of the memories remaining in this house, she couldn’t bring herself to leave just yet.

“Grandma. Ryu-kun is here.”

Chieri spoke to the framed photo placed on top of the cupboard, then struck the Buddhist bell with a ting and pressed her hands together in prayer. Ryuto followed her lead. “Grandma, I’m home,” he said, before striking the bell himself and joining his hands.

The scent of incense drifted through the room. It was a fragrance that had never existed in this home before.

“Ryu-kun, is coffee okay?”

“…Yeah.”

As Ryuto sat down at the low dining table, it felt as though time had suddenly wound back five years. But the person sitting there now was a fine adult, grown far beyond the boy he was then.

(…I’m glad. It looks like Ryu-kun has been doing well.)

Chieri didn’t know how he had spent these last five years. The family that took him in had told her, “We don’t want you to see him anymore from now on.”

Five years since then. That meant Ryuto would be twenty-three now.

What had he been doing? What was he doing now? Just as Chieri was thinking she’d like to catch up on everything now that they’d finally met, her thoughts were cut short by shocking words from Ryuto himself.

“Chieri. —Let’s get married.”