Refuse Harem
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Prius
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 195 – Sophie Linier’s Dream ―The Given Words― IV
Tired from the match, Remiel rested his body on the backrest and sighed, to which Sophie stared at him and prompted with her right hand.
“Well then, I’ve told you my piece. Now it’s your turn.”
“? What do you mean by my turn?”
“It’s the basis of richu, to set up a place for mutual understanding after the game was concluded between strangers ‘――――Now let’s talk about it over the table’.”
“…You knew about that old custom.”
Richu was originally a kind of practice war game. That was why, after the game was concluded, it was supposed to be good manners to end the game with a discussion. Although that custom wasn’t used much in recent years, the words that Sophie said could be considered as ‘the signal of ending and beginning’.”1
“Why do you want to know about me?”
“Even if I want to do something about it, I can’t make any judgments if I don’t know anything. I certainly have no interest in you, but that is not a reason to not learn. Besides, after thinking a lot yesterday… I recalled something.”
When Sophie cut off her words, she lowered her eyelashes and slowly opened her mouth.
“A long time ago, there was a child that gave me the impression ‘What the heck is this guy?’ Even when we were together, he wouldn’t talk properly, smile, or have fun. But for some reason, he followed me around… At first, I couldn’t understand why he was attached to me and I found that disgusting. But I eventually got used to it――――and before I knew it, he became my friend, and then my best friend.”
“…Do you mean Tenma?”
Sophie didn’t answer that question and gave a vague smile.
That smile could be seen as a grief and sorrowful one, so Remiel chose not to pursue it further.
“My first impression of him made me think we would definitely be unable to understand each other. But as we spent time together and I learned more about him, that feeling changed. Therefore, I just find it a shame to cut off a bond without even trying to learn about the other person.”
Back when Tasuku was a high school student, he responded to a classmate who approached him with sarcasm.
Sophie thought she shouldn’t stay that way.
Since she had memories of her past life, she shouldn’t let past mistakes end as mistakes.
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I want to know about you, Remiel Karlfeldt.”
Sophie slowly raised her head, and her eyes that stared at Remiel were as calm as the surface of still water.
The number of people who said Remiel’s surname was few, be it at the royal palace or at the academy.
There was an overwhelming number of people who thought it was disrespectful to refer to him by the surname he was demoted to.
Even though they had no idea how much Remiel had been looking forward to earning this surname since he was a child――
“……What do you want to ask?”
Before he knew it, he asked.
Sophie put her finger on her chin as if thinking about a question.
“Let’s see. First of all, I’d like to know your reason for disliking Christina onee-sama that much.”
“That woman is similar to hahaue.”
It seemed Remiel already expected Sophie’s first question that he could answer immediately.
Sophie continued to ask.
“Why does the fact she is similar to your mother make you dislike her?”
“…If things stay as it is, you will also end up in the same fate as aniue’s mother.”
His eyes reflected an unexpectedly serious color.
For a moment, Sophie thought, “Does this man also think I am in a romantic relationship with Ferio?” and felt like sighing, but seeing the atmosphere, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“What exactly do you mean by ending up in the same fate?”
“I heard you exchanged a pledge of sisterhood with that woman in the girl’s academy, right?”
“Oh my… It’s something that isn’t announced outside the girl’s academy, but why do you know that?”
Sophie thought Ferio was the one who told him, but Remiel continued his words as if to deny that.
“Even without making it public, the degree of intimacy is enough to make people of the royal palace guess that. It’s because the people who first started that ‘pledge of sisterhood’ were none other than hahaue and aniue’s mother.”
“Eh…”
“Aniue’s other, Consort Floria was hahaue’s ‘little sister’.”
“――gh?!”
Gasps escaped Sophie’s mouth out of surprise.
“She had admired hahaue from a young age and worked hard to enroll in ‘The Queen’s Rose’. Although she didn’t have any outstanding talent, it was said she was a good-natured woman who made people feel calm. Since hahaue was a cold person, she didn’t have a personality that would draw people in, so Consort Floria seemed to serve an important role as a mitigating agent for hahaue.”
“That’s… is as if…”
In Sophie’s mind, the two people from “It’s a Flower, Whether it Blooms or Buds” appeared.
No, that’s just fiction. It shouldn’t be inspired by the truth.2
Besides, that story was still ongoing. Most of the contents were about small incidents of academy life and trivial everyday conversation.
Moreover, the other party was the queen. It was hard to imagine there was a woman daring enough in the girl’s academy to model the story after the royal family.
But if those two students became adults and entered society, I wonder how their relationships would change…
Even though Sophie thought it was an unrelated story, Sophie felt like she caught a glimpse of the ending of the story for just a moment.
She shook her head slightly to shake off the thoughts.
“Although nobody talked about it now, it was a well-known fact that hahaue was on good terms with Consort Floria. It could be said that her becoming the maid serving the queen was just natural.”
As a result, she ended up bearing a child earlier than the queen. Even though, at that time, she wasn’t even a concubine.
Her action was deemed as a betrayal toward the queen, and not only aristocrats, but even commoners criticized her.
“…I only knew about what I heard from rumors, but are you equating Christina onee-sama and I to those two? If so, aren’t we completely different? I’ve never thought of becoming His Highness’ concubine even once, you know?”
When Sophie told him resolutely, Remiel smiled with a hint of sarcasm.
“Consort Floria also had no desire of becoming a concubine.”
“Eh…but…”
“Although she certainly liked chichiue, she stubbornly refused to become a concubine. She wasn’t a shameless woman who acted unbefitting her status, after all.”
“Then why…?”
“Hahaue plotted it to happen.”3
That short and concise answer made Sophie feel as if all the blood had been drawn out of her body.
Wait a minute, this is…
This was definitely not something a mere daughter of a baron should hear.
If that was true, then it was a national secret that was known only to a few people in the royal palace.
Judging from Remiel’s tone, it didn’t seem like he talked about lies or rumors.
Listening is poison, looking is also poison. Maybe it’s dangerous to step further…?
There were some things in the world that were better left unknown.
By knowing it, they were burdened with the secret, and that unchangeable fact would make them worry.
But…
When did he first know about it?
Even the present could be considered a sensitive time, but if he learned it at an even younger age, it was hard to imagine the pain he felt.
Sophie felt like she could understand now why only Remiel was able to point out that Sophie’s admiration toward Christina was not what she thought it was.
Even though he’s different from me (Tasuku), he also has various thoughts about his mother…
Just like “nothingness” couldn’t emerge from “existence,” maybe exactly because he had the quality to understand that nature, Remiel was able to notice Sophie’s distortion.
Author Note:
Volume one of comicalize was now on sale!
I would be happy if you could buy it (*’▽’)
To commemorate the release (?) I might as well answer a frequently asked question.
Q: “Is this novel a rose? Or lily?”
A : If you love roses, I’m sure roses will bloom in your heart.
If you love lilies, I’m sure lilies will bloom in your heart.
Please bloom the flower of your liking (/・ω・)/✨
It is up to you what flower you will bloom (/・ω・)/✨
By the way, as for the flower that Morishita grows.
I think carnivorous plant would bloom (*’▽’）
Ah, the next chapter will be updated on 27th (Sunday).
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
I can sorta start to understand Remiel now. And that was an unexpected revelation.