The Rakshasa Princess’s Love (8)

That afternoon.

Gen came bounding into the room in obvious delight and informed Mei that Yoka had left the residence.

Apparently, she had departed almost immediately afterward.

(—I wonder if Yoka-san was sad too.)

Mei did not know whether Yoka’s feelings for Ryoga were the same as her own, but after boasting that she would marry him, there was no way she could have been harshly rejected without feeling hurt.

“What a relief!”

Mei gave a wry smile at Gen, who seemed to mean it with all his heart.

“You shouldn’t say things like that, Gen.”

“Princess is far too kind. After what she did to you, why did you forgive her?”

“…I wonder why.”

Someday, Mei herself might end up fleeing this place just as Yoka had.

Would she be able to endure remaining beside Ryoga while he loved someone else so devotedly?

As she stroked Gen’s soft fur, Mei found herself thinking about a future that might not be very far away.

“That’s it! Princess, since we have the chance, you should invite Master to the festival. I’m sure he’d be delighted.”

“Eh…?”

“That female oni is gone now. Master must be waiting for you to invite him.”

Was that really true?

Ryoga was kind. If Mei invited him, he would surely agree.

But it would be no different from humoring a child’s invitation.

“…No. I think I’ll leave it.”

“Why?!”

“He’s finally free again. I’d only be getting in his way.”

Now that she knew how he truly felt, Mei could no longer stay close to him as she had before.

All she could do now was put a little distance between herself and Ryoga and somehow regain her peace of mind.

She knew it was an ungrateful decision, but she simply could not do otherwise.

“That’s not true! It’ll be fine!”

As Gen desperately tried to persuade her, Mei gave him a faint smile and quietly shook her head.

Only a few days remained until the festival, and the Aberrations throughout the residence were too restless to concentrate on anything.

While removing the strings from beans in the kitchen, Aki chattered excitedly about what she should wear.

“Princess, you should wear those cute clothes instead of keeping them tucked away.”

“…Yeah.”

Without stopping her work, Mei gave a small smile and evaded the suggestion.

The new clothes Ryoga had given her were still folded away in the chest of drawers.

She felt that if she put them on, the resolve she had finally managed to form might waver.

But if she left them untouched forever, Ryoga would surely worry.

And besides—

“Oh, right. Master came by earlier asking whether Princess was here.”

At the oddly probing tone in Aki’s voice, Mei’s hands stopped for just a moment.

“…I don’t know what happened, but Master is genuinely worried about you, Princess. Try to respond to him a little.”

Ever since that day, Mei had been avoiding Ryoga.

That did not mean she had completely stopped seeing him.

She still spoke with him about her duties, and if they happened to meet, they would exchange casual conversation.

But she made sure never to let it go beyond that.

Gen and Kyo clearly found her behavior suspicious, but they had agreed to her request to leave her alone for a while.

Aki and the other Aberrations also seemed to sense that something was wrong from the way Mei acted, yet none of them pressed her for an explanation.

She avoided being alone with Ryoga, fleeing from the questioning look in his eyes, and even when they spoke, she made sure not to meet his gaze.

“Or do you hate Master, Princess?”

“Of course not!”

If only she could hate him, she would not be suffering like this.

Even now, she wanted to use her power to help Ryoga, and she was so grateful to him that she felt she could offer up her own body if anything ever happened to him.

But—

“…I just need a little time.”

She needed time to sort out the love she had become aware of.

Until she could find the courage to smile and talk casually with Ryoga again, she wanted him to wait.

“If that’s all, then fine. But every now and then, try speaking to him first, Princess… Seeing him like that is just too pitiful.”

“Hm?”

Mei had not clearly caught the latter half of Aki’s muttered words and asked her to repeat them, but Aki only gave a wry smile and said nothing more.

In his own room, Ryoga irritably crumpled yet another ruined sheet of paper.

He set down his brush and spread out a fresh sheet, intending to start over, but he could no longer summon the will to write.

All that came to mind was one small back.

(—She’s avoiding me.)

Had it started the day after Yoka left?

His opportunities to see Mei had dwindled drastically.

If he called for her, she came.

If they happened to meet, she spoke with him.

But she would not look him in the eyes.

Not seeing those bright, lovely eyes was painful and lonely.

It felt as though it had been far too long since he had last seen her soft, untainted smile.

(—Could she have started regretting coming here?)

He did not want to admit it, but there were countless possibilities that came to mind.

What if being constantly surrounded by nonhuman beings made her feel watched?

What if using her healing power caused her pain?

Above all, what if Yoka’s attack had made her afraid of oni?

(—This is hopeless.)

He had intended to treasure Mei in this residence, and yet in the end, he had only frightened her.

He had once believed that simply being able to see her smile from nearby would be enough.

(—This must be punishment for my greed in wanting her for myself.)

Living under the same roof, eating together, spending their days side by side—desire had taken root in him.

It was no longer enough simply to keep Mei near him forever.

He wanted her heart too.

Again and again, he had indulged in the improper wish to make that smile his alone.

Surely Yoka’s arrival had been punishment for such thoughts.

(—Even though I have no right to want that.)

With a low growl, Ryoga crushed the blank sheet of paper in his fist.

He would not get any work done today.

“Mei.”

The name slipped from his lips in an embarrassingly desperate, pleading voice.

In truth, he already knew what he ought to do.

He should let her go.

If he kept her here, someone might someday come after her power again, just as before.

It was entirely possible that the oni from his homeland might target Mei for Yoka’s sake as well.

He should hide her somewhere else, somewhere no one knew about her abilities, and let her live a peaceful life without ever having to use that power.

Surely it should be enough simply to know that Mei was safe and living somewhere in peace.

“…What a pathetic man I am.”

The reason he could not bring himself to do it was because he had already learned the joy of having Mei close by.

The happiness of being able to reach out and touch her, of being able to speak with her, was not something anything else could replace.

If he let her go, he might never see her again.

(—No.)

He could feel the small, selfish part of himself stamping its feet inside his heart.

He wanted Mei.

Only Mei.

How much easier would it be if he could simply expose every feeling he had?

If he tore open his chest and offered her his heart, would Mei believe him?

Or would she learn everything and come to despise him?

As he repeated those questions to himself without finding an answer, Ryoga slowly smoothed out the wrinkled sheet of paper once more.