GDTEA Chapter 137

Why Only Me?

Once the rain stopped, Sharti headed out of the inn alone to purchase a magic stone.

‘The magic stone shop is supposedly close to the inn, so I should be able to go and come back before Ren returns.’

She had left a note in the room, so Ren wouldn’t worry too much.

Besides, they had been stuck together the entire time waiting for the heavy rain to stop, so a brief separation was welcome.

Sharti rubbed the silver ring she had put back on and stepped out into the street.

Perhaps because the long downpour had just ended, many people had come out into the streets.

Even so, it was quieter compared to District D of Chelonar County.

‘The atmosphere of the streets is different, too.’

Even to an outsider’s eyes, the frozen atmosphere and the gloomy expressions of the territory’s residents were plain to see.

The exhausted and stiffened atmosphere, too pervasive to conceal, was easy to sense.

‘Let’s not worry about it.’

It was a place she would be leaving again soon anyway.

What would be the point of knowing every detail of the internal affairs of a marquisate within the Great Empire of Neweiton?

Sharti quickened her pace, resolving to leave that very evening if possible.

“Ah, that must be it. ……Hm?”

Sharti paused when she spotted the magic stone shop, which was farther away than she had expected.

A long waiting line had formed in front of the not-so-large magic stone shop.

“Are you here to queue? Come this way.”

There was even a guard stationed to direct people.

She joined the end of the waiting line for the time being.

‘With this many people buying, will there be any left for me?’

On top of that, the line was so long that her turn was still quite a ways off.

‘But if I go back now, I’ll have to leave without the extra magic stones, so I have no choice.’

Even if she was late, Ren would ask the inn staff and come this way, so there was no chance of them missing each other.

Sharti took out the bread she had brought from the inn.

As she nibbled on the hard inn bread, she found herself missing Virena.

‘I wonder if Virena is doing well.’

She recalled the news that Virena had gone down from the mountain to study.

‘We’ll have a lot to talk about the next time we meet.’

How much would have piled up between them while they were apart?

Surely even an all-nighter wouldn’t be enough.

“—Ugh, at this rate, aren’t we going to end up not buying anything and just heading back?”

“And you’re willing to leave just like that? We might as well wait.”

Just as she was nearly done with her bread, she caught the conversation of the group ahead of her.

“Damn it, that rumor—is it actually true?”

“I’m telling you, it is. Apparently it’s well-known on Bladi Street.”

At the unfamiliar street name, Sharti almost looked up but quickly lowered her head.

“So you’re saying the lord might actually hand over our territory because of gambling debts?”

“The guy who sold out his own homeland and clung to the enemy as the lord—it’s entirely possible!”

“……!”

Among all the people standing in line, only Sharti drew a sharp breath.

Despite how loudly they were speaking, not a single person showed any sign of being disturbed.

“Isn’t it obvious from the fact that the lord is nowhere to be seen? They say he’s holed up on Bladi Street, crazed with gambling.”

“The rumor has already spread everywhere. That’s why everyone has gathered here—to buy up anything worth money before it’s too late.”

“Right. If the territory gets handed over for a pittance, there’s a high chance we’ll all be dragged off for forced labor, so naturally we need to grab everything of value and get out of here as soon as possible.”

Due to the sudden heavy rain, the magic stone shop had been running low on stock, but today it had finally been restocked, and everyone had gathered early.

Learning of the background she hadn’t known, Sharti rolled her eyes.

‘In a situation like this, the price of magic stones would have gone up by several times at minimum.’

Sharti glanced behind her.

The line behind her had already grown longer.

‘What should I do.’

Going back now wasn’t an option for her either—she needed magic stones just as urgently.

She was hesitating, wondering whether she should at least check the prices before heading back, when—

“By the way, have you heard that rumor? About the lord’s fiancée.”

Someone near the front of the group, who had been venting their frustration, casually brought it up.

“Fiancée? Who’s that?”

“Oh, I know her. They say she’s an incredibly beautiful noblewoman?”

People standing in line suddenly chimed in, joining the conversation.

“And what did this noble lady do? She’s probably in cahoots with the gambling-crazed lord.”

“Not at all. I hear she’s currently managing the territory in her capacity as the lord’s proxy?”

“That’s right. She’s as kind and beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside! She even comes out to inspect the territory personally!”

The lord’s fiancée, who cherished the territory’s residents so much that she seemed like a saint herself, was said to be working to reduce the excessively high taxes the lord had arbitrarily imposed, and was even drawing up various service plans for the common folk—the line abruptly grew lively with talk of the lord’s fiancée.

“—So she’s considered the greatest beauty in all the Empire, is she? Just how beautiful is she?”

“You’ll probably be able to see for yourselves soon enough. Lady Eris will be personally touring the territory again today.”

“They say she’s coming to encourage the residents after all the hardship from the winter downpour?”

“Wow~ She truly must be like an angel!”

The atmosphere that had been criticizing Marquis Knocharff abruptly shifted to praise directed at his fiancée.

Even the people who, just moments ago, had been distrustful of the lord and planning to leave the territory while assuming the worst, gradually began to show curiosity toward the young lady called “Eris” and started to hold onto hope.

‘Something feels a bit……’

In the middle of it all, Sharti felt a sense of unease.

There was nothing overtly instigating or coaxing going on, and yet the sight of the discontent toward Marquis Knocharff being soothed into goodwill toward Lady “Eris” sat oddly in her mind.

‘……It’s not a matter for an outsider like me to overthink.’

Even if the lord was a scoundrel, it was fortunate that his fiancée was a sensible noblewoman.

Sharti took out her notebook, intending to stop paying attention to her surroundings entirely.

Ignoring everything around her and focusing on drafting formulas, she passed the time until her turn finally came.

“Pardon? What do you mean the price is……”

But upon seeing the price of the magic stones on display, Sharti couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

There was a price tag beyond anything she had imagined.

“You’re telling me this tiny single-use magic stone is 2 gold?”

“Got a problem?”

It was an outrageously high amount even for the territory’s residents, who were already strained by the high taxes.

The shop owner, sitting with their chin resting in their hand, didn’t seem particularly interested in selling either.

At a loss for words, Sharti turned around and walked right back out of the shop.

‘At that price, no one would buy it.’

It felt exactly like a price meant to ensure nobody could buy it.

Having ultimately failed to purchase a magic stone, Sharti trudged away.

“Wait, you there! You cannot pass through here.”

A guard stopped Sharti, telling her that the street she had just come from had suddenly been closed to traffic.

Looking around, she saw guards controlling every inch of the narrow street.

“The lord’s fiancée will be passing through shortly. Either take a long way around, or stand over there and wait.”

“But……”

She had just said Lady “Eris” was acting as the lord’s proxy—it seemed every street she passed through during her territorial inspection was temporarily closed off.

Sharti thought about looking for another route but gave up.

‘I don’t know the streets around here, so it’d be better to wait here for a moment and pass through once she goes by, rather than getting lost for no reason.’

Pushed by the crowd increasingly flooding the street, Sharti pressed herself flat against a building wall.

It was clear that the residents’ interest in and support for the lord’s fiancée far exceeded that for the lord himself.

‘But if the rumors are to be believed, the marquis has a beautiful fiancée and yet fell into gambling anyway?’

Not even tending to the territory, just imposing high taxes.

What an incompetent and pitiful noble.

Sharti shook her head.

“Waaah—!!!”

Sharti turned her head at the roar of cheers starting from the entrance of the street.

But they were still far off, and there were too many people around to see properly.

All she could tell was that Lady “Eris” was drawing closer, following the swelling wave of cheers.

“Wow, she’s truly beautiful!”

“Lady Eris Biyan!”

“……!”

Among the cheers echoing from all around, a single name made Sharti flinch violently.

‘……Arisviyan?’

Her heart pounded even as she knew it couldn’t be.

Thinking she must have misheard, her fear-filled eyes still pushed through the crowd.

Taking in the splendid procession, Sharti broke into a cold sweat.

‘What a ridiculous thought. This isn’t Krianet—this is Neweiton. It’s a name, Eris—I must have misheard it.’

This was Neweiton Empire, the enemy nation that had burned down Krianet’s royal palace.

And the star of that procession was a noblewoman of the Neweiton Empire. Even more than that—the fiancée of a man who had handed over classified information from within the Kingdom of Krianet to the Neweiton Empire and become its noble.

There would surely be people who shared a name with Krianet’s princess if you searched for them.

“……Ah……”

For a moment, it felt as though time slowed.

Under a still-overcast sky, the instant the young lady—adorned in a dazzlingly beautiful dress and ornaments—drifted past, Sharti stopped breathing.

“My Lady Proxy!”

“My Lady!”

“Lady Eris!”

Joyfully receiving the people’s cheers and smiling, Lady “Eris” was more beautiful than anyone else in the world.

Her lustrous, light gray hair had been so well kept that it appeared silver, and her red eyes gleamed brilliantly, as though set with rubies.

Even the mole beneath her eye made her smile appear all the more captivating.

Her expensive dress and graceful gestures created an atmosphere around her that was not merely that of a noble lady, but of something utterly unapproachable.

“……”

Sharti could not bring herself to look directly at the beautiful lady’s face visible beyond the crowd.

[Sharti Krianet. Ah, my half-sister. Why did you have to catch my eye.]

[Your worthless life will save mine, so today must be the most precious day of your life.]

[Now, answer me. My half-sibling.]

Her stomach lurched.

The being who had cast her away with a cold, cruel smile had appeared before her eyes five years later.

“Did you see just now? She smiled at us!”

“She even held the children’s hands—she truly has a kind heart.”

And not just appeared—proudly showing her face in the Neweiton Empire, while receiving lavish praise from the people.

……Why?

……How can she do that?

Covering her mouth with her hand and repeatedly suppressing the urge to retch, Sharti’s body trembled.

Her chest felt so suffocated it was as if it might burst.

I am here like this.

I am a dead person—even though I’m alive, I can no longer live with my head held high.

The real princess is that woman……. Why, why can that person stand there and smile so proudly?

Why does no one recognize her?

It’s not me but that woman who is the real Arisviyan.

Tears welled up, driven not just by shock but by a deep sense of injustice.

Five years ago, being burned alive—abandoned with no one to save her—came flooding back like a nightmare.

Lady “Eris”‘s procession passed, and people began moving through the streets again.

But Sharti could not move a single step.

She could only hunch down to the ground and swallow, over and over, the screams tearing their way out of her.

The one who had to silently bear injustice, unable to cry it aloud, was Sharti.

The one who had no power, no backing, was Sharti.

The one who lacked even the courage to walk with her head held high even under a false name, was Sharti.

“……”

Tears flowed without end.

It was unbearable.

Reality was crueler than any nightmare.

‘If only I hadn’t known, had never known……’

Whether Arisviyan had become Eris Biyan or not, had she lived on knowing nothing of it, she would never have felt this way.

Rage toward Arisviyan surged within her, she felt bitter resentment at the fact that she, a bastard, had lived a life entirely unlike that of the true Princess of Krianet, and she felt foolish and pathetic for having lived less shamelessly than “Eris Biyan.”

On the death of a bastard, the true princess had built a new life.

Arisviyan held power and wealth and lived openly, while Sharti had lived hiding her face even from those precious to her.

‘……Why, only me?’

What did I do so wrong?

Why do I have to bear all of this?

How long do I have to live clutching unhappiness to myself?

Why only me?

Sharti lifted her head at a faintly heard voice.

Through a vision blurred and stained with tears, Sharti burst into sobs and reached out her hand toward the face she saw.

Burying her face in the large embrace that immediately pulled her in, Sharti continued to cry.

Without holding back the grievance alone inside herself, she cried out loud—cried greatly.

Her tears did not stop until every last bit of the resentment that had built up and built up was shed.

****

That night, as they left Marquis Knocharff’s territory, Sharti held his hand and confided her secrets one by one.

“Ren, I’m not from the Neweiton Empire.”

From within Ren’s solid, safest embrace, she had made up her mind—Sharti no longer wished to live clutching her unhappiness.

“I was born in the Kingdom of Krianet, and I lived there until five years ago.”

On a night without a single star visible, Sharti looked up at the teal eyes that sparkled only for her and spoke.

“I am the bastard of the Krianet royal family, who died five years ago as a stand-in for Princess Arisviyan.”

“……!”

It was a night when the cold wind that chilled her to the chest, for some reason, felt only refreshing.