Chapter 16

“B-but this is my father and…”

“Yep. Your ex-fiancé.”

Allen nodded his head apathetically.

For some reason, Allen emphasized the “ex” in his sentence without knowing why.

“Charlotte, you don’t need to accept everything that is thrown at you. You need to learn to get angry.”

“Get angry…”

“Exactly.”

Allen gently took Charlotte’s hand and put on the glove that he had bought.

The gloves were blood-red, a choice that completely summed up Allen’s personal grudge, but he did not specifically explain it.

“Having patience is important, but sometimes it is necessary to let it go. Otherwise, one day you will undoubtedly blow up.”

Letting an emotion pass over does not make it disappear.

It would only continue to accumulate in the depths of our hearts, eventually overflowing and breaking us in the process.

Allen didn’t want Charlotte to feel that way.

“It’s a little baffling for everyone at first, but eventually, it will become a habit.”

“Demon King, why does everything you say makes you sound like a villain?

Miaha grumbled in astonishment.

However, Charlotte remained pale-faced. Looking at the portraits of the prince and her father stuck on the sandbag, her shoulders trembled a little.

“B-but… I’m not… angry…”

“… Even when you’ve been… humiliated to that extent?”

In order to find this photo, Allen had to look through a number of newspapers.

That’s how he learned that Charlotte was the “villainous lady” in the neighboring Kingdom of Neils.

Apparently, they even put a bounty on her. The soldiers that Allen drove away also mentioned, “It doesn’t matter if she is dead or alive… ” There really was no place for her in that country any longer.

Charlotte was robbed of everything, and her dignity was trampled upon.

And even with all that had happened, she did not utter a single word of resentment.

She only smiled as if she had given up.

“… The Prince and my father must have had their reasons.”

“So, as long as there was a reason, it would be fine to toss you away like a rag?!”

“… It can’t be helped.”

Charlotte shook her head gently.

“I am indebted to my father for raising me thus far. The fact that the prince has someone like me as a fiancée… I only felt sorry for the trouble I brought to him… so how could I blame them?”

“…”

Apparently, the root of the problem was too deep.

Allen’s plan was to :

No. 1 Make Charlotte aware of her grudges.

No. 2　Ride into the neighboring country and expose the prince’s wrongdoings.

No. 3 Charlotte’s innocence would be exonerated, and the scoundrels would be thrown in jail.

No. 4 A happy ending, hurrah!

However, the blueprint had to be scrapped here.

This plan alone will not mend Charlotte’s heart.

After all, she had not been able to face her heart properly. She had become accustomed to repressing her own mind so much that she was now afraid to express how she felt. Either that, or she had completely given up on feeling.

Otherwise, she could not have survived until now.

Yet, the shell that she had built thus far to protect herself was now strangling her in return.

If her own stigma was cleared and the prince was condemned, instead of rejoicing, she would be sick with worry that people became unhappy because of her actions.

Then, Miaha gave a small tug at Allen’s sleeve.

“Demon King, I know it’s none of my business but…”

She took a hesitant glance at Charlotte and lowered the tone of her voice.

“Charlotte… I think you should let her be for a little longer.”

“I’m pretty much in agreement with you on that but…”

“But…?”

Charlotte’s emotional wounds ran deep.

That kind of wound took time to resolve.

But Allen didn’t want to just… wait for the time to come.

“Charlotte.”

“Y-yes? What?”

He called out to her who was standing motionlessly, keeping her eyes downcast.

Gently, he held her hand with the gloves still on.

“Then… hit me instead of the sandbag.”

“… What?”