Chapter 36: Adversity Strengthens the Foundation

(T/N: Thanks for waiting and being patient! This is the last chapter I will be translating and Ars will be taking over from here! Thanks so much for reading this machine translation of this great webnovel and enduring the pitiful excuse for a translation. This chapter was surprising kind of lengthy and it was extremely difficult to translate so please bear with me!

Also, one more shout out to Zen Wistalia for translating the last bit of this chapter that I didn’t do! They are the reason why I can even post this chapter…)

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*POV: Shane’s*

Leo-sama, who suddenly appeared, forcefully pulled me away from Urie. The people around us felt tense as Leo-sama’s facial expression seemed discouraged.*

I didn’t know why Leo-sama suddenly became disgusted, and I was having a hard time processing what happened.

“Leo-sama, it’s the long awaited party, shouldn’t you go dance with someone?”

I desperately suggested trying to get out of this situation. Leo-sama glanced my way, his usual no facial expression was there, but it had a cold impression. However, he quickly removed his gaze, took a small breath, and then looked straight ahead again.

* * * * *

By the time the party ended, I was mentally exhausted. In the first half of the party, I enjoyed my dance with Leo-sama, but in the second half, I had a particularly difficult time.

When I finally saw off the last guest, I was relieved that I could finally go back to my room, but Leo-sama grabbed my arm. We quickly moved down the corridor, and I paid attention to not stumble as I wasn’t accustomed to running in heels and a dress. I then found myself in Leo-sama’s private room.

“What’s the matter with you? You have been acting strange.”

I unconsciously questioned, but was pushed up against the wall and looked at harshly.

“Some time ago, you seemed like you were having fun.”

What was he saying? I wonder what he was talking about.

“I don’t know what your hinting at.”

I also felt a little belligerent.**

“Were you not just dancing happily with the Duke’s son of Orania? And in addition to that, you seemed to breathe in perfect sync while dancing.”

“It was Urie who taught me how to dance, so naturally we would be able to.”

“On the balcony, were your faces not extremely close to one another?”

“It was because Urie was speaking in a tone from the old days; it was to make sure no one could hear.”

The dispute we had continued. However, I suddenly noticed, the things that Leo-sama was pointing out, I was thinking similar things. Did Leo-sama feel the same way about Urie like how I felt with other women touching him?

“From what I heard, you and the Duke’s son were lovers. Weren’t you happy to see your former lover? Nevertheless, didn’t you unwind yourself a little too much? Have you thought about your awareness as the Empress?”

While I was thinking, Leo-sama emotions became high strung.***

When I came to Caspar, I thought the rumors with Urie would be convenient when dealing with Leo-sama, but now I had to figure out how to solve this misunderstanding.

“Leo-sama, that is a misunderstanding. Urie and I do not have that sort of relationship. First off, as a matter of fact, Urie has a lover. Today, I was told that they are finally going to get married, so I was overcome with emotions.. I certainly may have acted a bit inappropriate as the Empress.”

Explaining to that extent, Leo-sama seemed to have calmed down a bit.

“But while you were in Orania, why didn’t you deny the rumor?

“Yes. Certainly in those days I thought I could use the rumor to go around Caspar easier.”

I answered obediently, surprising myself. Leo-sama took in a small breath and immediately asked another question.

“What do you mean by that? Why is that?”

“At first, I was concerned about Leo-sama’s rumors. Besides, I couldn’t really stomach the fact that I married a man. So I wanted to keep my distance from you. However, the more I got to know about you, the more I realized the rumor of you being an ‘Aloof King’ was just a lie. In reality, you are a gentle king who thinks about his people. That’s why I thought I wanted to stay by your side”

I could feel my face turn red little by little.

“Moreover, some time ago, I kind of felt the same way as Leo-sama. I thought that I wanted to keep dancing with you, but whenever I saw you dancing with other women, I felt a bit depressed. So, I thought this feeling was jealousy.”

There was a small silence.

“Jealousy? Certainly I was feeling a bit of jealousy towards the Duke’s son. I see… I, it seems like I have liked Shane for a long time now. I realized up until now, I was convinced that I satisfied with what we had now.”

Suddenly saying such things and even so easily, does he even understand the meaning of “like”? No, his understanding of the word was probably different from mine.

“What do you mean by like?
Recently, I felt like I was being avoided.”

“Even if I say the meaning, it is what it is.It means that my feelings are like love. Regarding recently, I couldn’t organize my feelings, and I couldn’t go see you because I was ashamed and embarrassed.”

As Leo-sama spoke, his face turned so red even I couldn’t beat him. And I also thought it was strange that we thought of the same things everyday. It was a little funny. /*/

With a small laugh, “Me too. I was really embarrassed and couldn’t go see you. After that, I knew I liked you too.”

After I answered, Leo-sama wasn’t able to endure it and he laughed in a similar way.

 

When I unintentionally looked at the clock, the day had ended.

“Oh, it’s already midnight. My birthday has ended.”

I casually mumbled. Suddenly, Leo-sama rushed to his desk as it seemed he remembered something.

“I’m sorry, even though it has past, I still have your present. I hope you like it.” He presented a small box.

“Thank you. Can I open it right now?”

‘Yes’, Leo-sama answered a bit nervously. When I opened the box, there were a set of earrings.

It was a simple design with clear blue gems. But for me who doesn’t like overly glamorous things, the piercing design is one that I can wear everyday, which makes me very happy.

“It is very beautiful. Thank you very much. I will cherish it. “

“I am glad to hear you say so. It was worth choosing it. “

Leo replied, so I just placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Just this contact gave me tremendous happiness.

I would like to share the joy in the little things with this person. Is what I was thinking from the bottom of my heart.

However, because I was celebrating my birthday, I remembered that I lied about my age.

I think I might as well tell him the truth.

“Leo-sama, because we can now speak to each other honestly there is something I would like to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“You see, I lied to you a little about my age when I married you, Leo-sama.”

After he heard that, Leo-sama didn’t seem surprised.

“Is that so? When I first saw Shane, I certainly thought that you were a bit young. Wait, don’t tell me that you still haven’t reached twenty yet? “

I thought it was still calling the mackerel… **/**

“No, it’s nothing like that. Actually, I pretended to be 3 years younger. Today, I am actually 26 years old. I’m older than Leo-sama by 2 years. “

When he heard that, Leo-sama was laughing while holding his stomach, saying, “I was deceived” with the face of someone who had swallowed a peashooter.(*)

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Footnotes/Please I am in need of HELP:

*  –  そのまま憮然とした表情で俺の隣にいたレオ様に、参加者の多くが緊張を余儀なくされてしまっていた。

**  –   means hostile or aggressive

*** –   easily upset or nervous

/*/ – そして、俺も全く同じことを考えて顔を合わせられない日々が続いていたことに、何だかおかしくなってしまった。

THESE ARE THE JAPANESE IDIOMS:

**/** – やはりそちらにサバをよんでいたと思っているのですね…。 (HONESTLY I KNOW THIS MEANS LYING ABOUT ONE’S AGE, BUT I DON’T KNOW HOW TO WORD IT!) 

(*) – this is a Japanese idiom for having “a look that is stupid surprised” etc. so basically he’s making a weird expression of some sort… 

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(T/N: Thank you for reading this chapter that was honestly the most confusing thing ever! It’s 2am so I will be heading off to bed XD… Whatever grammar errors I have made will be fixed later.

This will be the last chapter I am translating for this novel, sooo thank you soooo soo much for reading until here! Ars will be taking over and when they post the next chapter, I will also have it linked here. Hopefully, I see you all again in a different webnovel that I might translate due to me learning Japanese in college! Hopefully I come back with a better understanding of the Japanese language. XD Bye bye for now everyone!)

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