I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 57 - Fourteen Years of Blank, and Now

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.

I realized I had a fever again.

Because my body felt extremely heavy.

I was lying on a bed, and there was no one else in the room.

Prince Lawrence—Tino must have brought me here.

My memory was cut off somewhere in the middle.

The flower field—Zenefelder’s viola flower field.

I must have fainted there. I don’t remember anything after that.

(A flower field I’ve known well since long ago… I can’t believe I met Prince Lawrence there in the past.)

I slowly sat up.

Prince Lawrence—whom I reunited with after losing my memory.

(He was really suspicious and shady, and I didn’t know if I could trust him, but…)

Now that I’ve regained my memories of Tino, I can’t help but let out a bitter smile about that.

Fourteen years have passed since then.

I wonder what kind of life Tino has lived.

Gently, I touched my neck.

At that time, I’m pretty sure I was bitten.

Also, Tino himself said that he bit me.

“……”

While I was deep in thought, someone knocked on the door.

I quickly turned my eyes to it, and without a word, someone entered.

I stared in surprise, and that person seemed shocked to see me awake.

“Chalize…! Thank goodness, you woke up.”

…it was Tino.

He looked so much more mature than I remembered.

Of course—after all, fourteen years have passed.

In fact, it would be more surprising if he looked the same.

I was thinking about this in a daze—maybe I was more confused than I thought.

Tino quickly approached me as I held my breath.

Then, sitting on the edge of the bed, he spoke.

“How are you feeling?”

“You… are you real? Not a butterfly?”

The first thing I said was that.

(Because before, Tino transformed into a butterfly and came to visit me.)

Tino gave a wry smile at my nervousness.

“I’m real. …I’m glad you’re conscious again. You had a really high fever until yesterday. Maybe the medicine worked.”

“……”

I blinked a few times—and recovered my most recent memories.

(That’s right… I was in the castle town.)

I went to the temple, used up all my holy power, and rested in the house Noah was using as a base.

After that—a huge group of magical beasts appeared in the capital.

I parted ways with Noah and Louis there—

Suddenly, I grabbed Tino’s hand.

As always, his hand felt cold.

Maybe it’s because he’s a vampire.

“Noah and Louis…!? And the capital… what happened to Victoire?”

When I asked, Tino handed me what he was holding.

Looking closer, I saw it was a glass.

Inside was a green, strange-looking liquid.

“Drink this. It’s a tonic made from herbal medicine.”

“…The smell is… pretty intense.”

The stench was so awful, I had to pause between words.

Tino gave an awkward smile as I made a face.

(Ah…)

That’s when I noticed something.

Fourteen years had passed, and his appearance had changed a lot.

At the very least, I wouldn’t mistake him for a girl anymore.

But still—his expressions and gestures were the same.

Just like before.

Noticing something that hadn’t changed made me feel nostalgic without meaning to.

Tino said with a crooked smile:

“This… it tastes pretty terrible too.”

“D-Did you drink it?”

When I asked in surprise, Tino suddenly froze.

“Tino?”

“…Chalize. I want you to listen without getting upset, okay?”

He prefaced it like that and continued.

“You were really weak and in danger. The medicine worked just in time, but there was a point when your fever wouldn’t drop and you were in critical condition.”

“I-Is that so?”

Right now, I just feel a little sweaty.

No headache, no chills.

As I looked confused, Tino averted his gaze—awkwardly, or maybe hesitantly?

“You… couldn’t drink the medicine yourself. You kept throwing it up.”

“Eh……”

Tino said the medicine worked…

Which means I must have taken it.

From his words, I slowly understood what he was trying to say.

I was too weak to drink it myself.

…So how did I take the medicine?

And how did Tino know what it tasted like?

There’s only one answer.

“─…”

I was too shocked to speak. My smile froze as I had no idea how to react.

Seeing that, Tino panicked and said:

“It was a medical procedure…! I didn’t feel guilty or anything, really. But I’m sorry. I did something without your permission while you were unconscious.”

“No, it’s… it’s okay.”

I couldn’t drink it on my own.

So naturally, the ways to give it to me were limited.

Besides—

I found myself touching my own lips with my fingers.

The warmth I felt probably wasn’t from illness.

“I… swore I would be your bride long ago. So… maybe it’s just a matter of sooner or later… right?”

As I said it, I wondered what I was even saying.

It felt like I’d blurted out something outrageous.

I only realized it when Tino gasped and didn’t respond.

Startled, I hurriedly looked up.

“Ah! Um, I mean—maybe it’s past the time limit!?”

“Huh!?”

“I-I mean, it was fourteen years ago… right!? And I… married someone else…”

And then I remembered.

(That’s right… I married someone other than Tino. And then—)

After I forgot about Tino.

Thinking back on those fourteen years after I lost my memory, I remembered the man who had been my husband.

The excitement from earlier vanished, and what remained was a cold, empty feeling.

Looking down, I asked Tino:

“…Henry, and the king and Stella—what happened to them?”

Maybe it was because I had dreamt of my past memories.

I remembered Stella as a young girl.

Tino’s eyes trembled at my words.

And I understood his answer.

This part of him hasn’t changed.

His emotions always show in his eyes.

“…I see. So the revolution succeeded.”

When I muttered that, Tino slowly responded.

“Two weeks have passed since you lost consciousness. I’ll tell you what happened in that time.”

He began to speak.

The revolution in the capital had succeeded.

Henry and Stella were executed by drinking poison.

And—Noah had become the new king.

“…I see.”

That’s all I said.

Henry, who had once been my husband.

And Stella, who, though not related by bl00d, had been my little sister.

Both of them were no longer in this world.

“…What should I have done differently?”

I murmured, as if asking myself.

No one knows that answer.

Even though I knew that, I couldn’t help but wonder.

If Henry had never been swayed by the temple, and Stella hadn’t fallen in love with him.

If I had faced Henry and Stella more seriously.

Maybe we wouldn’t have ended up in this future.

That’s what I thought.

I remembered the time when I could believe, without reason, that if we just looked ahead, the future would always be bright.

And it hurt.

If only I had been stronger.

If only I had—

“Chalize.”

Suddenly, Tino called my name.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up.

He had that troubled expression again.

But his eyes were so kind as he looked at me.

His hand gently, very carefully, touched my head.

And then—awkwardly, but slowly, he patted my head.

“You did everything you could. Didn’t you?”

“…But—”

“You once said you wanted to believe that there’s always hope, or that there should be.”

That was something I said in the past.

Naive, and blindly believing in a bright future.

I never imagined it would lead to this present.

It was something I could only say because I didn’t know anything.

“What you did truly changed things. And if some things didn’t change, then that just means the future they chose for themselves was exactly that. Don’t carry everything alone. You protected your pride. You fought for this country, didn’t you?”

“…Yeah.”

I nodded, softly.

My vision blurred with tears.

Warm drops rolled down my cheeks.

Tear after tear fell.

To hide them, I buried my face in Tino’s chest.

“Yeah…”

I kept repeating that word for no reason.

I had just been desperate.

I ran forward, focused only on my goal.

I knew there was no such thing as a perfect future where everyone could be saved, but still—I wanted to believe in that possibility. I needed to believe in it.

Maybe my ideals are too high.

And because I lack the strength, I end up hating myself like this.

But even so, I did everything I could for my goal.

I was desperate, and I did my best.

I gave my all to protect what I wanted to protect.

That alone is the truth.

When I pressed my head against him and nodded, I felt Tino smile…

“Then, Chalize. Let’s start by celebrating the dawn of a new Victoire, okay? Let’s welcome this new beginning.”

“A new Victoire…”

As I repeated his words, I felt him smile again.

“That’s right. Your friends are still running around, doing all they can for this country, for its future, right? Then it’s okay to mourn only after everything is settled. Chalize, what is it you have to do now? What will you do?”

Tino said that in a calm, gentle voice.

(What I must do now…)

He said I can grieve later.

And he was right.

Noah, who overthrew the king and became the new ruler, must be extremely busy now.

Louis, who stayed behind to support him, must be too.

They’re working hard right now to clean up after the revolution and solidify the new government.

Instead of looking back, I should look forward and do what I must do now.