0&1 Ch 7.5

The way Grey couldn’t take his eyes off Edward proved he was genuinely worried. After all, he’d just helped me feed him medicine. 

There’s no way he didn’t care.

At the same time, Grey was wary of me.

Isn’t it your job to protect Edward from me? Aren’t you worried about leaving Edward in my palace?

“What will you do if His Highness Edward wakes up at this late hour?”
“Then I’ll get up too and feed him, obviously.”
“What if Her Majesty suddenly drops by?”

“Have you ever seen royalty show up unexpectedly? How many people would need to accompany the Queen on an outing? She wouldn’t just show up out of nowhere. We’d hear about it from the main gate.”

“What if Prince Edward’s condition suddenly worsens? Seriously. To the point where a doctor’s needed?”
“Am I taking an exam right now?”

Grey rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“Edward is fine.”

Edward won’t die here. He still has to meet the heroine at the Academy.

“If that’s what you’re worried about, go. It’ll be fine.”

Grey was taken aback. He tried to say something but hesitated. Then, in a weak voice, he asked, “How do you know that? You’re not a doctor, Your Highness.”

“If you’re that worried, stay the night. How can you sleep soundly leaving Edward with me, who’s not even a doctor?
“No, I don’t want to.”

At this point, I wondered if there was a good reason. He hated the idea of sleeping in the same building as Joffrey.

“Why not?”
“Because it makes it look like I care too much about Prince Edward.”

Was he even speaking English?

“You are worried, aren’t you?”
“I’m not too worried, am I?”

I had no idea what to say to that.

“Oh… Really?”
“I don’t like Prince Edward that much. I told you before. What I feel for His Highness Edward is the compassion that any human being would feel. It was His Highness Joffrey who made me this way. If His Highness Joffrey hadn’t done what he did, I would have been able to look at the two of you with impartial eyes.“

“…”

What did Joffrey do? I didn’t ask. I stayed silent so Grey would keep talking.

“You’re not saying, ‘How dare you pity royalty.’”
“I don’t think that way.”

Was Joffrey a bad child? Did he grow up and become a better person?

That means Joffrey bullied Edward. Edward suffered not only at the hands of the Queen, but also at the hands of Joffrey.

I understood why I couldn’t break down Edward’s wall no matter how well I treated him. Joffrey’s inferiority complex was very old. It had been going on since he was eleven years old.

Back then – meaning right now – Joffrey had the Queen as his backing, while Edward was the neglected prince.

Joffrey could have bullied Edward.

This is going to be tough.

From Edward’s perspective, the boy who used to torment him fell off his horse and suddenly became clingy, as if he had changed into a different person.

No wonder he didn’t trust it.

“Did I ever hit Edward?”
“You didn’t touch him directly, Your Highness.”
“Did I curse at him?”
“You didn’t curse at him to his face.”

I asked cautiously, but Grey’s replies were vague.

What exactly did Joffrey do to torment Edward?

Grey seemed to find it disgusting that I was pretending not to know.

“But now you’re worried about Prince Edward. Am I supposed to trust you, Prince Joffrey? Why are you suddenly being so kind? There’s nothing in it for you.”

Of course there’s a benefit. I’m saving my life. But that wasn’t enough to convince Grey.

Was there even a need to convince Grey? Grey was useless to Joffrey’s future.

Ah, but he was Edward’s friend. Would his hostility affect Edward’s favorability?

“He’s family.” I tried saying it like in a Hollywood movie. 

Grey looked dumbfounded. “What?”

“He’s my only brother, so I want to restore our relationship.”

“What?” Grey asked again. He was so dumbfounded that he looked completely drained.

In Hollywood movies, this would be a touching ending. It was in a movie that was shown at school after the final exams.

“Ah… I see,” Grey said in a blank voice.

“Yeah. Now you get it, right?”
“…Yes…”

Was he convinced? Hollywood movies are amazing.

I didn’t lie. Edward and Joffrey are brothers, right?

In the game’s setting, they’re not biologically related.

This is revealed later in the game. That’s why Joffrey felt so inferior to Edward.

Joffrey isn’t the  King’s son. When the heroine gets Joffrey’s favorability to 4.5 stars, he confesses:

[I’ve never told anyone this. If it gets out, it’ll be like giving someone control over my life.]
[If you don’t want to hear it, say so now. But if you’re willing to accept it…]
[Then I’ll give you my life.]
[I’m not the  King’s son.]
[…Will you still love me?]

Is this considered a confession?

It wasn’t a ‘coming out’ about his lineage. It was Joffrey’s actual love confession line.

I had the heroine accept it. And ended up with the Bad Ending.

Edward sniffed. Grey and I looked at the bed at the same time. Edward tossed and turned, then curled up into a ball. The blanket puffed up like a cave.

Dot placed the wet towel that had fallen on the sheet back on Edward’s forehead. When our eyes met, Dot smiled brightly. It seemed like he had been holding his breath so as not to interrupt our conversation.

“Well then… I’ll be going.” Grey stood up.

“You’re leaving? You’re not going to check on Edward again?”
“No… I think it’s best if I go. You don’t need to see me out. I’ll be going.”

Grey looked at me as if he had seen something very strange, bowed, and left.

Was he really convinced? I felt uneasy.

“What do you think? Why did Grey look like that?” I asked Dot. 

He tilted his head, then said, “Maybe he was touched by Your Highness’s words?”

It was unlikely that Grey would be moved by the Prince’s words, but I told Dot that it was possible. Dot beamed and went off to get lunch.

When I looked back at the bed, Edward’s towel was on the floor again. Edward was lying on his side, curled up. I couldn’t find the right angle to put the towel on him.

Was the medicine working?

I placed a hand on Edward’s forehead. Warmth still radiated beneath skin chilled by the towel.

I pulled my hand back and gently brushed his long hair aside. As I tried to pull away, Edward’s forehead leaned into my palm.

He nuzzled me like a small animal. The gesture was heartbreaking. A faint expression crossed Edward’s pale face.

“… Mom.”

It wasn’t a smile. Closer to a grimace. But it was the happiest expression I had ever seen on Edward’s face.

So pitiful.

I stroked Edward’s forehead, staying there until his breathing deepened.

So Joffrey bullied you, huh? Why didn’t you say anything? Even if you had, I probably would’ve done the same thing.

Even now, all I can think is that I need to be better to Edward. To apologize. I needed to apologize to him and make sure those feelings toward Joffrey didn’t resurface…

Edward’s face looked peaceful.

Dot brought in a tray with lunch. As he opened his mouth to speak, I placed my index finger over my lips.

Dot’s eyes widened. I gestured that I would eat in the next room. Dot nodded, and I got out of bed.

Edward didn’t wake until late in the evening. Thankfully, the fever had gone down. Dot came in once to change the water and wipe Edward’s neck.

I ate dinner alone and attended my evening class. It was late at night before I had time to review Duke Pie’s test.

I spread my answer sheet on the nightstand. Edward’s soft breathing served as white noise.

All right. Let’s see what the problem was.

First of all, the content was the problem.

Two months after becoming Joffrey, I read all kinds of books. I couldn’t remember everything, but bits and pieces of knowledge were scattered around my head like deflated balloons.

When I received the exam questions, the first thing I did was organize what I knew. Fragmentary facts came to mind. Then I thought about why those things happened and what the consequences were.

I wrote those things down too.

Even so, compared to Grey’s test, who had taken the test right beside me, I had written way too little.