Life As A Tower Maid: Locked Up With The Prince

Albert glanced at me, and I smiled brightly back at him.

“What is it?”

It felt like there’s something he wanted to say.

When I asked, Albert hesitated for a moment and pursed his lips together.

Instead of rushing him, I waited in silence. I didn’t hate Albert’s silence.

Given his personality, if he was hesitating for that long, he must be serious about it.

After a while, Albert took a deep breath and spoke in a small voice.

“I’m sorry for being rude to you the past few days. I don’t know why I did that. I don’t deserve to be upset with you anyway…”

Albert lowered his head, but soon raised it again.

The act of apologizing for one’s feelings was also a testament to how that person felt.

He looked like he wasn’t used to saying this, and the image of the adult Albert scratching his head overlapped with the child Albert.

As I chuckled inwardly, one thought crossed my mind.

We’re the same.

We both tried to push the other away, but at the end of it all, we relented and admitted our true feelings.

I answered resolutely.

“It’s not that you don’t deserve to. You can be upset with me. Isn’t it totally understandable that you felt that way?”

“…But on your part, you—”

“You don’t have to think about my part. Albert, you can be a little selfish, you know.”

He had just been surrounded by so many hardships until now. The bitter thought made my heart ache.

Albert’s eyes twinkled like rubies. The deep red hue reminded me of him in the future.

He smiled and whispered,

“Thank you.”

“What is there to thank?”

“Because I can act comfortably around you.”

What he said left me speechless.

Albert while he was dealing with Greten. Albert while he stood his ground in front of Duke Masen. Albert as he would talk to Emmett.

In none of those situations did he ever behave like a child.

Except for whenever he was with me, who had witnessed a moment of his life wherein he had been trapped in a deep abyss.

“…I’m honored that I can be that kind of person for you.”

His gratitude touched my heart. It took me a while to answer, and I tried my best to smile.

The more I knew about his past and just how hard it was for him, the more I was filled with such sadness.

Albert’s gaze suddenly turned to my bracelet.

Narrowing his eyes as he stared at it, he asked.

“I’ve been wondering. Why do you always have this bracelet on?”

“Because keeping it on is the only way for you to see me.”

“Ahh…”

He wasn’t really questioning what kind of existence I was, huh. Or he might be hesitant to learn more.

Mulling over it, I spoke again.

“It’s from the man I love.”

“…The man you love?”

While asking back with a puzzled expression, Albert then furrowed his brows slightly. He must have realized it.

“So you’re leaving because of that guy?”

Pfft. I nearly laughed out loud.

He’s right in saying that I’m leaving because of ‘that’ guy, but…

“Can’t you just stay here? I don’t think that guy is a good person. You’ve been away for so long but he’s not even looking for you…”

To make matters worse, Albert began to badmouth himself. He’s really getting in there and stabbing himself on the back.

I really shouldn’t laugh at a time like this, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my lips from twitching.

Seeing my reaction, Albert quickly shook his head. Then, he cupped his hands over his ears as though he was refusing to hear more.

“Never mind. I don’t want to hear any more of this. I can already imagine the answer even if you don’t say it. Whether you leave or stay, who cares.”

He then proceeded to say something he didn’t really mean.

Playfully frowning, I answered.

“That’s too bad. It’s saddening to hear that you don’t care either way whether I leave or not.”

“…Then just don’t leave.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

I had no choice but to answer firmly.

“Because that person is waiting for me, and he must be looking for me, too.”

The Albert of the past and the Albert of the future were both important to me.

Once I return to the future, I’d be reunited with the Albert who makes my heart flutter in a different sense than the Albert standing before me right now.

He looked at me as though he was disappointed. His wounded expression made me falter a little.

…Maybe I can tell him a little more since I’ll be blurring his memories with the forget spell later.

“Don’t be so down. Just because we’ll be apart doesn’t mean we won’t be able to see each other again.”

Hearing these words, Albert widened his eyes. After a while, he shook his head and whispered in a soft voice.

“It’s a promise.”

With my hand in Albert’s, I felt him squeezing it tight.

Once more, we walked through the night sky.

And, once more, I was overcome with the need to return to the future and see him again.

I was walking together with him as well, here and now, but I wanted to go back to him and tell him just how beautiful and admirable he was for doing his best to survive at that young age.

…And I wanted to whisper to him, I’m sorry for making you wait so long.

* * *

We found Emmett standing by the entrance of the festival. It was certainly more picturesque now compared to the last time we were here.

It was all thanks to the snowflakes decorating the trees.

“Over there—the Tower Lord has arrived.”

Emmett pointed towards one man in the midst of the crowd.

It was a middle-aged man with the same red hair Mercy had.

There was a benevolent smile on his face. He certainly gave off a starkly different atmosphere compared to Rosteratu.

Of course, having the same ideals as Rosteratu didn’t mean they also had the same outward impressions. As they say, don’t judge a book by its cover.

Stroking Noir’s fur, Emmett sighed and murmured.

“He brought his daughter, too.”

At his remark, I found Mercy as well. Her red hair was as charming as ever, but this time, it hung long and loose down her back.