Fish Don't Know About Water - Chapter 58

— I… I, I…

Viett’s breathing grew heavier. His voice, mixed with faint sobs, sounded like someone holding back tears.

— I, I…

— ……

— I… I shouldn’t become king…

Lieutenant Peter imagined Viett gasping and roughly wiping the tears from his cheeks. He quickly shook his head to dispel the thought. It was disgraceful to imagine the prince’s painful appearance.

— I, I could never be like F-Father…

— I’m really scared right now too. I’m not someone who should be a queen either.

Phenelity sniffled as she comforted Viett. She tried to speak brightly, but couldn’t completely hide the sobs in her voice. It was a pitiful voice that made the listener’s nose tingle.

— Every day, people point fingers at me, saying I’m not fit to be a princess, and there are even protests in some cities demanding my dethronement. What do you think will happen if I suddenly become the Crown Princess?

— ……

— Lady Amelia’s followers will especially come at me with their eyes blazing.

Phenelity sighed deeply. Peter also sighed along with her. Sadly, it wasn’t an unfounded fear. What lay ahead for the poor Little Lady were countless criticisms and judgments.

— I… I feel the same.

Viett hesitated before speaking.

— My brother’s followers will try to kill me. Compared to Minute… I’m a terrible heir to the throne.

— Terrible? You’re much more handsome than him! Compared to you, Minute was like half-baked baguette dough.

— …Is-isn’t that disrespecting the dead?

Viett whispered. Lieutenant Peter agreed as he typed.

“Yes. It is disrespecting the dead. Although it’s true that His Highness is more handsome than Minute.”

“Right. Minute looked greasy like melted butter because he was a spitting image of the king.”

Cecilia nodded seriously with a grim face.

— It’s okay. This moment won’t be recorded in a novel anyway, and as long as you keep quiet, it’s fine.

— ……

— And you’re better at fighting, stronger, and much taller than Minute! Even though your eye color is the same, your eyes are much prettier.

— ……

— And you’re good at shooting and strategizing. You even play the piano well… And…

Lieutenant Peter looked up while diligently recording the list Phenelity was reciting.

“More than half of these have nothing to do with the dignity of a king, right?”

“Half? None of them have anything to do with succession to the throne.”

Cecilia said with a face full of disdain. From the desk clock, Phenelity’s voice exclaimed, ‘Oh!’ followed by a short clap.

— You’re good at waltzing too, right? Cecilia told me you’re good at waltzing.

“When did I? That girl is using my name!”

Cecilia muttered with a smirk. After a brief silence, Viett replied in an embarrassed voice.

— Every c-cadet can do that m-much.

— Since we’re talking about it, teach me how to waltz.

— Wh-why waltz all of a sudden?

— I’m terrible at waltzing. There will be a royal ball at some point, and I don’t want to be humiliated in front of everyone.

Cecilia, who had been listening quietly, suddenly sat up.

“Oh my. Pepe is daringly deceiving His Highness?”

“Deceiving?”

“Phenelity isn’t good at many things, but she’s been trained to waltz to the point of bleeding from her toenails by the Count since she was young. She’s quite skilled at it.”

She shook her head.

“She was good enough to waltz with Senior Law as the representative of her grade at the academy party. His Highness better not read that serialized part… Throughout that part, Phenelity was looking for a chance to confess to Senior Law.”

“So she’s lying to His Highness about being bad at waltzing?”

Lieutenant Peter tilted his head.

“Why?”

“Lieutenant Peter, don’t you know what a white lie is? A white lie.”

“You mean a lie told for a good purpose?”

“Exactly. Pepe is lying to comfort him. Shall I turn up the volume?”

Cecilia turned the knob on the desk clock with a delighted face.

— This… This song isn’t a waltz.

Viett’s voice from the clock grew louder.

— It’s a light piece, and it’s in 3/4 time and has a lively melody so it works for waltzing, don’t be petty!

Phenelity’s shout grew louder too. The sound of her forcibly pulling him up and the footsteps of two people could be heard.

— Pe… petty? I’m not being petty…

— You mean delicate? Fine. Decalte.

Decalte Lieutenant Peter slowly typed with two fingers. Pressing the heavy keys made him increasingly irritated.

I’m already slow at typing, why am I doing this?

He glared at Cecilia, who was resting her eyes, and continued typing.

— Delicacy… That’s an essential quality for a king amidst chaos.

— F-Father hasn’t passed away y-yet.

— I’m just saying. Oh! Look down. My steps aren’t that bad, right? One two three, two two three.

— It’s… worse than I thought.

— What did you say?

— Your w-weight keeps shifting to the left. T-try to balance more.

— Watch your toes. I might stomp on them anytime.

— Th-those small feet won’t do much harm.

Lieutenant Peter bent down and pressed his ear to the desk clock. He analyzed the sound of the two people waltzing and their occasional conversations, then tapped Cecilia’s knee.

“Cecilia. Doesn’t His Highness stutter less when he’s with the Little Lady?”

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

Cecilia shrugged while listening to the prince and princess’s conversation.

“Doesn’t it feel different from when he practiced the speech?”

“…Is that so…”

Lieutenant Peter gave an embarrassed smile. Maybe it was just his wishful thinking. At that moment, Viet’s voice, mixed with a faint laugh, flowed from the table clock.

— Do, do, don’t breathe on my neck.

— Ahahaha! Fool, look at how red you’ve become.

— I told you not to blow.

— Your hand is like a chestnut on a hearth. Not just warm, but hot. Your cheek, your neck. Here too?

Whatever the Little Lady did, Viett suddenly burst into a low laugh. Lieutenant Peter stopped typing, startled by the loud laughter he had never heard before.

“That girl must have poked Your Highness in the side again.”

Cecilia muttered indifferently, adjusting her eye patch. Peter quickly came to his senses and glared at her.

“Poked? Cecilia, if you’re a noble lady, you should speak more gracefully…”

“Ah, shut up!”

— Ah! Touching there is cheating!

Cecilia’s annoyance and Phenelity’s shout rang out simultaneously. Then Viet’s bewildered voice followed.

— A-and it’s okay for you to touch me?

— Haha! You’re really like a pervert.

— The, the pervert is you.

Viet’s voice was tinged with even more laughter. Lieutenant Peter stopped typing. Was His Highness someone who could laugh like this? Listening to their time together made his nose tingle.

He looked at the table clock with misty eyes and then turned the crown. The laughter of the prince and the Little Lady gradually faded. As he stopped eavesdropping, Cecilia’s eyes snapped open.

“What, why did you turn it off?”

“It felt uncomfortable, like I was peeking at His Highness’s love letter.”

“Oh dear. You really show that you’ve never even held a woman’s hand. I find it quite interesting.”

Cecilia grinned and nudged his knee with her toe.

“Peter. You know this is a clear dereliction of duty, right? What are you going to tell the Minister?”

This was your task in the first place, Cecilia. Peter held back his retort and answered in a blunt tone.

“I’ll say the communication was unstable.”

“Oh, that’s not bad…? I’ll have to use that sometimes.”

He stared at her as she mumbled in a sing-song voice. Wait, this mischievous tone is…

“Cecilia. Now I understand why you were the closest friend to the Little Lady.”

“Why are you picking a fight? Just go to sleep.”

Cecilia snapped and closed her eyes to sleep again. Lieutenant Peter smiled faintly as he watched her sprawled in the narrow seat.

* * *

“Viet. Please read this just once.”

Phenelity took out a crumpled piece of paper from the pocket of the jacket draped over her shoulder. Viet, exhausted, took the paper.

He had no idea how many times his feet had been stepped on while waltzing. After laughing so hard trying to avoid the tickling hand on his side, he couldn’t think of anything anymore.

His sorrowful homeland, his father who had fainted in grief. And the enormous responsibility and terrible burden on his shoulders.

“What do, do you want to do now?”

“It will help with your speech practice.”