Ch. 5: The Castle of North Cross
The person who looked exactly like Deneb and whom I’d walked through the town with had left me in front of the castle and disappeared.
(Where’d he go?)
Bewildered, I was frantically looking around when a man appeared at the castle gate and called to me.
??: “Are you the Princess of Traumere?”
OO: “Y-yes.”
??: “I am the head butler of North Cross Castle. I apologize for the delay; I shall escort you in now.”
Still concerned with the boy’s disappearance, I followed the man who had appeared to guide me inside the castle.
Butler: “Once Prince Deneb has finished with his preparations, he will call for you. Until then, please rest comfortably here.”
OO: “Yes, thank you.”
(But I know I just heard the guards saying they couldn’t find Deneb…)
As expected given the situation, there were questions I couldn’t ask.
(I wonder if this means that boy wasn’t Deneb then.)
Alone, I looked out the window and thought back to the time I spent in town with the boy who looked like Deneb…-.
…
……
Then as the sun was setting…-.
Butler: “My apologies for the wait. Please come this way.”
The butler guided me into a reception hall.
Deneb: “Hey OO! I’m glad you made it.”
Deneb spread out both hands in delight and walked towards me.
As Deneb and I faced each other again, my doubts changed to conviction.
(As I thought… it wasn’t just someone who looked like Deneb!)
Deneb: “Oh yeah… I didn’t have the chance to give this to you before.”
He said it like it was nothing, but what he took out was the glass swan figurine.
Ch. 6: Promise of an Incognito Date
Deneb: “Hey OO! I’m glad you made it.”
Having met Deneb in the castle’s reception hall, I was certain of it.
The person I had spent the day with was definitely Deneb.
Deneb: “Oh yeah… I didn’t have the chance to give this to you before.”
He handed me a glass swan as he spoke, and it was without a doubt the figurine I’d seen in the shop earlier that day.
OO: “So it really was you Deneb…”
Deneb: “Hehehe!”
He laughed like a child whose prank had been successful.
Butler: “P-prince Deneb… does this mean when we couldn’t find you earlier…”
Deneb: “Hmmm? What are you talking about?”
He put his finger to his chin, looking in the opposite direction as the butler frowned.
Butler: “Prince Deneb! How could…-.”
Deneb: “I’ll listen to your complaints later, but right now I want to be alone with OO, okay?”
Butler: “…”
Perhaps losing to Deneb’s full-faced smile, the butler said nothing more and left, leaving the hall empty except for Deneb and myself.
OO: “…but, why did you do that?”
Deneb: “Hold that thought. First, let’s slip out of the castle.”
OO: “Huh?”
Deneb: “Come on OO, come with me!”
Just like in the afternoon, he tightly grabbed my hand and started walking for the exit…-.
…
……
Deneb led me by the hand outside the castle.
The sky was completely dark, and the stars sparkled overhead.
OO: “Deneb, where are we going?”
Deneb: “Just a little further.”
We arrived after a while at a harbor on the bank of a river.
A gondola was tied up to a post with a rope, which Deneb untied, then beckoned me on.
Deneb: “Let’s go for a ride!”
OO: “Eh…-.”
Deneb: “Hurry up!”
OO: “A-alright.”
At his urging, I went towards him as my heart pounded.
(I’ve been completely sucked into his way of doing things…)
I thought that, but strangely I felt excited.
We sat opposite each other in the gondola, and for a time it was silent with nothing but the whisper of the ripples on the water.
Deneb: “Look, the stars are really pretty!”
At that, I looked up into the distance and…
(Wow…)
The dazzling, glittering stars made a river against the midnight blue sky.
Seeing that view with the stars in a line, I was reminded of the flock of swans from before.
(The swans had looked like they were forming a river too…)
Deneb: “I’m sure you’re confused with everything that happened hehehe.”
At his voice, I turned to look at Deneb…-.
Deneb: “I’m sorry for surprising you… except I’m not.”
Suddenly, Deneb took something out of his pocket.
OO: “This is…”
It was a small crown decorated with gems that shone like the stars…-.
Deneb: “I thought it would suit you.”
He sounded happy as he gently placed the small crown on my head.
OO: “Deneb…”
Deneb put his finger on my jaw and lifted my head.
From this proximity, his mischievous eyes met mine, and it made my heart leap.
OO: “Y-yes, it does…”
Deneb: “You know… you’re a princess, but you look like a normal girl.”
OO: “Huh…-“
(Hearing that stirs up a lot of different emotions…)
Then, as if able to see what I was thinking, Deneb chuckled.
Deneb: “That’s why… I wanted to try meeting you not as a prince.”
OO: “What?”
Deneb: “I wanted to be just a normal guy.”
OO: “Deneb…”
Deneb: “At first, when we met in town, it was just a little prank, and I had intended to show you who I really was pretty soon, you know? But I didn’t expect the date with you to be so much fun…”
OO: “Date…”
Deneb: “Yeah. That was more fun than I’ve ever had before. …that’s why I ended up wanting to see your natural self even more, not from the position of a prince. But then I ended up dragging you around all over the place.”
I felt my face was bright red, but I looked at Deneb, unable to turn away.
Deneb: “Of course I still feel bad for worrying you so much… but I have no regrets about what I did. If I wasn’t a prince, I could have more dates like today with you… so what do you say to another incognito date?”
OO: “…!”
I didn’t know how to respond to Deneb’s sudden proposal…
Deneb: “I’m not letting you go back till I get an answer.”
Suddenly, Deneb’s expression was serious.
His eyes seemed to capture the glitter of the stars, and they sucked me in…
OO: “Alright… I’d be happy to.”
I was enchanted by that sparkle and answered without realizing it.
Deneb: “Really!? Alright!”
Deneb smiled in delight, looking happier than ever before.
Deneb: “…it’s a promise, right? OO.”
Beneath the glittering river of stars…
The birds chirped to each other as if sharing secrets… and Deneb placed a light kiss on my cheek.
END
Secret Story: What I Desire
After I’d had my fun around town with OO and hiding the fact I was a prince…-.
(I wonder what kind of reaction I’ll get when OO sees me. Will she be surprised? Or maybe…)
My true identity undiscovered by OO, I’d stealthily returned to the castle.
Deneb: “Hey OO! I’m glad you made it.”
I spread my arms wide and walked forward, and OO’s eyes went wide in surprise.
(That face… you’ve realized it right? That I was the one you hung out with in town. …I guess this is the end of the prank.)
Deneb: “Oh yeah… I didn’t have the chance to give this to you before.”
I handed OO the glass swan figurine.
OO: “So it really was you Deneb…”
Deneb: “Hehehe!”
(Yes, yes, this is the reaction I wanted to see! But…)
Deneb: “Come on OO, come with me!”
(What I want to see the most is…-)
I took her hand and led her out of the castle.
…
……
Countless stars blazed in the midnight blue sky.
Beneath that, we rode a gondola together…
Deneb: “I’m sorry for surprising you… except I’m not.”
I gently placed the small crown I’d been carrying on OO’s head and spoke quietly.
Deneb: “You know… you’re a princess, but you look like a normal girl. That’s why… I wanted to try meeting you not as a prince.”
(I wondered how it would go, meeting you just as a normal guy.)
OO: “Deneb…”
She almost whispered my name, and I smiled softly.
Deneb: “At first, when we met in town, it was just a little prank, and I had intended to show you who I really was pretty soon, you know? But I didn’t expect the date with you to be so much fun…”
(Before I knew it, I was so charmed by you that it even surprised me.)
Deneb: “…that’s why I ended up wanting to see your natural self even more, not from the position of a prince. But then I ended up dragging you around all over the place.”
OO’s cheeks were bright red as I looked at her.
(That face… can I tell myself that you were feeling the same thing as me? As just a man, when you look at me…)
Deneb: “If I wasn’t a prince, I could have more dates like today with you… so what do you say to another incognito date?”
OO: “…!”
I asked with my usual demeanor, and she was at a loss for words.
(…maybe she doesn’t want to?)
Deneb: “I’m not letting you go back till I get an answer.”
(I’m just a little scared, but… I want to know your real feelings.)
Even as I felt uneasy, I kept looking straight at her.
Then she nodded slightly…
OO: “Alright… I’d be happy to.”
Deneb: “Really!? Alright!”
I hadn’t realized I’d said my inner thoughts out loud, but OO smiled happily.
Then…
Deneb: “…it’s a promise, right? OO.”
I placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and held her slightly red face between my hands.
(How cute… …I wonder where I should take you this time. I want to hold hands while we walk, like normal lovers do.)
OO: “…? What’s the matter?”
OO looked up at me curiously as I’d fallen to silence.
Deneb: “I was just thinking how I always, always want to be with you. I want to eat delicious things with you, and look at the same view with you. I want to get closer to you… that’s what I was thinking.”
OO: “Deneb…”
OO smiled even as I surprised myself with how honest and upfront I was with my desires.
Then the two of us…
OO: “I… want to be with you always too.”
Beneath the sky filled with stars, our lips touched as if drawn together by some mysterious force.
END