[Young Erik's perspective]
Daughter of a Duke...
Manners and etiquette befitting of a Noble...
Kind...
Bright...
Brilliant...
Beautiful...
I have grown up listening to such things about a person I have never met before.
Far from loving her, I have only grown to scorn her for easily receiving my father's affection that I had never received before.
The witch...I wish she was never born.
That person is my fiancée.
When she walked in, I knew right away that it was her.
Today is the day I have been dreading.
For the first time, we shall meet in the Royal Garden where usually only royalty are allowed to enter.
Wearing pure white clothes with navy blue ribbons, having strawberry blonde hair, and a white beret was a doll like girl one year younger than me.
Even though I am royalty, I know that I should be careful with my words, but this unsettling feeling just won't go away.
When she gets into a good distance from me, I am going to tell her...
I hate you... You will never be the object of my my affection. I will marry you to satisfy our families, but I will never love you.
Perfect for a wench like her.
"I hate–"
"I hate you," she started.
Huh...this is strange. For someone to always be fawned over to receive such a strong greeting?
"Hah?"
"You will never be the object of my affection. I would rather be a commoner than marry you to satisfy our families. Along with me, there will never be a woman who will ever truly love you."
I grabbed her strawberry blonde hair.
"How dare you speak to me like that!" I screamed at her as I began pulling at her hair.
How dare she speak to me like that! Only I have the right to speak like that to her.
With those words and those expressions, it is as if she is mocking me!
"Hehe..."
This girl dare laughs at me as well?
She smiled as she pushed on my chest. I released her and she fell into the fountain of her own will.
I looked down upon her sorry state.
"That's what you get for crossing me..."
Instead of weeping, she only grinned widely.
"Erik!" my father called to me.
My father was standing beside this girl's father.
What is he doing here? My father should be in a meeting with his officials.
His face had scrunched up unbelievably with a very scary frown.
He is scary.
I suddenly felt my body break out in cold sweats.
"F-Father..."
"How dare you treat Miss Arielle like that!" he said in a voice I had never heard before.
I was happy that he was finally paying attention to me, but not this way.
"...Y-You are mistaken. She fell down herself."
"Your Majesty! All fault lies with me," the girl said as she climbed out of the fountain and kneeled before my father. "Prince Erik was displeased with me, so he did such a thing. I only deserve this as punishment."
She is the one who threw herself into the fountain!
"No, it is my fault, Child. It was my fault in not teaching him in having proper manners towards women. I apologize for his rudeness towards you."
Prime Minister Maddox went over to his daughter and placed his coat over her.
No! Don't apologize to her.
"Erik, don't you have something to say?" Father asked in my direction.
"I have done nothing wrong," I protested.
Smack!
Father had slapped me across my face.
It was the first time in awhile that he had ever slapped me.
"My apologies, Miss Arielle, for showing you such a scene. Prime Minister Maddox, would you please help her inside. I will have a servant get you some new clothes."
Prime Minister Maddox and his daughter went inside following a couple of servants.
"F-Fa..."
"Erik, you shall apologize to her later."
"It is her fault! How dare she be so abrasive with her words!"
"What did she say?"
"She said..."
I was planning on telling her the same exact words. However, it's not worth repeating. If I tell Father about it, he will think of me as a petty person for pushing that girl into the fountain even if she fell in by herself. I was also the first to make a move by grabbing her hair...
"Erik?"
"I cannot say."
"...I will not press any further. Do write an apology up for her," he said as he turned his back to me.
I could only clench my fists in retaliation.
Why does my fiancée dislike me so much?
I have all of the reason to hate her, but my perfect self?
She said some rude words, threw herself into the fountain, and made a fool of me in front of my father and now I am made to write a letter for this incorrigible girl.
I had known about her for a long time. I disliked the thought of marrying a person I had never met before, so I asked one of my servants to look her up. He only delivered me useless information about her likes and dislikes of food. I was also informed about her looks as I heard that she had unique strawberry blonde hair only found in her bloodline.
I took the chance to see her from afar at a party at the castle. As expected, she was a beautiful girl that resembled her mother. She moved and spoke perfectly to those around her like a marionette.
Disgusting...how perfect this person was.
I always had the impression that she was of a cold machine from how emotionless she usually was from afar at parties.
It never occurred to me that the first time I would ever see her smile would be in that situation where she made me look like a fool...
It was humiliating!
I don't know why I would think about her so much!
It's all because of this letter!
Before I knew it, I had already crumpled up the letter and thrown it across the room. I went back to writing the apology letter in a way that she would never be able to find fault with.
In the end, I spent five hours writing a letter.
I applaud myself for writing the best letter that I could write. With this, she will fall for me!
Wait a minute...
I grabbed my head and shook it ferociously.
Why do I want her to fall for me?
She said such horrible things about me and about women never being able to love me.
I just want to prove her wrong!
After confirming my new goal, I made some slight adjustments to my letter.
On top of my letter, I decided to hand deliver it.
I gave my father the simple excuse of a true man would deliver his apologies in person. He accepted it quite easily and even seemed quite happy. I had never seen him frown so less before.
I went to her home after informing her father a few days ahead of time.
While waiting, I felt excited about actually seeing her. It was a strange feeling. I was no longer displeased with her, rather I wanted to know more about her and the reason behind her cold words.
I disliked her for easily gaining the affection of those around her.
For her, I wonder what was the ticking point...
I saw her at her home wearing a light pink dress and her strawberry colored hair down.
When I was hating her, I was unable to see her true beauty. She was definitely cute.
For some reason, she gave a hug to her father before walking towards me with a resolute face.
Prime Minister Maddox and his wife were in tears from sending her off.
"I'm ready," she said.
"Ready? For what?"
"My exile."
Exile? Did she think I was here to exile her?
"...N-No, that is not what I am here for," I said awkwardly.
Her face only contorted even further.
"I see...Your Highness had received permission to have my head."
For such a thing, to have her head?
My father has never put someone to death just because someone was not fond of him.
"I would not like your head."
"Understood, Your Highness," she said as she walked up a flight of stairs and tied a rope on the railing.
"What did you understand!"
She halted for a moment.
"You would like a more clean death?" she asked questionably. "I thought you would want my neck instead."
"What kind of neurotic person would come to such a conclusion? I want neither of those things," I answered her.
"I see...As I thought, a quick death is not allowed. Poison was the way to go."
...Why is this person so suicidal?
"Do you really want to kill yourself so badly?"
"I would prefer not to..."
"I feel the same way."
"Is this not what you desired?"
Ah, I have never been so irritated before!
"I am not here to exile you or take your life...I would like to know you better! Is that so wrong of your fiancé to want such a thing?" I shouted.
I suddenly felt embarrassed by raising my voice in front of the others.
We had tea alone together in the garden after that fiasco.
An awkward silence swept between us as we began drinking tea together.
"Your Highness?"
"Just call me Erik."
She seemed reluctant to use my name.
Was it that awful sounding?
"...Then, Prince Erik?"
I felt a little delight from her calling my name.
Actually, her voice is so pretty when calling my name...
"That's fine."
"I was under the impression that you were not fond of me from our last meeting," she started.
"I was curious about your actions. Why did such a thing happen? It seems that I was the one who incurred your wrath. I believe that was our first meeting?"
"It is not the first for me..."
"...What do you mean by that?"
She lowered her head.
"Prince Erik, I ask that you please be the one to break off our engagement. It is best we end our relationship here."
I felt my heart sink for some reason. This is what I wanted, but why is this so easy and why do I not want it not to end?
"Why is that?"
I felt furious from what she said to me, but I never truly felt hatred towards her.
What I thought was hatred towards her was actually just the thought of having my fate decided by another person.
She must feel the same way...unable to fall in love with another person, maintaining a certain image because of our families, and one day marrying only to further our families' ambitions.
When she showed me a shred of her true feelings, I finally felt that she was not really a perfect being...she was actually human.
"For us, there is no such thing as a good ending," she said as she raised her head.
Her eyes were sincere and much different to her conniving face from before.
I refuse to believe that.
"Why?" I asked her strongly. "How can you say that with true certainty?" I asked.
She seemed even more reluctant to answer.
She clenched her fist over her chest as tears began running down her face.
"Please excuse me!" she said as she abruptly got up and started running away.
Why did she cry?
I soon heard a buzzing sound in my head. A surging pain went forth throughout my head.
It hurts!
"Go after her," a voice said.
Before my mind could catch up, I was already running towards her.