Even when I realized my status once again, Lina did not raise her head. Looking straight ahead, she saw her golden hair flowing like a waterfall.
It seems that I have no intention of raising my head until my mouth is open. Although I can't see her face, I don't know what expression she is making, but she must be nervous.
First of all, I plan to accept Lina's apology. She said that the Imperial Princess bowed her head and apologized, but if she doesn't accept it, that will be a problem.
And the moment I don't receive an apology, this feeling that creeps up in my heart seems to be expressed as it is. I haven't been able to pinpoint the exact nature of this feeling until now, but I was able to figure it out by Lina's apology.
power
What I hated so much while being reincarnated in this world was an unfair power structure, but ironically, this feeling that is slowly rising in my heart now was the lust for power.
In his previous life, he was just a writer who liked to write, but now he has become a person who can control the world. How much less, the princess of the demon tribe and the princess of the empire are taking a low stance and giving me preferential treatment.
Who will be swayed by this greed? I can assure you that it is not. Power is power that even people who originally disliked power cannot get rid of once they taste it.
So, if you take even one more step from here, you will be eaten by power. But power always leads to ruin.
'Rather than power…'
want something else I said to Lina, who was waiting for my answer with her head bowed.
"Raise your head. Lina-sama."
"… …"
As I spoke in a calm voice, Lina slowly raised her head, which had been bowed down, to meet her face. She had gone through all sorts of anguish in the meantime, and her expression was so dark that her beauty, which had been beautiful, faded slightly.
Not knowing what to say, I patted the back of my neck and opened my mouth quietly.
"Lina-sama is aware of her own faults, so I don't have anything to say about that part, but I feel a bit late."
"… …"
"If you wanted to apologize, you should have apologized when you called me and my sister, not now. If that was the case, Lina-sama's apology would have felt even a little sincere. If you apologize only after the situation is over, no matter how good you are, I can't see you as good."
Lina's expression gradually darkened at my timid words. It seems that he is worried that I will not accept an apology.
I paused for a moment, then put my hands together and spent a bit of time contemplating. I needed to organize my thoughts in my head.
About a minute passed like that. I opened my mouth as I stared at the reflection of my face on the coffee in the coffee cup.
"To be honest, I never imagined that the situation would get this serious. I just declared a hiatus for my studies. And above all, as you can see from the author's words, I was simply writing Xenon's biography as a hobby. I don't have any ideas."
This is what Marie said. I glanced at Marie and she was staring into my face with an expression of complete trust in me.
Her hand almost touched her face, but she managed to suppress it due to the atmosphere. She could feel that I was seriously ill, even in this pitiful situation, that she almost had her hand on Marie.
"Of course, the root cause was the pressure of Lina-sama and Leorth-sama, so I decided to take a break. I really love my family. If my sister hadn't persuaded me then, I could have put the pen down altogether."
"ah…"
Lina's reaction to my candid story was quite remarkable. His face was still pure white, but the blood had gone and he turned blue.
At least it can be said that it is fortunate out of misfortune. Because of my own faults and greed, the situation could have been worse than it is now.
I smiled bitterly as I watched her tremble up to her lips.
It's not that Lina's position is completely incomprehensible. She has always been born in a position far higher than others, and has lived until now, and her idea of the chosen people will naturally be rooted in her.
She said that she was the daughter of the emperor whom everyone looked up to, and that she had a much wider range of actions than others. So she can put pressure on the writer of Zeno's biography.
I was able to live a life apart from authority because of the memories of my previous life, not Lina. Lina, she must have received her education from a long time ago, so there is a lot that she has no choice but to do.
"Um… It's been a while, but I'll accept the apology first. Seeing Lina-sama apologize in person, the situation is just that serious, and it's not good for me either. More, right?"
"That's right. And…"
"Before that, there is something I want to say. Maybe it's a request."
Before Lina could even speak, I cut it off. It's an act of ignoring the concept because it was rude, but I still have the initiative.
Lina knew about it too, so she kept her mouth shut without saying anything. She doesn't know what she's thinking on the inside, but when she still sees a dark expression on her face, she seems to be patient.
"I told Marie, but I'm just writing Xenon's biography as a hobby. I listen to my father's experiences, and based on those experiences, I'm writing the story I want. I don't know if you know, but when my hobby becomes a job, I really don't want to do it. So please interfere. I hope you don't do it that much. Just like last time, I called people and put pressure on them."
"…for that matter, I apologize once again."
I stopped quickly as Lina spoke in a gloomy voice and tried to lower her head. A person who becomes a princess does not need to bow her head twice. I am uncomfortable
"You don't have to apologize twice. Once is enough."
"…thank you."
"Stop talking. And what I'd like to suggest is…"
As I blurted out my words, Lina put on a tense expression on her face. Marie, who sat next to her, had a face that looked forward to what I was going to say.
I couldn't help but ponder a bit, not sure if I could really make such a suggestion. In this world, there are classes, and there is a firm authority according to them.
So, this proposal I will bring out in the future may undermine Lina's authority. But the desire in my heart whispered softly.
If it is difficult to take one step forward, why not just take half a step? Or can't you just take it off as soon as you step on it?
So I suggested to Lina.
"Please let me speak."
"…Yeah?"
When Lina made a face that she didn't understand, I told her again.
"When I call you, please call me Lina, not Rina-sama."
Equality, not power.
My personality may be a little strange, but I'd rather treat someone on an equal footing than treat someone badly. On the other hand, I really hate when someone presses me down with power.
Unlike Aira at the time of the group assignment, Lina did not openly press her, so it was tolerable, but the situation quickly turned around.
When the situation broke out, she was the first to perceive it wrongly and is in a position to bow her head. It's literally saying that I've become a gangster.
However, I don't like uncomfortable relationships. It's much better for me to be comfortable with each other like Marie.
Some may wonder why they do this, but in fact, my proposal is also quite risky. Not only could it undermine Lina's authority, it could also make her feel bad.
Now the situation has been reversed, but if she holds a grudge, it could become more dangerous in the future. So I saw a compromise by letting her speak.
"… …"
Maybe it's because it's an unexpected offer. Lina has a puzzled look on her face after hearing my suggestion. Then she met Marie, who was sitting next to me, and her gaze.
I also naturally turned towards Marie, and she has a sullen face. For some reason, he seemed full of dissatisfaction.
Maybe you didn't like my proposal that much? Still, seeing that he didn't complain, it was clear that he respected me.
"…is that all?"
After a moment of silence, Lina asked me in a cautious voice. Seeing the expression on his face, he didn't seem to understand easily.
To this, I answered by nodding my head without saying a word. Oh, of course, I forgot to mention a word here.
"And Lina-sama too, don't say respectful words and put it down. It's inconvenient."
"That… okay. Is that really the only one?"
"Yeah."
"Why? What's the benefit to you to talk to me?"
You talk a lot. I stared at Lina, who spoke in a nuance that she couldn't understand.
The poker face is crumbling and the face is asking for answers. At this, I smiled and opened my mouth.
"There are many benefits. It puts my mind at ease."
"… …"
"Again, I'm not writing Xenon's biography for a specific purpose. It's just a hobby. So I don't really want anything, I just want the readers to enjoy it."
Did you realize that my words are sincere?
"…I don't understand."
Lina muttered a little with a somewhat bewildered face.
I asked her again, as if it didn't matter.
"So will you accept it or not?"
That day, I was on an equal footing with the princess.
"huh."
I think my cute girlfriend is dissatisfied.