The Kingdom of Everlasting Night and the Last Ball Translation

18.1 Dia and the Last Ball

As she looked around, she saw a lot of people.

She was a little frightened by such a fact, despite so, her decision didn’t waver.

Marietta was also visible, but Ricardo opted to escort Dia, instead—perhaps because there were some unanswered questions. Dia leaned inward.

It seemed that Ricardo was still pondering about something—he seemed troubled about what to say.

Due to the strange combination which was the crown prince and his ex-fiancée, the aristocrats of Fashitar who had gathered in the venue became somewhat confused.

“Dia, this is for you.”

“Thank you.”

A servant brought over a glass of Supri on a silver tray and Ricardo proceeded to hand it to her.

Observing closely, said ‘servant’ was the head chief—normally, a role like that shouldn’t be his job.

Such act reminded her yet again that the arrangement had been made with extreme caution.

The two walked through the royal parliament, where the day’s guest of honor declared the start of the ball.

The venue used plenty of lustrous blue-green forest crystals, and the sculptures put on display were delicate and beautiful.

The curtains draping over the large windows made of spring crystals were white like snow. A foreign diplomat who visited the Royal Palace once said Fashitar was the only kingdom who would use so much white without fear.

Due to the deep forest and white color scheme, Dia thought of an enchanting forest.

The only forest known to Dia was the hunting ground under the direct control of the royal family, but the Forest of Hydratartz that Prince Jillreid was investigating seemed to have a different appearance because the branches and leaves of the trees were mixed with yellow.

At the entrance of the hall, the names of the nobles who visited the ball were still being announced. Although it was a long distance away, the people whose house names were called greeted the King and his wife from the entrance. After all the guests were in the hall, the ball eventually started.

In the meantime, the King and his wife were anxiously glancing at Dia and Ricardo.

Most probably, Ricardo should had left Dia’s side from long ago. They mustn’t be seen together.

However, Ricardo seemed to tell his parent something with his gaze and remained beside Dia.

…ah.

Suddenly, Ricardo showed a gesture as if he was constantly worried about the movement of his fingers—

—Dia recalled about the fairy embroidery on her dress and its effect, but pretended not to care.

“I saved you because you survived and came to this royal palace.”

Ricardo let out those words when people weren’t paying attention to them.

Dia wondered if he would continue, but the opportunity never arrived, it seemed.

Because it was the end, Ricardo seemed willing to answer her questions seriously.

“…I heard that it was the knights of the royal palace who protected me. That wasn’t part of the order?”

“I was the one who ordered everyone. But for some reason, when they returned to the royal palace, the knights proudly told me they had protected you. Seeing how the knights brought you back to the palace so obediently, it made me wonder if the Gillasfi family had some kind of invisible protection.”

“…Is that why…?”

“Indeed, that’s why. Not to mention, the next day, His Majesty the King and my mother, too, said that one of the princes should become your fiancé to protect you. That suggestion was supported by the ministers and the generals—even though the previous night, they slapped my shoulder and encouraged me, telling me to make sure that I ‘kill them all’.”

…At that time, Ricardo should had been 16 years old.

The command to purge her family—she thought it would had been too heavy of a burden for a prince of a peaceful nation like him to carry on his own.

I see, he’s the one who did it.

Knowing that it was Ricardo who commanded the purge on that stormy night, Dia’s fingertips quivered. Things may had been more acceptable if it was under the command of the King and the Prime Minister…

…or the military… or the church—

—how good would it have been if it wasn’t Ricardo…

“I saved you because you were the last survivor of that clan. If there are those who aren’t part of this kingdom—which is a land sparse of magic—who intervened, as long as it yields some results, then I shall rule the kingdom as it is.”

Making her his fiancée and giving her the most generous form of protection might have been Ricardo’s way of observing Dia.

Everyday, every single day, he must had been wondering if she was protected by something. He wanted to use her as an indicator on whether or not he should advance the deforestation of the forest which belonged to the King of the Night Kingdom.

Despite so, the state of the kingdom didn’t show any significant change. One day, the plight was made that the forest had to be destroyed.

Because the peaceful time would last, the fields which were made through the previous deforestation wouldn’t be enough to sustain the kingdom. To see if another deforestation would be welcomed—Dia was a tool to measure that.

“…However, I might have been ignorant, after all. The only one who can measure the will of those who aren’t human is you. Dia, from now on, the curse will end. Because we’re humans who have lost their grace due to a disaster, there is no other way.”

“…As I thought, ever since the start, you already consider yourself the king, haven’t you?”

When Dia smiled while uttering so, Ricardo gazed at her, confused.

—how deep blue are his eyes…

As a fiancé, and also the cousin of someone who had brought up her little self.

Dia had often looked into Ricardo’s blue eyes—eyes which seemed touched by the shadow of his eyelashes.

“I always, always hated you when you behaved like that. Your selfishness—how you only ever thought about yourself—I kept thinking what a miserable person you are. You hate how resigned I am, but even then, you still talk from such a high pedestal. Towards such a person, how am I supposed to feel?”

In response to Dia, Ricardo’s body shook. It also roused the attention of the people in the venue.

Ricardo, who had been standing upright for the longest of time, stared at her like a lost child for some reason.

The music remained uninterrupted, but she felt that the majority of the people in the hall were watching them.

“Dia… despite anything, I still love you, you know. But I have no other choice, and even if I can’t love you as a wife, I still love you!”

What a magnificent thing the beautiful prince had just said!

Ricardo was still a person, and unlike Dia, he still had something to protect, and also something to love. To say something like that to someone he was about to kill, wasn’t that just cruel?

It was a different kind of cruelty than the miserable Dia’s who was lusting for revenge.

He’s miserable, utterly miserable—

—Dia clenched her fingertips tightly—

because this will be the last time, I shall smile.

No matter to what extent the future of these people would deviate, even to the extent that it would be considered inhumane—Dia still had Noin. Therefore, she would smile.

“Your Highness Ricardo… not even once have I ever liked you.”

The moment Dia said that, all at once, Ricardo looked truly at a loss.

The beautiful prince who glanced at her with his deep, deep blue eyes looked utterly befuddled. His defenseless state scratched Dia’s heart.

“You and the people of this royal palace—everyone… because I am such a greedy human being, I still tried to love them. The act of loving someone is a luxury that any ordinary person has—I wanted a chance at that, too. I wanted to try to forget what I had lost, I wanted to try to love you, in order to use you to keep me alive and pamper me—but I couldn’t do that at all. You act like a kind and loving person, despite so, I hate those who’ve destroyed everything I love.”

“…Dia?”

Ricardo admitted all the sins he had committed during that stormy night because he thought Dia’s wound had healed, and she had let go of the past.

After all, she had grown up in the royal palace, where everyone was loving and warm towards her. Therefore, he thought he knew every single thing about her, and assumed she had accepted what happened that night.

Perhaps he thought that the suffering of that night was merely that for Dia.

I kept clinging to this place and stayed alive because I didn’t have any means to retaliate against you. Now, I will die because I’ve finally found a way to return the favor to you.

Perhaps finding Dia’s utterances disturbing, the King and the Queen showed some wariness, and they grew even more anxious.

Perhaps it was the prime ministers and generals who were close to understanding what Dia was trying to say earlier than that two.

They looked both frustrated and reluctant, but at the same time, there was also that self-confidence, as if saying they could easily silence Dia if needed.

As she held the glass, Dia glanced at her surroundings. The Third Prince and the First Princess were staring coldly at her. Most of the aristocrats were raising their brows.

They didn’t touch their swords, but the knights were carefully watching her. If Dia had made a suspicious move, surely, they wouldn’t hesitate to unsheathe their swords—then Dia would have no way of preventing what was awaiting her.

Those who looked at her way with slightly sympathizing eyes may had been aware that her glass contained poison.

They were all the eyes of the people who had casted her out of the circle. Mercilessly trampling the heart of the last, lonely, Gillasfi, whom they claimed to be heretical in faith.

Ricardo may think that I don’t have any intention of downing the contents of this glass anymore…

But from the beginning, Dia had intended to drink the Supri within the glass.

After this, they will be beyond saving.


***T/N: How… how self-absorbed is this Retardo bastard?!

“Indeed, that’s why. Not to mention, the next day, His Majesty the King and my mother, too, said that one of the princes should become your fiancé to protect you. That suggestion was supported by the ministers and the generals—even though the previous night, they slapped my shoulder and encouraged me, telling me to make sure that I ‘kill them all’.”

Dude, at that point you should just shut up, how sociopathic are you!?

“Dia… despite anything, I still love you, you know. But I have no other choice, and even if I can’t love you as a wife, I still love you!”

OMG SHUT THE FUCK UP WHY ARE YOU STILL TRYING TO PAINT YOURSELF AS THE GOOD GUY HERE.

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