Idle Talk: It Doesn’t Matter, The Twins Realize

Right in front of me, the wise man was cowering, surrounded by Imperial soldiers.

That very same guy was terrorizing us just a moment ago.

“Yuyui…”

He sobbed while squeezing his other hand with a stunned look on his face.

I would have probably made the same face if I were in his shoes.

When I saw him muttering incomprehensible words, looking at us with empty eyes, I didn’t feel the same fear as I had before.

I covered my ears so I couldn’t hear him shouting filthy blood all the time.

He always ranted and threw random things at us as we ducked under the desk to get away from him.

We wrapped ourselves in the sheets. We endured his gaze as he grinned at us, watching us suffer from the poison in his words.

And yet, now…

He just looks like just another scrawny, older man.

Kidnapped, bound, almost sacrificed. It serves him right for what he tried to do.

“Damn you, Withered Tree Sage…”

Rururia approached, rubbing her left hand with her clothes. “I don’t think you can get that Dragon print off by rubbing it.”

“Withered Tree… That’s your thing..” She made eye contact with Nanai.

“Hmph!”

Withered Tree! The most powerful man in the Empire and the wisest man of this generation was nothing but a dead tree.

I couldn’t help but keep laughing!

As I was rolling around laughing while grabbing Nanai, Rururia told us, “You’ve been kidnapped, but now you’re free”

“I didn’t want Rururia to be the one to say that.”

“Say it immediately and clearly, without hesitation.”

This was Nanai, and I was pretty sure I didn’t need to look her in the eye to believe that with all my heart.

As I nodded confidently, he began to rub his hand, which had been on his clothes, against my forehead.

“Speaking of which, you’re on Imperial territory, aren’t you? So, that means that the Empire owns the strange Snake Dragon, right? Well, that means that you should have this weird pattern.”

Nanai cried out my name with tears in her eyes.

“You’re seriously trying to make this sound bad! You can’t do that.”

“I can feel the seriousness from the palm of your hand!” While I was being grilled, that scary blond-haired, Lord Persius, stood behind me.

“I wonder what you’re doing, Lady Rururia.”

“Ouch, Rururia! You’re grabbing me by the head. Aren’t you a noble? Act like it!”

“After all trouble people have given her, Lady Rururia has brought about even more trouble for the Dragons.”

“What do you think is wrong with the lady’s head, Your Royal Highness? It’s good! If they catch the mastermind, all is forgiven! Dragons are natural disasters!”

Rururia who’d escaped from Persius’ clutches, then said – “Well, no one died, and the guy got caught, so it’s all good!”

“Lady Rururia? Where are you?”

“Even if that’s so, it annoys me that all of my efforts have gone to waste.”

“Don’t be childish!”

As Rururia said that, she had grabbed me by the head again and screamed.

…Is she an idiot? I thought. I didn’t know what would happen to me if I spoke to Mr. Persius like that, even to those of us who’d only met him once.

“Nanai, Yuyui…”

As I looked at the comedy in front of me, dumbfounded, with Nanai, a voice from behind called me.

“Jeez, come out already!”

When I turned around, I saw Grandpa, who should have been locked up, smiling at me with a slightly thinner face.

And then the soldiers knelt before me with the rest of them.

“I apologize for the delay in picking you up.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault, Gramps.”

“That’s right! Gramps is in jail because of us.”

Nanai and I rushed towards Gramps.

I’d been maltreated since I was a kid, but he taught me a lot, too.

Two years ago, my brothers tried to kill us… and he was the reason we were still here.

“You’ve saved our lives so many times.”

“We owe it all to you, Gramps.”

With that in mind, Nanai and I both held Grandpa’s hand…

“Oh, you’re so sweet. You are far too kind.”

Grandpa’s eyes glazed over us a little. He let out a sigh and gently stood up, holding my hand. He looked at me straight in my eyes.

“The Emperor has passed away.”

“Huh?!”

For a moment, I didn’t understand what he was saying to me.

“He was being kept alive with medicine, but his body couldn’t hold it any longer…”

My mind went blank in front of Grandpa, who shook his head in grief.

I never thought of him as my father.

I never felt loved or cared for by him.

So, I didn’t feel sad.

“One of you will have to become the next Emperor of the land.”

I never gave much thought to it before, but now my legs were shaking just from pondering about the mere possibility of it being me.

I never once thought of being an Emperor.

I only lived my life because I feared death.

I tried to contain the pressure around me, helplessly wanting to escape and wanting to hang on to something.

There was a flicker in the air as I met Rururia’s eyes.

I look to both sides, then nodded alongside Nanai to Rururia, who was pointing to herself.

“Please help us, Lady Rururia! Please, please, please!”

“Ah… I’m gonna make a run for it…!”

“You think you can take them away from the throne?”

Rururia stepped forward and glared at the soldiers as if she was trying to pick a fight with them.

“If you can’t protect Your Highnesses, then you have no right to tell me what to do. I’m only talking to Nana and Yuyui over here.”

We laughed at that since we both desired to abandon our birthright.

They stared at us, uncaring if we were trapped in a corner.

“Besides…”

“If you cry that much, how can I not help you?”

“You didn’t even realize you were crying until I told you so.” Nanai looked surprised, too, with tears spilling out of her eyes.

Is it okay to escape? I was so unsure.

“Miss Nanai, Mister Yuyui. I’m here to help you both in any way I can.”

“What? Master Lowen?”

“What? But the Empire will die… No, the Empire has already died.”

When my grandfather said this sadly, the soldiers looked at him, frustrated.

A gentle hand rested on my shoulder, and I looked up to Grandpa.

“I won’t allow you to take the blame for what’s been destroyed.”

I looked at Grandpa with a soft smile and let out a sigh I’d been holding for some time.

“We can run away from it.”

As I said escape my throat closed a bit from my nervousness.

I could see that Nanai as well was very nervous.

I had so many bad memories, but I couldn’t help but think about what I would do after I left…

I could just go away. I knew that, and that was why I’d been considering it so thoroughly.

To leave the dying Empire, the people, and most of all, my grandfather.

“No… I can’t escape.”

“Yeah, I also don’t want to.”

“Are you both sure?”

Grandpa asked me, and I nodded, not knowing if it was the right answer.

“If this is your final decision…”

Rururia gave a polite bow.

I knew it, Rururia murmured to herself.

“I thought she was on the run, using your Royal Highness as a bait.”

I made eye contact with Nanai.

“Rururia, we’ve made up our minds.”

The edges of my mouth naturally rose.

“I am glad to hear that you have made up your mind. Your Highnesses.” Smiling and grabbing Rururia’s head, Lady Persius said.

“I’d rather let Their Royal Highnesses escape than be used as bait by you.”

“That’s right.”

They’d said it with angry faces to Rururia. Master Persius would also aid our escapade.

Earlier, the figure staring at the imperial soldiers was nowhere to be seen, and Rururia cried out with tears in her eyes.

“Oh, what the hell!” She said while squeezing hands with Nanai and laughing hard!

“It’s not that all have changed. It’s that it’s all a mess now, and we’ll have Grandpa on our side…”

But still…

“We will inherit the throne!”

“Together!” Clearly and unequivocally, we declared it.

“Appointing Lowen as the next sage.”

“We’re going to be Emperors, right?”

“Haha, we’ll gladly do so!” Grandpa happily responded, stroking his white beard.

“We can’t pretend that the blood that flows through us doesn’t exist.”

“So, let’s choose our fate and not falter any longer.”

“So, let’s talk about involving our Lemarian, too?”

“Let’s ask the Sage about that!”

Grandfather, Persius, and the Lord burst into laughter.

Seeing that, Rururia stepped back and said, “Wow”.

Holding each other’s trembling hands, we were both still laughing from the bottom of our stomachs.

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