Chapter 13
Translator: True Detective
013. Banquet (3)
'Why, for what reason are you doing this...'
Does it make your mind at ease?
After tormenting a person so much they could hardly live.
To come all the way here and give me this kind of insult?
Yuna thought so.
Right after clearly seeing Aria stagger and collapse.
Aria, clutching her stomach and trembling violently all over, letting out groans like "Ah, ah-uh, ugh..."
However.
Yuna's gaze was cold.
"Hey, get up."
She hadn't even started yet.
Because holding it in was at its limit now.
Even though the attention of the people around them concentrated in an instant.
Yuna did not stop.
It wasn't simply because she failed the princess's body double mission.
It wasn't because the dress she borrowed from the princess was ruined by wine either.
The red ribbon Yuna was holding in her other hand was dyed purple due to the wine.
If the ribbon hadn't been dirtied in this kind of way, Yuna wouldn't have used her fists either.
But Aria dirtied her ribbon.
She dirtied the ribbon she received from her most precious 'that person'.
Aria dirtied that person.
So a proper punishment was necessary.
"Wh-what's going on...?"
As a commotion arose, the two people instinctively grasped that Yuna was involved in an incident.
Rachel and Arcana revealed themselves.
Pushing through the crowd surrounding Yuna and Aria in a circle, they urgently approached Yuna's side.
"Wait a minute! Yuna... let's calm down and talk first."
While Rachel restrained Yuna.
Arcana approached Aria, who was clutching her stomach.
'...This is, a bit. Serious.'
Even at a glance, one could tell her condition was serious.
To Aria, who already had widespread rumors of being in poor health, the fist of Yuna, who had outstanding athletic ability.
Acted as a somewhat fatal injury.
"You."
Tears slowly began to spill from Yuna's eyes.
She did it on purpose.
Because Aria knows that she cherishes this ribbon like her own pendant.
She deliberately cross-dressed and infiltrated the masquerade ball just to dirty it.
Because Aria knows the identity of that person.
Therefore.
It was a good opportunity to find out that person's identity.
Aria Witri.
I will definitely reveal it this time.
Who the existence Aria is trying so hard to hide is.
And why she is only trying to hide them.
However.
Aria currently had no energy to give such an answer.
Right now, she barely held onto her consciousness and ruminated over what had happened to her.
"U-ugeuk. Euk-heu, heu-heuk..."
I'm incredibly, incredibly happy that Yuna didn't drink the poison.
But I can't really think of anything other than that.
Hehehe.
It hurts incredibly.
But it's good because I can see Yuna.
Yuna is pretty even when she's angry, as expected.
But she had every right to be angry.
Because I dirtied her precious clothes and humiliated her in front of her friends.
I was a truly bad bitch.
Myself, that is.
But Yuna is such an angel.
So even if I dirtied her clothes, she lets it slide at this level.
But, but.
I feel like something is going to pop out of my body.
From inside my stomach.
I feel like something is churning and I'm going to throw up, blegh.
Even so, I held it in.
Because that would be incredibly gross.
It's totally an alien, that thing.
But I don't want to show that kind of appearance in front of Yuna.
U-ughhh...
It hurts a whole lot.
B-but.
"I said get up!!!"
Yuna is shouting.
It's incredibly scary but also incredibly cool.
And she's pretty.
Should I say she's overflowing with impact.
Seeing that kind of appearance makes a smile naturally come out because I'm happy.
Hehehe.
As long as Yuna is by my side, whatever I do is happiness itself.
Happiness truly isn't far away.
Because it's right in front of my eyes!
But since only I can enjoy this kind of happiness, Aria thought of herself as completely awesome.
I considered myself blessed.
"Talk! Let's talk first. Can you please just tell us wh-what in the world is going on. Aria Witri...?"
Rachel said so.
'H-here...'
If I tell the truth, Yuna will become the bad bitch again.
But Yuna is actually truly super kind.
I have to explain that it's all my fault and that I provoked it.
Meaning I absolutely, positively must not say it's poison.
Because too many people have gathered.
Rather than Yuna becoming trash, it's much, truly infinitely better for me to just be the trash.
Aria thought so.
Because Yuna isn't trash, but an incredibly, complete angel.
But to do that, I needed someone to play the role of the trash.
'...By Yuna's standards, I'm not really a human though.'
So I must become the trash.
If someone shines, someone has to be dark.
But Yuna shines.
Then I have to be dark.
That's the logic of the world.
I even know philosophy, as expected, I knew a lot of things, hehehe.
So let's shout.
I must shout it here.
So that everyone in the world thinks of me as trash.
And thinks of Yuna as an angel.
I have to shout that word that will make Yuna get serious and everyone hate me.
But as I was about to do that, tears came out.
Not because I was scared or afraid.
But because thinking of Yuna's heart, which would be hurt by such words, made my chest ache so much it felt like tearing, truly.
Orphan.
It's a true word.
Yuna had a far too unfortunate childhood.
She's truly super pitiful.
If only I could have changed it for her, I would have. Hehehe.
Aria thought so.
So she opened her mouth.
"...I think I know the reason."
That is, until Arcana shouted first.
Pushing up her glasses, she closely observed the wine scattered on the floor.
And, she dabbed it with her finger and sniffed, sniff, sniff.
She smelled it.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
Similarly, the smell of the wine scattered on Yuna's clothes.
Lastly, she smelled the wine that soaked the ribbon.
Between the thick scent of grapes and the faint smell of alcohol, something heterogeneous was mixed in.
Arcana knows very well what this is.
Because her role was always to assist Yuna from her side.
This was Arcana's duty.
However.
She needed certainty.
Arcana stealthily dipped her blue hair into the spilled wine.
And brought it to her mouth.
Then she dry heaved and threw up the contents of her stomach.
"This is, poison."
"...What?"
"It's poison. Yuna. You've gotten involved in a strange incident again."
...Huh?
Poison?
'I-I can't believe it, but...'
Seeing Arcana's reaction, it seems to be true.
Because she had a peculiar constitution with sensitive five senses.
There would be no reason or need for her to go out of her way to cover for Aria.
Because she was a friend with an expressionless face who always suppressed revealing her emotions as much as possible.
But now, she.
"...I am greatly disappointed. Yuna Castilla."
Began to send a gaze mixed with contempt for the first time.
And to her best friend, at that.
"H-huh...?"
Why...?
Why is she looking at me like that?
That wasn't all.
"Y-Yuna..."
Rachel also took care of Aria with a bewildered face.
'...Aria!'
Yuna, who momentarily regained her reason, also approached Aria.
Th-this time was a bit harsh...
But, she dirtied, my precious ribbon... s-so it was self-defense...
Yuna tried to make such an excuse.
"Keu, keuh-heuk!"
Dark red blood poured out of Aria's mouth.
"Kyaaaaah!!!"
The surroundings instantly became noisy, and Aria soon trembled and began to convulse.
"Huh, uh. Uh...?"
The strength in Yuna's legs completely gave out in an instant.
"Th-this is, m-my fault, it's my fault..."
When Yuna grabbed her head and muttered like that.
Aria looked at her.
Yuna is sad.
She is agonizing incredibly because of me.
But this isn't all Yuna's fault.
Yuna did nothing wrong.
If there was a fault, it was rather with me.
S-so.
Yuna shouldn't be sad.
Yuna must always stand proudly with a smiling face.
"I-it's n-n-not Y-Yuna's fa-fa-fault. Keu, keuh-heuk, keu..."
It hurt too much.
It hurt so much, it felt like my internal organs were flipping inside out, so I couldn't endure it.
But I hated seeing Yuna, who had taken that sight into her eyes, looking sad even more.
So Aria gritted her teeth.
But strength wouldn't go into my body.
When I see Yuna, strength is supposed to go into me.
But that wasn't the case.
It felt like something had shattered, crash!, and broken down.
Whine, whine.
Then even if I see Yuna from now on, will I not get any strength?
I hate that.
So I mustered up my courage.
"Wh-why, why, wh-why, why, did you, t-take it in my place...?"
"...Because."
Because from the very beginning, she liked you, Yuna.
Not in a sexual, mweu-heu-heu kind of meaning.
Yuna is noble and pure, so she should do things like that with someone Yuna likes, not me.
Someone like a prince on a white horse, that is.
Aria simply liked Yuna in a complex meaning.
Just that alone.
And thud.
Aria collapsed.
"W-wait a minute! A person collapsed! Move her quickly!!!"
And the masquerade ball turned into a mess.
And was soon canceled.
It was entirely according to Aria's plan.
Yuna had overcome the crisis.
"Why, wh-hy..."
Yuna only kept repeating the words that it wasn't her fault.
A week passed like that.