It's The First Time For Both Of Us
Chapter 25
Translator and Editor: Bunny and Wyvern
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Chapter 25
I shook my head.
“Ugh, no. Hey, I need to write a letter to Dahlia… Mom, Dahlia, and I. The three of us were always together in the past, but now that we’re apart, I promised her that I would give her a letter.”
Pihne’s eyes widened slightly, then folded into half moons. “I see. Then I will help you. Can you tell me what to write?”
“Hmm, hmm, thank you.”
The contents of the letter weren’t that long. I prepared a pen and sat on the seat next to Pihne. “Um, um, tell her that I sleep well here, and eat a lot of food, candy, and all of the dishes.”
“Yes, wait a minute… what if you greet her first?”
“Oh right. Uhm, like, ‘Hello Dahlia’.”
Pihne burst out laughing. “Okay then, ‘Hello Dahlia’, and then…?”
“Tell her that Dad wasn’t that scary at all, and I have the pretty Pihne to write me a letter too.”
“Goodness. Young Lady, I will get excited and my writing will be messy if you compliment me like that.”
“Hihi.”
Pihne started writing down my words beautifully.
* * *
“I told you that you have to suppress it, that you have to endure it.”
The young man turned around with a frightening expression towards the prince who had fallen to the floor and supported his body with his arms. It was Pope Morcall Labrick—a man highly trusted by the emperor.
Even if there was only one Labrick Shrine, there were countless believers extending throughout the empire. He was unofficially more powerful than the emperor – because he, himself, received divine revelation from God and put the current emperor on the throne.
Terrified in front of the pope, the prince nodded his head vigorously. “I-I will restrain myself. But my heart hurts so much….”
“Are there any other side effects? His Majesty would be very angry if he knew this.”
The prince, Arfell, bowed his head even more. The pain continued even now. He couldn’t stand the agony. He always had a fever; he couldn’t even digest his food, and when he did eat, his fever would repeat anyways. Ever since he could remember, the pain was always there.
‘Will it really get better? Does the power of God really exist?’
Doctors from all over the empire gathered to diagnose the prince’s disease, but all of them failed to know its cause. The emperor eventually turned to the temple for help. It was because it looked like the heir to the elusive throne would die if he was left like that. Afterwards, the pope would come to the Imperial Court from time to time to check on Arfell’s condition, and he eventually found the cause of Arfell’s pain. It turned out that the divine power inherent inside the Prince’s body was too low and even that was going against him.
The emperor entrusted his successor to the pope with a sliver of hope, knowing that he might die even before he reaches adulthood. In the public eye, he was busy with his education. However, Arfell’s pain never went away, it got worse, even, but Arfell couldn’t even tell the pope that he was sick. He thought that he would rather disappear like this forever.
He would close his eyes and think of his old master whenever those thoughts came to his mind. He then would open his eyes in a secret place where he could meet his master. Most of the time, he wasn’t able to meet his master but he could cry as much as he wanted. He could say that he feel sick there.
But yesterday was different. He saw a strange child in a place that only his master could enter. She was a girl with black hair, but her face was as white as a snowflake. She was wearing a ribbon the size of her head. It just happened to be the most painful time for Arfell. He wept bitterly as the pope said that he was like a monster, and that he was a monster born after eating his mother.
[Why are you crying here?]
Arfell had never heard such a pretty voice in the world. It was the first time that someone approached him without hesitation. She approached him even though he told her not to. Arfell was afraid of hurting the girl. He was sad that he couldn’t meet his master and was even caught crying by a stranger, but he strangely didn’t hate it.
Was it because it was the first time he had talked to his peers? He was almost isolated to everyone except from the pope and His Majesty the Emperor, so conversations with others felt unfamiliar.
[It’s okay, I’ll keep it a secret that I came closer to you. That works, right? Actually, I’m also a monster, so… we’re the same.]
She looked a little cold with her upturned eyes, but she was very understanding. She must’ve been a monster in the form of a kitten if the girl was really one. He thought that he would’ve to go back if his master didn’t come, but the girl was persistently asking him questions. The girl who introduced herself as Mariette kept asking him about the fairy at every end of her sentences.
Fool, where’s a fairy?
The words ‘monster’ and ‘fairy’ weren’t the same word, but the girl seemed to think that it was the same thing.
“Prince, are you listening? Didn’t I always tell you? That this pain of yours will go away if you only do what I tell you to do.” A one-sided sermon by the pope followed.
It wasn’t as surprising, since he always locked him in a room and gave sermons like that over and over again. He would usually feel a little less painful when he was in the same room as the Pope, but not today. In order to endure the growing pain, Arfell recalled what happened yesterday.
[A-Aru…]
[Huh?]
[A-Arumia.]
[Then, can I call you Arumia?’]
When she asked him for his name, he lied to her in fear that she would say that he was a real monster. He was taught to never lie, but his mouth moved without him realizing it. Arfell himself was surprised.
‘Why would you say the name of your pet dog?’
He had to tell her properly the next time.
“Ugh!”
His chest suddenly tightened and the pain intensified. As he twisted, the handkerchief from Mariette fell.
The pope picked up the handkerchief; it was as if he had seen something dirty. “Prince, what is this?”
“Ah…!”
The handkerchief he was going to return the next time he met Mariette was stolen by Morcall.
“This is an old handkerchief. This does not fit a Prince’s dignity.” Morcall looked at him and the handkerchief alternately.
“I-it was nothing.”
‘I have to return it. He shouldn’t throw it away.’
Arfell reached out with a desperate heart.
Morcall smiled softly, “Then I will have to throw it away, since the Prince said it was nothing.”
His expression turned to embarrassment. His voice got louder than before, “L-let me throw it myself. Your Holiness, p-please give me that…”
But the Pope didn’t return it to him. Instead, he burned the handkerchief in a candle. A charred mass fell on the table not long after.
“Would it be okay to have such a dirty thing on your precious hands? Rest assured, I have dealt with it.”
[I’ll come see you next time if you don’t cry. Would that be alright?]
They promised to meet again. As he was forced to suppress his tears and anger, he burned with fever. Arfell couldn’t stand the boiling heat and collapsed.
* * *
“Would you like to send this too?”
The letter was now finished. I asked her to write this and that and she ended up writing three pages. It was very plausible to carefully put it in the envelope and stamp the seal. I even made a small ribbon identical to the one Pihne put in my hair and put it inside a satin pouch I would send with the letter. I took the candy and other pretty things that I had hidden while eating. Most of the items I hid were here.
“All of this?”
“Hmm, Dahlia loves red so I am giving it to her.”
The satin pouch Pihne had given me was full when I put in all my presents. It was bigger than I thought so I looked around.
“Can you send this… with the letter?”
Pihne smiled and nodded her head when I asked her with an anxious mind, “You can send it with a carriage. But do you know where you will send it?”
“Hmm, Dad should know it.”
‘Because Dahlia told Dad.’
I went to the door, humming, carrying the gift and letter that had become a package to send before the snacks inside gets bad. Aaron suddenly approached me as soon as I came out.
“Let me carry it for you.”
“Nuh-uh, I can. I am strong.”
I struggled a bit, but I grabbed the bag and showed it to Aaron.
“You’re ve~ry strong.”
“Right?”
Aaron’s nose size had increased dramatically, but he didn’t insist on carrying the pouch. Instead, he slowly followed me.
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Chapter 25
I shook my head.
“Ugh, no. Hey, I need to write a letter to Dahlia… Mom, Dahlia, and I. The three of us were always together in the past, but now that we’re apart, I promised her that I would give her a letter.”
Pihne’s eyes widened slightly, then folded into half moons. “I see. Then I will help you. Can you tell me what to write?”
“Hmm, hmm, thank you.”
The contents of the letter weren’t that long. I prepared a pen and sat on the seat next to Pihne. “Um, um, tell her that I sleep well here, and eat a lot of food, candy, and all of the dishes.”
“Yes, wait a minute… what if you greet her first?”
“Oh right. Uhm, like, ‘Hello Dahlia’.”
Pihne burst out laughing. “Okay then, ‘Hello Dahlia’, and then…?”
“Tell her that Dad wasn’t that scary at all, and I have the pretty Pihne to write me a letter too.”
“Goodness. Young Lady, I will get excited and my writing will be messy if you compliment me like that.”
“Hihi.”
Pihne started writing down my words beautifully.
* * *
“I told you that you have to suppress it, that you have to endure it.”
The young man turned around with a frightening expression towards the prince who had fallen to the floor and supported his body with his arms. It was Pope Morcall Labrick—a man highly trusted by the emperor.
Even if there was only one Labrick Shrine, there were countless believers extending throughout the empire. He was unofficially more powerful than the emperor – because he, himself, received divine revelation from God and put the current emperor on the throne.
Terrified in front of the pope, the prince nodded his head vigorously. “I-I will restrain myself. But my heart hurts so much….”
“Are there any other side effects? His Majesty would be very angry if he knew this.”
The prince, Arfell, bowed his head even more. The pain continued even now. He couldn’t stand the agony. He always had a fever; he couldn’t even digest his food, and when he did eat, his fever would repeat anyways. Ever since he could remember, the pain was always there.
‘Will it really get better? Does the power of God really exist?’
Doctors from all over the empire gathered to diagnose the prince’s disease, but all of them failed to know its cause. The emperor eventually turned to the temple for help. It was because it looked like the heir to the elusive throne would die if he was left like that. Afterwards, the pope would come to the Imperial Court from time to time to check on Arfell’s condition, and he eventually found the cause of Arfell’s pain. It turned out that the divine power inherent inside the Prince’s body was too low and even that was going against him.
The emperor entrusted his successor to the pope with a sliver of hope, knowing that he might die even before he reaches adulthood. In the public eye, he was busy with his education. However, Arfell’s pain never went away, it got worse, even, but Arfell couldn’t even tell the pope that he was sick. He thought that he would rather disappear like this forever.
He would close his eyes and think of his old master whenever those thoughts came to his mind. He then would open his eyes in a secret place where he could meet his master. Most of the time, he wasn’t able to meet his master but he could cry as much as he wanted. He could say that he feel sick there.
But yesterday was different. He saw a strange child in a place that only his master could enter. She was a girl with black hair, but her face was as white as a snowflake. She was wearing a ribbon the size of her head. It just happened to be the most painful time for Arfell. He wept bitterly as the pope said that he was like a monster, and that he was a monster born after eating his mother.
[Why are you crying here?]
Arfell had never heard such a pretty voice in the world. It was the first time that someone approached him without hesitation. She approached him even though he told her not to. Arfell was afraid of hurting the girl. He was sad that he couldn’t meet his master and was even caught crying by a stranger, but he strangely didn’t hate it.
Was it because it was the first time he had talked to his peers? He was almost isolated to everyone except from the pope and His Majesty the Emperor, so conversations with others felt unfamiliar.
[It’s okay, I’ll keep it a secret that I came closer to you. That works, right? Actually, I’m also a monster, so… we’re the same.]
She looked a little cold with her upturned eyes, but she was very understanding. She must’ve been a monster in the form of a kitten if the girl was really one. He thought that he would’ve to go back if his master didn’t come, but the girl was persistently asking him questions. The girl who introduced herself as Mariette kept asking him about the fairy at every end of her sentences.
Fool, where’s a fairy?
The words ‘monster’ and ‘fairy’ weren’t the same word, but the girl seemed to think that it was the same thing.
“Prince, are you listening? Didn’t I always tell you? That this pain of yours will go away if you only do what I tell you to do.” A one-sided sermon by the pope followed.
It wasn’t as surprising, since he always locked him in a room and gave sermons like that over and over again. He would usually feel a little less painful when he was in the same room as the Pope, but not today. In order to endure the growing pain, Arfell recalled what happened yesterday.
[A-Aru…]
[Huh?]
[A-Arumia.]
[Then, can I call you Arumia?’]
When she asked him for his name, he lied to her in fear that she would say that he was a real monster. He was taught to never lie, but his mouth moved without him realizing it. Arfell himself was surprised.
‘Why would you say the name of your pet dog?’
He had to tell her properly the next time.
“Ugh!”
His chest suddenly tightened and the pain intensified. As he twisted, the handkerchief from Mariette fell.
The pope picked up the handkerchief; it was as if he had seen something dirty. “Prince, what is this?”
“Ah…!”
The handkerchief he was going to return the next time he met Mariette was stolen by Morcall.
“This is an old handkerchief. This does not fit a Prince’s dignity.” Morcall looked at him and the handkerchief alternately.
“I-it was nothing.”
‘I have to return it. He shouldn’t throw it away.’
Arfell reached out with a desperate heart.
Morcall smiled softly, “Then I will have to throw it away, since the Prince said it was nothing.”
His expression turned to embarrassment. His voice got louder than before, “L-let me throw it myself. Your Holiness, p-please give me that…”
But the Pope didn’t return it to him. Instead, he burned the handkerchief in a candle. A charred mass fell on the table not long after.
“Would it be okay to have such a dirty thing on your precious hands? Rest assured, I have dealt with it.”
[I’ll come see you next time if you don’t cry. Would that be alright?]
They promised to meet again. As he was forced to suppress his tears and anger, he burned with fever. Arfell couldn’t stand the boiling heat and collapsed.
* * *
“Would you like to send this too?”
The letter was now finished. I asked her to write this and that and she ended up writing three pages. It was very plausible to carefully put it in the envelope and stamp the seal. I even made a small ribbon identical to the one Pihne put in my hair and put it inside a satin pouch I would send with the letter. I took the candy and other pretty things that I had hidden while eating. Most of the items I hid were here.
“All of this?”
“Hmm, Dahlia loves red so I am giving it to her.”
The satin pouch Pihne had given me was full when I put in all my presents. It was bigger than I thought so I looked around.
“Can you send this… with the letter?”
Pihne smiled and nodded her head when I asked her with an anxious mind, “You can send it with a carriage. But do you know where you will send it?”
“Hmm, Dad should know it.”
‘Because Dahlia told Dad.’
I went to the door, humming, carrying the gift and letter that had become a package to send before the snacks inside gets bad. Aaron suddenly approached me as soon as I came out.
“Let me carry it for you.”
“Nuh-uh, I can. I am strong.”
I struggled a bit, but I grabbed the bag and showed it to Aaron.
“You’re ve~ry strong.”
“Right?”
Aaron’s nose size had increased dramatically, but he didn’t insist on carrying the pouch. Instead, he slowly followed me.
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