Chapter 81: Silent Night...

“I know, that’s why you don’t trust anyone, right? Even back in elementary school, you only trusted the doctor, isn’t that so? The two of you were in cahoots from the very beginning, weren’t you?” Annie wiped away the tears that had just spilled from her eyes. Twelve years ago, she and her senior, Cole, had attended the same school, so she knew a fair bit about his past. What she never expected was that the doctor she’d tried to seek help from, Roger, was actually one of Cole’s… “Oh? Roger? That man is among the rare few who’ve figured out my true identity by their own wits. In fact, I’d hardly known him before he’d already investigated me on his own and uncovered who I was. He scared me so much I thought he might be one of those sent to bring me ‘home’!” Cole laughed and casually helped Roger, who’d been kneeling, to his feet. He patted Roger on the knee, though the floor was hardly dirty. “Go on, hurry up and make dinner. Today is a family reunion after all!” Cole clapped Roger on the shoulder, and Roger understood that if he stayed any longer, he’d just be a third wheel. Without another word, he left Cole alone with Annie.

“I see... then what about Uncle Gambler?” Annie pointed to Elman von Salza. When Cole and Elman had met, it was also during their time at the Israeli Academy, though purely by chance during some so-called off-campus activity. “Uncle Gambler? Oh, the uncle? We met during a trip back at the academy.” Cole confessed readily; there was little he needed to hide from Annie. “Are you satisfied now, Annie? If there’s anything else you’re curious about, feel free to ask.” Cole smiled, for there was little left that truly weighed on his heart—he was, after all, a man with many identities.

“Then...” Annie drew a deep breath, intending to ask everything at once, “Are you actually Prince Trecy in the guise of Senior Cole, or are you Cole who happens to be a prince? Do you really love me—and if so, since when? Am I just the most insignificant piece among all your pawns?” She blurted it all out in a single breath, and couldn’t bear it any longer, but Cole only smiled unconcernedly. “How could you be the most insignificant? And who said you were my pawn? I was only ever afraid of my identity being exposed. The man before you now is only Cole, who loves Annie—no Crown Prince of the United Kingdom.”

Cole smiled again. He knew that as Cole, he had always kept Annie at a distance, yet he could never let her go. This time, it was time to decide for himself, as Cole. “Annie, will you be my woman? Just for Cole—not for any of my other selves.”

Cole’s sudden change left Annie at a loss. He knelt down on one knee, as if he’d been prepared for this all along, and produced a ring. It was clear this was no improvisation; in fact, he had meant to fetch Annie himself and confess before Christmas, and had even bought the ring in advance. But before he could call her, Annie had called him first, and in such a pitiful state at that. Cole realized that not even Roger, his closest confidant, knew of this plan—so how could anyone have betrayed him? Therefore...

“C-Cole… I… I need a moment to calm down…” Annie was indeed shaken. She had long grown used to Cole’s aloofness and was content just to be close to him, but now he had given her an even greater surprise.

Back when she’d seen Cole again at the Royal Academy of Sciences, he had acted as if they were strangers, even though they’d once been close at the academy. Ever since then, whenever Annie tried to approach Cole, his assistants—the Taylor brothers—would always find some excuse to send her away. True, if Annie made a lunchbox, Cole would sometimes let her into the lab, but he never really let her in. Knowing Cole would never refuse her food, Annie began bringing him lunch every day, just to catch a glimpse of him.

Later, after Cole had built the “Angel” mecha, he had a falling out with the director of the Royal Academy and moved out of the academy’s dormitory, and so Annie and Cole were separated for a time. It was only by chance that Annie saw Cole enter a certain house. She’d chased after him, revealed her identity, and called him “senior,” and Cole had reluctantly let her in, though afterward they only maintained the most ordinary cohabitation. Just as their relationship seemed to improve, Cole moved out once again. Though he promised he’d come back, he ended up being gone for nearly a year…

“C-Cole, I will. Even if I’m only your girlfriend as Cole, even if you have other girlfriends, I’ll just think of it as you being on some mission. I don’t care how many girlfriends you have!” Annie threw herself at Cole, and as he caught her, he smiled, holding her as if—

“Boom!” The sound of a party popper exploded. Roger had set off the popper that was meant for midnight, startling both Annie and Cole. “Congratulations! As your priest, I have heard your vows, and I now pronounce…” “Roger! You—stop right there!” Realizing Roger was behind this, Cole helped Annie to her feet, and then—

“Hello, did you all miss me?” Suddenly, a spirited young couple in their early twenties burst in through a fire door. “Taylor! Helen? You two—how did you end up together?” Seeing them, Trecy turned to look. The two did not hold hands, and for good reason—Helen was Taylor’s sister-in-law.

“Tyrone said he had to work overtime tonight, so he’s not coming to the gathering,” Taylor explained, helpless. But upon seeing Helen, Annie ran up and hugged her immediately. “Helen, it’s been so long! I missed you!” If anyone present had known each other since childhood, it was Helen and Annie—they had been best friends since grade school, and Cole—then Trecy—had been their classmate.

“I missed you too, silly girl… Cole? You’re here too?” But as Helen hugged Annie, she caught sight of Cole standing behind her. To be honest, Helen had always been annoyed by Cole’s ambiguous, distant relationship with Annie.

“This is my home, of course I’d be here,” Trecy replied, not entirely at ease with Helen—not because of any bad blood, but because she wasn’t a member of the Welsh Party, and that made him wary. Still, since Tyrone had let her come, it should be all right.

“Fine, since Tyrone asked me to join this gathering, I’ll just have to stay, I suppose,” Helen said, not exactly thrilled to be there, or perhaps not eager to see Cole, but resigned to have dinner with everyone.

After dinner… 9:00 PM.

“Cole, can I ask you something? About the past.” After their meal, Annie and Trecy slipped away from the crowd for a private conversation. There was so much Trecy needed to explain. Annie, after hearing his story, couldn’t help but be troubled. “What is it?” Trecy could tell that after learning he’d spent a year a hundred years ago, Annie’s mood had shifted.

“Did you… like anyone in that other world?” “Someone I liked?” Trecy understood. Annie just wanted to know how many women he’d had—in other words, she was jealous.

“If you mean as Trecy, one; if you mean in that world, one as well.” Trecy was honest, though he didn’t want to reveal names—it wouldn’t do him any good. “So three in total? Counting me. I never thought you’d be such a romantic, Cole.”

“Romantic? Call it a necessity. Each one is the most important for each of my identities,” Trecy replied with a wry smile. One for each persona was quite enough. In ancient times, kings and princes might have had a whole harem, but for Trecy, three was sufficient—one for each identity.

“Then, that girl before—was she for your special forces identity, the one named…” Annie hesitated.

“Lei Mingchuan—my identity from a hundred years ago. Wen Wenxin was Mingchuan’s girlfriend,” Trecy admitted freely. In the United Kingdom’s military, Mingchuan was already a legend, and with the Welsh Party’s protection, his reputation was like that of Marshal William—once the head of the Knights Templar.

“I see. Well, then I’ll just pretend not to have seen the youth named Mingchuan and the girl named Wenxin!” Annie, having learned the truth, decided to forgive Cole. Hearing her promise, Trecy relaxed. Though the Welsh Party would surely take over from here, still… “Thank you, Annie. When the war is over, I’ll make it up to you.”

…

“In the end, the humble maiden finally won the prince’s love. Their heartfelt kiss bore witness to their devotion. One love story comes to an end, and another begins…

—‘The Maiden and the Prince,’ a nursery rhyme”

——Author’s Note——

This chapter is a rewrite. The first part is the same as before, but the latter half is what should have been written all along. Remember this nursery rhyme; later, Trecy’s storyline and Cole’s will be told after Mingchuan’s arc in ‘Mecha Dynasty’ is complete. Looking ahead, the next battle won’t be until at least chapter ninety-seven, with more political intrigue between the United Kingdom, the Northern Union, and the Eastern Alliance. A little spoiler: Trecy is, indeed, “the prince.”