The Doll and The Prince - v2 Chapter 63 (Patreon)

Hiiro (32)
"I am Saibunmei. A man from the Empire."

Sai replied in a somewhat awkward tone. Judging from the recent behavior of Naruhito, it seems that it's difficult for words to come out smoothly.

"I understand now, Your Highness Hiiro, Lord Hitachimaru, Lord Ikumatsu. Naruhito has violated orders. Removed the earring. That's... the gist of it."

Sai spoke in short, broken sentences.

"It's vague. I had a happy life. Opposed the war."

"Removing the earring didn't seem to change anything..."

"That's right, I didn't notice anything either."

Hitachimaru replied to my words, and Ikumatsu nodded as well.

"I opposed the war. The earrings were sometimes painful. I understand, taking them off, made it easier."

"Chwai, w-ong... "

Naruhito, in my arms, raised his voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Chwai, uses owe. Is w-ong."

"......"

Certainly, the first-person pronoun he recently used was "ore." Wasn't it "watashi" when we first met as negotiators? Sometimes, when speaking as the representative of the country, I use "watashi" too, even though I use "ore." Isn't that the case?

"I don't. Remember. Using 'ore' myself."

"No, I think you've been saying 'ore' since you came to this mansion."

"... If Saibunmei said, then I..."

Sai pondered over something. The room fell silent.

"Disowned. Opposing the war, and used, a puppet for experiments...? No..."

"... Disowned? Puppet?"

"Saibunmei, a low-ranking civil official. What does, have he, be entrusted with negotiations?"

Muttering to himself, Sai furrowed his brows and closed his eyes.

"Your Highness Hiiro, may I lay Sai down on the bed? I'd like to measure his brainwaves if possible. He’s under quite a strain."

I nodded to Dr. Shinobube's proposal.

"Yes, let's stop here for now. I'll leave the rest to you. Hitachimaru, I want you to investigate the names and photographs of the Royal family and high-ranking nobles of the Empire."

By destroying the machine, two days of Naruhito’s memory were lost. His personality has become quite selfish. How many years' worth of memories are clouded for this man who claims to be Sai? What kind of person was he really...?

Next: https://www.patreon.com/posts/100835933/