The Handsome Boy I Saved from Getting Beaten on the Train… Turned Out to Be the “Prince” of an All-Girls School - V1 Chapter 34: What Rei Wanted to Protect

Chapter 34: What Rei Wanted to Protect

“It’s cold…”

“Summer’s almost here, and it’s still freezing in here. I guess that’s what a skating rink is like…”

Sasaki-san had brought us to an ice skating rink.

Even though it was already early summer and the full heat of the season was just around the corner,

This world of ice didn’t care.

Even with my uniform blazer on, the chill seeped in.

“So… you said you wanted to talk about the Wimpy Prince. But why did we have to come here of all places?”

Rinna’s question was totally fair.

Her bare legs, exposed under her school skirt, looked especially cold.

Also, since even spectators had to pay an entry fee, this little detour to the rink ended up hitting my wallet harder than expected.

I didn’t say anything at the time, but… yeah, it stung.

“…If you insult Rei-sama, I’ll ○○(BEEEEEP) you.”

“Whoa, whoa—easy there.”

Come on now.

You’re both well-bred young ladies—let’s not go there.

It was late afternoon on a weekday, and the rink was filled with kids who looked like they were here for skating lessons.

“I came today because it’s my turn to pick her up.”

“Pick who?”

“Hyoka~ If your lesson’s over, come here for a moment.” 

Sasaki-san called out from the spectator seating, and a small girl—maybe elementary school age—came gliding gracefully across the ice toward us.

“What is it, onee-chan?”

The girl who skated over looked a lot like Sasaki-san—

A petite and adorable younger version of her.

“Let me introduce you. This is my little sister, Hyoka. Go on, say hello.”

“Hello. I’m Hyoka.”

“Nice to meet you, Hyoka-chan.”

…Why am I introducing myself to a random elementary schooler?

I had no idea.

But judging by the look on Hyoka’s face, she was probably thinking the exact same thing about us.

In that moment, I felt like we had a silent connection, even if we’d just met.

“Okay, I’m going to change, onee-chan.”

“All right. Make sure to take good care of your skates too.”

“Got it~!”

With that, Hyoka cheerfully skated back across the ice.

“She practices at this rink as part of a figure skating club. It’s her home rink, and today’s my turn to pick her up instead of our parents.”

“Figure skating… wait, don’t tell me—this place…”

“Yes. Rei-sama used to be part of this same figure skating club.”

I remembered—

Rei had mentioned a few times that she used to skate.

So this rink was…

“Rei-sama was once a famous figure skating prodigy.”

“You practiced here too, Sasaki-san?”

“No. Unlike Rei-sama and Hyoka, I’m not good at sports. I just watched from the sidelines.”

“Then… could it be… that injury on Rei’s leg…?”

Rinna finally seemed to realize why Sasaki-san had brought us to this place,

And she quietly asked her the question.

“Figure skating is a sport where injuries are common. Falling during jumps can cause bruises, fractures, sprains. And then there are…”

“Cuts from the skate blades…”

The long, clean cut we saw on Rei’s leg back at the athletic field…

That was no random scrape—it looked exactly like what a blade could do.

I’d heard that skate blades are polished to extreme sharpness so they can slice smoothly across unforgiving ice.

And injuries from them… happen a lot.

“That’s right. The reason Rei-sama had to leave the ice…was because of a serious injury caused by a blade. And that injury was caused… by my little sister, Hyoka.”

“…What?”

Holding her chest as if the memory physically hurt,

Sasaki-san continued her story.

“Back in her junior days, Rei-sama really doted on my little sister Hyoka—probably because I, her older sister, was attending the same Eio Middle School at the time. Hyoka had just started figure skating, but she was improving rapidly thanks to Rei-sama’s guidance. But… accidents always seem to happen during those upward climbs…”

“Are you okay, Sasaki-san? You don’t look well. If it’s too hard to talk about, you don’t have to push yourself.”

“No… I’m fine. Thanks, but I can do this.”

Though her voice was strained, Sasaki-san pushed on with quiet determination, as if driven by duty.

“One day, while Rei-sama was skating beside Hyoka, giving her some pointers, Hyoka decided to try a difficult jump. But she failed the landing—and looked like she was about to fall headfirst, in a very dangerous position. Rei-sama instinctively moved to protect her, and in the process… her leg was struck by Hyoka’s skate blade.”

“That’s… when she got that injury.”

“Yes. I was watching everything unfold from these very seats. Even though her leg was bleeding, Rei-sama cradled Hyoka—who had twisted her ankle badly and was crying in pain—and, with a desperate expression, skated over to the coaches. That… was the last time I saw Rei-sama on the ice.”

“…………”

Sasaki-san stopped speaking.

But neither Rinna nor I could find the words to respond right away.

“It was after that… that Rei-sama started wearing the pants-style uniform. That’s how her current look began.”

“I see…”

“So that’s when you decided to stay by her side, huh, Sasaki-san?”

“Yes. Rei-sama gave us—myself included—strict orders not to tell Hyoka about the injury. She said that if Hyoka ever found out, she’d blame herself… and probably quit figure skating entirely.”

Just then, from the direction of the changing room, Hyoka-chan came out laughing and chatting with her skating club friends.

That innocent, carefree smile…

That must’ve been what Rei wanted to protect more than anything.

“She might seem selfish to people who don’t know her… but she’s actually a very kind person. Rei-sama.”

Sasaki-san said softly, her eyes narrowing gently.

“What were you talking about, onee-chan?”

“Oh, nothing, Hyoka. Just reminiscing a little.”

As Hyoka-chan ran over to us, her older sister Sasaki greeted her with a warm smile.

“Thanks for telling us all this, Sasaki-san. But still… I’m surprised you shared such a big secret with us.”

“I’ve devoted my life to Rei-sama. Lately, ever since she returned to that ‘prince’ style of hers… she’s clearly been out of sorts. I only want her to be happy—more than anyone else does. Even if… that happiness isn’t with me.”

“…T-Then why are you glaring at me like that, Sasaki-san?”

“Because logic and emotion are two very different things.”

Yeah, her face is seriously scary right now.

“Hey, onee-chan, let’s go hoooome already~”

Hyoka-chan, standing nearby, had started to get fussy from boredom.

“Yes, yes. Oh, but before we go—there’s something I wanted to ask the two of you, if that’s alright?”

“What is it? We’ll answer anything.”

Sasaki-san had told us so much about Rei today.

The least we could do was return that honesty.

“Lately, Rei-sama has developed a strange habit… she keeps staring at a pair of old, vacuum-sealed work gloves and some cheap underwear. Sometimes she giggles to herself… other times, she sighs like her heart’s breaking. Do either of you have any idea why?”

“Yeah, no idea. Totally clueless.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

That the “prince” she’d sworn her loyalty to…

Was someone who gets genuinely happy over a pair of 200-yen work gloves and a random set of convenience store underwear.

Sorry, Sasaki-san.

Someday…

I’ll make it up to you.