A Prince Who Can Only be Happy
Read Japanese Fantasy Oneshots translated in English.
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A Prince Who Can Only Be Happy
Once upon a time there was a happy prince in a country. A witch was asked by the queen to cast a "curse that can only make him happy". Therefore, no misfortune happened to the prince's surroundings. Always content and full of love, he nurtured trust and friendship, and the tears he sometimes shed later strengthened the prince's heart. The prince was just happy. It's natural because he's a prince who can only be happy.
It was a cold day at the beginning of winter. At that age, the prince was engaged and the wedding ceremony was scheduled for tomorrow. The bride arrived safely at the royal palace, and all the servants were in a hurry to prepare for tomorrow.
"Yes, let's go out alone once in a while."
The prince's attendants, who usually stay around him in large numbers, also went out to prepare for the wedding. Luckily, the prince can go out alone, which was forbidden. The cold air of the onset of winter envelops the prince, and he begins to regret going out alone.
When He walked along the outer wall of the royal palace, He saw a girl sitting alone on the outer wall. Her clothes were dingy, and she looked like someone the prince had never seen her before. When the prince was surprised by the appearance of the girl, the girl noticed the prince and started talking to him.
"What is it, brother. Is there any work?"
"No, what are you doing there?"
"I'm not doing anything. It's almost winter, so I'm going somewhere warmer."
"A warm place?"
"That's right, if I sleep at night in a place like this, I'll freeze to death."
The prince was surprised that the girl had no fixed residence.
"Who the hell are you?"
The girl saw how well the prince was dressed and began to grin.
"Me? I'm a vagrant. I live here and there."
"Migration? How?"
The prince could not imagine how the swallows lived.
"Why do you want to know??"
The vagrant laughed aloud at the prince's innocent question.
“That’s nice, big brother, you have talent.
"But you, Are you old enough?"
"Can't you tell just by looking at it?"
The vagrant, who was probably not yet an adult, shrugged her shoulders.
"What, do you think I'm pathetic, ?"
"That's..."
There was no doubt that the Prince was astonished at the presence of the vagrant. Since he was born, he had never known "misfortune", so he could not think of sympathy or pity for the vagrant's plight.
"I don't mind. You should go away."
The presence of vagrant/swallows, never seen or imagined before, made the prince ponder what to do.
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"At least, just this!"
The prince took out a dagger from his bosom. It has great value with a ruby embedded in the handle. But the vagrant ignored the dagger and looked up at the prince with cold eyes.
"Brother, you don't understand anything. I don't need this kind of thing."
"But wouldn't this make your life easier?"
"I don't really want an easy life."
The vagrant stood up and fixed his gaze on the Prince.
"You do charity, but you don't know what it's like to live on charity. I'm not happy to receive anything from you, a happy person. You just think you've done a good thing, right? You won't remember me anyway.Everyone who wants to give me a hand is like that.I don't care about you, you just want your self-satisfaction, right?"
The prince could not quite understand what the vagrant was saying.
"If you want to do something about me that much, revive my father who died in a mining accident . Punish the company that didn't take responsibility . Save my mother who died from hard work. Can you do it?"
"You can't do it. I can only live my shitty life."
In the end, the prince could not say anything back to the vagrant's fierce words. The vagrant snatched the dagger from the prince.
"But since it's a long-awaited trip, I'll take this."
Furthermore, after running away from the surprised prince, the vagrant threw an empty line.
"I can't be happy. If I knew that, I wouldn't be able to live. I don't want anything more, you idiot."
The vagrant just ran away laughing. The prince had no choice but to stand there.
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When the prince returned to the palace, his attendants were in a hurry to find the missing prince. When the prince returned, his men looked relieved.
"Prince! Where have you been!?"
"Just go for a walk."
"What happened to the dagger!? That's important!"
"... I gave it to a poor girl."
Hearing this, the attendant smiled.
"That's... the prince did a very good deed. God must be pleased."
The prince then spent the night thinking about the vagrant. He keep thinking of her situation, he did not know how to find a place to sleep, or the meaning of charity. Everything was beyond comprehension for the prince.
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The next day, a solemn wedding ceremony was held. He said his vows before the priest and vowed to love his beautiful bride forever. A grand feast was held, and many people came to celebrate.
"What a lovely wedding!"
"May you be forever happy!"
"A lovely brid and a happy prince."
What spread out in front of him was a scene of happiness no matter how far he went. Warm family and friends. A knight who is always taken care of him And many people who bring blessings. There is a very beautiful bride in front of him, full of delicious delicacies, very pretty clothes.
(Where is the vagrant now?)
The prince was thinking about the vagrant all the time. The weather was mild during the day, but it cools down at night. I wonder if she made it safely to a warm bed tonight.
"Hey, what are you thinking?"
The bride, who was alone in the room, asked worriedly.
"Nothing...just thinking about a girl."
The bride smiled innocently.
"Well, how thoughtful of you to care about other people."
The bride's words made him realize for the first time in my life what it meant to be get hurt.
(Thoughtful? I just didn't know anything until now)
The prince was startled and looked out from the window of the royal palace. The darkness of the night made it impossible for the Prince's eyes to see anything as far as he could see. Still, the prince was convinced that somewhere in this city the vagrant was shivering in the cold.
(No, she's not the only one. I'm sure there are more.)
The prince vividly remembered the appearance of the vagrant.
"Why, why didn't you try to see it?"
Disgusted with himself, the prince tried to gouge out his own eyes. But the prince, who could only be happy, could not hurt himself.
"I don't want to see anything anymore, I can't help but hurt myself "
The surprised bride ran out of the room. In the prince's head he could hear the laughter of the vagrant.
(Is it possible to become happy? If you know such things, you won't be able to live.)
"I don't know... what is happiness? Is happiness is not Getting hurt? I don't know how to touch people's hearts, what is it that makes me happy..."
A servant rushed to the prince who was in despair.
"Prince, what happened?"
“Why?
The attendant said calmly.
"What do you mean? Well, you must be very tired from the wedding ceremony. Let's rest well for today and think about it tomorrow."
And when the servant put his hand on the prince's forehead, the prince quietly collapsed. When the prince was laid on the bed, the attendant's face became distorted.
" I'm going to take care of you... I wonder what happened."
The attendant muttered while looking at the sleeping face of the prince.
"It's almost impossible. You can only be happy. If you live a normal life, I'm sure there will be more unpleasant things. It's absolutely ridiculous that I have to erase unpleasant memories each time. I wish I hadn't made a contract with that kind of women."
The squire was a witch who put a curse on the prince. In accordance with her contract with the Queen, she always kept an eye on the prince to make sure he is absolutely happy. The prince disappeared before yesterday's wedding ceremony, and the attendant noticed that he had been acting strange since then, and was looking for an opportunity to deal with it. The bride rushed in to say that the prince was not feeling well, so she came to the prince in this way.
"I feel sorry for you. Tomorrow, you will forget all my thoughts and worries. You will become happy."
The witch gently put the ruby-handled dagger into the prince's hand.
"Now, the nightmare will be over in the morning. Let's turn everything into nothing and live a happy life again."
The witch cursed the prince again and left the room. The prince slept until morning, and by morning he had forgotten all about the vagrant and was happy again. And he and his bride were on good terms for a long time, and happily ruled the country.
End
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