Chapter 9

It's been over a year since I came here.

I felt a bit nostalgic.

The me from back then seems like a distant existence, as if in a book.

After the selection of the shrine maiden ended, I was sent to Carving as a priestess.

When I arrived in Gil-Ganzena, I was immediately sent straight to the temple.

It seemed that the old caretaker of the temple only came for maintenance, and he said he had heard a priestess was coming but didn't expect her to live in the temple.

But I had nowhere else to go, so I was allowed to rest on a makeshift bed.

However, there was nothing at all, and first, I struggled with food and daily life. I bowed my head to the caretaker and the neighbors and received various things from them, like food, bath supplies, and firewood.

In such a state, I devoted myself to this piece of music, sparing no time for sleep except during prayer.

About ten days later, I received a summons from the castle and was scolded by the head butler for what I had been doing.

Then, I finally realized that I should have greeted the lord of the domain.

You see, I was really, really stupid, right?

So, someone, please tell me!

Even though I was summoned, Lord Joshua had not yet returned, and the apology I was urged to make was to the domain steward.

This is what it means to have one's values completely overturned.

I had traveled to many places before, but I had never been treated with such disdain for a temple.

My pride was shattered. Even if I wanted to go back, the capital was too far away, and I had come on the order of the high priest. There was no choice but to accept it.

After making a formal greeting and apology, when I tried to return to the temple, I was sent to a detached house, with the question of whether a single woman could live in the temple.

The detached house was just a small hut in a corner of a garden with no flowers, narrow, and without a piano.

When I asked to borrow a piano, I was told that the only pianos were the grand piano in the lord's wife's room and the grand piano in the great hall, and the lord's wife's room would eventually be occupied by the shrine maiden, so it couldn't be lent.

I was told not to enter the castle unless called.

When I said I couldn't stay here, the butler clearly said, "How selfish!"

I snapped and said, "If you don't need a priestess, just say so clearly!"

I told them, "Until the shrine maiden arrives, you don't need a priestess. Please tell the central temple! My job is to convey the heart of the goddess through music! I can't work in an environment where I can't even play the piano properly!" and walked back to the temple.

Back then, I was so angry. Probably, my urgency to get the piano was because I was anxious about not being able to finish my work.

It was quite personal.

So, back then, I was always playing this piece. If I talked to people, I might have lashed out at even unrelated citizens, and I wanted to turn my eyes away from the unfair things that had happened to me, even for a moment.

It was much easier to grieve in the world of the story.

I remember it well because I was called out several times by the caretaker for concentrating for hours.

Thank you for your help then.

But now, please keep it confidential.

It's not that I'm hiding the fact that I'm working, but things might get a bit complicated right now.

If it's so popular, maybe I'll get some extra money from Mr. Lettimon. Hehe.

Ah, the composition is by Cecilia, so it might be half the money.

The popular song in the play was composed by my friend Cecilia, and the lyrics were written by the popular playwright Mr. Lettimon.

I just arranged the melody based on this theme for the stage music.

It's a tragic love story about a princess in disguise and a knight. A classic tragic love story with a status difference and a misunderstanding, but with a refreshing ending, which is Mr. Lettimon's big hit.

I thought the image of the main character, the knight, was close to Lord Joshua, so I asked the royal guard about Lord Joshua and created the piece based on that.

Thanks to that, I caused a misunderstanding and was banned from entering the castle, which was a bit of a hassle.

But it was because he looked so much like him.

The position of a royal guard, the situation where their feelings are mutual but not allowed, and so on.

I felt as if my heart, which I thought was one, had been divided. Like a fruit cut with a knife. You will always be my other half.

If you are suffering, I hope you forget about me. I still love you that much.

Following the lyrics, even though we love each other, I was chosen as the shrine maiden and couldn't be with him, even though he was right there. I imagined the frustration Lord Joshua must feel and created the piece based on that.

I am not trying to make Lord Joshua and Lady Alicia a tragic couple.

No, absolutely not. So please spare me the curse.