Chapter 38

"Cecil!"

"Onee-san!"

The sound of those voices came immediately after.

When she opened her eyes, Gilbert was peering down at her with a pale face, bathed in moonlight.

"Gil...?"

"Are you okay!?"

(If I can see the moon... that means... outside...?)

She tried to understand the situation with her sluggish mind.

Cecilia was not outside; she was still in the armory. However, the walls that had been in front of her moments ago were now all reduced to rubble. The broken sections of the walls looked as if they had been sliced by a sword.

"Gilbert, carry Cecil! We're breaking through this way!"

Turning to the source of the voice, she saw Oscar's back. In his hand was the holy sword.

Cecilia was helplessly lifted into Gilbert's arms.

"Cecil! Stay with me!!"

Running beside them was Jade. With his holy artifact, he could make their bodies invisible to anyone.

"Lord Oscar! There are fewer enemies this way!"

"Understood."

Hearing this exchange, she realized Leen was also there. "Don't worry, everything is fine. Just rest."

Gilbert smiled close to her.

His voice sounded as if it was on the verge of tears, beyond worry.

She closed her eyes, leaning into his words, and her consciousness slowly faded away in a different way.

..◆◇◆

"Cecil, do you have anything to say to me?"

"I'm really sorry for acting on my own..."

In the infirmary bed at Vrouhel Academy, Cecilia bowed her head and said this.

Gilbert stood next to the bed with a terrifying smile on his face.

The room's owner, Mordred, had gone to the principal to explain the situation and was not there. Present were Cecilia, Gilbert, Oscar, and a more subdued Leen.

"Well, don't be so angry. She's safe, so it's all right, isn't it?"

Oscar, standing behind him, offered this support. Gilbert turned around.

"Your Highness is too lenient! Cecil needs a good scolding!"

"You're overreacting. When you rescued her, you even called her 'Onee-san'..."

"Well, that was... "

His cheeks twitched as he stiffened.

It was rare for Gilbert to make such a mistake. He never made such errors in his usual life.

(Surely, he must have been that worried...)

Thinking this, she felt very apologetic.

Oscar, who had been stroking her bowed head, said,

"Well, Gilbert has a point. Don't take unnecessary risks. I was scared stiff."

"Okay."

"You haven't even been introduced to her yet! I can't have her disappearing on her own!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Oscar's joke made Cecilia laugh.

His face relaxed as well.

Feeling her cheek being stroked, she tensed slightly at the warmth.

"Oscar?"

"Hmm. You're alive and well."

"Of course I am!"

"Daah!"

Gilbert tore apart the close distance between the two and confronted Oscar.

"That's the kind of thing! That's the kind of thing! You don't do it on purpose, but it's still bad, you know!!"

"What are you angry about?"

"For a prince who can't do anything when he's conscious, you sure are..."

"...I don't understand much, but I get that I'm being insulted."

The usual banter began, and Cecilia smiled wryly from the bed.

When Cecilia woke up in the infirmary, everything was over.

The sequence of events, as told by Gilbert, was as follows:

As soon as Cecilia was kidnapped, Gilbert and the others went to rescue her under the guise of a new recruit training exercise. When they arrived, the old castle was already on fire.

They left the fleeing Hyamart's men to the soldiers they had brought and headed to rescue Cecilia, but they didn't know where she was.

At that moment, they encountered Dante, who was carrying a woman on his back. He told them where Cecilia was and what had happened in the armory.

At that time, Dante's true identity was revealed to Oscar by Dante himself.

Thinking about this, Cecilia lowered her head.

"By the way, Oscar. About Dante... that..."

"What's with the gloomy face?"

"Because..."

In the game, Oscar was very depressed when he found out Dante's true identity.

Thinking that the current Oscar must feel the same way, she was worried, but he said without considering her feelings,

"I knew."

"Huh?"

"I knew everything about Dante from the beginning. I went along with his act knowing the truth."

"Eh!?"

"Are you serious? He was trying to kill you!"

Gilbert couldn't help but exclaim.

Oscar's demeanor didn't change.

"It was clear that he had no intention of doing so."

His crossed arms made him look as if he wasn't hurt at all.

(What happened...?)

In the game, Oscar was a solitary prince, always calm and composed, and had an air that kept people at a distance. He seemed uninterested in anyone except the heroine, Leen.

However, the real Oscar was more approachable, despite being somewhat arrogant.

The game's Oscar didn't want to be involved with people like the baron's family, while the current Oscar treated everyone equally, regardless of their status.

(Maybe the game's Oscar wasn't very interested in Dante either...)

Cecilia thought.

In contrast, the current Oscar showed interest in the people around him. Perhaps he noticed Dante's inconsistencies early on and investigated on his own.

While she was thinking about this, the infirmary door was knocked on hesitantly. When Cecilia responded with "Yes," Jade peeked in.

"Ah, Cecil! You're awake!"

"Yeah. I'm sorry for causing you all worry."

"Um, I just followed along. You should thank the two who took action, right?"

Ah, right. Jade looked at Gilbert and Oscar.

"Your Highness, Gil. The higher-ups are calling for you two. They want a report on this training exercise."

"Got it."

"We'll go now."

The two walked towards the door.

Then, they turned to look at Cecilia.

"Please don't overdo it."

"I'll come back later."

"See you."

Each of them showed a different reaction before disappearing behind the door.

Left behind were Leen and Cecilia.

Sitting in the corner of the room, Leen seemed unusually quiet, perhaps feeling responsible for Cecilia's kidnapping.

"Leen? Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

When Cecilia called out to her, Leen looked up. Seeing her face, a sudden wave of nostalgia washed over Cecilia.

Leen smiled.

Her voice was more energetic than expected.

"I'm fine. Thanks to Hiyono."

"Even if you say you protected me, we were still captured, so it's kind of embarrassing, isn't it?"

"No, that's not true. Hiyono was incredibly cool at that moment! I was so impressed!"

"Eh, really? If you say so... Wait a minute?"

Finally, she noticed the oddity.

(Eh? Did Leen just call me 'Hiyono'...?)

Looking at Leen with a pale face, she seemed to be smiling happily.

That expression was familiar, but not from this life. It was from her previous life.

Cecilia stopped Leen with a hand.

"Wait, hold on. I'm trying to understand the situation..."

"I never thought Hiyono would be reincarnated as Cecil and even be in disguise!"

"Wait, wait!"

Her voice grew louder.

Leen, undeterred by Cecilia's reaction, continued to smile. She seemed to be in a very good mood.

Leen raised her index finger.

"Alright, here's a question for you. Who was my previous life?"

"It must be Ichika!!"

"Ahaha! Correct!"

Laughing, Leen made a peace sign with both hands. Her playful nature was unchanged.

"You must be kidding..."

Cecilia's voice was strained as she met her best friend from a different time, dimension, and world.