Chapter 45

"Why did it end up being such a large group?"

The next day, at the hospital where she was supposed to meet Leen, Cecilia muttered this. In front of her were Leen, Oscar, Gilbert, Jade, and Huey—five people in total. Including Cecilia, it was a large group of six.

"Huey and Jade, I invited them. I happened to meet Lord Oscar and Lord Gilbert nearby..."

Leen smiled with a composed face. While Cecilia was quite something, she was also quite good at pretending. She was almost impressed.

"Still, isn't it a bit too many?"

"It's fine. I got permission from the doctor. In fact, I thought my sister would be happier with more people..."

"Well, if that's the case..."

Cecilia had a slight unease about going into the hospital room in such a large group, but if Modred had given permission, it should be fine. She sighed in relief, and Oscar approached her.

"Sorry. I seem to have caused a disturbance."

"Not at all! Sorry, I shouldn't have said it that way."

Oscar shook his head as Cecilia bowed her head.

"No, it's understandable that you're worried. But I've always been helped by the doctor, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to greet your sister as well."

As he said this, his expression softened.

This kind of principled behavior was unique to Oscar in this world. In the game, he never tried to interact with anyone like this. At least, he never cared about anyone other than the heroine Leen and his friend Dante.

This change was very welcome to Cecilia.

(This Oscar is so much more approachable!)

In the game, he always sent Cecilia to prison, but now she could interact with him like this, all thanks to his changed personality.

"By the way, it's been a while, Oscar! You haven't been to the academy much lately, right?"

"Yeah, I've been dealing with the aftermath of the Hyamart incident and other things."

The Hyamart incident referred to Cecilia's kidnapping. She scratched her cheek, looking apologetic.

"I see. Sorry, it's my fault."

"No, it's not your fault—"

"But, I'm glad to see you, even if it's by chance!"

As she expressed her honest feelings, his cheeks flushed.

"Really?"

"Yep!"

Oscar, with a slight smile, reached out to touch Cecilia's head. However, before his hand could touch her, Gilbert stopped him. Gilbert caught Oscar's wrist and smiled darkly.

"Yay, I'm so happy to see you, Your Highness."

"Didn't we just see each other recently?"

Oscar's expression turned sour, and Gilbert's smile faded.

"I want to see you every day, Your Highness..."

"That's not something you should say with that expression!"

"Huh? Do you want me to greet you with a full smile and a purring voice?"

"Stop it! Don't even imagine it! It's disgusting!!"

"It's fine. I find it disgusting just to imagine it. It makes me feel sick."

Holding Oscar's arm, Gilbert put his hand to his mouth. Oscar's face twitched.

Cecilia watched the two from a distance.

"You two are still as close as ever, huh."

"Them?"

Huey, who happened to be standing next to her, looked incredulous. Leen and Jade, standing next to him, smiled wryly.

"Everyone, stop fooling around and let's go! Mr. Modred is waiting!"

At Leen's command, the group headed for the hospital.

"Ah, thank you for coming."

At the hospital entrance, Modred was waiting. He greeted the six of them with a gentle expression.

Leen, as the representative, stepped forward.

"Mr. Modred, thank you for your time today. I'm sorry, I didn't know Emily was hospitalized until Cecil told me, so we're a bit late."

With a sad expression, Leen lowered her eyes. It seemed Modred's sister was named Emily. It's not clear how she found out, but her investigative skills were impressive.

According to her backstory, "Leen learned from Cecil that her friend, who she hadn't seen in a while, was hospitalized." This made Cecil's presence here seem natural.

"That's fine. The important thing is that you came. I'm sure Emily will be happy."

With that, Modred led the way. He was guiding them to the hospital room.

At the back of the group, Cecilia whispered to Leen.

"Hey, did you really lie about being friends with Emily?"

"Yes."

"Is that okay? She'll be surprised if a stranger suddenly comes in, and she'll realize you're not really friends, right?"

"It's fine! In situations like this, if you say something like, 'Oh! It's been so long! Do you remember me? I'm Leen! How many years has it been?' most people will stammer and say, '...Yeah.'"

"You're still so socially adept..."

"Hehe, thank you."

After walking for a while, Modred stopped in front of a hospital room.

"Here it is."

He opened the door. Inside, there was only one bed. It seemed to be a private room.

"Right this way."

Following his lead, the group entered the room and approached the bed.

Emily was sleeping in the bed. Despite the large group entering, her eyes remained tightly closed, showing no sign of opening.

"Emily seems to be sleeping."

"Should we come back later?"

Jade suggested, and Huey followed up.

"She won't wake up even if we wait," Modred said, adjusting her blanket and lowering his gaze sadly.

"Since that day, she's been in a constant sleep."

Everyone present was taken aback by his words.

"Does that mean..."

"Her body should be fine. There's nothing wrong with her brain. She just won't wake up."

Modred gently stroked his sister's forehead.

"I guess what happened to her was too terrifying. Sometimes she moans in her sleep, but her eyes won't open."

He raised his gaze from his sister, his brows furrowed in sadness, and smiled.

"I want to see her face when she wakes up."

His slightly tearful expression left everyone speechless.

"While investigating your sister, I found out that Mr. Modred lost his parents at a young age and Emily is his only family."

Leen said this on the way back from the hospital. The two of them were walking at the back of the group, a bit apart from the others.

"Is that so?"

"That's why it must be even more of a shock. There were rumors that he doted on his sister."

Cecilia remembered Modred's figure as he saw them off.

"I'm sorry for my appearance. But if you don't mind, please come again. She seemed a bit happier today."

He had a calm expression, as always. But that calmness only made his pain more apparent.

"Even if Emily is a candidate for the priestess, it's too much to expect her to take on everything in her current state."

"…Yeah."

Honestly, it wasn't a situation where such things could be discussed. If she woke up safely, there might be some progress, but in her current state, it was impossible to even consider. All she could think about was Modred's sad expression.

At that moment, the group passed a woman. She had thick glasses and curly hair and was wearing a white coat, walking towards the hospital they had just left.

(Huh?)

"What's wrong?"

Cecilia stopped and turned around, and Leen also stopped to look at her.

"Nothing, just..."

(She looks familiar...)

But she couldn't quite place it. It was probably from the game, but she couldn't remember where or in whose route she had seen her.

(But it's strangely...)

Bothering her.

"Are you okay? Is something bothering you?"

"Oh, no, it's fine. I must have been mistaken!"

Cecilia shook her head in response to Leen's question and turned around. She didn't have a clear memory of this person. Even if she had seen her before, she was probably just a minor character. There was no reason to remember her.

(Leen didn't react either!)

"Sorry, let's go."

Cecilia quickened her pace to catch up with the others.