Chapter 87

"People experience three periods of popularity in their lifetime"... or so they say, but it seems that my periods of popularity from my past life and this life have come all at once.

(Wait, God... Not now.)

Two days after receiving an unexpected confession—on the fifth day of the Ash Week—Cecilia was sitting in an empty lot in front of the asylum, holding her head. Naturally, what troubled her were the confessions from Oscar and Gilbert.

(Oscar and Gil didn’t expect an immediate answer, but of course, I can’t keep this up forever! But, saying something offhand would be even more disrespectful...)

Both Oscar and Gilbert were important to Cecilia. She wanted to face their feelings as sincerely and honestly as possible. However, having never dealt with her own romantic issues, she found it impossible to suddenly handle others' feelings, and thus, she was troubled day and night.

(So tiring...)

Due to overthinking, she hadn’t been sleeping well, and dark circles were visible under her eyes.

"Are you okay, Cecilia?"

At that moment, a voice called out from in front. Cecilia looked up to see Aine with a somewhat exasperated expression.

"Aine..."

"I saw your practice just now. With the performance coming up soon, you’re missing your lines."

"Yeah, well, I’ve had a lot going on privately..."

As she hung her head, he looked worried and sat down next to her.

"Did something happen again?"

"Something?"

"Like being hit by a potted plant, scalded with hot water, or splattered with raw eggs..."

"Oh, ...that happened too."

The confessions from the two had been so shocking that she had completely forgotten about the pranks someone had been pulling on her. Thinking about it, she had a mountain of things to deal with: the confessions, the play rehearsals, finding the culprit, and the twins' conquest. It was completely overwhelming.

(Should my relationship with Aine and Zwey be like this...?)

Though they had become closer, she hadn’t conquered them in her past life. She wasn’t sure if this was the right way to go.

(Maybe I should ask Grace again...)

If she asked now, she was sure Grace would tell her more than before. The secret that had silenced the twins, Cecilia already knew.

(I’ll go ask her after the play ends.)

The play would run for five days: the sixth and seventh days of Ash Week, October 31st (the day of the Spirit Summoning Festival), and the first and second days of Bright Week. While some theaters in the city had already started their performances, their production was funded solely by Lean’s royalties and the Makias family’s support. Therefore, they had scheduled their performances to coincide with the busiest five days of the festival. In other words, the first day of the play was tomorrow.

"Anyway, don’t push yourself too hard. Why don’t you go for a walk? You still have some break time, right?"

"Yeah, maybe I’ll go for a walk."

In such a distracted state, it wouldn’t be fair to the other cast members who were practicing diligently. To clear her head, Cecilia stood up, and Aine followed suit.

"Huh?"

"I’ll go with you. I was just thinking I wanted to walk around too."

Grateful for his consideration, Cecilia left the asylum with Aine.

The streets near the asylum were not as crowded as the main thoroughfares but were still bustling. There were many stalls selling grilled meat and fruit wine, and in the empty lots, children gathered to listen to storybooks. The stories were about the myth of the goddess and the devil. As they walked down the street, Cecilia exclaimed in amazement.

"Wow..."

"What are you surprised about? Is this your first time walking down this street?"

"Not the first time, but I haven’t really had the chance to look around properly. I thought only the main streets were busy..."

Aine’s expression softened as he watched Cecilia’s curious face.

"The Spirit Summoning Festival is a national event. Many people come from other countries to see it."

"Really?"

In the Sylvie family’s territory, the festival was a literal carnival, but the capital was even more lively. While the main day of the festival was quite exciting, the Ash Week and Bright Week were not much different from everyday life.

"Hey, those people are wearing regular clothes."

Cecilia pointed to a group of men. Though it was a small group of four or five, they were all dressed in everyday clothes with red handkerchiefs tied around their chests.

"Ah, those are the anti-Caritade religion people."

"Anti?"

When Cecilia tilted her head, he nodded.

"I told you that the closer you get to the north, the stronger the Caritade religion is. Conversely, the further south you go, the more people who don’t follow the Caritade religion. These people wear red during the festival to show their opposition."

"Interesting..."

"In some regions, they equate the goddess and the devil in the myth, so some people have a strong aversion to the Caritade religion, which worships them."

"You know a lot, Aine."

"Well, I studied with Zwey after a lot happened."

The "a lot" probably referred to the incident where their mother died, which stemmed from religious differences.

"What I learned from studying is that all the claims from different sides are ultimately just made-up stories. Whether the devil was a twin, or whether the goddess and the devil were the same entity, even the myth itself is just a story."

"Even the myth?"

"Yeah. The only thing that’s certain is that there’s something in this country that makes people’s hearts go wild, and there are people who can seal it. Everything else is just human imagination."

Aine chuckled and said, "I never thought I’d be part of that 'imagination.'"

Cecilia looked at him as they walked.

"Hey, if you keep looking around, you might get into trouble."

"Ah, yeah—!"

Just as she turned her head back, Cecilia collided with someone coming from the opposite direction and fell to the ground.

"..."

"Are you okay!?"

"Are you alright?"

As she looked up at the overlapping voices, she met the eyes of a man in a gray hooded cloak. He had dull brown hair and deep purple eyes like amethyst. He was tall and had a strikingly handsome face.

(Ah...)

"Sorry, I was looking around."

He smiled and helped Cecilia to her feet. Behind him was another person, probably a friend, with long black hair and glasses. His gaze was sharp, almost as if he was glaring at Cecilia.

(Wait, these people...?)

Cecilia blinked. Though she had never met them before, they seemed familiar.

This déjà vu was probably—

(Game characters?)

However, she couldn’t remember who they were. She didn’t recognize their hair and eye colors.

(Just extras? Or maybe I’m just imagining things?)

The man who helped Cecilia up tilted his head curiously, still holding her hand.

"Excuse me, if I’m mistaken, I apologize. ...Are you, by any chance, the knight?"

"Huh? You know me?"

"Yes. I saw you at the parade the other day. Is the egg okay?"

"Oh, yes."

He seemed to be referring to the day she was hit with an egg, not the day she rode in the carriage instead of Aine.

Satisfied with her reaction, he nodded.

"Yes. At the parade, you were hit with an egg, weren’t you?"

"Yeah."

He frowned and held her hand with both of his.

"There are some bad people in the world. They must have been jealous of the many cheers you received."

He smiled warmly, and Cecilia’s cheeks turned slightly red.

"Oops. I shouldn’t keep the knight waiting here. ...But, this encounter has created a bond. I look forward to seeing you again."

He released Cecilia’s hand and turned to leave.

Cecilia watched him go, dazed, until she noticed Aine’s unusual silence. His gaze was fixed on the direction the man had gone.

"Aine, what’s wrong?"

"No, I’ve seen that guy before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, at Uncle Cadie’s house..."

"Huh?"

Cecilia’s eyes widened, and Aine took a step forward, saying, "But, maybe it’s just my imagination."

Here comes a new character.

Well, there were hints that he would appear a little while ago.

(I wonder if the astute readers figured it out?)

Thank you so much for all the comments last time! I really appreciated them.

The third part is getting to the climax. (And yet, a new character appears.)

I hope you continue to enjoy it until the end.

The fourth part will be serialized leisurely after a break of about one to four weeks.

I would be very happy if you continue to follow it.

Thank you for your support with the book and the manga adaptation.

If you enjoyed it, I would appreciate your points and support.

If you would like to continue reading my work, please consider adding me to your 'Favorite Authors' list. You will receive notifications for updates.

Thank you for your time.