CH 175

Keira: “I had a dream a while ago that Beatrice appeared. I knew right away–it was a revelation.”

Surprise crossed Ludwig’s face when he heard the word ‘revelation’.

Ludwig: “That’s…good.”

Keira: “I came back to the capital for a while to let people know about it. I decided to take Great-Aunt’s place during the ritual this fall.”

Ludwig: “…For a while?”

Coming back ‘for a while’ meant she would leave again soon. It’s like coming back home after a few years and leaving again.

Of course, she had to leave the capital again for other reasons, but Ludwig wasn’t aware of it.

That meant she didn’t want to stay home any longer. Ludwig’s face darkened as he misunderstood what she meant.

But he knew very well that he didn’t deserve to stop Keira from leaving.

Ludwig: “… I’m sorry. I made a mistake I shouldn’t have made.”

Keira: “But you did a good job of fixing it. The human world has avoided destruction. That devil, the representative of the faction against humans, has become like that, so we don’t have to worry about invasion for the next thousand years.”

Ludwig: “I didn’t mean that…”

A mistake he shouldn’t have made.

He wasn’t talking about the world’s destruction but about unjustly taking a person’s life.

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Ludwig: “I said it in the letter.”

“…”

Ludwig: “You don’t have to forgive me.”

“…”

Silence fell. Keira was looking somewhere other than Ludwig.

Keira: “I didn’t return to the capital because of your letter. I came back to let them know I had a revelation.”

“…”

Keira: “Anyway, Your Grace has rectified your mistakes, prevented the destruction of the world, saved my life, and even the next elementalist is here… Well, isn’t that a happy ending?”

Everything worked out well. That’s it.

Keira: “I have to eat, so I’ll head off now. Zeke will be waiting.”

After leaving a brief greeting, she turned around. Ludwig didn’t stop her, nor did he say anything else.

As she walked down the hallway, Keira was lost in thought.

If he made excuses and rambled on about how much he had to pay to turn back time, Keira would never want to see Ludwig’s face for the rest of her life. 

Of course, just because he didn’t make excuses didn’t mean she’d suddenly get along with him.

Should she still be glad that her memory of her father didn’t remain the worst of the worst?

Or should she blame him for making her feelings complicated?

‘If he had made excuses, I wouldn’t have cared about how he suffered after I died…’

As with traditional memorial services held in the fall, preparations for the event often began after the harvest season had passed.

As a result, Keira’s stay in the capital was longer than expected.

The fall service was held in the outer hall of the temple, filled with high priests, monks, and ordinary citizens who came to watch.

When Keira was looking at them from the window on the third floor, one of the high priests came closer and asked.

“Are you nervous?”

Keira nodded and answered.

Keira: “Yes, a little.”

“Since this is your first time, Miss Johanna asked us to understand even if you make a little mistake.”

Keira: “There will be no mistakes, though.”

“Hahaha.”

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Based on the useless chatter, the priest seemed to be trying to relieve tension. He continued.

“It must be stressful and nerve-wracking for Your Ladyship to be in charge of the memorial service this year, but we are very fortunate.”

Keira: “Don’t say that. Because I said I’d take Great-Aunt’s place myself.”

“Your Ladyship left the capital right away, so you may not have known about it, but after Count Weinberg’s fall, the atmosphere in the capital was quite bad.”

Keira: “Aha.”

The reason was quite obvious.

Cosette became the hottest topic of conversation in the capital as soon as she made her debut.

People used to have heated discussions about which of the two would be the real daughter of the Grand Duke.

Meanwhile, Count Weinberg died, Cosette disappeared, and Keira left the capital on a trip.

Apparently, people were terrified that the next elementalist might not appear.

Since Keira left the duchy as soon as things were sorted out, she had only learned about it later.

“Actually, this is the first time that so many citizens have participated in an autumn festival. I can’t even see the floor at how crowded it is.”

Keira: “Is that so?”

“Yes, there’s only usually half this crowd. Everyone wants to see the next elementalist’s existence with their eyes.”

She did think there were a lot of people. So that’s why so many citizens participated in the service.

There were a lot of spectators, so Keira felt twice as nervous.

Keira: “If I make a mistake, I will be twice as embarrassed.”

Soon, it was time for the ceremony to begin.

Keira went down wearing the clothes that Johanna had passed on to her.

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Woaaaaaaaah!

When she appeared, people cheered.

‘I thought I’d gotten used to being in the spotlight…’

It was a completely different feeling from receiving attention in a ball. She climbed up on the podium, much more nervous than expected.

All she had to do was to call Beatrice and make it rain.

Nevertheless, she felt the majority of onlookers staring at her.

‘It feels like they might bore a hole through my face…’

Cold sweat ran down her back.

If only she could chat with the person next to her, she’d feel a little more relaxed, but she couldn’t do that during the ceremony.

Keira deliberately fixed her eyes on the high priests coming out one by one and performing the ritual.

The process itself was no different from the private ceremony held in the spring–they recited prayers and burned the freshly harvested grains and vegetables this year. After burning the written prayers, they bowed to the statue, and it was over.

It wasn’t long before her turn came.

“Now it’s Your Ladyship’s turn.”

Keira: “Yes.”

Keira stood and walked toward the center of the altar where a blue flame burned prayers and food.

Her role today was to summon rain and put out this flame.

It was a fire that could not be extinguished with ordinary water. Only the liquid infused with the power of the spirit could kill it.

‘Beatrice.’

As she muttered that in her mind, water droplets began to gather in front of her eyes.

The drops of water that had gathered soon became the figure of an adult woman.

It was the woman Keira met in her dream the day she received the revelation. Beatrice met Keira’s eyes and smiled.

It’s something she only recently learned, but spirits couldn’t speak.

‘Let the rain fall.’

Beatrice smiled instead of answering.

And the sun slowly disappeared.

“Oh, oh!”

“Dark clouds are coming!”

As she looked up, all of a sudden, dark clouds filled the sky.

Keira found it just as fascinating. She’d like to be in the middle of the crowd, gasping in awe if she could.

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Instead, she desperately tried to maintain a calm expression. It would destroy the atmosphere if she acted as excited as the crowd.

Shwaaa–.

Not long after, heavy rain began to pour.

It was late in the fall season, so the temperature was quite low. People would shiver if they got rained on. Nevertheless, they cheered as they got drenched.

Keira was relieved there didn’t seem to be any mistakes. She looked back and smiled. 

There, Beatrice stared at her, her big eyes blinking.

‘Thank you.’

Then Beatrice smiled broadly and disappeared.

The fire used in the ritual had already been completely extinguished. Shortly after Beatrice disappeared, the rain stopped and the sky cleared.

Glancing at the high priest, she asked.

Keira: “Are we done?”

“Yes. Fortunately, there were no accidents.”

At that moment, a sigh escaped Keira’s lips.

After the ceremony, Keira had nothing to do in the capital.

Instead, she had one thing to check after leaving the capital.

‘Obviously, if I said I was going on another trip, what would the people around me say…’

The wanderlust excuse wouldn’t always work. She groaned.

Keira’s worries were not in vain.

Zeke: “Are you going on another trip?”

Sure enough, when Zeke heard she was leaving again not long after returning, he had asked her the question.

Others, including Sir Arthur, looked a little flustered.

Keira smiled shyly and replied.

Keira: “I’m not just going to rest this time. I have business to do.”

“Where are you going?”

Keira: “Lindia.”

“If it’s Lindia…”

It was a small town located south of the capital and wasn’t a popular tourist destination. It wasn’t even a prosperous enough city to visit.

Still, there was one reason why Zeke knew the name of the city– the magic tower, the second home of magicians, existed there.

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Zeke: “Are you going to visit the magic tower?”

She nodded. 

Keira: “Yeah, I’ve got to meet someone.”

Then, Zeke’s expression wrinkled slightly. Keira was only acquainted with one magician.

Zeke: “…That blond guy?”

Keira: “If I’m thinking what you’re thinking, you’re right.”

Zeke: “There’s only one magician you’ve had enough exchanges with you’d meet. But why?”

Keira: “I have something to tell him.”

Then Arthur, who was grabbing a snack and eating, interjected.

Arthur: “Then why are you going all the way there? It’s a city with nothing to see. Just ask them to come up to the capital.”

“That’s right. Would he insist on not coming when Your Ladyship called him?”

Keira felt a little perplexed at their words. Erez wasn’t the type to listen to what anyone had to say.

If anyone bothered him, he might return to the Demon Realm because it was annoying.

‘I mean, he still has a lot of work left.’

Keira: “Hmmm… He probably won’t come.”

“Such a cheeky b*stard.”

Keira: “Well, magicians don’t like being called when they’re in the middle of important research. So, I have to go instead.”

“…”

Then, Zeke and the knights tilted their heads. They obviously couldn’t understand why Keira was visiting the tower even though he wasn’t making it convenient for her.

But Keira didn’t say the reason until the end. She simply avoided their curious gazes with a gentle smile.

‘Sorry. I’d have to tell you a secret I could never tell to explain everything.’

For example, Erez’s identity.