CH 114

I’ve Been Exiled, But I’m Alive and Well - Chapter 114.1

“W, we are watching from here?”

It was a box seat in a not so spacious theater. It wasn't the spacious room I used to have, but a two-seater sofa where we had to sit shoulder to shoulder.

As soon as we got there, Jed turned red and shook his head, "That’s impossible for me."

It's true that I felt a little embarrassed too, but it's just a play. If I concentrate on the play, I won't mind.

"Just sit down, please. I don't want to be seen making a scene.”

"A, aren't you embarrassed?”

"I'm a little embarrassed, but I'd rather not be seen making a ruckus.”

I pushed Jed, who was standing in front of me, to sit down on the sofa. It wasn’t anything luxurious, but a reasonably comfortable sofa. At least it would be easier to enjoy the play than the first floor chairs. I sat down next to Jed, who covered his face with his hands and groaned, but it's narrower than I expected, so our shoulders were bumping into each other. If we both moved closer to the armrests on either side, our shoulders wouldn’t bump into each other so much. I think we should give up on the idea of our feet not touching each other, though.

“A, aren’t you embarrassed?”

He asked me the exact same question as before.

If I were asked whether I was embarrassed or not, I would be embarrassed, of course, but in this case, he was way more embarrassed than I.

It’s only going to make me feel weird if you are that conscious of it.

When I tried to cover it up by drinking alcohol, I heard the sound of a heart beating next to me.

I saw Jed turn red and freeze.

“You don’t have to be this nervous.”

“T, this is my first time sitting so close to a woman.”

“What?”

“It’s only normal for me to be nervous, right?”

I knew he wasn't used to women, but I didn't expect him to be this new to it.

"Let's concentrate on the play.”

"Y, yeah, right.”

I think I'm a fast learner, but I can't help it because I want to concentrate on the play. I can feel his agitation from next to me, but it's best to ignore it at this point.

Because if we are both aware of each other, it would create a strange atmosphere.

After a few words of caution, the play was about to begin.

The curtain rose, and the glittering scene spread out, probably representing a noble’s ball. The reason I didn't feel very good about this was because the last ball I saw was not a good one for me.

The actors were blameless, though.

Then the scene changed, and we were in a noble’s mansion. A young girl, Louise, was scrubbing the floor. She lamented, "Why me, a young noble lady?” Apparently, she was the daughter of the house.

Then her parents and someone who looked like her sister came back. As soon as they saw Louise, they began to curse her. They slapped her cheeks, kicked her in the stomach, and spat on her as much as they could, Louise’s situation reminded me of the way I was treated in the Ansanse Kingdom.

The family that tortured her left in a merry mood. She was left with the question, "Why has everyone changed?”

The scene changed again, this time to a scene that looked like a recreation of an audience hall at the royal palace. Louise is the one being looked down upon by the royalty. Many of the nobles surrounding her sent her disdainful glances. Stepping forward was a figure that looked like a prince and a young woman. They stood in front of Louise, and the prince thrusts his sword at her.

Then the drama of absolution begins. The prince says, "You are a great sinner who tried to hurt and kill my beloved. Louise looks up at him with her powerful eyes and replies, "You will regret it one day. No one is going to take her side. As a result, Louise was sentenced to exile. She left the country with the hope of one day getting her revenge.

The curtain fell and there was a short intermission. The audience was in an uproar, probably because the content was not as good as expected.

“What a sickening play. I feel sorry for Louise.”

"Indeed.”

"Elle? Is something the matter?”

"It’s nothing…”

I just found the story too familiar.

I felt as if I the play was based on my past, as if what happened to me had been dramatized.

"Could this be a revenge play of the girl named Louise?”

There is no point in taking revenge.

Is it because I don't have a desire for revenge that I feel that way?

While I was thinking about this, the lights dimmed and the curtain rose.

Louise, walking in the forest, was burning with revenge. Her beautiful blond hair was disheveled, and her vigorous blue eyes kept on searching for something as she kept walking. She arrived at a country town in a neighboring country. There, she encountered human kindness for the first time in a long time.

Her cheerful and energetic attitude made the audience relax their cheeks.

Before she knew it, her desire for revenge was gone, and she began to wish that she could live in peace forever. However, her wish did not reach the heavens, and when she learned that the country that kicked her out was coming after her, she decided to leave the town.

After visiting several towns, Louise arrived in a military state. There, she was given a warm welcome. She spent her time there as she did when she was a daughter of a noble family, and the master of the country instigated her to take revenge, and so she decided to destroy her country.

Meanwhile, in Louise's homeland, it is revealed that the woman the prince has been chasing was actually a witch. The prince regained his senses when he learned that the witch's enchantment was about to take over his country. He decided to defeat the witch and get his beloved back. And then, there was another short break.

“Is charm magic real?”

Jed tilted his head, so I replied, "It does exist.”

It's what got me kicked out of my country, too.

Louise and I have a completely different perspective, though.

"Charm is a forbidden magic, though.”

"Wouldn’t the person it’s being used on notice?”

"They wouldn’t. They have no idea they have become puppets because their minds are so naturally manipulated.”

They are manipulated at will, and when the strings are cut, they come to their senses and regret it. The more you remember, the more your mistakes become apparent and the more you suffer.

The puppet is both the perpetrator and the victim. I feel sorry for them, but I can't pity them.

"How do you know so much?”

"I'm from a magic powerhouse.”

I'm glad it went dark soon.

Because it might have shown on my face that I was upset.

The coversation finally came to the end.

Louise was going back to her homeland. While on her way, she learned that there was a civil war going on.

A conflict between the side that has regained its sanity and the side that was possessed by the witch.

It was a big and ugly war that involved the whole nation.

When she arrived, the once beautiful city had been transformed and swallowed up by the fires of war.

She entered the royal castle and confronted the witch in the audience hall where she was condemned. There, she found the prince she once loved on the verge of death.

She was obsessed with vengeance, but what brought her back to her senses was the prince crying out in remorse.

Louise fought the witch who was trying to kill him, and she won in the end.

With the witch gone, the charmed people came to their senses. It was the dawn of war.

Louise gazed at the tragic scene of war as the prince approached her.

He begged her to support him again. But she shook her head and vanished into thin air.

Louise had made a contract with the Lord of the land that had fueled her desire for revenge.

It was to kill the next king, the prince. In exchange for her life, she was given the power to destroy the witch. But when she lost her desire for revenge and didn't keep the contract, she was forced to disappear.

It was said that the prince, who lost his beloved right in front of his eyes, was forever tormented by regret. The performance ended with the narrative that she did not take revenge because her beloved was supposed to be her target.

“... It wasn’t a happy ending, huh.”

Jed muttered as he watched the crowd cheerfully get up and leave, sharing their thoughts.

“I think Louse was happy, at least.”

“Eh?”

She saved her country, made sure her loved ones didn't burn with vengeance, and then made them regret it, so they wouldn't forget her.

She succeeded in making the people she cared about remember her.

From Louise's point of view, it was a happy ending.

At least that's what I felt when I saw her smiling during the scene where she disappeared.

"She signed the contract with that intention from the beginning."

Louise was a strong woman.

She was nothing like me. I can't be like that.

I wouldn't be able to sacrifice my life for the country that betrayed me or the people I love.

"I'm sorry to have you get along with my whim.”

"No, it was fun. I enjoyed it, especially the scene where Louise and the witch confronted each other.”

Jed said with a smile, even though he didn't feel very good about the performance.

The acting and direction were pretty good, but I would have liked to have seen a more interesting story.

"Let's go to a more interesting play next time."

"Will you go out with me again?"

“... I don't want you to hate theater because of this."

You got a special offer, I laughed.