Volume 2 - CH 15

“The Student Council’s play has become such a hot topic. My entire Ford family have planned to go watch it together.”

Pamela smiled widely at the tea party during lunch break the next day. While she had been eating a deficient diet and collapsed at the entrance exam, now she had a healthy beauty. It would seem that the healthy diet plan I had passed onto her maid had borne fruit.

Anyhow, this Viscount’s daughter said that she would go watch the play, and even drag her relatives along. It seemed that, besides her, Lady Ferris, with her usual ringlets, and the other young ladies would be coming to see the play with their families as well.

“However, it’s a real shame that we will only get to hear your voice, Cyril.”

“At the end of the day, I am merely a servant. If I were to step onto the stage, I would just be getting in everyone else’s way.”

“Well, I don’t think that that’s true at all! Surely you don’t think so either, right, Miss Sophia?”

“Yes, that’s right. I am looking forward to Cyril’s narration.”

It seemed like a flawless answer. However, her response was slightly off-topic. I was concerned that she might not have been paying attention. Although this was a meeting with her followers, it was an unworthy response from a future Marquess in charge of hosting the tea party.

“Lady Sophia, your face looks a little pale. Are you tired from the rehearsals?”

Actually, her complexion looked fine. It wasn’t likely that Lady Sophia’s health would be in jeopardy over rehearsing a play, since she already followed a tough training regime, including self-defense lessons, everyday. In fact, what I was pointing out was that she was being inattentive while in the presence of her followers.

“Y-yes… that might be the case.”

It seemed that she had been properly listening this time. She had probably been spacing out just a moment ago because she was thinking about Fol not attending school again today. If this were a tea party with opposing factions attending, a snide comment or two would be flying at her right now, but, since she was with her own faction, I wasn’t worried about that. As the young ladies fretted over her, that day’s tea party came to a close.

“Are you alright, Lady Sophia?” I asked her as we were walking towards the Student Council’s office. After my question, Lady Sophia seemed uncharacteristically out of it.

“Lady Sophia…?”

“No, it’s nothing.” 

She smiled, her expression calm. If this were a first meeting, she might have been able to even fool a sly old noble. However, she couldn’t fool me, who was always by her side. I took hold of my Lady’s hand and sat her down at a bench in the courtyard.

“…Cyril?”

“Let’s rest for a while. As a young Marquess, your behaviour is splendid, but you don’t have to put on a brave front with me.”

“I am not putting on a-”

“You still need at least three more years before you can successfully lie to me.”

Normally, interrupting your master’s speech was unforgivable, but I interrupted my Lady’s words on purpose. If I let her speak for any longer, I myself might have been fooled by her.

“I am no match to you, am I Cyril? …However, only three more years?”

“In another three years, you’ll be able to easily deceive me, my Lady. That’s precisely the reason …why you shouldn’t, alright?”

‘Please rely on me, without hiding when you’re in pain.’ I smiled at her with a hint of playfulness.

“I’m anxious,” Lady Sophia muttered, with a troubled look on her face.

“…This is about Fol, isn’t it?”

“Yes. When I think of Fol staying absent from the academy like this, I feel pain in my heart, and I feel like crying, and suddenly I don’t know what to do…”

Tears fell from her amethyst eyes in large drops. Right now, sitting in front of me was a regular young girl acting her age. I wasn’t able to bear it any longer. Having decided so, I knelt in front of the bench and clasped Lady Sophia’s hand.

“…Lady Sophia. If you were to ask it of me-”

“I canno- I cannot!”

She shook off my hand and got up from the bench, holding her hand close to her chest. Fear surfaced in her amethyst eyes.

“…Lady Sophia?”

“Ah, no, that’s- that’s not what I meant. I just don’t want to trouble you, Cyril, so, I, that is-”

“Lady Sophia.”

Her behavior was becoming erratic because of magical overcharge illness. When I realized this, I grasped her hand tightly. In theory, letting Lady Sophia regain control herself would be the best course of action. However, we were standing in a courtyard. I didn’t know when someone might come by, and so, I forcibly absorbed my Lady’s magic.

“Ugh… Cy-Cyril…?”

“I’m here for you… Have you forgotten? My lady, whenever you feel lonely or you’re in pain, I promised to be by your side no matter what, didn’t I?”

‘That’s why there’s nothing you need to worry about.’ I gave her a smile.

“Bu-but, I… I will trouble you, Cyril…”

“There is no way you could cause me trouble, my Lady.”

I knew what Lady Sophia was wishing for.

That’s why-

“Lady Sophia. If you were to ask something of me, no matter what the request might be, I will definitely make it happen. Therefore, you don’t have to restrain your feelings like this.”

Lady Sophia told me that, for my sake, she would make even the gods into her enemies. I wanted to protect this Lady Sophia. In order to protect her, I would make the impossible possible.

As I told her this with a smile, her violet eyes went wide, but after a moment, her expression smoothed over to one that said ‘It’s alright.’

“The current me isn’t a mere child that needs your protection, Cyril. Moreover, if you keep spoiling me, I will never be able to catch up to you.”

“But…”

“I have an objective. For the sake of this objective, right now, what I want is to turn the play into a success for Fol’s sake. And I want you to help me with that, Cyril.”

“…Your wish is my command.”

Seeing my Lady grow more mature every day, I felt both happiness and just a touch of sadness.

After that, Lady Sophia was able to regain her composure and we made our way to the Student Council’s office. When we entered the room, Fol was sitting behind the office desk.

“Fol?!”

Lady Sophia went around the desk and literally flew over to Fol. From time to time, feelings to be expected in a young girl would show on Lady Sophia’s face, but this was the first time that she had completely lost control of herself like this. Clearly, Fol had truly become a very precious person to Lady Sophia.

“Why are you here? Weren’t you absent from school…?”

“Just in the morning. I attended classes in the afternoon.”

“Then… are you alright now?”

“Haha, I have made you worry, haven’t I? Today, I’ll return to practice as well.”

“I see. In that case, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” Lady Sophia said, but she was grasping her hands tightly.

No wonder.

Fol hadn’t answered her question regarding whether she was alright or not. If she were a normal child, it might have been just a coincidence. In Fol’s case, however, there was no way that she had misinterpreted Lady Sophia’s question. She had, without a doubt, purposefully avoided answering it. 

The reason why was obvious. She didn’t say whether she was alright or not, because she wasn’t. Having understood this, Lady Sophia was visibly upset.

For that reason-

“Lady Sophia, I should prepare some tea, shouldn’t I?”

“…Tea?”

“We need to celebrate Fol’s return, don’t we?”

She already knew that Fol wasn’t alright. That being the case, I proposed that, instead of being sad about her condition, we should rejoice about the fact that Fol came back to the Student Council.

“…That… is right. Then, please prepare some shortcake as well.”

Lady Sophia gave me a small smile, immediately understanding my objective. 

Seeing my Lady smiling bravely, I decided that I would make her slice of shortcake just a little bit bigger.

Right after, Prince Alforth and Alicia entered the room together. They seemed to have come in a hurry, probably because they were late.

Prince Alforth and Alicia’s eyes went wide and they drew closer to Fol, asking: “Are you alright now?!”

“Ah, I apologize for causing you worry. I will take part in the rehearsals from today on as well.”

“…I’m really glad to hear that, cousin Fol1.”

“Yes. I am really glad to hear that as well!”

The smile on Prince Alforth’s face was clearly forced. He had probably noticed Fol avoiding the question, just like Lady Sophia had. It seemed that in this small amount of time, he had grown up considerably.

As for Alicia, her smile was genuine. I thought that she hadn’t noticed the fact that Fol had avoided the question, but then I met Alicia’s gaze as she suddenly turned her face. Just like in Lady Sophia’s, sorrow dwelled in the depths of her eyes. It seemed that she had indeed noticed Fol not answering directly and had also decided to celebrate her return instead. When it came to being considerate, Alicia was the most mature. 

In the end, I ended up cutting everyone’s slice of cake just a little bit bigger than usual.

Together with Fol, newly returned to the Student Council, we began with the full rehearsals of the play for the next few days. There were less ordinary lessons starting around this time, and more time was allocated to the School Festival preparations. With the School Festival nearing close, today we would be getting instructed by a certain theatre troupe’s actress. The troupe was well known in the Royal City, and our tutor was the lead actress, Isabella, who had performed as the heroine in many plays.

Incidentally, I had gone through a lot of trouble to be able to request her presence. When I first started recruiting, several male actors from various troupes introduced themselves. I had no objections against their talents, and I was absolutely considering requesting one of them. However, I was stopped by my father. The reason was that if I were to invite in male actors and something were to happen to the young ladies, it would be too late to regret it.  Therefore, I began recruiting again, this time limited to women only, but now it was the troupes who were acting cautiously about it. They were anxious about their own lead actresses getting kidnapped by nobility. 

It was natural that, beyond some chosen groups of people, regular folk would be cautious regarding nobility.

If I had an intermediary, it would have been settled quickly, but either way, I didn’t have the time. I went directly to the troupes and negotiated with them, and Isabella accepted. 

Therefore, it was Isabella who showed up while we waited for her in the practice room. From her fiery hair tinged with red, her golden eyes sparkled blazingly. The woman whose curves bewitched her male audiences gave us a lady-like curtsy.

“My name is Isabella. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

I was deeply impressed with her manners, which would have been appropriate for a young noble lady. When I was interviewing her, she was a more ordinary – no, a quite bewitching woman.

Her current aura was immaculate because she was performing such a role at this moment.

However, if she were to be this considerate of us in our practice, it wouldn’t be helpful. When I turned my gaze towards Prince Alforth, he nodded.

“Isabella, please, just be yourself. In the name of Prince Alforth, I promise that there won’t be any retaliation for your manners during the rehearsals. So please, be strict with us.”

Upon hearing these words, Isabella glanced at Prince Alforth’s face, with an expression that showed that she was attempting to read the real intention behind these words. Finally, she nodded. “Got it.

“You seem to be saying that seriously, so I will do so. But, if someone else rebukes me, please do help me out, alright?”

The switch was impossible to ignore.

She was a woman who was able to conduct herself as a noble lady. There was no way that she didn’t know what could happen to her if she were to disrespect a Prince. Despite this, she changed her attitude after concluding that Prince Alforth’s words were genuine. As an actress, she might be well used to judging the authenticity of her partner’s words. 

“Then, without any further delays – you should show me your play. Although we don’t have a lot of time, I won’t accept any half-hearted performances for as long as I am entrusted with instructing you.”

Isabella’s aura completely changed again.

It wasn’t the aura of a noble lady at the beginning, but it also wasn’t the aura of the captivating young woman from before. The sharp gaze that she turned towards Lady Sophia and the others was that of a professional actress.

Since everyone was present, our full rehearsals began like so. First up was the scene where Prince Alfred and Aurelia met. Prince Alforth, portraying a realistic, unpretentious prince, saved the heroine. Compared to his first performances, he had improved considerably.

Isabella, seeing this performance let out a “Huh,” showing that she was a little impressed. Besides being a noble, he was also just a 12 year old child. She was probably expecting a more clumsy performance.

For that reason-

“Nice to meet you, Aurelia. I am Elvira, Prince Alfred’s fiancée.”

“L-Lady Elvira, is there something you need from me?”

“Oh, are you playing dumb? Let me tell you something very clearly right now. I will never hand him over to anyone, not even to you, Aurelia. He’s mine.”

“…No, Prince Alfred’s heart is his own! It doesn’t belong to you!”

“I see. So you won’t back down until the bitter end. Since that’s the case… prepare yourself. If you try to overthrow the destiny the gods blessed me with, you will receive divine punishment.”

Lady Sophia’s and Fol’s performances took my breath away. 

From then on, Isabella continued to watch the performance eagerly without the slightest movement. The rehearsal continued without her saying a single word, and finally we reached the climax scene.

It was the trial of the villainous daughter, Elvira. Prince Alfred exposed her evil deeds and announced her public execution. While confessing her love to the Prince and spitting out her resentment towards the heroine, she was taken to the gallows.

The life of this young lady, gone mad because of love, came to an end. After witnessing the events himself, the Prince told the heroine ‘I will protect you from now on’ and kissed her. Of course, the kiss was fake. At the live performance, the lights would go out just a moment before it.

That part was fine. However… having watched it like this, the way the villainous daughter was treated seemed really cruel. The script was faithful to the game. However, when adapted to a play, the villainous daughter’s execution scene really stood out. 

As I was thinking this, Isabella, having watched the performance, stood up, clapping.

“I’m astonished! When I heard about this middle school children’s play, I wondered just what kind of show it might be. I honestly didn’t think that I would be able to see such a realistic performance!”

“Thank you very much. Nonetheless, I am still not satisfied with my current performance. Please instruct me on how to improve more.”

It was the usual Lady Sophia, showing her desire to improve herself. After displaying such a performance, she declared that she wasn’t satisfied yet. Isabelle was at first surprised by this attitude. However, she was probably also someone who loved hard work, just like Lady Sophia and me.

After patting her own chest and saying: “Leave it up to me!” she began to instruct Lady Sophia.

A huge thank you to my editor Barebones for saving me and making this translation 300% better than it would otherwise be! <3 Please go check out her profile if you can, she’s translating some great stuff herself!

As always, thank you for reading and hope you enjoy!