Chapter 76
“Didn’t you say you went to see that young lady before?”
“Y-yes, I did.”
“You didn’t make some sort of mistake, did you?”
“Well…”
Countess Lukia couldn’t manage to answer her husband’s pressing question properly.
How could she possibly explain that she had gone there, gotten thoroughly cursed out, and had been driven away in disgrace?
Who could’ve known that a woman running such a shabby shop would be so well acquainted with the Duke of Persia!
“Mother…”
Christine’s smile completely vanished in response to the mood around them.
Her face twisted in displeasure as she saw Yulia standing beside the Duke of Persia, drawing the attention of the entire crowd.
***
“So Ellie headed to Grandma’s house on Mother’s errand.”
As expected from an academy sponsored by the royal family, the auditorium where the children performed was grand and impressive.
The story itself was very simple, but the costumes and stage props were quite convincing, making it enjoyable to watch.
“Grandma’s house is over that mountain, right?”
Right after the narrator child finished their line, Yulia, wearing a pretty cape, stepped to the center of the stage and delivered her dialogue.
“She’s insane.”
“What is?”
“Our Yulia, she’s such a good actress, isn’t she? Should we keep letting her act from now on?”
“……”
Ceres continued to shower praise while watching the children’s performance.
Kainel, who had been quietly observing her, opened his mouth to say something but then shut it tightly.
Sure, he’d holed up in the Duchy for years without going outside, but he’d still seen plays before at his age.
This was, no matter how kindly you looked at it, just a children’s school arts festival—about that level.
Her little steps and fluttering cape were cute in their own way, but was it really enough to call her a genius?
“Her pronunciation was so clear too.”
“The other kids also had clear pronunciation.”
“And what makes her so cute, really?”
She’s not even listening.
Kainel closed his mouth and just quietly listened to Ceres’ endless admiration.
“At that moment, a scary wolf appeared in front of Ellie.”
“You! What’s in that basket? You can’t pass unless you give it all to me!”
…She’s the wolf?
Ceres stifled a laugh as she saw Christine appear in a wolf costume.
Earlier, when Christine was standing next to Countess Lukia, Ceres had been unable to take her eyes off her.
From head to toe, she had been so extravagantly adorned that Ceres thought she might be playing a princess in the play.
‘But she’s the wolf?’
She should’ve been wearing wolf ears, but she’d clearly spent hours styling her hair instead.
Ceres quietly shook her head.
“I can’t give this. I have to bring it to my grandmother.”
“Then you can’t pass!”
Christine stretched both her arms toward Yulia with all her might!
Smack!
“Uh…?”
It was supposed to be a light push, but Yulia was knocked off balance by the force and stumbled backward.
The problem was that Yulia had been facing away from the audience at that moment.
As she lost her balance, she fell right off the stage—a stage that was quite high.
“Yulia!”
In that moment, two figures sprang from their seats—Ceres and Kainel.
Without thinking who went first, both rushed toward the child and reached out their arms.
Vwoooom!
“Uh…? H-huh?”
Yulia’s body was surrounded by a faint light and gently floated into the air.
Then, just like that, she was placed back on stage.
“……?”
Relieved that Yulia wasn’t hurt, Ceres quickly turned around.
That was definitely magic.
Don’t tell me…
“Wow, are school arts festivals always this intense?”
It was Chaian de Devrica, the Tower Master.
Seeing that Yulia was unharmed, he waved at her with a light smile.
“Chaian?”
“Yup. I came—Ceres?”
Chaian, who had been cheerfully greeting her, suddenly looked blank.
“Who are you?”
“Don’t joke. Why are you here?”
“…Ceres?”
Chaian couldn’t speak for a while.
It was the first time he had seen Ceres so dressed up.
“I asked how you got here.”
“Me? I was bored, so I came to hang out.”
…Did you two plan this?
Ceres let out a small laugh as she looked at Chaian giving the exact same answer Kainel had earlier.
Since when did the Academy’s school arts festival become a place to come when you’re bored?
“Hey, that person…….”
“Yeah, yeah! That’s him, right?”
“Right?”
The murmuring grew louder.
Especially from where the children were gathered, their voices began to rise with excitement.
“Magic!”
Then someone shouted loudly.
“It’s not hard!”
The other kids immediately followed along, shouting.
“That’s the magician!”
“Waaah!”
In an instant, a swarm of children surrounded Chaian.
“Mister, you’re a magician, right?”
“I have that book too!”
“Me too!”
Chaian was momentarily flustered by the children’s cheers but soon crossed his arms and nodded proudly, as if nothing had happened.
“That’s right. I’m the great magician who wrote that famous book.”
“Waaah!”
“Does everyone want to become a magician?”
“No.”
“…Huh?”
“I don’t want to.”
“…You kids, you’re Yulia’s friends, aren’t you? Right?”
Why do you all talk exactly the same?
Wearing a resigned expression, Chaian remained surrounded by the kids for a while.
Ceres, once again confirming that the Tower Master was only popular among children, turned her gaze back to the stage, leaving him behind.
She had clearly seen Christine deliberately push Yulia hard off the stage earlier.
No matter how young they were, it wasn’t something to just overlook.
“…Tsk.”
But as she looked at Christine standing on stage, Ceres clicked her tongue softly.
Because Christine looked even more terrified and frozen than Yulia, who had nearly fallen.
“Christine, are you okay?”
“I-I… I just……”
Instead, it was Yulia who checked on the other child’s condition with worry.
“It’s okay. I’m not hurt.”
“……”
Christine blankly stared at Yulia, who smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
And soon, the child’s eyes quickly turned red.
With tears welling up, Christine began to speak in a choked voice.
“…I’m.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry… I-I just… hic… I was jealous because you were the lead… ugh…”
She really didn’t expect Yulia to fall off the stage.
She had only meant for her to trip and fall a little…
“Ugh… uhh…”
As Christine couldn’t stop crying, a small hand was gently placed on her head.
Pat pat.
Yulia carefully patted Christine’s head, recalling how her older sister Ceres always did that for her.
“Being the wolf suits you too. That nasty and mean personality of yours matches the role perfectly.”
“Ugh… I’m sorry… hic…”
Seeing the two children like that, Ceres smiled with some satisfaction.
“Our Yulia even knows how to comfort a friend. She’s grown up. So grown up.”
Then she felt someone’s gaze from beside her and turned her head—Kainel was standing there with a face full of unspoken thoughts.
“…? What?”
“Does that really look like comforting to you?”
“If that’s not comfort, then what is? Why are you stating the obvious?”
“…I was wondering who the child took after.”
“What are you talking about?”
Kainel simply shook his head lightly without saying more.
“We will resume the play after a short break.”
A while later, an Academy staff member came out and began organizing the disrupted stage.
Ceres also sat back down, having watched Yulia lead the tearful Christine off stage, and waited for the play to start again.
—
“What exactly brings you here?”
Not long after the play resumed, the group grew larger.
Ceres leaned over and whispered to Chaian, who had now taken a seat beside her.
“I went to your shop and they said you were here.”
“You went to the shop?”
“Yeah. This kid said he didn’t get to try the food last time.”
As soon as he finished, a bright face leaned forward and waved.
It was none other than Chaian’s younger brother, Alex.
“Nice to see you again.”
“Yes, indeed.”
Still handsome.
Now that there were two beautiful faces, the effect was overwhelming.
It felt like the area around them was glowing.
People nearby couldn’t take their eyes off them.
‘And also…….’
Ceres glanced sideways at another man sitting beside her.
Kainel—he was also quite a handsome man. Our Kai never falls short anywhere when it comes to looks.
“What are you looking at?”
…Maybe his personality’s a bit lacking?
“If you want to look, don’t sneak glances—just look openly.”
…No, not a bit—maybe a lot lacking?
‘Was he always this shameless?’
He didn’t used to be like this.
Where did our pure and innocent Kai go?
‘No, no! Lord Kainel has always been like this! He only pretended to be well-behaved in front of Lady Grace—you know that, so why say such mean things?’
…Really?
Somehow she felt like she could hear her disciple’s panicked voice.
“Ceres, should I switch seats with you?”
Chaian frowned as if displeased with how closely Kainel leaned toward Ceres while speaking.
“No, it’s fine.”
You two sitting next to each other bothers me more.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment