I was sitting alone on a couch in my room, where all the maidservants had been dismissed, drinking tea elegantly.
I was sitting on a couch in my room drinking tea.
“Welcome, Lady Lateia.”
“Lady Cecilia, thank you for inviting me.”
Then Lady Lateia smiled happily, plucked at the hem of her skirt and bowed.
I smiled a thin smile as I looked at that Lady Lateia. But my eyes were not smiling at all.
Then Lady Lateia noticed this and started to get confused.
“Cecilia-sama? I… Have I done something to offend you?”
“…Hey, Lady Lateia, have you ever seen this?”
I said that and took out Nina’s pendant from my pocket and showed it to Lady Lateia.
“Ah! That’s—!”
Lady Lateia-sama obviously became pale when she saw the pendant I was holding.
In fact, I asked Nina to lend me this pendant for a little while.
“Lady Lateia-sama… I know what Nina did to you.”
“Huh!?”
“…Lady Lateia-sama, no matter how much you weren’t chosen as the ‘Celestial Maiden’, it’s not right to be jealous of Nina, right?”
“…”
“Nina has been duly elected, and besides, Nina herself has worked very hard in her role. So will you please acknowledge her?”
“…I…I wasn’t after Nina for that!”
“What? Then why on earth?”
“I… I still think that “Celestial Maiden” was definitely supposed to be Cecilia-sama! That’s why I’m still not convinced that Nina had been chosen!”
“…”
“And… more than anything else, I was just so jealous of… what Lady Cecilia had done for her at that ceremony…”
Lateia-sama bit her lip in frustration as she said that and turned her face away from me.
……Well, could it be…….could it be……that I’m the cause? Hmmm… it’s not quite what I was expecting…
I was so confused in my mind, but I knew I couldn’t do this, so I let out a deep sigh once, got up from my chair and walked over to Lady Lateia.
But Lady Lateia shook her shoulders at the sight of me and gave me a frightened look.
“Cecilia-sama…”
“It’s very nice to know that you have those thoughts for me, Lateia-sama, but…….as expected, I don’t think it’s right to harm Nina for that reason. To be honest, I don’t like Lateia-sama doing that…”
“Huh!”
She was so shocked at my words, that I was heartbroken to see that face, but I still felt that if I didn’t speak to her properly, it would affect her future.
“But I… I consider Lateia-sama to be a dear friend. So… what you’ve done can’t be helped now, but we can still manage it now, so why don’t you come with me to Nina and apologize?”
I said softly and gently wrapped my hands around Lady Lateia’s both hands and smiled at her.
Then, Lady Lateia looked at me intently and tears streamed from her eyes.
I hugged Lady Lateia and gently stroked her head and back.
“Lady Cecilia, I…”
“You are a very good girl, Lady Lateia, aren’t you? So you can apologize, right?”
“…Yes. I will apologize to Nina!”
Lady Lateia took her face away from me and wiped her tears with her handkerchief before replying with firm intentions.
So Lady Lateia and I went to Nina’s room.
As soon as I entered Nina’s room, I asked all the maidservants who were looking after her to leave me, Lady Lateia and Nina alone.
Nina, as you might expect, was anxious to know what was going on when I suddenly came in with Lady Lateia and dismissed her handmaids further.
I smiled to reassure Nina and took out a pendant I had borrowed from my pocket and handed it to her.
“Nina, I’m sorry I borrowed your precious pendant,”
“No, I thank you. I’ve always believed that Cecilia-sama would take good care of me.”
“Thank you.”
“…So what’s today’s all about? …and Lady Lateia is with you…”
That said, Nina seemed to be puzzled when she saw Lateia-sama, who had been down from earlier.
I gently rubbed her back to support her.
Then Lateia-sama looked up with a determined expression on her face, stepped out and approached Nina.
“Nina!”
“Yes!”
When Nina replied with surprise at the loud voice of Lady Lateia’s voice, Lady Lateia bowed her head deeply in front of her.
“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
Nina, who did not expect to be apologized to by Lateia, stared at her with a surprised voice, and Lateia raised her head vigorously and apologized with a serious expression.
“The numerous harassments and verbal abuse I’ve been doing to you… I know I can’t take it back now, but… I’m truly sorry.”
“Lady Lateia-sama… I’d like to ask you a few questions… Was it because I was a commoner and chosen to be the ‘Celestial Maiden’ that Lady Lateia disliked me?”
“I don’t think it’s any surprise that a commoner was chosen as ‘Celestial Maiden’.”
“Then why?”
“It’s because I wasn’t convinced that Cecilia-sama hadn’t been chosen as the Celestial Maiden.”
“What?”
“Moreover… you were saved by Lady Cecilia at the ceremony, weren’t you? And I was so jealous and frustrated by that!”
“…”
Nina blinked her eyes with an expression of surprise at Lateia-sama’s words.
I quietly lined up beside Lateia-sama and bowed my head towards Nina, looking apologetic.
“Nina… I’m sorry. I’ve talked to Lateia-sama and it seems that I was the cause of the problem. So I would like to apologize with you. I’m really sorry.”
“What!? Lady Cecilia! Please lift your head!”
“Yes! It’s because of my selfishness! There’s no need for Lady Cecilia to bow!”
I was forced to raise my head by the two people who were upset when they saw that.
While I was baffled by them, Nina turned to Lateia-sama and laughed softly.
“I understand how you feel, Lateia-sama. You even apologized properly, and I no longer feel anything against you.”
“Nina…”
“And… and… if I were in Lady Lateia’s shoes, maybe I would have done the same thing, and…”
“What?…maybe Nina too?”
“I…Yes.”
Nina, who understood the meaning of Lateia-sama’s question, nodded softly, her cheeks stained with embarrassment as she asked Nina about it.
…What on earth did the two of them communicate about?
As I was puzzled by their behavior, Lateia-sama gingerly pulled her face closer to Nina and spoke to her with a serious expression.
“Hey, me too…I’m working to support Cecilia-sama’s happiness, but…”
“Oh! That would be very nice!”
“By the way…what do you think of Lady Cecilia’s engagement to Prince Kaiser?”
“…if this is not what Lady Cecilia wants, then I’m definitely opposed to it!”
“So am I!”
They began to talk about something incomprehensible, looked at each other intently and, at the same time, held out their right hands and shook each other’s hands firmly.
“I’m sure you and I will have a very good relationship!”
“Me too! I’d love to have you as a friend!”
“Yes, of course it’s fine!’
And so, right before my eyes, the two of them went from making up to being friends in a matter of seconds.
…I’m terribly happy that the two of them have become friends, but…what is it? Like a very strong bond was formed in a part of the world I don’t understand?
I was puzzled as I stared at the two of them as they began to talk in a friendly manner.
After that, I began to see Nina and Lady Lateia talking together, but at the same time, I had also seen Nina talking alone with each of capture targets.
When I found them, I immediately left the place, saying I didn’t want to interrupt them, so I didn’t know what kind of conversation they were having, but from what I saw, they seemed to be having a great time.
However, I didn’t see her with any one particular person, so I had no idea who Nina was choosing at the moment.
Hmmm… If possible, it would be helpful to know who she’s trying to enter the route with! That way I could act as much as possible to avoid contact with that target…
So I had asked Nina about it, but for some reason, all I heard was my name and not the name of my love interest.
Even so, it hasn’t been long since she met the capture targets, so I decided to wait and see if she could find someone she was interested in as time went on.
***
One day, I was called by my father to a conference room in the castle.
When I entered the room, I found a group of people I knew were waiting there.
“Huh? Has everyone else been summoned by father?”
As I said this, I looked around at the faces of the people in the room in wonder.
Because the people who were there were Kaiser, Ghislan, Viktor, Prince Leon, Prince Alfeld, and even Lady Lateia and Nina.
But even everyone seemed to be confused, looking at each other, not knowing why they had come to gather here.
Then the door to the room opened again and my father and the first priest I had seen at the ordination ceremony came in together.
“I see you are all together.”
Then my father looked around at us and smiled.
“Lord Reinhardt, what is this gathering all about?”
“Prince Kaiser, I will explain it to you now. Now, priest, I would like to thank you.”
“Yes. Well, the reason I asked you to come all the way out here is because we had to make some decisions beforehand about the ‘Unveiling Parade’ event we’re planning to hold in a week’s time.”
“…Oh, I’m sure there’s an event like that on the schedule for the next few days.”
The priest’s words were answered by Kaiser, remembering something.
“Yes. And in the archives of the Celestial Maiden, which have been kept in the temple for generations, it is written that the first event to be held is a parade to unveil the Celestial Maiden to the people.”
“What? Is this my unveiling parade!?”
“Yes. This is an important event, and I would appreciate your support.”
“…Yes. I’m very embarrassed, but I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you. But please be assured that you won’t be the only one there, Lady Nina.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Nina had a strange look on her face as she didn’t understand the meaning of what the priest had said, and the priest looked around at us with a smile on his face.
“I’m sure all the people here are good friends of Nina,” he said. “That’s why we’d like you to choose one of them to be your partner for the unveiling parade.”
“What?”
Nina looked around at us in amazement as she let out such a surprised voice.
…Whoa! Hey, isn’t this a game event scene? As I recall, a lot of events happen afterwards with the person you chose here, so this was practically like a route decision! Come on, Nina! Who do you choose!? I will never interfere with your relationship with that person!!!!
I stared at Nina, who had a puzzled and confused expression on her face, and I was thrilled to see that in my mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T/N: Wow, I wonder who Nina will choose -_-
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