Fortunately, Marie didn’t hear Cecily’s whisper, but that didn’t make the situation any better. Cecily now wrapped her arms around mine, leaning her head on my shoulder as if she wouldn’t hide it anymore.
It may seem like a heartwarming and sweet scene, but the problem is that I have a girlfriend, who is sitting right next to me. No matter how much Cecily may like me, I must deal with this firmly. It is not only a matter of disappointing Marie, but also a matter of basic manners.
“Noona, I’m sorry, but could you please let go?”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Don’t you think you might make me dislike you?”
“… …”
Cecily belatedly realized her mistake in the face of my firm remark and trembled. Then, she looked at Marie sitting next to me with a subtle expression.
Marie clung to my arm tightly, growling like a cat as if she would fight anyone who tries to take me away. Of course, it is a figurative expression, but she was clearly showing her annoyance.
To her, charming and attractive Cecily, who was trying to steal her boyfriend, would look like a demanding fox. Especially if she is more attractive and charming than herself, she would feel insecure.
‘However, surprisingly, she doesn’t say anything.’
“If I had been there, I would have shouted at Cecily immediately. “What the hell are you doing?” I would have yelled, my eyes glaring. However, now she is just on high alert with her fur standing on end.
Perhaps there has been a psychological change from the conversation they had earlier that day. As soon as I released the arm that Cecily was holding onto, I immediately began to stroke Marie’s head gently.
It was a sign that no matter how much Cecily tempted me, I was her boyfriend and I would never disappoint her.
“…I’ll let it go this time.”
When I started to pet Marie, she looked straight at my face, then quickly looked away and muttered quietly. Her lips puckered in jealousy, and even in the dark of night, I could see her cheeks had turned slightly red.
How can jealousy be so adorable? I couldn’t hide my upward-turned lips and softly chuckled so that only Marie could hear me.
“If you can’t believe me, do you want me to kiss you?”
“…You’re a pervert. You’re really a red pervert.”
I’m not sure what a red pervert means, but it’s probably because of my hair. I pinched Marie’s cheek like a glutinous rice cake and checked Cecily’s reaction.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have scowled at me, but Cecily had a curious expression. As if she were observing the two of us, she had wide-open eyes and showed a deep interest.
What the hell is she thinking? Without turning my gaze away, I asked Cecily.
“Noona?”
“Yeah?”
“What are you thinking?”
Upon hearing my question, Cecily blinked a few times and turned her head towards Marie, who was still trying to calm down her flushed cheeks.
After a moment, Cecily looked back at me and gave a sly smile before speaking.
“I was just curious if I could feel the same emotions that Marie is experiencing right now.”
“…”
“Judging by Marie’s reaction, she must be feeling good…”
“Cough.”
It was a typical response from her. I coughed to hide my embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Marie had regained her composure and stood up straight while fanning herself with her hand. There was still a faint blush on her cheeks.
“So, how is the performance going to proceed?”
Marie asked, changing the subject.
I looked at her once and then turned my gaze towards the performance area (which was just a plain field).
“First, the Lirus Orchestra will perform, and then the Matrics Troupe will stage a play.”
“What about the duration of the performance?”
“It will be about three hours in total. The Lirus Orchestra will play for about 30 to 40 minutes, and then the Matrics Troupe will perform their play for the remaining time.”
“Is it okay without rehearsal? As far as I know, I heard that rehearsals are essential for this kind of performance.”
Cecily, who had been listening quietly, asked with a slight hint of concern. As she said, rehearsals are essential for such large-scale performances. You need to know how loud the sound is going to be beforehand so that you can adjust it properly, and in the case of a drama, lighting is also very important. You need to illuminate the characters brightly so that every gesture can be seen in detail, so it’s a natural setting.
However, the exhibition was decided almost overnight, and both the orchestra and the drama group arrived on the day before the performance. Even if they are the best groups in the world, if they cannot rehearse, the significance of the event can be greatly diminished.
“That’s true. However, according to what I heard from the Lirus Orchestra, they said they have rehearsed enough, so it should be okay.”
“Well, that’s a relief, but…”
“Have you ever listened to the Lirus Orchestra’s performance, noona?”
I was talking to Cecily, who seemed somewhat uneasy, when a question suddenly came to mind. She is a demon and has hardly ever left Helium until the publication of Xenon’s Biography. I have not heard any news that the Lirus Orchestra or Matrics drama group have entered Helium. After all, Helium has been designated as a country that prohibits entry until now, so even if they want to enter, they cannot.
So, it means that Cecily has no contact with the two groups, but she seemed to have a deep understanding of art from her words.
“That’s not it. However, there are orchestras even within Helium, so I have some common sense. I also know that the Lirus orchestra is the best orchestra in the world.”
“But why are you worried?”
“Just in case they can’t perform to their full potential. The music Lirus orchestra will play from now on is Sakran’s life. Sakran’s life revealed the fragments of the life of our demon race.”
It seems that Cecily is worried about something. The content of the music that the Lirus orchestra will perform is the life of Sakran. In Xenon’s Biography, Sakran’s tragic yet sublime fate as a demon was portrayed in a fragmented way, leaving a lasting impression on readers as he ultimately ended his life not as a demon, but as a human being.
In other words, it represents the life of a demon. Cecily is worried that the Lirus orchestra may not properly express the content.
“I think I know what my sister is worried about. But don’t worry too much. We’re not trying to infer the meaning from the music. We already know the content and we’ll listen to the music in that context.”
“What if they play cheerful music?”
“Well… I don’t think that will happen, but music feels different depending on its content, doesn’t it? You’ll see when you listen.”
Like adding sad music to a funny situation to make it more interesting or putting lively music in contrast to a sad scene to emphasize the tragedy, music has a subtle charm.
Of course, if the Lirus orchestra went crazy and played a march like the Turkish March, the story would be different. But since they are renowned as the best in the world, there is no need to worry too much.
“I think it’s time to get started now…”
On the plain stage, musical instruments that the Lirus orchestra will play are lined up side by side. It has a charming and picturesque feel as if it is harmonized with nature.
Moreover, I don’t know what kind of magic they used in the palace, but I couldn’t hear any noise from outside. Even though the festival was in full swing in the village.
We prepared in a rush, almost squeezing out time, but thanks to Leort and Rina’s hard work, it seems to be going smoothly. Especially, it was a great choice to designate the open field itself as a stage without building any structures, which shows their sense.
“Isaac, look over there.”
“Yeah?”
As people started to gather, Marie poked my arm and pointed in one direction. I turned my head to where she was pointing with her finger.
I saw Rina, Leort, and the Ters royal family sitting side by side. They were not just VIPs but belonged to the VVIP class, so they were in a better position than us to see the stage.
As I quietly watched them emitting various charms, Rina seemed to notice my gaze and looked in our direction. She widened her eyes slightly as if she had spotted us.
I waved my hand silently as soon as Rina saw us. Rina also greeted us by nodding her head slightly after grinning at Leort and the Ters royal family sitting next to her.
‘It’s not an easy position to be in.’
At first glance, the princess may seem to have the power to wield at her will, but if you look closely, you can see that it is not the case. What’s the point of having that power if you can’t even use it properly? Above all, in such a position, you have to wear a mask and act cautiously.
As I said before, I prefer someone who shows their true intentions from the beginning rather than someone who wears a mask to understand the other’s intentions. That’s why I became friends with Marie.
“Hmm…”
I guess I was thinking about Marie. I stared at Marie, who was sitting next to me.
She looked startled when I stared at her intently and asked me in a hesitant voice.
“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Marie.”
“Yeah?”
“I just wanted to call you.”
“…What, seriously.”
Marie grumbled with a frustrated expression at my meaningless words. I smiled softly and held her hand without saying anything.
Marie also held my hand gently, as if it had become a familiar feeling. The soft and fluffy touch of her hand warmed my heart.
‘But what happened between Rina and Marie to cause this kind of distance?’
I had been avoiding asking because I didn’t want to trigger any unnecessary trauma, but if I looked into the future, building a relationship with Rina would be good for me, and it wouldn’t be a bad choice.
If Xenon’s Biography is serialized again, it will become much larger than it is now, and there is a high possibility of pressure from various places. Until then, I will hide my identity, but nothing is forever.
So, there is no avoiding joining hands with authorities like Rina or Cecily. Even if Marie’s family is the Duke of Requilis, they may not have enough influence to interfere in conflicts between countries.
I quietly gazed at the side profile of Marie, who had her eyes fixed on the stage where preparations were in full swing, and spoke up.
“Marie.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you spare some time after the festival? I have something to talk to you about.”
At my request, Marie blinked her blue eyes and asked me in turn.
“That’s fine, but where are we going? Are we going somewhere again…?”
Marie muttered with a gloomy expression before punching my arm with her fist. I looked around nervously and caught Cecily’s eye. Fortunately, Cecily was too busy watching the band prepare and didn’t pay any attention to us. In fact, the orchestra was playing a simple tune to tune their instruments, so it was a good distraction.
Feeling relieved, I leaned in close to Marie’s ear and whispered softly.
“It’s not that, there’s something I want to talk to you about separately. It’s important.”
“Really? Where are we going?”
I thought about where to go in response to her question, but without thinking, I blurted out.
“Do you want to come to my bedroom? We can have a cup of coffee and talk for a bit.”
“… …”
“It’s something that’s deeply related to you.”
“… …”
As soon as I spoke, Marie’s reaction was a bit strange. At first, she blinked her eyes as if she didn’t fully understand the situation, but soon her face turned red from her neck up.
Despite her blank expression, her skin turning red made it feel like something was broken somewhere. However, I was puzzled as to why she was reacting like this in the first place.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Marie let out a deep sigh and covered her face with both hands. Her ears, peeking shyly through her white hair, were as red as her face.
“Seriously…you’re driving me crazy…”
“Marie?”
“The bedrooms in this mansion are soundproofed by default…why would you say something like that…and on top of that, bringing coffee in the middle of the night…you didn’t seem to know last time during the escort either…what am I going to do?”
She was mumbling so much with her face covered by her hands that I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. But it was clear that I had made a mistake.
I thought it wouldn’t matter if I called her to the bedroom anyway, since both of our parents were here. That was why Cecily had come to my bedroom.
I grabbed Marie’s shoulders and called her name repeatedly, but she shook me off and quickly went to wash her face.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for waiting so long. The performance of the Lirus Orchestra will begin shortly, so please take your seats!”
As I called out to Marie, a booming voice from the stage stimulated my ears. It was as if they were using a microphone with a booming, resonating sound.
As I turned my head forward, a middle-aged man dressed neatly for the occasion stood confidently at the center of the stage. It was Lirus, the leader of the Lirus Orchestra I had seen earlier that morning. I fixed my gaze towards the stage, anticipating the long-awaited performance to finally begin. Meanwhile, Marie was softly humming beside me.
“…Should we just pretend that we don’t know and leave?”
“Marie.”
“Hmm. Alright. It can’t be helped. Umm, I guess we have no choice.”
It was a belated realization, but…
“Isaac.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll accept the ‘invitation.’ Got it?”
What I had said was an exact match to the invitation of “Do you want to eat ramen later?” However, I had never attended any social gatherings and had relatively little experience in human relationships, so my common sense was lacking.
Moreover, drinking coffee at midnight is equivalent to saying that one will not sleep. It is clear that when a man and a woman are alone in a bedroom, and especially if they’re not sleeping… one can understand without being told.
“Got it.”
I absentmindedly nodded my head in response.
Translators note:
Isaac really be like this huh. At least he actually does it instead of running away like a manga mc.
Had a short break but I’m back at it.
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