Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Elysia sat collapsed on the ground, weeping, while the Northern Grand Duke and his former fiancée looked down at her.

"You have crossed the line, Grand Duke Walterheim!"

"..."

"To dare do that to Elysia... It seems that witch has completely bewitched you!"

"A witch?"

Viktor tilted his head to one side, his expression one of utter disbelief.

"Who are you calling a witch?"

"I mean Cecilia, the woman you are protecting right now!"

"..."

"Even now, my teeth grind whenever I think of what that woman did to Elysia. If I had been even a little later, Elysia would have...!"

"Baron, I did not do it! Why will you not listen to what I have to say—"

"Silence, witch!"

At Baron's shout, Cecilia flinched.

Damn it. I had only just managed to calm her down, and then this damned crown prince...

Viktor stepped in front of Baron, who looked ready to lunge at Cecilia at any moment.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"My fiancée requires peace and stability. If you intend to cause such vulgar commotion, do it at the Imperial Palace."

"What?"

"Excuse us. Cecilia, let us go."

Making sure Baron's gaze could not reach Cecilia, Viktor shielded her with his body as the two of them left.

"That... insolent...!"

"Baron."

"Elysia!"

Baron held out his hand to Elysia, who was sitting on the ground.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere? What did that mad dog do to you...?"

"I am fine... I am all right."

Elysia opened both arms toward Baron.

"Could you... hold me tight?"

"..."

Face flushed red, Baron gathered Elysia into his arms.

Ah... How irritating.

Elysia smacked her lips as she watched Viktor recede into the distance.

Well... he has to be at least that difficult for conquering him to be fun. I will never hand him over to Cecilia. I am the protagonist of this world.

**

"Your Grace."

"..."

"Your Grace... It hurts."

"Ah."

I turned my head and looked at my hand, tightly gripping Cecilia's.

"I apologize. Are you all right?"

"...Yes."

Cecilia lowered her head. There was no way she could be all right. She had just watched her former fiancé slander her and protect the woman who had stolen her place.

"...You endured well."

"Pardon?"

"You must be angry. You must hate them. Yet you... held yourself back so well."

"...I... I did not do it. Truly."

"I believe you."

"..."

"Because you are not someone who would lie."

Elysia's behavior, and even the broken engagement happening earlier than it had in the novel—everything was different from the story I knew. The Cecilia in this world, the world where I now stood, had done nothing. She was a victim of someone's malice. The Cecilia before me now was no villainess.

She was merely a girl who had tried to offer everything she had to her fiancé.

...He really has no eye for people. How could anyone look at her and call her a witch?

Stroke.

"Y-Your Grace?"

"Ah."

Before I realized it, my hand had moved. I had naturally begun stroking her hair.

"Um... um..."

"I was so proud of you that I did it without thinking."

"..."

"I... apologize."

"Pardon? Why would Your Grace apologize?"

"...I will be going now."

I quickly turned around and headed for the dormitory. But before I went—

"If your dormitory roommate gives you any trouble, you must tell me immediately. All right?"

"..."

"Promise."

When I held out my pinky to Cecilia, she hesitated in surprise before holding out her own pinky, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"Yes. I promise."

"..."

After releasing our pinky promise, Cecilia turned and smiled. I stared blankly at that smile. A beautiful, lovely smile. I thought to myself that I would never forget this moment for the rest of my life.

"Um, Your Grace."

"Yes."

"Do you remember the promise we made this morning?"

"This morning... Ah."

Keeping Cecilia company while she shopped, and our private welcome celebration.

I had completely forgotten.

"I apolog—"

"Please stop apologizing all the time. You remembered it, after all."

"Is that so?"

"Shall we go?"

"Let us."

I began walking beside Cecilia, matching her pace. Cecilia stared at me blankly, then began to chuckle.

"You truly are... kind."

"I am?"

"Yes."

"Let me make this clear: I am not kind to just anyone."

It would be troublesome if she saw me as one of those greasy male leads from romance-fantasy novels, sweet-talking every woman he met. No, I did not want her to see me that way.

Why?

I found myself wondering why I hated the thought of Cecilia misunderstanding me that much.

Right. It is because it would be a problem if Cecilia became stressed because of me. Yes, that is it.

Stress could lead directly to a mana rampage, so it was absolutely not good. Therefore, this was only a natural and obvious thing to do.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"That was our contract, after all, now that I think about it."

"..."

What was this feeling, as though something had dropped heavily into one corner of my chest the moment I heard Cecilia say the word contract?

"Yes. That is our contract."

Cecilia, who had been looking at me, turned her gaze elsewhere. Her hand drifted away. Because that was our contract. Yes, this was that kind of contract.

...The same tiresome contract that was so common in romance-fantasy novels.

So the reason my attention kept being drawn to Cecilia's gaze at another man was because of the contract, too. She was someone I had to protect. Yes, that had to be it.

**

The commercial district was packed with students who had flooded in for the opening of the Academy term.

"Lady Cecilia, are you keeping u—"

"Uuugh..."

Spotting Cecilia being swept away by the crowd, I sighed and held out my hand to her.

"Your Grace..."

"Take it. It would be troublesome if you got lost in this crowd."

"Yes..."

As Cecilia took my hand again, her face turned red.

"...It seems you have not fully recovered yet."

"It seems so. Is it because we were apart for a moment?"

"If you are feeling unwell, tell me right aw—"

"I am fine."

That faint smile left me unable to say another word.

"...If Lady Cecilia says she is fine... then I suppose she is fine."

As we pushed through the crowd, I kept looking back to make sure Cecilia was following. Whenever I turned, I found her gaze on me, and I would quickly turn away to avoid it. After repeating that several times—

"Here we are."

We had arrived at the shop where Cecilia bought medicinal herbs and poisonous plants.

"Then..."

"Ah..."

When I released her hand, Cecilia stared blankly at me with a faintly regretful expression.

"Lady Cecilia?"

"Ah, my apologies. Then..."

As Cecilia opened the door, an elderly woman seated at the shop counter welcomed us with a smile.

"Well, well. Lady Cecilia has come by."

"Nell, have you been well?"

"Hehe, thanks to you, Lady Cecilia, I have been doing well. You bought such a large quantity of herbs recently that I need not worry about money for quite some time."

"I am glad. The medicinal herbs and poisonous plants you sell, Nell, are of such fine quality that they are difficult to compare to those sold anywhere else."

"You flatter me. But then..."

The shopkeeper, Nell, shifted her gaze from Cecilia to me.

"And who might this gentleman be?"

"Ah, this is—"

"Viktor Walterheim, Lady Cecilia's fiancé. I look forward to your patronage."

"Ohh, surely the gentleman Lady Cecilia wrote about in her letter—"

"Aaaah! Nell?! I would like to look at the medicinal herbs and poisonous plants!"

Cecilia flailed both arms and stepped between Nell and me. Nell watched her with a pleased smile.

"Yes, yes, of course. This way, then."

It seemed that Cecilia and this shopkeeper, Nell, were rather close.

...I do not remember a character like her appearing in the novel.

"By the way, Your Grace?"

"Hm?"

Nell, who had been with Cecilia only moments ago, had somehow come to stand beside me.

I did not sense her presence? What in the world...?

"Would you happen to know why the young lady has become so much brighter?"

"Brighter?"

"Yes. Last year, when she enrolled at the Academy, darkness hung over her face every time she came here, and this old woman worried herself sick. But now..."

"She has changed?"

"Yes. So much that all my worries have simply vanished. What a relief. If the young lady's darkness had deepened any further, I do not know what I might have done."

"I see. You are a mage."

"Oh my."

Nell's face, which had belonged to a white-haired old woman only moments before, transformed into that of a young woman.

"As expected of the ruler of the North and head of House Walterheim. You have sharp instincts."

Well, considering where Cecilia's rampage began to accelerate from...

To think she had bitten so readily at the bait I had cast.

"It seems your affection for Cecilia is genuine. However."

I glared at Nell and continued.

"If you ever do anything that could threaten Cecilia again, I will not forgive you."

"My, do you cherish the young lady that much?"

"At the very least, she has the right to be happy. I only wish to protect that right."

"My, my."

"What are you so pleased about?"

"I am simply happy because compared to the young lady's former fiancé, you are as different as heaven and earth."

"Do not compare me to that thoughtless crown prince. It puts me in a foul mood."

"My apologies. Do not worry. I am merely a good mage who wishes to lend the young lady my strength."

Click.

At the sound of Cecilia's footsteps, Nell returned to the counter.

"Would you keep this appearance a secret?"

"As long as you are not a threat to Cecilia, I do not care."

"Hehe. You are a fine man. Ah, what a pity. If only I were a little younger, I might have—"

"Stop there. It is unpleasant."

"Eeh, how cruel. I may look like this, but I still have the heart of a maiden."

Whichever was her true appearance, I had no intention whatsoever of falling for a woman who lived while concealing her identity.

"Though, in Your Grace's heart right now..."

"Nell? I am done with the medicinal herbs and poisonous plants... Hm?"

"Yes? What is it, my lady?"

"Nothing. Just now, Nell was... Hmm."

"Hmm?"

Seeing Nell tilt her head in puzzlement, once more wearing the guise of a white-haired old woman, I could not help but be impressed.

It seems this mage has done this once or twice before.

"Your Grace."

"Yes, Lady Cecilia."

"I have finished buying the medicinal herbs and poisonous plants, but..."

"Is that so?"

"...Um... are you going to return now...?"

"What about the grimoire?"

"Ah, right... I was so absorbed in looking at the medicinal herbs and poisonous plants that I completely forgot."

I understood. It was the sort of thing that often happened when one went to a department store or a general goods shop.

"Then let us go. And we did not come out merely to buy your things, Lady Cecilia."

"Pardon?"

"The celebration for my admission to the Academy. That is right, is it not?"

For a moment, Cecilia looked blankly at me. Then she broke into a radiant smile and walked to my side.

"Yes! I will show you the way, Your Grace."

"I leave myself in your care, Lady Cecilia."

**

Watching Cecilia and Viktor leave through the door, Nell smiled with satisfaction.

"Hoho. To think that Lady Cecilia would wear such an expression."

Whoosh.

Once the door closed and the shop was empty, Nell had returned to her original appearance.

"Her mana paths are tangled, but the fluctuations in her emotions have decreased considerably. There will be no problem even if I do not give her medicine. And with such a dependable big dog guarding her right at her side, even that damned crown prince will tuck his tail between his legs and flee. Still, how remarkable. To see through my identity at once... To think the former grand duke had hidden something like that away."

The many emotions in the eyes of her departing regular customer were no longer colored the black she had seen when Cecilia had first visited the shop, but dozens of different hues.

"I hope you become an excellent mage, my junior."

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