Chapter 84

The next day. The second day of the Spirit Summoning Festival, in the afternoon.

Cecilia, who had taken Aine’s place in the carriage as a token of gratitude for her help yesterday, was walking down the main street with Leen, who had finished her duties. Cecilia was still in her black military uniform, but Leen had already changed into a black dress-like gown.

Leen, holding up her index finger, began to speak proudly.

"The Ash Week is basically a representation of the days when demons ruled, and before it was combined with the Harvest Festival, it was seen as a period of frugality and simplicity once a year."

"Really?"

"Apparently, people used to quit smoking and fast. By cutting off many desires, they would return to the difficult times and then, on that basis, give thanks to the goddess who had given them their current happiness..."

"Hmm."

"After it was combined with the Harvest Festival, things changed. Ash Week is just a formality, and Bright Week is more grand. The nobles have developed a habit of enjoying costumes, like at a masquerade ball."

"Is that so..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hey, you seem to be somewhere else."

"Eh!?"

Leen, who had been confidently holding up her index finger, furrowed her brow in confusion. She leaned in and asked, "Is something wrong?" Cecilia jumped back from her sharp gaze.

"Nothing's wrong!"

"You seemed to be spacing out in the carriage too..."

"Maybe it's just your imagination? Maybe I'm just tired!"

"Really?"

"Really."

Cecilia averted her eyes from Leen’s intense gaze. No matter how close they were as best friends, she couldn't honestly say, "I was thinking about Oscar's confession." It was embarrassing, and it wouldn't be fair to Oscar.

Since then, Cecilia had been thinking about Oscar so much that she couldn't even eat properly. She couldn't sleep at night because of her thoughts, and she often found herself spacing out. However, no matter how much she thought, she still hadn't come up with a proper answer for Oscar.

(I feel bad for Leen worrying, but I need a little more time alone...)

"Did someone confess their love to you?"

Thud. Her head hit a pillar.

When she looked at Leen in disbelief, Leen smiled and folded her arms, saying, "You're so easy to read."

"No, this is! You see, I—!!"

"You admitted it so easily. I thought you'd take more time to think about it."

"Take more time...?"

Cecilia blinked.

"Why did you bring up Gilbert's name?"

"Why? Didn't he finally confess to you?"

"Huh?"

Time and breath seemed to stop.

Cecilia slowly lowered her gaze from Leen to the ground. After a few minutes of being frozen, she looked up at the sky and tilted her head.

"What did you just say?"

"So, Gilbert confessed to you, right?"

"Whaaat!?"

Her loud voice made people around them turn to look, but they quickly lost interest, thinking it was just a lovers' quarrel.

"No, I don't understand. Gilbert confessing!?"

"Oh, it wasn't him?"

"No, no! I was talking about Oscar!"

"Oh, you mean Oscar?"

"You mean Oscar...?"

Cecilia pressed her forehead. The unexpected name was giving her a headache.

"Why did Gilbert come up in a conversation about confessions...?"

"You're really dense, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

"Isn't it obvious? He likes you as a woman, doesn't he?"

When confusion reaches a certain point, the mind goes blank.

Cecilia realized this for the first time.

"Isn't it obvious? People like Jade and Professor Mordred might not have noticed, but I think Dante and Grace definitely did!"

"I don't get it! To Gilbert, I'm just an older sister!"

Lowering her voice so no one else could hear, Cecilia continued desperately.

"But it's just out of duty, right? To Gilbert, you're just an older relative he lives with!"

"Well, that might be true..."

When she put it that way, there was no denying it. After all, Cecilia and Gilbert were in the positions of a future queen and the heir of a powerful noble family. They had both been incredibly busy since childhood, and they didn't have many memories of playing together.

"But, you know..."

"Didn't you feel a little something for Gilbert's words and actions?"

"That's..."

Cecilia looked away. Leen leaned in with a knowing smile.

"You can't deny it. After all, your favorite character in your past life was Gilbert!"

Cecilia's words caught in her throat. Blushing, she reluctantly agreed, "Well, yeah, but—"

"But, I'm different from Leen."

"What's different?"

"Maybe for you, your favorite character was also the one you liked, but for me, it wasn't like that..."

"Wasn't like that?"

Leen looked puzzled.

"Come on, Gilbert was one of the most unfortunate characters in the game, right?"

Due to his tragic childhood, Gilbert appeared as a recluse in the game. He rarely appeared outside his own route and never overcame his trauma, ending up completely unhappy.

"So, I thought it would be nice if he could be happy with Leen. But the real heroine is... like this..."

"Don't say 'like this'!"

Leen glared at her for the rude comment.

"So, you were being kind to Gilbert, trying to make him as happy as possible?"

"I guess so..."

"Is that all?"

"That's all, really."

She pouted and affirmed it, but she wasn't sure if that was all. She found it hard to believe that Gilbert liked her. She thought it was just Leen's misunderstanding.

Leen patted Cecilia's back.

"Well, let's both live our second lives without regrets! We don't know if there will be a third!"

"Leen, I think you're living without regrets a bit too much."

"But if I held back and didn't do what I love, you'd be sad, right?"

As expected of a friend from her past life. Even though she often complained about being dragged around, she would be upset if Leen held back and couldn't do what she loved.

Cecilia smiled wryly and nodded, "Yeah, I guess so." Leen laughed and replied, "I love that about you."

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