Keith rarely made requests like this though, so I decided to oblige, and as such ended up feeding him in this particular way ever since. Upon hearing my explanation, Mary’s smile became deeper, and more... intense. Hmm? What is this... tension, in the air?
“...Master Keith. Did you not agree that you would not abuse your position of a family member, and keep her all to yourself? You did, did you not?”
“N-No... Nothing of the sort! This is hardly anything special...! It is not as if I would lay my hands on her in any uncouth ways, unlike Prince Jeord!”
“Please do not bring Prince Jeord into this conversation, or use him as a point of reference. He is abnormal! I had thought that you were far too awkward, not even trying to hold hands... a miscalculation on my part.”
“Lady Mary, you know I can hear you despite your muffled whispers. What a thing to say! The height of rudeness, this is! Do you not also abuse the fact that you are a woman? You engage in excessive bodily contact — hugging, touching... is that not true?”
“Oh my. Abuse, Master Keith? How equally rude of you. It is most normal for girls to hug and touch each other, is it not? And then eventually... slowly... even share a bath together...”
“I must disagree, Lady Mary. What you just said cannot possibly be construed as normal.”
“Alas, Master Keith. Does that not say more about you and your perspective instead?”
What’s going on? For some reason, the act of me splitting my food seemed to put quite the fire under these two. They were now locked in an intensely escalating conversation, each sentence more passionate than the last.
I had known that Keith and Jeord got along well... but apparently Keith and Mary did too! The way they spoke without hesitation... I couldn’t see anything but two people who truly empathize with each other.
...Huh?! Could it be? The person whom Keith liked... the reason for him turning down wave after wave of suitors. I had assumed all this time that it was the original protagonist of Fortune Lover, Maria... but. Could it be? Mary?
Mary was very unlike how she had been portrayed in the game. She was hardly interested in Alan... could it be that she had feelings for Keith? A potential love interest and a rival character from another route... this would have been an impossible match-up in the game. The reality before me, however, was one in which the events of Fortune Lover had already ended. The impossible... could very well be possible.
My woman’s intuition is terrifying indeed... I continued looking at the two, still passionately engaged in conversation. Keith had no fiancée... and Mary was the fiancée to the fourth crown prince of the kingdom, Alan. Although the two had yet to be connected, Alan seemed to value Mary greatly. In fact, the way that he had been following Mary around recently... he almost looked like an underling. Hmm. Wait, no. More like a knight protecting his princess.
This was a forbidden love. One that cannot be easily permitted or forgiven. “O Keith, Keith! Wherefore art thou Keith?” “Ah, Mary!” The scenes from a particularly famous romantic tragedy rose up from the depths of my mind... with Keith and Mary as the main cast. Ahh, how sad!
I looked at the two intensely before declaring my intent. “Keith... Mary. Should the time ever come to pass, I will definitely side with you both, don’t you worry! Even if any mistakes are made... I will not allow this to become a romantic tragedy, like Romeo and the rest!”
The two became quiet immediately upon witnessing my passionate gaze. It was as if the intense conversation they were having had never occurred in the first place.
“Big Sister... I don’t quite know what you are thinking in that head of yours — but I am very sure that whatever conclusion you have arrived at, it is most mistaken.”
Eh? I was wrong? B-But my woman’s intuition...
“I would have to agree as well, Lady Katarina. I vehemently reject such a conclusion,” Mary said in a firm, yet calm voice.
But... I still hadn’t asked! I could not be sure! Perhaps I should make that inquiry, just to be safe...
“...Um. Then... The love between Keith and Mary...?”
“You are most mistaken, Lady Katarina,” The two of them declared, not allowing me to finish my sentence.
...Is that so. For a while after, both Keith and Mary regarded me with seemingly disappointed gazes. Why?
The two of them then asked me who “Romeo” was. I suppose they were itching to know. “A main character in a romantic-tragedy story,” I answered, before leaving the resting venue behind.
After meeting up with my classmates who were touring the exhibits, we continued our journey. This time we headed towards the stage area where plays and performances were taking place. It resembled the school gymnasium in my previous life; a stage would be set up there, and the band or drama club would stage their performances.
Well... in this case, I would say that it was more of a theatre — a certainly well-constructed, respectable building. Sophia was waiting for me there... or at least, she should have been. We arrived just when a performance had ended, and the audience was currently filing away. I looked near the entrances and exits of the stage, but couldn’t find anyone.
Hmm? Is it break-time, perhaps? I decided to ask a first-year nearby about it.
“Ah, Lady Ascart? She had a visitor, I believe? It got a little... out of hand, so she headed to the backstage area...”
A visitor? Out of hand? I hardly understood what the first-year told me, but I supposed all that was left to do was to head behind the stage, and that was what I did.
“Ah, Lady Katarina. I am glad that you have come...” Greeting me was a beautiful girl with hair like strands of white silk and a pair of ruby-red eyes. A close friend of mine on the student council, and the daughter of Count Ascart — Sophia Ascart.
Standing behind her was none other than her elder brother, Nicol Ascart... the Alluring Count himself, with his jet-black hair and eyes. I was the only one who referred to him that way, though. As usual, his charm aura was in full bloom, as expected of the Count. Soon, he noticed me.
“It has been a while, Katarina,” he said as that familiar seductive smile crossed his features. While Nicol was usually stoic and expressionless, these occasional smiles of his were deadly weapons indeed — such was the extent of his charm. In these past few years, the power of his smile had only increased exponentially. Even a long-time friend of Nicol’s such as myself could not help but blush in response.
“...A-Ah. Yes. A while indeed, Master Nicol.” I mustered up all of the Nicol Resistance I had within myself, and somehow managed to respond somewhat normally.
Perhaps it was because I hadn’t seen Nicol for quite some time, but it was almost like he was... sparkling. No matter how long I had known him, a single lapse in my attention was enough for my mind to completely blank out... but that was that. More importantly...
“Why are you hiding in the backstage area, Sophia? Given that both of you are here, wouldn’t you get a sizable crowd if you stood at the front instead?”
Come to think of it, Jeord had even said that was the whole point. The members of the student council were each positioned at their respective spots precisely because they were popular and they’d attract people to those particular locations. In other words... the members of the student council were like mascots — no, beacons in charge of attracting students to their areas.
Given that it wasn’t even break time, it was a waste for them both to hide in the back like this. After all, the Ascart siblings were both impossibly beautiful. They were almost like living dolls. Nicol, in particular, seemed to appeal to both men and women — the Alluring Count and his undiscriminating aura of oppressive charm.
Although Nicol had graduated last year, and as such was no longer a student of the Academy of Magic, he was still an ex-council member, and I assumed that he was here to help with the event. I posed my question to Sophia, and she responded with a somewhat troubled expression.
“In truth... I had assumed that many students wou
ld come to this venue if Big Brother stood at the entrance, too... and so I had him stand there...”
Ah, so it’s already been done. Eh? Then why are they here right now? “Well then... why hide in the backstage area now?”
“You see, Lady Katarina... it was indeed true, many students were attracted to our allocated area, but... they became much like how all of you are right now.”
I followed Sophia’s gaze to my other classmates, who were currently rooted to the ground and staring at Nicol fixedly, their faces beet red. M-My friends...
“And everyone... would only continue looking at Big Brother. To the point where... the performers were upset! No one was paying any attention to them. And so we were t-told... to go somewhere where no one would see us...” Sophia said, her sad gaze locking onto mine.
...I see. I suppose there was no choice... After all, if they stayed out there, they’d just draw attention away from the actual event. It was impossible to tell the Alluring Count not to stand out. His very presence filled the air around him with glamorous, radiant sparkles.
I placed a hand on Sophia’s sadly slumped shoulders and gave her a few good pats. “Come now, Sophia! I brought you a little something from the stands. I’m sure this delectable morsel will cheer you right up!”
“Thank you very much, Lady Katarina...” Sophia said, a faint smile on her lips. As expected of the sister of the Alluring Count... even a woman such as myself felt my heart skip a beat.
I handed Sophia and Nicol a fluffy chocolate pastry of sorts — it was something between bread and cake in terms of consistency. Surely their hunger would be sated by this tasty treat.
“Come to think of it... Lady Katarina... you ended up not participating in the student council play...” Sophia said, as if suddenly remembering this fact. She spoke as she chomped down, her cheeks puffed out like a little squirrel. She was simply too adorable — before I knew it, I already found myself wanting to rub her rosy cheeks.
Mother and Anne, however, always seemed to snap angrily at me whenever I’d stuffed my cheeks full of snacks. “Don’t stuff your food into your cheeks like that!!” they would say. I wonder what the difference between Sophia and me was?
“Ah, that. Well, I’m not really a member of the council after all, and I don’t really have any talent in acting.” While it was true that I had blended in with the rest of the council for the past year, to the point where even the new first-years thought I was a member... participating in a performance was another thing altogether. I was an outsider for all intents and purposes.
And anyway, the script for the play was much like the story of Cinderella that I had read in my previous life. I hardly had the confidence to play any role in such a glittering, glamorous drama. There weren’t any roles for rocks and trees. Though since I was always in the council chambers I did make it a point to assist my friends behind the scenes — cleaning up tools, helping with props, and whatnot.
“Ah... I had thought that I would be able to see you on stage, Lady Katarina...” Sophia said, her shoulders once again slumping, evidently disappointed.
Even Nicol, who was standing beside her, looked equally disappointed. “...I see. So Katarina will not be performing...” he said, a hint of regret in his voice.
Eh? Why are they so down? Yet even those somewhat-pained expressions of theirs were attractive in their own way. My classmates, who were still standing behind me, now had their eyes unfocused, as if in a daze... You doing okay over there, friends?
Or maybe... Nicol and Sophia were only expressing such sorrow because I was a childhood friend of theirs. To begin with, I was hardly as beautiful and attractive as the other members of the council. I couldn’t imagine the council play requiring someone like me, given that I had the face of a villainess. Instead...
“But wouldn’t it make more sense for you to star in a performance, Master Nicol? After all, you never did anything like that during your school festival. How about starring as a guest character in a short performance?”
While the Alluring Count Nicol Ascart did have his own school festival when he was a first-year, the council was overloaded with work then, and was too busy to put on any kind of performance. That was what a second-year on the council had told me.
As for the work the council was suddenly loaded with... well. From what I was told, it was dealing with everyone who had been charmed by the Count’s Alluring Aura...
“...Sadly, Katarina, I am incapable of acting,” Nicol replied after some thought on the matter.
“...Incapable, Master Nicol?”
“Hmm... I do think so, Lady Katarina... Big Brother would be a little troubled if he had to act.” Sophia was the one to respond to my inquiry. “Although Big Brother is an amazing person... and I may say that as family — he finds it unfortunately... difficult... to control what emotions he shows outwardly... It is quite the flaw...”
“Oh, yeah... That’s right...” Although Nicol’s gamut of emotions had increased recently, from him smiling to even showing expressions of disappointment, said occurrences were hardly planned. Nicol himself was not quite able to smile on command. I had realized this upon enrolling into the academy... while Nicol did portray quite a range of emotions when he was with me and my friends, he was usually back to his stoic self in any other location or setting.
And so, the discussion shifted to urging Nicol to practice his smiling... so that he could smile in other situations as well.
“Well then, Master Nicol. Please try to smile!” I said.
“I will,” Nicol responded, and gave his best. And then, the all-too-familiar alluring smile that I had seen all these years... was nowhere to be found. No matter how much I waited, only a slight twitch at the side of Nicol’s lips graced my eyes.
In the end, I had to resign myself to the fact that Nicol was incapable of smiling on his own volition... or, at the very least, was unable to control his expressions easily. What a shocking development! The omnipotent Nicol’s one and only flaw...
It was then that I realized — wouldn’t it be hard for him, as a noble, to not be able to smile when needed? In Nicol’s case, however, I supposed his stoic expression was more than enough to charm people of all genders, given his Alluring Aura. In this case, I guess it all worked out.
I see... so this is what the gods of the world had in mind for Nicol. In exchange for his alluring aura and charms... he is unable to smile freely. Somehow, I felt very convinced at the validity of this reasoning.
Hmm. With that in mind, I suppose asking Nicol to act would be very difficult indeed. But of course, there’s always the option of playing the role of a rock, or perhaps a tree...
“Ah... but if it is you, Lady Katarina, a smile would surely come across Big Brother’s face...” Sophia said, as if suddenly coming up with a most fabulous idea.
But I disagreed. “In that case, wouldn’t it make more sense for his practice partner to be you, Sophia?”
After all, Nicol loved his little sister very much. He had followed closely behind her ever since they were children. Even after graduating from the academy, he would still visit occasionally, sneakily checking on his sister out of worry. Considering that Sophia was his blood sister, and that she was quite the beautiful young girl, I could easily empathize with Nicol’s tendency to worry about her.
“Alas... I do not have the strength. The only one who can draw out Big Brother’s smile is you alone, Lady Katarina.”
“Ah, no, but then I wouldn’t be able to either—”
“No, that is not true, Lady Katarina!” Sophia insisted. “Ah! How about we have Big Brother say some lines from the play right now? You can be the actress opposite him, Lady Katarina. Surely Big Brother will say these lines with a smile.”
For some reason, Sophia had suddenly cheered up, and declared that she was insufficient for the role. No matter how much I tried to escape from the situation, she simply insisted that I participate, her eyes sparkling with expectation as she told her brother the lines fr
om the play.
Seeing how happy Sophia was, I relented. If it’s to make Sophia that happy, I guess it’s all right, I thought. Nicol did love his sister, and Sophia also admired her brother greatly. I supposed she simply wanted to see her brother finally get a good grasp on acting.
Having me as Nicol’s partner in this exercise was, of course, to keep the gazes of the audience on the Alluring Count himself. All right, then! I shall try my very best to be the partner of the Count, all of the sake of the darling Sophia.
The scene that she had requested of Nicol was one from the climax of the play — the main love scene. To be specific, it was the scene where the prince lovingly strokes the hair of the girl he loves, smiling gently. He would then whisper sweet nothings into her ear and hold her tight.
The only line that the partner actress had in this scene was “Me too, Prince...” Even I, who only had experience playing rocks and trees, wouldn’t have a problem with such a short line. Well then, bring it on! I shall give it my all for Sophia’s sake.
“Okay, please go ahead, Master Nicol!” I said, standing before Nicol and drawing myself up to my full height. I looked a little daunting.
Sophia quickly whispered, “Lady Katarina... psst! The way you are standing...!”
Ah, silly me. I have to stand more like... a princess would. I brought my feet closer together from my previously wide stance.
With all the preparations complete, Nicol slowly approached. I could see traces of nervousness on his face. We weren’t standing on an actual stage, and the only people watching were Sophia and my starstruck classmates. Does Nicol dislike acting this much?
“...Sophia. I...”
“No, Big Brother. You must try. After all, you have already graduated from the academy, and we are at a clear disadvantage! We have to seize the opportunity and approach at this crucial moment!”
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 3 Page 3
