Chapter 100 – 29. The End of Technology and Cecilia (2)
Cecilia was excited. And I was happy.
Last week. Cecilia entered the Pantheon with the help of Lucia’s acquaintance, Julian.
It has been well over a year since she left the Demon Palace and came to the world of humans. Cecilia, who also spent most of that time in the ecliptic, knew what the Pantheon was like.
Lucia May. My first human friend. Because she often hears about her pantheon from her.
Cecilia was now with Lucia in her own private workshop provided by her technical community.
“Cecile. Do you feel that good? The corners of her mouth went up a lot.”
Lucia said to Cecilia. She must have been laughing involuntarily.
Cecilia, who lived confined to the royal palace of the demon royalty and even her own room, longed for her pantheon life.
‘But she really never imagined she’d be able to get into the Pantheon.’
The most famous and high-level educational facility in the Holy Ramir Empire. A place where only the best elites in the empire can enter.
Although, of course, if they were children of high-ranking nobles, she could enter through the contribution admission system. Even so, it was said that cadets who lacked skills would find it difficult to obtain a certificate of completion for some courses, let alone graduate.
She couldn’t believe that she had been admitted here. Although Cecilia had a very high status as the princess of the demonic family.
In the human world, his status was rather inferior to that of a human slave. Cecilia even abandoned her identity with her sister and came out to the human world.
‘If it wasn’t for Tricia and Lucia’s help… I would have died right here in the ecliptic.’
There was a precious necklace from a dwarf artisan that allowed her to completely disguise herself as a human. But surviving in the ecliptic is another thing.
Even her own dragon heart, which is ruined by her failed contract with the demon archduke. The price of the purification magic soul stone that was used to prevent the dragon heart from collapsing was unimaginably expensive.
So, Tricia, her own biological sister and an excellent elven elementalist. She has been working day and night in her kitchen to earn money. Just imagining Tricia, an elf of her noble status, working as her kitchen assistant, made Cecilia’s dragon heart break even more.
Not only her, but also her friend Lucia, whom she met when she went to Seoul, worked separately and paid for her own medicine.
She herself was earning money by working at a tobacco shop all day… But she always felt sorry for the two of them.
Moreover, recently, the price of purified hemp stones has increased several times compared to a year ago. So, it seemed that Lucia started working secretly in a dangerous place.
Her older sisters don’t seem to talk about it, though, fearing that she’ll worry about herself. Cecilia had already noticed. So she had no way to console her regret.
But her circumstances have changed. Because this way she got into the Pantheon and she got a chance to make a lot of money.
She must have smiled broadly in spite of herself in that joy. When she didn’t answer, Lucia continued talking.
“By the way, the technical end is great. If only her skills were acknowledged, she would set up a studio like this for a cadet. Besides, she can earn money by selling items made in the workshop. However, she heard that it is rare for a cadet who has just entered school to receive a private workshop. That means Cecil’s crafting skills are excellent, right?”
“Ah… No. Sister Lucia. I haven’t done anything special… But it’s all thanks to Count Yulian’s efforts.”
Count Julian. Julian von Reinhardt. If he was a member of the demon royal family, he couldn’t help but know the name of the Reinhardt family.
During the Great War, the two Reinhardts taught the demons the greatest fear. Marquis Wilhelm and Saint Agnes. And those two were the only humans who were in awe not only of the demons, but also of the demon kings.
The only grandson and real son of the two is Count Julian.
And at the mention of Count Julian, Lucia’s face widened.
“Yes. Cecil. Count Julian said he would help, but I never imagined that admission would go on like this.”
It was as Lucia said. Two days after meeting Julian for the first time at a tobacco shop. Soon after, his coachman came and took him to the Pantheon.
Cecilia was very embarrassed, but the maid who came with her coachman kindly told her about the admission process and interview.
‘He was a very pretty person. Are all the high-ranking nobles’ maids that pretty?’
A maid with short black hair. She probably said her name was Ei-Lin. She was a person with a cold expression as much as her beautiful appearance.
But her attitude towards herself was very kind, and she was really quick to get things done. Ai Lin gave Cecilia a very clear explanation of her interview process.
‘She was a quiet but kind person.’
And a quick interview. Cecilia didn’t have a conceited personality, but she did, but she wasn’t unexpectedly difficult.
Even before Dragon Heart collapsed, Cecilia was weak. So, since she was always alone in her room, she learned her crafting skills from her dwarf relatives as a hobby…
‘Looking at the reaction of the professor who conducted the interview, I guess it wasn’t bad.’
Because she had a long discussion with her professors who were interviewing her about her production skills. It was a very enjoyable time for Cecilia.
Lucia continued her words.
“Though Count Julian’s hard work is a big virtue. Still, I heard that the professors of the technical school are strict. They say that these people are geeks who are very obsessed with researching and studying production technology. So, it was Cecile’s skills that allowed her to be recognized by such professors and even receive a private workshop. She should be proud.”
Lucia looked at herself and praised herself. She then added her words.
“Still, if you ever see Count Julian, you have to say thank you. OK, Cecile? It’s rare for someone with a noble status like the Count to directly step forward.”
“Yeah! Of course it should. Sister Lucia. But can I really get help from such a precious person…”
For a moment there was silence between the two of them. Obviously, the favor Julian had given Cecilia was too great a favor to be given to an acquaintance of the same age.
“Because he even became a guarantor for me and Tricia. He made me a commoner in a place called Harsen…”
Looking at the reaction, it seemed that Lucia didn’t quite understand why Yulian went so far.
From what I heard from Lucia, Yulian was an enterprising person with goodwill toward the demons.
Still, Tricia and her identity have not been revealed yet. It was difficult to see him as simply curious about the demons.
‘But… To some extent I think I know why.’
Cecilia was already past her adulthood at the age of a dragon. She was no fool, having spent more than a hundred years accumulating her old knowledge in her own room.
Among them, of course, was the knowledge of human sex. The romance novels obtained from humans were also in the library of the Demon King’s Palace.
‘Perhaps Lucia and Count Julian are like that.’
It must have been. I don’t know about Julian. The way Lucia looked at the count was really unusual. It was clearly the look of a woman in love.
And perhaps, judging from the distance Lucia showed towards Yulian… They might have already had a physical relationship.
So, he must have done a favor to Cecilia, an acquaintance of that Lucia.
But, on the other hand, Cecilia was heartbroken. It’s been a few days since I came to this Pantheon, but there are a few things I learned.
That Julian was the fiancé of the Third Princess of the Empire. And that last year’s Julian was an idiot who committed unimaginable things. The female student in the studio next door was talkative, so she told me a lot of stories.
‘Then… Is Lucia unnie Count Julian’s lover?’
That’s not even fair. An unwholesome lover secretly meeting her fiancé. Considering the stupid things Yulian had heard from the cadet in the next room, making an affair partner wasn’t particularly strange.
But Cecilia didn’t feel particularly hostile to that fact. Count Julian is the heir to the grand duke, whose status is comparable to that of the royal family.
In the demon society, a man with that high status could have so many wives that it could be called a harem.
No, rather, that harem was the duty of a high-ranking demon to carry on the seed of a demon with low sexual desire and a long lifespan.
‘Because the more wives there are, the higher the chance of pregnancy.’
Of course, since Yulian is a human aristocrat, the standards might be a bit different. So, there was another reason for Cecilia’s heartache.
‘If he’s such a handsome Count… It would be hard for Lucia to see her often.’
He already has a fiancee. And the fiancée said that she was a beautiful princess and even her breasts were large. And the exclusive maid of Julian, whom Cecilia met in person, was a beauty enough to make the eyes of the same woman thrill.
Of course, Lucia unni is also a great beauty. She competes with them, so it won’t be easy to spend quality time with the Count often.
Still, the fact that she has already become Julian’s lover proves that Lucia’s older sister is also full of her charms.
‘Anyway… I’ve never seen such a handsome person before.’
In fact, when Cecilia also saw Yulian for the first time, she was surprisingly thrilled. But it wasn’t just the feeling of falling in love with that face.
A little more… The feeling that her own body and senses are responding. So she was no longer.
Demons, especially dragons, have a different way of falling for the opposite sex than humans. Excluding any external conditions, they search for a mate with the instinctive attraction of the dragon’s strong blood.
‘Still, that Count is human. It must be an illusion. Perhaps my dragon heart is weakened and my senses are confused.’
Thinking like that made me feel a bit sad at the same time. If Yulian was a demon. He could have entered his harem with Lucia.
In the concept of the demon tribe, a harem is a family. Cecilia already thought of Lucia like her real sister. She couldn’t get any more slanted than that.
In the meantime, Lucia, who had been thinking about Cecilia’s words for a long time, answered.
“… After all, Count Julian… Is a person full of aristocratic dignity. And he is a kind and thoughtful man unlike common men. He must have been born first to help Cecilia in her difficult situation. Wait, Cecil? Why?”
At that moment, Lucia seemed to notice that Cecilia was lost in her thoughts.
“No. Sister Lucia. She took a second thought…”
Cecilia shook her head vigorously. The time spent alone in her room was too long. Because she is over a hundred years old. So Cecilia, like now, had a bit of delusion.
Entering Yulian’s harem is absurd. And Cecilia, in that way, had no idea how to appeal herself as a woman.
‘Still, it’s true that when I met that count, he was strangely attracted to me… Why was that…’
Somehow I think I know why.
That day, the narrow and uncomfortable tobacco shop. Bread and soup that were luxurious to them but poor for high-ranking nobles. Even so, Yulian did not lose his kind attitude and sincerity.
It’s kind, but it seems like it’s going to be a will somewhere. It was such a dignified look. I felt like I could see why Lucia was obsessed with it.
Cecilia, who has only her older sister. Maybe that’s why, without realizing it, she always longed for someone like her brother. Yulian was the perfect fit for that ideal.
Rumors of madness must have been distorted. Because a proud person inevitably has many enemies.
‘But what am I thinking… I must have read too many romance novels.’
Well, I’ve been reading close to 100 years and have had delusions about her brother. Cecilia couldn’t help it either. Just as she shook her head vigorously to get rid of the delusion that had resurfaced.
Suddenly the door to the workshop opened.
“Cecilia! A guest must have arrived!”
At that, Cecilia hurriedly looked at her door with her joy. But two unexpected people entered through the open door.
It was the same maid that Julian and I had seen the other day.
