Chapter 164 – 47. Agnes and Riel’s Musical Drama (1)
Cecilia was adjusting to life in the Pantheon.
It is fun to listen to the lectures of the technical community, and I have become close friends. Not only that. After she signed a contract with Aitern Co., The products she made sold like hot cakes.
‘So she can afford her medicine to some extent… It’s less of a nuisance to her older sisters.’
However, unfortunately, the effect of the Purification Magic Spirit Stone is not as good as before. Drugs are often resistant to it, so I couldn’t help it.
And her own body, she knows herself well.
Her rebound from failing to make her pact with the demon archduke was. Even the dragon’s body, which had power beyond humans, could not withstand it.
Anyway, once the dragon heart is broken, even if you have the medicine, you won’t live long.
Still, Cecilia was happy. If only she remained in the Demon Palace. She would have been lonely and waiting for death there, where she was living in confinement.
‘Even if I die… I want to die after experiencing various things like now.’
In that respect, her current life was perfect. With some financial leeway, Pantheon’s life became richer.
In particular, the permanent stage of the art group, Hesos Pavilion. Watching the music play performed there was another pleasure for Cecilia.
Eirin, Yulian’s exclusive maid, whom he has become close with recently. She has also seen her music plays with her a few times.
‘Eirin-sama… And Julian-sama…’
And the moment she thought of him, her heart skipped a beat. The other day, when he visited his studio, she had a strange experience.
His heart was about to explode, and her head was filled with thoughts of Yulian. That’s why she inadvertently called Yulian her older brother.
A violent reaction, as if the blood in the whole body was boiling. It was to the extent that the horns hidden by the dwarves’ magic tools flinched.
So I even thought that it was the aftereffects of Dragon Heart’s collapse, or that there was some kind of poison in the teacup. It was clearly different from the pain.
‘My heart was choking… It felt like it was in pain… It tickled… It was like that.’
Cecilia knew what that feeling was.
Although she felt like experiencing it for the first time. According to the knowledge accumulated over a long period of time in the Demon King’s Palace, that must be the reaction when falling in love.
She had been reading human romance novels for a long time, so she couldn’t have known that.
‘Julian-sama… You are a kind and wonderful person…’
From a human perspective, Cecilia is a commoner, and she is also suffering from an incurable disease.
Even so, she recognizes her hidden talent and supports her. The Grand Duke of the North looks like he jumped out of a romance novel.
Even though it was a dragon, Cecilia, who longed for human life, could fall in love with it.
However, she has a curious point.
‘But I’m not human… No matter how likable I am, there’s no way I’ll get such a physical reaction…’
Dragons love, of course.
However, dragon love is different from human love. He is instinctively aware of the person who is physically and ideally compatible with him. And he is only in heat with that opponent.
However, Count Yulian was clearly a human. That’s also Johnny, who has the lineage of the best family in human society called Reinhardt. It was obviously strange.
‘I’m not a lust dragon…’
There are dragons that create harem for fun even when they are not in heat. He himself was not
‘Or am I humanized since I have been in human society for over a year? And the collapsing dragon heart will also have an effect… That might be it.’
I thought so rationally for a moment, but then I shook my head.
Life that is not too far away. No matter how cold-hearted a dragon may be, I don’t want to think so rationally.
If your heart goes, you just like that person and embrace it inside.
‘I’m not going to be involved in a romantic relationship with that person… But. Still, it’s freedom to like inside.’
I didn’t even have the desire to openly court. So, the imperial sword entrusted to Yulian was also engraved with a special rune called ‘will’.
The word “Will” Also includes the meaning of family and older brother. In other words, he secretly expressed his desire to be with Yulian like that.
‘Unrequited love… Would be okay?’
Also, by human standards, Yulian is a perfect man.
His family descended from the Empire to the Imperial Family. And within the territory of Essenmund, his grandfather reigns with authority close to that of an emperor.
Not only that, but the appearance is also perfect. Dragons have a slightly different standard of beauty than humans.
Judging from the reactions around him, it was clear that Yulian was a nobleman with the appearance of something out of a romance novel.
‘Because Lucia unnie… Eirin-sama… And Chloe-san’s eyes when looking at her are different.’
And it must be their bad luck that Yulian is not a demon.
In the culture of the demons, those with strong power can increase their spouses as much as they want.
However, according to the customs of the Holy Empire, even if you can have multiple wives, there seems to be some restrictions. In addition, I heard that Yulian even had a fiancé of high status, the third princess.
Cecilia was close with Lucia and Ei-Lin, so she still wanted to support them. But…
‘Somehow Chloe-san is a bit…’
It’s not that I hate it so much. Still, she didn’t even want to support her relationship with Yulian.
Although he is now his employer, he tried to make a fraudulent contract with a bad contract anyway. I felt like a dark person.
It was then. The sound of the studio door opening was heard. It seemed that a guest had arrived.
“Welcome! This is Cecilia’s workshop Ah…”
She shouted vigorously, but her breathing was rapid, and her words slacked off a bit. However, the guest who came in didn’t care at all and came up to say hello.
“Hello. Miss Cecilia!”
The silver-haired young lady spread her fan wide and greeted her with an arrogant tone. The visitor was Chloe.
***
Cecilia said in surprise.
“Agnes-sama and Riel’s… Tickets for the premiere of a music play?”
And a little while ago. A suggestion came in that made me feel sorry for thinking badly of Chloe.
“Of course. Miss Cecilia. This is a ticket to the premiere of the music play that has become a hot topic among Pantheon students these days. I came to give this to Cecilia.”
Chloe put the ticket on the table in her parlor. Because the symbol of the god of art, Hesos, is drawn. It was obviously genuine.
“This precious thing… Are you really giving it to me?”
The Hessos Hall of the Art Order. There is a permanent performance hall. A place that is open to not only the students of the Pantheon, but also the general subjects of the zodiac.
For cadets of the Pantheon, concerts and theater performances are provided at a relatively low price as part of student welfare.
‘But the premiere of a music play is different!’
The most popular performance in Hwangdo is by far the music play.
Before the great war broke out. A genre established by the minstrel Riel, a performance full of spectacle that combines theater and music performances.
The premiere of the performance was particularly meaningful. It was not just the first performance of a play.
A new art offering to Hessus, the god of art. Because it contains the meaning of such proof of faith.
Also Cardinal Grius, the real power of the zodiac. Since he and the Central Order took power, the culture and arts of the imperial kingdom were also subject to considerable censorship.
The premiere, which was private, didn’t matter. The show after that was a different story.
‘Because a public performance is very different from the premiere.’
For this reason, the premiere is not open to the public, but, in principle, only to those involved in the troupe belonging to the art group.
However, there are cases where even a small number of acquaintances of the related person are allowed with extreme exceptions.
In a word, it means that you need to have a network to see it. There are people who want to get tickets for popular premieres even at a higher price. Of course, it is not easily obtainable.
In particular, if it is a special music play like this one, its value has skyrocketed.
“Of course, the biggest supporter of the theater company is Aitern Sangsang. So I was able to save it. Especially the premiere of this music play. It’s becoming a really hot topic. A music drama about the love story between the saintess Agnes and the minstrel Riel! Isn’t it interesting just thinking about it?”
Chloe was right. She briefly talked about the background of the musical play.
Great Saint Agnes, who will be recorded in history. Such a saintess fell in love with a bard of unknown origin, and even gave birth to his child.
However, the Reinhardt family has a precious lineage. And the only son of Agnes. The child was recognized as a descendant of the Reinhard family. Of course, it was Yulian’s story.
“But Riel, the bard, is on the verge of a great war. She disappeared somewhere and has been missing until now. Rumor has it… That Archduke Wilhelm, enraged at the rogue bard who impregnated her daughter, had him assassinated. In any case, he is indeed a mysterious figure. Griel.”
Again the story went back to the music play. This music play is an actor and musician who worked in the same theater company as Riel at the time. He said it was based on their testimony.
“I… Chloe-sama. I have already heard about it and know it. The fact that the tickets for the premiere of this music play are very precious… Are you really giving me those things… Without any conditions?”
Even as she spoke, Cecilia gently pulled her ticket to herself.
No matter how you look at it, it’s a questionable proposal. I couldn’t possibly turn down this ticket.
‘Agnes and Riel… They’re Yulian-sama’s parents.’
My favorite music play. In addition, Cecilia’s mind is full of Julian these days. It’s about Julian’s parents.
‘If it’s a premiere without censorship… I might have a conversation with Julian-sama based on that content.’
It may be possible to create a distance that will be a little more intimate, rather than a simple sponsorship relationship.
The devil’s temptation… Even if it was an angel’s temptation, Cecilia was able to accept it at that moment.
“Of course not. It’s a condition Hmm. Okay. The profits that Cecilia-san has recently earned for our Aitern Co. Are amazing. It is given as a gift without any conditions. And I want to give you another gift, not just this ticket!”
Saying that, Chloe secretly invited her to join an organization called the Imperial Capital Engineers Association.
I can’t believe it’s the Marquis’s proposal. Cecilia was already unable to make normal judgments.
‘Because I won’t live long anyway. Even if it’s a strange proposal… I’ll just accept it and leave the world…’
As soon as he held her ticket in his hand, he was about to nod her head.
Another guest entered the studio. Unexpectedly, it was Count Julian.
***
“Hmm. You mean that?”
I was sitting cross-legged at the parlor table. The rest at the table are Cecilia and Chloe.
Listening to the story, I guessed the situation. Apparently, Chloe evaluated Cecilia’s value one step higher.
‘It must have been very disappointing with the last contract.’
Cecilia’s skills were verified by me too. Not only the imperial sword made for me, but also the sword gifted to Lucia was very good.
So, I heard that Cecilia’s weaponry is becoming quite an issue in Pantheon right now. I heard that not only the cadets but also outsiders were surprised to see the products Cecilia made.
‘Are you planning on tying Cecilia up under a new pretext?’
Alliance of Imperial Engineers. At first glance, it was a so-called guild that famous technicians of the ecliptic joined.
“It’s a place that ordinary technicians can’t enter even if they want to. Since it’s Cecilia, and since she’s related to Count Julian, I’m making a special offer.”
But because it was Chloe, I couldn’t believe it. I’m sure that guild is also influenced by the Aitern Company.
It means that if you join there, you can’t escape Chloe’s touch in any way.
‘It can’t be like that.’
I sneakily snatched the ticket Cecilia was holding and handed it to Chloe.
“Oh. The Count doesn’t seem to like seeing Cecilia perform. In fact, I’m always in favor. She doesn’t lose anything if Cecilia doesn’t accept her ticket. But…”
Chloe’s gaze turned to Cecilia. He grabbed her ticket back and waved it in front of Cecilia’s eyes.
Cecilia, a sickly beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair. There was a great regret in her yellow eyes.
She looked at her ticket sadly, with eyes like those of her orphaned baby bird.
“I don’t think it’s Cecilia, is it? As the Count knows. This ticket is not for sale no matter how much money you have.”
Riel, the minstrel, is praised as an apostle of Hessos by the people of the arts and the artists of the zodiac.
So, the uncensored pure premiere went beyond an ordinary proof of faith and was a performance dedicated to Griel.
“Even Her Highness Lillia can’t get it blindly. Based on her long-term trust with the troupe, we only received one.”
Giving such an expensive ticket as bait. It seems that she intends to pamper Cecilia quite a bit.
Perhaps he thought of Cecilia as a move to secure her position as the successor of Aitern Firm.
I stopped Cecilia from reaching her hand again to the ticket Chloe was waving.
Cecilia’s golden eyes were about to moisten again with great regret. I took out the same ticket Chloe held out from her chest.
