After the Rain, the Ground is Swept Away (3)

The VIP room of the academy. Seraphine’s private reception room.

Across a table sat the golden-haired princess and the pair opposite her.

The couple who visited Seraphine’s VIP room had been engaged in a serious conversation with her, and after various discussions, the Third Princess, wearing a somewhat bitter expression, asked them a question in a somewhat hollow voice.

“…So, Prince Ethan and Miss Lilith, you’re saying you’ll only remain in the student council until this semester ends?”

“That’s correct, Princess Seraphine.”

“I also plan to follow Young Master Ethan’s decision, Princess Seraphine.”

“…I understand. Since both of you seem resolute in your decision, I suppose I can’t hold you back any longer. Everyone has their own priorities, after all.”

“I feel ashamed to have to say this, Princess Seraphine.”

“…No. This is also Prince Ethan and Miss Lilith’s choice. Still, I’m grateful that you’ll handle the audit and administrative duties until the end of this semester.”

Despite her words, Seraphine’s heart was burning black, but she wasn’t foolish enough to let those feelings show.

She simply nodded with the most composed smile she could muster, accepting Ethan and Lilith’s decision.

“Thank you for telling me in advance. It gives me time to find replacements for the student council.”

“…We’ll take our leave now, Your Highness.”

“Yes, Prince Ethan. …And please keep Prince Ethan and Miss Lilith’s departure a secret for now. For the sake of the student council’s atmosphere.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

“May you stay well, Your Highness.”

Watching the two bow and leave her reception room, Seraphine maintained her smile until the very end.

Only after Ethan and Lilith had stepped outside the VIP building did she finally let out the sigh she had been holding back.

“Haaa….”

“Are you alright, Lady Seraphine?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“……”

“…I’d like to say that, but even I must admit this is quite a shock.”

Truthfully, Seraphine had somewhat anticipated this conversation before Ethan even arrived.

She had already noticed that Ethan had been investigating Natalie and Agnes during the winter break.

It wasn’t that Seraphine had been monitoring Ethan’s movements-she had simply become aware of the information as it reached her through his investigations into Natalie and Agnes.

And once she realized the connection, it wasn’t hard to guess what decision Ethan would make.

Thus, Seraphine had prepared words to persuade the two, but Ethan and his personal maid were already too resolute in their stance.

“This was clearly my mistake.”

“Lady Seraphine….”

“I should have been more cautious. I never expected Prince Ethan would be so wary of Hero Kyetmajosyegigot-nim.”

“…It’s not your fault, Lady Seraphine. You only intended to mend the relationship between Prince Ethan-nim and Hero Kyetmajosyegigot-nim at that gathering. It’s just that unexpected events derailed your plans….”

“In other words, it was an overly ambitious plan that could be ruined by such a trivial incident. I appreciate your comfort, but the fact remains that it stemmed from my mistake.”

“……”

Luke couldn’t bring himself to say more as he watched Seraphine stare blankly out the window with a troubled expression.

He instinctively knew that no words of his would bring his mistress comfort-only regret.

“It takes so long to gather things, yet they scatter in an instant.”

“……”

“This must be my punishment for being a villainess. The just price I must pay for trying to use others for my selfish desires.”

“…You are no villainess, Lady Seraphine. Without your grace, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

“No. I keep you by my side because you’re useful to me. I’ve always formed relationships based on mutual benefit, and I thought nothing of ruining minor personal connections if it served my goals.”

“But isn’t your goal ultimately the future that everyone needs?”

“…Perhaps. But not everyone would unconditionally affirm the future I envision. Everyone has one or two things they hold dearer than their own lives.”

With another sigh, Seraphine gazed quietly into space, recalling the events of the recent banquet.

Had the Hero’s true intention in asking her to arrange a meeting with Lilith really been to recruit her into his party?

If that was the goal, why had he specifically targeted her?

While Lilith’s magic was powerful, Agnes was far more skilled in that field.

And compared to Celista, who was always by his side, Lilith’s support magic was somewhat lacking.

The only thing Lilith had that was undeniably superior to those two was her overwhelming physical assets.

Perhaps the Hero had other intentions regarding Lilith….

‘…I can’t seem to organize my thoughts. This doesn’t usually happen.’

For some reason, Seraphine’s mind refused to work properly whenever it came to matters involving the Hero.

Though she felt uneasy about the increasing number of women around him, she also didn’t want to incur his displeasure, so she did her best to accommodate his requests.

Even the hastily arranged gathering this time had been at the Hero’s request-something she wouldn’t have done under normal circumstances.

They say a girl in love becomes a fool.

No matter how capable Seraphine was, she couldn’t help but be blinded by love, and thus, Kyetmajosyegigot’s sudden request had temporarily clouded her judgment.

However, the events at that party hadn’t brought only bad news-hearing about the rift in the Hero’s party had given her a fleeting moment of joy, though that was her secret alone.

‘I know I shouldn’t be happy about this, but….’

First, the recruitment of Lilith, whom she had considered her strongest rival, had fallen through.

Second, Natalie and Agnes had temporarily left the Hero’s party, leaving their relationship awkward-a small joy for Seraphine.

Of course, the now-composed Seraphine would soon work to bring them back into the Hero’s party, but for now, she could at least feel a little happiness knowing she didn’t have to see them as rivals.

‘There’s still time to recover. I can console Natalie for her mistake and bring her back into the Hero’s party, and persuade Agnes as well….’

An awkward relationship could always be mended.

A broken connection could always be repaired.

Seraphine was more confident in her ability to navigate human relationships than anyone else, so she believed she could make up for it by starting over.

‘Given how I manipulate people’s hearts, I’ll probably never make it to heaven even after I die.’

But it didn’t matter. After all, the most important thing to Seraphine was the salvation of this world and all humanity.

…And the second most important thing was winning the heart of the Hero she adored.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

A week had passed since Ethan and I informed Seraphine of our decision to leave the student council.

With the start of the new semester, a fresh wind blew through the academy.

The mostly irrelevant fourth-years had graduated, and new first-year characters connected to the protagonist had begun their enrollment.

Though not as numerous as the current second-years-the “protagonist generation”-this year’s first-years included several characters who could be considered main figures in 『Luminor Academy』.

Spearmanship Department: Barbarian Lilia.

Martial Arts Department: Back Alley Kael.

Pharmacy Department: Kind Trallia.

Technology Department: Inventor Serdic.

Among them, Lilia and Kael were main characters who could later be recruited as the protagonist’s companions, while Trallia and Serdic were more like NPCs.

If forced to prioritize, the latter two were slightly more important than the former.

‘The spearmanship and martial arts departments already have Thomas and Seraphine, but the potion and item-providing NPCs are only Trallia and Serdic.’

In short, it was a matter of substitutability. Serdic was particularly important.

While Trallia’s consumable potions could be obtained from others or NPCs after graduation, some of Serdic’s items were so exceptional that they remained useful even until the endgame.

For a moment, I had worried that the changed future might prevent these four from enrolling, but fortunately, all four made it onto this year’s freshman list.

Just like in the original story, they proudly took their places as the top or second-ranked students in their respective departments.

‘There was a bit of a crisis, but this much is manageable.’

Natalie, who later visited Ethan to apologize, had also begun interacting with the Hero again alongside Thomas, and I had recently run into Seraphine meeting privately with Agnes.

It wouldn’t be long before Kyetmajosyegigot’s scattered party reunited.

Though I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Seraphine, who had been running around dealing with unexpected troubles, it was ultimately her burden to bear.

After all, she wouldn’t have had to go through this if she hadn’t invited the Hero’s party to the student council after-party.

…It was a bit strange that Seraphine had made such an uncharacteristic mistake, but it was too late to look into it now.

‘At least she’s not clinging to me and Ethan-that’s something.’

Whether Seraphine had fully accepted Ethan’s decision to leave the student council or was simply too busy with other priorities to pay attention to us, she showed no particular interest in me or Ethan for now.

There was always the possibility that she might suddenly take an interest in us after seeing a vision of the future, but that wasn’t something I could prevent anyway.

For now, it was better to enjoy the quiet days and the return to ordinary life.

…Though I did feel a little regretful about growing distant from Seraphine, not all memories from last semester were unpleasant.

For every connection that fades, another grows closer.

-Creak.

“……”

The first class of the new semester. The front door of the lecture hall opened, and a red-haired mage quietly entered.

As I absentmindedly stared in her direction, Agnes, who had been glancing around, met my gaze.

After standing still for a moment as if deep in thought, she quietly walked over to my seat.

-Plop.

“……”

“……”

Without a word, Agnes sat down next to me, avoiding eye contact.

An awkward silence lingered, and as I stared at her, wondering what her purpose was,

her slightly flushed face turned toward me as she muttered under her breath.

“…You can call me Agnes.”

“Pardon?”

“…Y-You can call me Agnes. …L-Lilith.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that-could you repeat it, Miss Blaze?”

“…Y-You can call me Agnes!”

“Yes, yes~. So I should call you Agnes, right?”

“Y-You…! You heard me the first time, didn’t you?! Y-You’re really…!!”

…Now that I think about it, she’s kind of cute in her own way.

For a moment, I thought this kind of connection wasn’t so bad after all.