Ch.15Festival (5)

“Let go of my hand now.”

At the sound of the blunt voice, I released her hand. Irene narrowed her eyes as she looked around.

Perhaps displeased with being squeezed among so many people, she carefully touched her shoulder where someone had bumped into her earlier. Her voice was much colder than before.

She seemed to be in a decent mood until just now.

What could she have seen to make her expression turn so sour?

“There are too many people.”

“It’s a festival, after all. I expected there would be far more people than usual.”

“It didn’t look this crowded from above. I can barely breathe now. What are we waiting for here?”

“Well, perhaps there’s a traveling troupe?”

I vaguely recalled a scene in the novel where people watched a traveling troupe during the festival.

As I answered, Irene muttered “Traveling troupe…” and turned her gaze toward me.

“I’m not particularly interested in traveling troupes.”

That’s somewhat unexpected. I thought she would be interested in things like this.

The word “traveling troupe” seemed to have extinguished her interest, and she shook her head with that emotionless expression again.

“Let’s go.”

“…As you wish.”

I smiled bitterly at her face, which had grown cold again.

It would have been better if she had been interested in this. What could she possibly like?

When she had free time, she only read a few books, and even those were related to academics or economics.

Unable to easily discern her tastes, a look of dismay crossed my face.

But there was still much to see at the festival, so I shrugged once and approached Irene’s side.

“Is there anything you’d like to see?”

“No, I’ve seen what festivals generally offer before… nothing impressive.”

“I see.”

Surprisingly, I wasn’t that flustered.

From her negative reaction to the traveling troupe, I had already suspected she wouldn’t be interested in the upcoming parade or procession.

However, there was one event I had noticed earlier, though I wasn’t sure if it would capture her interest.

“Perhaps, would you be interested in this event?”

“…Magic?”

“Yes, I thought this might be decent.”

After looking at the flyer I handed her for a moment, Irene nodded willingly and replied.

“Let’s go take a look.”

#

“…Oh dear.”

Perhaps it was my mistake to expect anything from a medieval magic show.

A sigh involuntarily escaped my lips at the ridiculous scene unfolding before my eyes.

Irene’s eyes, which had initially sparkled with curiosity, now held shallow irritation.

When our eyes occasionally met, her cold gaze made me bow my head unconsciously.

How could I have known it would be this bad?

It would have been so much better if he had at least properly produced a dove.

What the self-proclaimed magician showed was, in reality, too embarrassing to even call magic.

He not only fumbled the card shuffle but also dropped the cards he had mixed onto the floor.

Nevertheless, he wiggled his fingers as if something amazing was about to happen—by then, all expectations had already crumbled.

Yes, I’ve failed.

After the magic show ended, Irene didn’t even speak to me.

She just walked silently in front of me, not even asking where Rofena and Sir Chris were.

The air seemed to freeze with each step she took, making me almost mistake the current season for winter.

“…I apologize.”

“……”

“I had no idea my recommendation would be so boring.”

“Did you recommend it without researching it first?”

Every response was filled with thorns, so all I could do was smile bitterly and bow my head.

This wasn’t what I had hoped for.

The Irene who had brightened her eyes at the mention of a festival was nowhere to be found.

Only Irene remained, looking around with an emotionless face as if bored by the situation.

Perhaps she was disappointed? My mouth felt bitter.

Although I had started with good intentions, had I somehow shattered the expectations she held?

The atmosphere around her, now walking alone ahead of me, seemed so chilly that the colors around her appeared to fade.

The once vibrant colors dimmed, transforming into a monotone, dull background.

It might feel like a background dotted only with dark pixels.

The dynamic flow of people gradually subsided, and the bright sky slowly began to darken.

Yet even as time passed, Irene still wouldn’t speak.

Her face was as expressionless as when she was at the duke’s residence, as if she had lost all expectation for the festival.

Like murky paint had been splashed over her, only faint emotions showed on her face, making me frown.

This wasn’t what I wanted. Didn’t I hope for her to enjoy this festival, even a little?

It’s too early to give up. At least not until she’s seen everything this festival has to offer.

“How about that?”

Struggling to brighten my expression, I approached Irene with a cheerful voice.

Though she neither answered nor reacted.

I forced myself to smile.

#

“……”

If I said I hadn’t expected anything from the festival, that would be a lie.

Certainly, when my escort knight asked if I wanted to go to the festival,

even when I saw Yuris’s flags fluttering above the city, my mood had been quite good.

It was an opportunity to experience the Foundation Day Festival that I hadn’t experienced before,

and the festival that everyone talked about seemed quite enjoyable, so I had my expectations.

Honestly, I thought it would bring some vitality to me, who was always buried in paperwork.

But this festival didn’t fulfill any of the expectations I had held.

It was just noisy and gave me a headache. At first, I had some expectations, but soon all I saw were things of embarrassingly low quality.

Even that magic show Evan took me to was nothing more than a scam.

It was probably impossible to restore the expectations that had already vanished.

As high as my expectations had been, my mood plummeted just as quickly.

Perhaps my loss of interest in this festival stemmed from a denial of the emotions rising from a corner of my heart.

Everyone around me was smiling.

Without a care in the world, they were busy laughing and chatting about whatever caught their eye.

Each held a skewer of meat in one hand and a cup filled with alcohol in the other.

It was a modest scene, but they looked happy.

Compared to me, they lived in places that might seem insignificant, yet they appeared genuinely happy and truly enjoying themselves.

When I saw such scenes, I felt as if I were excluded from the world they lived in.

What would they say if they knew that I, who lived in a different world, supposedly seeing only the best things and expected to be happier than anyone, wasn’t happy at all?

They would probably laugh. They would say I was lying, that I was deceiving them.

So I couldn’t be happy. As if the expectations I had briefly held for this festival were a lie, I maintained my usual emotionless expression with coldness in my eyes.

“…I apologize.”

Even though it wasn’t his fault, seeing my escort knight bow his head for my mere whim made my already sunken mood plummet further.

It felt like sinking into a swamp. My vision darkening, my breathing becoming more labored, my eyes squinting.

With my vision capturing only bright things, I felt as if I were trapped in shadows.

My slow footsteps stopped, and I exhaled the breath that had risen to my chin with difficulty.

Wanting to sit down and rest somewhere immediately, I rubbed my furrowed face and looked up.

And I saw those green eyes. That green that always came through the darkness when I was curled up in pitch-black gloom.

That face that would come gently smiling, no matter how harshly I treated him or how much I scolded him.

“How about that?”

“…Evan.”

But this time, his expression wasn’t entirely bright.

Though he was smiling, there was clearly a negative emotion mixed in.

Like a cloud had settled, seeing the faint shadow on his face made my chest uncomfortable.

Because I knew all too well that the darkness was caused by me.

“It’s gotten a bit late, but the festival really begins when it gets dark.”

“……”

I avoided answering. More precisely, I was afraid to meet those eyes.

I no longer wanted to hold the rose in my hand.

Like the princess who swallowed the poisoned apple, like the girl who wore the red shoes that seduced her and met a miserable end.

I didn’t want to experience such regret.

Like stars that rise in the darkened sky and disappear when the sun rises, it would ultimately be just a fleeting emotion.

So I deliberately ignored it. Avoiding that gentle voice that penetrated my ears and echoed in my head, I just moved forward, looking straight ahead.

“They say the skewers here are famous. Are you interested?”

I covered my ears to avoid the buzzing voice. Yet the voice that penetrated through was sweet. Damn it.

“My lady.”

“…Evan.”

“The fireworks will start soon.”

“Evan Fried.”

The words that escaped my lips were colder than ever.

I was already tired. I wished he would just leave me alone now.

The swamp I had fallen into was deep and cold, so I wished he would withdraw the hand he extended to me.

Despite hearing words cold enough to freeze the surrounding air, my escort knight still smiled.

A smile so soft, as if drawn with a brush made of feathers.

“…Just, I wish you would see it once. I brought up the festival hoping you might be a little more comfortable.”

“But you don’t seem to be enjoying it.” That expression, frowning with a bitter smile, lingered in my mind.

My sinking mood wasn’t his fault. It was just my own whim.

“I’ve heard that the Foundation Day Festival’s fireworks are the most famous in the empire. I think seeing them once wouldn’t be bad.”

“……”

Only then did I notice the darkened streets. I saw people looking up at the sky, waiting for something.

And that the sky was much darker than I remembered.

“Is it… night?”

Evan, who had been staring at me intently at that question, shrugged his shoulders and spoke.

“Much time has passed. I suppose after these fireworks, today’s festival will end.”

End, I smirked at that word. I hadn’t enjoyed anything at this festival today.

I had just wandered these streets, lost in my own world.

Not saying anything, not reacting to anything said to me.

Yet Evan was still here.

As if nothing was wrong, without showing any sign of complaint, he was looking up at the sky.

…I just couldn’t.

I couldn’t understand. If it were me, I would have given up and kept my mouth shut long ago.

I couldn’t understand my escort knight who was still talking about watching fireworks.

Yet, why was my gaze constantly drawn to him?

Phew—

I watched the red trajectory flying across the sky.

Various flowers bloomed from colorful fireworks cutting through the dark sky.

The fireworks created by magic were so brilliant that they instantly captivated the attention of those watching.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“……”

The flowers blooming in that pitch-black darkness were truly beautiful.

I thought they seemed to whisper hope to me.

Despite being buried in such negative emotions, they seemed to say that someday I could overcome them.

My gaze, which had been watching the fireworks burning in the sky, turned toward my escort knight.

Perhaps finding the fireworks illuminating that pitch-black sky fascinating,

his face, staring blankly at the sky, somehow looked foolish.

He approaches even when I don’t want to talk and spouts all sorts of things.

He must have known. That I wasn’t listening to what he was saying. Sometimes I would say harsh things, cut him off coldly, and snap at him.

Yet he smiled.

What else could I call such a person but a fool?

He was surely a fool who would always come to me with a smile no matter how harshly I spoke.

“…You’re such a fool.”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind if you didn’t hear.”

After staring at Evan, who asked what I had said, I turned my head and looked back at the sky.

It was a spontaneous remark, so even I didn’t know why I had said such a thing.

However, the sky was no longer dark.

The darkness no longer blurred my eyes or constricted my chest.

As bright light burst forth, my clouded vision began to clear.

Boom—

Eventually, a green firework soared and colored the sky.

That light, brighter and more brilliant than ever, like the sun rising again in this sky, vividly colored the night sky.

And the eyes watching that green curved very slightly, gently.