Chapter 467: The Actress and Their Role are Separate

Hilde isn’t playing any role right now.

Her acting is meant to deceive, but I, watching from beyond the stage, can’t be deceived by her.

Who would take an actor’s words at face value while sitting in the audience?

Still, just because someone is on stage doesn’t mean they’re only acting a part.

“You’re still acting, aren’t you?”

“Acting~? ‘I’ would never.”

“Come on. You call me ‘Father.’ There’s no way that’s sincere. No matter how you spin it, it can’t be true.”

When I was born, Hilde was already wandering the world.

If the parent-child relationship is what I believe it to be, that makes it causally impossible.

Hilde retorted as if protesting.

“This face, this name, this identity! All of it was given to ‘me’ by you! You gave birth to the real ‘me’, so of course you’re ‘my’ father!”

“So you mean the father of a character? That’s… a bit much, but sure, let’s say that. Still, it shows.”

She knew it herself, so she didn’t deny it.

Hilde always puts weight into her ‘I’ when acting, not just in words, but from the heart.

Pierced in the heart, Hilde squinted and murmured.

“Hee. So even ‘my’ acting doesn’t work on Father. Aah, ‘I’ failed~.”

“Failed at what?”

“‘I’ tried to be the kind of girl you’d like. Since you helped ‘me,’ ‘I’ figured I’d adjust myself a little and ask for a few favors.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Hilde shook her head.

“Maybe it’s because ‘I’ didn’t have a clear motif. It’s way harder than playing someone else~.”

“And what were you hoping to gain from getting on my good side?”

“Filial piety, of course! Isn’t it natural for a daughter to want her father’s approval? And… ‘I’ have to bring Father to the Military State.”

“You mean as the king you mentioned before?”

“Yes. The king of the Military State, the current one that Father made and then abandoned.”

Abandoned? I didn’t make her… She awakened on her own and took up the position.

Hilde must’ve read my expression, because she shrugged.

“Sure, Father had Abbey observe everything and decide for herself. Yuel resisted you, but ‘I’, the one doing the grunt work, agreed with you. Still… no matter how capable she is, Abbey can’t do it alone.”

“Captain Abbey’s not alone. She has hundreds of Signallers.”

“Even if she had thousands, it’s the same. Those untarnished girls, modeled after a convent, can’t run a nation. There’s a reason the Sanctum clings to the Empire. Even with the power to control fate, you can’t govern humanity without getting dirty.”

A convent, huh?

Still, Hilde might be underestimating the Signallers.

They even replicated the Saintesses’ foresight to some extent.

Though, granted, the Saintesses themselves aren’t much good at running countries either.

“So in the end, Hilde got what she wanted.”

“Well, that’s because Tyrkanzyaka went off the rails. ‘I’ didn’t succeed in getting your approval though.”

“You already did.”

“…What?”

“If your goal was to flatter me, then you’ve succeeded. I like you, Hilde. And not just because you helped me escape.”

Though that’s a big part of it… but not the only reason.

It’s only natural.

When someone openly tries to win your favor, clings to you, flatters you, it’s hard not to like them.

Flattery is a mutual act.

Even if you know it’s flattery, you still enjoy it.

That effort to impress me is what satisfies me.

Hilde tilted her head, surprised.

“Even knowing it was all an act?”

“So what? Everyone wears masks. They switch them depending on who they’re with. Even I act differently with Azzy than I do with Tyr.”

“But knowing it’s a mask makes it feel hollow. Like how Tyrkanzyaka felt when she found out about you.”

“Maybe. Maybe I’ll be bothered by knowing Hilde doesn’t really revere me, and only sees me as a tool, an asset as King of Humans. But… so what?”

Only a sage who’s meditated for decades or a Mind Reader like me could truly know someone’s authentic self.

And even then, we’d come to the same conclusion.

There’s no point in distinguishing them.

“Does it really matter if we know our ‘true selves’ or what we truly feel? We’re only human. Limited time, limited choices, we act and decide as we go. Whether that behavior was heartfelt or just an act to match the moment… wasn’t it still genuine? You acted sincerely, didn’t you?”

Even after losing her sense of self in repeated roles, Hilde still cherished her performances. Even now, she hadn’t let go of them.

“You say your entire past was one long performance… but doesn’t a performer’s filmography matter? God may not have saved you, but you still use Holy Power. You were exploited by Yuel, but you still care about the Military State. Even if it was acting, you kept those things close to your heart.”

If Hilde hated acting, she wouldn’t keep her old roles neatly preserved in her Spiritual World, ready to be summoned at a moment’s notice.

She loves acting.

So much that it nearly erased her sense of self.

Then fine, live as an embodiment of performance.

I don’t mind.

“You’re okay with me acting, Father?”

“I’m just the audience outside the stage. No matter how real your performance is, I know it’s a performance. I’ll just watch and be moved.”

“An audience…”

What Hilde had sought wasn’t a true self or a life free from acting.

As an actor by nature, what she truly wanted was a spectator, someone to watch her performance and offer judgment.

First, she tried the Sky God.

Then, a Saintess who saw the future.

She poured her heart into performing for them… but the God was just part of the stage, and the Saintess was its architect.

Neither could be her audience.

The next she found was me, the King of Humans.

And fortunately, I could give her what she truly wanted.

“Hee~. That’s something only Father could say.”

Stretching with a long sigh, Hilde closed her eyes.

In her mental stage, she headed backstage to choose a new role, what costume to wear, how to speak and act, how to fit her counterpart.

But I was in the audience.

Watching her performance with full knowledge of her filmography.

I couldn’t be deceived.

Even if I wanted to be.

｢…You’re right. Our meeting happened so abruptly, I didn’t really let go of that version of ‘me.’ That was a misstep. To act something new, I should’ve emptied out the old.｣

She had no choice.

Back then, the Regressor, Tyr, and Ria were all with me.

To walk beside me, Hilde had to act as one of the Six Star Generals.

To step onto my stage, she had to join me as the “Camarilla.”

But now, there’s nothing left.

No Military State, no Regressor, no Tyr.

That stage has long closed.

‘“I” am…’

Hilde repeated it softly to herself, then opened her eyes again.

Her appearance hadn’t changed, but I could tell, she had changed roles.

“Phew… thank goodness. Not even a thousand-year-old vampire would ever imagine there’s a burrow like this underground. And a vampire who doesn’t sleep can’t dream… but either way, this place should be safe for now.”

Amid ever-looming danger, we’d stumbled upon shelter.

We can’t stay forever, but for now, we’re safe.

In this temporary paradise, where departure is already promised, Hilde turned her gaze away from despair.

“It’s getting late, so let’s stay here until we come up with a solid plan, Father.”

In Hilde’s mind, the Military State was now gone.

So was her Holy Power.

The role she now took on was that of a daughter, fleeing with her father from vampires with a sliver of hope in her heart.

It’s absurd, honestly, but I agreed to play along.

As long as we escape the Duchy, it doesn’t matter.

I nodded willingly.

“Let’s do that. The day’s almost over anyway, so let’s get some rest and prepare tomorrow.”

“Okay! Then…”

As if she’d been waiting for the moment, Hilde slipped into my blanket.

It wasn’t a fast motion, but so natural that I didn’t even feel suspicious until I belatedly lifted the cover.

She was already curled up close beside me, peeking her head out.

“Wha—what are you doing? Why are you here?”

Hilde tilted her head innocently, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Um… it’s cold at night, so I thought we’d share body heat…”

“Body heat? You can regulate that however you want!”

Those who’ve mastered Gam Qi Arts can control their bodies as they wish.

Depending on their level, they can endure both heat and cold, resist poisons, it all stems from that Qi Art.

Hilde can change her face and body at will; there’s no way she can’t manage her temperature.

And yet…

｢Father, really… When I was little, we could sleep together just fine… Is it too uncomfortable now that I’ve grown? Keeping warm on a harsh journey like this is important, you know.｣

To ‘Hilde,’ this was truth and sincerity. Because she’s acting.

This crazy method actor.

She’s altered her very beliefs!

Her immersion in the role was so deep that even I didn’t question it until she was already beside me, because Hilde, the one playing it, didn’t question it herself!

Amazing. Truly amazing.

I was impressed anew, and as warmth spread beneath the blanket, my thoughts changed.

Even if Hilde didn’t need it, I definitely did.

Sure, I can sort of use something similar to Inner Qi with the Divine power now… but it’s easier to use Hilde as a heater than to focus.

“Father… Do you hate sleeping next to ‘me’?”

I shook my head.

“It’s not that. You just smell a bit.”

“You dummy! Of course ‘I’ smell—we’ve been walking nonstop for days! ‘I’ was going to wash up tomorrow!”

Pouting, Hilde turned her head away with puffed-up cheeks, but still remained clung to me like glue.

Her body, at least, was being honest.

｢Father really is big… Even though I’ve grown quite a bit, I still feel so small next to him. If only… if only I could stay in Father’s arms like this forever.｣

A daughter with a father complex?

What a ridiculous setup.

What possessed her to go with this deranged character?

｢W-what am I thinking?! He might not be my real father, but… he raised me! Escaping safely should be the priority!｣

What a convoluted premise.