episode_0189

The guest room of the Academy. Seraphine’s private reception room.

Seated at a table between them, the blonde princess faced two individuals across from her.

The pair of men and women who had visited Seraphine’s guest room were engaged in deep conversation with her.

After several discussions, the third princess, with a slightly melancholic expression, asked the two a question in a somewhat disappointed tone.

“So, Edan and Lirlys will only serve until the end of this semester and then step down from the student council, is that correct?”

“Yes, Princess Seraphine.”

“I, too, will follow Edan’s opinion and act accordingly, Princess Seraphine.”

“…I see. Since both of you seem determined, I can’t hold you back any longer. Everyone has their own priorities, after all.”

“I apologize for speaking so bluntly, Princess Seraphine.”

“…No, this is also Edan and Lirlys’ decision. I am grateful for their willingness to handle the audit and administrative tasks until the end of this semester.”

Despite the words coming out of her mouth, Seraphine’s heart was burning with darkness, but she was not foolish enough to express that feeling outwardly.

She simply nodded in agreement with Edan and Lirlys’ decision, maintaining a casual smile.

“Thank you for letting me know in advance. It will give me time to prepare for the next student council selection.”

“I will take my leave now, Princess.”

“Yes, Edan. …And please keep Edan and Lirlys’ departure a secret for the time being. It’s for the sake of the atmosphere within the student council.”

“Understood, Princess.”

“May you be well, Princess.”

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

Only after seeing Edan and Lirlys leave the building did she finally let out a long-held sigh.

“Sigh….”

“Are you alright, Princess Seraphine?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“….”

“…I want to say that I am fine, but this situation has been quite shocking for me.”

In fact, Seraphine had somewhat anticipated that such a conversation would unfold even before Edan arrived.

During the winter break, Seraphine had also noticed that Edan was investigating Natalie and Agnes, so she couldn’t help but learn about it.

She had not been actively monitoring Edan’s movements, but it was inevitable that she would find out about it as he investigated Natalie and Agnes.

And knowing the connection, it was not difficult to guess what decision Edan would make.

Therefore, Seraphine had prepared words to persuade the two as much as possible, but it was still insufficient to convince Edan and his exclusive maid, who showed a firm resolve.

“This incident was clearly my mistake.”

“Princess Seraphine….”

“I should have acted more cautiously. I never expected Edan to be so wary of the relationship between himself, Natalie, and Agnes.”

“It is not your fault, Princess. After all, you were considering breaking off the relationship between Edan and the two from the beginning. It’s just that the plan went awry due to unforeseen circumstances….”

“In other words, it was an unreasonable plan that could easily be derailed by such a trivial matter. I appreciate your comforting words, but the fact remains that it stemmed from my mistake.”

“….”

Seeing Seraphine staring out the window with a flustered expression, Luke couldn’t bring himself to say anything more.

He could sense that no matter what he said now, it would only leave a sense of regret rather than comfort for his mistress.

“Gathering took a really long time, but dispersing happened in an instant.”

“….”

“I suppose this is all because I am the villainess. I am facing the rightful consequences for trying to use others for my personal desires.”

“No. Lady Seraphine, you are not a villainess. If it weren’t for Lady Seraphine’s grace, I wouldn’t be here either.”

“No. Luke is just someone who helps me, so I keep him by my side. I have always made friends based on mutual benefit, and I believed that it was acceptable to ruin personal relationships for the sake of my goals.”

“But ultimately, Lady Seraphine’s goal is a necessary future for everyone, isn’t it?”

“Well… ‘everyone’ may not necessarily approve of my goal unconditionally. Everyone has one or two things more precious than their own life.”

Letting out another sigh, Seraphine quietly stared into the void, recalling the events of the recent banquet.

Was the hero’s intention to create an opportunity to meet with Lillith really just to invite her to his party?

If that was his goal, what was the reason for specifically targeting her?

While Lillith’s magic was powerful, Agnes was far more competent in that field.

Her auxiliary magic was also somewhat lacking compared to Cerista, who was always by his side.

The only thing that could be said to be overwhelmingly superior about Lillith was her undeniable physical attributes.

Perhaps the hero had a different purpose for Lillith as well…

“…My thoughts are not quite organized. This is not something that usually happens.”

Whenever it came to matters involving the hero, Seraphine’s mind seemed to go blank.

Despite feeling anxious about the increasing number of women around him, she was a princess who didn’t want to be disliked by him, so she tried her best to fulfill his requests. The urgency of creating a space this time was also at the hero’s request, so she had no choice but to do it. The original Seraphine might not have created a space in such a hasty manner.

They say a girl in love becomes a fool.

No matter how competent Seraphine was, she couldn’t help but lose her judgment in front of love.

Ultimately, the hero’s sudden request had temporarily clouded Seraphine’s judgment.

However, the incident at the party didn’t just bring bad news to Seraphine.

Hearing about the dimensional rift incident at the hero’s party brought a moment of joy to her.

“I know I shouldn’t enjoy this kind of thing, but…”

The cancellation of Lillith’s expected entry, which she had thought would be her strongest rival, and the temporary departure of Natalie and Agnes from the hero’s party, creating an awkward relationship, brought some small joy to Seraphine.

Of course, the now composed Seraphine would work to bring them back to the hero’s party, but for now, she could feel a bit of happiness in not having to consider Natalie and Agnes as competitors.

“I can make up for it. If I comfort Natalie’s mistake and bring her back to the hero’s party, and if I persuade Agnes again…”

Awkward relationships can always be mended.

Broken relationships can always be repaired.

As someone who was confident in her ability to foster relationships between people, Seraphine believed that she could make amends if she started over from the beginning.

“I probably won’t be able to go to heaven with the way I manipulate people’s hearts like this.”

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

…The next important thing was to win the heart of the hero she loved.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

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

As the new academic year began, a new wind blew through the academy.

Most of the fourth-year students who had little impact on the main story had graduated, and it was a year when new characters related to the protagonist entered the academy.

Although not as numerous as the current second-year students known as the “protagonist generation,” there were enough characters among this year’s first-year students who could be considered main characters of Luminor Academy.

Spear Arts Department, Barbarian Liria.

Combat Department, Back Alley Cael.

Pharmacy Department, Kind Tralia.

Engineering Department, Inventor Cedric.

Among them, Liria and Cael were main characters who could be recruited as companions to the protagonist in the future, while Tralia and Cedric were characters closer to NPCs.

If we were to prioritize, the latter characters were slightly more important than the former.

“The Spear Arts and Combat Department companion characters each have Thomas and Seraphine, but the NPCs who provide medicine and tools are only Tralia and Cedric.”

In simple terms, it was a difference between having substitutes and not having them. Especially among the two, Cedric was slightly more important.

Tralia’s potions could be obtained from other people or NPCs after graduation, but some of the items Cedric made boasted excellent performance that could last until the ending.

There were moments of anxiety that perhaps these four people might not be able to enter the academy due to a changed future, but ultimately, all four of them safely made it onto the list of new students this year.

They confidently secured the positions of chief or deputy in each department, just as in the original plot.

“There were some crises, but it’s nothing.”

Natalie, who later came to apologize to Ethan separately, also started interacting with Thomas again without any issues, and Seraphine even happened to meet Agnes personally recently.

The scattered members of the Hero Party of Gyeommyeogosyeogi were also soon to reunite.

It wasn’t pitiful to see Seraphine running around tirelessly due to unexpected hardships, but that was something she had to endure.

Even if I didn’t invite the Hero Party to the student council after all, it would have been unnecessary trouble.

“…It was a bit more than just a mistake for Seraphine not to act like herself, but it might be a bit difficult to realize that now.”

“At least it’s fortunate that she doesn’t cling to Ethan and me too closely.”

Whether she fully understood and gave up on her feelings for the student council, or temporarily put aside her interest in Ethan and me to deal with other priorities, in the current situation, Seraphine didn’t show any special interest in us.

It wasn’t impossible that one day she might suddenly show interest in Ethan and me after seeing a future vision, but that was something I couldn’t prevent anyway.

For now, it would be better to enjoy quiet days and return to a normal daily life.

…Although I personally regretted the distance between Seraphine and me, there were not only regrets from the last semester but also the inevitability of some relationships growing closer when others drifted apart.

-Swish.

“….”

The first class of the new semester. A red-haired magician quietly entered the classroom as the front door opened.

Staring blankly in her direction, Agnes, who had been fidgeting, quietly met my gaze.

She, who seemed to be lost in thought, immediately walked over to where I was sitting in silence.

*Thud.*

“….”

“….”

Agnes sat next to me as if it were obvious, not saying a word and avoiding eye contact.

A slightly blushing Agnes turned her face towards me and mumbled.

“…You can call me Agnes.”

“Pardon?”

“…Oh, you can call me Agnes. …L-Lilith.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you please repeat it, Mr. Blaze?”

“…Oh, you can call me Agnes!”

“Yes, yes. So, it’s Miss Agnes, right?”

“M-Mr…! You understood from the beginning, didn’t you?! This is really…!!”

…Looking at her like this, she seems kind of cute in her own way.

At one point, I thought that this kind of connection wasn’t too bad.