Chapter 496: Silent Night, Holy Night (8)
Chapter 496: Silent Night, Holy Night (8)
A girl who resembled my younger sister stepped lightly toward me.
Actually, to be precise, saying she "resembled" her was a bit of a misnomer. After all, the girl before my eyes was also one of my younger sisters.
Ria Percus.
That was the name she had once been called. She was the protagonist of a tragedy who, after being abandoned by her family, had her name and her very life stolen from her.
Of course, I was not free from that sin either.
The girl had done nothing wrong. She had simply been deceived by sweet words promising a cure for her terminal illness, only to become a victim of a foolish decision to never reclaim her.
It was my family’s responsibility.
Therefore, it was my responsibility as well.
The reason my heart ached every time I faced her was likely because my guilt had turned into a blade, accusing me.
Even so, I couldn't bring myself to wear a warm expression.
Heated threats spilled from between my clenched teeth.
"The Academy is not your playground... You must already know that even you won't be able to leave here alive, right?"
It wasn't a bluff.
My words contained nothing but the plain truth.
The Academy was not merely a daycare for the children of high-ranking nobles. It was a cradle for producing talented individuals, staffed by all sorts of luminaries to teach them.
There was Chancellor Delemore, currently considered the most likely candidate for the next 'Master.'
From the legendary Demonic Beast hunter, Professor Derek, to Professor Adriana, known as the 'Witch of the Misty Forest.'
Excluding myself, there were no fewer than three Archmages and High Experts.
No matter if she was one of the Seven Deadly Sins, with four people of such caliber, I was confident we could at least fight her to a standstill. Unless the opponent was an out-of-spec powerhouse like a Master, it was a logical conclusion.
The girl surely knew this as well.
Yet, her expression remained unchanged. Boldly and alluringly, her lips curved into a wicked arc.
"Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, Sir Knight... But please, don't worry too much. I’m not exactly acting without a plan."
With that, the girl tilted her chin slightly, showing me the area around her collarbone.
A small mole was situated there. Just like Ria had.
"For your information, my main body doesn't have a mole here. It's something you'll find out eventually, so carve it into your heart in advance."
I let out a hollow laugh, as if her words weren't even worth a response.
Her tone blatantly revealed her desire to possess me. Saying I would find out eventually—did she expect me to face my own sister in the nude?
Regardless, I did not let down my guard.
Even if she wasn't the main body, there were plenty of ways for her to turn this place into a bloodbath. For instance, she could self-destruct like the test subjects she had shown me before.
It was a catastrophe just to imagine.
I decided, for now, not to provoke her too much.
"How did you get in here? The Academy's security shouldn't be that lax..."
"Did you forget? My DNA is identical to that fake's... Unless someone is a man obsessed with incest like you, Brother, it's only natural they wouldn't notice."
She wasn't wrong.
I clicked my tongue and took my hand off the hilt of my sword. People around us were starting to look at the girl and me with strange eyes.
Not that it made me feel any more at ease.
Before I knew it, the girl was standing right in front of me, reaching out her hand. Making it very obvious that I was reluctant, I took her hand. A cold voice scraped against my vocal cords as it flowed out.
"You certainly have some nerve showing your face here... Have you already forgotten what you've done?"
"Oh, really? On the contrary, I remember quite well what your family did to me... Shall I tell you about it?"
In the end, I was the one who was silenced first.
As I groaned and averted my gaze, the girl giggled, swallowing her laughter. She acted as if she truly enjoyed this time with me.
Then, soft music began to flow.
The men and women gathered in the center of the banquet hall slowly began to move in sync. It meant the climax of the 'Holy Night Festival,' the dance that would continue until midnight, had begun.
There was still time until midnight.
It meant there was plenty of time to talk with the girl.
Reenacting a dance I had learned long ago, I asked in a voice still bristling with thorns.
"......Do you have any idea what happened to Celine because of you?"
I ground my teeth as I threw the question.
Despite that, the girl's voice in response was perfectly nonchalant.
"Aha, Sister Celine? I wonder what happened... She was one of my precious clients, so I suppose I am a bit concerned."
It was a question asked with an innocent face.
She looked as if she had truly just remembered. And then she acted as if she were worried.
I couldn't suppress the surge of emotion rising within me.
"You're the one who made her like that!"
"I didn't do it alone."
With a sly, enchanting smile, the girl spoke in a tone devoid of even a shred of guilt.
"I simply granted Sister Celine's wish. And Sister Celine is merely paying the price."
"After gouging out someone else's wounds? You call that a fair trade...!"
"Ah, enough about some irrelevant supporting character!"
As if she were no longer interested, she cut me off and pressed herself into my arms.
It was a move following the sequence of the dance.
However, the intention behind that deep, alluring smile as she leaned in was surely not pure.
Then, a spin back to our original positions.
"Rather than that, why don't we talk about something more interesting?"
"......What are you up to?"
This was a question I should have asked much earlier.
Every action has a reason. Especially if someone who was one of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Dark Cult went out of their way to infiltrate the heart of enemy territory.
Was she planning to ruin the Holy Night Festival?
That was my first thought, but surprisingly, the girl wasn't making any particular moves. She was simply dancing with me as my partner.
At my blatant suspicion, the girl let out a soft laugh.
"Ahaha! Don't be so wary, Brother. I told you... today is a day for men and women in love to pair up. Isn't it a day for the two of us?"
"I don't particularly love you."
"You will soon."
Giggling, the girl's golden eyes burned alone within the shadows.
"I came to warn you, Brother... I think something fun is about to happen soon."
'Something fun.'
If the lunatics of the Dark Cult described it that way, it was no different from saying a horrific disaster was coming for most humans.
Naturally, my face hardened. The more it did, the sweeter the girl's whispers became.
"Just remember one thing... I'm on your side. You can ask me for help if you need it."
"In exchange for a 'trade,' I assume?"
"Puhuhu... Honestly, is there anything in this world that isn't a 'trade'?"
It was a statement that perfectly illustrated the girl's warped worldview.
A profound distrust of humans, believing that pure goodwill did not exist.
However, I couldn't bring myself to blame her. Because it was my family, after all, who had made her that way.
It was then that the girl leaned her upper body back.
It wasn't a sudden, erratic movement. It was a pose straight out of a dance manual.
I naturally supported her body with one arm. Her pure white leg rose, revealing an alluring curve.
Feeling awkward for no reason, my eyes drifted to the side. Seeing that, the girl looked even more satisfied.
Accompanied by her fragrant scent, the temptation continued.
"......Don't you want me? Give me your life, and I'll give you mine."
"My only wish right now is for you to get lost as quickly as possible."
"But your eyes say otherwise. Well, fine... admitting one's desires requires a lot of courage."
The corners of the girl's eyes curved softly. She looked as if she found me absolutely adorable.
How arrogant.
And so, the dance—which felt both long and short—came to an end.
The bell announcing the end of the Holy Night Festival rang out.
Confetti scattered from the ceiling, and cheerful laughter erupted from all over along with the sound of applause.
None of that concerned me, though.
I only heard the occasional whispering voices as people glanced at me.
"Did Lord Ian dance with his sister?"
"Oh, how sweet... Or maybe the sister didn't want to lose her brother and threw a tantrum?"
"No way, how could that happen between real siblings?"
That was true.
Against the backdrop of giggling laughter, I silently glared at the girl. She merely looked up at the air with a meaningful gaze.
"The blessing of the Heavenly God, huh..."
"What, did even the Saintess of the Evil God want to receive the Heavenly God's blessing?"
"I'm curious."
With that, the girl bit back a faint smile.
However, that curve of her lips somehow looked a bit lonely.
For a moment, I found myself at a loss for words.
"I wonder if that pathetic favor-currier will grant a blessing even to an abandoned child."
That was it.
Without another word, the girl simply turned her back and walked away.
It was a surprisingly clean exit.
I had been worried she might cause a scene at the very end.
Just in case, I didn't take my eyes off her until she had completely vanished, only to be greeted by a familiar figure.
"W-Were you... having fun, Sir Ian...?"
She was smiling for now, but the trembling corners of her mouth were quite pitiful.
The 5th Princess of the Empire, Cien.
After dealing with one of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Dark Cult, even a Princess seemed cute by comparison. I let out a soft chuckle and asked her.
"Why did you give up your turn?"
"T-That's... there are various complicated circumstances! I didn't want to give it up either...!"
The more she spoke, the more the strength drained from the Princess's shoulders.
Eventually, she slumped and muttered in a dejected voice.
"I didn't want to, but..."
I looked at the gloomy Princess in silence for a while.
Then I looked up at the ceiling where confetti was falling, and took in the sight of the people in the banquet hall gathered in small groups, chatting.
The music was still playing.
"......Is the banquet over now?"
"Ye-Yes?! No, it's not that, but..."
I quietly reached out my hand.
Startled, the Princess could only stare up at me blankly, her hands clasped to her chest.
She looked quite cute. In the end, a faint smile played on my lips.
"Your Highness, may I be so bold as to ask for a dance?"
It took quite a while for an answer to come.
After a dazed expression, then a faint moisture appearing in her eyes, she finally smiled.
"......Yes!"
The Princess nodded.
The Holy Night Festival of that day continued for a while longer after that.
The night was still deep.
I was walking according to the contents of a note someone had delivered to me. In the depths of the forest located to the south of the Academy, there remained the ruins of a site said to have been built by a sage long ago.
The so-called 'Moonlit Pond.'
That secret clearing was a famous spot for lovers to have secret rendezvous. Especially on a day like today, it should have been crowded with couples, but the shock of the demonic beasts that appeared during the Hunting Festival had not yet faded.
The Southern Forest was remarkably quiet.
So quiet that I felt I could hear the breathing of the birds fast asleep.
At the end of the path, past the lush trees, the silver moon hung over the clearing that revealed itself.
It was then.
A clear, pure voice began to be heard from somewhere. From behind the ruins of the pillars that circularly surrounded the pond, a clear tone flowed out, like dew from a leaf dropping onto the water.
"Long ago, it is said that lovers pledged their love at the spring beneath the moonlight."
It was a sudden sermon.
But I didn't show any particular sign of surprise. I had already noticed the presence long ago.
In the first place, the other person hadn't even made an attempt to hide it.
I let out a soft hum and crossed my arms. Soon, my gaze turned toward the moon reflected on the pond.
The moon gave no answer. It was strictly the role of humans to continue the quiet story.
"The moon is the eye of the Heavenly God Arus. And the spring is a mirror, as well as proof that the lovers are aware of their own actions. That is why they pledge before the Heavenly God. That they will cherish and love each other forever..."
The sound of splashing followed.
I felt the presence of someone taking careful steps, but I deliberately didn't look down.
My gaze remained fixed only on the moon.
Before the Heavenly God, I asked.
"But the Holy Night Festival is already over."
"Who said that?"
Soon, the sound of water stopped right next to me.
Only then did I slowly lower my gaze, and I froze right where I stood.
Her silver hair, gently accepting the moonlight, was breathtakingly beautiful.
The pale pink mole on her snow-white skin and the golden halo rising above her head added to the fantastical atmosphere. Even though the season of midsummer had passed, I felt as if I could see an illusion of fireflies flying.
No, was it an illusion?
I couldn't even distinguish between reality and a dream.
The woman was dressed in unfamiliar attire, boasting a more beautiful appearance than ever before.
Her slightly flushed cheeks tickled my heart like spring flowers.
"Speaking as the Daughter of the Heavenly God..."
A woman who originally shouldn't have been here.
The person who had walked the path of hardship with me, who had always supported me, and who gave me the courage not to crumble.
The Saintess—no.
Lucia opened her mouth.
"......Our 'Holy Night' is just beginning."
Had the girl said it? That the Heavenly God was a pathetic favor-currier.
For the first time, I agreed with her words.
And I was grateful.
To the Heavenly God who sent this woman down to earth.
It was a silent night.
