Rina von Adelheit. Her crimson red eyes sank with a complex mixture.
Her jewel-like clear eyes, the gaze emanating from them, and the faintly contained anticipation and hope were directed towards, naturally….
“Professor Antorelli.”
Me. She was looking straight at me.
The artificial smile she had been wearing earlier was gone, replaced by her true expression.
And, the face of Rina, now unmasked….
‘She can show such an expression too.’
Perhaps because of her resemblance to Laura, it felt strikingly alien. For me, it was a disjointed expression.
The tears still lingering in her eyes, sparkling like dew, made Rina’s red pupils shine even more beautifully.
Her shoulders quivered lightly as her emotions rose, occasionally making small choking sounds, accompanied by the soft, white hair swaying in sync. Her eyebrows were bent in an ambiguous position. As if she were barely holding back everything, her slightly bitten lower lip.
She wore a desperate expression.
Mature, dignified, and unlike the previous version of her that smiled at everyone.
“Yes. Rina.”
“What method do you intend to use to take me to the festival, professor? I know very well that my body won’t hold up….”
Rina looked dejected. No, it would be more accurate to say she was disheartened.
Due to her fragile physical state, she naturally became conscious and hesitant about other people. Her good nature was the reason. Otherwise, she could have reacted with a “What do I care?”
And the more I saw her like that,
‘…What is this?’
I belatedly realized that the boiling emotion inside me was ‘anger.’
It was not anger directed at Rina. It was not directed at Priest Luciana, Sub-priest Sofia, nor at the absent Adelheid Duke couple and Laura.
Rather than anger, it was a feeling of frustration. Not the kind of frustration one feels when talking to a brick wall, but the frustration directed at myself.
‘If only I had met Rina a little sooner.’
It was an absurd assumption. If I had met Rina sooner, there would have been no point of contact to meet her, as I wouldn’t be an academy professor.
Logically, that made sense. But…
‘Why does it feel so frustrating?’
I had felt this emotion before. Yes, a long time ago. Years ago….
– Priest Lucio. This is something only we can do.
…I see.
Yes, that’s how it was.
“Rina.”
“Yes, professor.”
“When tomorrow comes, Priest Luciana and I will recite a prayer for you, Rina.”
“…That’s.”
“Yes. I intend to use divine power.”
“……!”
What a foolish person.
Without even realizing why they consider others, this rigid attitude of thinking of others before oneself. An unbendable integrity. A steadfast principle that cannot be broken.
From the perspective of someone facing it, one can only feel frustrated. It seems absurdly relentless, attempting to push forward in that way.
And, considering that it is my position…
I guess I am fundamentally not a good person myself. I barely held back a laugh that was about to escape.
“…Head Priest.”
I heard the voice of Sub-priest Sofia sitting next to me. Turning to her, I met her fiery gaze, which seemed to be looking at me with disapproval.
“What is it, Sub-priest Sofia?”
“What do you mean, what is it? Head Priest, just now….”
“Sub-priest Sofia, I don’t understand why you are suddenly acting this way. There’s ‘no problem,’ right?”
“…What?”
Sub-priest Sofia looked stunned. She stared at me for a moment, her lips moving almost incoherently, and soon it seemed she fully read my gestures.
“…You’re right. I apologize….”
“…It’s alright.”
She muttered in a barely audible voice, as if she had clenched her teeth. The voice seeping through her teeth sounded unusual.
I turned my head back to Rina. She still had a gaze demanding explanation.
“…Professor Antorelli, using divine power means….”
“If Rina agrees, we will start preparing immediately. There’s nothing to worry about….”
“Why do you tell such lies?”
Rina’s face, looking at me, slightly unraveled. Even a small smile was breaking. It was a look I had never seen before.
The emotion rising on her face was anxiety.
“The fact that the priests are using divine power, I know very well how much burden it puts on the body…. I’m fully aware of that.”
“Rina, that’s….”
“And to think that you can make my body capable of moving around unaffected by any negative external factors…. I can’t even imagine how burdensome that prayer is.”
“…Rina, it’s not a prayer that burdens you that much. Priest Luciana and I have verified its safety through previous experiences.”
“……”
After hearing my explanation, Rina still looked hesitant. Most of her expression was covered with anxiety, overlaying it with a hint of hope and certainty towards me and Priest Luciana.
“…Professor. Professor Antorelli.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“I don’t want to go out while hearing such lies.”
“I understand.”
“If my guess is wrong…. I’m sorry. I will apologize. I’m not deeply knowledgeable in divine power….”
“It’s fine. I understand your anxiety. However, there’s no need to be anxious based solely on speculative reasons…. That’s what I wanted to say.”
“I see. Then….”
Rina’s eyes sparkled as she turned to look at Priest Luciana. Priest Luciana nodded in agreement with her, reinforcing my words.
“What the professor is saying is correct. The reason I haven’t been able to use it on you until now is that this prayer requires two high-ranking clergy members.”
“Ah…!”
“And coincidentally, Professor, you are a high-ranking priest. That’s fortunate.”
“What Priest Luciana is saying is correct. In fact, the reason I went out earlier was to discuss that with Priest Luciana.”
“I see….”
Rina nodded, her eyes shining. The longer I saw that reaction, the more a slight pain crept into my chest.
What is this aching pain? Fear? Pain from loss? That helpless feeling I felt before? No, it’s not.
It was guilt. Because I’m lying to Rina.
“Pro, professor. I know it’s very rude to ask this, but….”
“Please speak comfortably.”
“Really, really, it’s not a burden for Priest Luciana…?”
“It’s true. There may be a negligible burden, but it’s almost non-existent. You’ll be able to go back to your daily life right afterwards.”
“……”
Rina bit her lip tightly, and then bowed her head slightly with trembling hair. The blanket beneath her face began to get wet with tears again.
“So, that was…it….”
“……”
“I had…. a chance…. It wasn’t over yet….”
Her shoulders trembled. Her breathing became irregular. She was crying.
Due to the new opportunity and the overwhelming joy and emotion it brings. At the same time, gratitude towards us. Her heart must be burning like never before.
“Thank you… so… much… Professor Antorelli, thank you so much…! Lucia, thank you so much!”
Rina cried for a long time. Even Sub-priest Sofia seemed to have reddened her eyes and quickly turned her head away from Rina.
And so did I.
It felt like my nose was achingly tight. Somehow, my eyes felt slightly stinging.
‘You too, should be saved….’
Someone very similar to Rina. Not in outward appearance but in inner self, so alike…. You.
If only you could have been saved like Rina, who is now crying in front of me…
‘How I wish that were the case.’
Rina’s crying gradually subsided. Towards her, I drove the final nail into the plan.
“Rina. The method I have shared to help you is only meant for those present here, including you.”
“Huh…?”
“I’d appreciate it if you would not speak of it to anyone else. If Duke Adelheid or Lady Laura finds out, they might take some kind of action. I am not acting for that purpose.”
“But….”
“Rina, I’ll ask you kindly.”
As I bowed my head, Rina seemed flustered and hesitated to lift my gaze. A small hand, feeling a faint warmth, touched my cheek.
“I-I won’t say anything. I won’t say it….”
“…Thank you.”
After that, Rina listened to my explanations with an excited expression for a while. Most of the discussion centered on when she would come here tomorrow and what preparations she needed to make beforehand.
“Then, we’ll be leaving now.”
“Please both be careful! I’ll formally invite you to my mansion later! And you too, Sub-priest Sofia!”
“Ahaha… Ah, goodbye! See you tomorrow!”
After finishing the explanation, Sub-priest Sofia and I left Rina’s room. There was no longer any reason to stay here. There were many preparations to be made.
Just before stepping out, I locked eyes with Priest Luciana.
Her expression looked very complicated.
*
That night.
Rina von Adelheit could not fall asleep at all. Even though she went to bed 30 minutes later than usual, her eyes sparkled brightly, staring at the ceiling.
“Hehe… the festival…”
Perhaps because she was looking forward to the festival tomorrow, her cheeks were tinged with a rosy hue.
With her beloved mother and father, and her sister who had proudly passed the academy more than anyone in the world, watching fireworks in a crowded place filled with people.
There would be lovers kissing, families holding hands and watching together, and friends enjoying delicious food at the festival.
Every single person smiling. It was a scene that truly brought her anticipation just by imagining it.
Rina von Adelheit longed for human warmth. The bustling atmosphere and the cozy sights that arise from it. Herself playing around in that free space.
And extending a hand towards her, suggesting they enjoy the festival together….
“…Yawn…”
It wasn’t that she wasn’t waiting for someone who could free her. However, her expectations, having worn thin, were almost given up.
“…Prince.”
My, prince. My only prince.
The princess trapped in the castle fell asleep, imagining the prince who would come to rescue her.
