An hour later, the fireworks are scheduled to begin. For those who wish to watch, please follow the guidance of our staff and student council members in an orderly manner to the Main Building Courtyard…
A large speaker installed on a streetlight blares out. It was a speaker seen during the Grade-by-Grade Duel.
After the Academy terror incident, Chancellor Damian installed these speakers densely along the courtyard streetlights to ensure a quicker evacuation of the students due to concerns that similar situations might arise.
Listening to the announcements flowing from there, people were finishing up their celebrations. There was still an hour’s grace before the fireworks would begin.
“Father! Mother! Look at this…!”
“Oh my…. Delicious caramel apples!”
“Hmm…. My teeth have been aching lately.”
“Please show some restraint. You’re not a child; why are you eating so many snacks….”
“Ugh….”
Families chatted in a warm atmosphere. Laura, caught in between, thoroughly enjoyed the festival booths she had no time to visit while managing her own booth.
The festival is joyful.
It is an act of gathering together to celebrate the grace of abundance bestowed by the Lord. It cannot help but be enjoyable.
If there is someone who cannot enjoy the festival, they are probably someone who has had an unlucky day or is upset due to something not going their way.
And here, running around the busy club booth street filled with festive excitement alongside her beloved family, Rina von Adelheit was, at the very least, not one of those two types.
It was a strange occurrence. Just yesterday, hadn’t she been resentful of this world and felt her frail body was burdensome?
It is indeed a curious thing. Yes, it’s really a strange thing….
‘…How did this happen?’
And that doubt likewise applied to Laura, who is usually quite perceptive.
It cannot be helped. Just a few days ago, her younger sister was so pale, as if she might collapse at any moment, but now she suddenly appears so energetic at the festival. And with their parents in tow.
Laura knows Rina’s condition better than anyone else apart from Rina herself. After returning to the mansion, she often visits Rina’s bedroom dozens of times a day. She is well aware, not being foolish, that it is difficult for Rina to look this healthy and lively.
And Laura was not simply curious about “How did Rina rise from her sickbed?” She had just been with Professor Antorelli, whom she loathed, and had asked him for help. Surely, he must have used some method that he had not fully disclosed.
If so, her curiosity immediately sets out on a journey to find its next prey.
Confident that she could outsmart anyone her age, Laura’s mind is vast and complex. However, that only applies within the range of what she knows.
The world is a narrow one. Having known who Professor Antorelli is day and night, Laura had no idea how he would raise her from her sickbed. Had she known that in the first place, she wouldn’t have needed to seek the professor’s help.
How did Rina rise from being bedridden? In the end, it’s a question of the same nature. Laura felt a burning desire to ask a similar, perhaps even more significant question.
‘What on earth did he use….’
What manner of method did Professor Antorelli employ to bring Rina back?
Her father, Maximilian von Adelheit, had summoned countless renowned doctors of the Empire. Not all of them left empty-handed, but at least they retreated when faced with Rina’s frail constitution, which was susceptible to all sorts of ailments. There is no way to cure a congenital condition.
And Professor Antorelli is a cleric. He performs miracles that can heal moderate injuries, but he does not possess medical knowledge on the level of a specialized surgeon or any other expert.
He recites prayers, divine power leaves, and healing occurs. It’s just a series of processes.
If one remembers basic first aid methods, specialized knowledge isn’t particularly necessary. It is foolish to apply human standards to a “miracle.”
‘…It can’t be that Professor Antorelli administered narcotic drugs…. Can it?’
If the absent Professor Antorelli were to hear that, he would likely bristle; however, at that moment, Laura was just following her mother around the festival grounds. She allowed her thoughts to flow freely.
Thoughts swim boundlessly. They neither sink deep into the water nor float up and walk on the surface. Slowly, very slowly, they begin to glide along.
‘There’s only one way….’
In the end, she arrived at a simple answer.
It wasn’t through narcotic drugs. In the first place, if that were the case, her father, the Duke of Adelhaid, wouldn’t have stood idly by. If he had done such a thing, Professor Antorelli would be preserved in a state of suspended animation for a hundred years, a thousand years.
He did not become that.
He did not cure Rina’s illness with incredible medical knowledge that transcends humanity, akin to the ‘divine’. If one looks closely, Rina seems to occasionally brush her body as if she can’t believe it and feels something uneasy. Although it is inconclusive evidence, at the very least right now, it suggests that this situation will not persist forever.
Then, there is only one possibility.
‘The divine power…!’
Laura instinctively jerked her head around. Her eyes began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had struck. In them, only unknown strangers enjoying the festival while laughing and having a good time were present.
Among those strangers, Laura felt as if she and her family were walking in a place divided from the crowd. A chilling and despairing suspicion lingered in her mind.
‘Professor… you shouldn’t have used the divine power…!’
He should not be using the divine power. He is a professor of theology and a higher cleric. Yet, he must not use the divine power.
Depending on the listener’s perspective, it is a ridiculous and almost comedic story. Laura could not laugh it off.
– Due to the battle that day, Lucio had sustained a permanent disability in his right shoulder. It had been said that every time he used divine power, he would be in pain so severe that he might faint.
That terrible…. At the same time, a man she could not bring herself to hate. The words Cesar Li had left for her.
Memories of that time come flooding back. The rain coming down in summer, heavy as the monsoon, drips down with a tepid heat. A small group of people gathers on the rooftop. They are all armed.
A gun. The death stemming from it leaves traces of terror, piercing the air and cutting through everything with supersonic bullets. It accurately pierces the forehead of Carmondorf, whom Laura has seen for a long time. A shuddering marksmanship. It is the skill of one who has honed the art of killing.
And then, that gun barrel… straight in front of Laura’s eyes.
As red as her own eyes, seemingly clear like her own, and cruel like her father’s.
The flower blooms.
“…Huh.”
Laura barely regained her senses. As her blurry vision returned, she realized she was breaking out in a cold sweat. She hurriedly wiped it away.
“Laura… are you okay?”
Her beloved mother, Emma von Adelheit, looked down at her with a worried expression. Behind her stood her father and sister, similarly looking in her direction.
While her father’s feelings might be uncertain, her sister is still incredibly dear to her. But, but…
‘You said it would hurt so much you’d faint….’
That had already been confirmed by Professor Antorelli at that moment. If he said so, Laura had no grounds to disbelieve.
Indeed, hadn’t she seen it directly at the beginning of the school year?
After using the divine power, he’d collapsed.
Laura was half convinced. Rina had risen due to divine power. The beautifully shimmering red jewel, more precious than anything in this world, has entered her sight. Just looking at it makes her heart melt.
Yes, Laura loves Rina too much as family. If it meant saving her, she would do it without hesitation.
But if that sacrifice were to be directed at someone else.
If it were to go, especially to the dangerously ill Professor Antorelli.
Laura was about to seek out Professor Antorelli immediately. It was hard to even imagine what kind of pain he might be experiencing…
‘…Wait.’
The moment when Cesar Li revealed everything. The moment when Professor Antorelli’s unwanted secrets were laid bare. The suffocating scene.
Her father was definitely there.
Maximilian von Adelheit. He too was present at that place.
‘Father knows everything.’
Laura wiped the cold sweat from her forehead vigorously. Her fierce gaze was directed at her father, and her unsteady steps mirrored her focus.
“Ah, father…”
“Yes, Laura. Father is here! What is it? Do you want to go home? Are you suddenly feeling unwell…?”
Her despicable father received her without any suspicion, simply because she was his beloved daughter. Laura understood that reason all too well.
And it was precisely for that reason that she deliberately hugged him.
“The reason why Rina is so well and walking around like that is….”
“…Huh?”
“…Professor Antorelli.”
Quietly.
So quietly that it couldn’t be heard by anyone else.
More distinctly than the sound of insects chirping, yet quieter than the rustling leaves. At least, in the middle of this noisy festival, it was at a volume that no one else could hear.
“Professor used the divine power, didn’t he?”
“…….”
She asked thus.
“…Laura.”
And the answer was.
“…We must respect the professor’s choice.”
It was calmer than expected.
“Don’t think about the professor….”
As she had anticipated, it was cruel.
*
About an hour before departing for the Academy.
Maximilian von Adelheit, known commonly as the Duke of Adelheid, quietly closed his eyes. The words that came from the man sitting in front of him, Professor Lucio Antorelli, were the cause.
“…Professor Antorelli.”
“Yes. Please go ahead.”
“That… It might be a bit awkward for me to say this, but aren’t you injured? I heard that you are not fully healed yet…”
As he said this, Duke Adelheid glanced at Antorelli’s right shoulder. A flash of ‘concern’ and slight ‘sympathy’ seemed to drift through his gaze.
As if reading that, Professor Antorelli forced a smile and nodded.
“Correct.”
“I heard you’re in so much pain you might faint. The pain is that severe….”
“That is also true.”
“…And that condition occurs when you’ve used divine power, isn’t it?”
In response to his valid question, Professor Antorelli stared into his eyes for a moment.
“Yes.”
With that brief and emphatic response, he fell silent. An awkward silence descended.
“…Then, we will have to abandon the plan we discussed for today.”
“…….”
Professor Antorelli had come to Duke Adelheid early that morning and had shared the ‘method’ he had been considering from the beginning with him. A sense of unease settled in Duke Adelheid’s eyes.
“No matter what, I too have some sense of propriety. I have no intention of ignoring your suffering so that my daughter can benefit.”
“Does that present a problem?”
“Of course it presents a problem. If you conjure such a great miracle, you won’t just experience pain… you may end up with aftereffects or worsen your injury. Am I wrong?”
“I cannot be certain, but Professor Moritz said as much.”
“If so, then….”
“But, Duke Adelheid.”
Professor Antorelli interrupted him. If it were someone else, Duke Adelheid would have scolded them for their rudeness, but instead, he merely looked at him, surprised. He had a guilt of original sin.
“Does that present a problem?”
“…You see, Professor, I just said…”
“Can’t you just act as you did before?”
“…What?”
Duke Adelheid stared blankly at Professor Antorelli. There was no trace of hesitation in his gaze, tone, or mannerisms.
“Just focus solely on your daughter’s happiness as you did before, and you don’t need to worry about what happens to me.”
“You….”
Do you still resent me? Duke Adelheid could not bring himself to say it out loud.
“My suffering will amount to nothing more than a few days of discomfort, and thanks to that, Lady Rina will acquire something—an invaluable treasure—that is hard to obtain even over a lifetime.”
“…….”
“Yes. Of course, I’m not asking you to return to normal completely. Just for a very brief moment… you can act as you did before.”
Then, everything will be resolved. It seemed that Professor Antorelli had no desire to continue the conversation, and after that remark, he stood to leave.
Duke Adelheid did not rise with him. A base and lowly desire began knocking at the door of some part of him he thought was firmly closed.
His words were valid. Sacrificing a minority for the sake of the majority. Wasn’t that what he was best at?
This wouldn’t be any different. A man who lives on as a wretched being with nothing left but a shell of his immensely beloved and precious daughter. For Duke Adelheid, which of the two is more precious… there is no need to compare. It is undoubtedly the former.
But that was….
“Then, I will end the conversation here.”
“…But, Professor.”
“I don’t have time to delay any longer preparing the prayers for Lady Rina. More time cannot be afforded.”
Professor Antorelli made his move. He stepped away without hesitation to leave the sitting room. His back was fully before Duke Adelheid’s crimson eyes.
“…Professor Antorelli.”
“Yes. I’m listening.”
“What is it that you gain by sacrificing this much?”
It was a question bubbling with curiosity. What could be the reason he does this?
However, that question from Duke Adelheid was countered far too easily.
“…It is simply that the one who should be happy, becomes happy.”
“…….”
“Yes. That is all. I….”
He slightly turned his head. In those partially blurred eyes, a faint twinkle of a star could be seen.
“My duty is to bring forth the happiness that has been postponed.”
Duke Adelheid did not respond.
Professor Antorelli exited the sitting room.
Butler Alfred cautiously stepped into the sitting room.
Duke Adelheid could not speak.
Professor Antorelli completely left the sitting room.
Butler Alfred carefully called for his master.
……
….
Duke Adelheid could not respond.
Professor Antorelli did not seek a reply.
‘…Since when?’
From the very beginning.
