TPITT - Chapter 76

'Your Highness?'

Only then did Cedella realize the situation and try to return to the palace right away.

But by then Eve had left for the Windbreak forest with Michael.

Cedella had no choice but to wait until the holiday period was over, while being treated with great hospitality by the maids.

Finally, the day after vacation ended, she went back to work.

'Your Highness..."

'Cedella? Why are you crying? Who made you cry?'

'Your Highness. '

As soon as Cedella met Eve, she forgot everything she had prepared to say. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she held onto Eve and cried.

It was the first disheveled appearance of an exclusive lady who was always perfect and calm.

'Hey, you didn't like the gift?'

'It's the other way around.'

Count Arpel's property consisted of a barren mountain valley estate where farming was not even possible.

The old surname was the ex-wife, a fallen nobleman with only a title.

Let alone owning a townhouse, it was impossible for a family who could not afford to go to the imperial capital.

The romance of a 14-year-old debutante ball was something that had no place in Cedella's life.

Cedella was treated more as a household item than as the precious daughter of the Countess of Arpel.

In the end, she was sold to become a maid and was finally able to enter the palace.

After that, Cedella met Eve and became her exclusive maid. Poverty seems to be her fate in this life, too.

Because the household was not well-off, there were many instances where she had to take on the duties of a regular maid or servant.

However, Cedella felt sorry for the Princess who lost her mother and was treated like a loser, she was kind and upright, even if she was a little flexible, so it was fun to watch her grow up.

She thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to live her life assisting the Princess, who seemed destined to spend her life studying alchemy.

But the Princess suddenly changed her life's goal and gave Cedella a townhouse.

She's talking about the townhouses south of the river in Ravello, which are famously expensive.

Just putting your heart into a gift is enough to move people, but if you also include distribution, the effect is bound to increase.

Cedella couldn't help but be thrilled with her own private haven in a luxury townhouse.

“Cedella.”

“Oh. You called?”

“Yeah. Three times. What are you thinking?”

“I’m sorry. I remember showing Your Highness an embarrassing appearance the day after I was granted the townhouse..."

“You were cute that day, our Cedella. It’s worth giving gifts.”

“Don't tease me.”

I rested my chin on my clasped hands and asked playfully.

“Now that you have a house, when are you going to invite me over?”

“Are you coming?”

Cedella was delighted by the sudden question and asked back. I felt as if I was dying of love for my personal maid.

“If you invite me, of course I have to go.”

“You can come anytime. Please use it as if it were your own home. I will be very happy.”

“Really? Then how about tomorrow?”

While giving the townhouse to Cedella, I introduced the password system that was originally in place among the general users.

It was extended to the maids as well. So tomorrow happened to be Cedella's holiday.

“I will prepare to serve Your Highness with all my heart.”

“I'll look forward to it.”

At the end of the conversation, I sent Cedella away.

Not long after, there was a knock on the office door. It was Lian who came in after receiving permission.

Lian brought the good news with a very excited face.

“Your Highness, I have saved it!”

“Musical tickets?”

"Yes!"

Tickets to the Pegasus Theater Company's musical, which is currently very popular, finally ended up in my hands.

The main character's name was written in large letters as Limona Lund.

“Was it hard to get?”

“A little bit. Originally, it was first-come-first-served, so people lined up from dawn, but so many people gathered that the line disappeared. So in the end, we gave out all the numbers and held a raffle, and luckily I won.”

“It wasn’t just a little bit of hardship. Thank you so much, Lian.”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Limona is currently the most notable artist. She has also been consistently present at salon parties.

I am receiving invitations to perform and will soon be making a foray into opera.

“I think Your Highness’s merits as a patron of artists have been fully met.”

“Yeah. I’m planning on going to see the musical and meeting the theater troupe owner to get a letter of sponsorship.”

I checked the performance date and time written on the ticket.

“Tomorrow? That sounds great.”

It was the day I had to go out of the palace to visit Cedella's townhouse. Even the sky to help my schedule go smoothly.

***

“Princess... Why..."

Michael's handsome face was distorted in agony. The hurt look in his eyes was something I had never seen in my past or this life.

I steeled myself not to be weak and said:

“There’s nothing I can do. Michael is my direct subordinate.”

“Have you forgotten your promise not to use the power of the imprint on me? I never thought the Princess would do this to me.”

Michael turned his head after a final confession full of betrayal. In the direction of his gaze was a huge sign that read.

Extreme Pegasus.

Michael let out a sigh mixed with regret.

“Another love musical between the royal family and the homunculus.”

“While I’m out getting my certificate, I should check out the artist I sponsored. I can’t go to the salon.”

“Okay, Princess..."

“And we decided to call each other by our names outside.”

“Okay...Eve..."

I and Michael came out of the palace alone.

I, as always, wore a sky-blue maid's outfit, while Michael, in a new twist, dressed as a gardener wearing a beret.

It was a good combination to make them look like a couple going out together without telling their owner.

The two entered the small theater. Not only were all the seats full, but tickets that would normally not be sold were also sold.

The audience filled all the standing rooms.

Soon the lights came on to the stage and the red velvet curtains parted to the left and right.

It was the moment when the love story based on them opened.

I and Michael each braced ourselves for psychological shock.

“Limona!”

Cheers and applause erupted as the healthy, wheat-skinned gypsy girl appeared.

In response to the enthusiastic response, the musical began powerfully with Limona's song.

'As expected, she's cool. She's beautiful.'

I clasped my hands together and felt moved. But when the song ended, the musical began to really take on the narrative and the drama.

As I began to take notes, my face became ashen.

The musical's story begins with the setting where the Princess and the knight, who were unable to take place in the play and faced a tragic end are reborn in the same status again.

The reincarnated Princess and knight defeat their former enemies and political rivals while transcending social status.

It shows a heartbreaking melodrama full of love.

Of course, if this were the only content, I would have been able to watch it with a moderate amount of laughter based on the introspection I had gained from watching past plays.

The problem was that one setting that ran through the work was extremely fatal.

'The Princess remembers her past life! She knows that the knight is the strongest homunculus to take power without loving him!'

I, who was stabbed for no reason, couldn't bear to look at him.

I couldn't hear it.

I watched the musical with my head down throughout. Is it because bad girls are the trend these days?

The audience cheered for Limona's possessed performance, but it was of no comfort to me.

'Sob sob. I'm so bad.'

Fortunately, the extremists had no intention of ruining the reputation of their sponsors, so the Princess was not portrayed as trash until the end of the script.

As the second half progresses, the Princess is excused by expressing that she realized her true love for the knight and became devoted and that she could not help it for political purposes.

By this point, I had become all too aware of Michael's reaction. I glanced at him.

For some reason, Michael was quietly watching without making a sound.

Simply observe the manners of watching a play.

It seemed like he was watching intently rather than focused.

Even after the musical ended, there were favorable reviews.

“This one was worth seeing.”

“Was it so?”

“The villain role is interesting.”

I swallowed dryly. I braced myself mentally, expecting that harsh evaluations of the Princess in the play would follow soon.

But Michael's comments went beyond my expectations.

"The Crown Princess was the political rival of the main characters. In addition to popularity, commoner's plays often contain the message of the times. It was interesting to see public opinion that did not respect the Third Princess."

“Ah...The villain wasn’t talking about me..."

“Why you?”

“I was like... I used Michael's body and mind, too.”

Answering felt like confessing a sin. Michael kindly corrected me.

“It’s not you and me, it’s the Princess and the knight in the play. It’s just a musical.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Only then did I realize that I had been over-empathizing.

Because the debt from my past life was so great and some parts strangely matched my current life, I seemed to have been stabbed in the back.

Even though it was a long time after the musical ended, the small theater was still noisy. I wanted to see Limona up close.

It's because everyone rushed onto the stage.

“Limona Lund has become quite the celebrity.”

“I just wanted to say hello, but it’s going to be difficult like this.”

Leaving my regrets behind, I headed to the Pegasus Troupe office.

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