Translator: Nonon
Proofreader: Silavin
POV: Violet
A little taller than me.
Soft, white skin.
She stood gracefully with posture solidly set in place. At the same time, she had soft, feminine curves.
She was dignified, but still somehow made you want to protect her.
“… It’s been a while… Sue.”
She stood there, talking to me as one would an old friend they hadn’t seen in a long time, as if my past actions had never happened.
“Please call me Mary. You have never called me that before.”
She was gazing at me with the smile that was the same as when I was at the academy, and even though it was a little hard to see her expression behind her hat, I could tell it was alluring, yet innocent. There was not a shred of hostility towards me in her eyes, just like during the time of the duel. All I could see was the same old goodwill, as if she was worried about me.
When she realized that Lord Clo and the others around me weren’t just people who happened to be nearby but rather my companions or acquaintances, her expression changed as if she panicked.
“I am sorry for interrupting your conversation. I saw a familiar face so I couldn’t help calling out.”
Saying so, she bowed beautifully.
“Nice to meet you, I am Mary Sue. I used to be her classmate, and despite my incompetence, I was allowed to play the leading role in the play you just saw. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
It wasn’t as pompous as a nobleman’s bow, but rather so natural that the people around didn’t even seem to notice it, while we could tell that it was done with respect towards us. Even in the midst of all the noise, her voice reached my ears clearly, as if her world and the space we were in was cut off from the rest of reality.
“Lady… Mary Sue.”
Up until this moment, Lord Clo and the others had stopped after her appearance, but upon hearing her name, it was Gray who was the first to try to move and step forward in an attempt to protect me. Lord Clo and the others also reacted to some extent, but even though she was my enemy in the past, looking at the outcome, I was the one in the wrong and since she had merely said hello now, ‘trying to protect’ me was not a wise idea in itself.
Apricot stopped Gray from moving, and instead it was Lord Clo who took a step forward.
“Nice to meet you. Thank you for your kindness. I’m Clo Heartfield, Lady Violet’s husband. The earlier performance was wonderful.”
“Thank you very much. If you think so, then all our practice was worth it.”
Lord Clo talked to her with a smile, just as he usually did with guests.
I couldn’t sense any hostility towards her from him. I don’t know if he was hiding it or didn’t feel anything.
“So you are the rumored Mr. Clo everybody’s talking about.”
“Haha, I assume those aren’t very good rumors.”
“…？I’m sorry. I only know that you’re Violet’s husband. I don’t know any other details about you…”
“Oh, is that so? My apologies.”
“No, I’m the one who has to apologize. You must’ve been troubled a great deal when I brought up rumors.”
On the other hand, she smiled at Lord Clo with the same smile that captivated His Highness, looked puzzled, got flustered, smiled, and showed an expression of compassion, without any shred of hostility.
But she seemed to accept everything. She’s a strong-willed woman. I am well aware that she has the strength to try and right things that she thinks are wrong.
“Oh, and this is—“
Lord Clo shifted the front of his body just about in-between our group and her, and tried to introduce others.
“Die, Clo! Hyahoo!!”
“Nyope?!”
“”?!!””
“…”
Something came charging at high speed and attacked Lord Clo from the side.
It happened so suddenly that we couldn’t comprehend what had happened, and when we looked at Lord Clo and something that was blown away with him, and grasped the situation,
“”(Lord) (Mr.) Clo?!”
We all instantly called Lord Clo’s name, and everybody except for Mary Sue rushed up to him in panic.
What, what happened? Was it a terrorist? A devil? An evil god? A bullet? A suicide attack? No, calm down, Violet. I started thinking of words that Lord Clo had mentioned before, which I didn’t understand.
Anyway, I have to understand what happened.
The person who jumped him (?) had a woman’s voice. It felt like a voice I’d heard somewhere before. In other words, somebody bumped into Lord Clo. First, I have to see who bumped into him and ascertain whether either of them are injured.
As the sudden event caused a commotion around us, we approached Lord Clo and the woman.
The woman was wearing what appeared to be easy-to-move-in pants that seemed more like men’s trousers and a sleeveless top, even though it was winter. She had dark blue hair and light blue eyes—
“What the hell are you doing, Cyan?!”
―― It was Ms. Cyan.
She wasn’t dressed in a habit so I couldn’t tell who she was at first, but it was unmistakably Ms. Cyan.
“Ah, it hurtssssss!! Clo, Clo! My brain, my brain is about to be crushed! I’m already dumb as it is, don’t make me dumber!”
“If that’s what you think, don’t charge at me with an attack!”
She charged at Lord Clo, who was one of the best in Shiki in terms of physical abilities, at such a high speed that he couldn’t react and we were worried whether he was seriously injured, but Lord Clo seemed all chipper as he grabbed Ms. Cyan’s face with an iron claw.
… Whatever the reason, it’s true that Ms. Cyan did something dangerous so I’m not going to stop him for a while.
◆
“… I can’t imagine that he’s the man from that ending. I’m also curious about her personality. She seemed to have changed quite a lot… Love is a bridge from poorer to richer, as they say. Fufu, well then, what should I do? For the sake of happiness, yes, for the sake of happiness, what should I do?”