Chapter 90

Since the perspective changes, I divided it into two parts.

Chapter 37 is also scheduled to be updated today. It's short, but I hope you will look forward to it.

The final day of the Ash Week, the second day of the performance.

"Rehearsal, I'm so tired!"

In a room borrowed as a dressing room in a relief institute, Cecilia leaned back in a chair, saying this. Considering her circumstances, the dressing room was a private room. There was still time before the performance, so she wasn't in costume yet.

"Leen, you come here and change your lines, you know. There are people who come to watch the rehearsals too. I feel more tired today than yesterday..."

Cecilia looked up at the ceiling and grumbled. Apparently, the rumor of the performance had spread widely in just one day. Many people were gathered near the entrance of the venue, eager to see the beautiful prince in drag. Although the venue was surrounded by a fence, some of the women, carried away by excitement, had climbed over the fence and asked Cecilia for autographs, which was one of the reasons for her fatigue.

Cecilia looked at the clock. There was still nearly an hour before the performance. She would need time to put on her costume and makeup, but she could take a short break.

Just as she was thinking this, she leaned against the built-in desk.

"Cecil, do you have a moment?"

A voice she had heard somewhere before came from the other side of the door, accompanied by a knock. Cecilia opened the door and widened her eyes at the person standing there.

"Huh? Grace!"

"I have something I want to talk about, and Leen showed me the way here."

The person standing there was someone she rarely saw outside the research building. She was wearing a black dress instead of her usual white coat, and her gray, curly hair was tied in a ponytail.

"I heard you were on a break, but do you have a moment?"

"Of course! I also wanted to ask Grace something, so it's a relief!"

Cecilia exclaimed with joy. She had just been planning to go and ask about Ein and Zwey. She had been thinking of doing it after the performance, so it was convenient that Grace had come to her.

Grace smiled thinly and said, "That's perfect," then sat down in one of the round chairs in the room. Cecilia moved a chair and sat down in front of her.

"So, what's up? What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, not exactly talk, but I have a question..."

"Question?"

"Yes. Cecilia, this is a question I also asked Leen: Did you meet Prince Janis during the Spirit Festival?"

"Huh? Prince Janis... You mean, Prince Janis? The one who becomes the final boss in Oscar's, Gil's, and Dante's routes?"

"Yes, that Prince Janis."

Cecilia blinked at the unexpected name.

Prince Janis is the third prince of a neighboring country, with hair as white as new snow and eyes as purple as amethyst. Despite his sweet looks and gentle manner of speaking, he is a cruel enemy character who does not consider others as human. He is the one who sent Dante to Oscar, but his intentions are unclear. He is the character with the most mysteries in the game.

"I haven't met him, but what about Prince Janis?"

"Well, I heard that Prince Janis might be at the Spirit Festival..."

"Prince Janis at the Spirit Festival?"

Cecilia searched her memory. However, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't think of any events that would occur if Prince Janis were at the Spirit Festival.

Seeing Cecilia's puzzled expression, Grace spoke with a serious tone.

"I also remembered this when I heard the story, but there is a bad ending where the protagonist meets Prince Janis at the Spirit Festival."

This bad ending, it seems, only occurs under very rare conditions: the protagonist is chosen as the substitute for the Spirit Festival's priestess, but does not have the necessary affection points to follow the normal route, and is also extremely disliked by a specific character.

In this route, on the day of the Spirit Festival, Prince Janis manipulates a large number of people to attack Leen, ultimately leading to her death.

"By the way, the player knows that Prince Janis is the mastermind, but the other characters don't..."

"So, everything is blamed on Cecilia, and I get killed, right?"

Cecilia's words, as if continuing from Grace's, made Grace nod.

Cecilia, who had been looking disheartened, suddenly tilted her head as a question came to mind.

"But wait, you said 'manipulates a large number of people...' Does Prince Janis have that kind of power? He's a prince, but this is a different country..."

"Oh, right, I forgot to mention that part."

She clapped her hands as if remembering something.

"Actually, it's only explicitly stated in the True Route, but he can possess others with a 'curse.'"

"Wh-What!?"

To Cecilia's shock, Grace calmly added, "Not everyone, though."

"Think about Oscar's route. At the end, you suddenly have to fight Prince Janis, who is possessed by a 'curse,' right? When you revisit this after completing the True Route, you realize that Prince Janis was possessing himself with the 'curse.'"

"Oh..."

"There are also descriptions of people who talked to Prince Janis being possessed by the 'curse' later on..."

Cecilia held her head, remembering such descriptions. Honestly, she hadn't noticed it at the time. Even in Oscar's route, she had thought, "Oh, Janis is just getting possessed by the 'curse.'"

"In the True Route, you fight Prince Janis, who has possessed himself with the 'curse' from the source sealed in the deepest part of the temple. If you win, you can seal him and create a world where the 'curse' never appears again, but if you lose, everyone dies."

"...You say that so casually..."

"Losing to the final boss means everyone dies. It's a normal story."

She said this matter-of-factly.

"I digressed. So, there is a bad ending where Prince Janis possesses a large number of people to attack the group of the substitute priestess... But if there are no signs, it should be fine, right? After all, it's a very rare bad ending..."

Grace exhaled as if relieved. It seemed her story was over.

While many shocking facts had been revealed, they weren't necessary at this stage.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Cecilia?"

"Oh, that's right—"

Just as Grace prompted her to speak, a woman's scream pierced their ears. They looked at each other in surprise.

"Something must have happened..."

"Let's go check it out!"

They rushed out of the room.

The scream had come from the room where costumes and props were stored. The woman who screamed was a member of the theater group who had come to fetch a costume. The reason was the goddess costume that was there.

"This is terrible..."

"Who would do such a thing..."

The goddess costume in front of them was torn to shreds and covered in red and yellow paint, changing its color. Some parts were stained orange where the colors had mixed.

In the room were Grace, Cecilia, Oscar, and Gilbert. They had come to help with the performance as promised yesterday and had rushed over when they heard the scream.

"Leen will be heartbroken if she sees this..."

"Even I feel sympathy for this..."

Oscar and Gilbert both looked as if they had bitten into a sour apple.

Incidentally, the woman who first noticed the situation was currently running to fetch Leen.

Cecilia's expression darkened as she looked at the ruined costume.

"Maybe it's the work of the harasser..."

"Indeed, that's a possibility. The other costumes haven't been damaged, after all."

"That's true..."

The security was lax enough for girls to sneak in to ask for Cecilia's autograph, so there were plenty of opportunities for the culprit to enter.

Gilbert knelt down and examined the paint on the floor with his fingers.

"The paint isn't dry, so the culprit might not have gone far."

"But there doesn't seem to be any evidence left behind, does there?"

Oscar also knelt down and held the hem of the dress. The slit that Leen had fixed last night was cruelly torn.

"Hmm? ...Gilbert!"

"What is it?"

"Is this a footprint?"

Oscar pointed to the hem of the dress. There was an orange footprint there. It seemed the culprit had stepped in the paint while fleeing. The footprints were spaced at regular intervals and led down the corridor.

"Maybe they didn't notice it because it's a similar color to the wood."

"Regardless, we might be able to find the culprit by following these footprints."

"They might still be hiding somewhere."

Oscar and Gilbert stood up simultaneously and turned to Cecilia, who was looking dejected.

"We'll follow the footprints."

"I'll go too!"

"Cecil and Grace, stay here. Someone needs to explain the situation to Leen."

Oscar gently stopped her, and Cecilia nodded, "Okay."

She was feeling down and thought she might just get in the way. Moreover, if the culprit was found, she might inadvertently provoke them.

Oscar and Gilbert left the room to follow the footprints.

Left behind were Grace and Cecilia.

Cecilia pressed her forehead, looking distressed.

"...It's my fault."

"The culprit is to blame. You have nothing to regret."

Grace encouraged her, but it felt like the cause was undoubtedly Cecilia. She hadn't intended to ignore the harasser, but the fact that she had been the only victim so far made her feel like she had put it off.

At that moment, she sensed someone behind her and heard a familiar voice.

"The dress is in even worse condition than I imagined."

Turning around, she saw Ein.

He sighed deeply at the sight of the torn dress.

"I heard the story and rushed over, only to find this..."

"Ein, I'm sorry. I think this is my fault."

Apparently, the woman who had screamed had also informed Ein of the situation.

He lightly patted Cecilia's back, who was feeling down.

"Don't worry about it. But, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"What's up?"

"I need to discuss something about Zwey."

He looked at Grace, indicating he wanted to talk to Cecilia alone.

Grace nodded in understanding.

"Sure, I'm fine."

"Shall we go to the other room?"

"Sure, thanks."

Ein nodded seriously.

Cecilia turned to Grace.

"Sorry, I'll be right back."

"Understood."

With that, Cecilia left the room with Ein.