Chapter 08

It Was a Strange Sensation

As midnight approached, I was glad that we had come out to the balcony early.

As the hour drew near, the balcony began filling with people just as the hall had earlier. Fortunately, our family had secured a good spot in advance, so we held each other’s hands tightly and looked up at the sky.

It was the moment when the long-awaited star Irene began to shine brightly.

I had often seen that star when I was young, but perhaps because this was my coming-of-age ceremony, it felt even more special tonight.

However, as time passed, I began to notice that it looked somewhat different from what I had seen every year.

No matter how bright it was, a star should have been dimmer than the moon. Yet tonight, it seemed unusually dazzling.

Apparently, it wasn’t just my imagination.

Even from the whispers around us, I could tell that everyone had noticed how unusually intense Irene’s light was tonight.

“Could it be because Her Holiness the Saintess has come?”

“Oh my, oh my. I think you’re right. It really will be a special day.”

Having one’s coming-of-age ceremony at the Imperial Palace was already something that might happen only once in a lifetime.

And thanks to Irene shining more brilliantly than usual, the surroundings were filled with cheerful voices.

“Rin, I pray that you receive the full blessing of the star that shares your name.”

“I love you, Rin.”

“Me too.”

With my family’s blessings surrounding me, I gently closed my eyes.

I held both hands tightly together and followed the ritual of the coming-of-age ceremony.

Surely, I wasn’t the only one praying. Everyone celebrating their coming-of-age ceremony would be praying as well.

As I pictured the brightly shining star, I prayed for my family.

I wished that no one would ever get hurt, and that we could all remain healthy and live together for a very long time.

I especially prayed for my brother and Dad to remain safe.

I prayed that good fortune would always follow them and protect them from danger.

At that moment, I felt as though a gentle warmth was surrounding me.

A sensation of fullness gradually rising from the tips of my toes felt both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.

Yes.

It was like the sense of fulfillment I experienced when I gave Guiding.

It felt as though a sacred energy was slowly pouring down from the top of my head.

It wasn’t a bone-chilling coldness.

Instead, a refreshing and cool energy flowed through my body all the way down to my toes.

It felt as though I had finally realized that the god I had never truly believed in actually existed.

Was this what the grace of God that Mom always talked about felt like?

It was an incredibly strange sensation.

When I opened my eyes, my family was looking at me.

Mom was the first to embrace me.

“May you be filled with the blessings of God Asteras.”

“Rin, I’ll pray that you receive the full blessing of Lord Asteras.”

“My daughter, you know that your father loves you more than anyone, right? But God will love you very much too. If it’s Him, your father is willing to share his love. May you receive the greatest blessing in the world.”

I pushed that strange sensation to the back of my mind and quietly answered the three of them.

“Thank you so much. And I love you.”

I had always heard them tell me that they loved me, but I had never been the one to say it first.

Perhaps because of that, my family looked at me with surprised expressions before breaking into bright smiles and embracing me.

I hadn’t expected much from my coming-of-age ceremony, but I felt as though I would never forget tonight, no matter how many years passed.

Following Mom’s suggestion that we leave before the crowds became even worse, our family crossed the still-bustling hall.

Before we left the banquet hall, a palace attendant standing beside the doorkeeper approached us and held out a small box.

“This is a gift from Her Majesty the Empress to those who celebrated their coming-of-age ceremony today.”

“Oh my…… Her Majesty truly is generous.”

Mom covered her mouth with both hands, looking deeply moved and delighted.

I accepted the box from the palace attendant, then lightly bent my knees and offered my thanks.

“Please be sure to convey my gratitude to Her Majesty the Empress.”

Of course, no one would actually convey the words of a mere baron’s daughter.

It was simply the sort of formal response one was expected to give.

The palace attendant nodded as though thoroughly satisfied with my answer.

We walked through the quiet corridors in search of the place where our carriage had been parked.

Just then, someone hurried past us.

A familiar scent briefly brushed the tip of my nose before disappearing.

I glanced at Ciel as he passed by.

Then he suddenly turned around.

I had been looking at him absentmindedly when I blinked slowly in surprise.

For a brief moment, my eyes met a pair of deep blue eyes that had been wandering through the air.

In the past, whenever our eyes happened to meet, there had been a time when my heart would pound as though it were about to burst.

It had beaten so violently that I had wondered whether something was wrong with my heart.

Perhaps because that heart had already died, I felt nothing like that now.

I was merely a little puzzled.

Why was the Duke wandering around the corridor?

Shouldn’t he have been with the Crown Prince and Seoyoon, the Saintess, by now?

I stared at him with a puzzled expression when Dad suddenly greeted him in his booming voice.

“Your Grace, Duke Leophart. I am Arthur de Cloche, the lord who governs the Cloche territory. I’ve heard many stories about your exploits, Your Grace.”

“……Cloche. You mean the territory at the westernmost edge.”

“Thank you for remembering us, Your Grace.”

“I heard that monsters frequently appear there. If you ever need assistance, you may send me a letter at any time.”

“Even the offer itself is reassuring, Your Grace.”

He could have been angry at a mere baron for speaking to him as though they were acquainted.

Yet Ciel treated Dad with unexpected courtesy.

That was very strange.

The character I had seen in the novel was an extremely aristocratic and arrogant man.

It was also exactly how I had felt when I first met him in my previous life.

“Well then, I’m busy, so I’ll be going.”

“Yes. May God’s blessing be with you.”

Dad politely bid him farewell.

Since this was the coming-of-age ceremony where the Saintess had appeared, it was little more than a customary blessing.

Without saying anything, I bowed at the waist and then straightened.

Ciel had already turned around and was disappearing down the corridor.

I quietly murmured toward his retreating back.

“May you be filled with God’s blessings.”

It was just……

I felt as though I hadn’t properly said goodbye to him back then.

Perhaps that was why I had felt an urge to offer him one final farewell.

I boarded the carriage with my family.

Our plan was to return to our territory as soon as morning came after tonight.

The journey would be difficult, but just as when we had traveled to the capital, I knew my family would enjoy it together.

Ciel stopped walking when he heard the soft voice behind him.

He had finally found the voice he had been searching for ever since the banquet began.

As the Duke, he had been required to watch over the banquet hall while keeping an eye on Seoyoon, the Saintess.

Yet for some reason, this particular voice had continued to bother him, making it impossible for him to concentrate.

He had even caught Jace’s attention because of it.

But eventually, he had no choice but to leave his position.

He wandered around the vast hall while pretending not to be searching, listening carefully.

Whenever he spotted a group of noble ladies, he would approach them first and greet them—something completely unlike his usual behavior.

As a duke with an outstanding appearance and a reputation as an Esper, he was welcomed everywhere, not only among groups of young noblewomen.

He spared no effort in searching for a woman whose only feature he knew was her voice.

Yet even after greeting every noble in the banquet hall, he couldn’t find the owner of that voice.

The frustration and impatience were becoming unbearable.

He couldn’t explain exactly why.

He had been about to go out onto the balcony, but after seeing people praying during the coming-of-age ceremony, he had come out into the corridor first.

Part of him had come out simply to escape the suffocating atmosphere.

But he had also stopped by the doorkeeper to ask whether any noble families had already left, just in case.

He watched the baron’s family walking away and quietly followed them.

Once outside, he concealed himself in the darkness and used his wind ability to rise into the air.

Following them without making a sound, he observed them from above.

The Cloche family was a baronial family, but it had a long history dating back to the founding of the empire.

However, they were a typical provincial noble family that rarely came to the capital unless absolutely necessary.

Their territory experienced a relatively high frequency of monster appearances despite being small, and because many of their ancestors had been stubborn and uncompromising people, they had shown little interest in politics.

Perhaps they could be called a naturally born family of knights.

Although their territory was too small for them to officially be called a knight order, the Cloche family’s guard unit was fairly well known.

Especially among other knight orders.

Ciel concealed his presence as he followed the woman.

It was definitely the same voice that had murmured the word “Seoyoon.”

How could she know the Saintess’s name?

And how had she pronounced a Korean name so naturally?

When he had first called Seoyoon by her name, he had needed to practice repeatedly.

The subtle intonation and pronunciation were different from the language of the empire.

Yet an imperial citizen had pronounced such a name with ease?

How could she possibly know it?

If he had not regressed, he might have thought nothing of it.

But the Ciel of now felt a strong sense of suspicion at that tiny murmur.

More precisely, a sense of incongruity……

Until the woman boarded the carriage, he observed her carefully from head to toe.

Her hair, pinned up, was a deep apricot color with a pinkish hue, exactly like a piece of coral he had once seen.

Beneath that hair was a small, perfectly white face with delicate and finely arranged features.

She had a smooth nose, full lips, and large almond-shaped eyes.

The green eyes within them looked remarkably indifferent.

Yet whenever she looked at her family, her eyes curved gently, giving them a warm expression.

There was also a small mole that seemed to drop down from the middle of her left eye, and it particularly caught his attention.

She was undoubtedly a woman he had never seen before.

And yet, strangely, his gaze kept being drawn toward her.

He eventually found the answer to why.

He had watched that posture so many times that it had been burned into his retinas.

From her perfectly straight back and neck to her disciplined stride, every aspect of her movements was familiar.

Seohyun, who had come from the special forces, had always exuded the restrained straightness unique to a soldier even when she was simply standing still.

That was why he hadn’t liked her at first.

He had thought she was a woman who had come at the orders of the Korean government.

Ciel remained standing upright in the air, forgetting the purpose with which he had first come here as he obsessively watched the woman.

Eventually, the carriage departed.

Yet for a long time, he could only stare at the disappearing carriage.

No matter how much he thought about it, all he found were questions.

He was confused.

And he couldn’t move, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sensation.

Why did he feel Seohyun’s presence from that woman he didn’t know?

Why did his heart ache at the sight of that indifferent expression he had seen only for an instant?

He had followed her because of his suspicions.

Yet in the end, not a single question had been answered.

Instead, an even greater question had settled deep inside his heart.

It felt as though another heavy stone had been placed inside his already suffocating chest.

Ciel released a long, narrow breath.

It was a night when he missed his wife, Seohyun, more than anything.