For some reason, Prince Alfeld had suddenly returned home ahead of schedule after talking with me in that corridor.
We were surprised by his sudden action, but on his way back home, he said with a serious expression on his face that he had to return to his country and that he had to say goodbye to me for a while.
I was puzzled as to why he was addressing me in the midst of so many people seeing me off, but still I protected myself, smiled, and said good luck.
Then Prince Alfeld quickly dropped to his knees in front of me, took my right hand and kissed the back of it.
At that moment, a cold air, like absolute zero, seemed to drift from Kaiser and Prince Leon, who were next to me, and from Ghislan, Lady Lateia, and Viktor, who were farther away.
But whether or not Prince Alfeld was aware of everyone’s presence, he removed his face from my hands, stared at my face, smiled bewitchingly, said he would definitely come to see me again, and left.
Shortly after that, five people who were emitting what looked like cold air surrounded me and asked me to explain what happened with Prince Alfeld.
I was puzzled as to why they were all approaching me in such an eerie manner, but I thought they would not let me go unless I explained, so I explained what had happened in that corridor.
When they heard my explanation, they all let out a loud sigh and looked at me suspiciously at the same time.
“There’s another one…”
The other four nodded in agreement at the same time to Kaiser’s mutterings.
However, I was twisting my head in confusion at the state of the five of them.
More months had passed since I met the last capture target, and in the blink of an eye, nine years had passed and I had finally grown up to be 17 years old.
This year, the ceremony to select the maiden of the sky, known as the “Celestial Maiden,” is held once every few decades in the temple of the castle.
At the back of the temple, there is a large vial of water in which the names of all the women in the kingdom who will turn seventeen years old this year are written on a piece of paper and placed in the vial at once.
Then, strangely enough, only one piece of paper would rise to the surface of the water, and all the others would sink to the bottom of the vase.
The woman whose name was written on the piece of paper that came up to the surface of the water was chosen to be the “Celestial Maiden” of that year.
I had seen this in the video at the beginning of the game, so I could picture the ceremony that was going on in the temple now without actually seeing it.
While thinking about such things, I was leisurely reading a book in my room.
…Well, I know who’s going to be chosen for the Celestial Maiden! I’m not thrilled at all.
So I looked through the book and smiled bitterly as I remembered the state of my father and the others this morning.
Until the time to ascend to the castle, my father and brother were restlessly pacing my room, and my mother was repeatedly discussing with her handmaidens what dress I should wear when I was chosen as “Celestial Maiden”.
I was very distressed by such a situation of everyone, as I knew the result.
I had asked them many times not to have that kind of expectation because it might not be me, but they encouraged me to be sure that it would be fine.
I gave up in the middle of the conversation because of the futility of saying anything, and just hoped that those people wouldn’t be too depressed when they heard the results.
And then the door to my room opened with great force.
“Cecilia, it’s bad!”
“…Father, when you enter your daughter’s room at this age, at least knock, please.”
“Oh, oh, I’m sorry. Oh, I’m sorry. Cecilia, my god! The ‘Celestial Maiden’ has been chosen as another girl!”
He had a look of disbelief on his face as he shouted that, Father.
Furthermore, my brother, who came into the room late, also had a look of disbelief on his face.
“I definitely thought the ‘Celestial Maiden’ was supposed to be my lovely sister, Cecilia…”
“Brother…it’s a ceremonial decision and it can’t be helped.”
“Cecilia…are you sure you’re not sorry?”
“No, not at all. I can honestly say that I’m very relieved that I wasn’t chosen, as I had no idea that I would be able to play such a large role in the first place.”
“No, I don’t think there’s a problem with Cecilia’s caliber, do you?”
“No, no, brother, that’s because you’re looking at me with family favoritism.”
I smiled bitterly at my brother, and then my mother came rushing into my room, her face pale and unbelieving.
Then my mother rushed into my room with a panicked look on her face, her expression pale and unbelievable as if she had seen something unbelievable.
“Oh, you…is it true that Cecilia was not chosen as the ‘Celestial Maiden’?”
“I…Yeah.”
“Oh, my goodness!”
Your father’s frustrated reply, to which your mother momentarily lost consciousness and nearly collapsed on the spot.
“Leila!”
“Mother!”
“Mother!”
“Ma’am!”
But the maidservants behind her rushed to support her and quickly brought a chair for her to sit on.
Father came close to his mother and gently hugged her shoulder, and she rested her head on his body.
“Leila, are you okay?”
“Yes…I’m sorry for worrying you. Hey, so what kind of person was chosen to be the ‘Celestial Maiden’?”
“She was the daughter of a commoner who lived in a town not far from Royal Capital, I believe.”
“What? Not a nobleman!?”
“Oh, that surprised me too. Because up until now, the ‘Celestial Maiden’ has always had a nobleman’s daughter chosen to serve. Well, it is true that a commoner’s daughter’s name has been written on a piece of paper and placed in a water bottle together, but as far as I can find in the literature, one has never been chosen. So I just assumed that my daughter would be chosen this time as well. But in fact…”
“Could there be some kind of mistake?”
“As much as I would like to suspect so, I’m sorry to say that I was present at the ceremony and saw the floating paper with my own eyes, so I can’t be wrong.”
“Oh no…I’ve prepared a variety of dresses for Cecilia…”
My father was gently patting her depressed mother’s back.
…I had expected it, but as expected, the depression of these people is quite unbearable~
I had mixed feelings as I looked at everyone, but I still had to ask father about something that was bothering me.
“Father, so what is the name of the person chosen for the ‘Celestial Maiden’?”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure there’s no family name, and her name is ‘Nina’.”
“Nina…”
I whispered the name I heard from father and I thought about it.
I see…the heroine’s name is ‘Nina’, which is the game’s default name. I didn’t know what kind of name she was going to have because I was able to change her name at one point~. Well, in my case, I wasn’t good at thinking of names, so I just went with “Nina”. So I’m glad it was a name that didn’t feel strange, to be honest.
While thinking that in my heart, I was at a loss as to what to do with this air that was still depressing.
Nina
She is 17 years old with fluffy blonde hair to her shoulders and beautiful blue eyes.
She is the heroine and default character of “Eternal Time With You”.
She has a cheerful personality and can open up to anyone, and has a kind heart.
However, she has a strong sense of right and wrong, and she has the inner strength to speak out against those who try to deceive her with sweet words, even if they are noblemen.
She lives alone in a town far from the capital, and has been alone since her parents died when she was young.
However, the kind people around her have helped her to keep her character from becoming bent in the face of such circumstances.
The story begins when she is chosen as the “Celestial Maiden” and climbs up to the royal castle in the year she turns 17.
I stood in the front row of the ceremony room with Kaiser in the front row, remembering what was said about Nina.
From now on, this is where the ordination ceremony of the “Celestial Maiden” will take place.
And in order to attend the ceremony, the King and his wife, as well as this country’s princes Kaiser and Prince Leon, the director of the Ministry of Academic Research of the Royal Palace, Mr. Dimitria and his son Ghislan, as well as Prince Alfeld, who came here for a long visit because he was interested in this rare ceremony called “Celestial Maiden,” and the leader of the delegation, Viktor, who is guarding the ceremony, are all here.
In case you’re wondering, there were many other bureaucrats and other nobles in the room, and my parents, my brother, and the minister’s daughter, Lateia-sama, was also standing alongside her father, the Marquis of Daiharia.
Many such royalty and aristocracy stood side by side facing each other across the red carpet that was laid in the middle.
And at the end of the red carpet leading from the door, there was a raised altar on which stood a fine old man with a white beard, who I assumed was a priest.
My heart was pounding with anticipation and anxiety as I drank in this solemn atmosphere, thinking that the game was about to begin.
The day has come at last! As a fan of Eternal Time With You, I can’t tell you how delighted I am to see our heroine…Nina’s appearance right in front of me! But at the same time, I was still worried that I couldn’t finally break off the engagement with Kaiser. I tried to talk about it many times, but he didn’t listen to me at all…haha~ Well, I have to be careful not to get in the way of Nina’s love life and never let the doom flag rise!
I had secretly made up my mind to do so.
Then Kaiser came up to my ear and spoke to me.
“Cecilia, I’m really sorry for your loss. I also thought that the ‘Celestial Maiden’ was you…”
“Kaiser…it’s already been decided, so it can’t be helped. Besides, I’m going to support Nina-sama who was chosen as the ‘Celestial Maiden’ with all my might.”
“Oh, you are supporting her?”
“Yes! I intend to help her without interfering with Lady Nina.”
“Oh, I see…well, if Cecilia doesn’t mind, I won’t say anything else.”
I pumped a fist with enthusiasm as I looked at Kaiser, and Kaiser saw this and replied with a wry smile.
So I turned to the red carpet again and waited for Nina to appear.
But then I suddenly realized something.
…Huh? What’s the real story behind this scene? As I recall… oh right, this is the prologue part before we get into the route, so I just saw it first and basically skipped it. Hmmm, what was it like~? Before I pressed skip, it described a door opening and a lot of royalty and aristocracy lined up in my field of vision, and I pressed skip as soon as I saw it…
I wrinkled my brow as I tried to recall memories of my past life and made a difficult face, trying to avoid being noticed by others.
But then I heard the news that Nina was entering and I stopped remembering and stared excitedly at the door, no longer remembering.
Then the door opened slowly and Nina, the same Nina I had on my phone’s standby screen, walked in.
Oh wow, Nina is so cute!!! That blonde hair that sways and sways every time she walks, those blue eyes that clearly show she’s full of nervousness and anxiety, it’s all just like that Nina! Oh no, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been!
So I was writhing in my mind as I watched Nina walking slowly on the carpet.
And so Nina was walking awkwardly with a nervous gaze towards the altar, as if she was trying to avoid looking at the royalty and aristocrats around her.
And when she was about to walk past me with such a step, it happened.
“Ah.”
With such a small voice from Nina, her body fell forward.
The tension and the uncomfortable feeling of walking on the carpet seemed to have caused her to scratch her feet.
I was unconsciously moving as I listened to the voices of the noblemen around me, who were buzzing in the distance as they watched Nina.
I quickly slipped out of the procession and quickly supported Nina’s body, which was now collapsing on the floor.
“Lady Nina! Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes. I’m fine.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Huh!”
I smiled at Nina, relieved that she didn’t get hurt because I had somehow managed to support her before she fell down.
Then Nina looked at me and for some reason she blushed and choked.
I wondered why Nina was so upset, but I said to her.
“Lady Nina, what is wrong?”
“…it’s beautiful.”
“What?”
“Oh! No, it’s nothing! But more importantly, thank you for your help. Uh… I don’t mean to be rude, but may I ask your name?”
“Me? My name is Cecilia.”
“Lady Cecilia… that’s a very pretty name.”
When I saw Nina smiling at me with an embarrassed look on her cheeks as she said that, I almost squealed here.
No!!!!! Nina is too cute!!!! I mean… what? I think I’ve seen some lines and scenes similar to this one…oh!
I then remembered something and hurriedly turned around to see Kaiser stepping out and standing frozen with his hand outstretched towards me.
Yes, that’s right!!!!! Actually, this was the scene where Kaiser saved Nina!!!!
So I was screaming in my mind as I looked at Kaiser, who had frozen in place.
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