Why Would a Holy Knight Be Afflicted with Such a Curse? - Side Story Part II

First, those who simply weren’t suited to crowded places.

Second, those who wanted to quickly slip away with someone they had hit it off with at the party.

Just as expected, muffled breaths could be heard here and there throughout the night garden.

People who had willingly given themselves over to the heat of a summer night and the effects of wine—the sort of people I never got along with.

Avoiding them, I headed toward an open clearing. No matter how bold people were, very few would choose to conduct a secret tryst in the middle of a moonlit garden.

And just as I had expected, there was one man sitting there—someone who didn’t fit the bustle of the party, the sociable atmosphere of the lounge, or the licentiousness of the garden.

“So you were already out here.”

“……”

At my words, Celesto casually raised a hand. That is to say, he didn’t even bother waving.

Gathering up the hem of my dress, I sat down beside him.

“Where’s Leocel? Wasn’t he with you just a little while ago?”

“He’s probably somewhere around there.”

“Again? He disappeared at the start of the party too. I have to give him credit—if nothing else, he’s remarkably diligent.”

“……”

An older brother with a scandalous love life, and a friend who never commented on it.

Caught between the two of us, Celesto quietly closed his eyes. He was praying, if only so that his own soul might remain pure.

Watching him, the conversation I had overheard in the lounge naturally came back to mind.

‘Do other people really think he keeps his distance from women because of his faith?’

It’s just that his social skills are completely nonexistent.

While Celesto offered his silent prayer, I looked around the garden.

I had been hoping to sneak a rare plant into my bag if I found one, but the garden contained nothing but the latest fashionable ornamental plants.

“Hey, Roarna.”

Just then, Celesto spoke.

“Did you bring your wallet?”

“I did. Why?”

“There was a carriage stand over there. Want to just take one and leave?”

“The one we passed on the way here?”

“Yeah.”

Only then did I turn to look at Celesto.

For some reason, it struck me that this guy always noticed the same things I did. It was strangely irritating…

Still, if he was willing to sneak away from the party with me, that was all that mattered.

“Sounds good. Let’s go.”

“Then gather your things and meet me at the front entrance in ten minutes.”

“The front entrance?”

“…Why? Is there a problem?”

Celesto looked at me with a dubious expression.

I returned the look as though he had to be kidding.

“Seriously? If we leave through the front entrance, it’ll be obvious that we slipped out. Do you think the servants won’t notice something as obvious as that?”

“……Then what do you suggest?”

“I think we can just climb over one of the walls.”

“Are you out of your mind…?”

Celesto pressed a hand to his forehead.

I wondered why he was reacting like that when he had been the one to suggest sneaking away in the first place—but then again, it made sense.

For all his bad temper, Celesto was the type of man who followed every rule. The very idea of climbing over a wall was probably…

He must have felt an overwhelming sense of resistance toward the idea.

But he had one fatal weakness. Celesto lacked social skills, and people like that were easily swayed by someone who was even slightly more persuasive than they were.

Someone like me, for example.

“Think about it, Celesto. Walls are meant to keep people from breaking in, right? Are we breaking in? No.”

“We’re just leaving through somewhere that isn’t the gate.”

“…What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Forget whether it’s right or wrong and look only at the logic. Am I wrong?”

“……”

His green eyes stared straight through me, as if asking whether I was being serious.

He clearly didn’t agree with me at all, but that didn’t matter. As long as I made it impossible for him to argue back.

“So the rule, ‘Don’t climb over walls,’ only applies when the purpose is to break in. We’re just people trying to go home.”

“……”

“Or we can make a grand announcement to the servants instead—that the young lord of House Castenor and the young lady of House Balseren are leaving the party halfway through.”

“…Ha, damn it.”