Chapter 16 – Extra Story : Either Way, The Sound Has Fallen  

The first girl who told me with a big smile,「I love the violin you play,」was my first love.「You’ve been secretly practicing because you thought you had to be a magician? Then I must be fan number one!」She supported my dreams, but instead of laughing at my indecisiveness in wanting to meet the expectations of those around me, she listened to me seriously and said,「Stefan is a hard worker, so I’m sure you will be able to achieve both.」

When I asked her if he「was going to put the song I heard.」in my dream out into the world, she said,「I wouldn’t do that because it would be bad for the person who really wrote this song.」Remilia says there’s probably a fairy or a spirit or some other composer in another world not inhabited by humans. I thought that since they were all great songs, she could have gotten huge royalties if she had just published them instead of being so honest, but I felt uncomfortable saying it in front of Remilia, who has a beautiful heart, so I kept my mouth shut. She’s smart, but I’m worried that she’s too straight and will get cheated in the future. If I had only been encouraged by the dream of being a musician, I would not have stepped into the path of sorcery without hesitation. I guess I am a greedy person who wants both to「make the girl I love smile」and to「gain the power to protect the girl I love.」

But Remilia is more greedy. She’s happy with Williard and all the people in the country… She wanted a prosperous country where people can sleep in their homes without starving, without fear of crime or war damage, and without being exploited by unjust jobs. I’ve never seen anyone in the aristocracy take such greed seriously.

But since I had no choice, I decided to help her with her dream. I can’t tell Remilia, the Crown Prince’s fiancée, the real reason, but I’ll just say,「To thank you for supporting my dream.」Next to me was Williard, so I will be Remilia’s best as a friend.

I thought so, but when did I make a mistake? I, who was often messed around with by widows, used the interpersonal skills I learned at the salon to flee from the Star Maiden at a leisurely pace. I was teasing Claude because the serious Williard was often preyed upon by that woman.

Before he knew it, Williard’s attitude had changed as he was being cooped up with her, and he looked at Miss Pina, saying,「I don’t like her, but for some reason I’m attracted to her.」Maybe she used some kind of magic, but there was no reaction to the items the royalty wore that prevented him from being charmed. As the Crown Prince’s close associates, Claude and I are of course taking some measures to prevent the charm. David doesn’t seem to be that uncomfortable with Miss Pina talking to him these days.

I also did some research on the lore of Claude and the Star Maiden. There was a description that the Star Maiden in the past were still sought after by several men and had been in a mess at the time, but the decision was withheld because it was not determined that they were seeking the power of the Star Maiden. The condition is unknown, but as expected, shall I advise the royal family to quarantine Miss Pina? I spoke with Claude and said,「I don’t think His Highness would ever be that wrong, no matter how much he wants to be. Don’t you believe him?」I couldn’t make any stronger suggestions when he talked about doubting my loyalty to him.

I pretended to be goofing off and continued to observe, but then Remilia asked me for confidentiality. When called to go to the private room, I was a little nervous about the situation of being alone with him for the first time in a long time, although of course she was escorted by a lady-in-waiting.

As expected, Remilia was worried about Williard and Miss Pina’s relationship. I’ve been getting relationship advice from girls I like for years, but it’s still a little hard.

Now Williard certainly seems to have suddenly developed a fondness for Miss Pina with her「mysterious powers,」but he seems to be resisting it well enough, considering… It’s frustrating, but he cares about Remilia as much as I do. Even though she is the Star Maiden, I don’t think she would choose that one. Rather, it may be that she is the Star Maiden of folklore existence and therefore has an invisible power that attracts people. If that’s the case, I don’t know how much research I’d have to do to find out.

So I tried to reassure Remilia by telling her that… I looked at her again, anxiously, relying on me to be here, and I thought. As long as that woman is hanging around Williard and making Remilia uncomfortable, she can count on me. …That much is fine, right? Because I’m Remilia’s number one friend. It’s only natural that she would ask for advice and rely on me.

The older women who plotted to mess with me also said,「It’s the husband’s fault for making his wife feel insecure.」Ahh, of course I wouldn’t fall for that.

It’s natural for a friend to comfort a grieving Remilia when Williard makes her uneasy.

If I had consulted my father, the chief royal magician, at this time, the future might have been different. The wedge of the curse had already been driven into me and into Williard at this time, and it was slowly expanding in size.

At some point, Miss Pina… Pina’s complaint was mixed with a story about Remilia’s jealousy toward Pina because of her feelings for me, and I was looking forward to hearing it. I never imagined that Remilia, who was so straight-laced that she was adamant even about releasing a fairy song to the world, saying「I didn’t write it,」was so jealous of Pina and cared about me to the point of harming her. I thought so.

I believe Pina when she says… I wanted to believe that she wanted「to be jealous,」and I foolishly went so far as to tell Remilia to stop harassing Pina. And as soon as I did, she stopped talking to me about it… I even complained to Remilia about the fact that she was no longer relying on me, even though it was only natural.

「I think Williard is beginning to grow attached to you because you mistreat Pina like that.」

Now that I think about it, it was very misguided.

Back then I was really… From the bottom of my heart, I thought,「Sure, Pina doesn’t know manners and her behavior is irritating from my point of view, but that doesn’t make her a bully.」I believed that Remilia was bullying Pina and that it was true. We have all the evidence, all the witnesses… We said it’s an indisputable fact… That’s the only way I could think of. Ahh… It’s all excuses. Pina… I wanted to use the devil and be her「to be number one」at Remilia’s behest, that was the first time.

After the curse was lifted by the elixir of wine brought by the demon king, despair and deep regret overcame us. We apologized, but of course it was not forgivable. Remilia also cried, not about forgiveness and not forgiving, but just sadness and not even acceptance.

I shouldn’t have wished for that. I should have ignored my own greed that was satisfied by hurting Remilia. I should have pulled that woman away immediately. If the Crown Prince’s entourage had appealed to the castle with one voice, I’m sure it would have passed.

I lost the first girl I met, my first fan as a musician, and my best friend at the same time. I have no right to be sad about that.