Became the Escort Knight of the Villain in the Romance Novel

15 – Festival (5)

“Let go now.”

As she let go of her hand at her usual curt voice, Irene looked around her and narrowed her eyes.

Maybe I don’t like the way I look now, among so many people,

Her voice came from her mouth as she carefully touched the shoulder of the girl who had collided with someone earlier.

I think I was in a pretty good mood until recently.

What on earth did you see that made your expression look so bad?

“There are too many people.”

“Isn’t it a festival? I think there will be a lot more people than usual.”

“Looking at it from above, it doesn’t look like that many. It’s hard to even breathe now. What are you waiting for here?”

“Okay. Wouldn’t there be a wandering troupe?”

Maybe there was a scene in the novel where you watch the wandering troupe in the festival part.

When I answered, recalling that scene, Irene muttered, ‘Wandering troupe…’ and then turned her gaze to me.

“I’m not very interested in wandering troupes.”

That’s a bit unexpected. I thought you would be interested in something like this

She shook her head again with that insensitive expression, as if the word “Wandering troupe” Had turned off my interest.

“Let’s go.”

“…I understand.”

Looking at her cold face again, he smiles bitterly.

She would have been better off if she had been interested in such things, but what could she possibly like?

Usually, when I was resting, I only read a few books, and those books were even related to studies or economy.

A look of dismay came over my face as I couldn’t easily understand her taste.

But there was still a lot to see at the festival, and I shrugged her shoulders once and walked over to Irene’s side.

“Is there anything you would like to see?”

“No, I’ve had a rough look at what’s going on at the festival…But nothing impressive.”

“Is that so?”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that embarrassing.

Since the response to the wandering troupe was not so good, I thought that maybe there would be no interest in the march or parade that would begin soon.

It’s just that an event I’ve been watching a while ago left a lasting impression in my head, but I’m not sure if this will really get her attention.

“Are you interested in this event?”

“…Magic?”

“Yes, I think this will be fine.”

Irene looked at the leaflet I held out for a while, then nodded her head coolly and replied.

“Let’s take a look.”

#

“…Oops.”

Is it my fault for expecting a magic performance in the Middle Ages?

A sigh escaped my lips at the ridiculous sight unfolding in front of my eyes.

What was in Irene’s eyes, which at first sparkled with curiosity, was now a shallow annoyance,

Sometimes when I met her eyes, her head bowed involuntarily at the cold gaze she looked at me.

Did you know that I would have such a low level?

How nice it would have been if at least the pigeon had been properly taken out.

What the person who introduced himself as a magician showed me was embarrassing to even call it magic.

It wasn’t enough to make a mistake in shuffling the cards, so I dropped the shuffled cards on the floor,

Even so, when I started wiggling her fingers and pretending that there was something great, all expectations were already dashed.

Yeah, I’m screwed.

After her magic show, Irene didn’t even talk to me.

He just walked silently in front of me, and didn’t ask where Lopena and Sir Chris were.

Every time she walks, it feels like the area around her freezes, so I almost mistakenly think that the current season is winter.

“…Sorry.”

“……”

“I didn’t know that the recommendation would be so boring.”

“Did you recommend it without looking into it in advance?”

All the answers that came back were thorns, so all I could do was bow my head with a bitter smile.

I didn’t expect this.

The girl whose eyes lit up at the word festival suddenly disappeared,

As if this situation was boring, only Irene was left looking at her surroundings with an insensitive face.

Are you disappointed? It had a bitter taste in my mouth.

She started with a good heart, but maybe I broke the expectations she had.

At some point, the atmosphere of her walking alone ahead of me seemed chilly enough to make the surrounding colors seem to fade.

The colors that used to be so colorful fade and soon turn into a monotonous monotonous background.

Perhaps this is what the background made of dark colored dots looks like.

The dynamic waves of people gradually stopped, and the color of the lofty sky gradually began to darken.

However, even after so much time had passed, Irene still did not open her mouth.

As if he had lost all expectations for the festival, his face was as expressionless as when he was at the duke’s residence.

I frown at her expression, which only has vague emotions, as if it were sprayed with muddy paint.

This wasn’t what I wanted. Wasn’t he hoping that she would enjoy this festival a little bit?

It was too early to give up. At least until she sees everything in this festival.

“How about that one?”

Struggling to solve his dark expression, he approached Irene and asked in a bright voice. She

She didn’t answer, but she didn’t respond either.

I tried to smile.

#

“……”

If you weren’t expecting the festival, you’d probably be lying.

Obviously, even when one of his escort knights asks about going to a festival,

At least when she saw the flag of Julis fluttering in the city, she was in a very good mood.

Now it was an opportunity to experience a festival on the foundation day that I hadn’t experienced before.

I was looking forward to the festival that was going on around me, as it looked quite enjoyable.

She honestly thought that she would be a source of vitality to herself who was always buried in paperwork.

However, this festival did not meet any of her expectations she had.

It was just noisy and hurt my ears. At first, I expected a little bit, but soon all I saw was pathetically low-level things.

Isn’t the fact that the magic performance that Evan took is tantamount to fraud after all?

It is probably impossible to bring back the sense of anticipation that has already disappeared.

As much as the expectations were high, the mood also began to subside in an instant.

The reason why he lost interest in this festival might have just come from the denial of the feelings rising from a corner of his heart.

Everyone I saw around me was smiling.

Without any worries, he was just busy laughing and chatting while looking at something in front of his eyes.

Holding a skewer of meat in one hand and a glass full of alcohol in the other.

They looked simple, but they seemed happy.

They lived in a place where they were insignificant compared to themselves, and seemed genuinely happy and genuinely happy.

When that kind of appearance came in, I felt like I was alienated from the world they live in.

A different world from them, a better place than anyone else, what would you say if you found out that you who thought you would be happy seeing only good things are actually not happy at all?

They’ll probably laugh at you. It was clear that he would tell them not to lie, not to deceive themselves.

So I couldn’t be happy myself. As if the expectations he had for a moment at such a festival were false, he kept the cold expression he always had on his eyes.

“…Sorry.”

When I see the escort knight bowing his head at the emotions that are just my whim, even though he didn’t do anything wrong, my sinking mood falls into the abyss once again.

It was like falling into a swamp. The sight that gets darker, the breath that gets more and more stuffy, the eyes that get more and more frowned.

It was as if he was trapped in the shadows, as the only things his vision captured were bright things.

The slow footsteps stopped, and he exhaled the breath that was rising up to the bottom of his chin.

I wanted to sit down and rest somewhere right now, so I raised my head while sweeping my frown.

And I see green eyes. When I was always crouching in the black darkness, the green color that cut through the darkness and came back shimmered.

No matter how harsh or bruised, I saw that face that came and smiled softly as if nothing was wrong.

“How about that one?”

“…Evan.”

However, this time his expression was not so bright.

It was a smiling face, but it must have been a negative emotion embedded in it.

As I looked at the light shadow on my face, as if it were covered in dark clouds, my heart felt uncomfortable.

It was because he knew very well that the darkness was created because of him.

“It’s been a while, but the festival actually starts when it gets dark.”

“……”

Doesn’t answer. To be precise, I was afraid to meet those eyes.

I didn’t want to hold the rose in my hand anymore.

Like the princess who swallowed the poisoned apple, like the girl who faced a miserable end wearing red shoes that seduced me.

I didn’t want to experience such regret.

Like the stars in the darkened sky disappear when the sun rises, in the end, it will only last for a moment.

That’s why I try to ignore it. He digs into her ear, avoids the calm voice that lingers in her head, and moves her steps while looking only in front of her.

“They say skewers are the specialty here. Aren’t you interested?”

I cover her ears to avoid her voice ringing in my ears. Still, her voice was sweet as she cut through them. Damn it

“My lady.”

“…Evan.”

“Fireworks will start soon.”

“Evan Fried.”

The words that came out of her mouth were colder than ever.

She was already exhausted. Now she wishes she’d just let herself go.

She hopes that she will stop reaching out to her, since the swamp she has fallen into is deep and cold.

Her own escort knight still smiles after hearing the words so chilling that the air around her freezes.

A smile that was extremely gentle, as if drawn with a brush made of feathers.

“…I just want you to look at it once. The reason I brought up the festival was because I wanted the young lady to be at least a little comfortable.”

By the way, it doesn’t sound like you’re enjoying it very much. A bitter smile and a frown on his face caught his eye.

It wasn’t his fault that his mood was down. It was just his whim.

“I heard that the fireworks display at the Founding Day festival is the most famous in the empire. I don’t think it’s bad to see it once.”

“……”

It was only then that the darkened streets came into view. I saw people looking up at the sky waiting for something.

The sky, unlike what he remembered, was very dark.

“Night… Is it?

Evan, who was staring at himself at the question, shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth.

“A lot of time has passed. If this fireworks display is over, today’s festival will probably end here.”

It’s over, he laughs at the words. He didn’t enjoy anything at the festival today.

He was immersed in his own world, and he was just pacing the streets like that.

He doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t react to what I hear.

Nevertheless, Evan was here.

He was looking at the sky as if nothing had happened, not even expressing his displeasure.

…What the hell.

I couldn’t understand. If he were himself, he would have given up right away and kept his mouth shut.

He still couldn’t understand his escort driver who was talking about seeing the fireworks.

Even so, why is it that my gaze keeps drawing me?

Piyuu-

Look at the red trajectory flying through the sky.

A bunch of flowers blooming in colorful fireworks flying through the dark sky.

The fireworks created by magical firecrackers are so brilliant that they steal the eyes of those who see them at once.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“……”

The flowers blooming in the pitch-black darkness were truly beautiful.

I also felt like they were whispering hope to me.

It seemed to say that even though I was buried in such negative emotions, I could overcome them someday.

Looking at the flames burning in the sky, his gaze soon turned to his escort knight.

I wonder if the fireworks that light up the pitch-black sky are miraculous?

His face looked blankly at the sky and somehow looked like an idiot.

I don’t even want to talk to him, but he comes up to me and says things to himself.

He should have known. That I’m not listening to what you’re saying. Sometimes he would spit out harsh words, cut off his words coldly, and shoot at them.

Nevertheless, he laughed.

If he is not an idiot, what can we call him?

No matter how harshly I say it, he must be a fool who eventually smiles at me.

“…That sounds stupid.”

“Yes?”

“I hope you haven’t heard.”

I stared at Evan as he asked what he meant, then turned his head and looked at the sky again.

The words came out without me knowing, so I didn’t even know why he said those words.

However, the sky was no longer dark.

The darkness didn’t blur my eyes, nor did it tighten my chest.

As the bright light bursts out, the blurred vision begins to open up.

Puuuong-

Soon, green firecrackers flew up and colored the sky.

Brighter and splendid than ever before, as if the sun had risen again in the sky, the lights colored the night sky splendidly.

The eyes that looked at that green color bent very slightly and softly.