SHC63_ARCHIVE_CHAPTER 63 A FRAGMENT OF LOVE
C63
Chapter 63: "A Fragment of Love"
The musical depicted the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Its main theme was her lifelong pursuit of freedom, but the story also featured the constant presence of the Emperor of the Underworld, who deeply loved her. While that’s the general plot, when performed by the actors of Violet Garden, the focus shifts more toward the love, hatred, and passion between the Empress and the Emperor.
The songs were largely the same, but different interpretations brought different dimensions to the story.
Truth is, I only ever saw the Violet Garden version.
“So… that song you just sang—it’s the one from the finale of that musical?”“Yes, that’s right.”“Huh, you must’ve watched it so many times to remember the song like that. I’m jealous.”“Ah, well… I, um, I was told to memorize the song and sing it…”“Even though you could’ve just watched it yourself?”“W-Well… I needed to know it thoroughly to recreate it properly here, didn’t I?”“Ohh, right. Because it’s your mission to build a music academy and stage musicals here.”That was close. That was an extremely close encounter.
Seriously, I really should’ve just told the truth—that I have memories from my past life. It would’ve saved me so much trouble trying to dance around it now. Ugh, I hate how shortsighted I was.
“Anyway,” Romanov-sensei chimed in from behind, “now we understand why the items A-tan makes end up with such powerful enchantments.”“Exactly. If singing functions like a chant, then it makes sense… but still, I hadn’t considered that possibility.”Come to think of it, I’ve heard before that the things I make often end up with magical enhancements. I wonder what kind of effects ended up in this “Sisi Star.”
I handed the freshly completed hair ornament to Viktor and asked him to appraise it.
“Let’s see… it’s got Status Ailment Immunity, Pseudo-Immortality, and Absolute Defense… and there are some extra beauty-enhancing effects too…”
“…That’s more extreme than I expected.”“Yeah, this could be a problem.”According to Viktor, the fabric—being a gift from a god—already came preloaded with effects like Status Immunity, Increased Defense, Boosted Magic, and Major Constant Healing.
But then I started working with it, and on top of that, I was singing. That apparently amplified the effects even further.
“If it heals even near-fatal wounds instantly, and the enhanced metabolism gives the wearer a pseudo-immortal state… and combining defense boosts with magical amplification results in absolute defense… Well, it’s certainly worthy of someone who protects an entire nation, but…”
“…It’s not ideal for A-tan’s future. In the best case scenario, the estate confines A-tan and forces him to craft items like these for the rest of his life.“No! We can’t let that happen to the young master!”“When it’s time to present his work to the palace, Alyosha should go with it. He can say the fabric was his doing, and it’ll explain everything.”“…That’s probably the fastest way. I’ll tell Igor-sama I provided the material.”As I stood there flustered, Rottenmeier-san and the three elves calmly discussed countermeasures.
Then Elise, who seemed to want only me to notice, shyly raised her hand. She had finished her own test piece and wanted to show me.
It was properly shaped like a flower, though unfortunately a bit of glue was showing.
“I-it turned out like this, but… the glue is… kind of seeping out…”“Still, for a first attempt, it’s really well done!”“Thank youuu.”“Make a few more for practice, and I think you’ll be able to create pieces you could actually sell.”“I will! I’ll do my best!”Elise smiled brightly, beaming with joy.
Now that I think about it—back when I had just recovered, even when I started going on about wanting to see embroidery or try it myself, Elise never looked particularly surprised. I wonder why that was.
When I asked aloud, she thought for a moment, then gave me her usual soft smile.
“Because, well, the young master… even before you got sick, you always loved embroidery and flowers…”“I did?”“Yes. You probably don’t remember, but you used to come visit the sewing room often. You’d just sit there and watch quietly as I worked… and when I finished, you’d give the tiniest little smile.”She also mentioned that I used to water any wilting flowers in the garden if I spotted them.
“I don’t know about the others, but I never once saw you throw a tantrum… Forgive me for saying this, but the young master I knew always seemed like a small creature searching for a place to belong. So when you said you wanted to try embroidery yourself, I just thought, ‘Ah, same as always.’”
However, it surprised her that I wanted to try it myself instead of just watching.
She assumed that my attraction was solely to the beauty, not the process, as I had always observed silently. When I expressed my desire to attempt the task, she expressed concern that I might become upset if things didn't go as planned.
“But when you started, you didn’t show any sign of that at all… In fact, you’re better at embroidery than me. I was really surprised!”
So, I guess my past self and current self didn’t differ all that much in taste or personality.
That probably explains why I was allowed to participate in handcraft activities so easily.
“Young master… I really like the current you, but I also liked the previous you.”“Uh… th-thank you…”“Saying it out loud is a little embarrassing, huh?”She giggled with a sweet smile, and I honestly didn’t know what kind of expression to make.
Then something came to mind.
I once read that even if a baby is given milk, clean clothes, and regular diaper changes—if it isn’t held, spoken to, or shown love, it won’t survive. It’ll wither away and die.
I’m five years old. I’ll turn six at the start of the new year.
Maybe what’s kept me alive this long isn’t just Rottenmeier-san, but also the tiny bits of kindness I received from the people in this house—like Elise.
She said she loved both the old me and the new me.
That means I wasn’t just told that “I’m allowed to live” now—but that even the “me” from before had worth.
“Let’s do lots of things together from now on.”“Yes! When hobbies and work line up—it’s the best! I’m so glad I came to work at this estate!”And so, the very first tsumami-zaiku artisan of the Kikunoi household was born.
There’s still the matter of the enchanted fabric and all kinds of things to sort out—but we’d taken the first step.
That night, I added diagrams to accompany the instructions Rottenmeier-san wrote to make them easier to follow.
Each of the 27 “Sisi Starflowers” got a tiny magical brand—Effet Papillon—which serves both as a brand logo and an anti-counterfeit mark.
As I finished writing in my diary at the end of the day, a faint glow caught my eye near the window.
An out-of-season firefly caught my attention near the window.
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Eun: I COULDN'T POST THIS THE DAY BEFORE. OTL LIKE I TOTALLY FORGOT. CAUSE MY MOM WAS WATCHING THE MOVIE STRAW AND I GOT TOTALLY DISTRACTED. The actress Taraji is just sooooo good. Her acting and her delivery~.Anyway, I got so distracted I forgot to actually published it.
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