The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 191: Chapter 192: The Future We Dreamed Of

The rehearsal had already begun by the time I arrived.

The people sitting together on a grassy hill covered with small flowers, looking toward the mountains in the distance.

I sat beside Lyra.

Or rather, Kael sat beside Elena.

The scenery around us was simple, but it looked surprisingly beautiful.

A gentle breeze passed through the grass, causing the flowers around us to sway slightly.

Lyra looked toward the mountains.

"Kael."

"Hm?"

"Do you ever think about what our future will look like?"

I glanced at her.

"Our future?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

She lowered her gaze toward the flowers beside her.

"Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we could simply leave everything behind."

Her voice was softer than usual.

"No palace."

She smiled faintly.

"No nobles telling me what I should do."

She looked toward me.

"No one deciding who I should marry."

I remained silent for a moment.

Then Kael spoke.

"If we left, where would you want to go?"

Elena smiled.

"Somewhere quiet."

"That’s vague."

"I know."

She laughed softly.

"Maybe somewhere with mountains."

I looked toward the mountains in the distance.

"Then we’d probably end up somewhere like this."

She smiled.

"Would you really be satisfied with that?"

"Why wouldn’t I be?"

For a moment, they simply sat there.

The wind moved gently through the flowers.

Then Elena spoke again.

"Kael..."

"Hm?"

"If we really could choose our own lives..."

She hesitated.

"Would you want to stay with me?"

I looked at her.

There was no playful expression on her face anymore.

She was genuinely waiting for an answer.

Kael smiled.

"Of course."

Elena’s eyes softened.

"Even if my family opposed us?"

"Even then."

"Even if everyone told you that you weren’t good enough for me?"

Kael looked toward the mountains.

"I don’t care what they think."

He turned toward her.

"If you’re happy, then that’s enough for me."

Elena’s eyes became slightly moist.

"You really are an idiot."

Kael laughed.

"Why?"

"Because you say things like that so easily."

She lowered her head, trying to hide her smile.

"You make it sound as though everything will be simple."

"It doesn’t have to be simple."

Kael’s voice became quieter.

"It just has to be ours."

Elena looked at him.

For a few seconds, she didn’t say anything.

Then she slowly rested her head against his shoulder.

"Then..."

Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Let’s make that future together."

Kael looked toward the mountains.

"Yeah."

The scene remained quiet for several seconds.

Then the instructor finally called out.

"Cut!"

The atmosphere immediately broke.

I sighed.

"That was surprisingly tiring."

Lyra laughed.

"You were sighing throughout the entire scene."

"Because you’re making me say things I normally wouldn’t."

"Was it really that bad?"

I looked at her.

"No."

I paused.

"Just embarrassing."

The student who had written the script immediately walked toward us.

"That was good."

He looked genuinely impressed.

"Really good, actually."

He glanced between us.

"The emotions felt natural, and the conversation didn’t sound like two people simply reading lines."

Lyra smiled.

"Thank you."

The student nodded.

"But..."

He looked at me.

"You need to show a little more emotion."

I stared at him.

"I was showing emotion."

"You were sighing."

"That’s emotion."

Lyra covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

The instructor sighed.

"He’s not wrong."

I looked at the two of them.

"Great."

The instructor smiled.

"Still, you two work surprisingly well together."

I sighed again.

"Can we move on now?"

"Yes, yes."

The scene was reset.

Kael and Elena remained seated on the grassy hill, surrounded by flowers as they continued looking toward the distant mountains.

Then two adventurers appeared from farther down the hill.

They were Kael’s friends.

Rhal was among them, walking casually with other third-year student.

He suddenly stopped.

His eyes widened as he looked toward Kael.

Then toward Elena.

Then back toward Kael.

"...Wait."

One of the other adventurer looked at him.

"What?"

Rhal pointed toward the hill.

"Look."

The three followed his gaze.

Kael was sitting beside Elena, looking completely comfortable.

The three stared.

Rhal’s expression became increasingly serious.

"Is that..."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Is Kael sitting with a woman?"

One of the others immediately gasped.

"You’re right."

Another grabbed Rhal’s shoulder.

"Since when?"

"I don’t know!"

Rhal looked genuinely shocked.

"How did we not know about this?"

The other adventurer clenched his fists dramatically.

"Kael betrayed us."

Rhal nodded solemnly.

"Yes, yes."

The two exchanged glances.

Then Rhal suddenly shouted.

"Kael!"

I looked toward them.

"What?"

They immediately ran toward me.

"Kael!"

"How could you do this?!"

"Don’t take our precious Kael away!"

Before I could react, one of them grabbed my arm.

Another wrapped both arms around my other arm.

Rhal immediately threw an arm around my shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"We’re protecting you!"

"From what?"

Rhal pointed dramatically toward Elena.

"From her!"

Elena stared at them.

For a moment, she looked completely surprised.

Then—

"Hahahaha..."

She covered her mouth and laughed.

The three adventurers froze.

Rhal slowly turned toward her.

"...She laughed."

One of them whispered.

"S-she’s beautiful."

Rhal looked at Elena again.

Then at me.

"Kael."

"Hm?"

"You’ve been hiding someone this beautiful from us?"

I sighed.

"Can you stop?"

"No."

Rhal tightened his grip around my shoulder.

"Absolutely not."

The other adventurer grabbed my arm even more tightly.

"Our precious Kael has finally found someone."

"Let go of me."

"We can’t."

"Why?"

"Because you’re our friend."

Rhal nodded.

"And we refuse to let some beautiful woman steal you from us."

Elena laughed again.

"You two are really funny."

Rhal immediately looked pleased.

"Did you hear that?"

He turned toward the others.

"She thinks we’re funny."

One of them nodded.

"We’re making a good impression."

I stared at them.

"You’re supposed to be my adventurer friends, not idiots."

Rhal looked offended.

"That’s unnecessarily harsh."

Elena smiled.

"Are these really your friends?"

Kael nodded.

"Unfortunately."

"Hey!"

The two protested at the same time.

Elena laughed again.

The scene was becoming increasingly difficult to keep serious.

Then one of the instructors finally raised his hand.

"Cut!"

The actors immediately relaxed.

Rhal let go of me.

They immediately bowed toward Lyra.

"Please forgive us, Your Highness!"

Lyra covered her mouth, laughing.

"Hahaha... it’s alright."

The instructor immediately covered his face.

"...Let’s take five minutes."

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