WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: nemui
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈
Vol. 4 Ch. 3: The Circumstances of Songstress Lily
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“Why is that woman here?”
Muttering this, Hugo left the alley and headed toward the square.
Theo hurried after him.
“Hugo, do you know her?”
“Know her, I mean... You met her too.”
“...What?”
At that moment, Songstress Lily looked their way and her eyes widened. She stopped singing, told the band, “Sorry, I need to step away for a bit,” then burst through the crowd.
“Theo, we’re following her!”
“Eh? Ah, okay...?”
They were on a mission, and they were supposed to be waiting for Hulk. Theo knew they should not leave this spot, but he could not overlook a young woman going off alone after sunset.
Besides, Songstress Lily had run into a narrow street that looked distinctly unsafe.
Theo did not know this area well, but he could somehow sense where the safer parts ended. Worg, where Theo had grown up, had boundaries like that too.
The path Lily had vanished into made Theo’s instincts warn him that it was “bad.”
（I’ll bring Lily back right away, then return to the information broker!）
Having decided that, Theo followed Hugo into the narrow passage.
Calling it a road was not quite right. It was more like a tiny gap between buildings that had never been intended for people to use. The gas lamps did not reach it, and large wooden crates and rubbish were scattered everywhere, making it difficult to see ahead.
（Where is Lily...?）
There was no sign of Lily within view.
Hugo grumbled, sounding thoroughly displeased.
“Damn it. I don’t wanna work... ‘Curse Armament Manifestation: Serve the Sacred Hymn.’”
From the Curse Sigil beneath Hugo’s choker, dark red Curse dripped down, drip, drip, forming into a choir robe.
After pressing the last clump onto his head and shaping it into a cap, Hugo closed his eyes.
“Hugo, what are you planning to do?”
“You’re loud, so shut up for a second... There’s a woman’s voice in that direction. She’s saying, ‘Let me go.’ We’ve got trouble.”
Curse Armament Manifestation enhanced physical abilities, but in Hugo’s case, it seemed to be allocated to his hearing.
The direction Hugo pointed toward was a door in the adjacent building.
“Let’s help her.”
When Theo stated this firmly, Hugo looked taken aback, then put on the airs of a senior and gave his orders.
“Then I’ll stop them from moving. You get the songstress out.”
“Got it.”
“Don’t go thinking about teaching them a lesson. If this turns into a big scene and we end up getting questioned, it’ll be a pain in the ass!”
Questioning was necessary. Theo wanted to object to calling it a pain, but it was true that if they were questioned now, they would not be able to carry out their mission.
“Ughhh... Fine...”
Swallowing his dissatisfaction, Theo reached for the door.
He signaled with his eyes that he was ready. Hugo began to sing, lowering his voice somewhat.
“‘God sends forth angels. They give sustenance to the people, heal the suffering, and drive away evil with their thunder.’”
The instant that verse ended, something crashed inside.
Those affected by 〈Domination〉 had likely stopped moving.
Theo opened the door. Inside the filthy room, two middle-aged men stood blankly still, while the black-haired Songstress Lily lay at their feet. A sturdy-looking rope had fallen beside her. The men had probably restrained Lily and intended to tie her up.
Forcing down his urge to hit the men, Theo hoisted Songstress Lily onto his back. A person under 〈Domination〉 was somewhat easier to carry than an unconscious person.
Theo ran outside with Lily on his back. Hugo followed, still singing.
“‘The angels guide the people, holding the Book of Guidance. The blessings of abundance, merciful healing, the guardian’s thunder, and the sea of blessings, all are under God’s care.’”
It was a beautiful, solemn voice, nothing like the voice of the boy who had been ogling her a moment ago.
If not for the situation, Theo would have wanted to sit and enjoy it properly.
After finishing the verse, Hugo dismissed his Curse Armament Manifestation.
Freed from Hugo’s 〈Domination〉, Songstress Lily cried out from Theo’s back.
“Where am I...? Ah, you two...!”
Lily shifted, and Theo panicked. If she struggled, he might drop her.
Still, it was only natural that she would panic. They should introduce themselves first.
“Miss Lily, please calm down. We are absolutely not suspicious people...”
“You don’t need to introduce yourself. We met during the day.”
Theo stared wide-eyed at Hugo’s words.
Hugo looked at Songstress Lily with a sarcastic expression.
“You’re the younger sister who was beside Holy Maiden of Creation Cheryl, right? What was it... Cecily?”
The songstress fell silent on Theo’s back.
At last, she spoke in a very, very quiet voice.
“...That’s right.”
＊ ＊ ＊
Cecily Wolford was born as the second daughter of the Wolford family, which had produced many talented people for the Papal See.
Her parents, her older sister Cheryl, and her younger brother Keith were all Blessed. Cecily alone had no Blessing at all.
On top of that, compared with her sister, Cecily was plain and unremarkable in appearance. There was nothing at which she particularly excelled.
She got along well with her siblings, but it was obvious that her parents had no interest in her.
Among the siblings, Cecily alone was not special. She was replaceable, someone whose presence or absence made no difference.
She wanted to become something special. She wanted people to think of her as special. She knew such a wish was unbecoming for one who served God, but it had always remained in Cecily’s heart.
（If only I were cuter, maybe everyone would have paid attention to me.）
When she looked in the mirror with that thought in mind, the person reflected there wore such a servile expression that Cecily thought she looked horribly ugly.
One day, Cecily found a small stuffed toy in town. It was a rabbit plush small enough to fit in her palm.
“Oh, that’s mine! You picked it up for me? Thanks!”
The girl who ran over as she said this appeared to be about Cecily’s age.
She wore her black hair in high twin-tails and a short skirt. It was an outfit Cecily would never wear, yet the girl’s face looked exactly like Cecily’s.
As they stared at each other in surprise, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the girl’s companion called out, “What is it, Lily?” He too widened his eyes when he saw Cecily’s face.
“What is this? You two look exactly alike. You could be twins.”
That was how she met Lily.
Lily seemed to belong to an entertainment troupe active in the city. She was good at dancing and at writing songs and choreography, but she was not very good at singing.
Cecily, on the other hand, was good at singing. Practicing hymns had been part of her daily routine for as long as she could remember, so she was confident she could sing better than other girls her age.
The songs Lily wrote were completely unlike hymns. Their melodies and lyrics were exactly the sort that would make the adults around Cecily frown.
But Lily looked so happy and alive as she made them that Cecily sang one just once.
Lily and the adults in the troupe were astonished by her voice, then gave her a great round of applause.
Applause. Yes, applause. Cecily Wolford had probably received applause for her own ability for the first time in her life.
“This is crazy... You’re amazing, Cecily! You’re, like, super good at singing! Hey, hey, would you try going onstage in my place just once? Just once! It’s only once!”
Cecily had not known that receiving praise directed at her could feel so good. She had not known it could make her heart leap like this.
So, using “just once” as an excuse, Cecily decided to take the stage.
As Songstress Lily, with her black hair tied high and a short skirt on.
Lily tied Cecily’s hair, applied her makeup, then hung the rabbit plush from the waist of her costume. With a broad smile, she said:
“We look super alike, right? Look, look! We’re identical!”
A lady should not wear a hairstyle like this. Nor should she wear a short skirt. If Cecily wore such a skirt at her age, people would mock her as either a poor person who could not afford enough cloth or a prostitute.
And yet, for the first time in her life, Cecily thought the person in the mirror was cute.
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