"La~ lala~"

A clear soprano voice echoes throughout the room while colorful, luminous lights dance in the atmosphere.

This is really amazing; this is the first time that I've seen sprites flying around while someone is singing.

This spectacle is really rare; it rarely even happens in large-scale ceremonies being performed by different court magicians, but right now it's happening without magic.

Her red hair, which has a slightly lighter tone than her brother's, is flowing in the wind while her blue eyes are gently looking around at the sprites, and as if the sprites are responding to her, they are changing their colors.

When Ellis spreads her hands, the sprites are coming towards her, and if she stretches her hands, the sprites are dancing away from her as if they are being released from her hug.

And all of this happens because of her song.

"Your highness... here, take this."

It wasn't until Sophia handed me a handkerchief that I realized that I was being filled with emotion and that tears were falling into my eyes.

I'm really surprised to know that songs can really make people cry.

"Ah..."

The song that Ellis is currently singing is a song that is casually sung on the roads near the marketplace.

I once heard it while I was walking around the town incognito. I'm sure that this song should have lyrics on it, but I guess since the marketplace's dialect is strong, Eris probably thought to be considerate of us as we wouldn't probably understand the lyrics, which is why she's singing with just a single note. But even so, her performance is really amazing.

Ellis's song ends, and silence descends on the room.

The sprites disappeared, leaving only small residues behind Eris as she bowed deeply in front of us.

"Please forgive me for singing a song for the poor. But how was it?"

Sophia gave her a generous round of applause while I went to Ellis to shake her hand.

"Uhmmm!  Your highness?"

"I want you to sing at the inauguration ceremony of the Grand Theater!"

"Ehhh?  Ehhhhhhh?"

Eris let out a cry of disbelief as she shook her body 

"It's a waste if you only show your talent to us; that's why, Ellis, you should let the public hear your songs."

I then explained to Ellis what the aim of the grand theater that I'm building is.

Its purpose is to provide entertainment to the commoners, and at the same time, a portion of its profits will be used to feed the orphans.

That's why it's necessary for me to find talent and let them perform at the grand theater regardless of their status.

Ah, maybe right now I'm swayed by Ellis's song, and my emotions are high. That's why, while holding Ellis's hands, I'm saying my future prospects to her one after another.

"Your Highness, I think it's about time."

When Sophia called out to me, I finally came to my senses and hurriedly let go of Ellis' hands.

"My apologies; don't worry, it's not an order, and you don't have to reply right now, however, I would greatly appreciate it if you could think positively of it."

When I said that, I returned to my seat on the couch.

"Well then, Ellis, I look forward to hearing your reply."

"Yes, well, then, your highness, I will now excuse myself."

After saying that, Ellis curtsied, and the Grecia siblings left the room.

"To be honest, I was really surprised."

I muttered those words while sitting on the sofa.

"Me too, to think there are magic arts users in this country."

While saying that Sophia refilled her tea, she brought her cup to her lips.

"Do you know about that?"

"Since that thing is kind of similar to a legend or folklore, I'm not that familiar with it."

It seems that the magic arts have a different approach to using magic than what is being used by the current wizards and mages.

"Hmmmm."

"Oh, are you interested in that sort of thing?"

Sophia was surprised when I shook my head in denial.

"In front of that wonderful talent, such a thing would be nothing more than just added value."

"I see, so what's important is her singing voice."

That's right, as of right now, Ellis is the leading candidate to perform at the opening ceremony of the grand theater.

When I nodded at Sophia, I suddenly remembered something.

"When I asked Ellis about her school life, didn't she look somewhat strange?"

"Oh, that's really unusual, did you also notice it?"

Sophia then pulled a notebook out of nowhere and started flipping through its pages.

It's really amazing and strange at the same time every time Sophia takes things out of nowhere. I tried asking her once how she was doing it, but she didn't tell me.

"Since you've decided to invite Ellis out of the blue, I was only able to gather information about her for one day yesterday, and I haven't been able to verify all the information yet."

Sophia then seriously looked at me.

"That girl, it looks like she's having some kind of trouble at school."

"Is it bullying?"

The earl's daughter, who holds an amazing talent, not to mention her father is a general, and his brothers, including Lloyd, each have different positions in the government, is getting into trouble at school.

Even if so, it's strange because if she were getting bullied by the daughter of a noble of the same rank or a noble of a higher rank, that would be a big deal, and her house would probably have heard about it already.

I wonder if she's getting bullied because she's an illegitimate child and her mother is just a commoner.

I sighed as I remembered my school life, which can be summarized as a collection of different social circles.

"To confirm that, I invited our next guest."

When Sophia said that, there was a knock on the door.

"I'm sure you'll hear some interesting stories."

When Sophia showed me a meaningful smile, I could only sigh in return, as when she makes a face like that, I always get into trouble.




Note:

1. Ellis name is originally written as エリス嬢 and is read as Erisu jou, or literally translate to Lady or Miss Ellis, when I tried to use Lady or Miss before Ellis name it sounded weird when I read it so I removed it.