I Made a Game Featuring Constellations - Chapter 12



The First Ostinato

The prince walked towards the brightly shining core of Orpheus in the pitch-black world of imagery.

Around him, Orpheus’s past began to appear one by one like scenes from a video.

‘Is this the story after that?’

To the prince’s right, children who looked a year or two older than the boy and girl he had seen earlier appeared.

“Ke, Kate…! You shouldn’t come here like this.”

The boy fussed as he saw the girl who had sneaked into his room.

“Oh, come on. It’s fine as long as we don’t get caught, right?”

The girl winked as if she didn’t care about the matters between their families.

“Our Ian. Why are you so cute?”

The girl’s dainty hands grabbed and stretched the boy’s cheeks.

“Ueeuooa…”

“Pfft. You’re cute like a frog.”

“…Again with the frog.”

Could he never become a prince?

…Even if that were the case, it didn’t matter. Even if he were her pet frog, every moment with her was happiness.

The boy and girl spent their time away from the concerns of adults, in their own world.

“Did you go to Rai’s concert yesterday?”

“Rai? Is he a boy?”

The boy’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah. Rai Verdolt. He’s a boy our age.”

“…He’s our age and he had a concert?”

“He’s a musical prodigy. He’s amazing with the violin.”

The boy felt annoyed.

“I can play the violin too.”

It was just a secret hobby forced upon him by his parents, but he was confident he could play better than this Rai or whatever his name was.

“…Really?”

“I’ll show you.”

Wooong

Magic gathered in the boy’s hand, forming the shape of a violin.

“Wow!”

The girl’s eyes widened in amazement, and the boy felt a sense of satisfaction as he played the instrument.

A simple yet beautiful melody resonated with magic.

“This melody is so pretty.”

“…Really?”

The boy, feeling elated, repeated the melody he had just played several times.

In the process, he showed off his skills with various variations.

“Wow!”

Clap clap clap clap

As the girl clapped and cheered, the boy scratched his head in embarrassment.

“…This is called an ostinato.”

“Ostinato?”

“It means repeating the same melody.”

“Wow! I see! It’s beautiful, ostinato!”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Even if it’s a melody you like, it usually passes by and disappears as the music plays, but with this ostinato, you can keep listening to the melody you don’t want to miss.”

“I see… I never thought of it that way…”

The girl responded with a bright smile even to the boy’s trivial words.

The boy bowed his head to hide his reddened cheeks.

“…If there’s a melody you want to hear, would you like to tell me? I’ll play it for you.”

Buzz

The vision the crown prince was watching turned into smoke and disappeared.

This time, a new vision appeared to the left of the crown prince.

Again, it looked older than the previous vision.

“Are you really not going to the academy?”

“Yes. Sorry, Kate.”

The boy said with a forced smile.

“…It’s a shame. I think it would be nice if we could go together.”

The girl sitting right next to the boy leaned her head on his shoulder.

In the meantime, it seemed that the two had gotten much closer.

“But you can still contact me, right?”

The boy pointed to the magical device he had made for the girl.

“That’s true, but being together and contacting each other are different, aren’t they?”

The girl reached out and pinched both of the boy’s cheeks.

“Not being able to touch our frog’s cheeks… It’s too much.”

Then she pouted her lips.

Vroom

The vision disappeared and a new one appeared.

“I told you. The one who inherits the blood of the Kalliu family should not get close to that child.”

A middle-aged man with pale skin picked up the boy’s magical device and broke it.

“How many times do I have to tell you to understand? Those who do not understand the great magical engineering of our Kalliu family, especially the ones who lead the persecution, the lackeys of the gods, the Gilgamesh family, even more so!”

The girl’s family, the Gilgamesh.

The Gilgamesh family, devoted to religion for generations, had a long-standing enmity with magical engineering, which the gods declared sinful.

“We will overturn the continent with the power of magical engineering. So forget about that wicked girl from the Gilgamesh family. Instead, I will find you a proper engineer.”

The man opened the door and was about to leave but stopped.

“Come to think of it, that girl also ran for the position of saint. As the vanguard of the religion that persecutes magical engineers like us. That means she doesn’t care about you.”

Bang

The boy, left alone in the room, gathered the shattered remnants of the magic terminal one by one.

“Fervenite Certum.”

As the boy invoked his magic, the fragments connected, revealing the original terminal.

It was a restoration spell that required an understanding of every internal structure, showcasing the boy’s genius as he restored the magic terminal without any help.

The boy picked up the magic terminal and connected to the girl.

Tuuu….

Tuuu….

Beep.

“Huh? Ian? Did you call?”

The girl’s voice came through kindly, as always.

The boy opened his mouth to answer her.

But he couldn’t make a sound.

“Hello? Ian? Ian?”

Click.

The boy turned off the terminal.

If she truly wanted to become a saint, if she wanted to become the saint of the god who oppresses magical engineering…!

Her relationship with a child of the Kalliu family would be a great flaw for her.

Even if I am nothing more than a pet frog to her, not her lover….

The boy’s magic gathered and burned the terminal.

The boy’s happy dream ended here.

Wooong

The vision ended, and a new vision appeared.

This time, a boy who had become an adult appeared.

“Congratulations on your great victory, Count Kalliyuga!”

“Oh, come on! Count, you say!”

“Ah! Forgive me, Your Majesty!”

“Ha ha ha. Today is a good day, so I will let it pass.”

From noble mtl dot com

“Your grace is immeasurable, Your Majesty.”

Count Kalliyuga and his close associates laughed and joked atop thousands of magical golems created with technology far beyond human capabilities.

The golems, created by the genius Ian, crushed the Holy Knights, the army of the gods, and even the kingdom’s army, breaking the tide of war.

With the command of the golems, Count Kalliyuga was able to defeat all enemies and seize complete control over the kingdom.

“Father.”

“…Isn’t it a good day, Ian? You should smile.”

“I have a request.”

“…Well, fine. You have made a great contribution to the victory in the war, so I will grant it. Speak.”

“Give me Kate Bilgames.”

“Bilgames… You mean that saintess.”

Count Kalliyuga pondered for a moment.

“She should be held accountable as a war criminal and executed… but fine. Then do this. Go to the prison right now and tell her to marry you.”

“…What?”

“If she accepts the proposal, I will spare her life. Even if she is a war criminal, no one would dare to touch the wife of a war hero. But if she refuses, she will face judgment.”

“…Understood.”

The boy ran to the underground prison.

In the deepest, darkest level of the underground prison,

In a solitary cell in a corner of the muddy layers, she was there.

“Kate.”

The girl’s eyes, which had been staring blankly into space, met the boy’s.

“…Ian.”

Despite the long war that had dulled her charm, she was still beautiful.

‘…If I hadn’t created that golem, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.’

He never imagined that the technology he created with a light heart would corner her like this.

If only he could go back to the past, he would never do such a thing again.

“Kate. I’ll get you out of here.”

“Ian. If you get me out, your position will be in danger.”

“I don’t care. My father promised. As long as you marry me, you will be free.”

“…So that’s how it is.”

Kate let out a hollow laugh as if she finally understood Ian’s words.

“I’m sorry, Ian. If that’s the case, don’t set me free.”

“…What?”

“I just want to die like this.”

“……What are you talking about, Kate?”

“I am a saintess who has dedicated her body to God, Cartesia. I am not a cowardly traitor who begs for life from the enemy.”

“Kate. If you stay here, you’ll die.”

“Even if I die… there is something I must protect.”

Despite Ian’s frantic persuasion and threats for hours, Kate did not waver.

In the end, when Ian, having lost his reason, tried to forcibly tear down the prison door to save her, the Count’s hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Sorry, but that won’t do.”

The Count smiled grimly.

“It seems this woman wants to die. Guards.”

The guards, with bewildered expressions, took Ian out of the prison.

“Wait a minute! Kate! Kaaate!”

Bang!

The sound of the underground prison door closing firmly prevented Ian from hearing Kate’s sobbing inside.

“I’m sorry, Ian… I’m really sorry…!”