“You want me to play the part of the goddess in this year’s Founder’s Festival?”
“Oh, yes. We would all be most grateful if you would accept the role, Lady Viola,” my mother’s friend, a marchioness, smiled as she held my hand. She had an exceptionally tight grip, as if she was trying to will me to nod my head.
The Founder’s Festival was an event that happened once per year in order to celebrate our kingdom’s National Foundation Day. Stalls would appear along the roads in the capital, and a huge stage would be set up in the square. Everything from plays to concerts would take place at that stage. It was an event that I’d always looked forward to, ever since I was a child.
“I’m truly flattered, but I don’t think I’m up to the task of playing the goddess...”
Whoever played the goddess at the Founder’s Festival was essentially the face of the entire event. According to legend, a goddess founded this kingdom. The person playing her would need to wear her robes, dance onstage, and speak with the children who attended the festival.
I remembered when I went to the Founder’s Festival as a kid, I handed some flowers to the woman playing the goddess that year. Though I was terribly nervous the entire time, I could still recall how much I’d admired her beauty. Apparently, the goddess role went to one of the younger daughters from the higher echelons of the nobility, and whoever was chosen was considered a role model of all noble daughters. So I couldn’t understand why I had been chosen, since I was the daughter of a mere viscount. I wasn’t very good at dancing either, so there was no way I’d be able to perform in front of a large audience. No matter how you looked at it, I was not the right fit.
I tried my best to convey all this to the marchioness, but her smile didn’t budge.
“Don’t worry Lady Viola, you’re a textbook example of a proper noble daughter. And you’d be considered a duchess, thanks to your upcoming marriage to Lord Phillip.”
“B-But...”
In reality, I’d heard that the goddess role was a lot of work. I guessed that was the main reason as to why none of the noble daughters wanted to do it, so they had no choice but to come to me.
“Um, I’m truly sorry, but I really can’t dance.”
“It’s all right! We’ll make sure to find you a good teacher.”
“I’m sure there are noble daughters who are far better suited for the goddess role than I am...”
“That’s not true. Lady Viola, you’re the perfect match for this role.”
“But, I...”
“Please, don’t be so modest! Lady Viola, you...”
I did my best to reject the offer, but the marchioness refused to back down. After about thirty minutes of going around in circles, I could no longer think of an excuse, leading to my defeat.
“If you’ll have me, I’ll gladly accept the role...” I said slowly and dejectedly.
“Thank you! I knew you would, Lady Viola.”
In my periphery, I could see my mother making an apologetic face at me. In contrast, the marchioness had clasped her hands together with a cheery smile on her face, seemingly not noticing how I’d slumped my shoulders.
The next day, Phil came over to my house and I told him about how I was going to play the goddess during the Founder’s Festival. He furrowed his brow after I finished my story.
“A bodice?”
“A goddess.”
Considering how badly Phil misheard me, he must have also been of the opinion that I would’ve never been approached for the role. After I very clearly and firmly corrected him, his golden eyes widened.
“Viola... A goddess?”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
Tomorrow would be the first day getting tutored on my dancing and I already wasn’t looking forward to it. But even so, I held up my fists and smiled, pretending like I was really excited to start. I didn’t want Phil to worry.
Phil murmured something, but I could only catch a few of his words.
“Phil? Did you say something?”
“No, nothing,” he replied with a shake of his head. He still looked like he wanted to say something though, but I had no idea what the matter could be. “Who’ll play King Aristide this year?”
“I hear that Lord Tillet will.”
King Aristide was the first king of our country and, much like with the goddess role, a noble son had to play his part during the Founder’s Festival. However, whoever played the king needed to be twenty-three years old, which was the same age King Aristide was when he was crowned.
This year, Lord Tillet was the one who was chosen. He was the son of a duke, and was popular among the noble daughters for his good looks and social skills. He was everything that I wasn’t, and the thought weighed on me even further. During the Founder’s Festival, the pair who played King Aristide and the goddess shared a dance together. Unlike the dances that you might need to perform at a social gathering, the Founder’s Festival dance didn’t require the performers to get very close to each other. We did need to practice though, since it was more like acting than dancing.
I heard that many noble daughters started to volunteer for the role of the goddess after hearing that Lord Tillet would play King Aristide. Though the marchioness assured me that she turned everyone down, I wished that I could get someone else to act as the goddess in my place.
Phil was looking down at the ground for a little while but then he slowly turned to look at me. “Do your best. I am rooting for you.”
“R-Right. Thank you very much.”
He doesn’t usually say things like that, and his voice was awfully flat. Is he all right? Despite my worries, I smiled at him.
Over the following days, I spent all of my free time practicing for the Founder’s Festival, as well as helping with the preparations. I didn’t usually exercise in my everyday life, and the lessons were so difficult that I suffered from muscle pains every day.
“Lady Viola, are you all right?”
“Y-Yes, I am. Thank you so much.”
Lord Tillet was a surprisingly kind person. I slowed down everything so much because I kept making mistakes, and yet he never looked annoyed or irritated. He simply continued to practice with me with the patience of a saint. Apparently, he’d known about me even before we were paired up for the Founder’s Festival, so he treated me in a very casual manner.
“I think Phillip’ll be really happy to see you.”
“Hee hee, I sure hope so.”
“You’re very beautiful, after all.”
“No, that’s not...”
“I’m telling the truth.”
Since both Lord Tillet and Phil were sons of dukes, they’d known each other since they were children and were close friends. During practice, the countess—who once played the goddess during her youth—acted as my dance instructor. With her help, as well as Lord Tillet’s, I was starting to become better at dancing.
“Lady Viola, you look lovely. I’m sure everyone will be delighted to see you.”
“Thank you. I’ll do my best!”
The reason I was putting so much effort into practice was mainly because this was an incredibly important role. But it was also because I heard that if I did well as the goddess this year, it would improve my reputation in high society. I’d heard rumors that people made disparaging comments toward Phil due to my lower status. I did not want him to feel bad because of me so I’d decided to put my everything into practice.
“Let me try again from the top,” I said.