Reborn As a Character That Never Existed

The actor on stage looked around before wielding a short sword.

“Miss, wait a moment! I’ll save you,” he said.

He moved as if fighting someone, then stumbled and crouched down.

There were only two actors on stage, the protagonist and the goddess.

The goddess only watched while the protagonist acted out scenes from fighting someone to escaping from a gang’s hideout with someone who had helped him.
He repeated exaggerated gestures and reckless actions as if there was another actor present.

The protagonist tried to rescue someone but was captured instead.
Thanks to the girl who helped him escape the gang’s hideout, they traveled the world together and lived a happy life for a long time.
But when the person he had spent his life with passed away and it was time for the protagonist to die, he shed tears for the first time.

He then approached the goddess who had been watching him quietly throughout the play and asked, “Goddess of Comedy, Talia of Joy, was my comedy funny?”

The goddess approached him and smiled, stroking his head.

As the darkness crept in, her hand shone brightly.

“Talia, the goddess of comedy.
Yes, I was the goddess of comedy,” she thought.

Talia was the name of the goddess who oversaw comedy among the nine muses in Greek and Roman mythology.

Although Aegis’s name was also from Greek mythology, there was only one religion in this world, so there were no other religions, especially polytheistic ones.

“But where did the story of the goddess of comedy come from all of a sudden?” she wondered.

As I was lost in thought, the curtain call began, and Julian had to tell me to clap.

Although the theater was full, there was a lack of enthusiasm among the audience.

Only a few people cheered enthusiastically as the actors greeted them.

So the actress who played the goddess smiled and waved both hands at us.

After the curtain call ended, people began to leave their seats one by one, and Julian hugged me.

He led me to the backstage dressing room instead of outside the theater.

When Julian entered the dressing room, everyone who had been busy cleaning up greeted him with a friendly face.

“Your Highness!”

“Is everyone doing well?”

“Well, of course we are.
It’s been years since we last met like this.”

“Haha, it’s difficult to make time with a child.”

As he spoke, everyone’s attention turned to me, and I grimaced at their gaze, as if they were looking at a strange creature.

“Oh my.”

“You look just like His Highness.”

At the comment that I looked just like him, Julian shrugged his shoulders.
Although I could see that his face was very similar to Julian’s, I didn’t want to admit it as I saw him proudly boasting.

“No, I don’t look anything like my dad.
He’s ugly.”

At my comment that my dad was ugly, the extreme people took turns looking at Julian and me before bursting into laughter.
Julian nodded his head as if he was used to it.

“Yeah, that’s right.
Unlike me, our daughter is very pretty, isn’t she?”

As Julian lifted me up to the sky, I struggled to get out of his grip.

Julian couldn’t resist my struggles for long and soon put me down on the ground.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I gestured for him to listen to me.

“Daddy.”

“What?”

“Remember what I said.
If you do this again, I’ll break your nose.”

Whispering in his ear, I twisted the head and body of the rabbit doll as if wringing a rag.

Apologizing, Julian laughed and said sorry for my death threat.

“Hello, Your Highness.”

The actress who played the role of a goddess smiled and greeted me first.
Her gesture of sitting down and spreading her hands to shake hands with me was completely different from the hard-to-reach atmosphere on stage.

Handing over the rabbit doll, which seemed like it would come apart if I applied a little more force, to Julian, I checked her palms.

“Your hands don’t sparkle anymore.”

“I put on some makeup earlier, so they were sparkling.
Did you like it? Should I put some on for you too, Your Highness?”

“No.”

The actress smiled uncertainly at my stoic response.
Yuriyan patted my head and said, “Tilly, you should greet back once you receive a greeting.
Sorry, Tilly has been a bit temperamental lately.”

“No, Your Grace.”

After Yuriyan’s remark, I coughed awkwardly and belatedly greeted them.
The actress smiled back at my greeting.

With that greeting, the people from the theater group rushed to introduce themselves.
Lastly, a middle-aged man with a stern impression greeted me.

“I’m Willy, the dedicated writer and director of this theater group.”

“Dedicated writer?”

“Yes.
Ah, do you know what a writer is?”

“Yeah, did you write the play we saw earlier?”

“Yes, did you enjoy the play we performed?”

As I nodded my head, the theater group let out a sigh of relief.
Willy laughed and complimented me for inheriting my parents’ artistic abilities.

“Haha, I may be a dedicated writer, but the play I wrote doesn’t sell well.
If it weren’t for the support of Your Grace and the Viscount, our members would have starved to death on the streets.”

When I remained silent after his words, Willy’s previously laughing expression faltered.
He whispered to the actress next to him.

“…Was it not funny, even though I told him to laugh?”

“To be honest, it wasn’t a funny story.
It’s also difficult for kids to understand.”

Upon hearing her response, Willy laughed artificially and changed the subject.

“Have you seen a play before?”

“…Only puppet shows.”

“Puppet shows… Even that is a great form of theater.
Do you like puppet shows?”

“Puppet shows are for children.
I like Willy’s plays better.”

Upon my response, Willy’s smile widened as if he had won the lottery.
Despite his stern impression, it was a genuinely innocent smile.

“Do you think it will become a good hobby?”

“A hobby…”

“Definitely, in the past, I used to go see musicals or plays quite often, but it was a problem because it cost a lot of money.”

“I originally had a lot of hobbies, I was what you might call a ‘jack of all trades.’ When I was a child, there wasn’t much to enjoy besides fairy tales, but it was really enjoyable to see a play after a long time.”

“I can’t do it, I can’t sacrifice my life to being a fan again…”

“If the Lady would make watching plays a hobby, I won’t charge her any special fees in the future.”

“Really?”

“Willie, where are you trying to swindle from? Our family has always been free.”

Yurian’s comment made everyone in the extremist group burst into laughter.
When I was the only one who didn’t laugh and glared at Willie, he scratched his head and nervously stuttered.

“If the Lady wants to come and watch a play at any time, it should always be free.”

“Can I come anytime?”

“Yes, anytime.”

******

Upon hearing Willie’s words, “You can come and play anytime,” Talia looked up at Julian.
When Julian hesitated, Talia asked him, “Can I come to play even when my mom and dad aren’t home?”

Having never been outside the mansion except as a baby, Talia boldly requested to go out alone.
Julian firmly shook his head in response, “No.
Do you know how dangerous it is outside to be walking alone?”

Talia gave Julian a strange look and asked, “Why would I be alone? I’m only four years old.
I’ll tell the nursemaid and take a knight with me.
I won’t stay too late even if we come out.
We’ll come back together on the way when Mom and Dad come back.”

“What will you do here?” Julian asked.

“I’m going to the theater to see a play.
What else?” Talia replied.

“Was the play really that fun?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t we come and see it with my mom and dad next time?”

“It’s not like my mom and dad can take me to the theater whenever I want.”

“Dad, I know all about the mansion’s secret passages.
If I was going to go out alone, I would have done so already.”

Julian realized that it was not that Talia could not go out, but rather that she had not decided to do so yet.
Additionally, if she had a guardian with her, there would be no significant problem.

“But you’re only four years old,” Julian reminded her.

Of course, Talia was too mature and intelligent for her age, but there were many concerns about allowing her to go out without permission.

“Well, ask your mom for permission first.”

“Of course, I have to ask my mom for permission.”

Talia replied as if she knew from the beginning that the ultimate decision-maker was Roxanne.

Urian realized belatedly that his young daughter had fooled him again.
Talia smirked mischievously and turned her attention to the props on the stage, unable to withstand Urian’s stern gaze.

Urian cocked his head, thinking, “Something seems different.”

It’s hard to put a finger on it, but Talia’s attitude suddenly changed.
She seemed to be playing around more, but kids are inherently unpredictable, so he wondered if it was just a phase.

“Well…it’s nice to act like a kid.
Today, I’ll give my mom a kiss first.”

Although he didn’t actually give her a kiss, Urian decided to think of it as a positive change.
While observing Talia, Will snickered as he realized Urian’s gaze hadn’t left her.

“Long time no see, it seems like you’ve changed a lot, Your Grace.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, you’ve changed a lot.”

Will answered and glanced at Talia out of the corner of his eye.
Both of them knew that her transformation was thanks to Talia.

“Definitely…”

“Daddy, look at this!”

Talia, who had put a comedic mask on her face, called out to Urian.

The mask was too big for her small face and looked ridiculous, but even that made Urian see her as a goddess.

Urian wanted to ask the gods if his comedy was funny, like the protagonist in a play.