“Hilda…”
In the dark, empty room, Clara whispered the name of the maid who worked for her, gazing at the night sky outside the window.
Saving Hilda was a coincidence. It wasn’t that anyone would have done, but her background and circumstances were just right for Clara.
Unable to fully investigate the “Heroine,” the Melrose House’s princess, Clara had been forced to play catch-up. She planned to create her own information network, independent of the Shadow Unit. That’s when she found Hilda. She did sympathize with her situation, but Clara thought she would be perfect as a pawn. However, she got a little too involved with that “pawn.”
Clara’s ethics from her previous life influenced that. Unable to be completely ruthless, she instead showed Hilda her weakness, which made Hilda an ally, but also meant she couldn’t be a disposable pawn.
Unintentionally, Hilda was willing to risk her life because of Clara’s “weakness.” But Clara, who had already begun to cherish Hilda, was heartbroken by that reality.
Hilda and Clara’s other followers risked their lives because Clara was weak, but Clara couldn’t stop them because she was “afraid.”
She was afraid of the Heroine, who would steal what was important to her.
She was afraid of the Pink-Haired Girl who looked at her with cold eyes.
Above all, Clara was afraid of “herself.”
She never thought that she, who knew the villainess’s fate in her previous life, would become so obsessed with Elvan. Clara herself didn’t know how it had come to this. She was supposed to be acting to avoid the villainess’s fate, remembering it, but Clara had stepped onto the path of the villainess herself.
Clara didn’t think this world was a “game world” either. She understood that it was probably the world that the Otome Game was based on.
That’s why she was so afraid. She wasn’t reborn as “Villainess Clara,” but the reborn self was the “real Villainess Clara” that the game was based on. She was afraid to admit that.
But, like an Otome Game where the route changes depending on the choices, Clara believed that the future (route) would change depending on her actions, and she couldn’t stop her loved ones from getting hurt.
Clara was more afraid of the foolishness and sinfulness of herself than anything else.
“Who are you?”
“!?”
Hilda, who had infiltrated the area of a mid-ranking noble, was suddenly attacked. She felt a cold sweat run down her back, pierced by the cold gaze of the young butler who questioned her.
She knew about this Cruz boy. He was the young lady’s butler, the one to be eliminated. He was still young, but his flawless movements suggested that he was a “guard butler” dispatched by the Mercis House, a branch of the Melrose House, at their patron’s request.
Appraisal values varied depending on the appraiser’s perception ability, but she remembered that the boy’s was around 300. Considering the common knowledge that one wouldn’t reach Rank 2 until the age of twenty, his combat power equivalent to Rank 3 at an age close to a student was nothing short of genius.
However, combat power was just a guideline and not necessarily equal to actual combat strength.
For example, it was often said that a Rank 2 who had trained multiple skills and become strong in actual combat was stronger than a young man from a swordsmanship dojo who had only been taught techniques and reached Rank 3 with a combat power of only 200. In fact, Hilda’s combat power was less than 200, but she was confident that she wouldn’t lose to someone who had just become Rank 3 and wasn’t used to actual combat.
In the first place, the combat power of the nobles’ guards and academy knights in the academy was 200 to 300, and the young butler’s combat power was amazing for a child, but not that surprising.
In the end, it was different from “that.”
Unlike the “Crown Prince’s black-haired fiancée” and the “Princess’s Pink Hair guard,” who were difficult to approach and even appraise, and were genuine Rank 4s, of which there were less than a hundred in this vast kingdom.
That’s why Hilda was careless. In the demon’s den that was aristocratic society, she thought that they were nothing compared to those.
(This is bad!)
Feeling a suffocating Killing Intent from the young butler, whom she had thought was just a child, Hilda immediately turned around and fled.
There were many people with high combat power, but only those who were prepared to kill the enemy and be killed could emit a strong Killing Intent. He wasn’t just a guard butler. Judging that he was probably a “combat butler” from the Shadow Unit, who were hated like snakes in the Underworld, Hilda began to flee. Something flew past her and pierced a hole in the wall.
(A Pebble!)
Some assassins used metal Pebbles. Their range and power were inferior to Knife Throwing and bows and arrows, but when used by a skilled person, they became a deadly weapon that was difficult to avoid at close range.
“I won’t let you escape.”
With a somewhat emotionless voice, the young butler threw a Knife to cut off Hilda’s escape route.
(Throwing is his main thing?)
Judging that the enemy was good at ranged combat, with Pebbles at close range and throwing knives at medium range, Hilda picked up the Knife that was stuck in the ground and threw it back at the boy, then drew her Dagger and went into close combat.
Clang!
“!”
The Knife she threw back was deflected by the boy’s bare hand. Seeing that, Hilda immediately stopped and the boy’s kick grazed her mask.
“Kuh.”
Hilda, who had been pushed back by the sharp kick, was met with the boy’s backhand blow as he spun in smoothly. Hilda tried to parry it with her arm, but was surprised by the greater-than-expected impact. She counterattacked with her Dagger, but the boy dodged it by falling to the ground, and Hilda was blown away by the kick that was released as he put his hand on the ground.
“If you resist, you’ll get hurt, you know?”
The Cruz boy butler—Theo—stood up, bouncing as he spun his legs, and took a fighting stance.
Once, Theo, who had been spoiled by his talent, had never trained seriously. He fell in love with a girl one year older than him and wanted to become stronger to “take responsibility.”
Dreaming of meeting the girl again, he desperately repeated his training, surpassing his peers, and barely reached Rank 3 at the age of eleven.
He wouldn’t lose to any ordinary adult. If the situation was right, he could even fight a royal knight on equal terms.
Then, he heard that his first love, who had been missing, had been found. Theo, who was finally able to meet her, realized that he was still arrogant with his talent alone.
Rank 4—a realm of “powerful people” that could not be reached with talent alone—the girl in her early teens had reached with her own ability.
Moreover, she had defeated a Rank 5 monster on her own, and although her fame on the surface was still small, she had grown into such a large presence that there was no one in the Underworld who didn’t know about her.
Realizing this, Theo realized that he couldn’t catch up by doing the same thing as her, and switched to a tactic that made use of his strengths.
Clang! Theo struck the Magic Steel Gauntlets he wore on both fists.
Theo’s new tactic was a martial art that used Hidden Weapons, making use of his unique Martial Arts. He hid Hidden Weapons all over his body, such as in his sleeves and shoes, which were not visible from the outside, and his main weapon, the iron gauntlets, became a weapon of offense and defense, not only attacking but also blocking enemy attacks.
Theo sighed inwardly at the spy who had sneaked into this place.
Alicia, a viscount’s daughter who was a mid-ranking noble, had connections with the Crown Prince and the younger brother of the king, and repeated bizarre words and actions that were unthinkable for a noble lady. She was shunned by various noble families, and was being investigated more and more.
The spy in front of him seemed to be a woman, but unlike the others, he felt a sense of “desperation.” He didn’t know what her purpose was yet, but her master must have disliked Alicia very much.
(That’s why it’s troubling…)
Because Theo felt the same way. Frankly speaking, Alicia’s words and actions were unpleasant to Theo. She was close to the Crown Prince, the younger brother of the king, and the grandson of the temple leader, but she wanted the same thing from Theo.
He had reported it to the Melrose House and the Mercis House, his masters, but because the matter involved the royal family, it wasn’t as simple as just removing Alicia from the academy.
But, although he was on the other side emotionally, work was work. Theo had also become a formal Shadow Knight, and if Alicia Melsys was related to the Melrose House, he couldn’t let the spy, who would be a weakness for the other family, escape for the sake of his master’s house.
The spy’s combat power was less than 200. As long as he wasn’t careless, he wouldn’t let her escape. —Unless something unusual happened.
“Theo-kun, where are you~?”
“M-Miss, please stop!”
“!?”
That’s when it happened. Alicia, the person he was supposed to protect, ignored the servants’ attempts to stop her and leaned out of the terrace window.
Alicia, who had been bullied by other girls in the past, didn’t like to have maids around her unless necessary. She only allowed male servants who would listen to her requests into her room, and the male servants couldn’t stop her.
Swallowing the urge to click his tongue, Theo noticed that the female spy had begun to move during the brief moment his attention had been diverted to Alicia.
“Stop!”
Theo hurled a Pebble, striking the running woman in the shoulder. But even so, the female spy didn’t stop, throwing the small bottle she held towards the window.
Hilda was doing it to save her master. Theo was doing it for the sake of the main family, who were above his protection target. Hilda won due to that slight difference in spirit, and she achieved her goal.
The sound of something breaking rang out—. Theo tried to chase after the fleeing female spy, but screams coming from the mansion stopped him in his tracks.
“Damn it!”
After hesitating for only a moment, Theo rushed towards the mansion, where the screams had come from.
“【High Heal】—!”
In a room in the Temple in the Royal Capital, the burns on the girl from the training corps, who had been half-burned by Carla, were quickly healing thanks to Ursula’s Cure Magic.
As expected of someone called a Saint, her healing speed was remarkable, but as Carla, still holding the girl’s arm, deepened her smile, the flames that erupted from her hand once again burned the girl’s body, which had almost been healed.
“Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!”
The girl from the training corps, who was supposed to have suppressed her emotions, screamed at the hellish torment of being burned while being healed. Everyone was overwhelmed by the bizarre sight and couldn’t move. Finally, the flames gained the upper hand, burning the girl’s body to ashes.
“How did you get the poison…?”
The sweat flowing from the members of the training corps wasn’t just because of the heat filling the room.
Carla, who had leisurely finished drinking the poisoned tea in response to Ursula’s question, brushed off the soot on her hand and gave the same unchanging smile.
The Sephriole Flower Poison in the tea had a muscle-relaxing effect and could be used as medicine in small amounts. If administered in large quantities, it would affect the internal organs, and Carla, with her weak heart, would be in mortal danger. But Ursula must have summoned Carla with the intention of capturing her from the start, given how subtle the change in taste was.
Even in small amounts, Sephriole Flower Poison would paralyze the mouth, making it impossible to chant spells, making it a troublesome poison for Magicians. That’s why Carla had considered fighting alone, taking the poison that would put her in danger and building up her poison resistance.
But Carla was able to resist this poison not only because she had the Poison Resistance Skill.
“Seize her! She still shouldn’t be able to chant spells accurately!”
At Ursula’s words, the girls of the training corps, who had been frozen, moved, holding their Needle Daggers. Carla, still sitting on the sofa, mouthed words without a sound.
‘Didn’t you see me use Magic without chanting?’
To use Magic, you had to chant a spell.
Even if you understood the meaning of the spell and mastered chantless Magic, you would still need activation words.
Ursula and the others thought that even if Carla used Magic, they hadn’t heard the activation words, so they thought of it as a matter of common sense. Even if she could use simple Magic, it would be difficult to pronounce the activation words accurately in a chaotic battle.
But that wasn’t the correct answer. The reason why the Non-Attribute Magic 【Combat Art】 could be activated even with the roar of a Monster was because the meaning of the activation words was accurately imagined.
Even with the Poison Resistance Skill, it was difficult to completely negate the poison. As Ursula said, Carla still couldn’t use Magic in perfect condition. Even so, if she repeated it hundreds or thousands of times and had an accurate image, she could activate it in the same way as Combat Arts, even if the efficiency was somewhat reduced.
Even if her muscles were relaxed, she could forcibly control her body with Soulthorn.
She could also use 【Treat】 with complete chantless activation to eliminate the toxins remaining in her body.
The attacks of the moving girls were aimed at non-vital areas such as Carla’s shoulders and arms.
Even Ursula and the Holy Church’s training corps didn’t have the authority to kill the Crown Prince’s fiancée at their own discretion. They planned to confine the problematic Carla, subject her to “education” with drugs and Magic, and then banish her, making her decline the Crown Prince’s engagement.
But Carla Leicester wasn’t normal enough to be stopped by such half-hearted attacks.
” ” “!? ” ” “
Black thorn patterns writhed on Carla’s white skin, and her body, controlled by the thorns, jumped up to evade the attacks.
Soulthorn—The Church knew that Carla had obtained Divine Protection to enhance her Magic, but they hadn’t anticipated that it would affect her physical abilities as well.
Ursula and the others, who thought that Carla was just a Magician no matter how strong she was, widened their eyes at Carla, who dodged the attacks by flying around the room. At that moment, Ursula, sensing the enormous Mana that arose in Carla’s hands, which she spread like a transformed bird, jumped back.
“Everyone, get back!!”
“—【Fireball】—”
Explosions roared in the room, and three girls turned to charcoal and burned to death without even leaving a scream.
“How could you…!”
Using area Fire Magic indoors was insane. In the flame-engulfed room, only Ursula, wearing a Mithril fiber robe and having used the level 4 Light Magic 【Bless】—which increased physical and Magic resistance—beforehand, survived, raising her voice filled with anger.
Carla, who had defended herself from the flames with her own erupting Mana, showed herself from within the flames, glanced at the surviving Ursula, and looked around strangely.
“If no one has appeared even after all this, did they move them somewhere?”
When capturing Carla, Ursula had considered the possibility of a battle and had moved the priests who didn’t know the situation to the Chapel’s dormitory. Originally, only lower-ranking priests and orphans were given their own rooms in the Temple, so it wasn’t difficult to move them.
Carla released her Mana and confirmed that there was no one else’s Mana in the Temple, but suddenly felt Mana in a deeper place and turned her gaze to the floor.
“Oh, are you down there?”
“You are!?”
Ursula, her eyes wide open, held up the mace she had been hiding and approached through the flames.
Dogoon!!
The blow from the mace shattered the oak table that had been engulfed in flames, and Carla, who jumped back as if mocking it, slipped through the burned-down door and leaped into the hallway.
“Is it this way?”
“Wait!!”
Ursula chased after Carla. A look of impatience appeared on Ursula’s face for the first time as she couldn’t quite catch up with Carla.
The general priests and orphans who didn’t know the situation had been moved from this Temple. But in its basement, the next generation of training corps members who had been educated remained.
For Ursula, who was an orphan, the only family she had were those in the Temple. Especially the children who would become the next generation of the training corps were her irreplaceable, beloved younger sisters who would correct the world with the light of the Holy Church even after her death.
Carla, advancing to the depths of the Temple, felt a faint Mana from the iron door further inside the Orphanage, which was usually guarded by Priest Knights, and pointed her Mana-filled fingertips towards the door.
“Stop—!!!”
“—【Lightning】—”
A flash of light burst from Carla’s fingertips, and the huge Lightning that was released in a straight line pierced Ursula, who had instinctively used herself as a shield. The penetrating Lightning burned the iron door behind her, and the incandescent iron burned the surrounding wood, causing white smoke to rise.
Ursula, who had only avoided instant death with the Magic resistance of 【Bless】 while her entire body and internal organs were being burned, prayed to God and questioned Him as she collapsed.
Why is such an evil existence allowed to exist when there is a God?
Why are we, who have destroyed the evil of the Holy Church in the name of God, suffering like this?
Hateful. The evil of this world. And the God who leaves it alone. And the Temple Master’s grandson who brought such a monster.
And so, on the verge of death, Ursula cursed God and everything related to Him for the first time in her life, bringing an end to her unrewarded life.
Theo, caught off guard and having an object thrown into the room where the person he was guarding was, returned to the mansion at full speed and rushed up the stairs, opening the door.
“My Lady!!”
Theo also had Poison Resistance, but he was wary of unknown poisons, so he hid his mouth with a cloth and released Magic into the room.
“【Gust】—!”
A level 2 Wind Magic spell, signifying a gust of wind, blew the toxins in the room out through the opened window.
There was no smell of poison when I entered the room, and Theo showed no signs of anything wrong. But inside, two servants, apparently summoned by their mistress, lay clutching their chests with ashen faces, and beyond them, a figure resembling a young lady was crouching.
“M’lady…”
Theo’s voice trailed off as he tried to rush forward.
“…Aha… Ahahaha…”
Alicia was laughing as she clutched her chest. Her bizarre tone made Theo freeze, unable to speak. Alicia slowly rose and turned around.
Her entire body was enveloped in Light Mana, her face pale, blood smeared around her mouth from vomiting, and she laughed loudly, causing Theo to recoil involuntarily.
“Theo-kun, look! I can finally use Light Magic! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“…”
Theo’s face lost all color as he gasped at the bizarre sight.
Alicia Melsys had been unable to learn Light Magic as in the original story.
That was why the strategy had stalled, but by a twist of fate, Alicia, poisoned to create a Magic Stone blood clot in her heart, had survived by creating a Light Magic Stone in her heart through her extraordinary determination.
Later, she would be recommended by the King’s younger brother to be called a Saint, and she would energetically begin to capture the Crown Princes, further widening the rift between the Crown Prince and his fiancée.
Thus, the academy, having lost the Princess, who had been a political check, and the girl who had been a deterrent in terms of military power, was heading towards further chaos.
“W-What’s going on…”
Late at night, at the entrance of the deserted Temple, Nasanitaru trembled at the faint, strange noise he heard.
He had listened to the wish of a girl in love and asked the Holy Church’s training corps to educate Carla, but as time passed, he was losing confidence in whether his actions had been right.
Even if Carla had done terrible things to Alicia, did Nasanitaru have the right to inflict such torment on her that her personality was lost?
She was, after all, the Crown Prince’s fiancée. Shouldn’t he have obtained permission from the Temple Master, his grandfather, before doing anything?
If it didn’t align with his grandfather’s wishes, what would his responsibility be?
Ursula had also agreed, so it wasn’t all his fault. People like Carla and Aria, who disregarded human life, could not be forgiven by God, so he must be right—
Even as he thought this, Nasanitaru had come alone to ascertain the truth, hiding so that this matter would not become public.
The Priest Knights who were supposed to guard the entrance were absent, for some reason, only on this day. Feeling uneasy and helpless at this fact, Nasanitaru opened the Temple door with the key he had received from his grandfather and entered. He noticed a faint smell of something burning and a wisp of smoke drifting from the back.
(T-This is terrible. Could there be a small fire?)
There were also children from the Orphanage. It would be terrible if the orphans were caught up in it, but he couldn’t find an adult to tell, and more importantly, he couldn’t think of an excuse for why he was here so late at night. Due to his timidity, Nasanitaru stepped inside on his own.
“…Hiek!”
“Nasanitaru-sama, how do you do?”
From the darkness, Carla’s slender fingertips grabbed Nasanitaru’s face, causing him to nearly collapse. Carla dragged him along as she walked.
“Gyaaaaaaaah!!”
Flames erupted from the hand gripping his face, burning his face. The next moment Nasanitaru screamed—
Whoosh!!
Fresh air was drawn in from the open entrance, and flames erupted from the back, licking through the Temple in an instant.
Radiant Fire Magic blew the large doors at the entrance from the inside of the Temple. Carla, still holding the screaming, writhing Nasanitaru, emerged from the flames and gave a truly delighted smile to the onlookers who had rushed out of the surrounding houses, stunned by the Temple engulfed in flames.
The Temple fire that broke out late at night was extinguished in a half-burnt state by those who could use Water Magic, thanks to the surrounding residents still being awake and the priests of the Chapel rushing to the scene.
Carla, the daughter of Count Leicester, was suspected of causing the fire, but the Holy Church, the victim, feared that the attempted assassination and the underground educational facility would become public. After consulting with the Royal Family and the Count Leicester Estate, they decided to drop the matter, citing an unknown suspect.
But there were a few witnesses. You can’t put a lid on people’s mouths.
And above all, the noble families, fearing her madness and the fact that she possessed power equivalent to the military strength of a noble family on her own, complained to the Royal Family. A tentative resolution was reached by confirming Carla’s qualifications as Crown Prince’s fiancée by the day of the Crown Prince’s graduation ceremony.
This time it’s roughly two chapters worth (a sense of value)
Carla is more playful than in the original story.
Well, if you think about it normally, you wouldn’t be executed just for bullying the Heroine, would you?
And Nasanitaru is still alive. (With trauma)
Next time, the scene will return to Aria and Elena.
It feels like they’re about to get caught up in various things soon.
See you next time.