“…This isn’t interesting.”
In a certain mansion in the Royal Capital… in a dark room where no sunlight entered, a lone girl muttered.
Viscountess Alicia Melsis. Recommended by the Crown Prince’s faction and recognized as the Saintess by the Holy Church and the Fandora Theocracy, where its main temple was located, she had defeated the demon that appeared in the Royal Capital, and thus, the people also recognized her by her nickname, ‘Saintess Licia’.
Everything was proceeding according to the “true history.” To be precise, it followed the Elvan route of the otome game “Falling in Love with Silver Wings,” where she would conquer a large-scale dungeon with a capture target. By saving the soldiers there, she was supposed to be recognized as the Saintess, but due to differences in the premise, the situation had diverged from the desired outcome.
In the original Elvan route, the heroine Alicia Melsis was rumored to be the “Saintess” after impulsively using “Holy Magic” during a field exercise. Because the people then demanded she become the Queen, the villainess Clara would plot the heroine’s assassination. However, Clara never attempted to assassinate Licia after she became the Saintess.
Licia couldn’t use Holy Magic. Being a narcissist, she was not loved by the spirits.
Licia compensated for the fame she should have gained through Holy Magic by defeating the demonic minions she had created. However, because Elena, who should have been an ally, became hostile, the nobles who were supposed to support the Saintess as the official queen did not acknowledge Licia.
One of the causes Licia considered for this was the “Pink-Haired Girl” guarding the Princess.
She had the Temple Knights attack her, attempting to eliminate her by hinting at hostility with the Holy Church. But the girl, sensing that the harm would extend to her master, disappeared and, hiding in the shadows, began to chip away at the power of the Nobles’ Faction, which was the Saintess’s faction. As a result, the voices supporting Licia as the official queen grew even fainter.
If that girl had attacked Licia directly, she might have been able to use it as leverage to find a weakness in the Princess. For that reason, she always had Temple Knights and a Greater Demon as guards, but that girl didn’t make such a foolish mistake and attacked indirectly.
That said, it wasn’t guaranteed there wouldn’t be an attack. Because of that, Licia couldn’t effectively use the Greater Demon, which was a valuable pawn.
“…〝Tell me〟.”
Licia clutched the half-broken Magic Stone she kept in her amulet pouch, its sharp, broken edge cutting her hand and drawing a faint trickle of blood.
That “Magic Stone” contained the memories and emotions of a certain “woman” and taught Licia various things. While grimacing at the “passionate emotions” trying to encroach upon her, Licia conversed with the memories of the “woman” inside the Magic Stone and selected the necessary information.
“I see… So there was such an 〝event〟.”
As Licia, who had let out such a mutter, sat on the bed, there was a sign of something stirring.
“…Licia. What’s wrong?”
“Nn-no, it’s nothing.”
Licia, with an innocent smile, clung to Prince Amor’s chest, acting sweet.
“I… I’m not really recognized as a Saintess, so I’m sad…”
“That’s not true. Even if people truly think that way of you, Licia, I’ll do something about it.”
“Amor-sama…”
Previously, Amor, who had been unrecognized by anyone, kept in the castle merely to ensure the number of royals, and was gloomy, had his personality change after obtaining a 【Divine Protection (Gift)】.
Unlike before, his words and actions were now full of confidence, and he no longer dwelled on trivial matters. Whether this was a good or bad thing would depend on the evaluation of those around him.
Licia gave him a bewitching smile, leaned in as if to push Amor down, and whispered in his ear.
“In that case, Amor-sama, there’s something I’d like to ask of you…”
＊＊＊
“Uwoooooh!!”
As the man screamed and swung his dagger, I gently deflected it with my bare hand and slit his carotid artery, sinking the tip of my Black Knife deep.
“You dog of Claydale…!”
“I know.”
I delivered the finishing blow to the man groaning his last, scanned my surroundings, and then let out a soft breath myself.
I had raided the stronghold of what seemed to be members of the Solhorse Kingdom’s Shadow Unit and eliminated all of them.
They were spies known as “Kusa” (Grass), who infiltrated the region as long-term residents, but they couldn’t deceive the eyes of the Shadow Unit. The Kingdom of Claydale’s Shadow Unit, though small in number, surpassed other countries’ shadow units in this kind of information warfare.
Several weeks had passed since I crushed the Herman Company, and since then, I had been destroying several sources of funding for the Nobles’ Faction. In the process, I made contact with the Kingdom of Claydale’s Shadow Unit, receiving information from them while raiding foreign bases that were difficult for the Shadow Unit to touch.
“…Anything of value?”
I managed to get testimony that they were foreign spies, but as expected, they hadn’t left any evidence of collusion with the Nobles’ Faction. Still, if I search, something might turn up. A liaison from the Shadow Unit is supposed to arrive once the suppression is complete, but…
Thwack!!
I threw a throwing knife towards the window behind me, and a human figure wavered behind the window frame where the knife struck. …This isn’t someone from the Shadow Unit in this area. I sensed they were at least more skilled than the Shadow Unit members I’d contacted.
Instantly switching my mind to a combat state, I shattered the window frame where they were hiding with my Rope Weight Type Pendulum, and a cloaked figure leaped out.
Combat power around 300. If they’re a scout-type, letting them escape would be troublesome. As I immediately readied my dagger and knife to lunge, the shadow cried out.
“Wait, wait! Aria!”
Hearing that familiar, boyish voice, I couldn’t help but stop.
“…Theo?”
“Yeah! So don’t attack, I’ll seriously die!”
It seemed the Shadow Unit I’d contacted had informed him, and Theo had come from the Royal Capital as a liaison.
Theo had already been relieved of his duty to guard that viscount’s daughter, the Saintess. This was because, after discussions between the Prime Minister and Mikhail-sama, it was judged that there was a high probability he would be mentally affected, more so than if he were used as a spy.
“It’s been a while. So, how’s the situation?”
“I was just about to be killed, you know!? …Well, that’s just like you, Aria.”
When I responded normally, he somehow got sulky. Still, Theo confirmed there were no enemies left nearby and then spoke as if letting out a breath.
“Regarding the situation here, first, because you’re crushing the Nobles’ Faction’s funding sources, Aria, the number of noble families siding with us is increasing. Also, Her Highness the Princess says she’ll finish her 〝preparations〟 by the graduation party two months from now.”
“…”
So Elena said that…
I figured Elena had gone to the trouble of sending the trustworthy Theo to convey this because she wanted to imbue those words with a faint〝wish〟of her own.
Elena is trying to create a situation where I can return to the academy.
My assignment to guard Elena was, at the shortest, until the Crown Prince graduated. The period could shift depending on the situation, but after ousting the Crown Prince, it shouldn’t become a situation where I’d have to guard her indefinitely.
I do feel like I want to return to her side. However, considering Elena will become queen, there’s also a part of me that rationally thinks it’s better to act as a “Shadow” like this time, rather than being by her side as a handmaiden like Sera.
“Also… this is the main point.”
As I was lost in thought silently, Theo paused for a beat with a subtle expression, then continued speaking with a serious face.
“This is information from the Dandole Family, or rather, it’s not just from Her Highness the Princess, but there’s some strange movement within a part of the Second Order of Knights. It’s like they’re gathering weapons and equipment, almost as if preparing for a large-scale battle…”
“…I see.”
The Dandole Family means it’s related to the knight orders, and for the head of the Dandole Family, who is the Knight Commander General, to not have control means—
“His Highness Prince Amor?”
“Yeah.”
The one who rapidly gained power within the faction supporting the Saintess was Prince Amor, who was thought to be part of the Crown Prince’s faction. With Nasanitar, who had always been by the Saintess’s side, disappearing, it was thought Amor was just standing out in his place, but it seems Amor’s control over the Second Order of Knights had progressed considerably.
But… was he that kind of person?
“Understood, I’ll look into it myself.”
“Okay. Aria, don’t push yourself too hard, okay!”
This will probably be a job for the knight order, not a Shadow Unit mission. Still, seeing how much Prince Amor had changed, I felt something unsettling in a corner of my heart.
＊＊＊
“…My Lady. The information you requested has been gathered.”
“You may leave it there.”
In a room within the Queen’s Palace at the Royal Palace, after the old butler placed the documents on a side table, bowed, and exited, the girl thinly opened her closed eyes, revealing purple eyes.
Skin as white as a corpse. Lifeless black hair… The girl, who looked so much like a corpse one might doubt if she were even alive, reflected the documents in her eyes, which brimmed with immense magical power. She then checked their contents, sending them flying one by one from the top using her magic.
“…Fufu.”
How much longer can I live, I wonder?
The doctor said they didn’t know if I would live to adulthood.
How much of my lifespan is left, I wonder?
If only I hadn’t used my Divine Protection (Gift), I might have lived until I was about twenty.
But is there any meaning in such a life?
Ever since I was young, I’ve lived only to die.
Death was my only hope, and I sought the lives of everyone involved in bringing down the curtain on such a twisted life.
“But none of that matters anymore.”
Because I met her. Because I found her, the one who would stop me, my only hope became to fight her to the death, to be killed by her.
I will not be killed by anyone but her.
I will not let anyone but myself kill her.
This world, which I had intended to drag down with me to death, now only has value as a “stage” for her and me to kill each other.
That’s why I overlooked the demon. The false Saint and her foolish entourage, too, I left them alive as mere stage props.
However, those mere stage props will not be permitted to destroy the stage before the curtain rises.
“I suppose I must go and scold the children for their mischief, mustn’t I?”
On the battlefield that was the Royal Capital, where the final stage was beginning to be set, the “villainous” noblewoman Karla quietly began to move.
The girls are starting to move. What a huge pain, lol.
The story is finally reaching its climax. Please bear with me a little longer.
The advance digital release on BOOKWALKER-sama has begun! The physical version will also be out in ten days!
Thank you all for your support!