Chapter 3: “The Ash-Covered Assassin” Begins
(…How depressing.)
Bathed in light streaming through a large window, a young girl sighed inwardly as she was led down a high-ceilinged, ornate corridor in the Royal Castle by a maid.
Several months had passed since Princess Elena’s convalescence, and now Clara Dandole, daughter of the Margrave of Dandole, was visiting the Royal Capital’s Royal Castle.
Elena’s convalescence had been marred by some blunders, almost leading to Dandole being held responsible. However, the Royal Family likely didn’t want to publicize the fact that a princess before her marriage had nearly been kidnapped. Through preventative measures and adjustments with the Royal Family, the matter was dropped.
Even so, though it couldn’t be said to be unrelated to the incident, an invisible rift had formed between Clara and Elena.
They had once been as close as real sisters, but Clara, along with her memories of a past life, had learned that this world was the basis for the Otome Game “In Love With Silver Wings.”
She realized she was the “Villainess,” and her wariness of Elena, who was also a Villainess, led the perceptive Elena to distance herself.
Still, the biggest reason was probably the maid with the same pink hair as the Heroine.
It couldn’t be her. But she was so similar that Clara had a negative reaction, and whether that was the cause or not, she was sent from Dandole to the more remote Seyles Barony, where she was said to have fallen victim to a “Weirdo” who was causing trouble in the area and disappeared.
Clara felt sorry for her, but inwardly relieved that she was gone.
Perhaps she had become complacent because of this. Later, when she had the opportunity to meet Elena, she mentioned her favorite maid’s death in passing, and Elena suddenly flew into a rage.
“There’s no way Aria would break her promise to me!”
Since then, Elena had ignored her, Clara was severely scolded by her mother, and told to repair their relationship.
However, that was not why Clara had come to the Royal Capital this time.
The Crown Prince’s fiancée candidates had been narrowed down to three, and Clara, who was officially included, had come to the Royal Capital to meet the other candidates.
Why was this meeting so “depressing”?
“Lady Clara Dandole, daughter of the Margrave, will now enter.”
The butler’s voice announced her, and as she stepped into one of the reception rooms in the Royal Castle, it seemed Clara was the last to arrive. The other two fiancée candidates were already inside, relaxing in their own ways.
A girl with pale silver hair, drinking tea at the nearest table, gave Clara a gentle nod.
She was the daughter of the Second Queen of the Duke of Foodle, whom Clara knew.
She was two years older than Clara and the Crown Prince, but the Duke’s family, lacking a suitable daughter from the First Queen, had apparently squeezed her in at the last minute.
The three fiancée candidates would remain in place until the Crown Prince graduated from the Magic Academy. Even if they didn’t become the primary fiancée and future Queen, the remaining two were promised the positions of Second Queen and Third Queen.
To that end, it was necessary for the fiancée candidates to be on good terms with each other, but in the current King’s case, he had made a Baron’s daughter, who was not a candidate, his Queen, which led to a lack of cooperation between the Queens. Moreover, since only the Second Queen would actually become a Queen, the other two declined the positions.
This was said to be the reason why there were so few children with succession rights now.
If the Crown Prince fell for the Heroine this time, the same result could occur. Clara would be condemned then, so it wouldn’t matter much to her, but she couldn’t do anything if she kept thinking that far ahead.
The Duke of Foodle’s daughter was not a problem. She was not a character in the game, and as the daughter of the Second Queen, she probably didn’t intend to become Queen anyway.
But the other one… the daughter of Count Leicester, who had produced the head court magicians for generations, was one year younger than Clara and in the same grade as the Heroine. In the game, she possessed all six magic attributes and vast Mana, and always stood in the Heroine’s way at the end.
(That’s… the worst, the most insane Villainess, Carla Leicester…)
Hair as black as if it absorbed the sunlight, undulating gently.
A girl with skin so white it looked sickly, with dark circles under her eyes—the “Last Boss” who rivaled the Evil Lord in the Otome Game, stared back at Clara with violet eyes that shone strangely from the depths of the hollows.
“Shigyaaaaaaaah!”
Deep in the forest. In the drizzling rain, a Giant Spider, which had built its nest in a rocky area sheltered from the rain, made a threatening sound at the appearance of the “enemy.”
The Giant Spider was a huge spider with a body alone of one meter in size. Including the length of its legs, it was nearly five meters long.
Its ecology was not much different from that of ordinary spiders, but it had extremely developed muscles and skin to support its huge body, and it used powerful sticky threads and paralyzing venom to prey on even Goblins and Kobolds at times.
Clang!
A thinly made unglazed bottle created with Utility Magic 【Harden(Hard)】 was thrown, hitting the rocky area and splashing the water inside onto the spider’s web.
“Shaaaaaaah!”
Enraged by this, the Giant Spider shot out sticky threads, but the enemy ran around at a subtle distance, dodging the threads, and threw several prepared bottles, further wetting the spider’s web with water.
The Giant Spider’s legs slipped on the threads it used for its nest.
The “enemy” knew this because of their “knowledge.” Originally, creatures like spiders and insects could not grow to this size. They were Monsters, and only by strengthening their threads and bodies with Mana could they support their huge bodies on the ground.
However, it seemed unnatural to support that huge body with thin threads.
Still, the Giant Spider built its nest in the air and moved within it. The “enemy” had investigated the old nests and realized.
Normal spider webs have sticky threads to catch prey and non-sticky threads for the spider to walk on.
However, in the case of the Giant Spider, all the threads in the nest were made of sticky threads to support its huge body.
Moreover, after observing the Giant Spider for several days, they learned that it did not hunt outside the nest on rainy days. If wet with water, the stickiness of the sticky threads would be drastically reduced. And with the reduced stickiness, the Giant Spider could not support its weight.
“Shigyaaaaaah!”
Splash! Finally unable to endure, the Giant Spider fell to the ground, wet with the drizzle.
Without missing that moment, several strange throwing knives released by the “enemy” pierced the Giant Spider’s body.
They were a type of Hidden Weapon that could also be used for throwing, with a rhombus-shaped blade of about 8 centimeters attached to a ring of about 4 centimeters.
Realizing it was being attacked, the Giant Spider swung its legs threateningly. However, unlike small spiders, the Giant Spider had enough weight to ensure fall damage, and several of its legs were actually broken in strange directions.
Seeing this, the “enemy” launched a close-quarters attack.
Noticing this, the Giant Spider released sticky threads, but the sticky threads released from a body half-crushed on the ground flew in the wrong direction. Still, the “enemy” caught one of the threads that flew towards them with a wet cloak and quickly threw it off.
Ash-covered pink hair shimmered with sweat and rain, shining like silver wings.
At the same time as throwing it off, the “enemy” quickly jumped in and thrust a Black Knife deep into the Giant Spider’s head.
“Shaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The Giant Spider, with its head pierced, still aimed its venomous fangs at the “enemy.”
The “enemy” did not panic, but pulled out the knife as if gouging, while creating distance, and thrust several more throwing knives into its head. Finally, the Giant Spider stopped moving—
“—【Thrust】—”
Without missing that moment, the 【Combat Art】 released by the “enemy” decapitated the spider, and the Giant Spider, which had claimed that area as its territory, scattered its life.
“Hah…”
The battle was over, and I exhaled as if to cool my flushed body in the drizzling rain.
I was able to defeat the Giant Spider as planned. As expected, fighting a monster for the first time made me nervous, and it took a lot of time to prepare, but if I could defeat a Rank 3 monster with almost no damage, it was a great success.
“【Water】”
While washing off the sticky threads attached to my cloak with water, I peeled them off, gathered the sticky threads together with a tree branch, and put them in a special bag I had prepared.
This sticky thread isn’t usually usable, but if processed with alchemy, it becomes a high-quality adhesive for making books. However, what “I” need is the Giant Spider’s torso and its head.
The Giant Spider’s fangs contain a paralyzing poison, and even a small dose can render someone incapacitated in minutes. But with a little processing, that poison can be used as is, simply applied to a weapon.
I packed the Giant Spider’s head into another bag, tied up the spider’s torso with rough rope, wrapped it in my wet cloak, and hoisted it onto my back.
The spider’s torso weighs nearly 20kg, but with Body Enhancement at level 2, it’s not an unmanageable weight.
I advanced step by step through the familiar undulations of the forest, and after walking for about an hour, I saw a small mud-walled house with a small field in the forest.
I placed the Giant Spider’s torso outside the entrance, washed the cloak with 【Water】 and hung it outside to dry. Then, carrying the two bags, I opened the door, and a young woman’s voice echoed along with a faint smell of chemicals.
“Taciturn Disciple (Aria), don’t come into the house with muddy feet!”
“I’m home, Master (Serejula).”
【Aria (Alicia)】【Race: Human Female】【Rank 2】
【Mana Capacity: 155/160】25Up【HP: 92/105】25Up
【Strength: 5 (6)】【Endurance: 6 (7.2)】【Agility: 7 (8.4)】【Dexterity: 7】
【Dagger Arts Lv.1】【Martial Arts Lv.2】【Throwing Lv.2】1Up【Thread Manipulation Lv.1】
【Light Magic Lv.2】1Up New【Dark Magic Lv.2】【Non-Attribute Magic Lv.2】
【Utility Magic x6】【Mana Control Lv.2】【Intimidation Lv.2】
【Stealth Lv.2】1Up【Night Vision Lv.2】1Up【Detection Lv.2】1Up【Poison Resistance Lv.1】
【Simple Appraisal】
【Overall Combat Strength: 128 (During Body Enhancement: 144)】30Up
My master is that person.
She has been hinted at since almost the beginning, but I was finally able to introduce her.
And the last villainess has appeared. Probably the scariest person in the story.
Next time, I’ll go back a bit and explain from where I got out of the river.
Probably next Wednesday. A pace of four episodes a week is quite tough, so I might reduce it a bit.
Thank you for your support in the new chapter.
Addendum
The meaning of the Otome Game “In Love With Silver Wings” is a metaphor for the heroine looking like an angel.
However, in the main story, it seems that the ash-covered hair looked that way.