Ltrf: Created page with "After the incident at the Angel's Ark Inn, Karin vanished without a trace. Even if Cendrillon wanted to look for her, he had no time to spare. After reporting to Philip III that he made contact with Noire, he was, as expected, subjected to an endless barrage of questions, and three full days disappeared into the writing of reports. Bacchus and Narcissus, for their part, seemed unconcerned. According to them, boys were complicated creatures, so these things simply happe..."

2026-07-22T07:25:02Z

Created page with "After the incident at the Angel's Ark Inn, Karin vanished without a trace. Even if Cendrillon wanted to look for her, he had no time to spare. After reporting to Philip III that he made contact with Noire, he was, as expected, subjected to an endless barrage of questions, and three full days disappeared into the writing of reports. Bacchus and Narcissus, for their part, seemed unconcerned. According to them, boys were complicated creatures, so these things simply happe..."

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After the incident at the Angel's Ark Inn, Karin vanished without a trace. Even if Cendrillon wanted to look for her, he had no time to spare.

After reporting to Philip III that he made contact with Noire, he was, as expected, subjected to an endless barrage of questions, and three full days disappeared into the writing of reports.

Bacchus and Narcissus, for their part, seemed unconcerned. According to them, boys were complicated creatures, so these things simply happened. Esmeralda, the woman who entertained Karin, reported that she ran out without doing anything at all.

"That idiot... what on earth is he thinking?

Staring at the growing pile of laundry, Cendrillon muttered helplessly. Bacchus and the others said he would come back sooner or later, but...

Only after Karin disappeared did Cendrillon realize just how large a place she occupied in his life.

Every morning, when he awoke, Karin was already up, stuffing something into her mouth.

"What's on the menu today?" he would ask.

"Same as always. Why bother asking?" she would snap back in that slightly irritated tone of hers.

Now breakfast was a solitary affair once again, just as it was before. She did little but grumble and complain, but now that he could no longer hear those complaints, he found the silence strangely lonely.

I thought I was the one taking care of him, but perhaps I was the one relying on him more than I realized...

Looking at the chair with no one sitting in it, Cendrillon could not help but think so.

But even that loneliness was, honestly, insignificant compared to the anger and emptiness he felt now.

Karina had never loved him.

That fact twisted Cendrillon's stomach into knots. It felt as if someone spat upon the sentimentality in which he wallowed, upon the three years he drowned in alcohol.

At times, he found himself thinking that if he did not accidentally pierced her chest that day, he had no idea what would have become of him.

Philip III's indecisive attitude only deepened his frustration.

Cendrillon reported to the king that Karina was clearly connected to The Duke Eustache.

And yet Philip III made no move to summon Eustache and confront him. Apparently, he decided to refrain from taking any action until a new prime minister was selected.

Cendrillon felt maddeningly powerless. But a mere knight could hardly oppose the king's decision, and so he ultimately did the only thing he knew how to do.

He drowned himself in drink.

With an expression like a sulking child, Cendrillon muttered,

"...I'm never trusting women again."

At that moment, someone knocked at the door.

For a brief instant he thought Karin had returned.

But he was mistaken.

The ones who burst noisily into the room were Narcissus and Bacchus.

The moment Narcissus saw Cendrillon's drunken face, he burst out laughing.

"W-What's so funny...?"

"I knew it! I win!"

"Damn it..."

Bacchus reluctantly handed Narcissus an ecu gold coin.

"What the hell is going on?"

When Cendrillon asked, Narcissus replied with a grin.

"We made a bet."

"What kind of bet?"

"I wagered one ecu that you'd still be moping."

"And I wagered one ecu that you weren't nearly as heartbroken as all that."

"Why were you betting on me in the first place?"

"Oh, come on. You ran into your old lover again."

Cendrillon's face went pale.

"...So what?"

"So naturally I bet that you'd be depressed. You're still hung up on her, after all."

"I bet the opposite. I figured there was no way you'd still be carrying a torch for a devil like that."

Cendrillon's expression turned bitter.

"Bacchus loses. I'm not hung up on a woman like that."

"Really?"

Narcissus leaned in and peered into his face.

"Yeah. Next time I see her, I'm arresting her."

Apparently noticing something in his expression, Narcissus patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't push yourself."

"I'm not pushing myself."

At that, Narcissus looked around the room.

"He still hasn't come back?"

"Hm? Oh..."

As Cendrillon answered, Bacchus gave him a reproachful look.

"Cold-hearted bastard. At least worry about him."

"I am worried. But you were the ones who said he'd come back sooner or later."

Just then, the door flew open once more.

Standing there, dressed as her usual town-girl self, was Princess Marianne.

"Kariiin!"

The three guards covered their faces.

Of all people, she was the last person they wanted to see right now.

When Marianne noticed Karin was nowhere to be seen, she tilted her head and asked,

"Where's Karin?"

"Well... actually... he's gone out to do a bit of shopping."

"Then I'll wait."

Marianne sat down in a chair, propped her elbows on the table, and stared blankly into space.

Seeing her like that, Cendrillon spoke with obvious discomfort.

"Your Highness... the truth is, Karin has run away from home."

"Whaaat?! What do you mean?!"

Marianne's eyes widened in shock.

Faced with the innocent gaze of the young princess, Cendrillon scratched his head awkwardly.

"Well, you see... we were trying to toughen him up. Right?"

He looked uneasily at Bacchus and Narcissus.

Both men nodded, beads of sweat forming on their brows.

"R-Right! Perhaps we pushed him a little too hard."

"Yeah! Who'd have thought he'd crack over something so minor!"

Unable to admit that they took her to a brothel, the three men spoke with exaggerated nonchalance.

Marianne's eyes widened in outrage.

"How awful! You bullied Karin just because you're senior to her, didn't you?!"

Bacchus turned pale.

After all, he harbored the rather troublesome desire to serve a delicate young maiden, and when Marianne looked at him like that, he became utterly defenseless.

"N-No! We only wanted to let him experience something nice— Gah!"

Before he could finish, Cendrillon drove his fist into Bacchus's stomach while Narcissus smacked him on the back of the head.

Bacchus crumpled to the floor.

"What do you mean by 'something nice'?"

Marianne asked, blinking innocently.

Narcissus stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Nothing, Your Highness. Merely a poor choice of words."

"Never mind that! What are you three standing around for?!"

Marianne shot to her feet and shouted at the three guards.

"Y-Yes, Your Highness!"

"Find Karin at once! This is an order!"

The three men split up and searched all across Tristania. Idle members of the Mage Guard were also called in, and before long the search for Karin grew into a fairly large-scale operation.

Cendrillon, too, set out to look for Karin with no real idea where to begin. For the time being, he checked inns one by one, but there was no end to them.

"That idiot... where in the world is he, and what is he doing...?"

Could he have left Tristania altogether? No, that seemed unlikely. He should not have any money with him...

At that very moment, Karin and Dulcinea were together in an inn, drawing up their plan. Members of the Mage Guard even came to the inn where they were staying, but because they assumed Karin would naturally be staying alone if he were there at all, they failed to discover Karin and Dulcinea together.

Their plan was simple: infiltrate Eustache's mansion, rescue Armais, and obtain proof of the conspiracy Eustache was carrying out.

Of course, it would not be so easy.

"It is not easy to sneak into Lord Eustache's mansion."

That was how Dulcinea explained it to Karin.

"So it's not an ordinary mansion?"

Karin already knew that Eustache's residence, known as the "New Palace" and located near the Champ de Mars training grounds, was no ordinary estate, but what exactly did Dulcinea mean by saying it could not be infiltrated so easily?

"It is filled with human soldiers and knights. And that's not all."

"Not all?"

"That Eustache has turned demi-humans like us into 'undying monsters' as well."

Demi-humans were the races other than humans: orcs and trolls, winged people and elves who wielded powerful magic, and vampires like Dulcinea.

Their numbers were far smaller than those of humans, but because they possessed immense strength or commanded potent natural magic, they were feared by mankind.

And Eustache was turning even such beings into immortal monsters. What in the world was he planning to use them for?

"They are kept in underground cells, hidden away from prying eyes. When I was brought there, I was imprisoned in those dungeons too."

If they could uncover that and make it public somehow...

Eustache would be ruined.

Karin swallowed hard.

"Is there any place we can get in from?"

When she asked, Dulcinea shook her head.

"I only know the dungeon and part of the mansion. Whenever there is some task for me, I am summoned to Eustache's room and then sent outside through a secret passage."

"A secret passage?"

"Yes. There seem to be many such passages running from Eustache's mansion to various places throughout the city. I only know one of them."

"That's it! We'll use that to get inside."

Karin leaned forward excitedly, but Dulcinea shook her head.

"It won't work..."

"Why not? We can't exactly storm in through the front gate. We'd be captured in an instant."

"The secret passages are naturally guarded against intruders. That is why we are given one-time 'passes.'"

"One-time passes?"

"Yes. This censer is one."

Dulcinea pulled a plain-looking censer from her clothing.

"It contains incense, and while the scent is being released, the 'guardian' will not react."

"Then if we carry this..."

"It won't be enough. There is only enough incense for a one-way trip. To return, we have to send a letter from inside. Then someone comes to retrieve us."

Naturally, asking to be picked up was out of the question.

Karin thought for a while, then raised her head.

"What is this 'guardian'?"

At that, Dulcinea drew in a sharp breath.

"I-I don't know..."

"...What do you mean?"

"I don't know what it is. But... whenever I pass through that corridor, I can feel it."

"Feel what?"

"...That someone is watching me."

Those words made Karin shudder.

Dulcinea lowered her face, visibly frightened.

A vampire... the most feared fiend in all of Halkeginia... trembling under the gaze of something unseen?

A chill spread through Karin's body.

But... I'm fine now. I'm not the timid girl I used to be. I've already overcome that old charm.

And besides… Noire's face rose before her mind's eye. That voluptuous, unmistakably feminine body. That devil of a woman, Cendrillon's former lover.

The thought ignited a spark of anger.

S-So that spineless Cendrillon used to kiss her with those eyes...

Remembering the way Noire looked at him and touched him night after night, Karin trembled.

Then she remembered the expression on Cendrillon's face when he offered her his hand on the narrow forest path leading to the spring.

S-So he looked at her like that too.

A strange choking sound escaped Karin's throat.

She could feel her whole body filling with fury.

"You're happy she is alive," are you?

ARE YOU?!

Cowardly Cendrillon.

A man weaker than any woman.

Don't worry. I will personally send that devilish, voluptuous woman straight to the afterlife. That was what Karin thought, her mind boiling with anger.

"Are you all right?"

Dulcinea peered at Karin with concern.

"Yes."

Feeling hungry, Karin reached for a piece of bread on the table.

As she chewed, Dulcinea's stomach let out a loud growl.

"Are you hungry? Why don't you eat something?"

The moment she said it, Karin froze.

Right. Dulcinea was a vampire.

"I-I mean... I can give you a little blood, if you want."

At that, Dulcinea shook her head.

"I cannot take blood from someone who is about to risk herself to save my sister."

"But you're starving, aren't you?"

Vampires were masters of powerful nature magic. If Dulcinea became a burden because she was too weak, that would be a problem. Thinking so, Karin pressed the issue.

Then Dulcinea said something unexpected.

"Then... if you would... give me your sweat."

"...Sweat?"

Karin blinked in surprise.

"Yes. You see, sweat is something like a component of blood."

"I-Is that so?"

"Of course, it contains nowhere near enough of the necessary components to replace blood, but it is enough to tide me over for the moment."

I see, Karin thought, genuinely impressed.

"Well then..."

As Dulcinea leaned closer, Karin stiffened.

"U-Um... directly?"

"Yes."

Dulcinea nodded.

"If possible, I would like you to remove your clothes."

The request, delivered with complete seriousness, left Karin frozen.

If I do that, she'll know I'm a girl!

As Karin began to fidget, Dulcinea smiled reassuringly.

"Oh, it's all right. I already know that you're a girl."

"Huh?"

"I could tell from the taste of your blood. From the little I drank earlier."

The color drained from Karin's face.

"It's all right. I won't tell anyone. I'm sure you have your reasons."

No sooner had she said that than Dulcinea pounced on Karin, knocking her to the floor.

"Huh? Huh? Huh?"

While Karin floundered in confusion, Dulcinea skillfully began removing her clothes. In moments, Karin's jacket had been stripped away, and Dulcinea's hands were already reaching for her undergarments.

"W-Wait, wait..."

At some point, Dulcinea had adopted a sultry smile. The timid, nervous girl from before was nowhere to be seen.

Her fingers slid over Karin's slender chest.

"Eep."

Her lips traced along Karin's neck, licking it gently.

"Delicious. Your skin is truly beautiful. Sweat from such lovely skin is exquisite."
[[File:ZNTso2 183.jpg|thumb]]
"Ah... th-thank you... ngh!"

As a creature of the night, Dulcinea now revealed her true talents and began to tease Karin's body. Unlike Cendrillon's rough, forceful manner, her touch was delicate, yet undeniably sensual.

Is this really all right?

Isn't this, in a way... that?

Isn't this exactly the sort of thing Cendrillon used to try with her night after night?

Or perhaps it did not count as that because they were both girls? Then again, Dulcinea was a vampire...

"Please close your eyes. I'm about to make you sweat quite a bit."

At those words, Karin obediently nodded.

"All right."

Questions such as ''What is happening?'' and ''What should I do?'' vanished from her mind. Every time Dulcinea's fingers and tongue traced across her skin, Karin's body grew hotter.

After she had been thoroughly made to sweat...

Dulcinea bowed her head politely.

"Thank you for the meal."

But Karin did not hear her.

She fainted long ago.

The following night...

Under cover of darkness, Dulcinea and Karin arrived at the entrance to the so-called "secret passage." It was nothing more than a hole behind a tavern in the entertainment district, leading down into the sewers. Beneath Tristania stretched a vast, maze-like sewer system created by earth magic.

One of those tunnels evidently connected to the secret passage.

When Karin lifted the iron cover, the sharp stench of stagnant sewage assaulted her nose. She cast the ''Light'' spell, and the tip of her wand began to shine like a torch.

"I will lead the way."

With that, Dulcinea climbed down first. Karin followed after her. Wading through foul water up to their ankles, they moved forward slowly. After about thirty meters, Dulcinea pointed to part of the wall. The bricks there were a different color.

When Dulcinea reached out, one of the bricks came free. Apparently it wasn’t sealed with mortar. After removing about twenty bricks, they created an opening large enough for a person to crawl through. A current of air flowed from within.

As a wind mage, Karin could immediately tell that the tunnel extended far into the distance. Stooping down, they crawled through the opening and emerged into a corridor about as wide as the sewer they had just left. In the dim light, the walls were not made of brick but of ancient stone.

"It looks as though this place has stood for thousands of years."

As soon as Karin said that, Dulcinea pressed herself tightly against her.

"W-What are you doing?"

"W-Well... I'm scared."

"If you cling to me like that, I won't be able to cast spells. Move away. And for that matter, how is it that a vampire is so frightened?"

"Even vampires are afraid of things."

"Just let go."

"How cold of you. We were pressed skin to skin last night, weren't we?"

Karin trembled as she raised a fist, and only then did Dulcinea reluctantly back away.

"Karin."

"What?"

"Would you mind dropping the masculine speech? You're such a cute girl, after all..."

"...Mind your own business."

With that, Karin turned and began walking forward again.

Ancient runes were carved here and there into the stone. Eustache was evidently making use of these ruin-like underground corridors as his secret passageways.

Carefully avoiding any unnecessary noise, Karin advanced.

She remained on guard for an ambush.

Since they had no idea what the "guardian" lurking in this passage might be, there was little else she could do. Drawing the air toward her, she kept constant watch over every movement in the currents around them.

If anything approached, she would know immediately.

And then...

After about fifteen minutes of walking, the "presence" made itself known. From ahead came a faint scraping sound. Dulcinea, whose hearing was nearly as sharp as Karin's, let out a frightened ''"Hii!"'' behind her.

"Quiet!"

Karin snapped, then fired an arrow of ice toward the approaching presence. She felt it hit.

...And yet, the creature did not stop. Before Karin had time to prepare another spell, the figure of what appeared to be the "guardian" emerged into the light.

Two enormous pincers, each as large as a cleaver, came into view. Beneath them was a body like a suit of armor laid on its side. From the rear extended a long segmented tail ending in a slender stinger, from which a viscous liquid dripped.

"A giant scorpion!"

That was exactly what it was. With a rapid skittering motion, the giant scorpion closed the distance and thrust its sharp pincers at them. Karin instantly shoved Dulcinea aside and sprang backward, narrowly avoiding the attack.

There was no time to cast another spell. At once she cast ''Blade'' on her wand and struck back. Dodging the poisonous stinger, which looked capable of killing with a mere scratch, she severed the creature's tail.

Then she drove her wand into its back. Even so, the giant scorpion's vitality was remarkable. Swinging its pincers wildly, it tried to tear Karin to pieces.

"Stones!"

At that moment, Dulcinea cried out. The scattered rocks around them responded to her spell and pummeled the giant scorpion mercilessly. The creature withdrew the pincers aimed at Karin and tried to shield itself from the barrage.

Karin seized the opening. Pulling back the wand she had driven into its body, she split its head open.

Even then, the giant scorpion continued to thrash its pincers wildly. But with its head destroyed, it could no longer aim properly. Once Karin severed both pincers at the joints, the creature finally stopped moving.

Karin looked down at her cloak. One of the razor-sharp pincers had sliced it wide open. The thought of what might have happened if that had been her arm or leg sent a chill through her.

Turning to the trembling Dulcinea beside her, Karin said,

"Thank you."

If Dulcinea didn’t hurl those stones, Karin might not have been able to block the creature's pincers.

But Dulcinea's trembling did not stop.

"The guardian is dead. It's all right now."

Dulcinea shook her head.

"What?"

Karin peered into the darkness ahead. She saw nothing. Swallowing hard, she focused on the movement of the air.

Skrrt... skrrt... skrrt...

The scraping sound echoed again and again, layered over itself.

Not just one?

Before she could fully grasp the implication, a mass of giant scorpions emerged from the darkness. There were enough of them to be called a swarm.

"Dulcinea! Get back!"

Karin started to retreat.

She could escape by flying. If she did, they would surely be able to make it back to the sewers before the creatures caught them.

There were more than ten of them. She struggled against a single scorpion. There was no way she could defeat so many. And in this narrow underground corridor, she could not even make use of the aerial combat at which she excelled.

But... if she ran away now?

Cendrillon's face rose in her mind. He would undoubtedly scold her.

You always stick your nose into things you can't handle!

Yes.

She had already decided to see this affair through to the end.

And if that was the case...

Karin turned around.

From deeper in the passage came Dulcinea's desperate cry.

"Karin! Run!"

It’s not about courage. I don't need courage.

Calm down. Stay calm, and think about the enemy's weakness.

Karin recalled the giant scorpion's attack from a moment ago.

Fast. Yes, definitely fast. But those stingers...

Karin's eyes widened, and she leapt toward the wall. In the spot where she had been standing only a moment before, a dozen stingers shot out all at once.

They can only attack straight ahead!

Because of the structure of their joints, the scorpions could only swing their deadly stingers directly in front of themselves. If she stayed to the side, they had to turn in order to face her.

And no matter how many there were, that remained true!

Karin swung her wand. She sliced through the tails of two scorpions at once. Without lingering there, she sprang to the left. As if they were connected by chains, the giant scorpions all tried to turn toward her at the same time. Their movements were simple, almost like mechanical dolls.

Again and again, Karin shifted to the side of the swarm, carefully cutting off their tails.

"Haa... haa... haa..."

Karin dropped to one knee, breathing hard. Even after figuring out their attack pattern, cutting off the tails of more than ten giant scorpions and then disabling their claws had been exhausting work.

Dulcinea stared at Karin with eyes full of admiration.

"Amazing! Human mages really are incredible!"

"Thank you."

Karin stood up and moved on.

"This is the place. I always came and went through here."

Ahead, where Dulcinea pointed, was a staircase. At last, they were about to enter Eustache's mansion. They climbed the stairs cautiously, and at the top Karin saw an iron door set into the ceiling.

When she extinguished the ''Light'' spell, everything around them was plunged into complete darkness.

After waiting for her eyes to adjust, Karin slowly lifted the hatch and slipped through the opening. A sharp smell of fresh vegetables and dried meat greeted her.

Apparently, this was a food storeroom.

She gave Dulcinea a hand and pulled her up inside.

"Do you know where your sister is?"

When Karin asked, Dulcinea nodded with a tense expression.

"Good. Lead the way."

The darkness was so complete that Karin could scarcely see anything at all. Their only guide was Dulcinea's night vision. Once they left the storeroom, they entered an underground corridor.

Holding onto Dulcinea's hand, Karin walked forward. Dulcinea lost none of her sight in the darkness. How long they walked through the blackness, Karin could not tell. Right, then left... Dulcinea led her steadily onward.

After about five minutes, Dulcinea stopped. Turning toward Karin, she placed a finger to her lips.

A faint light glimmered off to the right. Karin could make out a chair, and seated in it was someone wearing armor.

At the edge of the light, she saw iron bars. That appeared to be the dungeon. And the seated figure must be the guard.

Karin gestured to ask whether he was the only one. Dulcinea stared toward the dungeon for a while, then gave a small nod.

Then it was Karin's turn. She whispered a spell.

A rope formed from solidified air shot forward and, in an instant, wrapped itself around the armored man.

Unable to cry out because his mouth was covered at the same time, the man toppled to the floor.

Karin and Dulcinea rushed to the dungeon. The moment Karin saw what was inside, she covered her mouth.

Various demi-humans were crammed into the cells.

Orcs. Winged folk.

They looked up at Karin with exhausted eyes.

Dulcinea ran to the cell at the very end. Inside, a vampire girl who looked exactly like her trembled violently.

"Big Sister..."

"I'm going to get you out!"

Dulcinea hurried to the fallen guard and searched him, but no key was to be found. Apparently it was kept somewhere else. Karin began to cast a spell.

A sharp ''Air Cutter'' flew toward the bars.

Clang!

But the ''Air Cutter'' was deflected. The bars were apparently protected by a ''Hardening'' spell. That was only to be expected. If one intended to imprison users of indigenous magic, some sort of magical protection was inevitable.

Next, Karin cast ''Blade''. Without holding back, she drove the power of wind to its limits. Her wand shone with a pale bluish light as she carefully ground it against the bars, trying not to make too much noise. At last, the iron bars gave way.

Armais crawled through the opening. The more Karin looked at her, the more she resembled Dulcinea exactly. The two sisters bowed to Karin again and again.

Karin then cut through the bars of the cells holding demi-humans who seemed capable of understanding her. She searched for something that might serve as evidence, but she could not find anything immediately.

Still, she could not leave empty-handed. Everything had to be settled during this one infiltration. Once Eustache was on guard, there was no doubt a second attempt would fail.

What should she do?

As she struggled with that question...

A voice echoed from the direction they had come.

"My, my. A common thief. Then again, perhaps that is a fitting occupation for a member of the Mage Guard."

Tension shot through Karin's body.

That voice belonged to Eustache.

We've been discovered? But why is Eustache here?

At once, one possibility came to mind.

Was this a trap?

Karin looked toward Dulcinea. She shook her head. Karin felt ashamed that she had doubted her even for an instant. Thinking about it, Dulcinea hardly seemed capable of devising such a scheme.

Karin raised her wand and charged toward the voice.

If it had come to this, she would take Eustache hostage and force their way out.

Several magical arrows flew out of the darkness. Despite the narrow corridor, Karin dodged them with her exceptional agility.

But there were far too many.

There was more than one enemy mage!

By the time she realized that obvious fact, it was too late. One magical arrow pierced her leg. Karin collapsed to the floor and groaned in pain.

Eustache emerged from the darkness, dressed in black. Behind him, his subordinate knights appeared and began capturing the fleeing demi-humans one after another.

A cruel smile played across Eustache's lips.

"To think you really came."

Karin tried to stand with her wand raised, but Eustache cast a spell. An ice arrow pierced her slender arm, and Karin cried out.

Even so, Karin glared up at him with hatred. Eustache spoke.

"You're wondering how I knew you would come, aren't you? That is the look on your face. Tell me, do you play billiards? Carom billiards."

As he mimed handling a cue stick, Eustache continued.

"If you cannot predict the path of the ball after striking it, you will never score. I happen to be rather good at that. The trick to billiards is to arrange matters so that no matter which way the balls roll, you still achieve a result."

Eustache stepped on Karin's hand as she tried to grasp her wand. A sharp pain shot through her fingers, and her face twisted.

"I know Dulcinea's personality well. If she carried out my orders exactly as instructed, so much the better. If she failed, it was only natural to imagine where the balls would roll. Still, I did not expect you to defeat that swarm of giant scorpions. Impressive work. I will gladly praise you for it."

At last, Karin forced words through her throat.

"Y-You coward... All you do is use dirty tricks! Fight me fairly!"

"Fairly? What a curious thing to say. Do you call it 'fair' only when one fights according to your rules and under conditions favorable to you? Or do you call it 'fair' when one intoxicates oneself with notions of life and honor and throws oneself into a hopeless battle? I have no interest in either."

Eustache crouched down and peered into Karin's eyes.

"Now then. Since I would rather not hear any more complaints about cowardice, let me explain your current situation. You resented being dismissed from the Mage Guard and came to hate the Unicorn Corps, whom you held responsible. Seeking revenge against me, their commander, you infiltrated this mansion."

"What?!"

Eustache pointed with amusement.

There, Dulcinea and Armais were being restrained by knights, gazing at Karin with sorrowful expressions.

"You conspired with the vampires over there. Together, you infiltrated this mansion in order to assassinate me, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom. Worse still, you allied yourself with vampires, creatures who can rightly be called enemies of humanity. No matter how one looks at it, your crime deserves death ten thousand times over."

"That's a lie! Who was it that used those vampires to try to kill me? Who was it that planned to control me and destroy the Mage Guard?!"

"And who do you imagine would believe such ravings? Between the word of the Prime Minister and that of a boy who is no longer even an apprentice knight, do you truly think anyone would harbor doubts? This is my estate, and judicial authority here belongs to me as its lord. Now then, let us hold a summary trial. Guilty! Guilty from every conceivable angle! Your execution will take place in three days."

"You..."

"I am a politician, and naturally I intend to make political use of this situation as well. Your execution will be carried out in the central square, before the eyes of the public. There your 'crimes' will be read aloud, and it will be suggested that this was part of a conspiracy by the Mage Guard. I will make use of that opportunity. Fairly and squarely, of course."

Karin cried out and tried to rise.

Eustache kicked her in the chin.

She was sent flying and slammed into the wall.

"I, too, am capable of mercy."

Snapping Karin's confiscated wand cleanly in two, Eustache said,

"If there is anything you would like to eat, speak freely. I will provide a meal that a poor noble like you could never even dream of tasting. Spend your remaining days consoling yourself, at the very least, with fine food."

Kaze no Kishihime v2c7 - Revision history