Alicia, Eldest Daughter of the Williams Family—Age Fifteen

“Someday, I will make you mine.” Duke’s words repeat in my mind. Each time I recall them, my heart beats more violently, and I can feel my body temperature rise.

I lay on my back in bed, all sorts of thoughts racing through my head.

When did he start to feel this way?

If Duke loves me, I need to take his feelings seriously. Of course, I will also fulfill my role as a villainess on top of that!

If he can’t keep up with me, it ends there.

My next moves are wholly dependent on Liz. There’s the wolf from Laval incident to consider as well, though it still isn’t clear to me if Laval is targeting Liz’s saintly powers.

I need to gather more intelligence and conduct a deeper investigation…

Besides, I have Father’s official blessing to continue being Liz Cather’s monitor. I want to produce results, so I’ve got to put in the work!

I can’t afford to miss my chance. I have to strike while the iron’s hot.

So the best course of action is to go to Laval myself and discover the truth. That nation is still shrouded in mystery. I want to go see, feel, and learn firsthand about Laval. I want to get up close to find out just how it became such a massive nation.

But I’m the daughter of a prominent noble family. I can’t simply waltz into Laval. That wasn’t a story arc in the otome game version of this story, so it’s completely uncharted territory for me.

Nobody knows what I’m planning—I can imagine the outrage I’d receive from anyone whom I tell that I want to go to Laval. Setting aside my brothers Albert and Alan, I’m sure my father and my brother Henri would adamantly oppose it. Gill would resent me, too.

……Old Man Will may understand. Come to think of it, does Laval even have magic? I haven’t read anything that suggests it does.

My grasp on current world affairs is rather insubstantial. I need more up-to-date intel. Rather than studying the past, I would be wiser to study the present, to help me prepare for the future.

With that settled, it’s time to get ready for tomorrow by doing some strength training!

I’m going to spend tomorrow holed up in the library researching Laval, so I need to pump up my stamina. My spirit renewed, I eagerly jump off the bed, drop to the floor, and start a set of push-ups.

Gill’s and my footsteps are the only sounds filling the otherwise quiet hall of the Academy of Magic. Since I was accepted to the school at a young age, in an exception to the rules, none of my classes are particularly official. That’s why it’s often the case that I have a free period while everyone else is in class.

“Hey, Gill, do you think Laval has magic?”

Gill looks at me curiously for a moment before he begins to ponder. After a brief silence, his gaze becomes serious and he says, “I’ve never been to Laval, so I can’t be entirely certain…but I don’t think they have magic.”

“Why?”

Gill tilts his head, perplexed. “Why? Because that’s the kind of nation they are.”

“So you mean not even their aristocrats can use magic?”

“Probably not… I have no proof, but I think Durkis is the exception.”

Laval’s nobility can’t use magic? If that’s so, then…isn’t Durkis brazenly overpowered?

I assumed that Laval, as a powerful nation, would have at least some magic users. Like maybe only members of the royal family were capable of it.

“Hey, Gill, if Durkis is the only nation with magic users, don’t you think we ought to be more powerful? Are the other nations hiding something? Like any confidential intel?”

As I press Gill further, he calmly replies, “Ali—aren’t you the one who said we should always look at things holistically and objectively? Durkis has more magic users than other nations. It’s not the other nations that are abnormal—it’s us. We have far too many magic users.”

“Aha… So magic users are a rarity in other nations.”

“Yes, essentially.”

……If I’m going to put Laval under Durkis’s umbrella, we need to learn much more about their internal affairs. I don’t have time to waste musing aimlessly over this. I need to get to Laval as soon as possible!

As Gill and I continue walking, a familiar princely beauty approaches us from ahead. His lustrous blue hair and gorgeous tanned skin give him away.

“Prince Duke.”

I stop, stand up straighter, and face him head-on.

I’m not sure how to look him in the eye him after what he said to me, but I must keep my wits about me and be a strong woman.

With a gallant and refreshing air about him, Duke makes his way toward me. He is a prince and, therefore, an intelligence broker with his ear to the ground. It would not surprise me if he knows something about Laval.

Wait a minute… This is Prince Duke I’m staring at, but he seems like a different person. Am I overthinking this…?

“Could I pick your brain—?”

That’s as much as I get out before he strides right past me.

……Our eyes don’t meet even for a second.

“Huh?” Gill blurts out in surprise. Meanwhile, my mind is blank from the astonishment.

Did Duke…just…ignore me?

“Prince Duke?”

I turn around and call out to his retreating figure. He stops in his tracks.

Something’s off. He’s never acted like this before.

A strange sense of anxiety fills me. Duke slowly turns to look at me. There’s no trace of the gentleness with which he usually regards me.

Who are you…? The question almost falls out of my mouth.

“What do you want?”

Duke’s expression is deathly cold, and a chill instantly runs down my spine.

Duke has never looked at me like this before. His eyes are filled with animosity. Compared with the first moment we met, it’s like night and day…

““……”” Neither Gill nor I can say a word. His intimidating aura is swallowing us whole.

“Do you have business with me?” Duke asks, his voice deep. He’s so overpowering, I can’t speak.

A villainess would certainly snap back, but Duke’s full-on Grim Mode glare stirs my desire to flee.

“What are you doing?”

Relief takes root in my heart the moment I hear that voice.

……Brotherly love is a powerful thing.

“Oh, Henri. This girl just started talking to me out of nowhere.”

“Huh?” Henri’s face twists. It’s reassuring that Henri is reacting just as Gill and I had.

“Duke…have you forgotten who Alicia and I are?” Gill asks Duke, his eyes wide.

“You’re Gill,” Duke replies with suspicion in his eyes.

I’d love to return that suspicious glare right back at you. Why do you recognize Gill, but not me?

……Why has he forgotten me? This is just all too sudden.

Especially when he gazed at me with such tenderness yesterday…

“Maybe somebody erased Alicia from his memory,” Henri suggests.

“Alicia, if it was erased intentionally, Duke’s memory might not come back,” Gill says.

Their words make me feel an unfamiliar discomfort in my chest. If his memory never returns…

Will that erase Duke’s feelings for me?

The diamond pendant he gave me suddenly feels very cold against my skin.

“If you have no business with me, can I go now?” Duke grumbles in annoyance.

Okay, I remember seeing a similar scene in my past life… Duke used to often act this way around Alicia. So did Duke’s memory get erased—and the story has returned to its default settings?

If we stay on this path, will Duke and Liz wind up together? I mean, I am the villainess. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to make a new villainous first impression?

If Duke really does have amnesia, I have to exploit it!

“Prince Duke, allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Alicia, the eldest daughter of the Williams family.”

I lift the hem of my skirt and curtsy at a perfect forty-five-degree angle.

“……Alicia,” Duke mutters, staring hard. “What is the nature of our relationship?”

“……I don’t know—you tell me.” A challenging smirk forms on my lips.

Well? Peak villainess behavior, if I do say so myself.

“Alicia, was it?”

“Yes.”

“Your eye… Is it hurt?” Duke dubiously scrutinizes my eye patch.

……I suppose I’ll have to explain this again.

I smile and reply in a deep voice, “Not hurt; missing.”

Duke’s eyes are sparkling in the sunlight that’s streaming through the window, yet their color appears darker than usual.

His eyes look like they’ve lost their light. His face looks the same, but this is definitely not Duke.

“What happened?” he asks stiltedly.

“……Let’s just say it was an atonement for my sins.”

““Huh?”” Gill and Henri blurt out, both staring at me in surprise.

Well, I had to assert myself as a villainess to the amnesiac Duke. I’m not going to get this opportunity twice.

“Atonement, you say?” Duke asks, his brow furrowing.

“That’s right. I have many enemies… Do you have a problem with that?”

I speak cheerfully, with a smile on my face and my head tilted. Behold my villainy!

However, my words appear to rub Duke the wrong way…

“I’ll be going now.”

And with that, Duke turns his back on us and leaves.

……Did I make a good villainess impression on him?

“Your eye… You gave it to Gramps as an act of service. It wasn’t at all atonement for your sins…”

“Oh, Gill, a great villainess makes enemies everywhere she goes. If Duke doesn’t remember anything about me, isn’t this a great way to establish my villainy to him?”

Gill sighs. “Seriously, Alicia, that’s all there is to you, isn’t it? Who in the world did that to him?”

“Yeah, we have to find the bastard,” Henri mutters.

“Considering my level, there’s a long list of suspects,” I say. But I have no idea who it might have been. “……Was this issued to me as a challenge?”

“Hey, why are you smiling?” Gill demands.

“Because I’m happy, of course. When a villainess gets her first provocation to fight, that’s when she’s a full-fledged baddie.”

“You’re spinning this in a strange direction, as usual… But if you’re happy, I guess that’s all that matters.”

There’s a scornful twist to Gill’s lips, but he seems to have given up on the lecture. Henri wears a similar look on his face, like he’s just eaten something bitter.

“Well, our first step is to gather our allies and talk it over.”

“No thank you,” I reply. “This is my personal matter.”

“Compromise is necessary sometimes,” Gill argues earnestly. “Especially this time. This whole ordeal has pesky written all over it.”

Henri nods in agreement.

“……Fine.”

I feel a little wary about it, but I eventually assent.

“Ali-Ali! Heeey! Oh, why the long faces, everybody?”

Mel, Duke’s ever-elusive attendant, shows up. She seems to remember me.

We explain Duke’s amnesia to her. After a few quiet moments, with a perplexed look on her face, she says, “I’ll give you the details tomorrow.” Then she leaves.

Mel seems to know something…

We say very little as we head home. We probably each have our own thoughts on the matter.

Why was I the only one erased from Duke’s memory? The erasure of a prince’s memory is a national emergency. And the one who has the most to gain from it is…me?

I’ll admit, it’s convenient that I can rebrand myself now that Duke has forgotten about me, but I wouldn’t have done such a thing to him intentionally. I was about to open up to him…

Wait, no! The story reverting to its original trajectory is exactly what I was wishing for!

I need to stop thinking about this and just go to bed. Ugh, but I’m obsessing over this so much, I can’t sleep…

I managed to fall asleep anyhow. Now I’m looking outside at the sun, which is already high in the sky. As my hazy brain sorts out the events of the day prior, a booming knock sounds at my door.

“Alicia—are you awake?”

My father? What’s he doing here so early?

“Yes, I’m awake.”

Not a moment later, the door swings open.

“We need to talk.”

My father looks like a wreck. And he seems grimmer than ever…

“Is it about Prince Duke?” I ask.

“So you know.”

“Yes, well…I did see him at school.”

……Our prince having amnesia is quite the dilemma, but the fatigue on my father’s face could be from something different. Like, for example, family troubles…

With a dark tone, my father says, “There’s already a short list of suspects for who stole His Highness’s memory—and you’re on it.”

……Me?! Here I was, assuming that as the prince’s close friend, Henri had gotten caught up in the mess.

“Um…why?”

“I don’t know… His Majesty’s guards are waiting outside right now.”

“Am I going to the dungeon?”

My father is silent for a while. Yes, I suppose a father could never look his beloved daughter in the eye and tell her she was going to jail.

“……Are you going to run?”

The unexpected proposal echoes through my room. I can’t believe what my father just said. He’s always helped me out of scrapes in the past, but this is different. If I run away, I’ll bring shame to my entire family.

Besides, fleeing is the one thing a villainess must absolutely never do. She must boldly stand her ground and fight…… Too bad I don’t know whom it is I have to fight.

“No, I’ll go with them.”

“There’s no telling what they’ll do to you. They’ll treat you like a criminal.”

“I am well aware of that, Father. However, I can’t exactly embarrass myself by running for it when I’m innocent, can I?”

My cheerful reply makes my father’s shoulders droop dejectedly.

“You have my word—I’ll prove your innocence.”

……Oh my, what a dashing line. Now I can see why Mother fell for him.

“Well, I’d best be off,” I say.

“Alicia!” my father shouts as I head for the front door. “There’s one thing I forgot to tell you.”

“What is it?” I tilt my head inquisitively. His expression seems even more desperate.

“I wasn’t sure whether I should tell you this…”

“What…? Come on, out with it.”

“Er, it’s just…the one who suggested you might be the culprit was His Highness himself. You’ve passed level ninety in magic, so you are capable of stealing a person’s memory.”

“Excuse me?”

By His Highness, he means…Duke? And wait a minute, does this mean Duke knows he’s missing some of his memory?

“The only thing His Highness has forgotten is you, Alicia. That’s probably why he thinks you’re the most suspicious.”

Now I’m up to speed.

Our little spat at school made Duke regard me with disgust. What’s more, I’m the one person he doesn’t remember.

……He probably thinks I did something horrible, so I erased it from his memory to cover it up.

“Aha, I see how it is…”

“It’s time, my lady,” one of the guards says, interrupting our conversation.

My, how polite we’re being to a criminal suspect. Thank goodness I’m in one of the Great Five noble families. That’s the royal guard for you. Impeccable manners.

“Well, I’m off,” I announce.

“……All right.” My father stares at me with worry.

Come on, you’re acting like we’ll never see each other again. At least send me off with a smile. You and I both know I’m not the one who erased Duke’s memory.

I swear, I will clear my name.

“Don’t worry about me, Father. I’m very strong.”

“Yes…I know.”

And with that, my father bids me farewell with an anguished smile.

The guards take me to a horse-drawn carriage, the body of which is secured with bars.

I feel like a prisoner… Is it okay that they haven’t bound my hands?

One guard speaks to me just as I’m shut behind the bars.

“Um, Lady Alicia…we believe you are innocent. Please pardon our insolence.”

All the guards surrounding the cell bow in unison.

Oh my…why are all the castle guards on my side?

“No matter what the situation is, we are always on your side, Lady Alicia!”

One of the guardsmen fills me in as I sit there, perplexed. “An esteemed gentleman gave us a command once. No matter what happened, we were to take your side.”

I find myself too stunned to speak.

Who is this “esteemed gentleman” of whom they speak? To get the support of the entire royal guard, he has to be powerful…

Still, look at me, carted off to the castle like a prisoner—peak villainess!

If the royal guard curses my name, the people of Durkis will recognize me for the villainess I am.

So, esteemed gentleman, I’m going to be quite all right, thank you very much.

The sun is shining, beating its brilliant rays onto me. Beads of sweat form on my brow. Though I have been accused of a serious crime, I’m not going to let my good noble upbringing falter inside the carriage.

Has a daughter of the nobility ever made such a grand entrance to the castle in a fortified carriage before?

Wait, am I the first?! Ah, I’m queen of the world! I’m so honored, I just might forget the heat and my parched throat.

Oh, but wait a minute. Why did I dream of being a villainess in the first place…?

Is that all I want to be? A villainess reviled by all?

Ugh…this heat is making it hard to think.

“Hey, Mom, what is that princess doing in a cage?”

“She isn’t a princess, honey. She’s a daughter of the nobility. And she’s in that cage because…”

A conversation between a parent and a child reaches my ears as we ride toward the royal palace.

“Wow, check out the beauty in that cage.”

“Oh! Isn’t that Lady Alicia of House Williams?”

“What has she done?”

“This is only a rumor, but I heard Lady Alicia behaves very poorly at school.”

Aha…Liz grew up in this town. Of course everyone here is on her side. Nobody here is under any obligation to defend me.

“I wish I could join her in that cage.”

I catch a little girl’s voice, even amid the clamor.

“Honey! How can you be so ridiculous? We’re going home.”

The mother yanks her daughter by the arm and snaps at her nervously. Still, the girl’s eyes glisten as she looks at me.

“She’s just so charming!” she declares spiritedly to her mother.

……Charming?

She just called me charming. Does this mean, even behind bars, I still exude an air of charm and refinement?! Wow, my villainess game has reached an advanced level without my even realizing it. What a wonderful sense of accomplishment I feel.

Who cares if they curse my name? I’m not even the slightest bit scared!

“Don’t let the jeers of the villagers dampen your spirit, my lady,” one of the guards murmurs.

Dampen my spirit? Quite the contrary, my good man. I don’t mind it in the least.

“Not at all a problem. Speaking one’s mind boldly is a beautiful thing.”

I pull my shoulders back and lengthen my spine. The fatigue I felt earlier was surely the heat getting to me. I want the public to know me as a villainess who never shows weakness.

I refuse to let the smile on my face falter for the remainder of the ride, no matter how hot or thirsty I am.

“This place is just as needlessly big as I remember.”

The castle guards raise their eyebrows at my comment. They probably think I’m belittling them. Indeed, belittling the royal palace is a grave offense, but I’m a criminal! Well, a suspect.

I figure I can get away with saying anything on that basis. Regardless, what’s to become of me? Are they going to put me on trial?

Does this kingdom even have a court system? It does, doesn’t it? In the game, Alicia gets tried and convicted in the Bad Ending… I believe she’s found guilty of torturing the saint…?

Regardless, she did something horrible. Whatever it was exactly is escaping me.

Maybe Alicia’s trial is being pushed forward.

A stern-looking man with a deep crease between his eyebrows speaks to me. “Suspect Alicia Williams—this way.”

Calling me “Lady Alicia” would certainly be odd in these circumstances. The transport guards called me such, but they can’t do so in a place like this.

My, what a lovely ring suspect has to it. Peak villainess.

“In here.”

He opens the heavy door—he must have strong arms.

……I’ve never been here before. And what a big, rigid door that is. What’s the motif etched on it…? Is that a hawk? What an aesthetically pleasing door. I would love to meet the designer.

“Oh my…!” I blurt out in surprise after I step inside. The room is filled with a dozen or so people dressed in a way that would be difficult to qualify as “high class.” Duke is sitting in the back, glaring at me.

Duke looking at me with contempt… What a novel feeling. When a person is so blessed, even anger looks handsome on their face.

I don’t see His Majesty or any of the Great Five nobles. Is Duke conducting this trial alone? Is His Majesty sanctioning any judgment Duke makes?

“I haven’t decided yet that you’re the one who did it,” he tells me.

“Huh?”

“I want to hear your side of the story.”

“And who are these ladies and gentlemen?”

“Townsfolk.”

“Why are they—?”

Duke cuts off my question with a hard stare.

……You want me to remain silent? Fine, then. I won’t say a word.

“I’m going to question you now.”

Question me? Not torture?

“I won’t be doing the questioning—they will,” Duke says deeply.

The townsfolk?

What in the world are they going to ask me…?

My heart races faster. Talking to ordinary townsfolk makes me much more nervous than talking to nobility.

“Understood, my lord. I will answer truthfully,” I say, keeping a firm eye on Duke and the townspeople.

The first to speak is a woman about my mother’s age or older. “We heard you’ve been abusing our sweet Liz.”

What a frail voice she has. She’s scared of me. Perhaps she heard rumors about me and Liz from the academy. I just have to answer honestly, then.

“I don’t quite understand what you mean by ‘abusing,’ but I do recall treating her caddishly.”

“Don’t lie to me! I heard all kinds of stories from the magic academy students when they came to town with Liz!”

The room is suddenly filled with the booming voice of a plump woman.

“The abuser may not remember, but the abusee does!”

“That’s right! Have you considered how your victim feels?!”

Accusations ring out one after the other. Opportunistic heckling, I call it.

Wow, look how utterly despised I am…… Can I call it? Can I call myself a villainess here and now?!

No, no, no, don’t get carried away, Alicia. I want to be the biggest baddie in the world, not just in this kingdom. It’s me against the world, not Durkis.

“And you are always so rude to His Highness!”

“The prince’s generosity is no excuse for you to act so high and mighty!”

The angry mob doesn’t seem to know that Duke lost his memory. I’m not surprised Duke hasn’t revealed that; royal amnesia is top secret, after all.

“You ignorant little bitch!”

“Don’t think your rich parents will keep the sweet nectar flowing forever.”

“It’s people like you who keep the world from getting any better!”

Their slander keeps worsening. Being disparaged by people I’ve never met is a little jarring, honestly.

Exactly what version of me have you all been watching?

“You’re just an ignorant, spoiled brat—you’ll pay for what you’ve done.”

“Nothin’ more than a pretty face.”

I don’t mind the insults—I just think they could speak with a little more finesse.

I glance at Duke. He’s staring right at me. His eyes are emotionless. Is this his poker face, or does he just have a bad case of RBF?

He used to show all sorts of emotions around me… Something rages in my chest.

“Aren’t you going to deny it?”

Duke’s voice snaps me back to my senses. The townsfolk are screaming so angrily, I wouldn’t be surprised if they pounced on me at any second.

I didn’t realize I was so deeply detested, but this is all escalating far too quickly… Is whoever erased Duke’s memory connected in some way?

“Go to hell! This kingdom would be better off without ya!”

“Beg Liz for forgiveness!”

“If you hurt her again, you’ll regret it!”

Are these townsfolk also devout followers of Liz? I’m not exactly a patriot. I wouldn’t mind being banished… It sounds great, actually.

Yes…you can use this situation to your advantage, Alicia!

“Yes, well, Liz has brain worms.”

My words instantly freeze the tension in the air.

Liz is blind to reality. She doesn’t have the ability to approach and solve problems rationally. That’s why I play the villainess and drive a wedge in her way of thinking.

“A shrew like you could never understand Liz’s kindness,” somebody grumbles, their voice so full of hatred, it could send shivers down someone’s spine.

“Don’t think you can say anything you want just ’cause you’re noble scum.”

“Roll in the mud and beg for forgiveness.”

“Nah, horse shit would suit her better.”

“Her parents didn’t spank her hard enough.”

“Liz said the sons of House Williams are very good people.”

The sons, eh…?

In other words, Liz is going around implying I’m a bad person. She doesn’t need to say so outright. Just by isolating me from my brothers, she can deceive everyone. Sure, she flashes saintly smiles at everyone (including at me), but perhaps she isn’t so saintly after all.

“This bitch really is a bad seed!”

“Get the hell out of Durkis!”

As they hurl abuse at me, the door suddenly slams open. Standing there is a little boy, glaring at us all.

“Gill…”

Gill? Smart boy. I’m sure finding his way here was easy enough.

“How dare you gang up on her like that…?! It’s fucking disgusting.” His voice fills the silent room.

Whoa, Gill. Where’d you learn such a dirty word?

“Duke, what the hell is going on here?”

Gill approaches me, his eyes practically shooting icicles at Duke. What a terrifying death glare. I can even feel a slight chill down my own spine.

Gill turns to look at me critically. This may be the first time he’s ever judged me like that. He usually has such concern in his gaze—but not now.

He isn’t breaking eye contact. “Alicia…you should exploit me when you need to.”

Before I know it, I’m smiling (well, the corners of my mouth are raised, at least). A dignified villainess wouldn’t sneer; that’s too crude.

“Wow, never thought I’d hear those words from you, Gill.” I pat his head gently. “Thank you for coming. You’ve helped a great deal, Gill.”

“But I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Haven’t you? You made me remember what it is I need to do.”

Don’t worry, this is nothing. I can get out of this mess easily—I beseech him with my eyes. Still, if I want any chance of winning, I have to pull out all the stops.

“……You’re so petty, Alicia,” Gill says with a smirk.

“Prince Duke, you can have this back.”

I remove my pendant from around my neck and toss it at him. He catches it with one hand and stares at it.

“Exile me at once.”

I spit out the words, almost daring him.

“When your memory eventually returns and my innocence is proven, Prince Duke…then I will be ready to receive your apology.”

Duke is silent as he stares at my bold expression. The townsfolk begin to yell at my insolence.

The peanut gallery is shouting things like: “You unrefined bitch,” “You don’t belong in Durkis,” or “Drop dead,” and “Prostrate yourself and apologize.”

Well…I can understand the urge to join the hatred bandwagon. Their opinions of me hold no water, though.

“Those are some rather damning accusations—are you all worthy enough to serve them to me?”

The townsfolk burst into scornful laughter. I know I’m only fanning the flames—it’s all part of my strategy. I need the public to know this exiled daughter of a noble is an unhinged baddie.

I gotta give props to the developers who made these NPCs so insufferably stupid. My reputation as a villainess will contort and propagate!

“……Are you sure you’re okay with being exiled? You’re fifteen—you’re only a child.”

“Even children must accept consequences.”

Duke glares quietly at my cool smile, and Gill watches us both without a word. He’s better than most at reading a room. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s staunchly against my banishment, but he’s holding his tongue. He knows what will happen if he tries to object.

“I shall grant your wish, then,” Duke says.

Amnesia sure is terrifying. Everything is escalating so smoothly.

Seriously, who erased his memory? And why’d they only erase memories of me?

“Alicia Williams, you are hereby exiled to Laval. Guards, take her away.”

A horde of guards piles into the room.

Yeesh! This many of them were waiting outside?!

Did he have them on standby in case I went ham? I guess this is a typical “Take ’er away, boys!” scene. I can’t believe I get to experience this—totally a dream come true!

Okay, Alicia, stand up straight and dignified until the end. You need to show them all you’re a bad bitch who never falters.

Just as the guards grab my arms to take me away, Gill cries out, “Wait, Alicia, don’t go! Don’t leave me all alone…”

Oh my. Gill, I wasn’t expecting you to cry out now…

Gill may be quick on the uptake, but he also tends to suppress a lot. Turns out, he’s a lot more childish than I gave him credit for.

“Please take me with you,” he begs.

I ignore his plea. I can’t let him be exiled with me. He’ll be fine. He has a bright future ahead of him; he shouldn’t be caught up in my mess. Henri and my father will look after him.

“Duke, are you sure you want to do this? You’ll hate yourself for it later.”

Gill is glaring hard at Duke, but Duke says nothing. Meanwhile, the angry mob is just as obnoxious.

“Please, Alicia…please don’t leave me.”

He’s acting like a lost child… Oh, Gill, I didn’t know you could look so pitiful.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Gill’s softer side. He’s been so sassy with me lately, I’m flattered to see him turn his puppy-dog eyes on me.

Even the biggest baddie in the world would feel a tug on her heartstrings when presented with that sweet little face.

The guards yank on my arms and drag me away. I can’t let my expression show even a tinge of loneliness. I have my ego as a villainess to protect, after all.

Of course, I’ll miss Gill, Old Man Will, and everyone else. I just can’t help myself here. I long to see the world.

I refuse to die in ignorance.

The guards restrain Gill so he can’t come any closer to me. Gill’s grief-stricken cries shake the room, penetrating my ears mercilessly.

Stop that… I don’t want to leave an awkward last impression.

I shove my arms free and approach Gill. One guard grabs my arms and yanks them upward.

“Behave yourself,” he grunts.

Aren’t I? I’m not being particularly violent. I simply want to deliver to Gill some parting words.

“Release her.” Duke stops the guards. His kindness never fails to show in moments like this.

I approach Gill gratefully. His eyes are flooded with tears.

I smile. “Gill, you don’t usually cry.”

Gill shakes slightly. “Well, whose fault is that?”

“You’re my pride and joy, Gill.” I remove the bracelet from my wrist and place it in his hand. “Take it.”

Gill stares at the bracelet. “The bracelet I’ve been wanting…”

Without another word, I return to the guards. They grab my arms just as roughly as before. I’ll say it again, you boys need to treat me more like a lady!

I’m just about to leave when someone places a hand on my neck, their touch gentle enough that it doesn’t cause even the slightest pain.

“I’ll come for you.”

The words were whispered in my ear. Quietly, so nobody else could hear them.

…What? You’re joking…

His memory is back?

I look at Duke. He’s looking back at me with his usual mischievous grin.

He never lost his memory to begin with.

It was all an act. He duped me, completely and utterly.

For some reason, I burst into laughter.

Duke…I understand why you went out of your way to pull such a giant farce. You see right through me. You know I want to go to Laval.

For decades, nobody from the nobility has ever been banished from Durkis. The last ones were the highly gifted people the current king’s mother banished…

If I think about it, the current king has no reason whatsoever to banish me. My father is one of the Great Five nobles, after all. In other words, no matter how fiercely I beg, it is impossible for me to actually go to Laval. So Duke fabricated a story accusing me of using my high-level magic to erase his memory—he even agitated Liz’s devout zealots to help give him a reason to banish me.

……This guy is a 4D chess master.

He played everybody in this room.

I smile softly and leave the room with the guards.

The game is finally back on course.

“Alicia Williams: Exiled to Laval.”

Gill—Age Eleven

I never imagined Duke would banish Alicia from the kingdom so easily.

What the hell are you thinking? That’s the woman you love, idiot. Protect her!

In my mind, I curse Duke incessantly. Then I let my emotions get the better of me and beg to be exiled with Alicia. I don’t have any love for a kingdom like this. I want to be by Alicia’s side. For her, I can easily cast aside my own country.

But when they escort Alicia out of the room, Duke whispers something in her ear—and she smirks. I see her mouth the words well played.

……Her expression explains it—Duke never lost his memory.

……He really did play us, the son of a bitch.

Alicia never said as much, but I know.

I know she wants to go to Laval.

Ever since we found out where the mysterious wolf had come from, she’s made it clearer and clearer that she wants to go there. A daughter of the nobility can’t just pick up and travel abroad, though. Rather, none did. As a rule, only the heads of the Great Five noble houses travel outside Durkis. Not even merchants cross the border.

That’s because Durkis can sustain itself—albeit barely—without trade. Though it seems to ignore Roana’s existence entirely.

That stupid king… Er, I’d better stop there.

Why can’t Gramps just be king already?

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, have a lovely day.”

Without another word, Alicia leaves the room. I force myself out of the guards’ grasp and chase after her. If I can’t go to Laval with her, I at least want to send her off.

“Let him go.”

Duke’s deep voice rings through the room. In a flash, the guards comply. Duke certainly has an air of dignity about him…though I guess that’s to be expected from a prince.

I’m sure Duke wants to go to Laval with her. And yet a prince could never do something so recklessly selfish.

This is a move he can make only because he trusts Alicia so much.

I leave the room and rush after Alicia. Without me by her side, Alicia will thrive. She will live boldly and proudly by herself, her eyes sparkling with confidence. Her spirit dazzling to the ends of the earth.

But I need her.

I want to become somebody worthy of her. I want to become somebody she needs. Those drives are what brought me here time and time again.

And yet she’s now going to leave my side completely.

I follow Alicia until she’s just outside the castle, and I find Liz and her friends there. Apparently, when she heard some townspeople were summoned to the castle for Alicia’s conviction, she ran over with people in tow.

I can understand Henri being here, but Albert and Alan? Their faces look grim—even they feel a bit differently about the situation, given it’s their own sister who was taken away.

“Alicia dear…” Liz lowers her eyebrows and frowns morosely. It sickens me.

“Good news, I’ve been exiled,” Alicia announces. “Now you may push those ideals of yours all you’d like. Farewell, Liz.”

“Exiled? How horrible… I’ll speak with Duke.”

“Huh?”

Alicia’s cool facade slips. She stares at Liz with the most incredible sneer.

“What did you just say?”

“I said, I’ll ask Duke to rescind your exile,” Liz replies in earnest.

Alicia has no words. That must have been the last thing she was expecting to hear.

“Why…?”

“Exile is too harsh a punishment.”

“This may sound strange coming from me, but tampering with the memory of the firstborn prince of a kingdom is a serious crime.”

“Still, you are a very dear friend of mine.”

A scornful look that clearly says When the hell did we become friends? crosses Alicia’s face. Liz Cather must genuinely believe she’s capable of changing a prince’s mind with a mere request. Why is everyone so easily fooled by her? She’s all kinds of uncanny.

Alicia finally composes herself and speaks frankly. “Liz…you are a mere commoner. I don’t think you can change a judgment made by Prince Duke.”

“Why not? Duke and I are—”

“Friends?” Alicia snickers. “Do you honestly believe a commoner like you has the right to question a prince’s decree just because you’re friends?”

“I never said… I just want to help you, Alicia—”

“You want to help me? Don’t make me laugh. You are an extraordinary existence, Liz, I will grant you that. But don’t you dare have the conceit to believe you’re capable of anything.”

The scorn in her eye is icy. This may sound strange, but I absolutely adore when Alicia looks like that.

Ordinarily, Alan or Albert speaks up in Liz’s defense, but they’re silent. This turn of events must be too shocking for them.

……How funny would it be if this is the catalyst that breaks them of Liz’s brainwashing?

“Couldn’t the same be said of you, Alicia dear?”

Alicia wasn’t expecting that retort. Her eyes widen for a moment, but her cattish smirk quickly returns. Just maybe, Liz is starting to evolve under Alicia’s influence, as well.

“And what do you mean by that?”

“The more power you gain, the greedier you become. Once you gain one thing, you start to hunger for something new. That is the most terrifying thing about you. You were admitted to the magic academy as an exception at age thirteen, and now you want to rule over the entire school.”

“……Touché. You do have a point.”

You’re admitting it?! I snap at her silently. Actually, ruling the academy is too small in scale. Alicia isn’t that kind of woman. She may rule the world someday.

Besides…Liz’s example is too vague. What is she trying to say? Is this Light Angel really the best saint we can come up with?

“And? What’s wrong with greed?”

Alicia’s question sucks the air out of Liz’s lungs.

I love moments like this. I can practically see Alicia trampling the fields of paper flowers blooming in Liz’s idealistic brain.

“I think boundless greed is a good thing, personally. With ambition, a person can crawl up to the top from nothing. Greed is the most essential ingredient for growth.”

A bit flustered by Alicia’s argument, Liz Cather takes a deep breath in and out before muttering quietly, “Those with the biggest ambitions often become dictators.”

She always speaks with a calm, calculated tone. Something about her manner of speech grips people’s hearts. That’s a saint for you.

“And are dictators always bad people?” Alicia retorts.

“Greed controls people. That is the kind of animal we human beings are.”

“……Wow, I can’t believe I just heard you say those words, Liz. You’ve certainly changed.”

I just know that Alicia is thinking, Do I have my powers as your monitor to thank?

“You see, I happen to know a very wise and wonderful unifier. The way I see it…greed is a weapon that, if used correctly, can protect.”

The “unifier” she mentioned must be Gramps. From the tone of her voice, it is clear just how highly Alicia reveres him.

Liz stays quiet, unable to argue.

“Those who rise to the top must see and understand all the people beneath them. Those who are incapable of this become dictators, but those who are capable become good unifiers. Do you understand, my dear?”

Alicia briefly raises the corners of her mouth into a condescending smirk. It gives me chills. Once again, I know that Alicia is the only one for me.

“Now, rest assured. Tyrants never last long.”

“……Because they get exiled, like you?” Liz asks.

“Ooh, spicy words. I shall take that as a compliment.”

Alicia smiles sweetly back at Liz. It isn’t her reaction that surprises me, though; it’s Liz. In this moment, she’s being outright hostile toward Alicia. They’ve had their fair share of spats in the past, but never has Liz shown such blatant animosity. If anything, she wants to maintain the impression she is trying to understand Alicia.

……It must be because of Duke. Is this animosity born of jealousy toward the woman who won the heart of the man she loves? I don’t understand the female heart very well, but if that is all it takes to change a person, then it’s a terrifying organ, indeed.

“Alicia dear, you need to acknowledge again what a privileged environment you grew up in.”

“Oh, do you mean to say you’ll let me return to Durkis someday?”

“Yes. I never abandon a friend.”

She’s back to the usual Liz Cather. Her expression is that of an innocent angel. Back to the usual Liz Cather, who pushes her own ego onto others. When I look at her, it is all very clear to me.

“It’s time,” one of the guards says softly, grabbing Alicia’s arm.

She has a satisfied smile on her face. It’s almost as if she’s aroused by the idea of going into exile.

Alicia is playing her role as a villainess right up until she exits the stage. Her brothers look on with worry as she’s dragged away. Liz’s expression contorts as she watches Alicia. Nobody else sees it, but I do.

Liz is envious.

She hates that everyone cares so deeply for Alicia.

“Now, I hate long good-byes. Farewell, everyone. This is truly good-bye.”

The strength in Alicia’s cheerful smile drives a nail through my heart. No matter how much everyone else despises her, she sticks to her convictions, not uttering a word of complaint. Never before have I loved Alicia more dearly than I do at this moment.

“Alicia…you can’t go… I’ll be so lonely. Please…please…please don’t go.”

I don’t want to say something like that to her when it takes so much courage for her to make her decision. I can’t say anything that will burden her. And yet…

“I’m happy to see you still have boyish cuteness in you, Gill.” Alicia gently frees herself from the guard and runs over to me. She hugs me tightly.

“…Ali…”

“You are my greatest treasure, Gill.”

A fist clenches around my heart. This noblewoman picked up a piece of trash discarded in Roana Village and embraced him, called him her treasure…and there’s nothing I can do in return.

I work so hard to try to serve her well, to try to earn a place beside her, but she is always several paces ahead.

“Gill, thank you for always being there for me.”

She gently releases me, then marches into the carriage. It was constructed so the passengers could not be seen from the outside.

I smile in spite of myself, thinking that curt farewell was very authentic for Alicia.

Please be well.

Silently uttering that short prayer, I watch the carriage take Alicia away.

Everyone, each holding their own thoughts and feelings in their hearts, watches the carriage until it disappears.

Alicia, Eldest Daughter of the Williams Family—Age Fifteen

The last time my heart danced this much was when I was first reborn into this world.

I’m exiled and free to go to Laval. Can you believe it? I can travel to Laval, a place ordinarily impossible for me to visit—what a dream!

……And I must say, I do like traveling by carriage.

Duke’s probably worried I’ll suffer more than I already have, but to be honest, I have no qualms about staying in this cage.

The carriage comes to a sudden halt, and I lurch forward in my seat. Thanks to my daily workouts, I’m unharmed. Most noblewomen in this situation would have certainly smashed their faces against the wall.

What in the world is happening? Did he hit somebody? Are we being ambushed by bandits?

I cautiously lean out the window to see what’s going on, and the door flings open.

“Huh?”

Here’s a man, breathless, his hair disheveled, with sweat on his brow—Duke.

……I don’t usually see the calm and cool Duke looking so flustered. Did he forget to say something to me? It must really be important for him to stop the carriage so suddenly.

“Well? What do—?”

I can’t even finish my question before Duke’s hand swoops around the back of my neck, and suddenly his warm, soft lips touch mine.

My eyes widen, and my thinking stops—I can’t even register how shocked I am. His kiss is forceful yet gentle. I could drown in it.

I never imagined my first kiss would happen so casually.

Though if I count when I was sick and Duke fed me medicine mouth-to-mouth, I guess this wouldn’t be my first kiss.

Then again, this is my first proper kiss.

Duke’s lips softly leave mine. Surprise winning over embarrassment, I stare up at him blankly.

“Alicia…I’m sorry.”

Huh? What’s going on? First Duke kisses me, then he apologizes? There’s so much new information to process, my brain is a jumbled mess.

Is he apologizing for kissing me out of the blue? Or is he apologizing for exiling me so forcefully?

“This was the only way to get you free from this kingdom as quickly as possible, Alicia. I know it was extreme… I’m sorry.”

Duke’s sentiment robs me of any words.

Just how far will this man go for me?

He would sacrifice himself to make my dreams come true… My Prince Charming.

……Well, he’s literally a prince.

That amnesia act of his was a little too believable. He’s a theatrical genius.

“I could never forget you, Alicia.”

His firm tone makes me feel hot all over. Which is silly. A villainess must never blush.

How can he just blurt out crazy romantic lines with zero effort?

“Huh? Oh, was this lady too young for a first kiss?” Duke teases while I sit there blushing and speechless.

Ah, right…this is the kind of man Duke is. He may act calm and cool, but this prince actually has a warped personality. He didn’t rush to me to say good-bye; he came here to mess with me.

He played me. Again. I hate that.

I wrap my arms around Duke’s neck and smile alluringly, my nose almost touching his. “No need to apologize, Your Highness. I grant you the honor of worshipping me.”

Duke’s face crinkles into a smile, and I can just feel the strings squeezing tight around my heart.

“You sassy little princess.” And with that, his lips meet mine once more.

I’m not a princess, though. I’m just an aristocrat… When exactly does he think we got married?

“This might sound strange coming from me, but…are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”

“Who do you think I am?” I stare proudly at Duke and continue, “I never dreamed I would be able to go to Laval. I have nothing but gratitude for you. Though your deception does leave a bitter taste in my mouth…”

“That’s why I’m in love with you.”

Duke murmurs something imperceptible.

“Huh? Could you say that—?”

“I’ll do whatever I can here in Durkis while you’re in Laval, Alicia. I’ll take care of Gill, too.”

“Prince Duke…it occurs to me, how did you know I wanted to go to Laval—?”

“Your Highness, we must depart now.”

A guard’s uncomfortable voice interrupts us. My arms drop from around Duke’s shoulders.

Oh, that’s right. Duke has been acting like his true self in front of the guards… Is that all right? Technically, he’s keeping up the amnesia charade. Plus, rushing out of the castle and kissing a convicted criminal is a tad scandalous…

I glance at the guard.

……He was with me when I was in the caged carriage. This means the “esteemed gentleman” who commanded them must be—

“I trust you to handle the rest,” Duke says.

The guard nods somberly.

I guess he knows the truth. Aha. Well, I’m very grateful to him.

“Don’t you dare let your gaze wander to other men.” Duke tousles my hair roughly with one hand and grins, but his eyes are dead serious.

“As long as I don’t lose sight of my mission in Laval, I will never become infatuated with anyone.”

With a big smile on my face, I take Duke’s hand from my head and gently shut the carriage door. I think this made for a decent parting, considering it isn’t good-bye forever.

Here I was, planning on valiantly pulling away if he forgot me. For him to show me his intentions like this—I’m just conflicted.

I convinced myself Duke and I could never be together, and yet…

The horse-drawn carriage shakes me once more.

How shall I begin my investigation in Laval? I shouldn’t let it be known I’m of noble blood. If possible, I’d love to get closer to the royal family… But if I want to do that, this golden eye I prize so highly will be a hindrance.

I’ve never met anyone outside of my own family who has this eye color.

I’ll have to do as much as I can to avoid drawing attention to myself. Maybe I should cover both of my eyes. Old Man Will managed to live without his eyes. If I practice, I should be able to do it, too…

I’ll have to bind my breasts and disguise myself as a man, too. My hair is already short, and I’ve got muscles. I should be able to pass for a short young man.

“Okay. I’ve got a plan.”

I promptly remove my eye patch and put it in my pocket. Then I tear off my skirt.

“Excuse me, I have a request,” I call out to the guard as I rip some cloth from my skirt and wrap it around my eyes.

“What is it, milady?”

“Is it possible to procure some men’s clothing that would fit me before we get to the Laval border? I would love something tattered and old if possible.”

I can see the slight bewilderment on the guard’s face. My eyes are bound, incidentally, but I’m not completely blind. I can still faintly make out everything, despite my dimmed vision. Reading an individual’s aura also allows me to perceive their thoughts, so some may say I can see perfectly.

I guess my eyes really are special. My reading speed is far from the norm, after all… If my eyes went up for auction, they’d probably incite a bidding war.

“……It is possible, but whatever do you need old men’s clothes for?”

“I’m going to wear them. Oh, I also want some mud and soot.”

The guard looks even more confused now. He doesn’t seem to understand what I’m getting at.

“Understood, my lady. We’ll stop by a town before we arrive at the border.”

The guard appears conflicted, but he eventually agrees. Preparations are made immediately. I obtain the clothes I want, and he hands the mud and soot to me in bottles through the carriage door.

Duke’s vassals certainly are top notch. That reminds me, I never managed to ask him earlier, but does Duke know what exactly it is I hope to accomplish in Laval? If so, he has some godlike insight… Terrifying.

“Lady Alicia, may we start driving the carriage again?”

“Of course,” I answer promptly.

Getting dressed in a moving carriage is mere child’s play for me. The lack of a mirror means I can’t see myself, but I figure I look rather hideous. Nobody would suspect me of being an aristocrat.

I drive the point home further by rubbing soot and mud on my skin. My clean pale skin quickly turns dirty. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the glass of the carriage window and almost gasp out loud in approval. I feel like I’m playing the part of a dirty little street urchin beautifully.

……All that remains now is my hair!

I can’t let my hair retain its lustrous shine when the rest of me is filthy. I quickly rub ash into my hair and mess it up. It’s a bird’s nest in no time.

Ash creates such an incredible effect. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants rough, frizzy hair.

“We’ve arrived, my lady.”

Just as I hear the voice, I feel the carriage stop moving. Several hours have passed since we left the castle…and we’ve finally arrived at the border.

I can’t quite tell if we’ve come a long or a short distance. This really makes me appreciate how extraordinary airplanes and high-speed railways are.

Transportation in my past life was incredible. I open the door of the horse-drawn carriage, thanking the geniuses of my former world.

“Er—Lady Alicia?”

The guard’s eyes widen and he freezes in shock when he sees me. He knew I was going to be dressed in tatters, but he probably hadn’t envisioned such an extreme transformation. He stares at me, flabbergasted, without a word.

Excellent! What a reaction! Causing shock really is my biggest entertainment.

“Is that you, Lady Alicia?”

“You’d have a big problem on your hands if it wasn’t.”

Then again, sending somebody else to Laval in my place was always a possibility.

The exasperation never leaves his face as the guard binds my hands and marches me toward a big building at the border.

This must be the border checkpoint.

I look at my surroundings as the guard marches me along. It is quite a grand building.

No random passersby are around, and despite the building’s magnitude, there don’t seem to be many employees working here.

I guess that makes sense. There’s no point in staffing a checkpoint when nobody crosses the Durkis-Laval border. If Laval has the money to burn here, they’d be better off spending it elsewhere.

They take me straight to another room.

“What…is this place?” I ask.

“A room where the exiled are assembled.”

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

I’m surprised to find that I’m not the only one in exile. Including myself, there are five of us.

Isn’t it unusual for commoners to be exiled?

One woman and three men. They look to be in their thirties, and they’re dressed just like I am.

“You. Get in.” The man managing the room pushes me inside roughly.

I want to tell him, That’s no way to treat a lady, good sir!—but I hold my tongue and enter the room.

I can hear snippets of the conversation between Duke’s guards and the man who manages this room, and apparently, exiles are on the rise recently. Durkis used to send exiles to Roana, but the population has swelled to detrimental levels.

The criminals exiled to Laval surely must receive horrible treatment. I mean, it wouldn’t make sense for Laval to welcome exiled criminals with open arms. I suppose they would be enslaved…

“Good work, sir.”

I’m interrupted from my thoughts by the man bowing deeply to Duke’s guard.

Yes, guards who work at the palace are respected immediately, aren’t they?

The guard looks at me, as if he wants to say something. I shake my head minutely. Unfortunately, I can’t signal any message to him with my eyes covered.

Perhaps reading my mind, the guard hesitates for a moment before murmuring, “Take care,” and leaving the room. To me, his short parting words sound like a heartfelt prayer for my safety.

Old Man Will was right. The information one can attain from vocal color and intonation is incredibly valuable.

……At long last, I’ve matured. Being dumped in an environment without a soul on my side is a first for me. And to enjoy such a situation, I truly must be a baddie…

The corners of my mouth drift upward.

“Don’t move a muscle.”

This room’s supervisor displays his disgust brazenly. I do my best not to stand out.

Thank goodness I changed my clothes. I’m blending in beautifully. I wonder what these other people did. They were exiled, so I’m sure it was bad…… Perhaps they murdered aristocrats.

I eye them cautiously from behind my blindfold.

Everyone looks as though their hopes have been dashed. Since they’re so close to me, I can see their facial expressions well. The apparent married couple seem utterly despaired. Their eyes look dead as they lean against the wall. The complete opposite of me, whose heart is bursting with hopes and dreams. Oh man, now I really want to know what they did!

The information I can obtain simply from observation is limited. I must hear the story straight from their mouths. That will be much more efficient. What’s more…

“What did ya do, sonny? What happened to your eyes?” a large man with a gruff voice asks me.

On paper, I was exiled for erasing the prince’s memory and for abusing Liz. But I can’t reveal that, can I? So I go with a random lie.

“I was exiled… I’m sure you can imagine my crime wasn’t small. My eyes were injured in the process.”

I make my voice as deep as possible, turn my head, and put a hand to my eyes to imply I don’t want to touch on the subject. I think I impersonate a young man’s voice rather well, if I do say so myself.

“Huh. So you’re a murderer, too…”

The man smiles creepily. He looks…impressed.

Well, thanks for jumping to the wrong conclusion.

This seems to pique the interest of the other three.

I answered the man’s question. Now I get to ask some questions in return, right?

“So what are you all in here for?”

After a moment’s hesitation, the large man answers, “We’re all in here for about the same crime.”

The man in the married couple nods. The remaining bald man stays silent.

He’s tall, and his body is covered in what appear to be knife scars. I suppose this bald man is an assassin or something.

“You’re all murderers…”

The man smirks at my statement. “Sonny, what’s your name?”

“……Lia.”

I answer after a moment of thought. Unable to come up with a boy’s name off the top of my head, I reverse the syllables of my nickname, Ali.

“Lia, eh? I’m Phil.”

“I’m Mil, and that’s my wife, Ruby.”

Ruby gives little reaction to Mil’s introduction. She just remains propped up against the wall. The bald man is still silent.

“It’s time. Outside.”

Just after we finish sharing our names, the supervisor opens the door to the room. We are all shoved toward a horse-drawn carriage with bars.

Yes, this barred carriage makes me feel much more like a prisoner. Then again, that raises the risk of having rocks thrown at me…

Everyone quietly enters the cage without protest. It’s a big cage, with ample space for more than five of us.

“Don’t struggle.” The driver glares at me.

Wow, a death glare from somebody I’ve never met. Behold the power of a criminal.

“If only we had the strength to struggle.” Phil smiles cynically.

After a while, the carriage suddenly lurches to a start, pitching my body forward.

I’ve never been in such a roughly handled carriage… I guess drivers come in all types.

“So how old are ya, Lia?”

Unsurprisingly, it’s Phil who breaks the silence.

……I guess there’s no harm in giving them my real age.

“Fifteen…”

“Fifteen?!” he gasps in surprise. “You’re awful small.”

Well, I’m a girl. I can’t help being dainty.

“You’re younger than my daughter.”

“……You’ve got a daughter?”

“Yeah…” His face clouds over a little.

……Was I not supposed to go there? If he has a daughter, does that mean he’s married?

I ask a question I figure he won’t mind answering.

“Just a daughter?”

“Yeah. One beautiful daughter. I treasure her more than anything.”

“……Do you think you’ll ever see her again?”

“Guess not.” He looks down and smiles sadly.

He killed someone, knowing it would mean he would never see his treasured daughter ever again…and, on top of all that, that he would be exiled.

To be honest, it’s difficult for me to believe the king I know banished these people. Durkis is a wealthy kingdom, yet it has an impoverished village that’s closed off by magic, and the crown is doing nothing to improve conditions there. What’s more, for some reason, people are frequently being exiled.

……Something very big might be at work behind the scenes that I don’t know about.

I shouldn’t have wasted my time fretting over the heroine. Can I punch the game devs who created such harsh conditions? Otome games shouldn’t have dark underbellies like this!

“By the way, I heard some rich girl was exiled, too. Think that’s true?” one of the drivers asks his companion.

……My, how quickly rumors spread. Well, it’s surely the news of the nation.

“Oh, she’ll probably live a cushy life in a castle in Laval.”

“Yeah, probably. Most crimes committed by rich people get covered up. Oh, to be filthy rich.”

Ummm, if you ask me, I think the nobility are locked up in cells or sentenced to hard labor just like everyone else…

Naturally, I have no intention whatsoever of being enslaved. My mission is to learn every last thing about Laval. I have to sneak into the castle for that…but how?

“D’ya know where they’re taking us?” the husband in the couple asks.

“Beats me,” Phil sings back. “Someplace unpleasant, I reckon.”

“……I’d appreciate if it’s close to the castle.”

“Huh?”

“Er, never mind.”

Oops. I said that out loud.

Deciding to conserve my energy for the time being, I slowly close my eye.

“Hey, we’re here. Get up, kid.”

My eye slowly opens to a gruff voice.

“You were out cold,” Phil says with a smirk I can see through my blindfold.

Still half-asleep, I stand and leave the cage.

Where are we? I know we’re in Laval, but I don’t see any Laval flags or anyone who looks like they’re from here…

We are all unloaded into a dark place surrounded by bricks.

……What is this vile stench?

My face twists in disgust as the powerful smell stabs my nose.

It’s a different sort of stench from Roana’s… Well, one thing’s certain: This isn’t the kind of place nobility hangs around.

“Where are we?” Mil looks around, holding his wife, Ruby, close. He’s clearly terrified.

“Welcome to Laval,” a deep, sinister voice booms from the other end of the room. A tough young man wearing glasses is standing there.

……It looks like he’s wearing a suit. Hard to tell if it’s casual or formal. Come to think of it, the world-building in this game sure has everything, huh?

“Where are we?” Phil asks.

“Under an arena in Laval,” the man answers.

Why an arena…? I can tell his answer makes everyone just as nervous as it makes me.

Aha. Now I get it. We’ve been exiled. In other words, we’re as good as dead. And they’re going to exploit us for entertainment. Maybe that’s why Laval accepts exiled persons from Durkis…

The man points at Phil and with a faint sneer says, “We’re going to have you fight up there tomorrow. And as for your opponent… How does a starved lion sound?”

Phil’s pupils dilate as he stares at the man’s pointing finger.

What the hell is this guy saying?

I’m bewildered by the reality suddenly thrust upon us. I know being exiled is no half-hearted punishment, but this just seems horrible…

“Tomorrow…morning?” Phil asks.

“Don’t worry, we’ll let you fill your belly at breakfast.”

“W-wait a minute… Can’t we postpone it just a little? I need to…train and m-mentally prepare myself…,” Phil sputters, terror in his eyes.

The man regards him with a terribly icy downward stare.

He isn’t going to treat us like human beings. In his eyes, Phil is trash.

“You’re a criminal—you don’t have a say. You were all tossed out. At least make yourselves useful by being lion food.”

His sharp words jab Phil’s eyes wide open… I can tell they’re rimmed with tears.

……This is rather harsh. I suppose this is an important trial I must pass to become a proper villainess. Will they write in my bio that I was almost a lion’s meal?

Well, good. Bring it on. I swear I’ll survive this.

The corners of my mouth perk upward as I stand proud.

It’s been several hours since the man shoved us in this cell and told us to stay put. It reeks just as bad as the last one. Reminds me of Roana.

The place is unsanitary and filled with despair. It’s basically impossible to embrace any hope, even if you’re ordered to.

Phil was put in a cell opposite the rest of us. Apparently, the star of the show was given special accommodations.

“You think he’s gonna die?” Mil mutters at the floor. Ruby has no reaction beside him.

It saddens me to think this, but he’s totally gonna die. A man that weak doesn’t stand a chance against a starved lion.

At some point in my training, I gained the ability to size up a person’s strength just by looking at them. Speed-reading is a cinch thanks to my special eyes, but I didn’t realize they were this sharp.

Old Man Will was surprised by my eye when he received it, but this is just how my eyes are, so I never considered how incredible they are.

Taking a brief glance around, I conclude that the strongest person here is the nameless baldy. There’s definitely more to him than meets the eye. I noticed he makes no sound when he walks—he moves like a trained fighter.

If my deductions are correct…he’s quite the accomplished assassin.

“I guess I’ll die eventually, too,” Mil squeaks meekly.

What a weak man. I understand how most people would give in at a time like this, but I’m a baddie. Times like these are when I bounce back the hardest.

“With that attitude, sure,” I say.

Mil’s eyebrow twitches.

“I’ll survive, but the rest of you will die here,” I add.

“You think you have a chance of surviving this fight?” Mil asks.

“I don’t think—I know. Surviving is the only choice I’ve got.”

“Ha! Oh, you young fool.” He snorts through his nose, glaring at me with animosity.

Good, good. Get angrier. The more you push me against a wall, the stronger I become.

“Then you should take his place,” Mil says softly and coldly. His voice turns the air in the cell to ice.

“I would take his place right now if I could,” I retort.

“Stop that… You need to survive.” Ruby finally speaks in a frail voice, staring hard at one small spot.

Oh, so you can talk. And you were listening to me while you were pretending to space out.

“Why do you say that? It’s my life. How I spend it doesn’t concern you.”

“I don’t want to see…any more…k-kids like you…die.”

“You seem to misunderstand—I have no intentions of dying whatsoever.”

Mil raises his voice. “Then tell me—how the hell do you expect to beat a lion when you can’t see?! And you’ve got no muscles on that little body of yours, either.”

“If you’ve got a winning strategy, I’d love to hear it.”

“Shut up! Quiet in there!” the guard stationed outside the cell barks at us. Mil shuts his mouth and quickly looks away from me, as if all the energy was knocked out of his muscles.

I decide to strike while the iron’s hot.

“Hey, guard, I’d like to speak with the guy who brought us in here.”

“Eh? Oh…you mean the administrator?” The guard shoots me a dubious glare. “What could you possibly want with him?”

“I want to be the one to fight the lion tomorrow.”

“Are you sick in the head, boy?”

“I’m perfectly sane, thanks. Now, stop wasting my time and bring me the administrator.”

“Don’t get cocky with me, brat.” The guard reaches through the bars and grabs me by my collar.

“Hey—what’s all the ruckus?”

From a bit away, I hear the man in glasses—the administrator.

Oh, what perfect timing! If I ask him directly, I just might get somewhere.

“Administrator…” The guard gruffly releases me. “Th-this brat demanded he be in the show tomorrow…”

Where’d all that spirit go, little buddy? Look at how meek you get in front of the administrator.

I hear the clomping of footsteps walking toward me.

“You mean this brat?” The administrator’s face twists when he sees me. “His Majesty will be in attendance tomorrow. We can’t have a kid fight.”

The king will be in the audience? Jackpot!

“I won’t lose the fight,” I assure them. I don’t care if they think it’s bravado; I have to put on a tough act.

“Oh…you sure talk big.” The man puts a hand to his chin and looks at me with slight interest. I feel like a piece of merchandise being appraised.

“That’s right…for a blind boy, you sure walk gracefully. How d’ya manage that?”

“I’ve adjusted. I sense the auras of people and things around me as I walk.”

“Well, that’s interesting. Hmm. Yeah, you just might make a great spectacle.”

That’s what I’m talking about!

My heart swelling with anticipation, I wait to hear what the man will say next.

“Okay, you can take the other guy’s place.”

Yay! A successful negotiation! Well…you can’t exactly call that a negotiation, but still.

“Hey, wait a minute. He’s still a kid.”

“He asked for it. You shut up,” the administrator admonishes the guard in a deep growl.

Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine. In fact, I’m as excited as can be. Can you blame me? I get to fight in an arena for the first time ever! That’s an experience most people never have. Of course my heart is dancing.

“Administrator, are you really sure about this?”

“Yeah. Just leave that Phil guy where he is. After this kid dies tomorrow, he’ll be next.”

“Yes, sir.” With that, the guard takes his key out and opens the cell door. I slowly walk out of the cell at his command.

“I look forward to tomorrow,” the administrator whispers in my ear, an unsettling smirk on his lips.

This guy really wants to see me torn limb from limb… That fact is being hammered into every cell in my body.

I suppose he wants a cocky boy like me to get his comeuppance… And I would be lying if I said the idea of fighting a lion doesn’t scare me. After all, I can’t use magic; otherwise, people would know I’m noble right away.

……But if I run away now, nothing will be resolved.

I vow to turn my fear and anxiety into strength.

After a night spent in a small cell alone, I wake to faint sunbeams streaming through the tiny window. I slowly pry my eye open.

……I’ve gotten mostly used to seeing through this piece of fabric. Maybe villainesses are naturally more adaptive than other archetypes. After all, I’ve been exiled for barely a day.

“If only I could use magic, then I would just become a lion for the fight,” I murmur to myself.

Well, it’s a waste of time musing over all the things I can’t do. I suppose the only things I can do right now are my exercises. I’d better stretch and do as much light warming up as I can before the fight.

I drop to the floor and begin my push-ups.

You know, I really have matured a lot, haven’t I? I was as weak as a baby the day my memories of my past life returned to me. Repetition really is important. The body remembers.

“Hey. Breakfast time.”

The administrator interrupts my morning workout by personally delivering my breakfast.

Why bother to deliver it himself? Isn’t that the guard’s job…? Maybe because I’m the star of today’s show…

He unlocks the door with a big key, and it loudly creaks open.

This door… Upon closer inspection, it’s flimsy. I can probably smash it with brute force if I really want to.

The man sets a platter of bread, soup, and a small piece of meat on the floor in front of me.

“I reckon this is your first time even eating meat, right?”

……Does this mean the sort of person who is exiled doesn’t get much to eat?

I’d love to see the look on your face if you find out I’m a daughter of nobility. I guarantee I outrank you by a great deal.

I ignore him and reach for my food. He snorts, watching me. He certainly thinks I’m a quintessential starving little urchin.

Keep your guard down like that, and I’ll easily destroy you.

“How can a scrawny kid like you beat a lion?”

I savagely chew on my bread. I have to play the part of a classless boy, you see.

“Well, that’s a stupid question. Just give us a good show, okay? Y’know, getting ripped in two by the lion barely after the fight starts doesn’t paint such a bad picture.”

“You’ve got it backward. I’m ripping the lion in two.”

“You never shut up, do you…? The fight is at noon. The king will arrive by then.”

And without a word more, the administrator leaves the dungeon.

In the time between breakfast and noon, I do some light stretching and exercises before meditating to channel my focus.

I hear the arena gradually filling up with spectators. There appears to be quite a crowd, as the noises quickly grow more and more rowdy. I can tell the cell I’m in is the closest to the arena.

There’s surreal fervor in the air, even though these people are planning on watching someone die. Fights to the death aren’t a sport in Durkis. How funny that a kingdom just on the other side of the border can have such a drastically different culture.

“It’s time.”

The guard’s voice booms through my cell.

I feel like a dead man walking. I mean, I have no intention of dying—the guard is just forcing that vibe onto me.

I exhale and leave the cell. Our clomping footsteps echo down the hall.

“You really are a fool, boy, choosing a fast death,” the guard blurts out. He seems to feel sorry for me, and he gives me a look of pity.

……Could he be a good man? Well, don’t worry. I’m just walking the path I choose and enjoying every moment of it.

“Is it odd for a boy my age to be in the show?”

“Yeah… Rules say only grown men fight. Women and children are put to work with odd jobs. Once the boys grow up, they fight in the arena, and the women work there until they die. It’s a living hell.”

“Ah, interesting.”

Stay in a place like this until I grow up? Deplorable.

“By the way, aren’t ya gonna take off that blindfold? I’m sure you can’t see very well.”

“I’m fine. I’d rather die than show anyone my mutilated eyes.”

Okay, that sounds a little melodramatic, but I really will be in trouble if people see my eye color. The guard doesn’t seem to buy it, but at least he doesn’t ask any further questions.

The closer we get to the arena entrance, the thicker the fervor in the air. The sheer volume of the cheers is quite impressive, considering nothing’s happened yet.

“I wish you luck, kid.”

“Thank you.”

I assumed prisoners would be treated much more harshly, but he’s actually been rather nice to me. Maybe because I’m so young…

There are bars at the entrance that are apparently rigged to go up when the fight starts. The audience looks down on us, the fighters, from a higher level.

It’s just like the ancient Roman Colosseum.

“You’d better show us a good time!”

“What poor sap is up to fight today?!”

“He’s fighting a lion, right? It’s gotta be a buff guy!”

The voices from above get more and more intense.

It might be a little late to ask this, but if their culture is so different from ours, why do we all speak the same language? Is it just because this is an otome game?

As I stand there pondering, the bars rise slowly. As they do, the cheers explode.

“Use this.”

The guard hands me a short sword. I grip the hilt and immediately realize the shabby quality of it.

……They give their challengers janky weapons on purpose. I’ll bet people who may have otherwise won lost because of this.

Then again, a short sword works to my advantage.

Larger swords deal more damage, but they hamper your ability to move quickly. That being said…I’m not sure a dull short sword like the one I have stands a chance against a starving lion, but it is what it is.

I’m nervous, but the jeering crowd erases the pounding of my heart from my ears. The bars rise all the way up, and I step into the arena.

Just as I do, the crowd falls silent.

Oh, come on, surely one of you can yell something? I guess nobody was expecting a kid. And a blind one, at that. I don’t blame them for being shocked speechless.

While I can grasp the aura of a person or an object, I’m not capable of seeing long distances.

The king of Laval is out there somewhere…but I can’t pinpoint his location.

I cast a spell on my blindfold, so nobody will realize just how much I can see. I don’t want to use magic in Laval, but my hand is forced.

I take a panoramic scan of the arena. Thanks to the transparency spell I cast on my blindfold, I can see everything quite clearly.

…There’s the king. Right in plain sight.

There’s a roofed area in the middle of the audience, and beneath it a lavish chair and a table spread with luxurious cuisine.

It’s difficult to tell from a distance, but that has to be the king and queen. There are two boys beside them—princes, most likely.

Laval has no magic. That means ordinary people rule the land.

…………Now that I think about it, did the devs really give all the power to Durkis? It’s a good otome game, sure, but they really skimped in some areas. Unless they had a reason?

……Don’t get distracted, Alicia. Eyes on the king!

I focus all my energy into my right eye and observe the king. He has bright blond hair and yellow-green eyes. The queen has dark gray hair and the same yellow-green eyes as the king. The princes have bright platinum-blond hair, one long, the other short. Perfect balance, in a sense. They both have the same bright yellow-green eyes as their parents…

If I just go off vibes, I’d say they’ve definitely got powerful auras. But I don’t think they can use magic.

It goes without saying that they’re all ridiculously beautiful. What exactly is it that makes the royalty in this world so drop-dead gorgeous? Not only are they rich, but they’re perfect tens? How’s that fair?

“Can that little brat dish?!”

“Give us somebody with a backbone! That little kid’ll get gobbled up in a flash!”

Oh, I’ll show them my backbone.

More and more people are raising their angry voices after that initial cry of protest, and the arena is in an uproar. The earlier silence seems like a dream now.

I wish somebody would bring me some earplugs. If this keeps up much longer, my eardrums will burst.

“Send him back to the dungeon!”

“This’s no place for a kid!”

You know, even the jeers are starting to sound kind. Are they really that concerned for my well-being?

“Did ya get lost, little boy?”

The audience bursts into laughter.

Okay, now I feel stupid for thinking they were concerned about me. I’m entertainment, nothing more. They hate the idea of their entertainment ending too quickly.

Well, don’t worry. I’ll show you all a good time.

“Here comes the lion!”

Somebody’s voice booms. The crowd erupts into an awed roar.

The bars holding back the lion slowly rise. I can feel the tension swell the moment they move.

Beyond the bars, a savage pair of eyes glares at me. Those truly are the eyes of a predator who just spotted prey.

“Don’t piss your pants, little boy!”

Ignoring the mocking shout, I focus all my energy on the lion before me.

Gill—Age Eleven

I see Duke staring out the window in a daze and ask, “Do you miss her?”

I may be the only person, aside from Alicia, who’s noticed his amnesia is fake. He slowly turns to me, stares into my eyes, and realizes there’s no point in lying.

He smirks. “Yeah.”

“You really are a fool, Duke…letting that butterfly get away.”

Duke’s smile turns cynical. He always looks so confident, but now he looks like he’s struggling to keep it together.

He just exiled the woman he loves; of course he’s having a hard time…though Alicia seemed elated by the whole thing.

I wonder if someday people will call him the crazy prince for exiling somebody he loves… But the situation in Durkis left him no other choice.

In a kingdom with virtually no relations with the outside world, Alicia is the only person who can set the wheels in motion. There’s nobody else who can serve as a spy on this mission. Everyone else is laughably inadequate.

It’s more than that—this kingdom itself is off. It has a clean, put-together facade, but inside, it’s falling apart.

That’s probably why Duke thinks Alicia can do something about it.

She’s a genius.

She immediately grasps what others want—what they desire—and has the power to negotiate over it.

Diplomacy is not ordinarily the job of a nobleman’s daughter…but knowing her, I believe she can accomplish it without any difficulties. That is just how deep her potential runs.

In the right environment, she will grow stronger every day. She will polish and refine herself. She will become even more beautiful.

……I’m in awe of Duke’s mental fortitude. I know he’s very possessive. He’s a man of great character, and he loves Alicia; otherwise, he wouldn’t have set her free. Especially if that meant sending her over the border…

“Butterflies are meant to fly free.”

“Huh?”

Duke’s sudden remark jolts me out of my thoughts. It’s obvious he’s thinking about Alicia as he stares out the window.

“I could easily use my powers as a prince to keep her confined here. But there would be no point in that. If I did that, she would just resent me.”

“Because butterflies are beautiful when they fly? Alicia is going to get even more beautiful while she’s gone.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“She might just keep flying and never come back.”

“Oh, she’ll come back,” Duke answers immediately.

Where does his confidence come from? Of course, I want her to come back, too. But she might make the decision to stay in Laval.

“Alicia will never lose sight of her goal,” Duke says.

“I agree, nobody has her level of conviction… But aren’t you worried some other man will snatch her away?”

It’s entirely possible. Everybody falls under Alicia’s spell, whether they want to or not.

“I want to be a villainess.” It’s easy to let her twisted way of thinking fool you, but she has a talent for finding a person’s true essence and bringing out their charms. Everyone she sets her eye on eventually comes to love her.

“……That won’t happen,” Duke finally answers after a pause. “I’m all the man she can handle.”

……What in the world did he do to her? Did he already make a move on her? Knowing Duke, I understand that’s quite feasible.

“Alicia is a romantic dimwit with next to zero experience—what did you do, kiss her?”

Duke smirks again.

Yikes, I don’t like that look. He kissed her by surprise, then, to let her know he’s the only one for her.

“I wonder what’s going to happen now…”

I turn my gaze outside the window. Thanks to that stupid saint, this kingdom is slowly going off the rails. She’s using some sort of special magic spell—that’s the only conclusion I can draw.

And if I’m right…why are Duke and I immune to it? Because we love Alicia so much?

Duke is a smart man. He sent Alicia away from the country, and even though he’s the prince, why wouldn’t he leave as well?

“Gill, you and I are going to reform this kingdom.”

I look at him in surprise.

Huh? What…did he just say? “You and I”? He’s…including me?

His blue eyes are so earnest, I feel like I’m going to be swallowed whole. I can see why every woman on the planet is weakened by them.

“Do you mean that?”

“Of course.”

His daring smile sends shivers through my body.

“But if you stir up the nobility any further, they’ll be angry.”

“Who’ll be angry?”

“Like…the king.”

“Good. I welcome his anger.”

“Are you a masochist?”

Duke simply answers, “My father’s no fool. He has his own reasons for doing what he does. But kings like him are in great supply.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, conditions in this kingdom are not atypical. There are nations aside from our own where the gap between the rich and poor is even starker.”

“What good are comparisons?”

“No good. That’s why we’re going to make things better here.”

Duke will make a great king. His eyes are telling me that much. The way he never turns his back on problems and always faces them head-on… He reminds me of Alicia.

Cruel kings…mad kings…compassionate kings…this world has a wide variety. I’ve never met them, but if books are to be trusted, that’s how they are. That knowledge alone tells me Durkis’s king is no tyrant.

The only issue is, I can never forgive him for the role he played in shutting us away in Roana Village. Punishing not only criminals, but all their descendants, was needlessly cruel.

“Well, I’m honored a prince would rely on someone like me,” I say.

Duke frowns, as if to say, Of course I rely on you.

It makes me indescribably happy. The space Alicia carved out for me in the world is dazzlingly special—I feel it now stronger than ever before.

“You and I can’t sit here and do nothing while Alicia is fighting the good fight in Laval,” I say.

“Right.” Duke smiles gently and pats my head.

I hate being treated like a child. Duke’s touch, however, doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable in the slightest. If anything, it warms my heart.

“So what’s our first move?” I ask.

“Getting my uncle back home,” Duke answers promptly.

“……Gramps? You know about him?”

“Yeah. I’ve been gathering all sorts of classified intelligence from Durkis.”

Well, of course he has. This is Duke we’re talking about. There’s nothing this guy doesn’t know. He could gather and organize ten times the evidence I could.

“I’ve seen Will Seeker’s proposed policies. We need him.”

“How the hell did you get intel on him?”

I thought the Seeker family erased all evidence of Gramps.

“I’ve been good at finding secret rooms in the palace since I was a kid,” Duke says, grinning like a mischievous little boy.

So Duke has always been like this. I guess he never spent any time as a sweet, innocent child…

“When you’re royalty, there are some matters that cannot be resolved with hard work alone… So I’m going to bring my uncle back to this world.”

He’s going to choose Gramps over his own father…

The real question is, will Gramps leave Roana Village? Duke’s case is so compelling, I quickly make up my mind.

“I want to make Gramps king,” I say. “He’s more suitable for the throne than anyone else. Let me handle things in Roana Village—I can help you.”

“You know my uncle well, Gill. I trust your judgment. You have my support.”

I nod at Duke. He’s depending on me. I have a lot of hard work ahead of me.

“Also, I want to look into Liz Cather’s abilities.”

Duke turns a grim gaze on me. “I’ve been concerned about that, too.”

“You and Albert are friends, aren’t you?” I ask.

“We used to be.”

“He chose the saint over his own sister…”

“……Albert didn’t used to be that kind of guy.”

A conflicted look fills Duke’s face. They were good friends before Liz tore them apart. The way I see it, Liz is brainwashing everyone.

I used to think Albert and the other boys were just stupid for letting her take control of their minds…but recently, I’m starting to suspect Liz Cather.

“I think the worst of them all are Eric, Gale, Albert, and Alan… Meanwhile, the Liz-skeptics are Curtis, Henri, Finn, myself, and you. We’re either suspicious of her, or we dislike her. What exactly is the difference?”

“I can’t quite tell whose side Finn is on.”

“He may look all sweet and innocent, but he just might have the biggest dark side out of all of us.”

“He’s always had a dark side,” Duke says, as if it were common knowledge.

I have to admit I never really spoke to the guy…so I can’t exactly grasp what sort of person he is.

“Finn likes to observe disputes as a neutral third party,” Duke says.

“What the heck? That’s news to me.”

“He’s got a dark sense of humor. Not very many people know that, though.”

When you’re around other people, you can learn a lot of secrets. It’s a new experience for me, having spent all my time with Alicia thus far.

“Hey, Duke…something’s been on my mind.”

“What is it?”

“When are you gonna drop the amnesia act?”

He looks taken aback by my question for a moment, but he collects himself. “Good question. I hadn’t thought about it.”

There’s an answer I wasn’t expecting.

“I only put on the act so I could exile Alicia from the kingdom. The truth will spread on a need-to-know basis.”

“Have you always been like this, Duke?”

“Like what?”

“Nothing, forget it. I just get the sense your reputation as an upright prince is starting to erode ever so slightly.”

“Well, I was never an upright prince to begin with.”

If you ask me, he always gives off the impression of a “perfect” prince. He always shows up to save Alicia from danger. He’s handsome, gifted in both magic and academics—he has no shortcomings.

“Wait a minute, does somebody else know your amnesia is an act?”

“I’m sure my father knows,” Duke says casually.

……What?

I’m too stunned to speak. If the king knows, why doesn’t he say anything?

“Remember what I told you? My father’s no fool.”

“Is he hands-off with his children? No… No, no, even a laissez-faire ruler would step in and stop a daughter of the nobility from being exiled.”

“He knows I have a plan, but he can’t let on that he does.”

“What a burden it must be to have a genius for a son.”

“I have not made one actual achievement yet,” Duke points out cynically.

I suppose his genius means nothing to him if he has nothing to show for it. His eyes shine blue in the light of the sun. They resemble the clear blue sky so vividly, I catch myself swooning. Anybody, regardless of gender, will fall for that man if he stares at them long enough with those eyes.

Alicia’s golden eyes are truly beautiful. Do all nobles have beautiful eyes as a rule? Alicia praises my gray eyes, says they look intelligent, but I have never liked them.

“Duke, are your eyes special also?”

“What do you mean by ‘also’?” Duke raises an eyebrow.

“Gramps’s and Alicia’s eyes are special. If they focus, they can perceive things with incredible speed, and they can see very long distances, too.”

I try to explain but can only find vague words. Describing someone else’s eyes was odd enough to begin with.

Duke thinks for a few moments, then says, “If that’s what you meant, then my eyes are normal. I can perceive most of what’s going on at a glance, but my vision is nowhere near as sharp as Alicia’s.”

Isn’t that more than enough to qualify as special? I’m starting to think that Duke’s normal is most people’s special.

“I saw Alicia speed-reading in the past once, and that was really impressive. Oh, but it was the apple that gave me goose bumps,” Duke said.

“What’re you talking about?”

Alicia rarely speaks about her childhood, so I have no idea what she was like back then. When I first met her, she could already use magic, and she was very strong and nimble. She obviously trained very hard. Yet when I asked her about her childhood, she told me she used to be an unhinged selfish little brat.

……I can’t exactly say she was being humble, but I also can’t see how that was true.

“She took Albert’s sword from his belt and effortlessly slashed an apple in two as it fell from a tree.”

“……What?!” I yelp louder than I mean to. “How old was she?”

“Seven? I think that’s about how old she was.”

“I can’t believe it. I mean, how could a seven-year-old even be strong enough to hold a sword…?”

“She did more than just hold it. She used it like a sword should be used.” Duke smiles proudly.

I wonder if it’s her will to become a villainess that gave her that ability…

I shiver from my head to my toes. “Alicia really is no ordinary girl.”

As I ponder her terrifying talent, a smile creeps onto my face.

Alicia, Eldest Daughter of the Williams Family—Age Fifteen

I observe my opponent, trying to read his moves. I assumed the lion would bound at me energetically, but surprisingly, he’s eyeing me warily and keeping his distance.

The lion inches closer and closer, and the voices in the audience grow quieter and quieter. Indescribable tension fills the arena.

I didn’t come up with any plans beforehand. What do I do? I mean, I gotta wait for the lion to make the first move. One misstep, and I’m as good as dead. I can’t think of anything else, so…

“I thought you’d be more violent, but you’re actually rather tame, aren’t you?”

…I provoke the lion.

Then it happens.

The lion’s eyes change color, and he charges at me, at full force. The crowd lets out a gasp.

“I retract my statement.”

No way…aren’t we supposed to size each other up a bit longer?!

My head jerks backward in fear.

Come on, Alicia, look for an opening. Try to run, and you’re dead. That lion beats you in a marathon ten times out of ten.

“The brat isn’t even moving.”

“Think he hasn’t noticed the lion charging him?”

Oh, shut up! I’m trying to think!

The moment the lion raises his paws to strike, I slide beneath him. I try to draw my short sword, but the lion reacts faster than I anticipate and changes his stance immediately.

Can’t your reflexes be just a little slower?!

The crowd falls silent in an instant. They probably weren’t expecting that move from me.

Oh, that was nothing to freak out over. I haven’t even landed a single hit yet.

The lion mercilessly goes in for a second attack. I manage a big backflip, and dodge. I hear the crowd gasp, “No way!”

Well, I’ve been exercising and practicing the sword since I was seven. A little acrobatics is nothing. Come on, what kind of baddie would I be if I couldn’t do a simple backflip?

I glance at the king.

Ooh, look at the shock on his face. I’m honored. If I earn his approval here, my chances of learning about Laval’s government skyrocket!

“Give it all you’ve got, Alicia.”

I grip my short sword after a little pep talk. The lion’s eyes glimmer, and he roars menacingly at me.

A lion roaring from so close is quite a significant experience. I’ll be sure to brag about this later.

I tighten my hold on the sword. I dodge the lion’s frighteningly fast charge, then dive for his vitals, desperately following his aura close so he won’t maul me to death.

“Is that boy really blind?!”

“He’s moving faster than that lion.”

A real lion sure is bigger than I imagined. One slash to my arm from those claws, and I’d be out of commission. His mane is regal, and his fangs are big and sharp—lions really are the kings of the beasts.

…Then again, I remember reading in a book long ago that the females do the hunting.

“How’s it feel being a househusband, waiting for the lady to bring home the daily bread?” I mock the lion.

I know he doesn’t understand me, but I sense his body lurch wilder than before.

—Now!

I thrust my short sword into his front legs with all my might. The lion crumples to the ground.

The arena falls silent. Then it erupts.

“The little brat did it!”

“Is this a dream?”

“I’ve never seen a little kid fight like that…”

I slowly approach the wheezing lion. He can run away, even on wounded legs…so why are his eyes filled with defeat? Is he really a wild animal?

“The drugs wore off,” whispers one of the arena workers by the iron bars.

……Drugs?

What are they talking about? Did they do something to this lion?

I gently press my hand against the lion’s fur. It is almost as if our eyes meet.

The sounds of the world suddenly cut out, as though time has stopped.

These are not the eyes of a wild animal… These are the eyes of a lion desperately begging for help. His memories flow into me through the hand that touches him.

Barely after his birth, his parents were killed, and he was brought here to work in the arena. He was drugged against his will and conditioned to be violent.

What the hell is this? This is beyond tragic…

This lion, who should be running free in the wild, was locked away in a tiny cage, tied up, and beaten by humans…

“What’re you waiting for, kid?! Finish the job!”

“Kill the beast!”

This is ridiculous.

You poor thing…humans made a plaything out of you. They beat you to tatters, and you still fight for them…yet not a single one praises you for it. Nobody has come to your rescue.

“Just kill it!”

“Can’t you see it?!”

Oh, shut u—…… Huh?

The arena grows silent. I look to where everyone’s focus is directed.

That’s a king for you… A single raised hand, and everyone in the arena shuts their mouth. Goes to show just how powerful Laval’s king is. He has full control over his people.

“So this is the king of Laval…,” I murmur.

I stare at the king, who stares challengingly back at me.

What should I do?

I look at the lion. The fight is over. There’s no point in killing him. So…

“Excuse me, Your Majesty!” I shout at the king. “I won’t kill this lion, and he won’t kill me, either. May we call it a draw?”

You could hear a pin drop in the arena.

One of the guards, his face drained of color, runs over to me, screaming, “What the hell are you saying?! How dare you speak to His Majesty like that, you little shit!”

“Know your place!”

“Agh, shut up, peanut gallery!” I snap at the crowd. “Let me tend to this lion’s wounds. I will tame him. If he dies, then I die, too.”

Why am I this invested in a lion? Beats me. A tamed lion will surely give me a power-up as a villainess, though. That’s right, what kind of baddie am I if I can’t tame a lion?

“You’re an amusing boy… Very well.”

Ooh, what a lovely voice the king ha— Wait! Did the king just talk to me?

I stare at the king. I can see the amused smile on his face.

Well, we are at a show, aren’t we? If the king is having a good time, that’s all that matters. We have worth.

The administrator stands at the barred entrance with the most incredible death glare on his face.

“Boy—what’s your name?” the king asks me.

“Lia.”

“Lia…I like you. Come to me.”

The spectators gasp in unison. I can even hear somebody say, “Your Majesty, I implore you to reconsider.”

……I did it. I earned my spot by the king’s side!

“Oh, right. Your Majesty! Can the lion come with me?”

“Of course.”

Oops, I almost thanked him politely. Don’t do that, Alicia. You’re a rude little boy right now. Don’t forget that.

With the clamoring arena behind us, the lion and I are taken inside a tiny, vacant hut. Apparently, we’re in a corner of the palace grounds.

You know, didn’t I get here way too fast? I assumed it would take me two—three months at least to get close to the king.

I glance at the lion. He flops onto the floor, clearly exhausted. I do basic first aid, wrapping his wounded legs with bandages.

“I’ll take your pain away now.”

Nobody else is in the hut, so what does it matter if I use a little magic?

I snap my fingers. A faint black aura wraps itself around the lion’s leg wounds. And as they heal, the lion’s fur is dyed black.

“What is…?”

Since when did I become a cosmetologist? I only wanted to purify the drugs from the lion’s body and return him to his true form! Oh dear, did my magic energy seep into the lion’s flesh?

Before I can say a word, the mighty black lion kneels quietly before me. His golden eyes flash with light.

H-how badass can you be?!

This is the perfect animal companion for a villainess. I stare at him, my eyes brimming with excitement.

“Do you have a name? Let’s see… I shall call you…Lai.”

I gently pet his fur. The lion slowly bows his head as though he understands me.

……Sooo this isn’t gonna be one of those “He was a human inside all along” things, is it?

Only in otome games, I suppose. This lion truly is intelligent. Could this be…a little gift from God to villainess me for all my hard work?

“Telling the king I wouldn’t let you die was nice and all…but I never imagined your fur would turn black.”

It seems like he can understand me, because his fur suddenly changes back to its ordinary golden color.

What a convenient ability you have… More importantly, you do seem to understand me.

“Which is your true form?”

The lion answers by turning back to black.

……I see.

So just by my sharing a little of my magic energy, the lion can change forms at will. My apologies, dark magic. You’re crazy useful after all!

I always dreamed of racing through the savannah on the back of a lion.

“It’s hard to believe you and I were fighting to the death only a little while ago.”

Now we’re sharing a snug cottage together.

Has any villainess in the history of this world ever become friends with a lion? Don’t you think I’m the only baddie out there who could tame a lion? And a black lion, at that. I’m sure to go down in history for this!

“Wait here.”

First thing in the morning, a guard enters the cottage and escorts me to the palace.

I don’t know exactly where I am, but it’s clear Laval’s palace is on a large plot of land.

It’s bigger than Durkis’s palace… I wonder how they could afford it.

I stand very still waiting before a large sturdy door.

“Why do I have to babysit that little brat?!”

Such a loud voice. I can hear it all the way on the other side of the thick door between us…which is proving useless for maintaining privacy.

I hear an uncomfortable guard reply, “His Majesty decreed it.”

“My dad’s a piece of shit! Way too flippant!”

“Why, Prince Victor! You saw the fight yesterday, didn’t you? The boy will prove useful!”

Oh my… You’re too kind.

If I may be so bold, I will certainly be a valuable force here. After all, I’m so badass that I got exiled from my own kingdom…though I have to give Duke most of the credit for that.

“He’ll be trouble.”

Oh my… I assumed this prince would be arrogant and stupid, but it appears I’m wrong.

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“Think about it. That brat is a skilled fighter—what was he doing in a gladiatorial arena?”

Why is this door even here?

I feel like I should let them know I’m hearing every word of their conversation…unless my hearing is particularly keen. I could hear what people were saying in the arena audience yesterday… Do I have especially good eyes and ears?

“What would you like to do, Your Highness?”

“I’m annoyed, but I can’t defy my father’s orders.”

“…May I let him in, then?”

“Yeah.”

The door clicks open before my eye not a moment later. With an upward yank of his chin, the guard gestures for me to come inside.

I stretch my back tall— Wait, I shouldn’t do that. I’m not a refined lady here. Muscle memory is a scary thing.

I lazily saunter into the room. The prince is…the short-haired one. Seeing him up close, I notice his features are ridiculously handsome.

Since I cast a transparency spell on my blindfold, I can see his face well… If anything, I’d be better off not seeing him in such high definition. His beauty is like poison.

While we’re at it, why do the hotties of this world all have superlong eyelashes?! Were they all giraffes in a past life?! You’re outshining all the girls here!

“Hey, brat,” the prince says with a sneer. He’s sitting in a chair, resting his legs on a big desk.

Full-on intimidation right out of the gate. Bring it on.

“Hey there, Princey,” I reply with a defiant snicker. I can’t show any weakness.

“Hey! Know your place, peasant!” the guard booms at me.

I’m really tired of that line…

“Don’t mouth off about class—it means less than one shit in the grand scheme of things.”

I notice the prince’s eyes change color. Apparently, I tickled his curiosity.

“Those’re some bold words, kid.”

“I’m doing you a favor by being here, you know. So what do you want?”

“……That blindfold. Tell me the truth—can’t you see?” His green eyes penetrate me.

Yeah, I figured we were going there. I’d ask the same question if I were in his place.

I put up quite the fight yesterday in the arena. I’m sure lots of people questioned whether my blindfold was for show.

“Can’t you answer me?”

“Well…what can I say that will make you guys believe me?”

“Drop that provocative attitude if you don’t want to get hurt.”

“What, you’ll punch me? Kick me? Stab me? Are you saying the prince of Laval loses his temper over some dumb kid’s words?”

We’re opening with a challenge.

What a perfect opportunity to find out what the prince of Laval is made of.

“Ha! What a plucky little brat you are.” He smirks. “I’m Victor Harrist, secondborn prince of Laval.”

Which means the long-haired prince must be the firstborn. I figured the short-haired one was younger. Guess I was right.

“My name’s Lia.”

“That all?”

“As far as you’re concerned.”

“You really are an impudent little shit.”

Victor rises from his chair and zips over to me.

Wow, he practically teleported to me. Just how long are those legs? Is he a model?

I already knew by his aura, but he’s quite tall.

His sharp gaze appraises me as if I’m a piece of merchandise.

Enough of that staring. I’ve overcome all sorts of pressure in the past, but this pressure…is a type I’m ill-equipped to fight.

After a long, unreserved stare, he grabs my hand roughly. “You’re thin, but nicely muscled.”

“Don’t touch me.”

Victor squeezes my hand harder, yanking me close. Even though he shouldn’t be able to see my eye behind the blindfold, I feel like he and I are staring right at each other.

This feels kind of bad. I can hear my heart thump in my ears.

“……Are you a woman?” His deep voice echoes through the room.

Well, dang, Alicia. Blew your cover on day one.

Here I thought I was a pretty decent cross-dresser.

“Your Highness, what are you saying? He’s absolutely a boy. I have never seen a girl like this—”

“Shut your mouth.”

The guard falls silent.

This prince is crass, but he’s got grit. Guess he didn’t grow up having everything handed to him.

“Now I’m starting to doubt you’re blind even more.”

Nobody ever said I was blind, but I know it’s best to keep my mouth shut. I can sense the extreme wave of intimidation flowing from Victor, but I’m determined to stay quiet. After a very long silence, Victor sighs quietly.

“Leave.”

I know he directed that at the guard, but I take a step backward to follow him out the door.

This prince is dangerous. I have to get out of here, and fast.

“You stay.” Victor grabs my arm and squeezes.

The guard looks a bit displeased, but he obeys and leaves Victor’s room.

……I don’t like this.

Certain the guard is gone, Victor releases me. He sits on the desk and gives me another penetrating stare.

I hate his gaze. Why must I be so good at finding the exact people I don’t want snooping into my affairs?

“Getting my father’s approval was part of your plan, wasn’t it?”

Victor’s voice is even deeper than before. Of course I want the king to like me, but whether he does is his choice.

I’m not even sure my plan will work… It’s something of a Hail Mary.

“……Who the hell are you?”

“Lia the street urchin.”

“You think you’re so damn funny.” He clicks his tongue loudly.

Well, how am I supposed to respond to that?

“You stink.”

First, you call me a girl, then you call me stinky. Have you no tact?!

Everyone will hate you. Well…you’ll have no lady problems, at least, with that face.

“Strip.”

Victor’s strong voice echoes through the room.

……What did he say?

Did I mishear that? Did he say trip?

“You’ve got the balls to fight a lion. Getting naked in front of me should be easy, right?” Victor smirks at me provocatively.

Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Who even wants to see me naked…? Wait, wrong takeaway. There’s no way I can let some guy I don’t know see me naked!

“Disobey, and I’ll toss you straight into a men’s bathhouse.”

“What are you saying?”

“Don’t tell me… You weren’t ever going to bathe while you were here?! You were just going to stay all filthy and smelly?”

Oh, I wanna kick his ass.

“Soldiers always bathe together in a big bathhouse.”

“Well, I’m not a soldier.”

“Yeah, you’re more like a slave. A soldier is like a dream career to you. But for some crazy reason, my father brought you here to make you a soldier.”

Wait a minute…that’s news to me!

Shouldn’t I at least get to hear that proposal from the king?

“Well, no matter. You’ll just have to bathe when they’re gone. Argh…why am I covering for a brat like you?” Victor whines, vigorously rubbing his hair.

For everything I’ve said about him, he’s actually kind of nice. I assumed he was going to treat me horribly—brand me with a slave mark or put heavy shackles on my feet…

“Be careful. Everyone is going to be cautious of a Divergent like you.”

Well, I don’t blame them. The king may have picked me up from a gladiatorial arena, but there’s plenty of reason to suspect I’m a spy. As it turns out, I actually am one.

“Understood.”

“……You can go now.”

“Where’s the bath?”

“Huh? Oh…ugh, you really are annoying. Follow me.”

With a disgusted scowl, Victor starts to escort me to the bath.

I notice he doesn’t ask his guard to do this.

I run after him before he can leave me behind.

“This is the bath. I’ll stand guard, so make it quick. I’ll wait five minutes, no longer.”

Victor throws me a new change of clothes that don’t have a speck of dirt on them.

Ooh, they smell so nice. Clothes laundered at a palace are always so clean.

“Why do I have to break my back for a brat like you?”

He’s actually super nice for all that grumbling!

“Thanks.” With a short line of gratitude, I head for the bath.

…Aren’t these a little too big?

I can see a corner of the bath from the dressing room, and it’s huge. Just how many people can fit in here? Meanwhile, I get to hog it all to myself—isn’t that a little too luxurious?

I wash all the ash and dirt off my hair and skin. My hair is already healthy, so a rinse makes it silky-smooth. I send all the dirty, blackened water down the drain.

I know I did this to myself, but I sure was filthy… The audacity, mouthing off in front of the king like that. I’d love to give myself a medal.

I step out of the bath and change into my fresh clothes.

“Huh? It’s gone…”

The cloth I used to cover my eyes is missing.

No, not just the cloth. All the tattered rags I was wearing are gone.

Victor must have taken them away either because they were filthy or because he’s scheming…

I have a feeling it’s the latter. Is he really so obsessed with my true identity he would take me all the way to a bathhouse?

He said I only had five minutes, but I let myself soak for a while in the warm water, so quite a lot of time passed.

…Well, anybody would want a nice long soak in a huge bath like that. You can’t blame me. I’m a baddie, you know.

I don’t sense Victor’s aura outside. I can just go out there, and nothing bad will happen, right?

I cover my face with both hands as I step out of the dressing room.

“You’re late.”

The moment I emerge, I hear Victor’s angry voice. I steal a sideways glance and see him leaning against the wall.

So he is here. Of course he is… Further proof I can’t let somebody I haven’t deemed safe run rampant just yet.

“I couldn’t find my blindfold, so I was—”

“Oh, you mean this?” Victor asks before I can finish, waving the dirty piece of cloth in his right hand.

And we’ve found our culprit.

“Why don’t you take your hands off your face?”

That smug confidence is really getting on my nerves. I know a villainess should never get flustered, but I’m in quite a pinch here.

“If your eyes are hurt, I’ll get you a doctor. Let me see.”

“N-no.”

“Huh? You defy me?” Victor’s eyes narrow to slits.

……Okay, Alicia. Think calmly.

The reason I covered my eye in the first place was to hide its gold color. Gold is a rare eye color in Durkis, but it might not be so unusual in Laval. There’s a possibility I have a lot of fellow golden-eyed people out there.

“You clean up nice.”

Well, yeah… I’m sort of a noblewoman.

“You’ve got a delicate frame, your skin is pale, and your hair is shiny…”

Victor leans in close, giving me a good look.

“Let me see your face.” Without a word more, Victor grabs my hands, trying to remove them from my face. I instinctively kick his arm, then fall backward and push off the floor into a backflip.

““Ah!”” Victor and I gasp at once. I uncovered my face by accident.

I let my reflexes expose me. What an epic fail.

“Wow…you’re sickeningly beautiful.”

“That’s your first impression?”

He could’ve gone with, “So you’re really a girl” or “Why’s your left eye missing?”

“I suppose a prince like you doesn’t let something like this disconcert him,” I say primly, dropping the act.

“Of course I’m disconcerted. A stinky boy turned out to be a beautiful girl.”

“Well, pardon my stench.”

“Don’t worry, you don’t smell anymore.”

Victor slowly approaches me. I want to run, but there’s nowhere to run.

He reaches for my face, then yanks my chin upward.

“A golden eye… Surprised you could move so nimbly with only one. And with a blindfold on, too,” he adds, his eyes flitting to the tattered cloth in his other hand.

“What are you going to do to me?”

“Well, I don’t know whether you’re a threat. You are amusing, though. Keep me entertained, and I’ll keep your gender under wraps.”

“Why won’t you expose my true identity?”

“I have nothing to gain from doing so. This cloth stinks, so get a new one. Also, make your hair nice and messy like a boy’s.”

He’s in a lady’s presence—isn’t he using the word stink too much?

I’m a little shocked. To be honest, I thought he would throw me out of the palace.

“So what’s your real name?”

“……Alicia.”

He’s seen my face. No harm in him knowing my real name. I just need to make sure he doesn’t find out I’m of the Durkis nobility.

“Ah, Lia from Alicia.” Victor nods in understanding. “One more question. Are you from Durkis…of the nobility?”

Urk—he goes straight for the vitals, doesn’t he? Maybe I shouldn’t have revealed my real name yet. Just how much intel does Laval have on Durkis’s noble houses?

The two nations have next to no diplomatic relations. He may know of the royal family, but not necessarily of the name of the daughter of one of the Great Five noble houses… What’s the correct response to give here?

I think for a little while, then answer, “If I am of the nobility……then wouldn’t I be quite the baddie?” I twist my lips into an exaggerated smug smile.

“Huh?”

“I wouldn’t be exiled unless I committed some serious crime.”

“…Why do you sound pleased by that? Well…no matter. You’re a freak. That fact will never change.”

How rude. On what planet am I a freak?

“Incidentally…everyone in this kingdom—not just the nobility—can speak the ancient tongue. Can you?”

Victor’s surprise question catches me flat-footed.

The ancient tongue…? Why, that’s my specialty!

I learned every ancient language during the two years I spent holed up in that cottage.

“Where can I get myself a new blindfold?” I ask smugly, in the desired language.

His yellow-green eyes dilate in shock.

…Why is he so shocked? Doesn’t everybody in this kingdom know how to speak the ancient tongue?

After a pause…

“Come with me,” he answers, in the same language. “Shit, not even military officers can speak the ancient tongue.”

Victor mutters something under his breath, but I don’t catch it. I shrug it off and walk behind him. He gives me a new cloth, so I cover my eyes and tie it around my head.

…This one’s a great improvement to my peripheral vision from the last. It’s clean and sturdy, too. It also doesn’t stink. In fact, it smells quite nice.

“I’m going to have you begin military training now. You’ll also study academics. Also…you’ll be my bodyguard when I go on expeditions.”

I gotta crane my neck to look at that tall order.

I get to train, I get to study, and I get to go on expeditions that will help me learn even more about this kingdom…

O dear God, I thank thee for bestowing this divine opportunity upon me. I cannot thank thee enough.

“Our soldiers aren’t bad eggs, but they’ll probably abuse a kid like you to make sure you’re committed—be ready for that.”

Well, this is my first time being on the other side of abuse. A villainess is always the abuser, not the abusee.

Victor glares at me in annoyance as I smile haughtily. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes. You’ve made your concern for my well-being quite clear.”

“That smug confidence really pisses me off.”

Why would I be confident? I’ve had my back against the wall ever since I arrived in Laval.

“By the way, what became of that lion? Is it still alive?”

“He’s doing quite well, thank you.”

Though I’ll never tell him I healed the lion with magic and gave him a power-up.

“You gonna keep it as a pet?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. I’ve given him a name, too. It’s Lai. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

As I answer proudly, Victor bursts out laughing.

Excuse me? What exactly about this conversation does he find so hilarious?

“What’s so funny?”

“Come on…you named it…Lai. So, wait, if you get another lion, are you gonna name it On? And together, they’re Lai On?” Victor cackles maniacally.

He’s mocking me… That’s what he’s doing, right?

Lai is an adorable name. It even rhymes with rye, like The Catcher in the Rye. J. D. Salinger would approve.

“Don’t sulk. I was laughing for you, not at you. You’re welcome.”

So this is the guy who knows my weakness. I can’t believe I let it slip.

……It really irks me that everywhere I go, princes always have the upper hand with me. Just wait. I’ll overcome both Victor and Duke, even if it kills me.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Victor says. “The tallest tower in the palace—don’t go near it.”

“That sounds an awful lot like you want me to go near it…”

Is this one of those death flags I used to hear about?

I only get halfway through that thought before I realize what Victor is implying.

“I’ll never go near there!”

“Well…we’ll see about that.” He smirks.

His tone says he knows I’ll go to the tower.

Well, now I’m dying to know more. I want to go there crazy bad… But I can’t let myself. I’ll be playing right into Victor’s hands.

What is up with that tower, though? Is somebody locked up in there? Or…is it a trap?

“Hey, rookie! Are you listening to me?!”

The voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I open my eye to see a rugged face shoved in mine.

My goodness…what a gruff expression he’s got there. If he furrows those brows any farther, he’ll chase all the happiness away.

“You’ve been daydreaming since the second you got here. It’s bad enough I can’t tell what you’re thinking with that blindfold on. If you don’t wanna be here, go run on home to Mommy.”

He’s absolutely right. Even one lazy member of a platoon can plunge morale into chaos.

“I’m terribly sorry, sir!” I shout, bowing my head deeply.

That’s right, Alicia. You’ve come to Laval as a mole to dig up its secrets.

Seemingly surprised by my honest apology, the man asks cheerfully, “Rookie…what’s your name?”

“Lia.”

“I’m Marius. Reed Marius, captain of this platoon. Listen, kid, we are Prince Victor’s special forces. Soldiers desperately claw their way to get here…and yet His Highness throws this random kid into our fold. I have no idea what he’s thinking.”

“I can prove my worth.”

My words make his face tense.

Oops, I think I made him angry. Silly Alicia, your Villainess Points won’t go up if you piss people off when you’re a boy.

“That’s some mouth you’ve got, rookie. Drop and give me two hundred.”

“Huh?”

That’s all? Only two hundred? If he’s trying to punish me, it should be at least one thousand, no?

“Aw, he’s scared.”

“You’re a cruel man, Captain. Nobody makes a scrawny kid like that do that many push-ups right off the bat.”

“I bet he doesn’t even last a week.”

“Nah, three days, tops.”

“I give him one day.”

One after another, the soldiers place their bets.

Do I really seem so gutless? How rude.

“And if you mess up, you start the count over at one,” the captain says.

“Hey, he’s new. Maybe you shouldn’t—” A soldier with cream-colored hair tries to talk down Captain Marius.

I interject. “That’s all?”

He must be the lieutenant if he talks back to the captain. He’s thinner than the captain, but well muscled. Funny, no matter how hard I try, I can never bulk up. I envy him, strangely enough.

“Hey, kid, don’t stir up shit,” he warns me.

“Nah, I like the idea. Okay, rookie, give me five hundred push-ups—no stopping.”

“Sure thing.”

I drop to the ground and assume a plank position.

“One more thing—address your superior officers with respect.” Captain Marius’s voice sounds from above.

“Understood, sir,” I answer obediently, then begin my push-ups.

“Wh-whoa, is he for real…?”

“Just where does all that strength come from in those skinny arms?”

“Three hundred ninety-eight…three hundred ninety-nine…four hundred…four hundred one…”

As the soldiers around me start to murmur in amazement, I can tell Captain Marius is faltering a little. I watch my own sweat drip onto the ground as I continue.

……This is starting to hurt. It has been a while. But I’ve been training since I was seven. There’s nothing I can’t do.

“Four hundred eleven…four hundred twelve…four hundred thir…teen…”

“He hasn’t slowed down… What grit. Now I understand why Prince Victor took a liking to him,” the presumed lieutenant mutters.

I absolutely hate the idea of my own blunders making somebody else lose face. Even if it’s Victor’s stupid face we’re talking about. My ego won’t allow it. I’m gonna keep up the pace all the way until my five hundredth push-up.

“Four hundred forty-seven…four hundred…forty-eight…”

“Don’t kill yourself. Maybe slow down?”

“No.”

You’ve fought hard every day to make your mark in history, Alicia. You can’t let yourself crap out over some measly push-ups.

I pump myself up and push even harder.

“The little shit… He’s going faster.”

“Unbelievable.”

Nobody would ever think I’m a dignified, apex aristocrat.

“Four hundred eighty-three…eighty-four…eighty-five…eighty-six…”

“Why is he getting faster and faster?”

“He’s superhuman…no, beyond that.”

The men around me grow louder and louder. Some of them start to cheer.

“Go, Bitsy! You got this!”

“You’ve got this! Just a bit more!”

Hard to believe they were all against me a little while ago. Even an apex baddie like myself appreciates a cheering crowd.

“Ninety-seven…ninety-eight…ninety-nine…five hundred…”

I…I’m done!

I collapse on the spot.

I don’t care if people call me filthy or undignified. I’m a boy right now, after all. You know…I think I need to lie down for a while.

“Five hundred push-ups…with those skinny arms…”

“Th-that son of a bitch…he did it.”

“He really did five hundred push-ups…”

“Yeaaah! Wow, Bitsy! That was amazing!”

“You’ve got spunk, kid! I misjudged you!”

Cheering voices rise, one after another. Apparently, I graduated from “brat” to “Bitsy.” It feels like I won a battle; I’m on top of the world.

……But why are these guys rejoicing more than me? I should be the one cheering.

“Well done, kid.”

Captain Marius extends a hand to me. I accept it and, with his help, somehow manage to stand, taking deep breaths in and out to steady myself.

“Thank you…sir.”

“I didn’t think you’d have the balls for that, Bitsy.”

“My name’s Lia—”

“We’ll train ya even harder, kid,” the captain interrupts loudly, a happy twinkle in his eye.

Well, “Bitsy” isn’t that bad, and everyone looks happy…so I guess I don’t need to correct him.

“I’m Galious Neal, second-in-command here. You really put those skinny arms to work.”

I was right. The comparatively mild-mannered man is the lieutenant.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Neal.”

“I’d love to hear what crazy training regimen you’ve been on.” Lieutenant Neal’s wide eyes sparkle.

“Lieutenant, I hope you don’t expect us to do the same…”

“Hold up, Bitsy! Don’t say a word!”

The soldiers suddenly speak up, guessing their lieutenant’s plot.

Is Lieutenant Neal actually more sinister than he looks? Well, I’d rather he be a slave driver. I’ll get stronger that way.

“Okay, men, let’s get to training,” Captain Marius barks. In an instant, the expressions of his men turn serious.

……What a glorious platoon. The way they turn on a dime is incredible.

“Hey, Bitsy, can you move again?”

“Yes, sir!”

With an energetic reply, I jump into the training session.

I’m exhausted.

I didn’t think soldier training would be that hardcore. I got through it all, but then they made us sprint five kilometers at the end when we were falling apart, and I almost lost my faith. I managed to squeeze out the rest of my nonexistent energy to finish the race, but the idea of training that hard every single day…

I always thought the training regimen I gave myself as a kid was quite difficult, but it doesn’t even compare to this. I suppose the prince’s special forces really are special.

I lie down beside Lai, who is sleeping peacefully. His black fur feels so good to touch.

I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight.

That reminds me…in the past, there was a time when I wanted to transform into a lion. I hit a wall in my magic training and couldn’t get anything right.

I close my eyes, remembering those days.

“Good night, Lai…,” I murmur, falling soundly asleep beside him.

I wake up to the sound of birds chirping. I get dressed and quietly slip out of the hut so as not to wake Lai.

……I woke up just like a manga character.

I still have time before training starts.

“I wanna go to that tower.”

It’s a lucky day for impulsive ideas. I’m marching toward that tower before I even know it. I hate that I’m doing exactly what the prince thought I would, but I can’t mope around forever. That wouldn’t be very badass.

“That tower is much farther away than I thought…”

It’s the tallest building on the palace grounds, so it’s hard to miss. It stands out. Having decided to go to it, though, I realize now just how far it is.

“Daaamn, that’s tall.”

I arrive at the foot of the tower and stop in my tracks. Anybody would have the same reaction to its height. It hurts my neck to even look up at it.

When I set foot in the tower, a thought pops into my mind for the first time: I wish this world had elevators. Instead, there’s a spiral staircase leading all the way to the tower’s peak.

“Well, I’ve come all this way. Time to get to climbing.”

I thought I climbed a ways already.

The exact same scenery twirls and twirls as I climb the stairs for what feels like ages. The end is nowhere in sight.

“Perhaps the tower is under some sort of spell…”

Only a magic spell can break a magic spell. If this tower really is under some magic spell and word gets out to somebody in the palace that I broke it, my identity will be exposed in a flash.

You know, it’s not exactly set in stone that nobody in Laval can use magic…

At the very least, Old Man Will and the other three people who were exiled from Durkis were magic-wielding nobles. Which means, if they are in this kingdom, at least three people here can use magic.

Well, one thing’s for sure—if somebody cast a spell on this tower, I’d really like to know more about them. But it isn’t safe for me to use magic right now. I have to wait until I learn more about this kingdom…

I sigh, frustrated. I have to turn back for the day.

“Hey, Bitsy! What’re you doing here?”

Somebody calls out to me the second I leave the tower. It’s one of the soldiers who trained with me yesterday. He cheered quite loudly when I finished my five hundred push-ups.

“My name is Lia.”

“Ah, right. I’m Jacob! Nice to meet ya. So, Bitsy, did you go in the tower?”

He’s not even listening to me.

“I did. Didn’t get to the top, though.”

Jacob’s eyes are brimming with curiosity. “I thought so! Yeah, nobody can climb that thing.”

“No one has ever made it to the top?”

“As far as I know, no.”

“What happens if anyone does?”

“Beats me. I don’t know anyone who’s done it. There’s a lot of rumors, though. Like it gives you a status boost, or the crown gives you a reward… Though until a magic user appears, I think we’re fresh outta luck.”

“Huh? So there are people here who can use magic?” I ask eagerly.

Jacob frowns at me with suspicion. A look that clearly says, Is this guy an idiot?

“Nobody in this kingdom can use magic.”

This is the first time since my arrival that I hear the definitive words—Nobody can use magic.

The wolf that appeared at the academy must have been sent by teleportation magic. I just assumed one of the three exiled people had done it.

Oooh, the plot thickens!

“How’d it go?” Victor’s deep voice booms from the room.

“Couldn’t make it to the top, as expected.”

“Aha. Still…there’s more to him than meets the eye. I’ve never seen a Divergent like that before. Gather more intel.”

“Yes, my lord.”

……So I’m under investigation.

Come on, is there really any point to this fortified door if I can hear everything going on in the room?

After I found out there had to be a magic spell cast on the tower, I planned on sneaking into Victor’s room to do a little snooping. I stopped at the door when I heard voices inside. I can’t tell if I have super hearing, or if the door is super ineffective.

“Let’s assign a watcher to the boy,” says a third deep voice.

What is this tension? It’s so thick, I can sense it even through this door… Am I really that suspicious to these people?

I’m somebody’s monitor, and now somebody’s watching me. I have a feeling this would have been easier if I hadn’t found out.

If Liz found out I was her monitor, she would probably smile and say, “Thank you for protecting me.” She’s so simpleminded, it’s easy to imagine exactly how she’d act.

“You may go.”

Just as Victor says that, I hear footsteps approaching the door.

Uh-oh. Gotta run…

I jump out a nearby window, grab on to a branch, and hide myself. Times like this really make me love having a small frame.

I watch the man leave the room. His black hair is slicked back in a ponytail, and his eyes are a familiar violet.

……Father?

No, can’t be. He would never be in a place like this.

This man appears to be older than my father, actually.

“Wait… Is that…my grandfather?”

Thinking back, I never once met my grandfather. Rather, nobody once talked about him. Honestly, I’ve been so focused on my own stuff, I just figured he died.

Old Man Will is a genius. And if we assume he was supporting the current monarch before his exile to Roana Village, that means those around Will are the same age or older. Meaning…it’s at least possible?

I’m still not entirely sure this man is my grandfather, though.

“I guess this means I’ll have to do some investigating.”

I climb the rest of the way along the branch until I reach the ground. It’s just a working theory, but if he is one of the three in exile, then I need to find the remaining two as soon as possible.

Gill—Age Eleven

“Gramps, Duke wants to get you out of here.”

I deliver the news to him as soon as I arrive at his cottage in Roana Village. Duke couldn’t make the trip with me for a few reasons, so I’m here on my own.

“Duke… You mean Luke’s only son?”

Since Gramps came to Roana Village before Duke was born, they’ve never met. Duke seemed to know of him, though.

“What do you want to do, Gramps?”

“What will become of this village if the master leaves?” Rebecca cuts in before Gramps can answer.

“She’s right. We can’t go along with rich people’s sick games forever,” Nate adds from beside her.

Nate is the captain of the peacekeeping platoon in Roana, and now he wants to use military force to escape the village. I realized just how strong he is when he dueled Alicia before—he’s quite capable.

I wasn’t expecting to come back to Roana to find a militia here, though.

…This village is finding its purpose, slowly but surely. Alicia and Gramps changed this place for the better. The former wasteland is now vibrant with life.

I stare at Gramps, watching him protectively as he silently wrestles with his thoughts.

“I never wanted to think of this place as my home…but that’s changed,” I say. “We owe it all to Alicia. She saved my life and got me out of this village. She healed Rebecca’s burns and gave her the chance to be this village’s messiah. She shared one of her eyes with you, Gramps, and made you this village’s leader. None of this would have happened without her… That’s why I want to live up to her expectations. Her relentless ambition gives me courage.”

I put all my feelings out there at once. And everyone quietly listens. I never imagined I could give such an impassioned plea. Whenever I think of Alicia, the words just flow freely.

I can never thank her enough. She is my light of hope.

“Gill—you’ve grown big,” Gramps says, gently patting my head.

I love his touch. His acknowledging me was my primary motivation in coming back to this dreadful place.

“It’s about time I move on with my life, too,” Gramps murmurs, his eyes filled with determination. “I’ll do it… I’ll leave Roana.”

Everyone swallows the solemn words in silence. This day has been a long time coming…

“If we fear what lies ahead, we can’t change anything for the better,” Gramps adds.

“But what’ll happen to us?” Nate protests, glaring sharply at him.

“You’re coming with me,” he answers.

“We are?” Rebecca asks.

“How? This kid may have gotten a potion from some rich guy, but how’re the rest of us supposed to leave the village?! If it weren’t for those damn magic walls, we all would have left ages ago!” Nate snaps, on the verge of exploding.

Indeed, Arnold gave me a pink potion, Avel, that helps me pass through the magic walls. Whether there’s enough potion for everyone in the village is another matter entirely.

“I’ll negotiate with the king,” Gramps answers.

“……You’ll leave alone, then?” I ask.

“I’ll be back right away.”

“Ya might not be, though. Ya may just leave us here,” Nate argues. “Everybody wants out of this village. Nobody would pass up a golden opportunity like this.”

“Don’t belittle me.”

Gramps’s words freeze the tension. The majesty in his voice overwhelms everyone in the room.

I’ve never seen him like this. The ambitious, calculating genius of a former royal is on full display. Alicia surely noticed this majesty in him from the very start.

Gramps’s eye is solemn. “I don’t know why Duke wants me out of this village…but one thing’s clear: The time has come where we have to seriously consider what direction this kingdom’s headed.”

Can Gramps’s voice even reach the king? The guy who let his mother boss him into exiling his own brother—how can he possibly redeem himself?

“Gill, deliver a message to Duke: I’ll leave this village in one week.”

“Understood… Why aren’t you leaving right away?”

“There are still things I need to take care of first.”

“Okay, I’ll come back in a week.”

Gramps nods. Then, without another word, I leave Roana Village.

Duke, Henri, and I are assembled in an isolated part of the garden.

“Duke, Gramps says he’s gonna leave Roana.”

“Good,” Duke murmurs in relief, a hint of joy in his voice. It’s clear just how worried he’s been about Gramps.

“…Who exactly is Gramps?” Henri tilts his head.

Henri may be one of Alicia’s allies, but the gap in intelligence between them is rather stark. When I told him Duke didn’t actually have amnesia, he nearly threw his back out in shock.

“Gramps is the old guy from Roana Village,” I explain.

“And my uncle.”

“……Excuse me?” Henri’s eyes grow wide as saucers. Apparently, he isn’t following the logic.

“Again, he’s from Roana Village—”

“W-wait a minute. Huh? Am I stupid or something?”

“And what’s more, he’s of the direct royal bloodline. My father is a concubine’s son.”

“I…did not know any of this. His blood— What? Huh? Roana Village? Hmm?”

Henri is suddenly a moron.

“Well, next to nobody knows this,” Duke consoles him.

“Wait, wait, wait. Tell me slowly and in detail,” Henri pleads, clutching his head with both hands. “I’m no genius like you guys. I’m still reeling from the whole ‘Duke’s amnesia was an act to get Alicia exiled’ thing.”

I can’t blame him. Duke is surprisingly bad at explanations.

After a moment’s thought, Duke concisely explains the events that brought Gramps to Roana Village. The color in Henri’s face changes as he listens. Duke speaks casually, even on such an intense subject matter.

“Wow. That’s a lot…”

Henri falls into quiet thought once Duke finishes the story.

“We don’t have time to waste despairing over the past. We need to come up with a plan for the present,” Duke tells him.

“Y-yeah…you’re right,” Henri agrees after a brief hesitation. “How exactly do we go about doing that?”

“When did my uncle say he was leaving Roana Village?” Duke asks me.

“One week from today.”

“We’d better do something about Liz before then.”

“You’re going to put Liz on trial?! Oooh, that’s music to my ears!”

A sweet smell fills the air, and a pink-haired girl—Mel—suddenly pops up right before our eyes with a grin.

She really does just appear out of thin air, huh?

“So will you hear me out? I’ve got news about that thing you asked me to do.” Though her tone is flippant, her eyes are dead serious. Mel has been privy to Duke’s amnesia act from the get-go—perhaps due to their master-servant relationship.

“Did you find something?” he asks.

“As if your Mel would ever greet her master empty-handed!” she answers smugly. “Okay, let’s start with issue number one! By law, the prince of Durkis must marry the saint—but is there only one saint? At present, the only girl believed to be the saint is…Liz Cather. Even though she’s a commoner, her magic is astounding and she’s mastered all the magic elements. Put concisely, you could call her the Miracle Woman—she’s the textbook definition of a saint, I’ll give her that… But the real miracle worker is our Ali-Ali! Conclusion? Write up a list of her strengths and all her accomplishments thus far, and you could easily certify her as a saint as well! I’ve written this all down—you’re welcome!”

Mel proceeds to hand Duke a stack of papers, which he quickly skims.

That’s it…there can be more than one saint! Besides, Durkis’s biggest problem was Roana Village, and the one who solved it was undeniably Alicia. That much is still classified…but once Gramps comes out into the open, it will all go public.

Besides, she’s smashed the nobility’s false sense of superiority over merely having the ability to use magic. She’s actively trying to reshape our system into a meritocracy.

Moreover, she’s fighting this very moment to suppress suspicious interference from another nation. She’s even playing the role of villainess to do it.

When you think about it that way—what even qualifies Liz to be a saint? She’s all talk. She can use all the magic elements, but she’s good for nothing else. Her idealism is valuable, of course, but she’s never put her money where her mouth is.

And everyone with me right now feels the same way.

“Power is meaningless if you don’t use it,” I say.

“How you use it is also important,” Duke replies as he hands Mel back her papers—it seems he read everything.

“If only Alicia could use all the magic elements instead of her…,” I lament.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Duke says.

“I don’t think Ali would want that,” Henri agrees. “I think those limits are what motivated her to grow into the powerhouse she is today. She’s strong, but she hasn’t always been. She worked harder than all of us combined and clawed her way to the top.”

“And she’s still trying to become even more powerful,” I remind them.

“True. She won’t even need us anymore.” Henri smiles cynically.

They’re right. Alicia wasn’t always perfect. I know that because I’ve been watching her up close for years. Of course, one could argue she always had the potential, but she’s worked incredibly hard to bring it out.

……Though her twisted motive still makes no sense to me.

The “villainess” she aspires to be always seems like a hero, as far as I’m concerned.

“If Ali were a boy, she would seriously have a chance at the throne,” Henri says.

“Well, I’m glad she’s a woman,” Duke replies.

“I won’t hand over my sweet sister so easily.”

“Sooo as much as I’d love to gush about Ali-Ali all day—rather, as much as I’d love to have Ali-Ali all to myseeelf, can we talk about issue number two?”

There are many ways of obtaining intel…but just how much intel did Duke task Mel with gathering in such a short period of time? And how could Mel accomplish the task with such finesse? Because she’s Mel, I suppose.

“Issue two! Sooo Liz is basically, like, unconsciously using bad magic! According to an ancient text, charm spells do exist, and that’s a power only the saint possesses! That’s why whenever a saint shows up, there’s all these stupid…records? Legends? I dunno—anyhoo, there’s always stories about how the saint made everyone live happily ever after! Incredible, right? I mean, with all these people on Earth, who gets to decide they all live happily ever after? Then again, I’m no expert in Durkis’s ancient tongue, so I couldn’t exactly read aaall of it, though.”

……Charm spells?

What kind of stupid magic is that? How exactly does Durkis even define saint?

Come to think of it, though, Liz’s devotees are abnormal. They’re unhealthily obsessed with her. They have no critical-thinking skills—they’re convinced she can do no wrong.

“That magic clearly sounds suspicious…” Henri furrows his brow.

“It’s like the world is a story somebody wrote for Liz to star in,” Mel says. Then, in a gruff whisper, “And that’s bullshit…”

Mel doesn’t have a rotten personality, but her words can sometimes kill. Still, I don’t dislike her. I like her bluntness.

“Mel, let me borrow that book later, okay?” Duke asks.

Mel blinks dumbly. “Sure, but can you read the ancient tongue?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

“Alicia can read it, too,” I inform them.

“What?! Ali-Ali can read the ancient tongue?! That’s my girl!”

Mel eagerly latches on to me. Meanwhile, Henri winces and says, “You all are so abnormal, I’m starting to wonder if I even belong in this group… Isn’t my sister too overpowered?”

Not sure what you want me to say, buddy.

I’ve always known Alicia is extraordinary. She and her ridiculous antics surpass my imagination.

“Charm magic aside, if what that book says is true, it relieves a lot of my worries…,” Henri says. “Though it’s pretty annoying Liz is unaware of it.”

I promptly agree. “Yeah, a saint who unconsciously casts gross spells? I don’t want to go near them.”

What will happen when her magic wears off? Will everyone realize Alicia was right all along?

“Oh, one more thing,” Mel says. “His Majesty is probably gonna rally the troops soon.”

“The troops? Who’s that?”

“The sons of the Great Five noble houses, Curtis, and Her Saintliness.”

I sense a great deal of disdain in the way Mel calls Liz “Her Saintliness.”

“What the hell are they going to discuss?” Henri demands.

Mel just shrugs. I glance at Duke. I can never tell what’s on his mind, but he probably has a vague sense of what the king is going to say. He doesn’t seem surprised by Mel’s announcement.

“A lot is piling up at once… It’s going to get hectic around here very soon,” I remark.

Everyone seems excited.

As we walk down the palace hall, I look up at Duke and ask, “Hey, is it really okay for me to come along?”

“Of course it is,” Duke answers promptly.

Everyone the king invited is of the nobility, so why is it acceptable for an outsider like me to join? In the past, I attended such events as Alicia’s aide, but Alicia is in exile at the moment…

Duke says that princes don’t enjoy much freedom, but it seems to me like he can mostly do as he pleases.

“We’re here,” he says as we stop in front of a very grand door. It’s opened by two guards on either side.

It feels like I’m about to have an audience with the king… Probably because that’s exactly what’s about to happen.

I assumed this would be a more casual gathering. My close association with Duke makes me forget he’s next in line to be king and he carries this kingdom on his shoulders.

“Good, you’re here. And you must be Gill.”

This is my first time meeting the king. I’ve secretly always thought of him as incompetent, but meeting him in person, I think his presence is far more powerful than I could ever have imagined.

I bow instinctively. I’m in the presence of the king……but Gramps is still better than him.

“Eyes up, son. Everyone is already here.” The king’s voice reverberates through the tense air.

I raise my head and see the children of the Great Five noble houses, Liz Cather, and Curtis. What in the world does the king intend to do with these people?

We wait in silence for the king to speak.

“I have a question for all of you—what do you think of Alicia?”

No one knows what to say. What are we supposed to say about a person in exile?

Curtis finally breaks the silence. “Ali is…a very diligent, intelligent girl. I’ve watched her grow since she was a little girl. I think she’s a genius.”

“There’s nobody I don’t like, so I like Alicia,” Finn answers, grinning angelically. To be frank, it’s obvious there’s something else lurking behind his words.

“She uses her talents the wrong way,” Gale spits out, displeased by all the praise. The three suspected victims of Liz Cather’s charm spell—Eric, Albert, and Alan—all nod in agreement.

“Who exactly is using their talents the wrong way?”

Everyone reacts sensitively to my question.

Eric glares at me. “What are you trying to say?”

“It’s easy to have talent. Using it is hard. Whether a talent is utilized for right or wrong is contingent on a person’s work ethic and feelings. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that somebody has an incredible talent for music but hates singing and never tries to learn an instrument. A person’s talents and desires don’t always align—that’s all I’m saying.”

“What exactly is it about Liz that you don’t like?”

“Everything,” I answer without hesitation. I never said Liz’s name, but I suppose, based on their past experiences, it’s the logical conclusion.

Most people in my place would probably be terrified, but I’m not. If anything, I’m pleased the most powerful people in Durkis are hearing me out.

“I’d love to ask God why he made Liz Cather the saint to save this kingdom. She talks pretty, but has she ever put those words into action? Ever carried out a plan, failed, learned from it, then drawn up a new plan in hopes of future success?”

“You don’t even know Liz. How can you say that?” Alan is furious.

“I may not know her, but I do know she hasn’t done anything of substance.”

“How dare you. What exactly have you done?”

Brainwashing sure is scary business. In a way, I suppose Alicia is brainwashing me, but I trust her.

The king doesn’t seem to mind that I’ve taken control of the discussion. Duke’s eyes tell me to get it all off my chest. Is that why he brought me in the first place?

“Why does Liz Cather have her powers anyway? Just for show? Power is to be used, not admired.” I turn to Liz Cather, my voice raising. “Sure, your idealism is commendable, but if you really believe in your perfect world, you should learn how to use your powers to make it happen. What did you even learn from Alicia all these years? We don’t choose our talents, and talents don’t guarantee success. Why is someone like you, with the strongest powers in the world, content to float along in mediocrity?!”

Liz Cather is staring blankly at me. It’s been ages since I yelled like that—I always have to force myself to speak calmly. She opens her mouth, then closes it, perhaps unable to find the words she was looking for.

“……Tell me, then. What exactly has Alicia done?” Gale demands.

“She guided Liz,” the king answers.

The room’s atmosphere instantly shifts. Everyone looks at the king.

“I asked her to play the villainess.”

Yeah, and Alicia was ecstatic about that. Alicia is probably the only person in the world who would rejoice over such an assignment.

“What…do you mean, Your Majesty?” Albert asks, bewildered.

“The saint must carry the weight of this kingdom on her back. As the boy said, idealism alone is not enough. Sometimes, one must face reality head-on. Liz, you are purehearted and kind. You do not know impurity. Believe me, I understand how you wouldn’t want to see the filthy underbelly of governance. That’s why I allowed Alicia early admittance to the Academy of Magic. To steer you toward pragmatism. I ordered her to speak harshly to you to make that happen—”

“Why did you do such a thing?!” Albert yells, interrupting the king. He’s irate.

Come to think of it…Albert used to love Alicia. He was very protective of her.

“I thought you boys were well aware—Alicia is a genius. She could use magic at age eleven, her physical aptitude is beyond the norm, and she is highly intelligent. Alicia was the perfect person to stand in opposition to the saint.”

“How could you be so self-serving? My sister is not a tool for the crown to exploit.”

“I acknowledge what I did was cruel.”

“Didn’t you oppose his plan, Father? Alicia was so young. Didn’t either of you stop to consider how this might have emotionally scarred her?”

Arnold is standing silently, ashamed.

“So all the things Alicia said…it was by order of the crown?” Eric squeaks.

That’s probably not entirely true…but close enough. Wait—won’t revealing this rob Alicia of her ability to become a villainess?

The way I see it, she’s about as much of a villainess as a butterfly. It’s all in her head.

……Still, I feel a little sorry for Alicia. She worked so hard all these years to become a villainess, but now the puppet-master king looks like the true villain.

And just when she got herself exiled, too…

When she gets home and discovers the king has become a bigger villain than her, she might blow her top… Hang in there, Alicia.

“Why didn’t you put a stop to her banishment, then?!” Albert’s voice booms.

Indeed, no matter how badly a prince wants to exile somebody, if the king is against it, it’s nearly impossible.

The king’s gaze slowly drifts toward Duke. Everyone in the room is confounded, and Duke hardly flinches.

……The poor king. His son’s a handful.

If there’s any moment to come clean about his amnesia, it’s now. He already got Alicia exiled, after all. With everyone’s eyes on him, Duke finally opens his mouth.

“I sent Alicia to Laval as a spy, under the guise of exile. My amnesia was a farce to facilitate that. It was Alicia’s idea to leave the kingdom, and I have high hopes for what her mission will bring our kingdom.”

Liz Cather’s eyes go wide in a mixture of shock and hurt. Who can blame her? Duke and Alicia’s close bond is being rubbed in her face.

“B-but Liz’s way of thinking is correct,” Gale says, adjusting his glasses after a faltering pause.

“If you want to build a peaceful future, you need more than empty platitudes.”

I stare right at Liz Cather. She remains silent.

“Ali is a spy…,” Alan murmurs.

“I had no idea… And, Duke, you never had amnesia?” Curtis sneers.

“I needed a suitable reason to exile a daughter of the nobility.”

Oh, Duke. Don’t come crying to me when Alicia chews you out later.

I know Alicia absolutely did not want her exile plot exposed…but I suppose it’s okay as long as the truth stays confined to this small circle.

Duke is a schemer at heart, after all. Day by day, the villainess he loves is becoming Durkis’s hero. If they became the next king and queen…I would be proud to call this kingdom home.

“Why did you entrust the spy mission to Alicia, Duke?” Finn asks sweetly.

“She’s going to start a revolution.” Duke smirks. His expression sends a shiver of fear down my spine.

“A revolution?”

“That’s right. For a major empire, we hardly have any dealings with the outside world, and our domestic governance is deficient in just about every way.”

Saying all that in front of your father, Duke? Talk about grit.

“So what are the rest of us supposed to do to aid in this revolution?” Finn asks, undaunted.

“Form and lead task forces. You’ve all trained in the sword and studied for that very purpose. If you want to live out the rest of your days in mediocrity, be my guest. If, however, you want to use your powers to make a difference, then join me. I’ll give you the opportunity to make that happen.”

……Duke is starting to seem kinglier than the king.

“And if it results in battle?” Finn asks.

“We mustn’t have war!” Liz Cather butts in.

Okay, Liz Cather, it takes guts to deliver that line at that moment. I’ll give credit where it’s due.

This is the first time you’ve genuinely impressed me.

“Who said anything about a war?” Duke frowns in annoyance. Piercing his cool facade after he maintained it this whole time was quite a feat by Liz Cather.

“As long as nations have militaries, there is the possibility of war. If both sides abolished their militaries, war would be no more.”

“And will you go personally to all the other nations and talk them into this?”

“Didn’t you say something similar in the past, Duke? You said that wars over greed or difference in perspective always entangle innocent people and result in major loss of life. You said repeating that cycle was beyond foolish! Did you not mean any of that?!”

Huh? Your logic is off. Pay attention, Liz Cather.

“Militaries are essential,” Albert cuts in softly.

Whoa, Albert is challenging Liz Cather’s ideas for the first time.

“Albert? Why are you against me, too? I thought you were against violence. Violence begets nothing but violence.”

“If everyone in the world had a pure heart like you, Liz, I would agree with you.”

There’s a gloomy catch in Albert’s voice. There might never be war if everyone lived blessed lives and wanted for nothing. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but everyone is capable of greed. And this greed births the desire to stand above others and revel in a sense of superiority.

“I’ll never betray you, Liz,” Eric says firmly.

Um, I don’t think Albert betrayed her, exactly…

“Your way of thinking is my ideal!”

Isn’t your devotion a little too strong?

Zealots who blindly believe in their gurus are prepared to sacrifice their own lives. Eric is drowning deeper and deeper in his hopeless infatuation.

“I’m not exactly opposed to war,” I say.

Everyone looks at me in surprise.

“Of course I don’t want war, but if it’s to return stolen dignity or to defend my honor, I would gladly fight.”

Had I stayed locked up in Roana Village forever, enduring endless days of cruel treatment, I surely would have burned with vengeance to assassinate the king. Meeting Alicia helped me escape to the outside world, but the resentment of all the other villagers still there continues to smolder.

“Who would you fight?” Liz Cather asks.

“I would fight every last one of you,” I answer without hesitation. “And so would lots of people in my village.”

“And what village is that…?”

“Roana.”

The air freezes. Only Duke, Henri, and the heads of the Great Five knew my true identity. Naturally, everyone else thought I was some stray peasant Alicia picked up off the street.

“They punched me, they kicked me, and they beat me within an inch of my life…but I had to keep crawling and pulling myself back up to survive. That’s the kind of place it was. Nobody would ever save me.”

Liz Cather is speechless.

“She rescued me from that village when I was on the brink of death. She held out a helping hand to a girl with burns that should have been fatal. She gave one of her own eyes to an old man who had none… And now Roana Village is being reborn. Now, who do you think set all that in motion?”

Everyone is still, their eyes wide. I guess this is news to everyone.

Whoops. I overshared. Praising Alicia like this is only going to make them mad at her.

I’m sorry, Alicia. But the idea of everyone thinking of you as a fool makes me sick.

Alicia…I know you say you want to be a villainess, but it’s okay to revel in your triumphs now and then. I need you to know just how amazing you are and how deeply I revere you.

“That’s why she wears an eye patch…” Albert’s voice is shaking.

Yeah, her eye patch really does stand out… I doubt anyone thinks it’s because she’s missing an eye.

Both Gramps and I never imagined Alicia would give him one of her eyes.

“And to whom did she give her eye?” the king asks.

“Surely you know the answer, Your Majesty?” I stare hard. He frowns, oblivious. “You think trash should go in the trash can. Did you not even once notice how the trash can was overflowing?”

“Gill, that’s enough. My father was obeying Grandmother’s orders,” Duke whispers in my ear.

“Grandmother? You mean—”

I stop myself just as I’m about to finish with “the concubine?” Liz and the others don’t know about her.

“Let’s get back on topic. I don’t want war. But there’s no telling what’s out there. It’s only natural for a kingdom to be fully prepared to defend itself, should the need arise. And a kingdom relying on the magic inherited in noble houses while its armies grow weaker and weaker—don’t you think that’s twisted?”

Duke addresses the question to everyone in the room. Their expressions change.

He’s getting through to them.

Can this prince be the one to break Liz Cather’s spell?

“War is bad, but it brings progress. And I will bring progress to this kingdom.”

His eyes aren’t those of a lazy king who spends his reign sitting on the throne, but rather of a unifier who sees the future of his kingdom.

“Your ambition will bring about war and destruction,” Liz Cather protests.

“If that’s your concern, then put your efforts toward diplomacy.” Duke glares sharply at her. She shivers.

……Will Liz Cather keep loving Duke after this treatment?

Why does she even love him in the first place?

Duke says, “Your Majesty, one single decree from you can bring both death and salvation to many… Don’t make any mistakes in using that authority from now on.”

“When did I make a mistake?”

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

“You discarded the most talented people this kingdom had to offer.”

The king looks visibly surprised. He must have had his reasons when he exiled the scholars of his kingdom. Ridding your nation of its most brilliant minds—surely there’s a dark reason behind it. It concerns me that, aside from the king, none of the heads of the Great Five houses have said anything yet.

“Gill.” The king gently calls my name. “Tell me who Alicia gave her eye to.”

Duke and I exchange glances. When he nods at me, I answer, “Will Seeker.”

“Will…Seeker?”

The king’s deep blue eyes seem unfocused. He’s rattled. Naturally, he isn’t alone. Every last one of the heads of the Great Five noble houses are frozen in astonishment.

Aha… So they do know about Gramps. Though it doesn’t look like they knew he was exiled to Roana Village.

The king jumps to his feet, his voice on edge. “Will…my brother… He’s alive?!”

Everyone looks at him in surprise. No one has seen him like this before.

……I did not see this coming. I never imagined he would be this distraught.

“Yes, he’s alive,” I answer. “In the village you exiled him to.”

“In that village…?” Gale’s father, with his light gray hair, furrows his brows and speaks for the first time.

Why haven’t any of these parents said anything about their children’s foolish behavior all this time? Perhaps they can’t?

This kingdom is shrouded in mystery.

“The story was that he suddenly went missing,” I acknowledge. “You can hardly blame anyone for assuming he was dead.”

“Luke, what is the meaning behind this boy’s words?” Joan looks sternly at the king.

“You don’t think…my father is there, too, do you?” The room shakes from the shock and anger in Arnold’s voice. Duke’s conflicted expression remains.

I did not see this coming…

There’s no man resembling Arnold in Roana Village. Which means…he may be one of the three who were exiled from the kingdom.

I’m sure Alicia’s met him, then. She does have a certain magnetism about her. I really wish I put my foot down and forced her to take me along.

“Gill—is my brother still alive?” the king asks.

“Thanks to Alicia, he’s not only alive, but he’s also aging in reverse.”

“I see…so my brother is alive. I see. That’s good…” The king whispers the words over and over, reveling in the news. The relief in his eyes is coming from a man truly concerned about his family.

If he cares so much about his brother, why treat him so horribly before? Sure, it was technically his mother who decreed it, but he could have stopped her. Then again, that technicality means nothing to Arnold and the others. They’ll blame the king.

That’s a tough job. It would be easy to dismiss it all and say he brought it on himself.

After gazing at the king for a few beats, Duke leaves the room without saying anything more. I follow.

“That was surprising.” A little while after we left, I finally speak up.

Duke gives me a curious look. “What was?”

“I didn’t think the king was really that worried about Gramps.”

“Well, my father did respect my uncle a lot.”

“……Then he should have saved him.”

“I’m sure he was being manipulated.”

Duke’s voice is too soft for me to make out. He’ll probably brush me off if I ask him to repeat himself. I press him no further and change the subject.

“How was it that the king was so ignorant about the conditions in Roana? The walls of mist locking down that village are made with water magic—the Seeker house’s magic, right?”

“That’s still a mystery, even to me. My father was supposedly searching for a way to release the barrier spell on Roana, but he didn’t know anything about my uncle.”

Duke pauses there, conflict in his eyes. Knowing there are some things even Duke isn’t privy to somehow reassures me.

“So what’s our next move?”

“We’ll use her.”

“Will she be useful?”

Liz Cather, that is.

“Well…she’s not a bad seed.”

……Can’t refute that.

She’s the type I have trouble dealing with, but she isn’t evil. And that only annoys me more.

“Finally, it’s time for the saint to demonstrate her powers,” I say.

“Well, it would be a shame for her not to.”

“Though I can see her feeling hesitant to use her magic…”

“Then we’ll make her use it.”

When I see the thin smirk on Duke’s lips, a shiver runs down my spine.

What in the world is he scheming…?

The sun is finally starting to peek above the horizon.

First thing in the morning, Duke, Henri, and I assemble in the garden at the Williams family estate. Today, we’re finally going to get Gramps out of that cursed village.

My joy and excitement are accompanied by a little bit of fear. If the king tries to do something, I don’t have the power to protect Gramps.

“Duke…promise me you’ll protect Gramps,” I plead, looking straight into his eyes.

Duke nods. Truthfully, Duke wanted to go into Roana Village with me, but I nipped that in the bud. Conditions are still far too precarious. Many people in Roana detest the nobility.

Though Alicia is also of noble blood, she’s an exception. There’s a great deal of difference between Alicia, who helped rebuild Roana, and a prince who has never set foot there. Duke understands.

“Good luck out there.”

I nod firmly at Duke, then exchange a look with Henri before I depart for the village.

“Gramps!”

As soon as I arrive in Roana, I run over to Gramps. Everyone is out of their homes early to send him off. They’re all reluctant to see the hero of the village go.

It’s necessary, though. One day, we’ll be able to free everyone else from this village, too.

Gramps takes a deep breath, then answers me: “Let’s go.”

“Okay, Gramps, drink this.”

Gramps takes the bottle—the Avel—from my hand and gulps it down, leaving a faint film of pink at the bottom.

At last, Gramps is going to be free. He’s going to escape this open-air prison.

My heart beats loudly in my chest. I’m so excited for Gramps’s release.

And I’m dying of anticipation to see how he’ll change this kingdom.

“I’m a little nervous to see him…,” Gramps says as he steps toward the wall of mist.

The king, most likely. Gramps hasn’t seen the outside world in years. Unlike me, he knows what the outside world was like before he came to Roana. As I look back now, it’s a wonder that he’s been able to withstand this dreadful life after living like royalty for years.

I meditate on this as I watch his broad, strong shoulders from behind. I can feel everyone’s gaze on our backs as they bid us farewell. There’s a hint of envy in their voices, but they seem happy for us.

Though conditions are improving, the air is still polluted and dark and fills your nose with a stench wherever you go. Once somebody leaves, they will never return voluntarily.

Gramps, for the first time in decades, is finally going to return to the world where the sun shines.

Alicia, Eldest Daughter of the Williams Family—Age Sixteen

Who would have thought I’d spend my sixteenth birthday in Laval?

In my past life, I’d be in my first year of high school. A teen girl in full bloom.

After coming to Laval and spending my days just scraping by, before I realized it, I had begun to feel at home.

A whole year has passed since I left that hut…

My time here simultaneously feels so long and so short—what a surreal feeling.

I think birthdays really don’t need to be celebrated every single year… Maybe every two years. If I said that in front of Liz, though, she’d probably start lecturing me.

I head for the training grounds. Today may be my birthday, but it’s still just an ordinary day…well, an ordinary, rainy day.

Tiny droplets of rain hit my head in an uneven rhythm. Even on rainy days, we train, of course. An army can’t afford to follow the whims of the weather.

“This feels nice.”

I look up at the sky. I don’t mind the rain. I love the smell and the sound.

“Hey, Bitsy! Get in line!” Captain Marius yells at me from a distance.

Lose your temper this early in the morning, and you’ll lose your hair next…, I think as I run over to him.

I’m not actually late. If anything, I’m earlier than usual. Why is he raring to go today?

I catch a glimpse of lustrous golden locks, dewy from the rain, just behind Captain Marius.

“Victor?”

What’s the prince doing out here in this weather?

I go ahead and get in my usual place in line. All the other soldiers are bigger than me, so I can’t see the front very well. There’s no use complaining, though. I’m in the back because I joined later than them.

The rain has gotten rather heavy. As it rumbles, we can only rely on our ears to tell us what’s going on.

The prince is going to catch a cold in a downpour like this…

“Today, Prince Victor has something to say to you!” Captain Marius barks. We straighten in one quick shot and strain our ears to listen.

“Today, I’m going to select a team of bodyguards to go on an expedition with me. Since this expedition will be quite dangerous, I’m taking a small team! The five of you whose names I call are to prepare for departure! First, Marius.”

“Aye!”

“Neal.”

“Aye!”

Well, they’re the captain and lieutenant. Of course he’s calling them. I’m still a rookie. There’s no way he’ll call on me, so I get to chill.

“Jurd! Ceres!”

““Aye!””

Oooh, won’t this be the perfect opportunity to explore that tower? I can see if I can find any information about my grandfather, too.

“Lia!”

“Hi?”

“What kind of pathetic answer is that?” Victor eyes me dubiously.

“Aye!”

Oh, travesty… I’ve been chosen for the team. Ordinarily, I’d be pleased that my talents are being acknowledged…so why do I feel so disappointed?

Victor has already seen through a lot of my facade. I want to avoid being near him, if possible, but if I go on an expedition with him, he will be unavoidable. The whole mission is to protect the prince, after all.

The best-laid plans often go awry, I suppose… I’ll just think of this as a part of my mission and get through it.

Being chosen for the expedition is nice and all, but aren’t we taking things a bit too fast by leaving tomorrow? Something this important requires much more careful planning. Telling us we’re leaving twenty-four hours after you assign us to the mission is madness! Madness, I say! …Then again, I’m foolish to expect anything but madness from Victor.

After our training session, I ponder tomorrow’s departure and grumble to myself.

I have no idea what to pack. I just realized this is my first expedition! You know what else is weird? You’d figure everyone would be jealous of a rookie being chosen out of nowhere, but everyone sent me off with a cheerful grin.

They either recognize my talent, or going on this expedition is nothing to envy. Fingers crossed it’s the former.

“Hey, brat.” Victor’s voice calls out from behind me as I head toward my hut.

“……Yes, Your Highness?” I answer, turning to glare at Victor. I don’t even have the heart to tell him off for calling me “brat” again.

“There’s somebody I’d like you to meet.”

“To what do I owe the sudden introduction? Is she your fiancée?”

“Dumbass. If I had a fiancée, I sure as hell wouldn’t let you meet her.”

“Wait, do you have a fiancée?”

“You never know when to shut up, brat.”

“Well, we’re leaving on an expedition tomorrow. I can hardly see why I should meet somebody…”

Victor snarls, “Just shut up and come with me.”

He takes off, and rather quickly. I have to jog just to keep up. We come to a room in a completely deserted part of the palace.

Victor opens the door without knocking. The audacity! Either that, or the occupant has an open-door policy.

I follow him inside, and I’m crushed by an indescribable pressure. It’s a mysterious aura, the likes of which I have never felt before. My very cells are screaming at me: Someone powerful is here.

Noticing my balking, Victor raises an eyebrow and snorts. “I present to you, the brains of Laval.”

……My grandfather.

I still haven’t gotten a good look at him, but I can tell that this man—whom I remember encountering as if it were yesterday—is my grandfather. Bookending him are two men around his age. Their hair is a familiar ash gray and red. Both heads are salted with white, but I immediately know who they are.

They look just like Gale and Eric… They must be their grandfathers.

Each of them is seated on his own circular sofa surrounding a round table, on top of which is a chessboard. I can’t tell who is playing whom, but they are all gazing at the chessboard somberly, paying no mind to the prince.

“Greet them,” Victor orders.

God, why do I have to take orders from your ass?—is what I want to say, but I swallow my anger, bow slightly to the esteemed older gentlemen before me, and say, “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Lia.”

Speaking in a boy’s voice after a full day of training is exhausting.

Their hands stop moving, and they turn their heads in response to my voice. The sharpness of their gaze fills me with terror.

“I’m Albert Williams.”

I knew it was coming, and still my eyes pop wide open. I hope my blindfold hides my reaction, though.

He said his name is Williams, clear as day… That really is Grandfather.

“And my name is Mark Hudson.”

Hudson…so he’s Eric’s grandfather.

The gray-haired man smirks and says, “I’m Cate Evans. Nice to meet you, my lady.”

Cate… He just called me “my lady.” That’s where my mind went.

It’s him.

He’s the one who sent a wolf to the Academy of Magic and left the royal card. The four of spades, the nobility cater.

“How did you know I’m a woman?”

“……I think the better question is, how could anyone not know? Your bone structure and size are a dead giveaway. Bind your chest all you want, it’s futile.”

Cate sounds annoyed. The other gentlemen nod in agreement.

“But nobody in the platoon noticed,” I murmur meekly.

Mark says, “Well, they think with their muscles, not their brains.”

“Oooh, I’d love to see the looks on their faces when they find out a girl beat them,” Victor says gleefully. Then he turns to the elders, points at me with his thumb, and says, “You three probably already know this, but she’s quite talented. I’ve never seen a brat like this before.”

“Excuse me, Your Highness, could you please stop calling me a brat? As of today, I am a grown woman of sixteen years, thank you very much.”

“Ooh. Today’s your birthday? That calls for a drink.”

“Er—that’s illegal.”

It was hammered into my head that I can’t drink or smoke until I turn twenty. Can anyone blame me for having a few hang-ups from my past life in Japan?

Anyway, they know it’s my birthday now. The least they can do is offer a half-hearted birthday wish like any normal person.

……No, Alicia, you should never expect anything normal from Victor.

“It’s legal in Laval,” Victor retorts.

“Little girl, are you by any chance not from this nation? How amusing.”

Cate’s interjection makes his interest in me obvious. His eyes are filled with a similar curiosity to that of a botanist who’s just discovered a new species of flower.

“These three gentlemen are going to see to your education and growth,” Victor says.

……Excuse me?

My jaw drops.

“Where is this coming from? Also, Your Highness, you seem to be under the misunderstanding that I’ll be of use to you. I can assure you—I won’t be.”

“Well, whether they can teach you is up to your latent potential.”

In other words, if they don’t think I’m worthy, they won’t teach me a thing. Only those with prospects are taught. It’s all up to them, not me.

I love plot developments like this. They get me so fired up.

The burning fire in my heart renders me oblivious to the meaningful glances the three elderly gentlemen are giving me.

Beneath a cloudless blue sky, the expedition force rides horseback along a wide road in silence.

Victor suddenly turns to me. “Hey, brat, you’d better learn a lot on this expedition.”

“Like what, Your Highness?”

“You tell me.”

I imagine slapping him upside the head. That’s rich, coming from a guy who didn’t even tell me what this expedition is for. The only thing he told us was that it’s dangerous.

Can this mission get any vaguer?

“His Highness really has taken a liking to you, Bitsy,” Captain Marius says, observing the exchange.

“Oh, no, he didn’t want to have anything to do with me at first.”

“Well, that’s because you—” Captain Marius cuts himself off.

“Because I what? If you have something to say, say it.”

You gotta finish your thought, man! Otherwise that’s just bad form!

“I mean, wouldn’t most people hate the idea of looking after some Divergent kid of unclear origin?”

“Good thing I got his approval, then.”

“You’re a riot,” Victor butts in.

We ride for a while before entering the dimly lit forest. Unlike the trees surrounding my hut, their branches are weak and flimsy. Their long leaves are particularly striking.

This forest wins the creepiness category, hands down.

“Aren’t you scared?” Victor asks me, smirking mischievously.

“Not at all. I’m used to this.”

He whips back around in an unamused huff.

Hey, I’ve been running through the dark, creepy forest at night to Roana Village since childhood. You think some dark, scraggly trees are gonna shake me?

Upon closer glance, I notice dead frogs are scattered around the trees’ roots, sharp-eyed snakes hang on the branches, and insects crawl along the ground.

All right, if I were a proper little lady, I’d probably freak out.

“I wonder what’s up ahead,” Ceres mutters. Something about his tone seems unsettled. Is this forest rarely traversed?

“Is it dangerous here?” I ask.

“Well, yeah, trespassing through Mortwood is forbidden.”

“…Wartwood? Does this place give you warts?!”

“Why so shocked? It means Forest of Certain Death. Is this the first time you’ve heard the name?” Ceres eyes me with suspicion.

Oh! Mortwood!

“Well, your death isn’t literally certain here,” Lieutenant Neal butts in.

“Yes, that’s just superstition,” Ceres agrees.

“It would be more apt to say none have come back to tell the tale.”

“So we might go missing, sir?” Ceres asks.

“That’s a possibility, yes.”

“None have survived…?”

“Well, they have, but not one of them has spoken about Mortwood since.”

……It’s no use. Ceres and Lieutenant Neal are acting so grim, and here I am trying not to lose it over a tree giving me warts.

“Do you think we won’t make it out of this forest, either, sir?” Ceres jokes nervously.

“What, getting cold feet?”

“No, sir. I find it hard to believe His Highness put us on a mission we have no chance of succeeding in… Of course, I think everything will be okay.”

“Well, of course it will. His Highness is very smart.” Lieutenant Neal casts a reverent gaze at Victor.

Huh. So Lieutenant Neal is on Team Victor. He’s a little rough around the edges, but Victor is popular and a go-getter. I hate to admit it, but he certainly has the makings of a great prince.

He has to be gifted; otherwise, nobody would follow him. Black-and-white worlds like this are rather nice. I do admire an ambitious man who builds a kingdom with his own two hands, rather than relying on his pedigree.

I’m about to ask the lieutenant a question, but Captain Marius’s stout voice booms through the air. “We’re almost at our destination.”

“Whoa.” Jurd is surprised.

My eyes widen as well. Before us is a very large lake of murky gray water and dubious depths.

……I’ve never seen a lake so filthy. It’s like a mud bath. And it reeks like nothing I’ve ever smelled.

“Not even in the nicest terms can it be called pretty,” I mutter.

“Well, yeah, this entire lake is poisoned,” Victor replies, jumping off his horse and approaching the thick, bubbling lake.

“What is it poisoned with?”

“Wanna drink it?”

“Hell no.”

I can keep my manners with the captain and lieutenant, but for some reason, I’m always rude to the prince.

“The poison affects people differently. Some people die; some become violently ill; others suffer only mild stomach pains and headaches. Some get itchy all over; others spiral into mental instability.”

This poison affects people differently? What an overpowered diva. Well, this is a fantasy setting. Anything’s possible.

“Okay, so this lake is dangerous… What are we doing here?” I cut to the chase, realizing the conversation isn’t going to be too pleasant.

“This lake is why the forest is called Mortwood.”

Everyone’s gaze hardens under the weight of the prince’s words.

“So…are we going to clean the lake?” Ceres asks.

I can’t help but snicker at Ceres’s joke. Cleaning this lake would be next to impossible. I already knew this when I joined up, but Victor’s soldiers aren’t exactly the brightest bunch.

Cleaning this lake would be as miraculous a feat as resurrection.

“No, we’re going to look for the source under this lake.”

No way… If this were a clear blue sea, I’d love to dive into it, but I’d sooner die than swim in this muddy bog.

I’d probably die anyway if I went in there.

“The lake’s source—what is that, exactly?” Jurd asks Victor, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

“I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know it exists. The lake waters are dirty, but finding its source is indeed possible.”

Meaning somebody once went into this lake… A superhuman.

“Why do you want to find the source of the lake, Your Highness?” I manage to speak politely.

Victor grins like a little boy and says, “It’s my requirement to become king.”

With that, he strips off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves. He looks like he might spring into the lake any minute.

……That reminds me, Victor is the secondborn prince. That long-haired one is the firstborn.

Victor seems to be more of a go-getter than his brother. Though I haven’t been at that palace for very long, I have never once seen Victor’s elder brother.

“You’re going in, too, kid.”

“What? Oh, hell no!”

Has the prince not considered the possibility that he might die? If the entire lake is poisoned, simply touching it is like a death sentence…

“Huh?” Victor shoots me a curious look.

“Do you have a death wish, Your Highness? You’ll die before you have a chance to be king. That’s poison, remember?”

“Chickening out, brat?” There’s a hint of amusement in Victor’s voice.

“Hard to believe you’re the same guy who fought a lion,” cuts in Captain Marius from the side.

The probability of death between fighting a lion and taking a dip in poisoned lake water is grossly different, good sirs.

“Don’t worry. If you don’t drink the water, you won’t die,” Victor assures me.

……Has he no fear?

“This is an order. Go in the lake,” Victor commands sternly, not even giving me a chance to argue.

Guess I don’t have a choice. Time to face the music, Alicia.

“Understood, Your Highness. If I die, I’ll curse you to death.”

How dare he speak like that to a prince! is clearly conveyed in my comrades’ shocked expressions.

Meanwhile, Victor laughs lightly and says, “Don’t worry. Even if I die, I’m sure you’ll survive.”

I can practically hear him saying, I believe in you, so have faith and get in that lake. I can see it in his eyes, too.

Deeming it dangerous for just two people to go in, Captain Marius and Jurd start to get ready to jump in the lake, too. The others remain on standby.

……Well, if you’re gonna invest that much in me, I guess I can’t let you down. Fine. I’ll be the first to jump into this rotten old lake.

I take a sharp breath and stand at the edge of the lake.

“Don’t worry. The poison can’t come in through your eyes—oh, but it can enter through your nose.”

When I hear Victor’s calm voice behind me, I whirl around and say, “Thank you for the detailed advice. Is it safe to assume many people have gone in this lake before?”

“Yeah. I had to test what would happen before I jumped in. Soldiers are expendable.”

Hearing him say it so brazenly and without hesitation renders me speechless.

Victor is more coldhearted than I took him for. Then again, a prince is best with that level of ruthlessness.

And then there’s me, getting caught up in that prince’s poisoned-lake-drowning scheme… But I’m going to go down in history as a baddie. So I’m gonna jump in that lake in the spirit of stealing the crown from him.

I take a deep breath, close my mouth, pinch my nose shut, and jump into the murky lake.

Gill—Age Eleven

For some reason, I’m the nervous one.

Gramps is boldly walking through the palace grounds without a care in the world. His expression has been the same ever since we left Roana Village. When we first crossed the barrier, I thought the sight of the sun would make him more emotional. He hadn’t seen it in decades, after all.

We didn’t talk much in the carriage, either. He just silently stared out the window.

Doesn’t he feel any joy to be in the outside world again? Maybe he’s nervous about seeing the king.

We don’t pass a single servant along the way. Maybe Duke arranged for them to be away.

How does Duke feel about all this? The first time he met Gramps, the general atmosphere was…businesslike. Isn’t he happy to be reunited with his long-lost uncle?

Duke never reveals all the thoughts in his mind. He keeps his ideas secret.

“I remember my father yelling at me in the past for running down this hall.” Gramps suddenly speaks up as we walk down the spotless hallway.

His confession catches me off guard. “I assumed you were always this calm and cool, Gramps.”

Looking at him now, I can’t possibly imagine him running down the hallway.

Gramps chuckles softly. “My tutor complained that I was impossible to handle.”

“Uh, what did you do to them…?”

“I memorized the book he wrote and recited it tauntingly to him, scored poorly on all his tests when I paid attention in class, and got perfect scores when I slept through class.”

“No way.”

These are shocking revelations. I always thought of him as a star pupil.

“I was more than a brat; I was a little shithead.” He smiles in a way I have never seen before. It’s the smile of a carefree boy.

“Gee, I wish I could have met you when you were young.”

“Indeed. I’m old now.”

Just as he says that, we arrive at a grand door, just like I did last time. This is where we’ll have an audience with the king. For Gramps, it will be a reunion decades in the making. And it will be with the little brother who gave him the worst parting imaginable.

It’s only now I start to have doubts. Should we have handled this more carefully?

“Gramps, I’m not very strong, but I’ll still protect you.”

Gramps smirks softly, looks down at me, and tousles my hair. “Thanks.”

I love the rough feeling of his big hand.

“Nobody else is here, Uncle. You and Father may speak freely,” Duke says, looking at Gramps in earnest.

I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard Duke speak so politely. What a strange feeling.

“That’s my nephew—not a chink in your armor.”

“Same goes to you, Uncle.”

“Funny to believe this is the same boy who sent me a letter as soon as he overheard little Alicia talking to the Great Five about Roana Village.”

What?!

“You promised to take that with you to the grave,” Duke grumbles.

I’m having a difficult time following their conversation.

“W-wait just a minute. Duke, when did you and Gramps start corresponding?”

“She’s a fiery ball of curiosity. I knew she would want to go to Roana Village as soon as she learned about its existence.”

Duke sounds so matter of fact. It’s humbling to find out just how much careful planning he did to keep free-spirited Alicia out of danger.

“But how did you send him a letter? And why did you both keep quiet about it all this time?”

“I didn’t think there was any need for me to talk about it,” Gramps explains. “Duke also asked me to keep it secret.”

“I wanted to know more about the conditions in Roana, too, but there was no way for me to go there personally. And Alicia was even more interested in Roana than I was. I knew my uncle was imprisoned there, so I informed him about her as a precaution. I was shocked when I found out that Alicia really did go there.”

A proud smirk pops onto Duke’s face. He always looks so soft whenever he talks about Alicia.

The depths of Duke’s love astound me.

“If you hadn’t sent me that letter, Duke, I wouldn’t have left my house the day Alicia showed up.”

When I really think about it, Alicia’s luck is far too good. Gramps just so happened to be near the walls of Roana Village that night?

“How did you read the letter?” I ask.

“It’s like an echo. When I opened the letter, I heard a boy’s voice.”

I see… So Alicia was eight years old when she first visited Gramps. That means Duke was thirteen, the age at which he started using magic. And his magic powers were beyond the norm.

“You’re really lucky your letter made it to him,” I tell Duke.

“Well, I had a bird swallow some of my blood and a few drops of Avel.”

……There’s so many bombshells flying, I don’t know what to say.

I might be the only normal person in this sphere.

“Let’s go inside. My father’s waiting.”

Gramps nods as the guard opens the heavy door.

Tension fills the air. The circumstances are different this time. I brace myself and step inside.

The king is sitting in an ornate chair with detailed, carved designs. He looks dignified, but the moment he sees Gramps, his expression changes.

It’s neither anger nor malice…but a mixture of joy and guilt. One thing is clear: Seeing his brother is making him very emotional.

“It’s been a while,” Gramps says, sounding a little younger than usual.

You can’t exactly call this a tearful reunion of brothers, but the king is, without a doubt, happy to see his big brother again. This is the first time I have ever perceived him as youthful. When in Gramps’s presence, he has the face of a baby brother.

“Luke.” Gramps calls the king’s name calmly.

With a little gasp, the king returns to his senses. “Brother…it’s an honor to see you again, Your Grace.”

The king just called Gramps “Your Grace”… I can’t wait to tell everyone back at the village.

His voice is strained. “Your eye…”

“It’s Alicia’s.”

“So she really did…” The king’s eyes widen.

I can’t blame him. Hearing it from me is miles different from seeing it for himself.

“It seems she got herself exiled, though.” Gramps doesn’t sound particularly upset about it. In fact, he sounds pleased.

To Alicia and me, he’s always been an intelligent, kindhearted grandfather figure. But ever since he became the leader of Roana, his dignity amplified. And now as he speaks to the king, he seems like an entirely different person.

I feel like he’s becoming young again…

“I’m letting Duke handle her,” the king replies.

“That’s quite some son you’ve got there.”

“You can say that again. He’s so gifted, I feel like I’m not even needed… Brother, there is something I must tell you.”

The king rises from his chair and walks over to Gramps. His movements are stiff. Perhaps he’s still nervous.

“I know full well no apology can absolve my sins. Please find it in your heart to forgive my mother’s foolish actions. I am so deeply sorry.”

Slowly and reverently, the king bows his head deeply.

…He apologized. The king apologized to Gramps.

I take in the scene in stunned silence. The whole room is shortly embraced in silence. A strange sense of urgency hastens my heartbeat.

What is Gramps going to say back to him? Everyone is holding their breath in wait.

“You don’t need to apologize… You did nothing wrong.”

The king lifts his head.

“I didn’t conduct myself well,” Gramps explains. “I was overconfident in my own abilities, and I got cocky. That’s all.”

But he was tricked and treated so horribly.

Gramps’s words feel like nails striking my feet to the floor. He’s not speaking in jest or cynicism. He means every word.

I could never do that. I would want the king to suffer the same fate as me, or an even worse one, if nothing else. Maybe I’m too morally bankrupt for mercy…

“What happened to me is an everyday occurrence in our sphere,” Gramps goes on.

The king says nothing. Rather, he’s incapable of speaking.

Gramps continues, “Looking back now, I think it’s a good thing I lost my magic. It freed me from the pressure of expectations…though you had to pick up the burden I cast off.”

“……In my eyes, you were always the better of the two of us, Brother. I’ve always respected you, whether you could use magic or not. I wanted to be more like you, but that is beyond me.”

I figure this will be the first and last time I’ll see the king so vulnerable. One look in his eyes, directed openly and earnestly at Gramps, and it becomes clear just how hard he has worked all these years, despite what may have resulted from his efforts.

He created a facade because he idolized Gramps. No matter what sort of person his mother is, if nothing else, he worships his older brother.

There is no mistaking it—this reunion will be a major, history-shaking event. But in my eyes, Will shall always just be Gramps. Watching it all unfold is surreal.

“I hear you tried to rescue me many times,” Gramps says.

Huh? Did he? But during the last audience, the king acted like he knew nothing. If anything, he seemed to regard his brother as a dead man.

……Oh. Duke’s letter. Without seeing him in the flesh, he wouldn’t know for sure whether he was alive. But even without the certainty of his survival, as long as there was still the possibility, he must have wanted to save him desperately.

If anyone found out the king tried to rescue someone from Roana Village, his authority would come into question. It must have stayed a secret between Duke and his father.

Duke moves a little too freely behind the scenes, doesn’t he?

“I never thought the day would come when I would detest my mother so fiercely,” the king says, his voice shaking a little. “That’s why I hope the saint will save us.”

He’s right. With the saint around, this kingdom will be safe.

It’s a good judgment, compared to the decisions of foolish kings who only line their own pockets. Though he’s still shoving the problem onto someone else.

“You did your best,” Gramps argues gently.

His firm words clearly resonate in the king’s heart. He beholds Gramps without a word. Then he murmurs quietly, and with great strain, “Truly…I am so glad you survived…”

It would be no surprise if Gramps had died after his exile. The king kept looking for Gramps—kept trying to save him—with this fear consuming him.

Duke knew that was in his father’s heart. Although that was in part thanks to Alicia. That must have been why he threw caution to the wind and sent Gramps a letter.

Their story takes one miraculous turn after another… And none of it would have come together if Alicia had not acted.

“Is your mother doing well?” Gramps asks.

Stern lines wrinkle the king’s face. “I believe she’s doing well…”

So the witch who exiled Gramps is still alive!

“She’s a shrewd one—she never lets the mask slip. There’s no telling what she’s scheming.”

If Gramps is saying that about her, she must be quite a specimen.

“Alicia and that boy there…did you teach them both?” the king asks suddenly, as if he pieced something together.

“Yeah,” Gramps replies. “But they’re both far more gifted than me.”

And just like that, he’s my same old Gramps again. His voice is always so soft and familial when he speaks about us.

“They both resemble you a little,” the king says. “Like the sharpness I sometimes see in their eyes.”

“I’m honored.”

No, I’m honored! I scream silently.

“Brother—do you have any aspirations to be king of Durkis?” the king asks solemnly. The question surprises Duke just as much as it does Gramps. “Brother…you have the makings of a king. As someone who’s known you all my life, I know this better than anyone.”

He’s serious. From the tone of his voice, it’s obvious just how Gramps excelled when he was a younger man.

“Our late father would never approve.”

The king looks troubled by Gramps’s protest. “Actually…I have a letter from him. He died never knowing you were sent to Roana Village. I didn’t know, either, until Duke gave me the letter. I was made to believe you were killed as punishment for plotting to assassinate our father…and I blamed myself for it, believing it was my fault.”

“I see… It was probably for the best that he died never knowing the truth.”

“Please…don’t misunderstand. Our father believed more than anyone that you would never do such a thing.”

Gramps is clearly shaken by those words. “When I lost my magic, everyone treated me differently the very next day. I broke our father’s heart. He wouldn’t even look at me anymore.”

“I think he simply didn’t know how he should act around you after that. And the guilt he felt caused him to see you less and less… That sowed seeds of misunderstanding. Our father was deeply hurt by all of this, too.”

Nobody can hide their shock over the revelation. I’ve heard very little about the former king, other than the fact that he was a womanizer and useless as a leader. He, in fact, broke the law of the land and took a concubine.

I suppose rumors aren’t to be taken seriously. After all, rumor has it Duke is being toyed with by the evil Alicia.

“Even though you didn’t have magic, Father still had high hopes for you, Brother. He believed in you with every fiber of his being—I envied you for it.”

The king steps away and retrieves a letter from a tiny box beside his chair. The papers are yellowed with age. He hands them to Gramps slowly.

“Our father wrote this on his deathbed,” the king says.

Gramps nervously takes the letter from the king. The tension in the air is so thick that even I, an outsider, can hear my heart beating loudly against my ribs.

Gramps opens the letter hesitantly.

Will,

I must be going insane, writing a letter to a dead man. I just wanted to write this before I die.

I have no doubt that you hate me. I alone am the reason for your death. Rest easy, I’ll be joining you soon. When I get there, you may curse me to your heart’s content. I am well aware of what a horrible father I was. Nothing I say now could ever make up for that.

I wanted to tell you, though… I always loved you. The woman I have always loved and will always love most of all is your mother, Karen. Luke’s mother, Julie, knew that. It’s why she hated you.

Strangely enough, you never once complained. You did everything I said obediently. You were the backbone of this kingdom.

You were the only thing I had left of Karen in this world. It wasn’t until I lost you that I realized just how precious you were to me. I know it does little good to tell you this now, when you’re no longer alive.

Will, if I could meet you once more, I would like to see you as you were when you were a little boy. I’d hold you tight, and tell you how much I love you.

Gramps clenches the letter tight, shivering. The king is standing there, quietly observing. I don’t know what the letter says, but it must be something nice. Deep in Gramps’s eye, I see something release.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Gramps chuckles softly, folding the letter closed.

That’s all you have to say? Now I really want to know what’s in that letter. I don’t usually hear him speak so poetically, either. It sounds rude, but I can’t even imagine Gramps talking about love or women, no matter how hard I try.

“Our father was terrible at relationships,” Gramps elaborates.

“He sure was,” the king agrees. “That might be why Mother’s heart became so warped.”

A short silence flows between them. I don’t have memories of my own parents. I have a bunch of memories with Alicia, though. I’ll never let anyone take them from me. No matter how old I grow, my memories with Alicia will stay in my heart forever as my treasure.

Argh…now I really miss her.

“Brother, I’ll ask you once more—do you have any intentions of being king?”

Gramps is clearly conflicted. “A man who can’t use magic has never been king here.”

“Why not set a new precedent, Gramps?” I interject.

I speak my mind, because I truly want him to be king. I know he won’t become a malicious dictator the moment he is enthroned. And even if he does, it’ll at least be amusing to watch him fall to the dark side.

No, stop that, Gill. Alicia’s a bad influence. My brain is starting to enjoy watching people turn bad.

“But I promised them when I was young that if I ever became king, they would be by my side,” Gramps said.

“And who are they?”

“The three exiled to Laval. Alicia’s grandfather is one of them.”

Alicia’s…grandfather?!

“They might be dead by now, though,” Gramps adds.

Uh, dead?

Well, yeah, I guess so… Once they’ve been exiled to Laval, there’s no way of confirming their status. Durkis doesn’t even try to have diplomatic relations with the outside world.

If those three were once this kingdom’s backbone, though, it stands to reason they would have managed to survive.

Alicia, Eldest Daughter of the Williams Family—Age Sixteen

“Hey, Albert, what do you think?”

Albert’s expression twists in reaction to Cate’s sudden question. “About what?”

“About that Lia girl—think she’s promising?” Cate whispers to avoid others hearing of her identity as a girl.

“That remains to be seen,” Albert replies flatly. Mark listens silently.

“I think she’ll transform before our eyes,” Cate murmurs playfully.

Using my blindfold and poor vision as an excuse, I grip Victor’s hand as I dive into the lake’s waters.

Ugh! It reeks!

This is literally a rotten swamp. How stupid am I to think clear waters would be waiting beneath the murky surface?

I desperately swim deeper into the gray water, snorting a little air out of my nose as I go. I sense Captain Marius and Jurd behind me.

Will those boys be okay?

I know I don’t have time to worry about them, but I turn around to check on them anyway.

“Soldiers are expendable.”

Victor’s words echo through my mind. They send shivers down my spine.

Guess I’ll have to carry out this mission with Death peering over my shoulder. The bottom of this lake holds something so valuable, Victor would sacrifice his own men to get it… I’m coming out of this alive, no matter what it takes.

I muster my wits and put everything into swimming downward. I suddenly spot an opening by one of the boulders.

I think that space will fit one adult.

I glance toward Victor. He motions with his hand, telling me to swim inside. He must have spotted it, too.

I firmly grip the boulder, fighting against the water pressure to squeeze myself through the hole. The moment my upper body is inside, I’m taken by a powerful current.

Wh-what?! What’s happening?

I clench my lips and pinch my nose shut.

If I don’t make it out of this hole, I’m absolutely drowning to death.

“Agh!”

The current flings me atop the flat surface of a boulder, and I take as big a breath as I can.

I can breathe!

I drink in all the oxygen at once. I’m wheezing and gasping for air, but I made it without swallowing any poison. Victor, Captain Marius, and Jurd are all flung onto the rock beside me in that order.

Okay, Princey, I made it here without dying. Where’s my damn medal?

I steady my breath as this taunt runs through my head. Once I finally calm down, I glance at the others and see they’ve already recovered.

……What are your bodies even made of? I need to train harder.

“Hey, kid, you’ve got balls,” Captain Marius says, flashing a toothy grin.

Victor takes the lead. We leave the boulders and travel deeper into the cavern. I balk for a moment, unable to see what lies ahead.

There’s no light. How does he know where we’re going?

Nevertheless, Captain Marius and Jurd follow Victor obediently, without complaint. It smells like a dirty dishrag that’s been soaked for days in here, but it’s tolerable. To be honest, Roana Village smells worse.

“Ouch!” Jurd’s voice echoes through the cavern. He stubbed his toe on a big rock.

Victor ignores him and carefully trudges forward, pressing his hand to the wall as he goes. I trained to navigate without sight out of admiration for Old Man Will, but the darkness has to be terrifying to people who aren’t used to it.

After all, we have to navigate through this dark tunnel without a flashlight—er, without a torch.

“We’re splitting into two groups.”

Victor’s sudden command brings us to a halt. I strain my eye and see that the path diverges. This is uncharted territory for all of us.

I can hear a faint trickle of water coming from one of the paths… Maybe there’s a waterfall.

“So I take it there’s something at the end of one of those paths…,” Jurd mutters.

“There might be something at both of them,” I say.

“Or there might be nothing at either of them,” Victor replies.

I’ll just pretend “there might be nothing at either of them” was never an option.

Imagine, there being nothing after everything we’ve been through… That’s a heavy crime. I’ll make Victor run a lap around the palace on his hands.

“How are we dividing the groups, Your Highness?”

“I’m going with the brat.”

Why me?!

“Are you sure about that?” Captain Marius asks.

“You got a problem with it?”

“No, er, it’s just, Bitsy here might be too big a burden…”

“I agree. We cannot entrust your life to a rookie like him,” Jurd cuts in.

Quite right, gentlemen. I’m just a guy who can’t tell my ass from a hole in the ground.

Victor frowns at their protests. Then he turns his glaring eyes straight at me.

What an intimidating gaze…and why must I be on the receiving end of it?!

“Hey—will you abandon me to save yourself?”

“……Hyep?” I blurt out, completely taken aback.

“Would you ever abandon me to save yourself?” he asks me once more, sizing me up.

Would I abandon him……? That would be the cringiest thing ever!

I mean, I have no loyalty for this kingdom or its prince whatsoever, but I’m no weasel.

History’s greatest baddies would never stay silent if I did such a thing. Their baddie ghosts would stab me in my sleep.

“I don’t want to die, either, so I’ll save you, even if I don’t want to.”

The trio react to my declaration with confused expressions.

“Anyway, Your Highness, I’d rather die in your place than do something so weaselly.”

“What a weird turn of phrase… And you damn well should be willing to give up your life for your prince,” Captain Marius rebukes me.

Oops, that’s right. I’m on Victor’s special task force right now. What the hell am I here for, if not to protect him with my life?

“Well, I know you’re rough around the edges, Lia, but that’s why I can trust you,” Victor says.

“I can trust you”—those words are music to my ears. I feel accepted. After all, many people can’t be trusted, no matter how long you know them. Though it doesn’t sit well with me that the compliment came from Victor.

“If your life is ever in danger, Your Highness, I’ll laugh in your face while I rescue you,” I declare boldly, standing tall and assuming a diligent expression. Almost simultaneously, a fist descends on my head. “Ouch!”

Curse you, Victor… Have you forgotten I’m a woman?

“A bit after the fact, Your Highness, might I remind you that Bitsy here can’t see?”

Captain Marius…that really is after the fact. Then again, Victor knows I actually can see.

“This kid fought a lion and won. If he dies, that would be the sign of the apocalypse.”

That was a compliment, right?

““Fair point,”” Captain Marius and Jurd say in unison.

“So which path are we taking?” I ask.

“Which is speaking to you?” Victor asks.

“I don’t want to go down the one that leads to water.”

“……Water?” Victor raises an eyebrow. The other two look at me, obviously puzzled.

“There’s a faint trickling of water coming from this path—don’t you hear it?”

I point toward the right. They strain their ears, but can’t hear it.

My senses definitely have gotten sharper since I gave my eye to Old Man Will.

“I can’t hear anything, but if you can, then I’m sure that path leads to water,” Victor says.

“I guess when you’re blind, your other senses get sharper…,” Captain Marius marvels.

“All right, we’ll take the righthand path, then,” Victor says, and sets off.

“Huh? But I just said I didn’t want to go to the water,” I protest.

“Yeah, that’s why.”

Right, I forgot. Victor’s a total troll.

My shoulders slump as I glare at the prince from behind my blindfold.

“You’ve really got a great personality,” I say sarcastically. Victor smirks in amusement.

But I’m not the slightest bit amused.

“I get that a lot.”

“Come back alive, you two,” Victor calls out to Captain Marius and Jurd as he heads farther down the path. I scramble to follow him.

Was that little send-off to his subordinates his way of being considerate?

The cavern is dark, but I can still clearly see Victor’s golden hair. How fortunate that he’s a blond. I can always find him in the dark. The ground is a bit damp, and the air is humid. It’s as if a storm just passed through.

The sound of water grows gradually closer. Victor quickens his pace, hand on the damp wall.

“You were right, kid, there’s water ahead.” His voice echoes through the cavern.

Feels like we’re in a highway tunnel.

“Do you know what the lake’s source is like?” I ask him.

“Nope… What do you think it is?”

Hey, don’t answer my question with a question. You’re the prince of this kingdom. Shouldn’t you know more about it?

“Can’t answer me?” he asks.

“There are limitations to what a person can predict based merely on preexisting knowledge.”

“Use your imagination. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”

“You’re being ridiculous… Okay, maybe there’s tiny gemstones?”

“I wouldn’t mind that.”

I don’t know what answer he’s looking for. But if this treasure hunt is anything like it is in otome games, there’s bound to be some magic at play— Oh, is that it?!

Maybe that’s why he wanted me to come with him. But I thought he doesn’t know I can use magic… I don’t care how intuitive he is. He shouldn’t have been able to sus that out.

“You know, you resemble Albert in some ways.”

Huh? What did you say?

Stop it, Alicia. Don’t let your emotions show.

“I don’t appreciate being compared to an old man.”

“Well, that was rude.”

“Didn’t you say that just because we both have black hair?”

“I see your face a lot, you know.”

Oh, right. He has already seen my true face.

“Did you know about Albert?” he asks.

I hold a guarded silence—I don’t want to say anything, lest I reveal more than I’d like to.

Victor suspects there’s a blood connection between Albert and me. That’s why he took me down this path. Because he knows there’s a possibility I can use magic.

Victor turns around to face me. “Let me rephrase that—what did you think when you first saw him?”

Victor knows my grandfather and his friends were exiled from Durkis. He also knows I’m from another nation… It won’t make sense to feed him some stupid lie, but I still can’t let him trick me into revealing my true identity.

“I don’t know what you’re imagining, but don’t jump to conclusions. He and I are not related,” I reply curtly.

“Consider your place. Do you know who the hell you’re talking to?” he demands, roughly grabbing me by the collar.

His intimidating tone, his sharp eyes—they freeze the air in a flash.

Don’t let him see you squirm, Alicia.

Giving myself a silent word of encouragement, I smirk confidently.

“So what if he and I are blood related? Are you gonna lock me in the dungeon? Or are you gonna treat me like royalty? Is that why you paired yourself off with me? To ask all these prying questions?”

My counterattack causes Victor to weaken his hold on me.

“You want to exploit people who are useful to you. I’m glad we’re on the same page, Your Highness. So when the time comes, I will gladly let you exploit me to the utmost.”

He slowly releases me. “Seriously…brats like you are a pain in the ass.” There is a hint of resignation in his smirk.

Then he faces forward and resumes walking.

Captain Marius and Jurd gossip as they walk.

“Prince Victor really does seem taken with that Bitsy,” Jurd remarks.

After a brief pause, Captain Marius answers, “It’s the king who first took a liking to him. Of course the prince likes him, too.”

“He sure is a strange boy. He’s so young, but fearless. He’ll carry out any task you give him, without a care in the world… What sort of upbringing do you think a kid like him had?”

“I’m sure his life has been crueler than you or I can imagine.”

“Yes, I suppose his life was a far cry from the luxurious life of an aristocrat.”

“Though for a peasant, he sure doesn’t seem fazed at all by palace life.”

“He’s like a highly adaptive animal, I guess.”

As they talk, they arrive at a point in the road that makes them both stop walking. A downward staircase came into view. It’s too dark, however, to see where it leads.

“What’s the plan, Captain?”

“We have to go down,” Captain Marius answers promptly.

With grim resolve on their faces, the two soldiers slowly descend the staircase.

“What is that?” Victor murmurs.

I squint as light suddenly fills my vision. It takes some time before my eye adjusts.

Where is this coming from? It’s like somebody just lit a torch ahead of us.

“Guess we’ll have to walk toward the light,” Victor says, fearlessly pressing on. The sound of the water is only getting louder.

We should proceed with extra caution now, Your Highness… He really knows no fear, doesn’t he?

The path quickly gets narrower, and with it, the light grows brighter. The path shrinks to the size of a single small person. We somehow make it through and emerge before a great waterfall. The water is rushing with tremendous force. It lies in a space more open than the last, so it’s a little easier to breathe.

The walls are covered with lots of ivy, moss, and even tiny flowers. The clearing is so mystical I have to just stare and swoon for a while.

This is the sort of place you’d find in a coffee-table book on beautiful ruins. Who in the world would have imagined such a beautiful place could exist beneath that disgusting lake?

“What is that…?”

I glance over to where Victor is looking. There’s just one area where the water is not flowing. As though the water is intentionally avoiding that one spot.

Huh…? Yeah, something’s there.

I strain my eye, but the blindfold is making the picture hazy. The only thing I can make out is that it’s in the shape of a human silhouette.

Is that a doll…? There wouldn’t be a person so small here.

You know, I really wish they’d stop forcing horror imagery into this story. At least make it a human, please…… No, I take that back. Even a fat, middle-aged man standing in the middle of a waterfall would be terrifying.

“Finally found it,” Victor murmurs beside me.

“Is that the lake’s source?”

“Yeah. That fairy is the source of the lake,” he says, clear as day.

Fairy? Wait, is that a fairy? Huh? Do fairies exist in this world?

That’s news to me. I read all those books… How embarrassing that I didn’t know there are fairies. I need to study harder.

Most importantly, though, it’s not a doll.

“So if you capture that fairy, you get to be king?”

“That’s right. I can overtake my brother.”

“…The secondborn prince’s pitiful power grab?”

I put extra snark into my voice, knowing it will make him angry. It feels like my villainess cred has gone down since I started dressing as a boy. I had to say something cutting and bitchy.

“You’ve got a problem with that?” Victor answers, his voice a quiet growl.

Oops. I knew it. He’s mad.

“Is the firstborn prince a genius or something?”

“I couldn’t care less about that guy,” he snaps in annoyance, then turns and walks toward the waterfall.

I have only seen the long-haired firstborn prince once. It was in the arena, when I fought the lion. And from the way Victor acts, it’s clear he detests his brother—just as I have my own issues with my brothers. Right when Victor is about to step in the pool of water beneath the waterfall, something repels him.

What…was that? Fairy magic?

“What’s with this waterfall?”

He tries once more to push his way beneath the waterfall but is repelled yet again.

“Hey, brat, do something.”

Hey, I don’t know how to deal with fairies. I only found out they exist, like, two minutes ago.

I always assumed the only fantasy element in this world was magic. But there is no use bickering over semantics. So I try entering the space beneath the waterfall, Victor staring intently at me all the while.

First, I need to figure out what is pushing us away…… Huh? I got under it.

I whirl to face Victor. His eyes are wide as he stares at me.

“How did I do that?!” I ask.

“Like I know?!”

Did the waterfall reject Victor, but accept me? Is this a ladies-only waterfall?

Victor glares at me. “You’ve got really powerful magic, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, drop the act. Your magic is stronger than the fairy’s—that’s why you could easily get inside.”

“How exactly do you know that?”

“Legend has it that— No, forget it.”

Hey, why’d you stop there? You were just getting to the juicy part.

“Nothing displeases me more than an unfinished sentence—spit out the rest of it.”

“Hey, have you forgotten I’m a prince?”

“If you’re a prince, then stop being so half-assed.”

“As if I can just divulge my kingdom’s secrets to you.”

“……Are you saying your secret is more important than getting out of this rotten lake?”

“I am.”

This coming from the guy who almost blurted it out a second ago. You’d better be more careful. And for your legend to be that heavily guarded… I wonder what it’s about.

Well, I know I won’t get him to crack here. Guess I’ll just have to gain that intel myself.

“Now, more importantly, can you or can’t you capture the fairy?”

“If I capture the fairy, does that mean I get to be king?”

Victor clamps his mouth shut. He’s no cheater. He knows exactly what it means if I capture the fairy in his place.

“I know I said you could exploit me, but this is something you should do on your own.”

“But you know I can’t go over there. What exactly am I supposed to do?” Victor sounds on edge.

Haste makes waste, my friend. The goal is right before your eyes. Why must you be in such a rush?

“I’m saying I’ll help you,” I say.

“……How, exactly?” Victor’s face scrunches.

“A villainess sometimes loves her flowers.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Nobody ever has any love for the moss and roots that hold up the flowers… In other words, it doesn’t matter how you obtain the fairy.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying, Your Highness, the glittering glory is yours for the taking.”

With that, I remove my blindfold and turn my right eye firmly on him. Then I spread my arms, and for the first time in ages, I unleash the magic energy within. I can sense my eye glowing brighter by the second.

Looks like our fairy friend has quite a lot of magic.

Little by little, cracks begin to form in the invisible wall. From them, bright light beams like the one that brought us here shoot forth.

I clench all my muscles as the entire area around me glows. Victor and I both squeeze our eyes shut.

“Don’t you think we came the wrong way?”

Jurd nods deeply. “Yes, Captain. Very much so.”

The wall opposite the staircase they descended is lined with skulls. This is likely a burial site for the people who died under the lake. The two shudder to think why their remains were gathered in that very room.

It seems the place was built with the intention of scaring trespassers. Their faces twist with fear as the pair make their way along the skull-lined wall. Their desire to escape as quickly as possible hastens their footsteps.

“Well, I’m glad they aren’t whole corpses,” Captain Marius says. “It would reek horribly down here if they were.”

“Not that I particularly like skeletons, either.”

“It’s a wonder you and I made it down here alive.”

“You said it, Captain. When we get out of here, I want to drown myself in booze and women.”

“Oooh, paradise! Well, we’d better get out of here no matter what.”

“Yes, sir! ……Do you suppose the prince is doing all right?”

Captain Marius thinks for a moment. “He’s got Bitsy with him. He’ll manage to get them out of any mess.”

“Fair point. Let’s you and I just focus on our own problems.”

Exchanging firm nods, the two men diligently press onward, the wall of skulls watching them go.

“I got inside…” Victor’s wide eyes slowly turn downward to his foot—it’s in the water.

Well, of course you did. I used massive amounts of magic to break the barrier for you. If you couldn’t get inside, I’d question your bodily composition.

I feel heavy, probably from unleashing so much magic energy at once.

I’m so tired. Will I even be able to make it out of this lake? No way in hell am I dying down here.

“Hey, brat.”

“Just get the fairy. Quick,” I command sternly before he notices my fatigue.

Cursing under his breath, he makes his way toward the fairy. I rest, trying to restore as much of my magic as possible as I watch Victor. He makes his way up the wall, grabbing on to many vines of ivy for support.

He’s a lot nimbler than he looks… Then again, just how sturdy is this ivy? Shouldn’t it break under the weight of a grown man?

“Almost there…” Victor reaches for the fairy.

Now that I removed my blindfold, my vision is very good. I can see everything, right down to the minute details. I stare hard at the fairy’s expression.

……Is she asleep? She looks exactly like the sort of tiny fairy you’d find in a picture book.

She has clear wings and slightly pointed ears. What an adorable little thing she is. I wish Durkis had fairies, too.

“Got her!”

Just as Victor says that, the waterfall begins to flow harder, breaking the vines and crumbling the walls behind them.

Oh dear…I should have known this would happen. Dungeons like this are always designed to fall apart the second you grab the treasure.

“What’s happening?” Victor demands.

The ivy he’s clinging to turns brown and snaps. With a loud crash, Victor falls in front of me, his hand still firmly gripping the adorable little fairy.

I’m surprised she’s still asleep, what with the way he’s grabbing her… But up close, you really can see how beautiful she is. Her eyelashes are long, and her skin is smooth—she’s like a perfect assortment of all the traits that make girls jealous.

“Why are you so calm?” Victor barks.

How are you unscathed after falling from that height?

“How’re we getting out of here?” he muses.

The crumbling walls cut off our path out of here.

We’re in dire straits here. The water is rushing harder, too. If we stay much longer, we’ll drown.

“We have to get out of here.”

“Have you even been listening to me?” Victor gives me an exasperated stare.

Think, Alicia. This is just like an escape room. There has to be an exit.

All the green turns brown, destroying the beautiful scenery in an instant. I sense the force of magic in the room once again.

I take a deep breath in, then say, “You don’t suppose we can wake this fairy, do you?”

“Wake her?” Victor frowns.

“If she’s asleep, maybe waking her will make something happen.”

“What if waking her makes things worse?”

“We’ll never know until we try. Were you always this conservative? We’re waking her—unless you can think of some better plan.”

Victor falls silent, unable to say anything back. We’ll cross that bridge if things get worse. As things currently stand, we are already dead.

“Okay. We’ll wake her.” Victor relents.

“…………How, exactly?”

“Like I know! This was your idea! I’ve never woken up a damn fairy before. Argh…you always suck the seriousness right out of the air, don’t you?” Victor’s shoulders slump in annoyance.

How rude. I’m a very serious person.

I have an idea, and it’s worth a try. If I succeed, I can write a book: How to Wake Fairies (and Make a Killing).

I focus all my mental energy on the soundly sleeping fairy. The winds billow upward, changing the air around us. The water slows down.

I hear Victor murmuring in awe, but I just keep pouring my magic into the fairy and willing, Wake up.

“My heavens, I’ve never felt this much pressure before.”

A high-pitched, clear voice rings in my brain. I relax my power. The little fairy in Victor’s hands covers her mouth and yawns.

““She’s awake,”” Victor and I say at once.

The fairy looks a tad perplexed by our excitement. “Nooo! The paradise I built is falling apaaart!” she screams, standing up in Victor’s hands and looking around.

“So it was paradise.”

Victor’s face scrunches. “Huh? Don’t be silly. What’s paradise if nobody can come here?”

“It was paradise to her,” I argue, looking at the fairy.

“Oh, you humans! Always judging with your eyes. There may be jewels inside a place, but if it’s filthy on the outside, you won’t trouble yourselves to find out, will you? That’s why I poisoned the lake water! So I could keep my beautiful paradise unsullied and untraversed by anyone.”

“I’m so sorry. We destroyed your paradise, and for that, we will apologize.”

Victor looks at me like I’m some beast. “Brat…you can understand that gibberish?”

Gibberish? The fairy is speaking normally. What is he talking about?

“Well, you’ve got powerful magic, my dear. Of course you can understand what I’m saying.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“What makes sense? Fill me in here.”

“She said I’m magic, so I can understand her.”

While we’re chatting about this and that, the water rises to our midsections. Ever since the fairy woke up, the current has gotten stronger.

We really have raised a death flag… Well, I refuse to die here. Not when we just found the fairy.

“Hey, fairy, can you tell us the way out?”

“Ummm, no? You kind of attacked me in my sleep. Why must I help you humans?” The fairy eyes us in annoyance.

Touché. We humans are selfish creatures, though. You will show us the way out—I’ll use force, if necessary.

I turn up the intimidation again. “Just stop whining and tell us the way out.”

“Oh, fine! I’ll tell you. Just please stop!” she wails.

I loosen up.

“I don’t believe my eyes! I thought saints would be sweeter, kinder, and more diplomatic with fairies.”

“Saint? But I’m a villainess.”

“……Oh, you don’t know…?”

What are you on about? I’ve a good mind to tell her about the crazy saint we’ve got back in my kingdo— Nope, I’d better not. Victor is here. If Laval is trying to find our saint, I have to protect that information with my life.

“Enough of that. Just tell us how to get out of here. Quick.”

Victor’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. The water arrives at my chest.

“Well, aren’t we impatient?”

“If you built this place, then can’t you stop the water?” I ask.

“I can’t. You’ve completely and utterly destroyed it beyond repair. And you can hardly blame me. I’d be crazy to think a human could make it all the way down here and wake me up,” she answers curtly.

“Surely you can do something about that. Tell us, now,” I press relentlessly.

The fairy eyes me critically. “Before I do…may I ask one question?”

“What is it?”

“Why didn’t you just cast a spell?”

I glance at Victor. That alone seems to tip off the fairy.

I can’t cast a spell… Victor may know I have magic energy, but I told him I don’t know how to use it. It’s probably hopeless…but if possible, I never want to have to cast a spell in front of him.

“Well, if you don’t want to cast any spells, that’s fine by me… Now, what’s your name?”

“Alicia.”

“I’m Kee. Nice to meet you, Alicia.”

Following introductions, Kee flutters her wings and flies out of Victor’s hands. I’m a little envious that she can fly on her own.

“Dive down,” she says, jumping into the water at full force.

“What now?” Victor sighs.

“We’re diving in.”

I fill my lungs with air, then sink into the water. Still not understanding what’s going on, Victor follows suit. Kee lights the water around us.

Oooh, how mystical. If I were an artist, I would absolutely paint this.

“Follow me.”

Even underwater, I can understand her reedy voice. I swim in the direction she’s going.

Swimming sure is a big calorie burner, isn’t it? After we get home, I want to stuff my face with macarons. I hope Laval has macarons…

With that in mind, I swim after Kee with all my might, determined not to lose her. Along the way, I take the previously removed blindfold from my pocket and grip it tightly in my hand. Assuming we make it out alive, I can’t let anyone see me with my eye uncovered.

The fairy dives on the other side of the waterfall, and we follow. There’s a tiny opening nestled with boulders on both sides.

This is probably the exit… Kee might be able to go through that, but no amount of muscling could get Victor or me through.

I look back at Victor. Realizing in an instant what needs to be done, he approaches the boulders. Then he begins to smash them with all his might. As the water pressure crushes him, he desperately grasps on to the boulders, yanking them away.

“Oh, you’ve opened it!!”

The moment Victor crushes one of the biggest boulders, a path opens. We swim into it for dear life. I’m running out of air.

“This way! Hurry!”

Kee’s urgent voice helps me muster the last of my energy to get me through. I have a feeling today’s excursion alone got me down two kilos.

I could market this: Wanna shed a few kilos? Mortwood has your back!

Kee zips upward, and we follow in hot pursuit.

“We’re almost there.”

No sooner do I hear her voice than the top of my head pops above water, and I gasp for air. We pant heavily, heading for the boulders.

I don’t have an ounce of energy left. Will I even make it back to land?

“This is the first place we landed after we dove in the lake,” Victor says in between breaths, looking at our surroundings.

Where does all your energy come from, dude? I do wish you wouldn’t grasp our current situation so quickly. You make me feel like a failure as a human.

Kee eyes us widely in surprise. “Gee, just how strong are your cardiopulmonary functions? I’m impressed…”

Well, pardon me if I don’t jump for joy over a smug-faced fairy praising my cardiopulmonary functions…

I climb up the pile of boulders and wrap the soaking-wet cloth around my eyes.

“I’m surprised you’ve even thought to cover up your eye after all that.”

“It’s not like I want to.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t want Albert finding out.”

“Don’t say a word to him.”

“Why would I go out of my way to tell him? That’s annoying.”

……I’m shocked. I was sure Victor would jump on the juicy opportunity.

Is he…keeping quiet for my sake? No, no, he’s not that nice.

“Well, if you ever want to learn more about Albert, you can always go to the tower.”

“The tower?”

“The unclimbable tower. A spell is cast on it, right? That’s Albert’s place of rest… Even I can’t go there, but I’m sure you probably can.”

Why do I get the feeling Victor knows all my secrets now?

“Well, I won’t go there. I’d rather not throw a bomb on myself.”

“……No, you’ll go there.”

I hate the idea of Victor being right. But at the same time, I’d also hate to let the opportunity to learn more about my grandfather slip through my fingers…

I’ll just let the tides of time tell me when to act!

“Somebody’s coming.”

While I’m busy with my internal soliloquy, voices sound from the path we just came from.

I believe that’s Captain Marius and Jurd… They got to come back the way they came. Lucky bastards.

“Aaah…”

That was quiet, but it was definitely a scream.

“Looks like they took the wrong path.”

“They what?”

“I’d run if I were you.”

“You what?!”

Victor gives me a look, pleading for a translation of Kee’s words.

“She said we have to run.”

“And why?”

“I’m not sure, but I heard Captain Marius and Jurd screaming, so we’re probably in mortal peril.”

“Then you could at least sound scared! And I couldn’t hear any screaming.”

“…aaaaaaAAAHHHHH! STAY AWAAAAY!”

What impeccable timing. Victor was sure to hear them loud and clear that time.

“What is going on with this lake…?” Victor grumbles.

“It’s under a spell, so nothing is out of the ordinary down here,” I answer.

“How can you be so calm? I’m surrounded by lunatics.”

How rude. I’m as sane as they come.

“Your Hiiighness! Run for your liiife!” Jurd cries, running out of the opening with incredible speed. Captain Marius follows a second behind him.

Wow, look at Captain Marius the tank go. For all the crap I give him, our captain is a powerful man.

“What is that?”

I glance over to where Victor is looking.

……What. Is. That? Is that a giant skull-tumbleweed rolling toward us?!

Why did we suddenly change genres to horror-comedy? And how did they stash so many skulls under this lake anyway?

I look at Kee. She slaps a hand behind her head and sticks her tongue out playfully.

“Full speed out of here.”

Victor grabs my arm, and we dive straight into the poisoned lake.

Kee’s thin, transparent wings shrink into her back, and she swims with beautiful form. Jurd and Captain Marius are swimming in a manner that cannot even charitably be called beautiful, as they fiercely flap their limbs. Holding our breath and swimming after all that running is torture. Talk about adding insult to injury.

There’s a strain on Victor’s face, but he almost looks confident.

“We’re almost there.”

My stamina has already run mostly dry from my last underwater dive, so I’m starting to reach my limit. I wonder what that fairy’s definition of almost is.

And I used quite a bit of magic energy, too. Anybody in my position would be—

Before I can finish that thought, I feel a sharp impact to my head.

Wh-what’s this? Feels like somebody whacked me upside the head.

My vision blurs. I feel sick, and I barely manage to keep myself from vomiting. My body suddenly grows heavy. I can’t swim.

Victor is the first to notice. He has a furrowed brow and Oh, shit written in his eyes.

We have spent very little time together, but I know the kind of man he is. He views his soldiers as expendable.

As far as he’s concerned, I’m merely a pawn to help him be crowned king.

Oh…is this how it ends for me?

…………Even though I haven’t become a villainess yet?

Well, that’s not funny!

I can’t die in a godforsaken place like this.

Just as I begin to fade, I force my eye open. Then Victor suddenly lunges at me and holds me tight.

Huh? What’s going on here?

He holds me in his arms as he swims toward the fairy.

…Am I dreaming? No…I’m not. This is real. Victor is risking his life to save mine.

I can’t believe it. Where did he even find the strength to do this?

I can tell we’re almost at the water’s surface. Faint beams of sunlight are reaching through the dark, dirty water. Everyone musters the last of their strength and moves their body up to the surface.

With a splash, I come up from the water, and my lungs fill with air.

Lieutenant Neal and Ceres nervously run over to us with towels in hand. Victor carries me up to the ground and roughly flops onto his side. Everyone falls to the ground with a loud thud, hungrily lapping up oxygen.

“We…made it out…alive…,” Captain Marius whispers between gasps for breath.

Seriously, what a heinous training session that was. I feel like I’m on the verge of death.

“Why…did you…save me…?” I demand, gasping sporadically as I lie on my side. “You only care…about your…selfish goals… Why would you…rescue me…?”

My head is so hot that it feels like my brain is melting. I’m glad to be on land again, but it’s vexing that breathing up here feels no different than down there.

“The lake poison got you. Are you okay?”

“No way…”

When did I drink the lake water? And not to toot my own horn, but I thought I had pretty good poison resistance.

Victor’s hand is cool. It feels nice.

“To answer your question…I thought you could help me attain my selfish goals.”

Oh my…so he saved me for selfish reasons. Well, that’s definitely more on brand.

“……If only that were true.” He sighs, suddenly changing his tone and sitting beside me.

Everyone is a little taken aback by his unusual behavior. Did he drink some of the poison, and it changed his personality?

Unable to tolerate the rising sickness from deep in my chest, I vomit on the spot. Though my stomach is empty, so really only water comes up.

Victor gently pats my back as I heave. I feel his warmth through my back and marvel over what a difficult position a prince is put in.

Duke has no freedom and has not yet become king. Meanwhile, Victor’s ambition to become king is so strong, he would sacrifice his own men to achieve it.

My body gets hotter and hotter, until I let out my anguish in a little moan. I hate it. I don’t want anybody to see me so weak…

I can feel everyone’s concern hanging in the air. Then my grandfather approaches me.

Huh? What is Grandfather doing here? Am I dreaming?

Victor’s hand on my forehead is replaced by Grandfather’s. My vision is so blurred, I can’t tell what sort of look he has on his face.

When he touches me, the pain gradually leaves, until I feel very sleepy. The fever is going down.

I can’t comprehend what he’s doing to me. Still in a daze, I drift to sleep.

“What did you do?”

Albert doesn’t answer Victor’s question. Sensing Albert wants some privacy, Victor gives Captain Marius the signal to send his men away. Captain Marius and Jurd steady their breath, stand, and leave with Lieutenant Neal. Meanwhile, with a snap of his fingers, Mark puts up a barrier of geometric patterns. He’s soundproofing.

“Since you three came all the way out here, can I assume you’ve figured out who this kid here really is?” Victor asks the silent Albert.

He slowly replies, “Ordinarily, she could have easily purified that amount of poison with her magic… She must have spent quite a lot of it.”

Albert gently strokes Alicia’s hair as he quietly looks at Victor. His gaze indicates that he knows everything.

Victor returns his gaze, albeit a bit frightened. “So will she be okay?”

“Yes. I sent my magic into her.”

“Just where does she even get all that magic from? She’s a freak.”

Kee, hiding in the corner, spreads her wings and flies before the men.

“That’s right, I forgot about you,” Victor says.

“Um—rude?!”

Cate laughs heartily. “You’ve certainly outdone yourself, Victor. Forgetting about the lake source, when it’s the very reason you came here in the first place…” His gaze drifts to Alicia.

With a little sigh, the fairy flies up to Albert’s face. “So what’s her deal?”

“Don’t ask me.”

“Huh? But aren’t you her—?”

“She didn’t exist when I came to Laval.” Albert cuts Kee off, a stern look in his eyes.

“Oh, you humans. You make everything so complicated.”

“Are we finished here?” Victor is the only one in the group who cannot understand what Kee is saying. From the jumpiness of his voice, it’s clear this agitates him.

“This prince sure is self-centered, isn’t he?”

“I think pushiness is a good trait in a prince.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Victor scowls.

Meanwhile, Mark snaps his fingers and releases the barrier. “You should spend the rest of the day recovering here,” he says.

Victor nods. “Understood.”

Noticing the secret conversation has ended, Captain Marius and the others run back to the group.

Lieutenant Neal stands before Victor, and with discomfort in his voice, he says, “So, um, Your Highness…”

“What?” Victor snaps.

“Is Lia, um…a girl?” Lieutenant Neal sounds quite troubled.

There is not a hint of panic on Victor’s face. Rather, his expression is one of surprise that it took this long for them to figure it out.

“Yeah.”

The quartet is stunned.

“Well, now that I know…she is awfully light for a young man. And she’s soft to the touch,” Captain Marius murmurs. He helped carry Alicia earlier.

“And I seem to recall her voice sounding a bit higher once when she spoke with you, Your Highness,” Ceres says, eyes wide.

“Is this for real? She really was a girl all along…,” Jurd echoes, equally baffled.

With a frustrated sigh, Victor says, “Why you didn’t figure it out sooner is the biggest mystery of all.”

“But, Your Highness, you never told us Bitsy was a girl,” Jurd interjects.

“I shouldn’t have needed to say it. It’s obvious.”

“But she’s got zero sex appeal,” Jurd protests.

“Still, she’s a goddess,” Victor whispers softly as he peers at Alicia’s sleeping face.

She’s fast asleep beneath the thick boughs of a tree, with Albert’s coat draped over her as a blanket. Everyone is captivated by her.

Her raven-black hair is still a little wet. It sparkles with drops of water. Her eyes are covered with a cloth, but her pretty nose and her thin, finely shaped lips are still on full display. Her face and body are tight and finely contoured.

Everyone there is starting to realize firsthand just how feminine she is.

“Pardon my asking, but…are you in love with her?” Jurd asks Victor brazenly. He seems to speak for everyone else there.

“Huh?” Victor frowns, a deep crease between his brows. “My type of woman has curves in all the right places, long hair, and a gentle disposition.”

“Th-then why did you risk your life to save her?”

“Because my father set his sights on her. I can’t let her die.”

“Is that really all there is to it?”

“Do you ever shut up? You guys should just go to sleep.”

He glares at Jurd. It’s unusual for cool and confident Victor to act this way.

“Understood, Your Highness.” And with that, he bows to everyone, says, “Good night,” and starts to set up camp.

Soldiers can sleep anywhere, anytime. Even on rocky ground, even in the cold, even in any position—they can still sleep.

“I suppose we should turn in soon, too,” Cate says.

Mark nods. Albert stays by Alicia’s side, peering at her face. Luckily, the soldiers don’t seem to realize what he did to her. They pass it off as him making Alicia feel better with some special method.

“Like you’d ever catch me falling for a brat,” Victor grumbles under his breath.

Albert shoots a look at him. Then he turns his gaze up to the sky. “The moon is particularly pretty tonight.”

In the pitch-black sky above Mortwood, the moon and hundreds of stars sparkle quietly. The moonbeams gently embrace the filthy girl as she sleeps.

Victor’s eyes widen at her divine silhouette. Then, in a very quiet voice, he whispers, “The girl chosen by the moon…”

Duke, Eldest Son of the Seeker Family—Age Twenty

I can’t help but notice Alicia’s deep interest in the kingdom of Laval. I’m interested in other countries, too, but there’s nothing I can do about it, given my station. If I can, though, I want to make all her wishes come true.

…Even if it means being apart from her.

She’s not meant to be arm candy. Even a monkey can put on a pretty dress and stand quietly by my side.

Alicia’s special. She makes her own destiny, slashing out a path for herself with her bare hands. That’s why I fell in love with her.

Part of me wants to embrace the foolish notion that she should just stay with me, but I know that will never happen. Alicia always flies far higher than I ever imagine.

I want her to experience Laval firsthand. See it with her own eye. Hear it with her own ears. Feel it on her skin.

That’s why exile is the only option.

And the fastest way to do that is on false charges.

Not a single thing she has done all these years deserves punishment. No excuses or accusations can possibly give her the strict sentence of banishment.

Besides, I hear conditions in Roana are improving because of her. If anything, she is a person Durkis should revere and protect. If I am to send her to Laval as she wishes, though, I can’t revere or protect her. Quite the opposite. Forcing a crime onto her doesn’t sit right with me, but I know she won’t let something like that discourage her.

Knowing Alicia, she may relish it.

As predicted, she happily plays along with my forced scheme to try to convict her for stealing my memory. It hurts to pretend that I’ve forgotten her, even though I know it’s a lie. I will never forget her, no matter what.

Until my life burns out, I will love her with my every breath.

I knew full well what a reckless scheme it was. But I knew it would work. I knew, because Liz Cather has so many blind devotees who love her, and because I’m the prince of Durkis. Alicia would never be exiled if everyone thought rationally. Nothing I said would carry any weight.

And the cherry on top? I’m the prince, so no one came to Alicia’s defense. The one gallant soul in the room was Gill.

Gill needs Alicia, just like I need her. Stepping forward to protect her may have been second nature to him, but as the little boy stood up to challenge the enemies who surrounded him, he looked more dashing than even the bravest knight.

To stand bravely and continuously assert yourself with such conviction at such a young age is extremely difficult. Had he been born into a noble family, I wonder how things might have been different. He may have put a stop to Alicia’s exile.

Alicia sure has some great friends.

I marveled over that to myself as I sent her away to Laval. Every time I looked at the pendant she returned, a smile spreads on my face.

I thought my days without Alicia would be dreadfully boring, but I’ve been busy. There’s a lot of work for Durkis that can only be done thanks to her absence.

Roana Village, Liz Cather, the recognition of Alicia’s sainthood—so many matters have to be resolved.

……But nothing can fill the lonely, Alicia-shaped hole in my heart.

One day, as Gill and I are walking down the hall, Gill suddenly blurts out to me, “Just so you know, if Alicia doesn’t come back, I’m going to Laval.”

The thought never crossed my mind that Alicia would never return. Nor that Gill alone would go after her. I assumed Gill would insist he and I go after her together. As I brood for a while in silence, Gill grins, looking more mature than his years suggest.

“I’d rather die than have a life without Alicia.”

“I feel the same way.”

“That’s why if Alicia chooses to stay in Laval, I’m going to join her.”

“And what if some other guy takes Alicia?” I ask, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

I don’t want to believe it, but she has the power to charm. It’s a charm of a completely different nature than Liz Cather’s. I know that well.

I know Alicia Williams’s charm is genuine.

That was my biggest fear of sending her on a journey out of my eyes’ reach. What hearts would she win on the other side? I can’t begin to imagine.

I don’t care how strong she is—just the thought of another man snatching up the woman I love sickens me.

“Don’t worry, Duke. You’re the only guy I approve of,” Gill replies.

“Thanks.”

“Oh, but if Alicia finds someone else she swears is her soulmate, I might have to give up on you.”

“Just whose side are you on, Gill?”

“Alicia’s of course.” His smile is mischievous now.

“Well, I’ll just have to win her heart all over again if that happens.”

“Your confidence astounds me, Duke. Alicia sure is lucky, being so deeply loved.”

“Alicia’s heart dwelling on me even for a minute is life’s biggest luxury.”

“Whoooo, gushing, aren’t we? Hey, it might be a different type of love, but she loves me, too,” Gill retorts, puffing out his cheeks haughtily.

I’m relieved he hasn’t let the darkness consume him after Alicia’s exile. I worried Gill might act self-destructively in Alicia’s absence, but there’s not even a hint of that sort of behavior. He’s taken on Alicia’s responsibilities and is working hard to improve Durkis. He’s so much younger than I am, yet so strong.

“If you and I were the same age, Gill, we’d probably be rivals.”

“Yeah, well…I’d have no chance in hell of beating you, would I? If it’s a romance I have no chance of winning, I don’t want to even bother.”

“But choosing love in the face of defeat is what romance is all about.”

“Yikes, those are some grown-up words.”

“Well, I am a grown-up,” I say, smiling down at Gill.

“Oh, Maaaster, why are you staring at that pendant and mopiiing?!”

What should catch me by surprise doesn’t. I’ve grown quite used to Mel’s sudden outbursts.

She’s smushing her face against my window, staring at me from outside my room. I open it with a sigh.

“How many times have I told you not to climb that tree to come in through my window? Get in before you fall and break your neck.”

“Oh, come ooon, it’s more fun this way!”

Puffing out her cheeks in a pout, she nimbly tumbles into my room. As an attendant, Mel is gifted and I have no complaint. As a person, though, she’s lacking here and there. Maybe it’s how she either loves or hates everything so clearly… The way I see it, she and Gill have a lot in common.

“You really miss Ali-Ali that badly?”

“Of course I miss her.”

“Me too! I miss Ali-Ali so baaad. Why’d you have to send her awaaaay?” Mel whines, on the verge of fake tears.

“She’s an asset who can’t be shut away.”

“Fair point! She is a free spirit, huh!”

In a flash, Mel’s frown flips into a bright smile. Her face is a kaleidoscope of vivid emotion, but when the situation calls for it, she can hide every hint of feeling behind a mask.

Mel seems self-serving, but she’s hyperaware of other people’s feelings.

“Just watching those brainwashed devotees worship their angel Liz at school makes me wanna vomit.”

Mel is back to her usual complaining. Whenever she comes into my room, it’s either to gush about Alicia or to bitch about Liz.

“That fake angelic smile! I could never learn to love it! I’d much rather gaze adoringly at Ali-Ali’s devilish smile… Y’knooow, I guess every girl goes through a rebellious phase. But it seems different with Ali-Ali.”

“Alicia’s behavior could never be summed up as going through a rebellious phase—you can quote me on that.”

“You said it!” she squeals with glee, her shrill voice ringing in my ears.

For all her posturing about becoming a badass villainess, Alicia has a work ethic that is terrifyingly strict. She gained skills and strengths far beyond my wildest dreams.

It truly is a mystery; what is it that drives her to such lengths? No matter how hard a person trains herself, keeping up that brutal training day in and day out for all those years must be difficult.

The desire to be strong, the desire to be wicked—I never thought her convictions could be so powerful.

“Oh, gee, I wish I could be like Ali-Ali.”

“Me too.”

“Uh…you’re a baddie, too, Duke. You always have this Oooh, Alicia is amaaazing look in your eyes. But don’t forget, you’re on the other side, okay?!”

Other side…? Does she mean Alicia’s side?

“What? Why’re you giving me that I’m not so great vibe?” Mel demands.

“No way can I compare to a saint—”

“Oh, but you can, Duke!” Mel yells, cutting me off. She has a complicated look on her face that’s either frustration or anger.

“Duke—you need to know your own strength. You hear me?”

“I’ll have you know I understand perfectly just what my strengths are.”

“Then surely you realize you’ve broken the mold! In some ways, you’re even more powerful than Ali-Ali, okay? Well…then again, Liz also broke the mold, since she can use all the magic elements.”

Considering magic level alone, I probably am the most powerful. But when you consider Alicia’s initiative, she’s far more gifted than I.

If I weren’t a prince, maybe I would have been able to act more freely… But even if I weren’t a prince, I doubt my drive to take action would be anywhere near hers.

“If you really miss her so much, why don’t you just go visit her?”

Mel’s question shakes me for a moment. Suddenly, I’m smacked with the desire to drop everything and run to her. I can just imagine myself jumping out the window right now.

I want to touch her rosy cheeks and her lustrous, beautiful hair, if only for a second. I want to gaze into her golden eye, if only for one blink.

If I leave everything behind right now, though, what would I gain? Alicia would be disappointed in me if I went to see her. I would lose Gill’s trust, too.

I have to stay here. There are things I need to take care of.

I have to suppress my primal emotions.

“Y’know, Duke, you’re super possessive, but you’re also really patient. I could never stay here if I were you.”

“……I amaze even myself sometimes.”

“Oop, so you aren’t humble about that.”

If I abuse my position as prince, I could have Alicia by my side always. She doesn’t wish for that, though.

Mel looks into my eyes and speaks clearly. “Well, let’s make Durkis the best kingdom in the world by the time Ali-Ali gets back.”

I nod. The best thing I can do for Alicia right now is rebuild Durkis.

“Hey, Mel—don’t sit on the desk!”

“Awww.”

“Enough of your whining! Are you even an aristocrat?”

“I am totally an aristocraaat!” Mel whines, sticking out her tongue at Henri.

Gill, Mel, Henri, and I are gathered in the old library, as we usually are. Most of the headbutting comes from Mel and Henri, but sometimes Gill and Mel exchange barbs, too.

I watch over the scene quietly, as always.

“Henri, there’s no use saying anything to Mel.” Gill finally speaks, his eyes not leaving his book.

Among the three of them, Gill may very well be the most mature.

“I won’t argue with that,” Henri says, flopping beside Gill.

Mel frowns, offended. “But I’m not even doing anything wrooong.”

“Alicia won’t like you if you keep that up.”

No sooner does Gill say this than she quickly jumps off the desk. She stands at attention, a lollypop jammed in her mouth.

……Alicia’s name is unbelievably effective.

“After all my complaining, that’s what finally got her to move?” Henri smiles cynically.

Mel whirls to face us and says, “I’d rather die than lose Ali-Ali’s favor.”

“You know, I’m technically her brother by blood.”

“Oh, blood schmud. Weak stuff. My bond with Ali-Ali runs much deeper.”

“If we’re going there, then my bond with her is the deepest,” Gill butts in, snapping his book shut.

Alicia always makes everyone desperate. That’s proof enough of the affection everyone has for her.

I sit silently, watching everyone work themselves up.

There’s never a dull moment with these people. The only reason my loneliness has not mutated into something unbearable is thanks to Gill, Mel, and Henri.

“Well, I’ve known Ali since she was a baby.”

“Small potatoes! Ali-Ali and I share a bond that only mutual femininity can forge.”

“I’ve spent more time with Alicia than any of you,” Gill says.

“No, I grew up with her. Our bond is the strongest,” Henry argues.

“Yeah? Well, Alicia practically raised me.”

“And I raised her!”

“Ughhh! No fair! It’s just not fair! I want Ali-Ali to take care of me, too! And I want to take care of her!” Mel puffs out her cheeks and jumps on the desk. I suppose she already completely forgot what Gill told her a minute ago.

“Come on, Duke, say something!” Mel yells at me. I sense everyone’s gazes rush to me.

I smirk. “Well…I kissed her.”

It’s as if the air is sucked out of the room. Everyone is frozen. Mel’s mouth is stuck open in a perpetual capital O.

Is it really that earth-shattering? It’s just a kiss.

“Wh-wh-whaaaap?!” Mel yells unintelligibly.

“For real? No way… You backstabbing son of a bitch!” Henri growls.

“Well, I had a feeling you guys crossed that line…but it still stings seeing that smug look on your face.” Gill glares at me with tired eyes.

In the end, I suppose I like everyone knowing my bond with Alicia is superior to theirs.

Afterword

Hello! Izumi Okido here.

Thank you for reading to the very end.

Volume 3 is out in the world, and I couldn’t be happier!

At last, Alicia’s dreams of exile come true!

I was sad to see her leave Duke and Gill, but we all know Alicia can kick ass no matter where she is, ha-ha.

It’s my hope that more and more people become enraptured by Alicia’s charms.

Alicia is super happy to be exiled, but Duke is quite conflicted about the whole thing. Of course he misses his beloved Alicia. He wants to be with her all the time, but he had to cast her away… That’s love for you!

Then we have Prince Victor, a rather complex character!

It’s good to have a prince with Victor’s personality, too. He and Alicia seem quite compatible. Poor Duke’s gonna get very jealous…

Everyone crushes on Alicia no matter where she goes—oh, how I envy her!

I absolutely love tanned skin, so I’m Team Duke. Who is your favorite male character? It seems like Curtis, Finn, and Gill are quite popular—at least, that’s my unsolicited assumption.

And as for Alicia, I’d love for her to keep getting caught up in trouble in the most Alicia-way possible as she matures and grows.

Thank you to my editors, who are always there with wonderful advice, and thank you to Jyun Hayase for the very beautiful illustrations.

Also, thank you to the spectacular Akari Hoshi for drawing Alicia into a wonderful woman in the manga version of I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History!

Thank you all so very much!

Farewell for nooow!

Izumi Okido

“Who in the world is that rich girl?”

“Yeah, makes me wonder why she’s bothering to save a shithole like this.”

“Aren’t those noble bastards just playing us?”

“No, she’s our messiah! I know it!”

“Well, I shore cain’t trust ’er yet.”

All sorts of opinions flew left and right after Alicia set foot in Roana Village. No one could agree.

At first, I held a skeptical optimism about her. She saved my life, but she’s still an aristocrat, so I was wary of her.

I wondered if maybe she was scheming to take over our village…but after a while, I didn’t care if that was true.

Can you blame me? She’s the one person who reached out to me when I was dying. If it turned out that Alicia was using me for evil, I couldn’t even resent her for it.

The more I got to know her, though, the clearer it became she was trying to help. She kept insisting that she wasn’t acting out of the goodness of her heart, but she was a hero to me.

Not a single soul with power ever set foot in Roana Village. Then here came this rich girl, younger than me, who didn’t turn her back on us.

She told me, “The weak show no promise, but the strong have a duty to protect them.” I want Alicia to see me as somebody who shows promise. So I’ve been working myself to the bone.

I decided to reinterpret what she said as: The weak who showed no promise were people who ran from responsibility without putting in the work, and those people did not deserve her time. After all, she trusted me—somebody without anything going for her—with all sorts of work.

Her words were harsh but kind.

All the bad rumors about Alicia stopped abruptly after her fight with Nate. He wouldn’t let anybody in the village bad-mouth her after that. And Will—my mentor—he was always on Alicia’s side, so the villagers fell in line with him and Nate.

You can’t deny the mood in Roana has gotten brighter since Alicia’s arrival. Everyone can look to the future with hope again.

When I told Alicia the news, she looked awfully sour for some reason. She doesn’t particularly enjoy receiving praise. And if you tell her she looks evil, she does look pleased.

One day, Alicia brought me some macarons.

“Rebecca—take them.”

With that, she handed me a bag of colorful confections. Sometimes, she’ll bring me the sort of luxurious treats only aristocrats can eat. Never having eaten such finery in my life, I quickly became obsessed with the treats she brought me.

That day, though, something was different. There was a hint of devilishness in her smile.

“Er, why are you smiling?” I asked.

“Have you never considered that any of the treats I bring you may be poisoned?”

“……I haven’t. Wait, were they poisoned?”

“You’d already be dead if they were,” Gill answered calmly beside me. He beheld the scene with a tired look that said, Here she goes again…

“You never know, Gill,” she said. “Maybe they’re filled with brainwashing poison. To make Rebecca obey my every command.”

“Wait, does poison like that actually exist?”

“A fine question.” Alicia grinned at me like a cat. She was probably thinking how glorious it would be if I saw her as a villainess who poisoned pastries.

But I know Alicia would never poison me.

“You know, Alicia…I don’t think I’d mind it if you poisoned me,” I replied with a smile.

She immediately pushed back. “Don’t say that!”

Her voice was so loud, it stunned me to the spot.

“Don’t you dare think it would be good to be poisoned! Cherish yourself more! See, this is why I can’t take my eyes off you, Rebecca. You’re so gullible.”

Gill murmured, “I think you’re the one who needs constant supervision.”

“Listen to me—if anyone ever poisons you, tell me immediately. Alicia Williams, villainess extraordinaire, will punish whoever did it!”

This was the same girl who suggested a minute ago that she poisoned me… This is why you can’t help but love her.

As I looked at her, seeing the genuine concern for me in her eyes, my heart felt so full.

I vowed then and there that no matter what happened, I would always support her and always be on her side.

Alicia saved my life. Now it was hers.