The Devil of Jealousy
The Devil of Jealousy, the Fourth Princess Evangeline von Lebeus. She stared at me with an intrigued glint in her eyes.
I stayed silent.
Yeah, I'm used to it.
Contrary to what Lumiela might have expected, I was currently being held captive inside the Crescent Moon Palace. Before she woke up, I'd slipped away to the bathroom for a moment. The instant I glanced absentmindedly at the mirror, a hand had reached out from within it, knocked me unconscious, and dragged me here.
When I came to, I was in Evangeline's room with my wrists bound.
Evangeline doesn't have the ability to pull off a kidnapping like this on her own. Which means…
The devil beside her must have helped. One of the primordial devils, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. In the original story, she was the kind of devil who showed an almost sickening level of obsession toward the protagonist.
The Seat of Jealousy—Envy.
She's still sealed. How is she already able to interfere with reality…?
Right now, Envy had lost most of her power, reduced to nothing more than faint lingering thoughts. The problem was that even those faint remnants still held enough potential to destroy an entire nation.
After all, in the original story she did wipe out the Empire… so it's not exactly wrong.
Envy only began acting in earnest three years from now. At this point in time, she shouldn't have been able to wield this much strength.
Which could only mean one thing.
Another regression?
At this rate, it felt like everyone around me was a regressor except for me. The place was crawling with them.
Even if she did regress… why the hell would she kidnap me?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't understand why I'd been brought here. There was no way Envy could have known about my future self. Back then, I'd been disguised.
So if it wasn't Envy's will, then there was only one possible culprit.
I fixed my gaze on Evangeline standing before me.
Did I ever do anything to make this girl hold a grudge against me?
When I thought about our points of contact, yesterday should have been our first meeting…
Could it be because of that?
Evangeline wasn't just prideful—she was arrogant to an excessive degree. Having seen her cry right in front of me, it was possible that was the reason.
For now, I decided to observe the situation rather than resist recklessly.
Evangeline smiled as she looked down at me, tied up and helpless.
Since I wasn't using any disguise tools at the moment, my real face was completely exposed. Even to her sharp question, I answered calmly.
In truth, black hair didn't have a very favorable reputation among the Western Continent's aristocracy.
…Better-looking?
My face was utterly ordinary. If anything, my squinty eyes gave people the impression that I was sly, so some might even find it repulsive. I tilted my head at Evangeline's strange taste, but she continued speaking nonchalantly.
As soon as she finished speaking, Evangeline raised her sword. It was an ornate rapier.
Shit.
I didn't know what kind of punishment she had in mind, but it looked like blood would be involved at the very least.
At least only my wrists are tied…
My leg muscles had stiffened a little, but I could still move. I quickly ran through the possibilities in my head.
Evangeline's talent hasn't awakened yet.
In the original story, her talent only awakened right before the Empire's fall. So right now, her combat ability was, at best, on the level of a palace soldier. Her physique was similar to mine too, so if I launched a surprise attack, I could subdue her easily.
To lower her guard, I spoke up.
She froze. The person she feared most.
Evangeline hesitated for a moment at my words, but soon let out a hollow laugh and glared at me.
Srrrng—
With a chilling voice, she thrust her sword threateningly toward me.
Now.
I summoned my sword within my mind and immediately activated the pressure.
Void Illusion Sword.
A sword art that poured everything into momentum. The greatest threat that could be delivered by a blade without substance.
She flinched. The killing intent I scattered made Evangeline's body freeze instantly.
Taking advantage of her panic, I kicked off the ground and leaped upward.
Sword of Rebound.
Using my own weight as a fulcrum to amplify the jumping force.
Evangeline looked up at me in shock as I soared into the air. Then came the rotation mid-air.
Spinning Strong Sword.
I had no sword, and my wrists were bound, so the point where I gathered strength was my legs. The leg power surged as if it would explode.
A technique closer to a foot technique than swordplay. The Flying Swallow Strike flew straight toward her head.
At my ferocious attack, Evangeline screamed.
"……"
Even at her pitiful cry, the mirror gave no response.
Evangeline hurriedly tried to raise her rapier to block, but—
Thwack—!
My foot slammed squarely into her head before she could.
She crumpled instantly from the impact.
After landing cleanly, I confirmed that Evangeline had fainted, then collapsed beside her and let out a scream.
Excruciating pain tore through my leg. My muscles screamed as if they had gone insane.
My current body couldn't handle the full recoil of the Spinning Strong Sword. If I'd barely squeezed it out using only my upper body strength, maybe I could've endured it. But I'd used every ounce of power in my entire body and even added the Sword of Rebound, so the burden on my body was extreme.
It was a serious injury that could easily leave me crippled. Before I knew it, my leg had swollen up like a balloon.
While I was writhing in agony for a long time, an old mirror suddenly flew over and hovered beside me.
The 'mirror' that had been watching the entire situation finally spoke.
—The way you struggle is always such a delight. Don't you think, Ian?
Even through the pain, I could tell exactly who that sticky voice belonged to.
The Devil of Jealousy. Envy.
When I reacted with something closer to 'rage' than panic, she sounded impressed.
—You recognized me even without your memories…? How fascinating.
—Considering what happened before, I'd honestly believe it if you suddenly turned into a woman, Ian. Even then… I'd still like you. Hehehe.
A chill ran down my spine. There was clearly no physical body, yet just the voice alone filled me with a sense of dread.
So this is what a real devil feels like.
An instinctive revulsion. I'd encountered all sorts of bizarre things until now—anomalies, monsters, regressors—but nothing had ever given me such a deeply unpleasant feeling as this devil.
I glared at the mirror and asked,
When Envy kidnapped me earlier, she had clearly possessed enough power to interfere with reality. So why had she simply watched?
Even to such an unexpected question, Envy answered kindly.
—Oh, that? Well, that little brat was getting on my nerves… And besides, Ian, I'm on your side! What kind of partner would betray their own mate? What kind of devil would do that?
I was taken aback by her words.
—Oops, the palace soldiers will be here soon. Take care, Ian!
Without answering my question, Envy gave a playful farewell and vanished immediately. The old mirror fell limply to the floor and rolled across it.
I stared down at the mirror without thinking.
I was Envy's partner? What the hell is that bullshit?
I'd never heard anything about devils having partners in the original story. It was probably just something a devil would say to lure me in.
I decided to settle on that explanation and began thinking about how to escape this crisis.
Thud thud thud thud—
The sound of palace soldiers rushing toward the room came from outside the door. Unlike Lumiela's palace, the Crescent Moon Palace where Evangeline resided had many soldiers stationed here permanently.
…Because Evangeline doesn't have a Magic Eye.
Unlike her sisters, it wasn't strange that she had more people to protect her.
The reason they were rushing here now was probably because they'd heard my scream earlier.
How do I get out of this…?
Since I'd been alone in a room with the unconscious Evangeline, no matter what excuse I made, it would be hard to clear myself of suspicion.
If only my leg wasn't wrecked…
My leg was so swollen that even standing was difficult. Escaping the palace in this condition was impossible.
It was truly the worst possible situation for me.
Is there really no way?
The primordial devil. The Seat of Jealousy. Envy.
Even most gods would be overwhelmed by her power, yet right now she was on her knees, begging a man.
A beauty with jet-black, crimson-tinged hair. Even in the face of such a beauty's plea, the man snorted and refused.
When the man spoke coldly, Envy made a sullen face and quietly disappeared.