Chapter 115
Chapter 115
Episode 115
Seeing the brightly smiling Latia, it didn't seem like she held any ill will towards me. We had only exchanged a simple conversation, but within it, I could feel a consideration for my tense state.
"I'll ask you directly."
If that's the case, it would be faster to ask head-on rather than beating around the bush.
"Hm?"
Latia, who had been nibbling on a cookie, tilted her head at my question.
"Last night. By any chance, did you come to my dormitory?"
"Ah... so you did notice then. I thought it might have just been a feeling, but it seems you were watching? Were you startled? I'm sorry!"
"......?"
Hearing her readily admit to what she did felt somewhat anticlimactic. Was there really no malice?
However, I needed to know why she did such a thing. In the first place, wasn't this unauthorized entry into a private residence?
"May I know the reason for trespassing in my dormitory? As President Latia is aware, such an act is not something that ends with a simple invasion of privacy."
"Ugh... I didn't originally intend to, but I think I was too reckless last night."
Latia said, twirling her hair with her finger as if she were ashamed.
"Oz, you're a celebrity, right? I heard there are many people after you from all over."
"Yes, well..."
It wasn't something worth hiding. The fact that I was once cast out by [Spellerge] was already an open secret.
"But yesterday, a report came in that you didn't look well when you entered the school gates."
I hadn't thought of that.
By the time I entered [Scientia], it was already evening, and the only people I met right after were Baekyang and Marie.
But I had forgotten that there were guards at the school gates.
It wouldn't be strange for them to have reported the situation at the front gate to the student council.
"And you went back alone, too... You know? Oz's current dorm is in a pretty remote place with little foot traffic, so I couldn't help but worry."
"So you were trying to check on my condition?"
"Yes. I was worried you might have collapsed because your condition worsened..."
Latia repeatedly bowed her head as if to apologize and continued her explanation.
"A-and student council officers are allowed to enter dorms in case of an emergency. Of course, I had no intention of abusing that, I just planned to sneak a peek and leave... Yes, right... You caught me."
"I see... I understand the circumstances. However, even with such a reason, isn't secretly breaking in at night a bit of a problem?"
The grounds for determining it an emergency were far too weak.
At the very least, she could have knocked.
"You're right... This is my fault. You don't have to forgive me. If you want, I will step down from the student council presidency and receive disciplinary action."
Latia conveyed her apology to me, looking quite dejected.
At this point, I could only think that she was genuinely worried about me and had no ill intent. I didn't want this incident to blow up, nor did I want to dismiss someone Tia trusted.
If there was no malice, that was enough. Still, there were a few more things I needed to confirm.
"By any chance, to other students as well..."
"No, I usually follow the rules properly. I-I don't know if you'll believe me, but I think this time my worry got the best of me and I acted without thinking..."
"I see..."
Looking at her through [Contemplation], it didn't seem like she was lying.
But why? Why did she cross the line this one time?
Does she like me?
Come to think of it, Oz's face is quite handsome. Although I hadn't benefited from it until recently, I had the plausibility to be that confident.
This darn popularity...
"May I ask what the reason was?"
"Ah, that's..."
At my question, Latia seemed to hesitate for a moment before quietly starting to lay out her reason.
"Oz, this is just a really personal question..."
Huh? Could it be that she really likes me?
"Oz, you look like my dead younger brother."
"......"
It wasn't that. It was a heavy story. I started to feel a bit solemn.
Am I garbage?
It was then, as I was falling into a pit of self-loathing.
"Ah, would you like to see a picture? You really look so much alike..."
"Ah, yes. I'll take a look."
As if she took my hesitation for doubt, Latia handed me a photo she had been carefully keeping.
How similar could we be? I took the photo from the seemingly fidgety Latia and checked.
"You certainly..."
Looked alike.
If not for the pointed ears, the elf in the photo looked so much like a young Oz that one could believe it was him.
However, right after seeing this photo, I felt an unexplainable sense of unease. What is this? What in the world is it?
What am I missing?
"Well, I understand for now."
"Then, the..."
"Let's consider this incident as if it never happened. Still, I hope nothing like this happens in the future, President Latia."
"Okay, thank you."
It was right to end the matter here.
There will be much to do in the future, so having a skilled person like her feel indebted to me could be helpful later.
It would be best to establish a relationship where I could receive her cooperation in case the unexpected happens.
"Ah, and this is just a personal chat."
In that moment, Latia's voice, which should have sounded kind and gentle, came across as slightly chilling.
"Could I ask you about this photo? I'm a little curious."
With those words, Latia took out a new picture. The photo she took out this time was of much higher quality, as if it had been taken recently.
"This... is..."
And the moment I received that photo, I understood.
The second photo she handed me contained an image of me.
"That look. I'd like to see it in person, what do you think?"
"How on earth did you get this..."
The peculiar thing, however, was that it was a picture of me wearing a wig and tailing Eleanor.
With a trembling hand, I immediately checked the first photo again.
Inside was clearly the image of a child who resembled Oz. The only thing awkward about it, perhaps, was that the child in the photo was wearing a skirt.
"No way?"
"If Julie had grown up, she would have been just your age..."
My baseless confidence turned into a feeling of solemnity.
And that solemn feeling soon sublimated into terror.
I noticed. I was able to notice.
Yes, I had realized it.
- Your attitude is so stiff. It's okay to be a little more relaxed. How about trying to call me 'eonni'?
- No, thank you. Besides, shouldn't it be 'noona', not 'eonni'?
- I think I'd feel better hearing 'eonni’
The conversation we had just a few minutes ago flashed through my mind.
The reasons why Eleanor had described Latia as sinister blossomed in my head.
And crucially.
- You know what, Master? In the 'Man Who Would Look Good in a Dress' category, 90% of the votes for you came from a single person. There wasn't even room for manipulation. What amazing popularity.
Her words surfaced as if they were pierced into the center of my memory.
Yes, she knew.
No, she must have known.
"The popularity poll...?"
"Ah! You knew you got first place in the poll? I worked hard to vote for you, I wonder if you liked it."
She was the very embodiment of madness who, with an overwhelming amount of cash, had placed me at the top of the 'Man Who Would Look Good in a Dress' category.
Yes, at this very moment.
"Would you ever consider trying on a skirt? I think it would look good on you."
I was able to feel a sense of alarm from my arrogant thought of 'doesn't she like me?'.
And I realized that a fear I had never felt before existed.
Immediately after confirming Latia's madness, I had no choice but to flee the student council room rather than interrogate her.
I was scared. It felt as if a terror I had never experienced before was consuming my limbs.
But even amidst that, my mind was relatively calm, allowing me to escape.
Yes, I am calm.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Lucia..."
With an extremely calm mind, I was able to recall where this situation had originated from.
While panting heavily, I immediately tried to contact [Tenebris].
The call did not connect.
"You...! You...!"
Ulla must have known that I went to see the student council president.
If so, she would have also known that I would try to contact them again.
That would have naturally been relayed to Lucia, who is in charge of me.
In other words, the fact that the communication wasn't connecting meant they were intentionally not picking up.
"You traitor—!!"
Lucia Punisher, that woman betrayed me.
The unusually high-quality photo Latia had. If there was anyone who could have taken that picture at that time, it could only have been Lucia, who was nearby.
Yes, that damn beast of misfortune sold me out.
"I'll kill you."
Before things become irreversible, I must kill Lucia.
I must kill her for me to live.
I must find her.
Tonight.
I hunt [Tenebris].
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The agents of [Tenebris] were positioned as far away from Oz as possible.
They had already anticipated the situation would turn out like this.
"Ooh, scary."
Ulla, who was among them, was observing Oz's state through a scope. He looked murderous.
"Ah... we made eye contact."
Ulla had been watching Oz with an expression of great interest, but she suddenly broke into a cold sweat and flinched.
She never thought he would spot her from this distance. Based on the intel they had, Oz shouldn't have been able to see as far as them.
And yet, he found her. When her eyes met his, which were colder than usual, she couldn't help but pull her eye away from the scope.
"...Did he perhaps sense intuitively that he was being watched?"
If so, that was a more beast-like sense.
It seemed they would need to update their information.
"Whoa, we've been spotted... Should we run? What do we do, Lucia?"
"Ugh, I really hate this... Why do I have to take the blame for something like that?"
"Ahaha."
Ulla let out a deep sigh at the sight of Lucia muttering while squatting beside her.
From the beginning, Lucia had been against this plan. Having frequent contact with Oz, she was well aware of his disposition.
"Prince Oz is selfish, arrogant, and surprisingly vicious. Why on earth did we have to provoke someone like that?"
"Because that is what I wished for."
At the sudden voice, Lucia felt her tail stand on end and immediately straightened her posture.
Lucia bowed her head while cautiously observing the speaker.
Her indigo hair, reminiscent of the night sky, was striking, but her deep yellow eyes, like a sun seeming to swallow even that, felt overwhelming.
Yes, she was the one hailed as the next sun of the Empire...
"Greetings, Princess Stacia."
The [Princess of Bloodshed]
Stacia von Helios
"Yes, Sir Lucia. You are working hard for our Empire again today."
Stacia smiled brightly at the two people kneeling before her.
But the more she did, the more the two broke into a cold sweat.
From the ends of her night-sky hair, thick blood was dripping. However, it was not Stacia's blood.
'This is a wicked scent of blood...'
'I wonder how many she killed today? Ahahaha, this is suffocating.'
As the confirmed next empress, Stacia had numerous authorities.
One of them concerned those on death row. By her will alone, the empire's condemned could be pardoned or killed.
And she actively used that authority.
"Ah, does this bother you? I've shown you an unsightly thing. It seems this much blood is hard to swallow all at once."
"......"
"......"
Lucia and Ulla said nothing and bowed their heads even lower, though they were inwardly horrified.
Stacia was a Dhampir, a half-breed between a vampire and a human.
Vampires were a type of demon who gained power by absorbing blood.
But even that had its limits.
To have so much blood that she couldn't absorb it all meant she had consumed dozens of humans.
To have drunk that much blood was no longer for the sake of gaining power.
"I wanted to understand their pain, but it didn't go well this time either."
Being a Dhampir, she was different from a vampire.
The vampire blood mixed with royal blood allowed her to inherit parts of a person's memories by absorbing their blood.
"When will I ever be able to understand those who commit crimes? They are all citizens of the same Empire..."
Purity.
She was a pure person in a different sense from Arietta.
She wanted to understand them. Even if they were criminals, they were citizens of the Empire. If she could understand them, couldn't she root out the criminals of the Empire?
Her actions, based on such thoughts, were rooted in goodwill, but the methods themselves could not be sugarcoated as such.
"Ah, by the way, you asked why, didn't you? Miss Lucia."
"No, that's not..."
"It must be hard to understand. It is a difficult task even for me, who possesses the power to understand others, so it is only natural."
"......"
Lucia barely managed to calm her trembling body and waited for Stacia's next words.
Stacia's actions were chilling, but they held no malice.
"It seemed Prince Oz kept avoiding me, so I wanted to take this opportunity to meet him for sure."
"Ah, yes..."
"Power, authority, and wisdom. Do you know how rare it is to find someone who possesses all of that, yet is in a precarious situation?"
"......"
"To think that there is someone who possesses all that and is being pursued, all by the whim of the Mage King... Should we let such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip by?"
In the bizarre nation of the Magic Kingdom [Spellerge], power could become authority.
That was why Oz, considered a candidate for the next Mage King, having everything he owned temporarily frozen while being hunted, could only be seen as an incredibly sweet dessert.
"Though he may seem to have fallen, he is in a near-perfect condition to reclaim his position at any time."
Oz had not lost his right as a successor. Due to Salem's whim-like judgment, the chance for him to reclaim everything remained.
Furthermore, Salem had recently given up the pursuit of Oz.
That meant he was declaring neutrality, and at the same time, the only thing holding Oz back were the assassins sent by factions hostile to him.
"If the Empire can win him over, it might even be possible to swallow [Spellerge] itself."
"To be so sure that it could be done so easily is..."
"That's why this is an investment."
Stacia said, cutting off Lucia's cautiously offered advice with a firm tone.
"A prospect like Prince Oz is worth holding onto with a political marriage. Even if the plan to seize the throne fails, we still gain a person of his caliber, don't we?"
The basis of all of Stacia's actions was for the sake of the Empire.
The reason she was hailed as the next empress was because that basis had found favor with the Emperor.
"Well, and his face is decent enough."
Oz's plausibility was certainly at work. Though whether it was to his benefit was another matter entirely.