Rafaela Gremory
A chill ran through me.
A dagger came screaming into my chest and buried itself to the hilt. Why hadn't I thought of it sooner?
In the original story, four days from now — the day before the Imperial Academy entrance ceremony — Princess Eustia, known as the Treasure of the Empire, would be kidnapped. It was supposed to be a pivotal event. The original protagonist would stumble into her rescue and grow close to her in the process.
Yeah. Not my problem.
I had my own neck on the line. If the original hero never planted his flags with the heroines, so be it. I had to survive first.
For someone who wanted to stay on good terms with those heroines, this was an incident I had to stop no matter what. Leave it alone and I wouldn't just fail to befriend Eustia — I would make an enemy of her.
Damn it. Why did I have to transmigrate into the final boss of all people...!
Rage at this stacked deck boiled up inside me. The one who had ordered Eustia's kidnapping was Behirith. In other words, me. Technically the order had gone out before I possessed this body — but so what? That wasn't what mattered now. What mattered was stopping this goddamn incident as fast as possible.
"Haa."
I let out a short sigh, then surged up from my office chair and shrugged on a black frock coat.
"Send word through communication magic at once. The operation is canceled. Add that I'll explain the details separately."
"Yes."
"Have a carriage prepared as well. I'm going to the county myself."
"Understood. I shall prepare them at once."
After that razor-sharp reply, Lucy slipped out of the office. I pulled my gaze from her and looked out the window for a moment. Unlike the chaos churning in my chest, the sky was infuriatingly blue.
Gremory County, huh...
The head of that house, Countess Rafaela Gremory, was one of Behirith's five core executives — the ones who had made the original protagonist's party miserable. With power befitting her rank as Vice Tower Master of the Magic Tower, she had drowned the hero in a hellish barrage of magic. And thanks to a setting that had her blindly in love with Behirith, she had been a genuine headache besides.
First things first — I need to sit Rafaela down and explain the plan going forward.
Left to her own devices, she would start tormenting the protagonist and the heroines just to claw for Behirith's affection and attention. I needed to go to the county myself and talk this through.
I lowered my gaze to the mansion's front courtyard, where Lucy was already preparing the carriage. I watched her industrious back for a moment, then hurried to get ready to leave.
A few days later, in Galilea, the central city of Gremory County.
Inside the study of the estate at its heart, a woman with violet hair sat gazing steadily at a communication-magic orb floating in midair.
"Cancel the operation, all of a sudden..."
The Gremory family was a storied magical lineage that had produced countless talents for the Magic Tower. And even among them, this woman had been born with overwhelming genius — rising to Vice Tower Master at the age of twenty-three. A seductive voice slipped from Rafaela Gremory's lips.
Seated in an antique chair, Rafaela propped her chin in her hand and sank into thought, then addressed the short-haired woman standing beside her.
"Scarlet. Did you carry out my instructions?"
"Yes. As you ordered, I have recalled every operative we had infiltrated around the princess."
"And the magic-sealing artifact?"
"Retrieved immediately and placed in the underground vault."
"Hmm."
Hearing the reply, Rafaela let out a low hum through her nose and drew the orb toward her with mana. The sphere that had been drifting through the air coiled into her palm in an instant. Her gaze pierced it, sharp as a blade.
"It's strange, after all."
An order to postpone an operation she had spent months preparing. It was His command — the man she revered and worshipped — so she had obeyed. That did not mean she understood it. How much time and how many resources had gone into this? More than anything, it had been a once-in-a-lifetime chance to abduct that detestable imperial blood. To cancel an operation He Himself had ordered... Had something happened to Him?
A polite knock sounded at the door, and a voice came from the other side.
"My lady. His Grace the Grand Duke has just passed through the castle gates."
Word that the man she loved had arrived. Rafaela cut off her thoughts and spoke, a hint of excitement coloring her voice.
"Prepare to receive our guest. I will be down shortly."
"Yes, my lady."
The footsteps receded with the reply. A faint flush rose in Rafaela's cheeks.
"Ahh... that He would come all this way Himself... Oh — this is no time to sit here. I must go down at once."
Rafaela sprang from her chair in a fluster. Beneath her violet hair, those bewitching eyes lit up.
"Come. Let us greet the Empire's true master."
"Yes, my lady."
The sleek legs hidden beneath her dress danced as Rafaela swept from the room.
The slowly rolling carriage creaked, then clunked to a halt.
"We have arrived, Master."
A deadpan voice pulled me back to consciousness. I cracked my eyes open to find Lucy looking down at me with that doll-like face of hers. Right. I was currently using her lap as a pillow.
"...Morning, Lucy."
"Yes. Did you sleep comfortably?"
"Mm."
A glance at the sky told me the sun was already high. The ride quality of those thighs had exceeded all expectations — I had fallen asleep without even noticing the time pass. I wanted to linger in that soft, plump, warm sensation a little longer, but I swallowed the regret and sat up.
"Thanks. I slept like a rock."
"I am grateful you would say so."
Lucy answered with that expressionless face. For the record, the lap pillow had been her idea.
She's got a surprisingly odd streak, this one.
No emotions, so no sense of embarrassment either? She had probably meant it as an act of loyalty. I wouldn't mind taking her up on it again.
In any case, after three days of steady travel by carriage, I had arrived at Gremory County in the Empire's west-central region.
Surprisingly uneventful.
That's right. I hadn't been attacked even once on the way here. I had half expected bandits or monsters, but nothing of the sort had happened. Merchant caravans and even mid-tier noble carriages getting jumped was basically a law of nature in a fantasy world.
Tsk. A couple of bandit groups did show up, I think.
I had figured it might be a chance to get some real combat in, but the moment they got close enough they suddenly remembered they had somewhere else to be. Apparently the Grand Ducal crest carved into the carriage had given them an urgent need to find a bathroom.
I'll have to spar with the knights again later.
I was just about to peel myself off the seat when the carriage door opened and a knight with formidable eyebrows bowed at the waist.
"My lord, you must be weary from the journey. Will you step down?"
"Thanks, Sir Mathias. You worked hard too. The ride wasn't dull, thanks to you."
"Y-you flatter me...!"
I clapped him on the shoulder in encouragement, and Mathias looked genuinely moved. As vice-captain of the Black Lion Knights — the pride of the Grand Duchy — he had served as my sparring partner on the road, and thanks to him I had started getting used to this body. I still hadn't fully adapted to a Sword Master's physique, but fighting at a vice-captain's level shouldn't be a problem anymore.
So this is the Gremory estate...
I looked around. At the center of a vast garden, a three-story mansion stood in imposing grandeur. It fell a little short of the Divelion Mansion, but most noble houses wouldn't even dare present their calling cards here. And there was something I had been sensing since we arrived.
"A mana barrier has been raised."
"It has."
No unauthorized outsiders allowed, I supposed. Mana hung over the entire estate grounds like a dense fog. Mathias, who had been scanning the surroundings, spoke with a grave expression.
"To spread a barrier over a range this wide... as expected of the Gremory mages."
"No. This was done by one person."
"By one person? Surely you don't mean—"
"That's right. Rafaela did this."
A mana barrier that wouldn't even let anyone with hostile intent approach the mansion. I remembered the original protagonist's party nearly killing themselves trying to smash through it.
Let's see. This way, I think.
Following the garden path, I found a violet-haired woman waiting at the mansion entrance with dozens of servants. Vice Tower Master of the Imperial Magic Tower, and head of House Gremory. The Witch, Rafaela Gremory.
The moment our eyes met, she bowed deeply at the waist.
"I bid you a most sincere welcome to House Gremory, Your Grace, Grand Duke of Divelion."
"It's been a while, Rafaela."
"Thank you for coming all this way. Come now! Please, do go inside."
Rafaela beamed a smile so radiant it couldn't possibly get any brighter. Then she stepped up beside me and slipped my arm between a pair of enormous breasts I estimated at an H-cup.
"...What do you think you're doing?"
"Oh my. This is simply unavoidable if I am to show you around the estate. I do hope you'll understand?"
Rafaela smiled seductively as she delivered that completely absurd excuse. The soft pressure felt extremely good, which was precisely the problem. Behirith was a healthy man in his mid-twenties. Which meant that under stimulation this strong—
I get hard.
But I could hardly let that happen in front of this many people. I pushed Rafaela away to preserve a Grand Duke's dignity.
"I appreciate the thought, but it's a bit uncomfortable. I'd prefer you guide me from a little farther away."
"...Ahem. If that is Your Grace's wish, then of course I shall obey. This way, if you would?"
Rafaela recovered her composure as if nothing had happened. She looked a little dejected, but this wasn't the time to indulge her affection. From here on, I needed to talk about an important plan.
I wonder how Rafaela will react to what I have to say...
Well. I would find out when I hit her with it. Feeling a moderate tension settle on my shoulders, I started toward the mansion.