Sweet Lies and Cruel Truth

"Hic...! Mommyyy...!!!"

"Mari....!"

Like a cicada clinging to a tree, Mari buried herself against me and sobbed as though she were sending the whole world away. Her tears slowly soaked through my clothes.

"Mari was bad...!! Hic... Don't hurt...!!"

"Mari... Mommy's okay, so stop crying, all right?"

"Hic... I'll only give you the good medicine.... I won't touch you in secret while you're sleeping...."

"W-wait..?! W-what are you talking about..?"

"Ah."

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Mari let out a short little gasp, her face flashing with the look of someone who had just made a terrible mistake. But she immediately pretended nothing had happened, nuzzling her face into my chest and starting to cry all over again.

"You can't hurt.... Don't leave Mari behind...."

I wanted to press her a little further about what she had just said, but looking at her bawling face, I simply couldn't bring myself to do it. In the end I let out a long, deep sigh and gently pinched both of her cheeks.

"Ehk?"

"Mari. Mommy really is fine, so stop crying now."

"But there's blood coming from Mommy's mouth.."

"Ah."

I looked down. Just as she said, the blood I had coughed up had stained everything from my lips all the way down my clothes a deep red. But Alina had told me the poison she fed me contained nothing harmful to the body. On the contrary, she had called it a beneficial medicine that forced out the impurities inside me.

"I'm truly all right. It's because I took a medicine that's good for me."

I stroked Mari's hair a few times as she stared up at me with a worried face, trying to put her at ease.

"...Really..?"

"Mm-hm."

Mari prodded and poked at my body this way and that, and once she had confirmed I was unharmed, relief finally settled over her features.

"...Mommy."

"Y-yes?"

"You're not going to leave Mari and go somewhere else...?"

She looked up at me with eyes full of raw emotion. The sight of me bleeding must have shaken her badly. Touched once more by my kind daughter's concern, I smiled down at her and answered.

"Of course not."

"Really?"

She kept seeking reassurance from me. Had I failed to give Mari enough trust all this time? I knelt down so our eyes were level and pulled her into my arms.

"I promise, Mari. Mommy will always stay by your side."

"....Okay."

Only after I patted her back and spoke those words did Mari finally accept what was in my heart.

"....Heh heh....."

That was when Bordin's laughter drifted from behind us. Startled, I spun around. The man who should have been split clean in half and long dead was writhing on the floor, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠laughing.

"How..."

I muttered under my breath, staring at him with a furrowed brow. Even a saintess could never have healed a wound that fatal. How was he still alive? Even if he had taken in Demonic Energy, his regenerative power right now was anything but normal.

"It's okay, Mommy."

With ice-cold eyes, Mari stretched a hand toward him, and in an instant a host of magic circles bloomed into being around his body. But before she could unleash the spell, Bordin spoke in a faint, shallow voice.

"There is no need for that. I will be dead soon enough regardless."

"....."

Mari regarded him with open suspicion. As if to prove his point, Bordin raised a hand — and his arm corroded into powder, scattering away into the air.

"My body is already dead in its entirety. The Demonic Energy's power is still active, but that too will cease before long."

The moment he finished speaking, he coughed up a great mouthful of blood.

"...."

Mari's eyes gleamed as she studied him once more; then, apparently satisfied that he was telling the truth, she dismissed the magic circles.

Lying there on the floor, dying alone and desolate, he cut a pitiful figure — yet I felt no guilt.

"I won't say I'm sorry. You brought all of this on yourself."

"..That is quite all right. I simply wished to speak with you before I die."

"....I'll listen."

A last will... I supposed it wouldn't hurt to hear him out. After all, I had owed him a few favors during my time living in this mansion.

"The Imperial Seal is hidden in a secret compartment in my office. Alina knows the location."

At his words I looked over at Alina, and she gave me a single nod.

"...How did you obtain the Imperial Seal?"

"My apologies, my lady. That is something I cannot tell you."

A refusal. It was a pity, but I had expected as much, so the disappointment was mild.

"In the place where the Imperial Seal is kept, there is also a gift for you, my lady."

"...A gift?"

"Originally it was evidence I intended to submit to the Imperial Palace... but I believe it would be better in your hands."

Something about his words sent an uneasy chill through me.

"What are you trying to give me?"

"You said you trusted Athena more than a criminal like myself, did you not?"

"....And?"

He lifted his head, and his face — already regenerating once more — gazed at me in perfect stillness.

"The gift contains the truth of which I spoke. See it with your own two eyes, my lady."

"....I already told you that won't work on me."

"On the brink of death, what need would I have to deceive you? I am simply offering you a choice."

"A choice?"

By now Bordin's body had fully regenerated. And yet, contradictorily, the moment regeneration finished, his flesh began to corrode and dissolve into the air once more. Bordin paid it no mind at all and continued speaking at a measured pace.

"Whether you continue living knowing nothing at all, or whether you look upon the ugly truth hidden beneath the sweet lies — that is for you to decide, my lady."

"Athena would never have done something like that to me."

"If you are so certain, then you may confirm it without the slightest worry."

"....."

"It is entirely up to you. I have no intention of forcing anything."

Somehow, I could find no words to refute him. And while I held my silence, his body vanished until only the upper half remained. With great effort, Bordin flipped himself over so that he could look up at the ceiling, and murmured,

"In the end, my revenge has failed."

I answered the lonely figure speaking to himself in a sorrowful voice.

"Do you think your wife would be happy seeing you like this?"

"......How could she be?"

A warm light flickered briefly in his eyes at the thought of her, then faded away.

"But I could not set my revenge aside. Because nothing remained in me but resentment."

"I won't claim Athena was right. But it wasn't her fault, either."

"........"

At my words, Bordin — who had been staring blankly at the ceiling — quietly closed his eyes. And then—

Crsssh—

His face began to crumble and fall away.

"I am sorry for so many things, my lady."

Before long, no trace of him remained. And so the story of the man called Bordin came to a close — empty, and bitterly hollow.

"My lady... please, allow me to go in alone."

"It's all right, Alina."

This was Bordin's study. After a long stretch of hesitation, I had finally decided to come. To confirm the so-called truth he had spoken of. I believed in her. Athena would never have harmed me. And even if she had, it could never have been deliberate. That was why I was here — to face, head-on, the truth Bordin had insisted upon even in his dying moments.

And yet Alina ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kept trying to persuade me not to enter this place. Her suspicious behavior made an ominous feeling slowly creep to the surface.

...No. Get a grip, Hera.

I thought of Athena. Of the countless words of love she had given me. Of the warm smile she always wore when she looked at me. As I recalled our memories one by one, the anxiety that had been seeping up vanished in an instant.

"Show me the way, Alina."

When I spoke with resolve written plain on my face, Alina squeezed her eyes shut once — then pushed a single book on the shelf inward.

Rrrumble—

The massive bookshelf rotated halfway around. In the turned shelf, a passage opened leading further inside. I followed Alina through it, and a space came into view — narrow, but large enough to be called a room. Looking slowly around, I found all manner of things: books related to Demonic Energy, countless varieties of poison, several finely honed daggers, and more.

"I found it."

At Alina's words I approached her, and there on a desk I spotted the object. Gold engraved with an ornate crest, covered by a red ornament. The Imperial Seal. And beside it, unlike the brilliantly gleaming seal, sat one plain and unassuming item.

"...A magic tool."

A device that operated on the principle of mana. Was the truth Bordin spoke of contained inside this thing?

Thump— Thump—

No matter how many times I told myself it would be fine, now that the moment was actually upon me my heart began to tremble for no good reason, and I hesitated to activate the magic tool. What if. Just what if. What if Bordin's words turned out to be true?

No, Hera.

I immediately shook my head hard.

Trust Athena.

Steeling my resolve once more in my heart, I activated the magic tool.

Wmmmm—

The magic tool began to vibrate noisily. I kept it resting in my hand, and before long a human voice started to leak out from within.

The owner of the first voice was Bordin — a man who no longer existed in this world. And the bold, fierce voice that answered immediately after belonged to someone I knew all too well. The recording must have been quite old; the voice sounded younger than it did now. But there was no mistaking it. This was the voice of the woman I loved — Athena.

It seemed this magic tool had been made for the purpose of recording conversations.

Click—

The conversation cut off abruptly. But right away, the next exchange began to flow from the magic tool.

Click—

The conversation cut off again. And once more, without fail, it moved on to the next.

And after that.

And after that still.

Click—

Conversation after conversation between Athena and Bordin kept pouring out. Athena badmouthing the Emperor. Athena speaking lightly of people's lives. Countless exchanges spilled forth, and I kept my ears open the whole time, murmuring quietly to myself.

"Evidence to send to the Imperial Family..."

Bordin had called this evidence meant for the palace. And truly, just as he said, the things flowing from the magic tool were the kind of content that would put Athena in all sorts of trouble if they ever became public. And yet, paradoxically — though none of it was pleasant to hear — my heart settled with relief.

".......Is this... a good thing?"

Bordin must have expected that learning Athena's true nature would shock me. Certainly, if I had been an ordinary person who idolized Athena, hearing these conversations might have thrown me into considerable turmoil. But I was not ordinary. I already knew what kind of person she was.

Arrogant and tyrannical. A person who never gave her heart to others, who distrusted humanity. That was Athena. And at the same time — the woman who had always given me a love far beyond what I deserved. Precisely because she was someone who paid no attention to others, I had found myself slowly becoming addicted to her love without even realizing it.

...I told you it wouldn't work, Bordin.

He had probably assumed I didn't know. But these were all things I already understood completely.

..There was no need to listen any further.

Having finally found peace of mind, I was just about to stop the magic tool when—

Before I knew it, the magic tool was playing conversations about me.

"Nh."

Athena's words sent a ticklish feeling through me. Whether she had truly liked me from the very first meeting or not, her voice was overflowing with interest directed entirely at me. The love Athena had held for me from the beginning wrapped a warm feeling around my heart.

.....Thank you, Athena.

Even someone as foolish as me.

For continuing to love me.

.......

.....

...

"Huh...?"

One second. It was only the briefest of moments — but it felt as though my brain had been severed. A ringing filled my ears, my mind went pure white, and my body turned ice-cold as if my heart had stopped. But it truly was only an instant. I recovered my senses right away.

..I must have misheard.

With my reason restored, I forced a smile onto my trembling lips. Yes. I must have misheard. Athena would never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say something like that. Surely.

I—

"........Mis...heard..."