Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Get Out of My Room!
Night came once again.
At the same time as yesterday, I entered Elara’s room under the butler’s guidance.
The beautiful room was still bathed in moonlight. But today, the window was open.
A pleasant night breeze blew through, as if ventilating the room’s heavy atmosphere.
However, it could not change the room’s fundamental nature.
The chilling aura radiating from Elara von Heim, and the final traces of the servant likely still lingering somewhere in this room, kept circling through my mind.
……Pull yourself together.
“ Welcome, Teacher. ”
Unlike yesterday, Elara stood leaning by the window, her silver hair fluttering in the wind.
……A truly beautiful face. But I couldn’t let myself be deceived.
Once again, I put on the mask of the perfect 「 Mental Counselor 」, Aris Mardia.
“ Yes, hello, Lady Elara. ”
After greeting her appropriately, I discreetly observed her from the corner of my eye.
She wore the same outfit as yesterday, but today the dagger was nowhere to be seen.
‘……Did she hide it?’
Whether she had it or not didn’t matter. Even if there was a knife now, things would still be better than yesterday.
[ Skill Name: Psychological Insight (Passive) Lv.1 ]
As long as I had this, I could at least sense her “malice” beforehand.
If things went wrong, I could just run away.
“ Why are you just standing there? Please, have a seat already. ”
A graceful curve formed at the corners of her eyes. I couldn’t be fooled by that foxlike smile.
I focused all my senses on my hearing.
But Elara’s voice sounded merely clear.
No lies, no emotional wavering. A pure “invitation.”
“ I prepared tea today. The leaves were imported from the Western Continent, and I heard they’re excellent for calming the mind. You won’t refuse today, right? ”
Her question was obvious.
‘You refused yesterday, but not today, surely.’
Refusing again here would be a direct rejection of her goodwill.
“ Haha, tea from the Western Continent…… what an honor. I’d be delighted to have a cup. ”
“ A good choice. Here, serve a cup for Teacher as well. ”
A maid quietly set down the teacup and withdrew.
Under the moonlight, Elara gracefully offered me the cup with a delicate gesture.
Accepting her hospitality, I carefully lifted the teacup.
“ Teacher, thanks to you, I slept very well yesterday. ”
“ Ah, is that so……! ”
At that exact moment—
— ……Bzzzt.
A faint, unpleasant static scraped against my eardrums. Like the noise of an old radio tuned to the wrong frequency.
The skill activated.
She was lying right now.
She hadn’t slept well yesterday.
Pretending to inhale the aroma of the tea, I rapidly turned my thoughts over.
If I said “Don’t lie,” the knife would probably fly faster than yesterday. But if I simply said “That’s good to hear” and moved on, then this skill was meaningless.
I had to take the lead. Little by little, I needed to control her precisely.
Not point out the lie, but dig into the “reason” she felt compelled to lie.
“ Mmm, the aroma is nice. ”
“ Isn’t it? ”
After taking a sip, I set the cup back down.
“ However…… Lady Elara. To my eyes, you don’t look like someone who truly slept well. Even under the moonlight, your complexion…… is paler than yesterday. ”
“ ……. ”
The smile on Elara’s lips faded slightly.
“ Was I rude? ”
……Bzzzt.
Another noise. Meaning she didn’t actually think it was rude.
“ No. Rather than rude……. I’m just surprised. ”
…….
This time, there was no noise.
This was the truth.
“ Counselor Teacher, your observational skills really are impressive. ”
“ Rather than observational skill, it’s professional awareness. If my client appears fatigued, the counseling session won’t be productive. ”
“ Ahh…… is that so? ”
An unpleasant look slowly crept into Elara’s blue eyes.
But I couldn’t back down here.
I was, above all, a capable counselor. She was the patient.
Calmly, I met her eyes.
“ If Lady Elara had truly slept well, I would have been happier than anyone. It would have proven that yesterday’s counseling was not in vain. ”
“ ……. ”
“ However, Lady Elara, counseling is not magic that changes everything overnight. On the contrary, after a day like yesterday where you poured out buried emotions…… it’s only natural to lose sleep. ”
At my words, Elara froze while holding her teacup.
Slowly, she lowered it.
“ ……You’re right, Teacher. ”
She admitted it without resistance.
“ I couldn’t fall asleep. ”
…….
A perfect truth without any noise.
“ Last night, after you left…… I kept thinking about my old companions. ”
Here it comes.
“ They were heroes. ”
……BZZZZZT—!
A far sharper noise than before scraped violently through my head.
The suffocating contempt packed into the word “heroes.”
This wasn’t a simple lie. It was an emotional trigger.
Elara tightened her grip around the teacup.
“ Teacher…… have you ever seen the process of a hero becoming filthy? ”
……Bzzzt…… bzzzt……
That horrible static born from the word “hero” lingered in my ears like tinnitus even after her question ended.
This wasn’t merely a question. It was an extension of the test from yesterday, as well as a scream asking about the very reason for her existence.
I recalled the rumors I had heard in the gallery before coming here regarding the 「 Hero Party 」.
‘Written as heroes, read as thugs.’
‘Arrogant tyrants. Ruffians.’
It wasn’t difficult to combine the rumors with her reactions.
“ ……I have seen it. ”
At my answer, Elara’s shoulders flinched slightly.
“ ……Actually,”
She opened her mouth.
“ I was once a candidate for the Hero Party. ”
…….
Her voice rang clear.
There was no noise.
This was the truth.
“ It happened when I was fairly young. Now…… as you can see, I’ve become like this. ”
She laughed bitterly.
“ ……That’s an incredible thing. ”
“ Incredible……? ”
Elara’s expression suddenly hardened.
……Bzzzt.
My praise of “incredible” displeased her.
“ It wasn’t incredible. It was merely ‘something that had to be done.’ ”
Looking directly at me, she asked:
“ Have you ever seen it yourself? ”
Elara quietly rose from her seat.
Walking toward the fireplace with steady steps, she spoke in a low voice cold as ice.
“ Someone burdened with the expectations of the people, trading away their beliefs for money. ”
“ Someone claiming to fight for justice, blinded by petty jealousy and betraying their own comrades. ”
Shiiing…….
Suddenly, she lifted the poker hanging beside the fireplace.
“ And above all, all those disgusting lives…… rationalizing the filth they’d become. ”
“ Lady Elara……? ”
“ And I as well…… gr…… ”
The moment she tried to utter the word she feared most, I cut her off.
“ Rationalizing the fact that you were becoming ‘gray’ by saying, ‘This much is fine.’ ”
……!
The noise vanished completely.
A perfect silence where even Elara’s breathing could not be heard.
Like a sacrifice placed upon an altar, she stood frozen before the red glow of the fireplace.
My words had pierced through the final defensive wall she most feared and wanted to hide.
Clang—!
The metallic crash shattered the silence.
The strength left Elara’s pale hand, and the iron poker she had been holding fell onto the marble floor.
Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head toward me.
On her face illuminated by both moonlight and firelight, there was none of yesterday’s rage nor today’s cynicism.
Only……
Pure fear and confusion, like a lost child.
“ ……You. ”
…….
A hollow voice devoid of any noise.
“ Just…… what are you? ”
The same question as yesterday.
But its meaning was completely different.
Yesterday’s question had been a blade testing whether I was white or black.
Today’s question was a desperate cry asking how I had entered her heart.
I couldn’t give the same answer as yesterday.
“ I am Lady Elara’s counselor. ”
“ Don’t give me that bullshit! ”
……BZZZT!
She shouted sharply. Violent noise filled the words “that bullshit.”
A lie.
She didn’t truly think my answer was bullshit.
On the contrary, she wanted to cling to that answer.
She wanted the counselor to understand her heart, while simultaneously believing such a thing was impossible.
“ If you’re a counselor……! If you’re a counselor, do you know everything?! Are you really that great!? ”
Her voice trembled violently.
“ That I…… was about to step into that very same ‘gray’ I hated so much……! That cowardly rationalization, even I……! ”
Unable to continue, she bit down on her lip.
This was her true emotional trigger.
It wasn’t “contempt” for corrupted heroes.
It was self-loathing over the fact that she herself had almost become just like those she despised so deeply. That was the true filth that had driven Elara von Heim into obsession.
I did not stand from my seat. Simply holding my teacup, I calmed her in the most peaceful voice possible.
“ Lady Elara. ”
“ …….”
“ That is not ‘gray.’ ”
At my words, Elara’s eyes trembled.
“ ……What did you say? ”
Her emotions had fallen into such immense confusion that they couldn’t even produce noise anymore.
“ ‘Gray’ are those who finished rationalizing with, ‘This much is fine,’ and then acted upon it. ”
Looking directly into her eyes, I continued.
“ But Lady Elara did not do that. ”
“ ……! ”
“ At the moment of that ‘hesitation,’ you stopped. You did not rationalize it, nor did you accept that filth. ”
I used the same logic that had saved her yesterday to save her again today.
“ You refused to become gray. ”
“ Ah…… ”
“ Isn’t that why you are now ‘trapped’ inside this mansion? ”
At my final words, Elara’s eyes shook violently as though an earthquake had struck them. Staggering backward, she retreated.
“ ……Get out. ”
“ Lady Elara. ”
“ Right now. Get out of…… my room! ”
Severe agitation.
Judging by the absence of noise, I really needed to leave. Pushing her further would be dangerous.
Carefully, I stepped toward the door.
“ I hope you have a peaceful night, Lady Elara. ”
“ …… ”
Ding.
[ Elara von Heim’s second defense mechanism has collapsed. ]
[ Her ‘self-loathing’ is beginning to transform into ‘trust’ toward you. ]
[ You have gained +10 Affection. ]
……Did I just get kicked out?
Quietly, I let out a small sigh.
I got kicked out, but I broke through.
That alone was enough.