7. The Butterfly Dream (胡蝶之夢) - 08
7. The Butterfly Dream (胡蝶之夢) - 08
There is a common expression for when fury becomes all but uncontainable: people say they're so angry their hands and feet tremble uncontrollably.
It's a rather vulgar phrase, but Iris realized it wasn't merely a figure of speech—it was hyper-realistic language that reflected reality itself. Ever since she'd heard the news that Kain and Bianca had gone off on a "honeymoon trip," her own hands and feet had been trembling beyond her control, as if she'd developed a tremor.
No matter how hard she clenched them to steady herself, it was useless. Worse, it backfired. The harder she tightened her muscles, the more violently they shook. The "truth" Duke Estel had laid before her possessed that much destructive power.
"...A honeymoon trip? He dared—dared to cast me aside and go off alone with that wretched wench on a honeymoon trip?"
Crack—
Unable to withstand the killing intent seeping from Iris, the floor tiles beneath her feet split. Not that it mattered to her in the slightest. Repairing cracked tiles was a matter of money. Catching the pair of lovers who'd slipped away together was not.
"...Kain."
Before the regression, Iris had shared an extraordinary number of firsts with Kain. They had exchanged their first affections, their first love, and in the end, even their first night.
It was the kind of first a woman was supposed to treasure more than life itself, yet not once, even now, had Iris regretted giving him that part of herself. On the contrary, she had only ever been glad. She was simply happy that she'd been able to give her first to him. Because in her entire life, she would never need another man.
But even so, she'd never gotten the chance to build that kind of memory with him—traveling together, just the two of them. The positions of imperial duke and Imperial Princess were not idle occupations generous enough to grant them leisurely vacations. Sharing tea together after all their schedules were done had been the only luxury allowed them.
...And so, Iris detested this situation. Detested it so deeply. Before the regression, she had been the only one who could monopolize him. She alone had been by his side. He had looked only at her, loved only her!
It was unforgivable. Even now, at this very moment, she had eyes only for him. And yet he had set her aside and gone off traveling with some other woman first!
Just imagining it—even as a hypothetical—Kain walking the streets with that wench, gazing tenderly into her eyes, whispering sweet nothings into her ear—made her stomach turn. She even found herself resenting the heavens, asking why she, after regressing, couldn't claim his firsts.
"...Your Highness, what do you intend to do now?"
Chris addressed Iris, who was still trembling from head to toe with ungovernable rage, his tone exceedingly cautious. As far as he could see, pursuing Kain von Estel's trail any further seemed pointless.
Hadn't Duke Estel already testified to Iris? Whatever had happened in the interim, Kain von Estel had come before the duke, Bianca del Castana's hand clasped firmly in his own, announced he was going on a trip with her, and received the duke's permission.
"...Hold your tongue, Chris. I have things to consider."
Truthfully, Iris was at a loss too. The news that Kain and Bianca del Castana had slipped away together on a honeymoon trip was, to Iris, the kind of shitty revelation that made her see red. But to anyone else, it was nothing—simply an engaged couple going on a trip, an utterly unremarkable event.
Still, she couldn't just back down quietly. She couldn't exactly nod in understanding at Duke Estel's explanation and go off sightseeing like she didn't have a care in the world.
Because if she were the sort to give up that easily, then all the trouble she'd gone through to rush here in such a frenzy would have been for nothing. She had no logic, no evidence, but Iris could definitely feel something. She was certain now. Her instincts were screaming at her that Bianca del Castana was behind this seemingly trivial incident.
So she clung to that suspicion. She wouldn't let herself be swayed by the handful of clues in front of her. She would keep the first suspicion she'd harbored to the very end.
"Chris."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Just as she was about to speak, Iris found herself involuntarily picturing the face of a certain insufferable woman and frowned. Getting entangled with that wench in any form was the last thing she wanted.
But now wasn't the time to be picking and choosing what bitter medicine to swallow. With no information whatsoever on Bianca del Castana, she had to keep in mind the possibility that the woman had already taken Kain and vanished somewhere beyond the empire's reach.
"You are to return to the Castana Marquisate immediately and make a formal request to the marquis. Ask him to let us use a long-distance communication magic spell connecting the Imperial Capital and House Castana."
It was worth noting that transmitting image and sound across the vast distance between the Castana Marquisate and the capital absolutely required the cooperation of someone possessing at least archmage-level Magic Power.
"At the same time, request relevant information from the empire's Intelligence Department, and send an official document to Ariel Tiere, who is currently residing in the capital's temple, formally asking for her cooperation. No matter how scheming and inscrutable that venomous wench is, she's not the sort to sit idly by with her hands in her lap when something may have happened to Kain."
Iris's answer flowed without pause, as if she'd already rehearsed it. Chris simply nodded, signaling he understood.
"In that case, what do you intend to do, Your Highness?"
"I plan to act independently for a while."
"...Is that truly wise? Even so, is it not somewhat dangerous to travel alone without a single attendant?"
As Chris looked at her with worry in his eyes, Iris merely let out a soft laugh.
"Chris, you worry far too much. If you ask whether I fear a pack of mere bandits or magical beasts could do me harm, my answer is only this: your concern is nothing more than needless anxiety."
"....."
Iris's utterly confident reply left Chris momentarily speechless. The image of her cleaving the world itself in two with a single strike was still vividly etched into his mind.
"Well, there you have it. Nevertheless, I'll tell you my destination, just in case. I intend to head for the Great Forest the moment I leave House Estel."
"...The Great Forest—you mean the forest where the elves dwell?"
"Does another Great Forest exist on this continent?"
At Iris's matter-of-fact reply, Chris could only sigh. Setting aside the fact that the distance from House Estel to the Great Forest was no journey of a day or two, he couldn't fathom why she would visit the elven domain in the course of searching for Kain von Estel's whereabouts.
"You ask my reason? That's simple enough. According to the information on Bianca del Castana's past movements you brought me last time, Bianca del Castana stopped at the Great Forest just before visiting the Black Tower."
The Bianca del Castana Iris knew was a woman with a mage's temperament through and through. She prioritized efficiency above all else, refused to lift a single finger for anything she deemed meaningless, and tried to measure the entire world by her own yardstick—an arrogant, insufferable mage to the core.
Someone with that personality wouldn't visit a place like the Great Forest simply for sightseeing. Bianca del Castana had clearly gone there with a specific purpose. If Iris went there, she might finally be able to seize a clue that would let her grab Bianca del Castana by the scruff of the neck.
...Yes, even if it meant coming face-to-face with someone she wasn't exactly thrilled to see.
As if recalling some unpleasant memory, Iris wore a strangely sour expression.
"The Guardian of the World Tree, Kirie El Denaris. That monster who neither ages nor dies might just possess some clue about this incident."
****
"...Your Highness, I shall now depart for House Castana."
"Do so, Chris. Do not forget that the task entrusted to you in this matter is a weighty one."
After seeing Chris off, Iris turned around. It was nearly time for her to set out for the Great Forest as well. But as a guest, leaving without a word to Duke Estel would be a breach of courtesy, so she was hurrying to meet him when it happened.
"...Imperial Princess. I humbly ask, as a subject of the empire, if I might presume to address you?"
Then she heard it. A voice from behind her, one that had approached without a single sound or hint of presence.
".....!"
A cold sweat broke out along Iris's spine. Because ever since she had reached the Master Realm, not a single person had ever managed to get behind her like that, completely deceiving her senses. Even Masters who had reached her equal level, even Kirie—whose agility was said to be unsurpassed on the continent—could scarcely pull off such a feat!
When Iris, with shock alone in her eyes, slowly turned her head, she found herself looking at a white-haired girl she knew all too well, bowing deeply toward her.
"My apologies. I know well that sneaking up like some phantom in the night is hardly proper, but seeing Your Highness appear as though you were about to leave in great haste, I had no choice but to commit this discourtesy."
As she spoke, Aria lifted the hem of her skirt slightly and inclined her back.
"...What grand business could you possibly have that you would stop me like this?"
Iris let a faint pressure seep into her aura, as if to say she would not let the matter slide quietly if it were something trivial. Yet even bearing that pressure head-on, Aria's expression didn't shift in the slightest.
"Imperial Princess, if I were to say that I wished to accompany you, might you grant me permission?"
"...What did you say?"
Whether or not she realized Iris's eyebrows had twitched upward at that staggeringly bold statement, Aria continued in a perfectly composed voice.
"I humbly beg Your Highness's pardon for this discourtesy, but I must speak plainly. In truth, I heard everything you and your knight were discussing just now."
"....."
Bold? Shameless? It was impossible to tell which. Aria had just admitted, to her face, that she'd eavesdropped on Iris and Chris's conversation like a little rat.
"Let me get to the point. My opinion is the same as Your Highness's. Lord Kain did not go on a trip alone with Bianca del Castana. That is, he couldn't have—that is my conclusion. Because Lord Kain was far from fond of that woman."
As Aria spoke, an unconcealable hatred for Bianca del Castana wafted from her like heat haze. Whatever else one might say, this one attitude of Aria's pleased Iris enormously. Because she, too, loathed Bianca del Castana immensely.
"I am Lord Kain's personal maid. Had something befallen Lord Kain, I should have offered up my body as his shield, yet I returned alive and well, without so much as a scratch. That fact is so shameful to me that I can scarcely lift my head. Truly, it is nothing but shame."
"....."
"So I wish to join the search for Lord Kain's whereabouts. I swear, absolutely, that I will not be a hindrance. I may not reach the level of Bianca del Castana, but I take pride in possessing a fair command of magic myself, and though my strength is meager, I am confident it will be of use. So please, take me with you. I beseech you, Imperial Princess."
As she spoke, Aria dipped her head deeply toward Iris, yet the gesture could not be called servile in the least. To Iris's eyes, there was something strangely dignified about it.
"...Hmm."
For a moment, Iris was lost in thought. This girl named Aria—was it truly all right to bring her along? Could she trust this girl, who might prove a potential threat, with her back?
"Raise your head."
The deliberation was brief. Iris nodded at Aria, who was looking her straight in the eye.
"There is merit in your words. Is it not the duty of any vassal to support one's lord? I shall commend your loyalty. Very well. I shall take you with me."
"...Thank you, Imperial Princess."
Her reason for granting Aria's request was nothing special. If she had to name one, it was a simple whim. A small whim to see what this girl called Aria could do, and how far she could go.
Whether or not Aria knew what Iris was thinking, she merely bowed her head deeply once more, paying her respects.
"This time, I will not be a hindrance."
Yes. This time, without fail, she would not get in Kain's way. No matter what, she would wrench him free from the clutches of that wicked, villainous Bianca del Castana.
Yes. This time, without fail.