8. Bianca del Castana - 03
8. Bianca del Castana - 03
"...A witch?"
The moment Bianca laid eyes on the figure who had shaken the entire barrier with that ferocious surge of killing intent and drawn her here, she let out a dumbfounded murmur before she could stop herself.
It was simply too unexpected. The one who had invited her to this place—the one who hadn't merely shattered the barrier she'd poured more than half her own Magic Power into constructing as if it were a biscuit, but had also revealed a terrifying killing intent that seemed to far exceed a lethal dose—was neither the Saintess nor the Imperial Princess. It was the "Winter Witch," who had lost all her memories, lost all her former power, and fallen so miserably low!
"...Hah."
Bianca gave a look of sheer incredulity toward the white-haired girl, whose expression was deathly solemn. The whole situation was nothing but laughable to her. Judging by appearances, the girl had spent the past forty-odd days gritting her teeth and sharpening her blade after being struck by Bianca's White Flame's Lament that day. Yet the time granted to Aria since her defeat at Bianca's hands was merely forty-odd days—a pitiably short span.
The woman called Bianca del Castana stood at the apex of current humanity in the field of magic. She wasn't someone so insignificant that Aria, who had been utterly defeated without landing a single proper blow that day, could take her lightly. Nor was the discipline of magic so trivial a study. If barely forty days of burning resolve could be enough to master magic capable of defeating an Archmage, then the existence of an Archmage would be as common as pebbles kicked about on the roadside.
Therefore, she could state it with certainty. Whatever underhanded schemes that white-haired girl had been working through back channels over the past forty-odd days, the hidden dagger she was conceiving could never, ever reach Bianca.
'...No, that doesn't mean I can afford to underestimate her, though.'
Bianca frowned as she took in the absurd sight behind Aria, where only a portion of the barrier had collapsed. To fracture space itself and destroy only an extremely localized part of the barrier—it was a spectacle she could scarcely believe even while watching it with her own eyes. She'd mustered every scrap of knowledge she possessed, but the phenomenon Aria had manifested lay beyond her common sense, an unknown phenomenon.
And that wasn't the only factor. The killing intent Aria was currently emanating was one thing, but the sheer magical output leaking from her body was on an entirely different level compared to forty days ago. There was indeed a reason she had come all this way to find Bianca and challenge her to a straightforward fight. The current Aria had grown so strong—incomparably stronger than before—that even Bianca found herself compelled to refrain from any rash movements.
"Bianca del Castana. Where is Lord Kain?"
The moment Aria opened her mouth and casually tossed about her name as if calling for the neighbor's dog, Bianca's eyebrow twitched. The last time they'd met, she had at least called her "Lady Bianca," but now, as if she'd decided to throw all propriety out the window, the honorific she'd once used toward her had vanished without a trace.
"...You base wench, lowly enough that none could guess where you crawled from, committing the discourtesy of carelessly addressing the sole heiress of House Castana without the slightest shame. Do you not realize that this insolence you're committing right now could stain the honor of your one and only master? I cannot help but pity the man who keeps such an ill-mannered, foolish girl as his personal maidservant."
Crunch—
Aria ground her teeth at Bianca's words. She simply could not bear it—hearing the name of her master, Kain, spoken by that woman's lips, of all people. Aria swept her gaze over Bianca from head to toe with scorn, as if looking at a crawling insect. No matter how one looked at it, her attitude held not even a speck of respect for others.
"That's because you aren't worth any respect."
"...What?"
"I still remember it perfectly. When you begged Lord Kain for affection and were rejected, you resorted to force to threaten him just to get your hands on him. And as if that weren't enough, you even abducted him by force. I remember every single bit of your shameless deeds. Isn't it brazen beyond belief for such a despicable woman to insist she deserves respect from others just because she's nobility? Don't you think?"
Even as Aria hurled those utterly scathing words, Bianca kept a composed smile on her lips. Because Bianca still held one trump card—one that could twist that white-haired girl's face into a grimace in a single heartbeat. A hidden card that could instantly crush the petty provocations Aria was throwing at her.
"Well, I think you might have to speak respectfully to me whether you want to or not."
"...What did you say?"
When Bianca maintained her composed demeanor without a flinch despite Aria's venomous words, Aria at last sensed something was off. And watching that reaction, Bianca let out a quiet chuckle inwardly. Imagining how the white-haired girl's face would be twisted in just a few seconds was nothing short of delightful.
"Because over the past forty-odd days he and I have spent together, our relationship has made a great deal of progress. Yes, great progress—perhaps even enough that marriage between him and me might come to fruition."
At Bianca's provocative remark, a fearsome light blazed from Aria's eyes as she stared at her.
"...What kind of insane nonsense is that? There's no way a man like Lord Kain would marry a deranged woman like you."
"Hmm, is that really so?"
With an utterly leisurely voice, Bianca slowly parted her lips toward Aria.
"He and I have already shared a night together."
"...What?"
The moment Aria heard Bianca's words, her entire body went rigid. She simply could not comprehend the meaning of what Bianca del Castana had just uttered. ...No, she was desperately refusing to comprehend it. She didn't want to understand. Because, because, what Bianca del Castana was trying to say right now was—
"Ah, how pitiful. Does she truly not understand what I mean? Or is she pretending not to? Either way, it's piteous beyond compare. Let me do you a special favor and explain it clearly for you."
Bianca wore a smile of truly benevolent grace at the corner of her lips.
"He and I have already been intimate with one another. The details are a private tale shared only between him and me, so I cannot say more, but I have seen all of him, and he likewise has seen all of me. The time I spent with him was truly heart-fluttering and rapturous."
At Bianca's words, Aria's face drained of color until it was as white as a sheet.
"Do you know? How broad his embrace is. How warm I felt when he held me tightly, and how wonderful it felt when we became one."
"...Th-That's..."
"But of course, such sentiments are things a base wench like you will never come to know for all eternity. Fallen though he may be, Kain is still the heir to one of only four ducal houses in the empire. For the sake of his own honor, he could never be joined with a vile woman of unclear origins."
"Well, he might be able to toy with you as a momentary plaything, but as you well know, his character isn't that kind. He's the honest type who feels compelled to take responsibility for whatever enters his field of vision. Far more likely he'd never touch you in the first place."
Having said this, Bianca let out a large sigh, as if genuinely lamenting her situation.
"It's truly a most unfortunate thing for you. Because no matter how much you offer your whole body to him, he will never hold you in his arms."
Bianca's words were an undeniable truth, and because they also carried a sincerity that was, in its own way, genuine, Aria could only feel all the more wretched.
...In truth, she too knew it well. The fact that she and he could not be joined so easily was something she had long been aware of.
Her master, Kain von Estel, whom she served, was a noble of high dignity who would one day inherit the title of Duke of Estel. In contrast, she was nothing but a lowly, wretched girl who had lost all her memories and knew nothing of even her own birth. Aria knew all too well that love transcending the bounds of status was nothing more than a fantasy found only in fairy-tale books.
...Nevertheless, a part of her could not easily abandon her love for him. A part of her wanted to be of some help to him. A part of her wanted to devote herself to him. And at the end of it all, a part of her wanted to receive his love in return.
But Aria had never revealed this wish to anyone, keeping it buried deep within her heart. After all, she understood better than anyone that it was a wish that could never come true.
That was why it hurt. And why she hated it. This reality where she and he could never be together. Bianca del Castana, who had carelessly attained what would never reach her own hand. And Bianca, who had so easily seen through the true feelings she'd thought she'd hidden away, using him as a pretext to mock her—she was utterly detestable, nothing more.
"Well, there you have it. You were Kain's personal maidservant, weren't you? Soon enough, once I marry Kain, I might end up as your mistress. Shouldn't you start practicing how to speak respectfully from now on?"
As Bianca pronounced those words with genuine delight, Aria hung her head low, her hands trembling. She'd endured it. Endured and endured again. But it seemed this was her limit.
In truth, the moment she'd entered this barrier and laid eyes on that woman's face, her patience had already run dry long ago.
"...Lies."
"Hmm?"
Aria had whispered something so faintly that Bianca couldn't catch a single word of what she'd said.
"What on earth are you saying. If you're going to speak, common courtesy dictates that you speak loudly enough for a person to understand..."
"...Lies."
It was then that Aria lifted her face toward Bianca, and her expression was twisted with a truly vicious grimace.
"Lies, lies, lies, lies! Bianca del Castana. Every single word you utter is a lie—!"
And then, a shrill voice beyond any description erupted from Aria's lips.
"It's impossible. It's absolutely impossible! That Lord Kain would have shared his affection with a deranged woman like you. It's utter nonsense!"
"Yes, Bianca del Castana. You must have worked some strange scheme, haven't you? You must have employed some sinister, cunning trick I couldn't even imagine, and tampered with Lord Kain's reason, didn't you?"
"...No, now that I think about it, you really did, didn't you. You, you laid your hands on Lord Kain's memories. Isn't that right? Just like you did to me, you toyed with Lord Kain's head. Isn't that right?"
At Aria's words, Bianca's body flinched momentarily. Aria's accusation was nothing but the truth. Whatever extenuating circumstances Bianca herself may have had, the fact that she had tampered with Kain's memories was undeniably true.
And Aria did not miss Bianca's reaction. A glint flashed in Aria's eyes. She had finally found the magic word with which to corner that hateful woman.
"...I said it on the off chance, but it really was true. After tampering with Lord Kain's memories, you spent the past forty-odd days by his side, craving his affection."
Aria's mocking laughter toward Bianca grew louder. Along with it, the killing intent the two directed at each other, filling this space, also intensified.
"It's vile, and utterly repulsive. Bianca del Castana. Shall I tell you what it is you've done? You're nothing more than someone who toyed with a person. The very premise is twisted. To forcibly erase someone's memories, then pose as a lover beside a person who knows nothing of it. Truly, how laughable a farce must it have been?"
The situation had completely reversed from just moments before. Now it was Bianca who, unable to utter a single word, could only glare at Aria with hate-filled eyes. And casting a sidelong glance at that Bianca, Aria delivered the finishing blow.
"I'll say it plainly, Bianca del Castana. You are nothing but a deranged, disgusting woman."
"A vile woman like you will never be worthy of the place by Lord Kain's side."