8. Bianca del Castana - 05
8. Bianca del Castana - 05
Ruuuuumble—
A thunderous roar shook heaven and earth, jolting me awake. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to fall back asleep, but it was hopeless. The noise was like dozens of lightning bolts crashing down at once, and I wasn't thick-skinned enough to sleep through that.
"...Nngh..."
I rubbed my bleary eyes and glanced at the spot beside me. Bianca, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a vivid bloodstain left on the bedsheet caught my eye, as if it had taken her place.
"..."
Staring at that bright-red stain brought last night's fierce lovemaking rushing back, and an odd restlessness settled over me. All kinds of strange thoughts flickered through my head—starting with whether it had been right to enter into this kind of relationship with Bianca, whom I'd known since we were very young, and culminating in the stupid question of whether I should have taken her first time that way at all.
As I sat there scratching my head, wrapped up in pointless agonizing, a familiar voice reached my ears from the cabin doorway, accompanied by the click of a tongue.
"Oh my. Only just awake? I had you down as the diligent sort, but you turn out to be quite the late riser. Hm, on second thought, there's nothing odd about it. It is still dawn, after all. Considered that way, your sleeping like a newborn is not the least bit strange."
I slowly turned my head toward the voice and saw a woman I knew all too well leaning against the doorframe.
"...Your Imperial Highness?"
Her identity was none other than the empire's Imperial Princess, my swordsmanship teacher who had taught me the 'Flowing Star'—Iris El Debhart.
"It's been quite a long while since Lumentium, Lord Kain. I can barely remember how many months it's been since I last saw your face. Personally, meeting you like this fills me with great delight."
The Imperial Princess greeted me with remarkable warmth, as though we had been separated for over a decade by unavoidable circumstances and were only now reunited. But the emotion I felt upon seeing her wasn't joy—it was bewilderment.
"...Why is Your Imperial Highness here?"
No matter how I turned it over, I couldn't make sense of it. What possible reason could the Imperial Princess—who belonged in the Imperial Palace of Lumentium—have for appearing at this modest cabin where Bianca and I were staying? And besides, the powerful barrier Bianca had erected around this place should have made entry impossible for any outsider.
"That's a hurtful thing to say. I came all this way in person to retrieve you, and instead of a word of welcome, your first question is why I'm here. You really are a bad man, Lord Kain."
She shrugged as she said it. Contrary to her words, her expression didn't look especially angry.
"The reason I've come all this way to fetch you is simple. You were abducted by Bianca del Castana, so I set everything aside and came to find you. Isn't that obvious?"
"..."
...Abduction. To be fair, the Imperial Princess wasn't wrong. I couldn't exactly describe the process by which Bianca had dragged me here as gentle or peaceful. Honestly, I'd thought it was nothing short of a miracle that no one had been hurt during the kidnapping.
"I'd been racing to House Castana after hearing the news that you and Bianca del Castana were to be engaged, only to learn en route that you had vanished. You have no idea how much effort I put into tracking you down, when it looked for all the world as though that woman had abducted you."
"I went to House Castana, then rushed to House Estel, and even sought out Kirie El Denaris—holed up like a turtle in the Great Forest—hoping for the smallest clue. These last few days have been the most breathless of my life. Still, the result is that I found you in one piece, so the time wasn't wasted."
"..."
Needless to say, I'd never formed a bond with the Imperial Princess in this life after regressing from ten years in the future. Of course, we had become slightly acquainted when I had an audience with the Emperor in Lumentium, but if a meeting of that caliber qualified as 'forming a bond,' then Bianca and I were practically common-law spouses by now.
The Imperial Princess, who had no relationship with me in this life, had not only bolted from the capital to House Castana at the news of my engagement to Bianca—she had then raced in every direction to track down Bianca and me, whose trip had been publicly described as a 'honeymoon.' It was, frankly, absurd.
...In the end, there was only one answer that explained this situation clearly. Bianca and I weren't the only ones who had regressed ten years after plunging a sword into the Winter Witch's heart.
"You remember everything, don't you?"
At my out-of-the-blue question, the Imperial Princess readily nodded.
"Of course. And I also know that Bianca del Castana returned to the past, not just you. Though I'm still somewhat uncertain about Ariel Tiere."
Listening to the Imperial Princess, it seemed she had realized I'd regressed from ten years in the future quite some time ago.
"When exactly did you figure it out?"
The Imperial Princess answered without hesitation.
"From the moment you used 'Flowing Star' in your duel against Lucian von Turnizen."
...So that was when she caught on.
"...As I recall, Your Imperial Highness wasn't present at that duel."
"True, I wasn't there in person. But someone who serves as my eyes was. I had a fair bit of luck, too. If the person who witnessed your duel with Lucian von Turnizen hadn't known about 'Flowing Star,' I'd still be unsure whether you had regressed or not."
As she spoke, the Imperial Princess offered me a soft smile.
"Kain, however few people might be able to recognize the 'Flowing Star' technique, using it so openly in the Imperial Palace, of all places—what were you thinking? Well, thanks to that, I learned you had regressed from ten years in the future just like me, so I'm not especially upset about it."
Watching the Imperial Princess laugh as though she found this genuinely amusing, I could only close my eyes in grim resignation.
"...Then what happens to me? Do you truly intend to cut off my limbs?"
"Hm? What are you talking about?"
"When you taught me 'Flowing Star,' Your Imperial Highness said it yourself. If I were ever caught using it carelessly in front of others, losing my limbs might be the consequence."
As if she genuinely couldn't grasp what I meant, the Imperial Princess merely tilted her head.
"...Did I go so far as to say that to you? I have no memory of it. I don't know how you learned of it, but yes, such a regulation does exist. However, why would I bother upholding some moldy rule that's over a thousand years old? Surely you don't think you're the only outsider in more than a millennium to have learned 'Flowing Star'?"
At her answer, I could finally set my mind at ease. It seemed I could shelve the ominous fantasy that I would be hauled off to the capital the moment I left this place and have my limbs severed.
"Anyway, Kain. Did you enjoy your honeymoon trip with Bianca del Castana?"
"Excuse me?"
"Duke Estel has already told me everything in detail, so there's no need to hide it. He informed me that not long ago, you appeared before him hand in hand with Bianca del Castana and announced you would be going on a 'honeymoon trip' with her."
It was definitely not my imagination that the Imperial Princess's tone had sprouted sharp thorns as she spoke.
"...That was—unavoidable circumstances..."
"Circumstances? Unavoidable circumstances?"
The Imperial Princess let out a short laugh and gazed quietly at the bed where Bianca and I had lain together just hours ago. Even in the dimness, the vivid red bloodstain on the bedsheet was all too visible from here.
"Is that blood from your 'unavoidable circumstances' as well? Hm?"
"..."
Under the Imperial Princess's piercing interrogation, a cold sweat ran down my spine.
"...Well. You and I have not yet held a wedding, so I'm not especially inclined to concern myself with whatever relations you've formed with another woman for now. I'm not very interested, either. But do not cross the line. Even I have not the slightest desire to see a scene where concubines multiply around you."
"...Pardon?"
I was about to ask the Imperial Princess what on earth she meant, since I couldn't follow her words at all—but the situation didn't seem leisurely enough for me to be satisfying personal curiosity. Because—
Ruuuuumble—
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG—!
For a while now, a sound like the world turning inside out had been thundering from outside the cabin. I had no idea what was happening, but an ominous premonition flashed through my mind: if I stood around here blankly much longer, there wouldn't even be bone dust left of me.
"Hm, they're really going at it quite noisily. Still, seeing someone hold their own against Bianca del Castana like this—I'm rather glad I brought her along."
"...You didn't come here alone?"
When I asked with a bewildered look, the Imperial Princess merely shook her head.
"Of course not. I'm not fool enough to infiltrate a workshop where an archmage may have laid any number of traps all by myself. I came here with your personal maid, a girl named Aria. For reference, dismantling the barrier Bianca del Castana erected around this place was also that child's doing."
"...Aria did."
At the Imperial Princess's reply, I couldn't suppress a groan.
I'd expected it on some level. Given that Aria had witnessed my abduction by Bianca with her own eyes wide open, I'd anticipated that she would arrive here someday. But I'd never imagined she would not only drag the Imperial Princess into this but also clash head-on with Bianca.
KRAAAA-KA-KA-KA-BOOM—!
"...Then, that sound is..."
"Yes. It's clear proof that the girl Aria and Bianca del Castana are currently fighting like mad."
The Imperial Princess said this in a voice that was positively cheerful, as if she found the unfolding situation genuinely entertaining, but my own heart was nothing but turmoil.
So this terrifying noise—as if the continent were about to be destroyed at any moment—was the signal that Aria and Bianca were going at it.
In an instant, their two faces flickered through my mind.
Aria, who always smiled brightly at me.
Bianca, who had confessed her love shyly last night.
And now, those two women were locked in mortal combat. Fighting like mad to kill each other. The end of that fight might only come when one of them died.
"...God damn it."
The thought was long, but the decision came in an instant. I let out a low curse and threw on the outer clothes I'd left near the bed, wrapping them around myself haphazardly.
"Now, while Aria is buying time against Bianca del Castana, we'll escape from here. Now that your location is identified, there's no further need to be cautious—"
"Your Imperial Highness, forgive my rudeness in interrupting."
I cut off the Imperial Princess mid-sentence, the discourtesy of it and my words coming simultaneously.
"I have business over there. I'll have to decline Your Imperial Highness's proposal."
"...What did you say?"
For a moment, the Imperial Princess furrowed her brow as if she couldn't comprehend what I was saying.
"Kain, what in the world do you mean? Where exactly are you going?"
"Well, in this situation, there's only one place for me to go, isn't there?"
I answered while pointing toward a scene from hell unfolding beyond the horizon—flames surging and lightning crashing down.
"Because someone has to stop those women before this gets even worse."
At my answer, the Imperial Princess looked more bewildered than ever.
"...So what I'm asking is, why must you be the one to do it?"
"Because those women are mine. And..."
"I'm merely going to retrieve what's mine—do I really need some grand reason?"