Felicie's Break
"Yes. It appears to be progressing smoothly."
Tiel Nidia spoke.
"Is that so? Only recently, a formal letter of protest arrived from the Empire."
Tiel took the document the woman held out and read it. Her expression barely changed.
"…It seems Elin made some kind of mistake. Even so, it does not appear to have compromised the mission."
She sat at a round table. Arrayed around it were the twelve elders who formed the Elven Council of Elders, Tiel among them. In the most ornate chair of all sat the Elf Queen.
Tiel recalled the conversation she had just had with her daughter.
From what Elin had told her, the plan to bring the Hero over was proceeding well enough. As for the Demon King, however…
Elin had eventually nodded at Tiel’s words, but she had not looked fully convinced.
"Mother, even so, what if…"
"Focus on the task you have been given, Elin. There is nothing more important for us elves right now. Not even the appearance of a Demon King."
Only after Tiel said that did Elin answer that she understood. Tiel’s words had not been wrong.
Even if a true Demon King did appear, the elves could rest easy—because of the World Tree. But at present that very World Tree was being eaten away by Magi.
If Elin failed her mission, the elves would no longer be able to rely on the World Tree. Right now, healing the World Tree mattered far more than the birth of any Demon King.
And though she had not said as much to Elin, for something this vital the elves were hardly going to place their trust in her alone.
"Then that is a relief."
So saying, the Elf Queen tore the protest letter regarding the Ansberg Territory into fine shreds.
"Still, should we not always prepare for the unexpected?"
As she spoke, the Elf Queen looked across the table at the elf seated opposite Tiel. Under that gaze, another elder opened his mouth.
"Of course. Plan B is also proceeding as scheduled."
"Report."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Two days ago we completed trials even on humans capable of mana manipulation. The results were a success."
At those words the Queen’s expression brightened slightly.
"You succeeded in mental domination, then?"
"Yes. However, the target is the Hero. We cannot rest easy yet."
The Queen nodded. She was well aware of that much.
Should Elin fail to win Leo over, the Elf Queen and the Council of Elders were prepared to go as far as controlling him through mind-manipulation magic. But the opponent was the Hero. Whether such magic would take proper hold was uncertain, and approaching him in the first place would be a problem. Then there was the Empire’s reaction after the fact—another enormous concern. That was why Plan A, Elin’s recruitment of Leo, had been adopted first. Even so, the experiments for Plan B continued without pause.
"Dispose of the test subjects appropriately. The World Tree’s treatment must be completed before the Demon King rises."
By “test subjects” she meant humans abducted at random near the border.
That aside—the Queen’s words differed from what Tiel had told Elin earlier: that the Demon King would not appear. In truth, the Elf Queen and the elders rated the possibility of the Demon King’s emergence quite high. Of course, that assessment rested on the ancient texts left by their ancestors.
"Every time the Demon King invaded, we elves grew stronger. Thanks to that, the domain of the Great Forest kept expanding as well."
The elders all nodded as one.
The Great Forest was under the World Tree’s protection. When a Demon King’s invasion began, the first to suffer were always the other races outside the Great Forest. If the Demon King threw his full power against the Great Forest, even the World Tree might not be able to stop him—but no Demon King would pour everything into attacking the Great Forest first while easier prey still existed among the other races. So if the Great Forest ever came under attack, it would be the final blow.
To protect themselves, the other races joined hands and staked their lives against the Demon King. The elves, who would not be attacked until every other race had been destroyed, never joined them. While the world beyond the Great Forest fought the Demon King and was laid waste, the elves who took no part in that struggle waited until the other races had spent their lives holding the invasion at bay—then, in the immediate aftermath of war, they seized the weakened moment to expand their territory and swell their power.
"Unfortunately, there has been no Demon King invasion for the past several centuries."
So it was not the invasions that were regrettable. What the elves found regrettable was the absence of them.
"This time, we elves will once again make our power felt. And to that end, every resource must be concentrated on healing the World Tree."
Only if the World Tree remained sound would the Great Forest remain sound through a Demon King’s invasion. While the other races fought themselves to death, the elves could watch from the rear—and when the war ended, they would take the sweet fruit into their hands.
When she opened her eyes, the now-familiar ceiling filled Felicie’s vision.
Lately, every waking hour had become such torment that sleep was her only rest. Even that, now, was haunted by nightmares.
Every time she woke, the thought of her dead father and the people of the territory rose up to torment her. If she somehow managed to shake those thoughts free, Louis came next. Again and again she imagined him staring at her with accusation and contempt. The memory of his grief never stopped clawing at her heart.
"Haa…"
She let out a breath. A sip of the water by her bedside brought a faint measure of calm. Slowly, she rose from the bed.
The lord’s castle had been shattered, and her own room had vanished without a trace. The temporary quarters she used now were not large, yet it still took Felicie a long time to cross from the bed to the door.
She set her hand on the knob—and hesitated, over and over. She was afraid. Walking outside made her feel as if every person she met was condemning her.
At the late Count Ansberg’s funeral, the Imperial Princess had exposed everything: that Felicie had stolen Louis’s credit with a lie; that she had opposed Louis’s efforts to defend the Ansberg Territory; and that she herself therefore bore responsibility for the tragedy that had befallen it. Ever since, it had felt as though the whole world was blaming her.
Felicie drew a breath, steeled herself, and opened the door.
It had not been her imagination.
The maid waiting outside her room—someone Felicie had known for years—looked at her with a hatred she made no effort to hide.
The maid’s family had lived outside the castle. Her mother and father had died in the gargoyle swarm. Only her little sister, hidden at the cost of their lives, had survived.
At first the maid had thanked Felicie over and over. Because Felicie had given warning in advance, the soldiers had bought enough time for her sister to hide. That her sister at least still lived was entirely thanks to Felicie, she had said. Listening to that gratitude, Felicie had nearly died of guilt—yet she could not deny it as a lie, either.
Now that the whole truth was out, the maid’s reaction was hardly surprising.
"…You are awake, my lady."
The maid spoke. Felicie forced her reluctant mouth open.
"Yes… Go and rest."
The maid glared at her to the last, then was gone. Felicie wanted to beg—I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—but she had already apologized before, and the maid had given no response at all.
In time Felicie made her way toward her mother’s study. It was not only the others. After the Imperial Princess had laid the full truth bare, even her own family looked on her with contempt. In the end, no one stood with Felicie now. The loneliness cut to the bone. With no one to lean on, every moment was almost too much to bear.
She arrived outside the study door. From within came the voices of the Countess and Lucy. Lately the two of them often spoke without her.
Felicie raised a hand to knock, hesitated, then simply stood and began to listen.
"…The relief funds His Highness the Prince pushed for have been slashed heavily. The Princess, no doubt."
If the Imperial Princess had truly only meant to set every merit and fault in the open, she would have spoken with the Countess first. To make the revelation at the funeral, without any such discussion, could only have been an attack on the Prince’s faction.
"Hah. Who could watch that recording and still argue for support at that level?"
Contempt colored Lucy’s voice. As people directly involved, Lucy and the Countess had both been able to review the footage captured by the necklace.
"Still, aid is coming in from other houses as well… and for some reason the Red Magic Tower sent funds too."
"What? What connection does our house have with a magic tower…?"
"More precisely, Veronica Eltwin sent it. She asked that it be used for relief of the territory’s people. Well—she said they were in the same party as Felicie."
The Countess let the question pass lightly and continued.
"With the funds cut this deeply… rebuilding the house will be difficult. I am not even sure we can put out the immediate fires."
"I told you, didn’t I? That Sister was lying!"
"Enough of that talk, Lucy."
At least her mother was still taking her side—wasn’t she? A fragile warmth tried to rise in Felicie’s chest.
"You will enter the Academy as planned, Lucy."
"In the family’s present state…"
Lucy had been scheduled to enroll at Helon Academy. Now she was wondering whether she truly ought to spend that money on tuition under the circumstances.
But—
"Do not worry, Lucy. We can still afford to send you."
"Even so…!"
"No. You must go."
The Countess’s voice turned stern.
"Felicie is… finished. There is no hope left for her."
Outside the door, Felicie reeled from the blow. And it was not over.
"The next head of the house will not be Felicie. It will be you, Lucy. That is why you must graduate from the Academy—no matter what."
Felicie staggered. The lifelong goal she had carried—to become the Imperial Sword, Count Ansberg, a lord as fine as her father—had just been crushed underfoot as if it were nothing.
She could not go in and argue. She knew full well what she had done.
And so—
"Hic… hhk, huuuh…"
All Felicie could do was bury her face in her pillow and sob without end.