Nightmare (6)
“Don’t take it, Sian. Whatever Letitia gave you is a trap.”
“What?”
“In simple terms, all of this is a trap. Everything—from this whole situation to whatever she’s trying to hand you. So don’t take it. Under any circumstances.”
As she said that, Cartesia forcibly snatched away whatever Letitia had given me, as though it were some cursed object that would bring me grave harm.
“...What are you doing?”
Naturally, I was left dumbfounded by Cartesia’s behavior.
She’d come barreling out of nowhere, saying nothing that made sense, then suddenly blurted out that this was a trap—how was I not supposed to be stunned?
“...Your Highness?”
Letitia seemed just as confused, staring at us with an expression of clear bewilderment.
“A trap? What are you talking about?”
“I know everything. I know all of it. You’re only pretending to care about Sian while handing him that thing, but in truth all you want is to drive him out of here. Whatever you’re trying to give Sian now, it’s obviously something that’ll harm him in this duel—”
“...Cartesia.”
That was when I cut her off and let out a quiet sigh.
“That’s far enough. I know you care about me, and I also know you don’t exactly like Letitia. But this has gone a little too far.”
“...Wh-what?”
Like someone who had never imagined I’d say such a thing, Cartesia widened her eyes.
“It’s exactly as I said. Sure, things between me and Letitia aren’t exactly great right now, but she came all the way here because she was worried about me. And she gave me this gift because she wanted me to win the duel. I don’t think it’s right to accuse someone like that without a second thought and run them down.”
“I’m not accusing her without a second thought. That woman... she hurt you badly, and because of that you got kicked out of here. I don’t want that to happen again. Not ever.”
“...Again?”
At Cartesia’s words, I blinked.
Something was off. Unsettling.
The way Cartesia was speaking sounded like someone who had witnessed me getting expelled from the academy before her very eyes.
“I haven’t been kicked out yet. The duel hasn’t even started, and more than anything, I’m fine. I haven’t been hurt anywhere.”
“...Right. Not yet. Sorry, I got mixed up for a moment.”
I couldn’t tell what exactly she was mixed up about, but Cartesia bit her lip lightly and said that.
“And as for proof... there is some. That thing Letitia’s trying to give you—open it right here. If I’m not wrong, that’s a magic sword.”
“A magic sword?”
A magic sword was a blade tainted by the dark power of demons, one that granted its wielder tremendous strength while also driving them into madness.
That was why, if you were caught using one at Lutra, immediate expulsion was inevitable.
If what Cartesia said was true and the thing Letitia had given me really was a magic sword... then before I’d even had the chance to duel Eli and prove my innocence, I would have been expelled from Lutra.
The fact that I had possessed a magic sword in the first place would become the decisive proof behind every baseless rumor claiming that I had no real skill, and had only relied on the sword’s power to get by.
When I looked over at Letitia after Cartesia’s accusation, her expression was perfectly composed.
As though everything Cartesia was saying were nothing more than absurd slander.
“Then check for yourself.”
“...What?”
“You just said it, Your Highness. You said the gift I’m trying to give my brother is actually a magic sword meant to get him expelled from Lutra. If that’s what you think, then rather than prattling on in such a pathetic little way, why don’t you just look at it with your own eyes? How long do you think it takes to unwrap a present?”
There was something oddly self-assured about Letitia’s attitude.
Watching her, I felt an inexplicable sense of wrongness, but Cartesia, as if she’d been waiting for this, tore the wrapping paper off the gift.
“You think I’m going to get scared just because you put on a face like that? I know everything. I know exactly what you’ve done until now, and what you’re going to do next, so did you really think I couldn’t tear open a little wrapping—”
But regrettably, Cartesia’s words stopped there.
Inside the wrapping paper was a sword, just as she had said.
Only, it was absolutely not a magic sword.
For the radiance pouring from the silver-white blade was unmistakably holy power.
“Actually, I asked Seria to infuse the sword with holy power. Holy power doesn’t just improve a sword’s performance—it even grants its owner healing abilities. And I fixed up the blade a little myself, too.”
Letitia’s explanation to me somehow sounded almost melancholy.
Was that her way of lamenting the fact that, though she was innocent, she’d been framed as unjustly as I had?
“I didn’t want to make a show of it by giving you something like this, so I was going to just say mean things, harsher things, anything but act nice to you. But things aren’t going as well as I expected. Honestly, if it meant not having to hear you say I gave you a magic sword or whatever, I... I should’ve just told you the truth from the beginning.”
Or maybe that was just my imagination.
For some reason, just then, it almost seemed to me like Letitia was looking at Cartesia with a faint, mocking smile.
“But anyway, Your Highness. What was it you said to me a moment ago? Something about a magic sword?”
***
In the room at the dormitory where Letitia usually stayed, Lobelia sat perched on Letitia’s bed, silently watching the other girl walk in.
“So, did it go well? You delivered the gift to brother like we planned?”
“Of course it went well. Did you really think I couldn’t handle something that simple?”
It was a far more placid reaction than Lobelia had expected.
No matter how much she’d been forced to act in Letitia’s place because she couldn’t move rashly herself, she’d thought the girl would make a huge fuss over having handled even such a simple task.
“Did something happen? You seem oddly cheerful today.”
“Well. Maybe something did.”
Until then, Letitia had only been grinning with obvious satisfaction, but suddenly, as though some thought had just occurred to her, her face hardened.
“That aside, did you happen to tell anyone else about this plan? Or were you careless and leaked the information somewhere?”
“No, of course not. Can’t you see I came all the way into your room just to be careful, whispering like a damn rat? The only people who know about this are you, me, and Lord Ricardo.”
“...His Highness the Crown Prince knows about this too?”
“Well, what else was I supposed to do? Of everyone I know, only Lord Ricardo had any real influence over the imperial family.”
At Lobelia’s answer, Letitia let out a sigh, as though she’d finally understood something.
“...I see. So that’s what it was. I was wondering why that woman was making such a scene—looks like the information leaked that way after all.”
“The information leaked? What are you talking about?”
“The imperial princess knew. About the plan to give brother a magic sword.”
“...What?”
Instantly, Lobelia sprang upright from the bed.
“That woman knew about our plan? How?”
“I don’t know. The moment I was about to give brother that sword, she appeared out of nowhere and started shouting at me that it was a magic sword. Judging by that scene, it seems safe to say the leak came from His Highness the Crown Prince’s side. She’s royalty too, after all—she probably has ears all over the place.”
At Letitia’s words, Lobelia gnawed anxiously at her fingernail.
“So? We weren’t found out, were we?”
“Of course not. We weren’t discovered. That’s what I’m saying. Magic swords stand out too much, so I told you we should use a more discreet, quieter method instead. If I hadn’t suggested we switch the gift to something else, do you have any idea what would’ve happened to us?”
“...So we weren’t found out. Good. I’m glad I listened to you at the end and decided not to give him the magic sword.”
Only then, finally reassured, did Lobelia breathe out in relief.
“Then brother and the princess both failed to notice, right? From the outside, it just looks like a perfectly ordinary sword, so they wouldn’t know it was a trap.”
“Well, of course they couldn’t have noticed. Even if something happens because of that sword, we’ll just be the good little sisters who gave our brother a fine sword because we were worried about him before his duel. Either way, this takes a weight off my mind.”
As she said that, Letitia slowly lifted the corners of her mouth into a cold smile.
“Once he accepts that sword, brother being expelled from the academy is as good as a done deal.”