Queen's Gambit (4)
My body sways. My head spins for some reason. Is my condition that bad? No, it can't be just that.
"...... Everyone, move aside."
I steadied my buckling legs and pushed through the crowd. Faces twisted in horror fill my vision. From those expressions alone, I could imagine how badly the person beyond them had been hurt. An uneasy thought claws into my mind.
'It can't be…'
Given the circumstances, the one who fell from the rooftop was… Redona Leonhart. Until our conversation on the roof, no one else had been there. There was no one else who could have fallen.
'This has nothing to do with me…'
He raised me, but that man is no longer my family. He is not my parent.
'Ugh…'
Yet the mere possibility that Redona might have thrown himself off makes me retch. Still, my feet do not stop. What if someone else had fallen? For instance, Yanis Dailer, terrified of losing the trial, might have jumped from the roof.
"......"
Clinging to that faint hope, I force my way through the students and see—
"...... You… why on earth…"
It is Redona Leonhart. His neck is twisted to the side, and blood seeps from his broken limbs.
"Ugh…"
I can't take it. The nausea surges. I turn away and vomit. A bitter taste lingers in my mouth.
'Is it because of me?'
Because I refused to forgive him? Does that make throwing himself off make any sense? Was that what you meant when you said you would do anything? What was your intention…
I empty my stomach and turn back. I grab Redona by the collar, his body already cold.
"Why the hell?!"
Rage wells up inside me.
"Why couldn't you stop tormenting me until the very end?!"
There is no reply.
"This was enough. When did I ever tell you to die? When did I ask for an apology? I just wanted you to go back to being someone who never existed in my life! Was that so difficult!?"
Redona's head lolls.
"Why until the very end! Why!"
"Snap out of it!"
"....!"
I gasp. Redona, who had been unconscious moments ago, suddenly jerks his head forward, eyes snapping open as he speaks.
"Eden, snap out of it! Please, listen to me!"
His voice gradually shifts into a woman's. What is happening? My head throbs again. My mind blurs.
When I open my eyes…
"Eden…! Are you awake?"
Alicia Floren is looking down at me with a worried expression.
"What happened…"
I am lying in the middle of the academy, crying.
Episode 3 Queen's Gambit
"What on earth…"
My senses return. I push myself up, my body strangely heavy. The screaming, horrified students are gone. Redona Leonhart, who had supposedly jumped, is also nowhere to be seen. Did I faint? Has everything been resolved in the meantime? The trial… what happened to it?
When I look at Alicia with questioning eyes, she speaks.
"It was an illusion spell."
Alicia supports me while scanning our surroundings.
"A fairly powerful one. No student at the academy could cast magic of this level. It must have been a professor or someone from outside."
"......"
I silently accept her support. She leads me inside the building toward the courtroom. My limbs still lack strength, so I let her drag me without resistance.
Alicia grinds her teeth, growling.
"It was definitely that bitch Louise… How could she do something like this? I knew she was scum, but this is too much."
Why is she angry? I'm the one who was targeted. I barely manage to lift my head and ask.
"How… did you know I was there?"
"How did I find you? Well… I had something I wanted to ask, so I followed you and happened to spot you. Yeah. Just a coincidence."
"......"
What did she want to ask? How did she find me at that exact moment? And how did she know it was an illusion spell? Questions pile up, but I have no energy to think. All I can do is read the expression on her face.
"Why… are you staring at me like that?"
Alicia blushes, noticing my gaze.
"If you want to say thank you… I'll just take the thought. You probably can't even speak right now."
"Why…"
"What?"
"Why did you help me?"
Alicia tilts her head, confused.
"What are you trying to say?"
"You… didn't have to save me."
"What?"
Alicia frowns in disbelief.
"Are you out of your mind? Have you not fully shaken off the illusion spell yet?"
Why did Alicia save me? She could have just let me die. The words slip out before I realize it.
"I haven't taken perfect revenge yet. So you still needed me? That's why you saved me?"
"That's ridiculous."
"You already know. That I'm using you. You didn't like my methods, so you could have just let me die. That would've been fine, right? You would've become the academy's hero and gained the power to kill someone with a single word. So why? Why on earth?"
I don't know what my expression looks like, but perhaps it is desperate. There is no reason for her to help me without cause. Under the pretext of helping with revenge, I used Alicia. I forced methods she didn't want and threatened the stubborn Alicia into moving as I intended. Yet why… why won't you betray me? I almost wish she would say it. That she saved me because I was still useful.
"It's obvious."
Alicia dismisses my tangle of questions with a single sentence.
"We're in the same boat."
Alicia smiles brightly as she says it. After I treated her so harshly, how can she smile at me like that? Even after I told her I could discard her at any time, can she still trust me?
"We agreed to take revenge, didn't we? We have to see it through. Right?"
"...... Yeah."
For some reason, hearing that puts me slightly at ease. I still can't fully trust her, but I can't imagine any malicious scheme hiding behind that harmless smile.
"We have to see it through… revenge."
If that smile turns out to be a lie, I might not even be able to trust myself anymore.
***
"Then, let us resume the trial."
Supported by Alicia, I return to the courtroom. Fortunately, Redona Leonhart's fall from the roof had been nothing more than a complete illusion.
'Focus…'
I had been too shaken. I thought two years in the underworld had dulled me completely, but perhaps that was my mistake. To be rattled by a single word from Redona and even fall for an illusion…
An hour passes after the trial resumes. Witnesses testify and are cross-examined. Fierce legal arguments fly back and forth, but there is no real progress. It is the expected outcome. Proving charges of violence and rape is extremely difficult. Without clear evidence, the witnesses can only recount the scars from beatings or the psychological damage from assaults—none of which hold legal weight. Only concrete evidence carries power in court.
".... Concrete evidence."
What I am targeting is not the violence or rape charges. I have no evidence for those, and they are hard to prove if the accused simply denies everything.
"......"
My target is Yanis Dailer. The pig sitting beside me. The plan is simple. Create perfect evidence and bring him down. Yanis Dailer is currently suffering from Extra Felopon withdrawal. As mentioned before, the addictiveness of Extra Felopon is beyond imagination. It is not something one can easily endure. Even I, who have already quit once, would struggle to stop again.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"I-I'm fine."
Yanis Dailer's face is pale, and his hands tremble violently. Clear withdrawal symptoms. Well… it makes sense by now. The Extra Felopon I gave him was only enough to last until this morning. So Yanis Dailer has gone roughly eight hours without a dose. Extra Felopon causes withdrawal symptoms if not taken or countered with an antidote within five hours, meaning Yanis Dailer has been enduring withdrawal for three hours already.
'Time to finish this.'
Can Yanis Dailer resist the devil's whisper? I quietly pull out a prepared syringe from under the table.
"Here. Take it."
"......"
I nudge Yanis and show him the syringe. His eyes widen as if they might tear apart.
"It's what you've been looking for. If you inject it into your arm right here, right now, I'll give it to you. How about it?"
"......"
Yanis's eyes go blank, drool dripping from his mouth.
"You can't hold back, can you? Feels like you're dying, right? Go on, take it."
I slip the syringe into Yanis's robe pocket.
"The choice is yours. However, if you try to leave the courtroom with this syringe, I won't hesitate to kill you."
Yanis's hand moves toward his pocket. He suddenly stands and grabs the syringe.
"Yanis Dailer, you may not speak without permission….!!"
"!!"
All eyes turn toward him. Checkmate.
"KRRRAAAAA!!!"
The needle pierces Yanis's raised forearm. He roars like a beast. Those addicted to the drug never forget the moment pain transforms into pleasure. The needle sinks into his vividly bulging veins, and the red liquid slowly seeps in.
"Ahaha…"
A laugh escapes me.
"Ahahahaha!!!"
Across from me, I see Louise's contorted face. It is an utterly horrific expression, but for me, there is no greater pleasure. In the courtroom engulfed in shock and silence, only Yanis's moans and my laughter echo loudly.