Accept Your Karma
Accept Your Karma
Daniel hadn't come here specifically to see anyone.
He'd simply stopped by to make sure Ref had corrected her mistake.
Once he'd confirmed it, he planned to slip out of the garden on the excuse that he still had business at the Imperial Palace.
But the moment Selvia pressed him to make a choice, all of that went up in smoke.
There was simply no option to run away without answering the Emperor's question.
Why had things spiraled into such a catastrophe?
If he had to pinpoint the cause here, Daniel would confidently choose Ref.
Of course, the perpetrator herself, Ref, was merely sipping her black tea nonchalantly and pretending not to notice.
'Did she cause this mess and now she's planning to shove the responsibility onto me?'
She set down her cup and picked up a pastry, clearly unwilling to clean up her mess. Yet she wasn't leaving the scene—it was blatantly obvious she wanted to watch the garden turn into a complete battlefield.
If he thought about it, Ref had always been this kind of person.
You know the type, right? The kind of person who throws a stone into a pond knowing full well it might hit a frog—just to see what happens.
If you asked her why, Ref would surely answer like this:
─ Huh? Well, throwing the stone is way more fun than not throwing it, isn't it?
She was a dopamine addict who would do anything for pleasure without responsibility—literally.
'I should have realized it back when she was gambling so recklessly despite being the Prime Minister's daughter.'
Recalling the anecdote from Bellanos, Daniel let out a low groan.
"......Daniel? Is it really something to agonize over this much?"
His contemplation was shattered by Selvia's urging.
He couldn't delay any longer.
'I have no choice. I'll have to use the Chief of the General Staff's name here.'
The best option seemed to be smoothing things over by saying he'd come to pay his respects after hearing the Chief of the General Staff was in the Imperial Garden.
'Selvia might try to verify it, but it'll be fine. The Chief of the General Staff is sharp enough to play along and say something appropriate.'
It was practically a favor for a general being shipped off to the front lines; surely she wouldn't pretend not to know him.
Just as Daniel opened his mouth to deliver this optimal answer, he froze.
Because Ref, having finished her pastry, was smiling as if asking what kind of answer he'd give.
She had worsened the situation, slipped away cleanly, and now taken up the role of a bystander.
Unable to contain a momentary surge of anger, Daniel scrapped his original plan.
"I......."
Daniel looked at Ref and smiled.
"I came here to see Ref. Because Ref is the first friend I made in Bellanos and a bond built on very special experiences."
The smile began to vanish from Ref's lips.
Her expression seemed to ask what kind of absurd nonsense he was spouting, but Daniel didn't care.
"When we met previously in the Empire, we couldn't talk properly because of work, but since I'm free this time, I intend to have a long, proper conversation with her for the first time in a while."
The moment Daniel finished speaking, Ref hiccuped.
"......Huh?"
It was completely unexpected, so naturally she was flustered.
Blinking vacantly, Ref felt several chilly gazes land on her.
Desperately suppressing her unease, Ref slowly turned her head and saw it.
Selvia, staring down at her with eyes full of contempt.
"How strange."
An ominous aura was visibly wafting from Selvia's entire body.
"I'm quite sure you made an excuse that you had no relationship whatsoever with Daniel?"
Swallowing hard, Ref forced a smile.
"Your Majesty? Would you hear me out? I think Major General Daniel might be exaggerating what happened in Bellanos a bit. In my opinion, there are some inaccuracies."
"Oh my. Are you suggesting that Major General Daniel is lying right now?"
A soft yet murderous voice made her shoulders flinch.
Turning her head toward the voice, Ref found herself meeting eyes with a half-lidded Frien.
"I'd like you to understand that insulting Major General Daniel is an extremely rude thing to do."
An inexplicable killing intent radiated from Frien as she smiled brightly.
Ref tried to retort, but she was so terrified that her voice failed her.
Even if she had retorted, it felt as if she would suffer terribly the moment she misspoke.
Trembling, Ref turned to Lucy as her last hope, but it was a futile gesture.
Jiiiiing─
Because Lucy was simply glaring at Ref like a wild beast.
"Eek......."
Just as the hiccuping Ref was falling into confusion, footsteps were heard.
Daniel was walking toward Ref.
"......Daniel?"
Daniel spoke kindly to Ref, whose face pleaded with him to clear things up.
"Did you miss me that much? Well, I suppose I can understand, since you even sent me several letters saying you couldn't wait for our meeting."
Letters? He was talking about letters she'd never sent, leaving Ref so stunned she was tongue-tied.
The gazes of the three women watching Ref grew even more menacing.
"Ha?"
Selvia was openly looking at Ref with sheer disgust.
As the situation worsened by the second, Daniel firmly grasped Ref's hand.
"Now. It seems His Majesty is about to leave, so let's get up."
Ref, whose soul had half left her body, staggered to her feet as Daniel pulled her by the hand.
Looking down gently at Ref, Daniel turned to Selvia and put on an apologetic expression.
"Your Majesty. Will you excuse my rudeness for leaving first?"
Selvia, who had been glaring at Ref, nodded.
If Daniel said she was a friend he hadn't seen in a long time, she couldn't very well throw a tantrum and say no.
"I am always grateful for Your Majesty's magnanimity. Ref? Let's go now."
Daniel took Ref's hand affectionately and led her out of the garden.
Fortunately, no one stopped Daniel and Ref.
Thanks to that, after opening the door, stepping outside, and walking for a while, Ref's hand twitched.
Belatedly coming to her senses, Ref shook off Daniel's hand and yelled in a fit of anger.
"Are you insane!?"
Loud voice.
"I'm not insane. And I'm not deaf, so don't yell."
"How could I not yell at a time like this!? Why did you drag me out while adding weird lies on top of it? Because of you, I've practically become public enemy number one!"
Daniel looked down at Ref, who was venting her grievances with tear-filled eyes, and spoke in a serious tone.
"It was intentional, so don't worry."
"What? You meant to do this?"
"Yes. The easiest way to resolve a conflict is to create a common enemy. Now that an enemy like you has appeared, Lucy, Frien, and Selvia won't be at odds with each other for a while."
Dumbfounded, Ref let out a low sigh.
"......So you're saying you sacrificed me for the harmony of those three women?"
"Half right and half wrong. I did it partly because I found you detestable."
Ref bristled, but couldn't bring herself to refute it.
Because she was aware that she was the root cause of it all.
Though that didn't mean she had no grievances whatsoever.
"Fine. I'll admit it. I acted rashly and made things blow up. But you know you're partly at fault too, right?"
"......Me?"
"Yes. You clearly told me those women have 'romantic feelings' for you. But when I saw it for myself, it's beyond just feelings. They're all in love with you."
At the word love, one of Daniel's eyebrows twitched.
"Don't judge other people's feelings so arbitrarily."
"If you say so, I have nothing to say, but my eyes are pretty accurate? As a fellow woman, I could see that they all like you deeply. At the very least, it didn't seem like a fleeting emotion."
Ref looked up at Daniel meaningfully.
"Why on earth is everyone so fond of this womanizer? Even though you're fairly good-looking, from what I see, you're not the type to make the first move on someone. Just what kind of things did you go through with them?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Because those weren't the kinds of things he could tell her.
Ref, who had been watching Daniel for a moment, shrugged her shoulders.
"If you don't want to talk, there's nothing I can do. More importantly, was her name Frien? I'll tell you as a friend—you'd better keep a close eye on that woman."
"......Frien? What do you mean?"
"It was only for an instant, but I saw it. Black mana being emitted from Frien's skin and then vanishing. In Bellanos, we usually call this phenomenon a magic backflow reaction."
"Magic backflow reaction?"
"Yeah. It means the mana inside her body has started rampaging out of control. It's a very rare case, so there aren't many records of it. But people who show a backflow reaction somehow always end up getting caught up in incidents and accidents. It's no exaggeration to call it an ominous sign."
Ref stepped lightly forward.
"And on top of that, it's black mana. Historically, wasn't it condemned as the energy of the devil? Of course, I don't really believe in that kind of superstition."
Daniel, who had been following Ref, voiced his agreement.
"I don't believe in it either."
"Hmm. Really? I think I'm starting to understand a little why this woman Frien likes you. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is......."
Ref stopped walking and turned around.
Under the lush starlight, Ref shyly put her hands behind her back.
"Wouldn't you like to make me like you, too?"
Just as he wondered what she meant, a crack appeared at the corner of Ref's lips.
"I'd like you to go back to the indoor garden right now and tell them this was all a lie and that you have no relationship with Ref whatsoever. Wouldn't that make me like you at least a little bit more?"
He'd thought she was setting the mood for nothing, and sure enough, this had been her goal.
Daniel looked down at Ref with a subtle smile.
"Ref."
"Yes. Daniel."
"There is no negotiation with terrorists."
Daniel patted her shoulder lightly and walked past Ref.
"Hey, you son of a bitch─!"
A shout of indeterminate origin came from behind, but Daniel paid it no mind.
'Was it said that retribution is karma, and everything finally returns to its rightful place?'
Indeed, there was nothing wrong with the old saying.