The Flaw in the Blueprint
Ramnusia wanted to kidnap Helene. She was absolutely convinced that kidnapping her would solve everything!
"...T-That is my plan so far. What do you think, Keres?"
I will make Helene Olimpia, the Imperial Princess of the Empire on which the sun never sets, mine. To realize this dangerous desire, I needed a grand, meticulous plan. It was just like hunting. You couldn't succeed just because you spotted your prey, got excited, and started screaming while firing arrows wildly or throwing spears. Because I had to push Helene's physical and mental limits to the absolute brink, the concept was identical to hunting a massive beast. And delicate work like this always requires a detailed blueprint!
"Did you devise this plan all by yourself, my lady?"
"Y-Yes... When hunting in the mountains, one must act as efficiently as possible, after all."
Keres picked up the notebook on the desk and began to examine it, flipping through the pages. I was worried she might dismiss it as childish play, but her gaze was incredibly serious.
"Lady Ramnusia. I do not believe this plan is bad."
"O-Oh... Then...?"
"Using Command Magic appropriately on the academy's instructors to guide Lady Helene to a designated location, cornering her using Laura's magic, and then kidnapping her. It is indeed a splendid plan, my lady."
Keres tapped the notebook lightly with her index and middle fingers.
"You have even considered where to take Lady Helene once she is properly unconscious. The Mountain Cabin certainly has no one managing it. The sheer shock of being kidnapped will also heavily impact her mental state, so there should be no issues."
"T-Then, is it possible? Keres?"
Curving the corners of her lips slightly, Keres met my eyes.
"What is it that you are asking is possible, my lady?"
"I-I mean... I was hoping Keres could help me out a little, just in case the worst happens."
"That is impossible, my lady. This plan is far removed from either your personal revenge or the revenge of 'Ramnusia Yuno'. It is solely for the sake of your simple, raw desire."
I hoped she might help, but Keres is as sharp as a knife when it comes to drawing lines.
"So there's n-no chance at all?"
"Should the absolute worst occur, I may offer my assistance, but I have absolutely no intention of complying with a request such as 'Please kidnap Lady Helene for me,' my lady."
Keres drew a firm line. She was a maid who would do anything for me, but thinking back, everything up until now had been related to my 'revenge'. In fact, this might be only natural. It would probably be bad for me to assume Keres would blindly do absolutely everything for me anyway.
"Then... c-could you tell me what the chances of this plan succeeding are?"
Keres paused, her eyes shifting thoughtfully for a moment.
"Keres is smart and capable, after all. Surely you can tell...!"
"Would you like me to speak with absolute honesty, my lady?"
When I nodded, Keres let out a sigh.
"Lady Ramnusia."
"P-Please! Tell me! If Keres says I can succeed, I feel like strength and mana I didn't even know I had will surge forth!"
"Wake up from your dream, my lady. Masturbating would be far more helpful in relieving your desires."
Keres's single remark was devastatingly resolute.
According to Laura, Helene was as warm and gentle as the shining sun, with a personality that loved helping others. Having met her only once, I couldn't help but agree vehemently; Helene's personality was exceptionally good. I mean, forcing Laura and me to make peace in the first place showed exactly what kind of person she was, didn't it? And while it was truly, deeply heartbreaking, I fully intended to exploit this personality trait.
"I-Instructor Britannia, c-could we talk for a moment?"
To create a situation where Helene would absolutely take action, a specific setup was required. No matter how noble Helene was, if I suddenly ran up to her and said, "Something dangerous happened over there! Please go check it out!" she wouldn't just blindly rush off. Even with the exact same words and actions, the weight and persuasiveness changed entirely depending on who delivered them. That was why I chose Instructor Britannia, who taught the hunting class.
"Sure, what is it, Ramnusia?"
There were several reasons why I chose this instructor, who had moderately long brown hair and a completely untrimmed beard. An instructor so lazy that he couldn't even bother to cut his hair or shave would definitely not move on his own even if a "major incident" occurred. Furthermore, because he taught hunting, he wouldn't know much about magic, unlike Instructor Hecate. If I carelessly cast a spell on Instructor Hecate and she found out I was throwing around magic from the Armonomicon, I wouldn't be able to handle the fallout. Thus, I chose the safest option where I didn't have to worry about risks at all.
"W-Well, you see... talking here in the hallway is a bit..."
"I doubt it's anything important anyway."
It would be difficult to use the Hypnosis Rune Magic unless we were completely alone. That was exactly why I chose Instructor Britannia, though.
"Instructor... I really want to talk to you in private."
I tucked my side hair behind my ear with my fingers, grabbed the collar of my blouse, and fanned it back and forth. Instructor Hecate was a woman, but Instructor Britannia was a man. Yes, a man! If a beautiful girl with a soft, lovely body exuded a suggestive atmosphere and asked to speak in private, he would gladly move.
"...This little girl."
Instructor Britannia stared at me quietly, then let out a chuckle. I wondered if I had failed, but I hadn't. Instead, he lightly tapped my hand, stroked my shoulder as if brushing past, and patted my waist. Did he take the bait?
"Well, well. If Ramnusia is begging to talk in private, I suppose I have no choice."
With a light smile, Instructor Britannia waved his hand and walked ahead with heavy footsteps. It worked! As expected, men fall so easily when a woman seduces them! It's so easy it's almost chilling!
"Come on in."
Instructor Britannia opened the classroom door, stepped inside first, and held the doorknob, waiting for me.
"I-Instructor..."
"No need to rush."
Thud. As expected, the door closed. Instructor Britannia shrugged, pulled a pipe from his pocket, and placed it in his mouth.
"So, Ramnusia. What is it that you want to talk about with your Instructor Britannia in private?"
The instructor approached me with a smile and gently stroked my shoulder. Was he used to this kind of thing? Or had he been hoping for it? There was no way to know his true thoughts, but it didn't matter. I only needed one thing. A tool to realize my plan was more than enough.
"I-Instructor Britannia... Please look here for a moment."
"Hahaha, well now, this is far more scandalous than I thought..."
Zzzzt! The moment Instructor Britannia saw the Hypnosis Sigil drawn near my chest, the pipe fell from his mouth. Using Psychological Domination was incredibly easy. How should I put it? He was like a bird even smaller than Laura, making it simple to trap him in the palm of my hand.
"Now then... Instructor Britannia. Please listen to my request carefully."
I cupped Instructor Britannia's face with both hands and met his eyes. There was no real need to do this, but since it was practice for the New Order magic, I had to set the mood.
"Call Helene Olimpia and tell her this: Traces of demons using wicked Black Magic have been discovered in the mountains behind the academy. You have always handled these matters quietly and discreetly, haven't you? Tell her you don't want to cause a scene, so you want Helene to quietly investigate it."
Instructor Britannia didn't reply, but it didn't matter.
"Oh, and make sure to call Helene and tell her this tomorrow as soon as classes end."
Keres had said it was an impossible plan, but everything was proceeding smoothly, exactly as I had imagined.
"Do you take me for a fool, Ramnusia? I told you! My familiar clearly saw Princess Helene talking to Instructor Britannia!"
"D-Did she properly leave the academy..."
"I said she did! I granted your wish, and yet you keep whining, even though you're just Ramnusia!"
Laura spoke as if she were utterly dumbfounded, but she was actually doing everything I ordered. The New Order magic was absolute. Even when I gave vague commands, she would complain and whine, yet still carry them out perfectly. Thanks to that, I could use Laura's familiar to confirm that Helene was indeed heading toward the mountain behind the academy, where I had set my trap.
"T-Then... is the barrier properly prepared?"
"Ramnusia... With those pathetic, pitiful eyes of yours, you probably have no idea what a terrifying trap I've prepared."
Laura and I were waiting for Helene near a small cave where the trap had been set. Of course, we were concealed using magic and hiding behind a tree, so there was no way we would be spotted.
"B-But Helene is... the Princess, after all."
"Even a princess has things she cannot endure! It will definitely work, so don't worry."
It would have been nice if Keres had helped, but Laura had skipped two classes just to do this for me. There was no way to prepare any better than this, so—
"Ramnusia! Princess Helene is com—"
"Get your head down!"
Panicking that we might get caught, I hastily shoved the back of Laura's head down. At any rate, Helene had come to the mountain behind the academy alone, just as I had hoped. Instructor Britannia's 'request' must have worked perfectly, as she seemed to have run here at a brisk pace.
"...Hmm."
After looking around, Helene immediately entered the cave where the trap was set.
"Laura!"
"It's a magic that triggers automatically, so stop nagging me! By now..."
Rumble! With a loud, roaring sound, thick white dust billowed out from inside the cave.
"W-What was..."
"Hu-huhuhu! Of course there would be this much noise! But don't be surprised, Ramnusia!"
Laura shrugged.
"Using a firestorm to deplete the oxygen inside the cave, and with wooden vines automatically wrapping around her arms and legs, Princess Helene won't be able to move! On top of that, I've properly engraved a sigil that inflicts a petrification curse!"
"S-So many spells..."
"Well, shouldn't we do at least this much to knock the Princess unconscious so she's in a 'kidnappable state'?"
Laura spoke with a triumphant expression, then tilted her head in confusion.
"But Ramnusia... why are we kidnapping the Princess..."
"Laura! I have a wish! Lift the unconscious Princess with magic right now and follow me. And shut your mouth because you're being noisy until we've finished moving her."
Laura shut her mouth tightly. If she developed any greater doubts than this, I could just erase her memories entirely. A bit of time passed after the white dust storm billowed out of the cave, but not a single sound could be heard, and Helene did not walk out.
"Heh, hehe..."
No matter who looked at it, this was a perfect situation for a kidnapping!
"I'm already looking forward to seeing what kind of underwear Princess Helene is wearing—"
Bang! A small explosion suddenly echoed from inside the cave.
"...lene!" An familiar voice echoed from inside the cave. She had definitely entered alone, hadn't she? My question was answered easily in less than ten seconds. Helene walked out of the cave with firm steps, accompanied by Clafouti. Helene's uniform was a mess of dust, dirt, and soot, but she herself looked perfectly fine.
"Helene! How could you visit a place where traces of demons were found all by yourself, my lady?"
"I apologize. But it was Instructor Britannia's word. Since there could have been a major misunderstanding, I had no intention of borrowing even your strength."
"Do you say such things knowing it would hurt my feelings, my lady? At any rate, while there were certainly traces of black magic, the magic that just attacked you was not the magic of demons, you know."
Helene gave a bitter smile and continued her casual conversation with Clafouti. The two of them looked incredibly peaceful. They didn't panic and run to find an instructor in this situation, and Clafouti even fanned her hand to wipe the soot off Helene's cheek.
"An investigation like this could have easily been left to Eir, you know."
"Do not say that. Eir has a lot on her plate, does she not?"
"There is no way Eir, who is busy playing prince, has more to do than the Imperial Princess, my lady. Besides, if Eir was unavailable, you should have at least brought Salome along, you know."
"I apologize, but it seemed truly urgent, so I had no choice but to act."
Helene and Clafouti chatted warmly, completely unaware that I was eavesdropping. Thanks to that, I realized one crucial fact.
Could what Keres said be...
Unlike Laura, who had absolutely no friends, the Imperial Princess Helene Olimpia was surrounded by friends who wanted to help her in any way they could. And without a doubt, she opened her heart to those friends far more than she ever would to me.
...In that case.
What if those friends suddenly grew distant or changed? What if those very friends whispered to Helene, "Ramnusia is trustworthy"? A plan far more amusing and realistic than the kidnapping Keres had told me to wake up from began to bloom in my mind.