210. Mirror (1)
210. Mirror (1)
- 1 -
It was early morning teatime. The time of day when nobles were supposed to feel most at ease.
But the atmosphere in this room right now was rather tense.
Tok. Jorororok...
Though porcelain pot and cup met, only the sound of liquid pouring could be heard, without a single scrape of their surfaces.
The Second Demon Queen was slowly studying the figure who had, for the first time in her life, stirred in her a desire to keep someone close.
A snow-white face with a glasslike impression beneath black hair that was the spitting image of her own.
Eyes swirling with magical power beneath long, dewy lashes.
Lips and nose so small one might wonder how human features could possibly be this adorable.
A pale white neck, a black lady-in-waiting uniform, and even the serene expression formed by those features.
'The more I look at her... she's beautiful.'
At her own request, Libertas had revealed her true appearance, and it was a beauty difficult to find anywhere in the Demon Realm.
A beauty that unmistakably reminded one—though Stella herself was loath to admit it—that she was the child of the Duke of Gluttony.
Had anyone observed Stella's thoughts and actions just then, they would surely have let out a dry laugh.
'She can't control herself.'
Just as Libertas was doing now.
The way she kept gazing at the other's face as if it were something beloved.
The fear of being found out that kept her from revealing her own feelings.
The yearning to touch, yet hesitating, unable to reach out.
For these were gestures that somehow resembled those of a girl faced with her first love.
"How is the tea, Your Highness?"
"...Ah."
When Libertas asked, Stella couldn't help but let out a slightly startled exclamation.
She had been that deeply absorbed in the presence of her half-sibling.
As if gazing at a deeply moving masterpiece or novel.
"Your Highness?"
"It's nothing."
Stella, looking somewhat sickly, shook her head. Then she breathed in the aroma of the tea Libertas had poured, savoring it.
And soon she spoke, her voice full of admiration.
"...The fragrance truly is lovely. Unique. I didn't expect you to be good at this as well."
Her tone was noticeably more comfortable than before.
For Stella was now treating Libertas truly as a younger sister.
Ttakgak.
Stella set down her cup and spoke softly.
"It's been a long time... since I've felt so at ease. It's thanks to you. Rita."
"Then I am pleased as well, Your Highness."
Libertas understood the depth of feeling behind those words, but she pretended not to notice and refilled the cup.
Stella's deepening feelings were a favorable sign for her.
The tea these not-quite-sisters had before them was actually coffee.
Served at Stella's request: she had wanted to taste what Libertas usually drank.
'She's drinking it well.'
Stella's reaction was more than enough to satisfy the one who had served it.
For she kept taking that bitter, black espresso—without a single grain of sugar or drop of syrup—into her mouth again and again, as if she truly liked it.
Libertas hadn't expected this. In truth, she didn't know that there was a certain measure of 'the taste of love' steeped within it.
'The tea this child made...'
Tea made by someone you love.
Generally speaking, that was an additive that made any food or drink taste better. As long as it wasn't terribly unpalatable or wildly different from one's tastes.
"I'm glad it suits your tastes as well."
And if it also matched one's tastes, so much the better.
So passed the contradictory time—a tense comfort.
Though that only applied to Stella.
Knock knock.
At the sudden sound of knocking, Stella's brow furrowed for an instant before smoothing out again.
The presence felt on the other side was exceedingly familiar.
Turning her gaze aside, Stella confirmed that Libertas had already donned Joanna's form once more.
A glance full of regret lingered for a moment on her face, then fell away.
"Who is it?"
- Today's correspondence has been brought, Your Highness.
"Enter."
The door opened, and beyond it appeared the figures of two ladies-in-waiting and several maidservants.
There were many people for the small amount of correspondence they held.
All correspondence addressed to the Demon Queen was treated as precious, so no matter how light or small the item, it was transported using multiple servants.
"Then I shall clear the tea, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Miss Joanna."
Yet the veiled Demon Queen's form was visible only from the side where Libertas stood.
A meaningful sight.
"Not at all."
As Libertas bowed her head once and tidied the tea set beside her.
"Bring it here."
The senior lady-in-waiting, who had cast a glance of jealousy at Libertas, took the correspondence from the maids and placed it on the table before Stella's bed.
Ordinarily, it was standard to hand over documents face-to-face, but the process had changed since yesterday.
The probationary lady-in-waiting beside her—Jessica, Libertas's current 'sister'—was likewise following her senior's actions.
'...Injury.'
Libertas's eyes, as she cleared the tea set and exited the room, focused on Jessica.
Her eyes caught traces hidden beneath the girl's clothes.
Wounds that were unmistakably left by a person.
They had not been there yesterday.
'How vile.'
After making a brief inner remark about the one who had left those wounds, Libertas left the room. Her eyes met those of the Demon Queen beyond the veil one last time.
Those eyes were quietly subdued, but Libertas knew well that the reality was otherwise.
Certain emotions that grew deeper and darker the more their eyes met.
"I shall see you shortly, Your Highness."
"Do so."
What brushed the corners of the Demon Queen's eyes as she returned to her usual tone of voice was unmistakable wistfulness and longing.
So intense that even a brief separation was hard to bear.
- 2 -
"Jessie. A moment."
Lunchtime.
I had come to find Jessica, following the traces of magical power I had attached to her.
Not in the dining hall, but in the garden.
"Sis? What's the matter?"
"Come this way."
Jessica, who had been eating a packed lunch by herself, widened her eyes.
It was a heartbreaking sight. Perhaps because it was a scene I felt I had seen somewhere before.
I took her hand and led her to a corner of the garden.
- That girl...
- I don't know how she managed to catch Her Highness's eye.
- Who knows? Someone must have...
All sorts of jealous gazes and envious words reached my ears, but I paid them not the slightest attention.
After all, as long as I was acting under the name Joanna, I was simply an ordinary lady-in-waiting.
Of course, the same could not be said for Jessica.
Kkwawak...
I felt her hand tighten around mine.
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that the force behind that grip was not avoidance, but anger.
Jeobeok.
My footsteps were naturally imbued with magical power, and the gazes that had been about to turn toward Jessica and me slipped naturally aside.
Darkness veiled us.
And so we arrived at a corner of the garden.
Jessica glanced around at the magical power surrounding her and looked at me with curious eyes.
"I didn't even notice you were setting up a barrier."
"You should naturally know how to do at least this much. If you want to survive on the surface."
It might be a bit over spec, to be honest—but all living things are better off being over spec to begin with.
At my smiling words, Jessica's eyes sparkled.
But when my expression hardened a moment later, her shoulders hunched as well.
Because I had let anger show on my face.
"Those wounds. Where did you get them?"
"Ah."
At my remark, Jessica unconsciously covered the nape of her neck with a look of dismay.
As I thought, she had been trying to hide it.
"It's, it's nothing."
"Tell me, Jessie."
"It's truly nothing..."
"Jessie. I promised your sister and your uncle that I would take responsibility for your safety. If this happens, how do you think I'll be able to face them?"
"...Ah..."
She answered sheepishly. For a long while she tried to deflect or remain silent, but at my firm demeanor, she eventually opened her mouth as if she had no choice.
She told me that there was harassment from other seniors and peers.
"So it was as I thought."
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to cause you concern over something like this..."
"It's all right. This isn't something to be concerned about."
Of course, I understood.
Among the ladies-in-waiting, a direct attendant. And among those direct attendants, the lady-in-waiting who served tea.
A position that drew the popularity and attention of noble ladies all at once.
Into that position had entered a fledgling lady-in-waiting with less than a week of experience—not even a probationary attendant, but someone who by rights should still be an apprentice maid.
On paper, she was accompanying the head lady-in-waiting, but that head lady-in-waiting had been frequently out and about lately for some reason or other.
So in the end, it looked as if an apprentice maid had monopolized the Demon Queen's favor all on her own.
'It's understandable that they're jealous.'
Even so, it was something hard to countenance.
'Laying hands on a child who will become my retainer, my subordinate in the future.'
I learned the names of the culprits from Jessica and memorized them.
There were only a few main offenders, so the situation was just right.
'I'll deal with them alongside this matter.'
There would be no need to kill them, of course.
Even in the Demon Realm, there existed a fine method called restructuring: one that shifted the grudges directed at me onto the organization while venting my own grievances.
Having made my decision inwardly, I applied only a pain relief spell and a disinfection spell to her skin.
If the wounds disappeared suddenly, she would be suspected.
"Do you have today's correspondence memorized?"
"Yes, sis."
One of Jessica's specialties was 'memory magic.'
From what I saw, this was also proof that she had been raised to be used as a spy under Ophillius's direction.
'A sister brought in to maintain the legitimacy of her sibling's title. And also women trained as assassins or spies...'
It was a detail worth remembering.
Of course, as long as he was taking my side, this evidence would never see the light of day.
"Excuse me for a moment."
"Go right ahead, sis."
I placed a hand atop her head.
Jessica docilely entrusted her head to me. Meeting her eyes, I saw her offer a clear, bright smile.
It was a relief.
"You've worked hard."
"You're already done?"
"Isn't a good magic one that doesn't leak a presence?"
The transfer of memories through soul arts.
All the memories of the correspondence that were stored in her head had been passed on to me.
"Go on in. And if anything happens again, tell me."
"Yes. I understand."
"Tell me absolutely everything about your private affairs as well, without exception. Understood?"
"...I understand."
At my repeated request, Jessica bowed her head respectfully.
When she lifted her head, there was a smile on her face. This time, it was genuine.
'As expected, there's a lot.'
Midday. The sky of the Demon Realm was still red.
Gazing up at that sky, I began sorting through the memories I had received one by one.
「To Bellastella.」
In the middle of that, I found one.
A piece of correspondence that had arrived two days earlier, at midday. It bore the seal of the First Demon Queen.
「I had good news and picked up my pen. This evening, I would like to send you some fine tea and sweets that I am fond of. I hope we can count it as having teatime together, even if from afar.
I do hope my gift is to your liking.
Sincerely, Semiramiel Ishtar.」
The seal of the Second Demon Queen's palace had been stamped there as well, signifying that the correspondence and gift had been received.
[This is the kind of letter that's come often before... I wonder if Her Highness enjoys sending gifts.]
Why was Semira sending Stella these gifts? And why was Stella accepting them without a second thought?
'I suppose I'll have to ask her directly.'
Holding onto that question, I moved to the brewing room to prepare tea once more before heading to Stella's chambers.
Since yesterday, Stella had been conducting state affairs not in her office, but in her bedroom.
In order to spread a certain rumor.
- What in the world could the illness be...
- The healers will be here soon, so we'll know.
The footsteps of the attendants and ladies-in-waiting passing through the corridor were more cautious than usual.
Their gazes and gestures were full of unease.
For word was spreading within the palace that the Demon Queen was in poor health.
'Everyone who knows she consumed poison will move.'
Slower-than-usual handling of affairs, a fatigued expression, and official business conducted only in her bedroom.
Signals more than sufficient to make one believe something was wrong with the Demon Queen.
Now it was time to lay the final snare.
Mistaking themselves for hunters, they would walk right into the trap.