284. Lion, Rose, and Wings (2)
284. Lion, Rose, and Wings (2)
- 1 -
A happy smile bloomed on Adelaide's face.
It blossomed like a flower, then slowly wilted.
The sense of duty and responsibility she bore as a ducal daughter was no light thing.
That happy expression which broke through such weight, even if briefly, was proof enough of her sincerity.
She folded that emotion away.
'The nation comes first.'
Putting on a cold mask, Adelaide straightened her posture.
'What a high-quality human. The original Elias would never have handed this woman over.'
Philia Libertas internally raised the girl's score and smiled to herself.
"No... that alone doesn't explain it."
Adelaide slowly shook her head and bit her lip.
She spoke in a calm yet firm voice.
Inside her small head, countless thoughts stormed furiously.
The political implications of this situation, Elena's position, and above all...
"What you've said... is certainly something I'm grateful for. But..."
She drew a deep breath, then looked back and forth between Elena and Libertas with cool, composed eyes.
"... I trust you don't intend to gloss over this with just that explanation. Countess, you said El 'serves' someone. I want to know precisely what that means."
"That's..."
Elena's face stiffened. She cast a glance at Libertas seeking permission.
It was time to make the confession, within the boundaries they had agreed upon.
Libertas nodded, her gentle smile still in place.
"Tell her, Elena. She is strong enough to understand."
And then, she rose from her seat.
She did not leave the room, but gave them a moment alone together.
Even with her master's permission granted, Elena hesitated, lacing her fingers together.
After all, she was about to reveal a part of her dark history.
Complex emotions crossed her eyes.
"Sister... do you remember what I told you before, about the curse I suffered?"
Adelaide nodded.
Until recently, Elena had been a man. Her younger sibling, who went by the name Elias.
"It's already known to everyone that you became a woman, isn't it?"
"It wasn't just that."
Her younger sibling shook her head and confessed an even more shocking truth.
"I said it happened because I fell into a trap due to my own foolishness. But what I became... is not simply a woman. It is a certain 'being' that could be nothing but female."
"No way..."
Adelaide's face slowly grew pale as understanding dawned.
"... a monster?"
Adelaide's gray pupils wavered.
The tremor was small, but the other two could see it clearly enough.
Becoming a woman from a man had been shocking enough, but a monster?
The enemies of humanity, the creatures that dwell in dungeons. Beings targeted for subjugation by every kingdom.
And such a being was sitting before her now, and it was her own younger sister.
"That can't be... you're still... so beautiful, so splendid..."
Elena smiled bitterly and nodded firmly.
"Yes. The one who placed the curse upon me was a dungeon lord. That is the reason my body became female. Through the curse, my flesh and soul were transformed."
Tension hung in the room.
Adelaide chewed over the meaning of those words.
Monsters. The enemies of humanity, the creatures that dwell in dungeons. And the being she believed would become her sister-in-law, her destined one, was such a being?
"How... could such a thing..."
"... The one who saved me when I nearly died from that curse was Lady Philia."
Elena let out a long sigh.
Her characteristic air of 'sorrow' bloomed, and Adelaide felt her heart pound, incongruous with the grave atmosphere.
"The early days after becoming a monster were incredibly difficult. The instinctive hostility toward humans, the changed body and mana, the chaos of identity... and the person who helped me endure that time was..."
Elena paused briefly, and both her gaze and Adelaide's turned toward Libertas.
She was looking out the window, but there was no reason to doubt she was listening to every word of this conversation.
"The Countess."
"Yes. How to control the instincts of a monster, how to handle the new power, how to adapt to the transformed body... if not for that, I would be living right now consumed by frenzy, devouring other humans."
Elena and Adelaide's eyes met.
In Elena's eyes there was regret, but no wavering born of falsehood.
This was all true. Even if only a part of it.
Sorrow descended upon Adelaide's expression. She smoothed her dress and opened her mouth.
"The process of becoming a monster is agonizing, Adelaide."
Libertas's soft voice seeped into Adelaide's ear.
The evening sunlight rimmed her silhouette in gold.
Within the long shadows cast across the room, at first only the gleam of violet eyes pierced the darkness.
As if a predator were eyeing its prey.
The shadows gradually shortened, revealing Libertas's face.
The faint smile playing at her lips carried a sweet poison.
"One's identity as a human vanishes, and unfamiliar instincts awaken. In that moment... many fall into frenzy."
Adelaide fixed her eyes on that face and steeled her knees.
Libertas's presence was immense. Perhaps even greater than her father's.
If she did not hold her heart firm, the urge to flee that spot seemed about to seize her.
"As a result, monsters are created that kill far more humans, far more actively, than those born as monsters naturally. Many demons prefer turning humans into monsters for that reason."
Adelaide looked at Elena with new eyes.
So Elena's will had been that strong.
But Elena herself was looking at Libertas.
This was the first time she had heard this story, and the truth was, Elena had barely experienced the frenzy of a monster at all.
She only now realized that it had been thanks to Libertas's consideration.
"... Then, Countess, are you an expert in handling monsters?"
At Adelaide's question, Libertas slowly reached out and caressed her jawline.
A dangerous yet alluring light played across her face.
"I am an expert in many things."
That touch was cold as ice yet strangely warm.
Adelaide's body went rigid at the contact. She could not even breathe properly. Like a young deer standing before a beast.
The touch withdrew as discreetly as it had come.
Only after that touch had departed did Adelaide feel strength returning to her body.
Thump. Thump.
She barely realized that the sound she had been hearing for a while was the pulsing of her own heart and blood through her veins.
Belatedly grasping the fact that Libertas had touched her face, she unconsciously stroked her own chin.
It felt as though the sensation still lingered there.
"That sort of thing isn't very important, is it?"
Libertas, seated once more, poured her own tea and whispered.
Her half-lowered lashes were so long, they seemed as if they might glisten with moisture at any moment.
"What truly matters... is that Elena's heart, loyal to you and to Leophere, has not changed."
Adelaide clutched the hem of her dress as she asked. Her voice was slightly hoarse from tension.
"But El said that you, a noble of Hysen, are the one she serves..."
"Let me be clear about one thing."
Libertas took a sip and set down her teacup, still speaking gently.
Her manner was so utterly ordinary that all the grave discussion around her seemed to lose its gravity and crumble away.
"I am neither a noble of Hysen nor of Rugnis. I am myself."
Stripped of its gentleness, Libertas's voice revealed an unimaginable, lofty profundity.
"The mentor of Amelia of the Orbis Duchy, the regent of Yurena of the Haisen Kingdom, and the one whom Elena serves..."
She paused briefly, and looked at Elena.
Elena bowed her head deeply in respect.
"Yes, her master. Without me, Yurena could not have become queen, and Amelia could not have ruled Orbis. They chose me of their own accord. Elena's circumstances are somewhat different, but..."
And with a smile in her eyes, she met Adelaide's gaze.
Adelaide's eyes slowly began to waver.
"They are not so different after all."
"That... that means..."
Adelaide felt dizzy at the sudden realization.
It meant this single woman had already taken hold of the major nations of the Grakheisen alliance.
But Adelaide could not evade Libertas's gaze.
"I understand that all of this is no easy matter for you. But try to look at the situation from a broader perspective."
She admonished her calmly and kindly.
As an older sister to a younger one, as a mother to a child.
"As you know, we are already bound together by alliance. Hysen, Orbis, Kiza, Hilsa, and Leophere. We are no longer separate nations."
"The alliance..."
Adelaide collected herself and looked at Philia with clear eyes.
Only then did she begin to properly see the meaning behind the behavior of every alliance representative, the way they had all been watching her reactions.
"It was you. You were the true master of the alliance."
Libertas kept silent, but Adelaide recognized it as tacit affirmation.
Biting her lip slightly, Adelaide thought for a moment.
The truth no longer mattered. It was utterly impossible for Leophere to ally with Zenota, and on the other side stood Kiza, Hysen, and Orbis.
For Leophere to survive...
"As a member of the alliance, if Leophere were to swear loyalty to you... what position would Leophere occupy?"
Libertas's face was suffused with satisfaction.
Her fingertips lightly tapped the table, and mana stirred, unfurling a map upon it.
"This is..."
Adelaide was astonished at the sight of the map conjured from mana.
It was astonishingly elaborate and superb.
Moreover, every royal castle possessed a power that controlled unauthorized movements of mana.
That she had pierced through it so effortlessly meant Libertas could attack them right here, right now, if she wished.
"On the Zenota border, Leophere shall become the spear and shield of the alliance. Elena, my wing and Leophere's wing, shall stand at the vanguard. And in return..."
"The Empire..."
Adelaide interjected unconsciously.
Libertas did not rebuke the discourtesy.
"Of course it is possible."
Heat slowly began to glisten in Adelaide's eyes.
Leophere, raised beyond a kingdom to an empire.
That was her wish.
"That said, I will not interfere in Leophere's internal affairs. You will remain Leophere's successor, and you will govern your nation in your own way. You need only consult me, or Elena, regarding decisions that affect the alliance."
Elena clasped Adelaide's hand.
"Sister. Please believe me. I am still Leophere's sword, and your younger sister. Lady Philia... my master is not using us. She wishes to stand with us. Why else would we reveal such secrets to you?"
"El..."
Adelaide looked at Libertas once more.
She was truly a mysterious being. Beautiful, powerful, and dangerous.
"... How do we explain this to Father?"
"It should suffice to tell Duke Frederic simply that it is a political alliance to strengthen the coalition. He would rather spend his days reminiscing about his youth in his own territory forever. He is already old, Adele."
Watching this woman call her by her nickname without hesitation, Adelaide clasped her own hands tightly together.
It was the moment of decision.
"Very well. A true alliance with you..."
Adelaide stopped speaking and shook her head.
Then she looked straight at Libertas. With that firm gaze befitting the epithet 'Steel' that adorned Leophere.
"No. It is not an alliance."
In the moment of silence, resolve rose in Adelaide's eyes.
"I will serve you, together with Elena. For the future of Leophere and the alliance."
The instant those words fell, the air in the room grew heavy.
An irreversible decision had been made.
"But if you ever try to abandon our Leophere and walk a foul path... I will not stand idly by. Even for Elena's honor, I will ensure she cannot serve you. By imprisonment... or by death."
"Sister..."
Those were ruthless words, but at the same time, they pleased Libertas.
"A wise decision."
Libertas drew a small jewelry box from within her robes and held it out to the two of them.
As her fingers opened the box, the air in the room changed in an instant.
"This is my gift to you both."
Inside the jewelry box, a pair of platinum rings lay side by side upon blue velvet.
"Th-this is..."
"M-my lady... such a thing..."
The sisters grasped the meaning in an instant and blushed simultaneously.
Both their faces flushed red as apples.
Because they had recognized at once that this was no mere token of a loyalty oath.
The meaning contained within involved at least two people.