Chapter 562: Jealousy is My Power (62)
Chapter 562: Jealousy is My Power (62)
“I don’t know the details. However, seeing as the Great Witch accompanied him, wouldn’t it be a grave matter?”
Her light tone held not a single trace of resentment.
It was the attitude of a loyal dog faithfully carrying out its master’s orders—an intelligent pet that processes only what it is asked to do, without harboring a single doubt regarding Ian’s choices or decisions.
“……I see.”
Seria nodded as if she accepted the explanation for now.
To be honest, she still couldn't properly grasp the situation, but what could she do?
The senior she loved had already left.
With that answer, the conversation in the sickroom came to an abrupt halt. It was a natural result, as Cien paid Seria no further attention and Seria remained silent.
How much time passed like that?
As she blankly watched Cien’s needlework, Seria was struck by a sudden question.
Cien’s face, as she crafted a doll resembling Ian, was glowing with pure joy. Her beaming expression was a direct manifestation of the girl’s delight.
She was like this just from making a replica of the man.
There was no need to even ask how much she cherished and adored the original Ian.
She loves him.
It was a fresh realization. Normally, Seria’s expression should have turned cold and sharp at this point.
But not today.
Facing her romantic rival, Cien, Seria’s heart was strangely peaceful. Like a landscape painting of a lake with a small boat adrift, Seria’s heart showed no sign of agitation.
However, a question followed in its wake.
“……Aren’t you jealous?”
It was an abrupt inquiry.
Only then did Cien stop her needlework and shift her gaze. Meeting eyes filled with bewilderment, Seria’s face remained as calm as ever.
“There is a significant event occurring, yet he didn’t share it with Your Highness. He is even traveling with another woman… aren’t you angry? I imagine this has happened several times before.”
Then, silence.
Cien returned only silence instead of an answer. Her eyes, staring blankly at Seria, looked particularly dazed.
But this lasted only a moment.
The Princess soon jumped up from her seat like a loyal subject who had just been invited to join a treasonous plot and cried out.
“W-w-w… what are you saying! How could someone like m-me feel jealousy toward Sir Ian… Of course, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit hurt… but still, it’s not jealousy! I’m the one who used to torment Sir Ian, remember? So I have no right to be jealous! R-right?!”
Her answer ended as a question.
It was a sign of just how flustered she was.
Seria nodded slowly and looked away. Regardless of how Cien interpreted this, the Princess began to protest her innocence with a tearful face.
“S-Senior… you believe me, right? If Sir Ian ever heard this and thought I was acting out of turn……!”
She even trembled as she spoke.
It was impossible to tell what kind of persecution complex she was suffering from. Despite this puzzling reaction, Seria’s eyes did not turn back toward Cien.
Because a much stranger sight was reflected in her vision.
It was Black Mud.
It looked like a living creature. The fact that an amorphous object moved with a will of its own gave her a sense of déjà vu, but it seemed clear that the entity was trying to say something to the woman.
Blood-red eyes suddenly surfaced amidst the squelching liquid.
“Je-Jealousy… hee, heehee… Jealousy shall come…….”
Most humans would have looked away from such a hideous sight. However, Seria’s sensibilities had a peculiar side to them, and more importantly, Seria was exceptionally devoid of emotional shifts today.
Am I still half-asleep?
Seria blinked a couple of times, then pointed her index finger at the strange creature before her and asked.
“Do you see it?”
Only then did Cien stop mumbling her excuses and shift her gaze.
Following the finger, toward the empty space.
The Princess soon tilted her head and asked back.
“……There’s nothing there but a plain white wall? M-more importantly! Anyway, please don’t misunderstand. I am still a pathetic woman who needs to reflect and atone much more. S-so, I would never, ever harbor such an arrogant feeling as jealousy!”
The Princess continued to chatter on after that, but Seria’s attention had long since been entirely focused on the newly appeared Black Mud.
It was an act closer to instinct.
The Black Mud was squelching closer. Since it was small and moved slowly, she didn't feel particularly afraid.
However, that endlessly murmuring voice resonated in Seria’s chest.
“Jeal-ousy… Jealousy… Yes, Jealousy has come!”
There was a word that was repeated with strange frequency.
‘Jealousy.’
It happened to be the emotion they were just discussing. So, Seria inadvertently confessed her inner thoughts.
It was right in the middle of the Princess trembling in self-deprecation.
“So, it’s definitely not jealous—!”
“That’s a lie.”
Snap.
Silence fell, as if a gramophone had been unplugged. Seria’s declaration carried that much conviction.
The Princess couldn't even offer a rebuttal and clamped her mouth shut.
Bewilderment bled from the girl’s wide-open eyes. Not only had she rarely heard such a blatant contradiction from a noble since her birth as a Princess, but Seria’s indifferent manner of speaking was also unfamiliar.
In the landscape reflected in her blue pupils, there was no room for Cien.
She was merely staring blankly into the empty air where nothing could be seen.
Her hazy eyes exuded a seductive, trance-like atmosphere.
“You say you don’t feel jealousy because you’ve sinned, because you lack the right? That’s a lie. You feel it because you are lacking, because you are insufficient… something I don’t have, but want to possess by any means.”
For words spilled out inadvertently, they carried a heavy theme.
This was likely Seria’s unvarnished sincerity.
Her unfocused gaze and breath that carried a faint, sweet scent were proof of that.
Did it not mean she was unable to maintain perfect rationality?
At that moment, Cien felt a strange intuition. An ominous and bizarre sensation, as if she were stepping into a swamp made of mud.
Regardless, Seria’s words continued relentlessly.
“So, Your Highness was lying… only imperfect humans can feel jealousy. There’s no reason for a being who possesses everything to covet anything, is there?”
“……T-then what about you, Senior!”
It was a reflexive counter-question.
Only then did Seria’s eyes turn blankly toward Cien. A hollow gaze, devoid of any emotion.
The Princess was certain.
The current Seria was strange. The girl suppressed her urge to pull away immediately.
Hadn't she been asked by Ian? To take good care of this woman.
She couldn't break a promise without a justifiable reason.
So, Cien had to huddle like a frightened house rabbit and ask again.
“Then what about you, Senior……”
It was a timid question asked with downcast eyes.
Only after letting it out did Cien falter, thinking, ‘Oh no.’ The thought that it was a somewhat rude thing to say crossed her mind.
Asking "What about you?"
First, it was no different from indirectly pointing out that Seria was prone to jealousy, and further, it pointed out that by her own logic, Seria must also be an infinitely lacking human. Either way, it remained an impolite remark.
Yet, Seria didn't show any particular sign of offense.
On the contrary, the woman even nodded obediently.
“You’re right. I am also a woefully insufficient human. It’s always been that way since I was a child. Always being compared, always being ignored… still, I harbored the hope that if I worked hard, something would change. But you know, Your Highness. Actually, that was a mistaken thought.”
The tone in which she quietly poured out her heart was heavy and dark. At that voice, which even gave an impression of being murky and clinging, Cien shuddered once.
Something is wrong.
Even as she repeated that thought several times, the Princess ultimately could not leave her spot.
Whether it was Ian’s request or the friendship with a comrade who had crossed the line of death together.
Those were now mere excuses.
Cien couldn't bring herself to stand up, simply because she felt like she shouldn't.
It was a baseless stubbornness. To a degree that even she found hard to understand.
“Of course, there were times when I had sweet dreams. In a life where I only repeated failures, a miracle happened and I formed a connection with someone far too good for me… but that was as far as it went.”
Before she knew it, Seria had leaned her upper body forward, coming within inches of Cien.
The sound of breathing, the scent of skin, a sweet and hazy sensation.
The Princess was focusing on Seria’s words, even forgetting to breathe.
“The person I wanted so desperately had already been taken. While I was hesitating, I couldn't forgive my own shabby self… what if I hadn't cared about the means and methods from the start?”
“Se-Seria Senior…….”
“It’s the same for Your Highness, isn't it?”
The pale-faced girl’s ears were soaked by the whisper.
Seria lowered her voice to the limit, like a messenger delivering a secret conspiracy.
“Actually, you are jealous. But because you can't forgive your own ugly self, aren't you intentionally looking away? Afraid that if you become shameless, you’ll be hated…….”
Cien’s breath stopped.