Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: A Night of Pleasure and Ecstasy
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Even after saying it out loud, when I actually tried stepping to the dance with Elise, there was no way a country bumpkin who'd only lived in the woods could pull off a proper dance.
"Hee hee."
"Am I that funny?"
"You dancing well would have been even funnier."
"......"
"Come on, just follow my lead. You've got good instincts, so you'll pick it up in no time."
"Forget dancing. Let's just go over there and talk."
"We're already on stage."
Sure enough, we were right in the middle of the crowd already dancing, so in the end, I matched Elise's steps. And surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to follow.
"You're a quick learner. As expected, anything physical comes naturally to you."
"Cut the useless chatter."
Once I got the hang of it enough to move somewhat naturally, I glared at Elise, who wore a swan mask.
"Why'd you orchestrate all this?"
At my question, Elise let out an odd chuckle as she countered.
"What are you talking about?"
"......No intention of admitting it?"
"On the contrary, I want to ask you. Why are you here at this ball? What incident makes you suspicious of me, and on what grounds?"
Matching the crowd, we turned, and I wrapped my hand around her waist.
A distance where our masks nearly touched.
I answered affirmatively while glaring into her eyes hidden behind the mask.
"Fine. If you're going to keep denying it, I'll play along to the end."
Amid the orchestra's elegant melody and the nobles in their playful masks, Elise and I began unraveling why I was here.
"It started on a late night returning from Yggdrasil. We'd crossed the border, so we had no choice but to stay in Bethel, and the guard recommended a hotel."
"How kind of him."
"Yeah, if it had been an ordinary hotel. But the place the guard recommended was a murder hotel that ambushed its guests."
No startled reaction or concern from her.
She'd already realized I knew everything, so this was her way of saying she had no interest in wasting energy on pointless theatrics.
"The hotel owner was an old woman who'd been implanted with the powers of a Death Spider beast. If she willed it, she had stealth abilities no human could detect."
"Fascinating."
"Right. Seeing that made me realize the Bloodhounds organization was connected to the hotel. The next day, I went to find the guard who'd recommended it to us."
"......"
As I spoke, my feet got tangled without thinking, but Elise smoothly twisted her body to keep the dance going effortlessly.
"But he had no connection. In fact, so many people had praised the hotel that he'd just been showing kindness to us late-night arrivals in Bethel."
I caught my breath and stepped forward a bit harder as I continued.
"Now, here's where it gets weird. Doesn't it? 'Many' people recommending a murder hotel? Especially when survivors from there could be counted on one hand?"
"You could see it that way."
Elise nodded leisurely.
"Next up: Sen and Inspector Heiny Rosaless showing up."
"......"
"They came to Bethel after getting info on the Bloodhounds. But doesn't that strike you as odd? These guys who hid themselves so thoroughly leaking info in two places at once?"
Plus, Sen wasn't even part of the Extermination Squad anymore and was acting independently, yet she'd caught wind of it.
My reasoning led to someone deliberately leaking it to those two.
"And then Hayun's uncle, Hebbon Ren, appears. At this point, they're not even trying to hide it."
"It does seem that way."
True to her word, Elise had no intention of hiding that someone was behind this incident.
Because it wasn't important.
"Everything starts turning in our favor. Michael Potren thinks we're moving because of Hebbon Ren, and Hebbon Ren wants to cut a quick deal because of Hayun."
"......"
"On top of that, Inspector Heiny's involvement makes Michael impatient. Know what that means?"
"Tell me."
The music stopped.
Even as people bustled about preparing for the next dance, we stood rigidly, staring each other down.
"It was like they were telling us to wrap this up before we left town. After all, if it dragged on, me and the students could just leave Bethel and be done with it."
So they'd deliberately rushed the two nobles into making a deal.
To put an end to all the incidents while we were still in Bethel.
"Interesting. But that's just speculation. Coincidences piling up like that happen in our lives more often than you'd think."
"Michael Potren said something similar. 'What a remarkably long string of coincidences.'"
"......"
The music resumed.
Elise extended her hand to me again, and with a sigh, I took it and joined the dance once more.
"That's when I realized someone was centering everything around us, planning something."
Just like Bertio's play at the academy festival.
Someone had assigned us roles, and I could feel events unfolding according to their scripted scenario.
"And the mastermind behind scripting it all and moving us? You, Elise. Or should I say... Elis de Frigia. Third Princess."
Hearing that, Elise giggled and shook her head.
"You're really going with that?"
"......"
"Fine, I get the gist. Someone dragged you into a scenario in Bethel to get the outcome they wanted?"
"Exactly."
"It's empty. You skipped from setup straight to resolution, no rising action. No link between the climax and payoff."
"......"
Elise opened her mouth greedily and asked.
"How'd you know? That the mastermind was me."
"......"
"The Royal Knights arriving before Heiny's backup? That doesn't pinpoint me. You didn't even know I was a princess until before break."
"True."
I hadn't imagined the veiled Third Princess would be Elise, who kept such a low profile.
"Tell me. 'I guessed,' 'intuition,' 'coincidence'—that won't fly. How did you come to me? What method did you use to find me?"
"I already told you."
"Pardon?"
Amid the music and dancers in full swing, Elise stopped dead and glared at me.
I let go of her hand and looked down at her from the crowd.
"What do you mean?"
She stared at me like she truly couldn't comprehend, so I voiced the final key to this incident she'd dismissed as trivial.
"Death Spider."
"......"
A brief silence.
But soon, ripples spread across a still pond—her pupils slowly widened, and she gaped at me.
"I figured the mastermind had someone planted in the city to know the outcomes. It wouldn't make sense for them not to know the ending of their own play."
So her agents disguised as ordinary citizens observed everything and reported back.
"I just turned what you did right back on you. Thanks to our talented mage taming that old Death Spider crone through terror, we could monitor the eyes you had watching us."
"Ah......"
A sweet moan escaped, but it was swallowed by the music.
I'd said it multiple times.
If the Death Spider willed it, no human could find it.
No matter how capable the Lavender organization was, noticing an assassin from the Demon Realm Forest tailing them was impossible.
"Heh, heh heh......"
"After that, it was easy. Your spy would naturally lead us right to you. I even used Rin's magic to make it look like I was heading to the Demon Realm Forest, just in case you bolted."
I shrugged as I added,
"Looking at you now, I didn't even need to bother."
Judging by Elise's personality, she wouldn't have run anyway.
"Heh heh heh heh."
Elise bowed her head, covering her mouth as she began to laugh.
The music slowly faded, and the dancers around us stopped, but she couldn't wipe the smile from her face.
"So? Any parts you don't get now?"
"Heh, heh heh heh...... None. None at all. You've pinpointed me perfectly."
"Yeah, getting in here was a pain, though."
Climbing the building in a tuxedo and slipping through the window from the roof had been quite the ordeal.
As people bid their partners farewell after a fine time, Elise elegantly bowed to me as well.
"Correct, Daniel McClane. I am the mastermind who staged this Bethel theater for you all."
"......"
"You probably already know, but what I wanted was the downfall of House Potren and House Ren, and to snag the Bloodhounds' tail. They were harmful to the kingdom, after all."
"But Potren faces trial, Hebbon Ren escaped, and the Bloodhounds slipped away."
"Exactly. Mind if I ask one thing? Why did you create this ending?"
"......"
"I naturally assumed you'd oppose the Bloodhounds, so you'd kill Michael Potren, destroy Hebbon Ren after he disowned Hayun, and catch the Bloodhounds."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"You get it too, right? So why this choice?"
"Letting Hebbon Ren go wasn't my intent. That was Hayun's decision."
To completely sever ties with the family, she repaid even the little she'd received while there.
"I see. Hayun made that call."
She nodded as if amazed.
"The Bloodhounds weren't lost. I still have a clear link to them."
"Hmm? Really? That's surprising too."
Rin still had those two Bloodhounds who'd come to burn the murder hotel's evidence tied up.
"Finally, House Potren... Long ago, I once met Michelle Potren."
"......!"
As I finished explaining, Elise burst into shocked laughter again.
"I see. There was another connection I didn't know about."
That was why this Bethel stage had gone completely awry.
Because of the unknowable relation between Michelle Potren and Daniel McClane.
Elise slowly removed her mask and extended her hand to me.
"Daniel McClane, won't you be mine?"
"......What?"
A smile so excessive it seemed distorted.
Her words began spilling out at tremendous speed.
"This is a first for me. Is this what thrill feels like? Ahh, Daniel McClane! Yes! It's you! Only you can make me like this in this boring life! You, who exceeded every expectation! Only you can save me from this tedium! Ahh! Daniel McClane!"
"Are you insane?"
"How could I not be? Anyone who crosses me vanishes the next day, regardless of my intent. No one even mentions them. In the end, everyone fears me, avoids me, whispers about me."
"......"
"A life where I can achieve anything, yet utterly boring! In that stable existence, you bared your fangs at me, snarled fiercely, shattered all my plans, and humiliated me!"
"Sorry, but I have no intention of being yours."
"No, you are mine! If I cut off your legs first, you won't be able to run."
"Crazy bitch."
"Heh heh! Keep it coming! Who else in this kingdom could say that to me! Bertiaaaa!"
Numerous gazes turned our way.
She undid her neatly bound hair, tousling it as she called her maid, who promptly brought a large case and knelt.
With a click, the case opened, revealing a longsword inside.
Its sinuous form resembled a wooden staff, but the golden blade was so exquisite it could pass for artwork.
"This is 'Branch of the World Tree,' a treasure sword made for me when I entered the academy."
"You gonna cut my legs off right here?"
"You won't just come along nicely?"
"Are you nuts?"
"Yes, exactly! Bertia! The music!"
At that, the maid named Bertia hurried to the orchestra.
The musicians, who'd been staring blankly after hearing Elise's identity, hastily began playing.
As the performance swelled like crashing waves, Elise activated the magic in her ring.
Countless spells reinforced her body as if they'd been waiting.
"Dance with me! Adorn the end of this night of pleasure and ecstasy with a dance alongside me!"