The Unbearable Lightness of a Kiss #2
"Excuse us for a moment."
"Oh? What are you doing...?"
Before Thalia could catch up, I dragged Cordelia into a corner and whispered to her.
"Professor. I'm sorry for being rude, but there's no time to explain."
"What do you mean?"
"The story is that I had a nightmare and talked gibberish because of your experiment. She doesn't know anything about the assassination attempt. I told her I got hurt while helping you with your research."
"A story?"
"Just play along with me. Please, I beg of you..."
Thalia walked in a moment later.
Seeing us huddled so closely in the corner—almost as if we were embracing—her expression stiffened.
"L-Lord? What are you..."
Cordelia looked at her, then turned her gaze back to me.
"Ah... You're working hard, aren't you?"
She nodded, wearing a knowing, meaningful smile as if she understood everything.
"Understood. We can talk about the details later. Slowly... just the two of us. How does that sound?"
Cordelia leaned in close and whispered softly in my ear.
Damn it, is she doing this on purpose?
Under normal circumstances, my heart would have skipped a beat. But definitely not right now.
"..."
Thalia's face had gone completely pale and cold. I did my best to avoid her gaze.
Cordelia grabbed my wrist and pulled me further into the room, speaking loud enough for Thalia to hear this time.
"So you came to help with my research? Perfect timing. I actually had an experiment I wanted to try."
Cordelia strode deeper into the room with her long legs.
I clutched my shrinking heart.
"Thalia, I don't know what you're misunderstanding, but it's not like that..."
"I see, Lord. Is that why you snuck out behind my back?"
She was definitely misunderstanding. Ignoring my explanation, Thalia walked past me.
"...I told you, it's a misunderstanding."
A pleasant fragrance wafted through Cordelia's room. It wasn't the scent of perfume. It felt as if dozens of different floral scents had blended together to create an entirely new aroma.
"Ah, you'll need a place to sit, won't you?"
Cordelia snapped her fingers, and a wooden chair floated up on its own, placing itself right in front of Thalia and me.
Sitting on the edge of the bed with leisurely movements, she looked at us and spoke.
"Alright. Both of you sit down first. I haven't seen you before, dear. What is your name?"
Thalia replied, her face still tense with wariness.
"I am Thalia."
"I see. Thalia. What a pretty name. Are you Edwin's lover?"
"No. I am his retainer."
"You took a woman as your retainer? Hmm, I see. Is she a retainer meant for nightly duties?"
Crack.
A fracture began to form on Thalia's polite, expressionless face.
No, maman Cordelia. What kind of question is that? You're putting me in a terrible spot here.
Thalia did her best to answer calmly.
"The Lord and I do not share that kind of relationship."
"Not that kind of relationship? But surely you share a bed at night."
"...We do not! What on earth are you trying to say, Professor?!"
Thalia raised her voice for the first time.
Yet, Cordelia responded nonchalantly.
"Oh my, you don't share a bed? Really? How strange. I thought that boy was quite the lecher."
No, please. Professor, you're killing me here. Please shut your mouth!
I had to endure Thalia's icy glare.
"..."
True. Cordelia had a point.
I had groped her breast during our first meeting, and since then, I'd called her 'maman' and looked at her with suggestive eyes. I couldn't really complain if she saw me as a degenerate.
But you, you're clearly enjoying this right now!
Finding Thalia's reaction amusing, she was deliberately provoking her with suggestive phrasing.
"So, why did you follow him in secret? Did you suspect him of cheating on you?"
"...I heard the Lord was assisting you with your research."
"That's right."
I haven't actually helped her yet, though.
My heart pounded in fear that Cordelia might expose that fact.
"I followed him out of concern. That is all."
"A reasonable concern."
Cordelia nodded.
"Because Edwin has to die once here today. It's certainly something to worry about."
Cordelia spoke those chilling words with a smile.
Ah. This was bad.
Thalia was—
"...!"
Sure enough, the moment those words left Cordelia's mouth, Thalia drew her sword.
"Lord, get back!"
"Wait, Thalia—"
Before I could even stop her, Thalia thrust her sword straight toward Cordelia's throat.
Clang!
The blade stopped in midair.
Or rather, it was caught.
Thalia froze in her thrusting posture, unable to move a muscle.
"...!"
Cold sweat slowly trickled down her forehead.
Her knuckles were white from how tightly she gripped the hilt, and her aura flared intensely around the blade, yet the sword remained suspended in the air.
"My, you really cherish your lord, don't you?"
Cordelia spoke in admiration.
"But your judgment isn't very good. I thought you were the calm type, but you're far too hasty. Is your lord really that precious to you?"
"Ugh... If you lay... even a single finger... on the Lord...!"
"On the other hand, your lord is much better."
Cordelia turned her gaze to me.
"Even when he heard he was going to be killed, he didn't panic. Instead, he tried to stop this girl, knowing she would act rashly. Isn't that right?"
I shrugged.
"Well, if you really wanted to kill me, you could have done it easily. Besides, you specifically said I had to die 'once,' so there must be a reason for it."
"Exactly! You really are an interesting child."
Cordelia chuckled.
It was only natural.
Thalia didn't know how powerful Cordelia actually was.
She probably figured that since Cordelia was an academy professor, she would be strong, but that sacrificing her own life to buy time would allow me to escape.
But that judgment was wrong.
This woman was an absolute monster, even in an academy teeming with monsters.
A dark mage who had lived for hundreds of years. Aside from the academy's headmaster, who rarely showed himself, there were very few who could defeat her.
She wouldn't even need to try to kill me.
"Thanks for the compliment, but please let her go first. If she stays like that, her arm is going to cramp up."
"Ah, right."
Cordelia snapped her fingers, and Thalia's body moved on its own, sheathing the sword.
"What in the..."
Just because someone was a mage didn't mean they could forcibly bind a person like Cordelia just did.
Especially when it came to spells cast directly on a person; if the target channeled their aura, the flow of mana would be disrupted, breaking the magic.
Yet, even against the aura of Thalia—an upper-class swordsman—Cordelia casually snapped her fingers and cast her magic.
"Are you calm now?"
"..."
Thalia bit her lip. She had been completely toyed with.
Even so, she nodded.
"...I apologize. You had no intention of harming the Lord, then."
Cordelia smiled brightly.
"Oh, no, I do intend to harm him."
Thalia's face darkened once more.
Ugh, this busty witch, seriously!
She was deliberately enjoying the misunderstanding.
I quickly intervened.
"So, what do you mean by having to die once? Does it have to do with the unique energy you said you felt from me last time?"
"Something like that. Shall we start the experiment right away?"
Here?
I looked around.
The room bore clear signs of daily life. It certainly didn't look like a witch's laboratory.
Since she wasn't a chemist, she wouldn't need flasks or beakers, but shouldn't there be some kind of preparation?
"Um, isn't it a bit cramped to do something here? It would be troublesome if we caused a ruckus in the faculty dormitory."
"True. That's why we're moving."
Saying so, Cordelia snapped her fingers once more.
In that instant,
"...!"
Our surroundings shifted.
Whoa, that startled me. For a second, I thought I had entered Sheol!
We were now in a gloomy, warehouse-like space. Ominous ritualistic items and bizarre tools lay scattered all over the place.
Thalia, having never witnessed anything like this, lost her composure and let her mouth hang open.
"T-Teleportation...?"
Teleportation might sound trivial, but in this world, it was a spell of the highest tier.
To teleport an aura user of an upper-class swordsman's caliber without even a chant was something Thalia had likely never even heard of.
"You don't seem very surprised," Cordelia said, looking at me.
I actually was quite surprised.
Of course, I wasn't going to faint over a mere teleportation spell.
No matter how impressive it was in the lore, to me, a former web novel reader, teleportation felt like a basic trick.
"Yes, well, I have a strong stomach."
"Good. Then I hope you won't be surprised by this either."
Saying so, Cordelia snatched Thalia's sword in the blink of an eye and—
Squelch.
Thrust it into my chest.
"...Ah."
Thalia's face contorted.
For a brief moment, time seemed to stand still, and within that frozen instant, Cordelia smiled softly.
"There. You're dead."
