144. Competitor

After running into Fabiana and Silina, I bought a huge load of dinner and dessert for the kids and had Ophelia take it all to the club room.

Since I'm absolutely not going to take part in writing the report, I should at least spend some money like this.

Anyway, after sending Ophelia off like that, I came to Fabiana's office with these two.

"Eliarnes. Setting the location arbitrarily was separate from my trust in you—it was because I could not trust your surroundings. Please understand."

"I don't mind at all."

I shook my head from side to side and slurped down the bizarre medicinal brew Fabiana had personally prepared.

"Ugh..."

It tastes like a sewer, as expected.

"Keuhuhu... your expression is quite a sight. My beloved sister. Won't you drink up quickly as well?"

"What's with that villainous line? And if even Eliarnes is making that face, it's obviously a horrible taste, so why would I drink it?"

"Why am I the standard?"

"Because among the people I know, you seem to endure pain the best."

"Oh... well, that's true."

What is this. Somehow... it feels unpleasant, but it doesn't seem like she said it to be unpleasant.

Am I just being sensitive?

"Eliarnes."

"What."

"Before Fabiana says anything, I'll say it first. Our plan—Fabiana caught on to it."

"What plan of ours?"

I blinked and asked back, as if I genuinely had no idea.

At that, Silina opened her eyes wide and let out a sigh, as if dumbfounded.

"What? You're betraying me already?"

"Betraying you? Since when were we on the same side?"

"Ha, you... you really..."

"No, don't try to drag me into this unfairly—explain first. What's going on?"

Silina, her ears flushed bright red, thumped her chest.

"I said Fabiana caught on to everything...!"

"To what?"

"Wow...! You, you really!"

Silina shot up from her seat.

Only then did Fabiana and I burst out laughing.

"Ahaha! Wow... now I understand a little why Senior Fabiana finds Silina so cute."

"Keuhahaha! Right? My beloved sister is this adorable a little sister."

Silina, on the other hand, looked back and forth between Fabiana and me as if she couldn't understand the current situation.

"...What? Eliarnes. You... already knew?"

"I knew. Senior Fabiana told me first a week ago."

"Wh-what? What did she tell you?"

"Want me to recite the message?"

I fumbled and pulled out my device. At the same time, Fabiana's voice stopped me.

"Sharing a message meant only for the two of us would embarrass even someone like me, so could we handle this with a simple verbal explanation instead?"

"Oh... sure. Let's do that."

I placed the hand that had been reaching for my device back on the table. Silina sat back down as well.

"Hey, Silina. I'll tell you, but in exchange, you drink all of this too."

I held out the medicinal brew Fabiana had prepared toward Silina.

"...No."

"Oh? Then don't listen."

"Ugh... you really have a nasty personality. Would it kill you to just tell me?"

"I know my personality's nasty. So what are you going to do about it? What, are you going to cut my throat?"

I giggled and pushed the brew even closer to Silina.

"Here, drink ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up."

"Ugh... you bitch. Just wait until you graduate..."

"Go ahead."

Silina, who had been grinding her teeth, finally snatched the brew and gulped it down.

"Kuuuugh... uuuaaah... how... urp... h-how the hell does this taste like sewer water?"

"What, you're talking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like you've drunk sewer water before?"

"Very well. I will explain it myself."

Fabiana cut off my question.

The timing was unnatural, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so I glanced at Fabiana, but she was only wearing a quiet smile, as if asking me to let it go.

"Yes. Senior Fabiana explaining it will probably be a bit easier to understand than me."

I accepted Fabiana's intention and leaned back.

And so began the explanation of how Silina's and my grand plan to teach the branch family a lesson had been discovered.

*****

About ten days ago, a message arrived for Fabiana.

There were no words. There were only several photographs.

Photos of plans that appeared to be handwritten by Silina, and the flow of funds from the trading company owned by Silina.

And the production order for a doll that Silina had personally commissioned—the supplies for wrecking the branch family.

That was all. There was no other content.

But those photos seemed to carry countless words from Fabiana.

So... I had no choice but to go find Fabiana.

After meeting her like that, well... it wasn't as big a deal as I'd thought.

I agonized endlessly over whether I could tell her about Silina's circumstances, but Fabiana already knew.

The crisis of the woman who was like a foster mother to Silina, hiding in the Cartel; Silina's resolve to kill Anton de Hermann; and her intention to help me and make me an ally for that purpose.

She knew all of it.

How? Who knows. She said she couldn't tell me because it was tied up with imperial family matters.

But now that the explanation was over.

Silina was scrunching up her face as if she knew exactly what route that information had come through.

"...You knew in advance what I was planning, so why did you use that bastard's detached force?"

Seeing her call him "that bastard" with such a hateful expression, it seemed Fabiana had obtained information by using Anton's underlings.

"My beloved sister was making a plan that anyone could see was dangerous. I couldn't just sit still."

"Then... what did you pay as the price?"

And it seemed using those underlings required paying a price. But judging by the atmosphere between the two, it didn't seem like they operated on money.

"That's none of your business."

"Tell me. Before I... force it out of you like you did."

Fabiana's aura sharpened.

"Sister. Have you truly gone mad?"

"You're the mad one. I never asked for your help, so why... why on earth are you pointlessly... butting in?"

"It was not pointless. The trading company's funds have stabilized, and I entrusted the commission to a puppeteer far more skilled than the one you were going to hire, with guaranteed confidentiality. Is that all? Anton's detached force had already caught the tail of the plan you made. So I personally cut that off as well."

"...Anton... knew about my plan...?"

"He did not know everything. But once he had found the branches, finding the trunk and roots would only have been a matter of time. Do you understand, Silina? You nearly died. At the hands of the first brother you so despised."

Fabiana's voice rose.

Fabiana always maintained a sly, blade-like composure, but for some reason, whenever Silina was involved, her emotions fluctuated like that.

Just how much does she cherish her little sister?

"Why did you not tell me? I always told you. If you asked for help, I would help you without weighing the consequences, without calculating anything. But you didn't. Why? Is it because of 'Tieche Gosla,' dispatched to the Cartel? Are you afraid I would tell you to kill her?"

"...Ngh."

Silina didn't answer.

She didn't need to. Her mouth was shut, but her eyes, her breathing—her whole body answered yes.

But... at this rate, I'm going to end up hearing things I shouldn't and get dragged into a situation I can't get out of.

"But this doesn't seem like a place for me to butt in, so may I take my leave?"

"Ah... right. I'm sorry. I didn't call you here to show you... such an ugly quarrel. So, Silina. Let's have the rest of this conversation later, just the two of us."

Fabiana, having composed herself for a moment, took out a long pipe from a drawer.

Seeing it, Silina ground her teeth.

"May I smoke?"

"Why are you asking me? No, wait—before the question of smoking or not, isn't Senior Fabiana a minor?"

"It's not tobacco."

If it's not tobacco, then what she's putting in that pipe and smoking...

It's either drugs or magic herb.

She doesn't look out of her mind, and she doesn't look ruined from long-term drug use.

"Is it magic herb?"

It's probably magic herb.

And magic herb isn't something ordinary people smoke.

People whose acupoints are torn and whose Mana circulation doesn't flow smoothly, or people whose bodies break down when they take in natural Mana.

So... it's mainly smoked by people with congenital problems, or people with Mana-related disabilities from internal injuries.

"You ask quite boldly. Do you not consider that I might have a painful past?"

"Wouldn't you hate it more if I tiptoed around it and spoke cautiously?"

"Keuhahahaha! Correct. Exactly. If you had been that considerate, I—already irritated as I am right now—would have become even sharper."

"What a terribly troublesome personality."

Silina's eyes went wide.

Fabiana, on the other hand, burst into laughter as if she'd expected that answer.

"Ahahahahaha! Keuheu... yes. That's right. Fabiana de Hermann, First Princess of the Empire and Student Council President of Karelai Academy, has a terribly troublesome personality."

"So that's why you drag out problems that could be easily solved," Fabiana muttered, and lit the pipe.

The smell was so foul that it clearly wasn't ordinary magic herb.

It wasn't magic herb smoked for a congenital problem—it was the scent of magic herb smoked for a problem caused by internal injury.

Silina, who seemed to know the taste of a sewer, and Fabiana, who seemed to want to hide it.

And Silina, grimacing at the magic herb, and Fabiana, smiling bitterly at that.

Somehow... it seemed like a very complicated and subtle relationship.

Well, I don't need to dig into that.

"So, the reason you called me here..."

I paused for a moment and looked into Fabiana's eyes.

They were calm. Her eyes said Silina needed to hear this too. I shrugged and continued.

"Has there been a problem with the plan?"

"That's right."

"A problem? There was no problem with the trading company's movements?"

"Correct. Silina, the trading company you run is moving very naturally. Thanks to my help."

At Fabiana's self-congratulation, Silina clicked her tongue.

"The problem isn't the trading company. There's no problem with Anton's detached force either."

I clicked my tongue too.

It wasn't because of Fabiana's self-congratulation.

"The puppeteer Silina commissioned for the doll—was it, by any chance, Ophelia Blumin?"

"Exactly."

"Then the Puppet Emperor must have noticed."

"Huh...?"

"What? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The Puppet Emperor...? That Puppet Emperor of the Six Pillars? All of a sudden?"

Fabiana's eyes went wide.

And Silina looked around, asking what on earth I was talking about.

"...Eliarnes. The level of information you possess is truly remarkable... Anyway, yes. The Puppet Emperor has noticed this plan. And for some reason I don't understand, he's interfering with it. It seems he's hiding something foul that must not be discovered."

Fabiana smiled bitterly and exhaled a hazy cloud of smoke.

"So, is that what you wanted to warn me about?"

Fabiana's platinum eyes turned toward the window.

"Word came that the Puppet Emperor will visit the academy in ten days."