91. A Sensitive Day
91. A Sensitive Day
"I'm going to kill Anton."
"And?"
Silina's face went blank at my answer.
And as if our conversation was too shocking, Pina, who had now fainted outright, slumped over the table.
"And... you say?"
"Does the fact that you're going to do something like that have anything to do with what you know about the snake?"
"It's not... entirely unrelated?"
"No. From where I'm sitting, it's unrelated. So stop dancing around it and just say it straight. Why do you know that information, and how do you know it?"
"Ha, haha... ha...!"
Eventually, Silina laughed as if she couldn't believe it and leaned forward.
"You really don't lose a single exchange, do you, Eliarnes? What exactly are you? You act like you have no interest in the world, you despise the way nobles talk, so how can you be more slippery than any other noble?"
"You just said it yourself. Eliarnes."
"That's not what I asked. You... hearing something like that, how can you not be shaken at all?"
"Because it has nothing to do with me."
Whether Silina killed Anton, killed the Emperor, or did anything else, it was none of my business.
Sure. Of course, this Anton guy might be the greatest son of a bitch in history.
And as Silina had said, he might be planning to sell out the Empire by joining hands with Demons.
But right then, I didn't care.
The problems already swirling around in my head had piled up into a mountain of worries, concerns, and thoughts, and I didn't want to dump even more complicated problems on top of that.
And besides, she's going to kill the First Prince?
Why the hell is she telling me that, and in front of Pina, no less?
Is there any reason other than asking for help?
Isn't that why she's helping me with this matter now?
That's the most likely possibility.
She could help me with this matter now, and later ask me to help her kill the First Prince.
Ugh, shit.
Just imagining it was awful.
Of course... if it was true that he was trying to sell out the Empire by joining hands with Demons, then I couldn't leave that bastard alive.
But that wasn't something to think about right then.
I'm agonizing because I can't easily deal with a single Black Wizard hiding under the Imperial Capital—could I really kill a man who's an imperial prince?
...Hm.
Uh... now that I think about it, it's not that I couldn't kill him... right?
No, even so, if I just up and killed him, it would cause a whole lot of problems.
No matter how much it was my own mess, my father and mother, and by extension all of House Eustetia, could end up in a difficult position.
So, Silina's problem could wait.
Until my shitty personality and my strength reached an equilibrium, and I could do the same things I had done in my Past Life without anyone saying a word.
It wouldn't be too late to listen and act then.
"...Do you really think it doesn't matter?"
"Saying it doesn't matter came out a bit strong. What I meant was, I can't afford to care right now."
Silina's eyes narrowed.
"If you can't afford to care right now, does that mean you'll care later?"
"Who knows. If my curiosity stays unresolved like it is now, I don't know when that later will come."
"...Hah. Fine. I'll just get to the point."
Clack. Silina set down her now-cold teacup, leaned back in her chair, and opened her mouth with an air as if she'd thrown away all the dignity and atmosphere unique to royalty she'd maintained until now.
"Anton de Hermann had contact with a Black Wizard. I witnessed it. No matter how much this era tolerates Black Magic, I think it's a bit much for a member of the imperial family to have a private meeting with a Black Wizard, don't you? So I did some digging."
"For once, you're saying something right."
"Be quiet and listen. Anyway, what I turned up from that investigation was information about the underground."
"So?"
"I investigated. Through [Uranos]. The information that came out was about the snake you now know about and the 'door' that appeared underground. And this is a secret, but I know other information besides that."
Silina paused for a moment, then turned her gaze to Pina.
I also glanced at Pina.
She still hadn't moved a muscle, unconscious.
She was breathing, so she wasn't dead.
Silina, having also confirmed that Pina was unconscious, let out a short breath and continued.
"I heard Anton had been down there too. More precisely, he had been to the door erected at the end of the Labyrinth."
"...Then—"
"Right. The Black Wizard who met with Anton is very likely the same Black Wizard you want to kill right now."
"So that's why you said you'd help."
Tsk. I clicked my tongue and gulped down the mint-choco milk Pina had left unfinished.
"Right. Honestly, I was planning to leave you with an even bigger debt in exchange for this matter, but that's no longer possible."
This was why I couldn't trust people.
"If I kill that Black Wizard, then for you... yeah. You'd benefit. You pretended not to be, acted like you weren't, but I guess you do want to become Emperor?"
"No. I have no intention of becoming Emperor or anything like that."
I stared into Silina's eyes.
She wasn't lying. I could feel her sincerity.
And, thick revulsion seeped through.
"As I just said, I want to kill Anton. To do that, my power has to grow stronger. No matter that I'm also royalty and that I climbed to this position over my other siblings, I can't kill Anton easily."
Silina took a light sip of her cold black tea and spoke in a growl.
"That's why this matter is very important to me."
With that kind of intent, this matter would be important to Silina in a different way than it was to me.
A Black Wizard who had slipped into the underground of the Imperial Capital and was making moves that seemed intended to undermine the authority of House Eustetia, and the Empire's First Prince, Anton de Hermann, who had held a private meeting with a suspicious Black Wizard.
In truth, the Black Wizard Anton met and the Black Wizard hiding under the Imperial Capital could be different people.
But when those words came from the Empire's Second Princess, the weight they carried changed.
It might end up as just a rumor, but it was still something that could shake Anton's position.
At the very least, House Eustetia—the Empire's closest ally—would suspect Anton.
And that wasn't all.
Countless imperial-faction nobles would suspect Anton too.
Because he'd be rumored as the First Prince who met with a Black Wizard trying to sow chaos in the Empire.
"Hm..."
Silina might look like an idiot, but moments like this reminded me that she was royalty after all.
And I learned something from this matter.
Silina didn't lack a head for politics—she simply had no intention of doing politics.
Her goal was one thing.
To murder the First Prince, Anton de Hermann.
I didn't know why.
I had no intention of asking until she told me herself.
Just as Silina didn't pry into how I had come to know about the underground, I wouldn't pry either.
That was the proper distance between Silina and me.
And further.
Between someone like me, who had many secrets, and the people around me.
"I'm a shameless person, owing you my life from before and still saying this, but I'll say it anyway."
Silina extended her hand.
"Eliarnes. I, Silina de Hermann, the Second Princess of the Empire, will help you. So, please."
Desperation filled her voice.
"Help me."
I looked at her fingertips, trembling ever so slightly.
Was it an act? A deliberate movement?
I couldn't know yet.
But.
Even if that voice, that expression, those emotions, and those movements were all fake right then.
"Fine."
I decided to take Silina's hand.
With the Princess's help, I thought this matter would become considerably easier.
Because it meant there would be someone to cover for me even if I went to find Shivria right then and slapped her upside the head.
...Not bad, huh?
Should I go land one?
Since I was going anyway, two or three hits would be perfect.
"Hey, so can you also stop me from getting expelled?"
"...What are you planning to do that you're asking that?"
"Just answer first."
"If you're planning to go find Shivria Eustetia right now and do the same thing you did at the training hall back then, I can't cover for that."
"...How do you know I was going to beat the shit out of that bitch?"
"From what I heard from Fabiana, you weren't just going to beat her—you were going to blow her head off. Anyway, that much is impossible. That would require Fabiana's help. And to get Fabiana's help, you'd have to explain this whole situation."
Tch. I clicked my tongue and sank into the chair.
"Then what can you help with?"
"I'll explain that from here on. You'll like it."
*****
"—That's the plan I came up with."
Silina, catching her breath after the explanation, wore a triumphant smile on her face.
"How is it? I'd say it's a far more dignified and refined noble's method than what you were planning to do."
Looking at Silina like that, I let out a small exclamation of admiration.
"If that's a dignified and refined noble's method, I really don't want to be a noble."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You piece of trash."
"You know that third one wasn't a compliment, right?"
"I was about to stop anyway."
"Cheeky."
Giggling, Silina stretched languidly, her expression brightening as if she herself was pleased with her own method.
"Hoo-ah... hah. So, how is it?"
"It's decent."
"That's it?"
Silina asked in a suggestive tone.
Looking at her, I let out a sigh.
"Honestly, I was a bit surprised. I didn't know you were running a merchant company."
"Of course. The merchant company is the thing I've hidden and cared for more thoroughly than even my own naked body."
It might have seemed a little funny for a Princess to be so confident over a mere merchant company, but she had every right to be.
Because the merchant company Silina ran was one of the top companies in the Imperial Capital at the time—no, perhaps one of the two at the very peak.
"How the hell did a 17-year-old brat build something like that?"
"I didn't do it all myself. The person now hiding in the Cartel... prepared it, and I just grew it. And if I'm a brat, then you're a brat too, so what nonsense are you spouting?"
"So was that person originally a peddler?"
"Don't call them a peddler."
Zing. Silina's sharp glare pierced me.
"...Fine. Was that person originally a merchant?"
"Who knows. I don't know their identity either. I just... know they were capable in many fields."
That seemed like far too great an achievement to chalk up to merely being capable in many fields.
"Well... whatever. I get it."
"So, I'm asking you how it is. Can you do it?"
"I can."
Silina, who had briefly lost her words, asked again in a sly tone.
"...Can you really answer that easily?"
"Yeah."
"It's killing a person."
"Why couldn't I?"
"What if I lied to you? What if I set this whole thing up to deceive you?"
At Silina's absurd question, I pulled out the Device I'd left face-down on the table and showed it to her.
On the screen, the word [Recording] was flashing along with a red dot.
"...Since when?"
"Since I walked in here."
Silina's face twisted violently.