Birthday Party
Who, in all of Tiriviga, made the finest use of Duke Briton's rank?
The Duke's second wife, Lady Hoian? No.
The finished article of cunning, heir to Lady Hoian's own blood—a creature who always hid behind someone else's back and almost never let her true heart show. That was Serna.
The gatherings she presided over numbered no fewer than thirty, every one of them a circle made up entirely of young noble ladies, assembled with Serna at their head. Step into any of those rooms and she was a tyrant. Her influence ran so deep that it was said one needed Serna's permission merely to socialize with a young lady of marquis rank or higher.
This party, in particular, was a grand affair, drawing nobles from every notable house in the kingdom. Seventy—no, more than eighty percent of the young ladies gathered here already belonged to one of Serna's circles. In other words, after royalty itself, Serna was the most celebrated presence in the room.
Hmph. As if losing a little weight would do a thing like Lilith any good.
At first she had been startled by Lilith's changed appearance, and had even thought, privately, that the girl was beautiful. Now every one of those feelings had curdled into rage.
Serna was not the one who tormented Lilith outright in Tiriviga. That role belonged entirely to her mother, Lady Hoian. Serna's part was to stand at the side, toss in a word here and there, and twist the knife.
How dare she get pretty and try to climb?
In truth, the Heavenly Demon had never climbed anywhere. Serna was simply stewing in jealousy all by herself.
I don't like it!
Had she not seen it? The way every man invited to the party, without a single exception, let his eyes crawl over Lilith? Those gazes should have been hers.
Filthy slut...
So that was why she had lost the weight—to flaunt that lewd figure. It had to be. What was so special about breasts that men lost their minds over lumps of fat? And what was so special about wide hips that they stared just because she walked?
I have breasts too...!
Serna dipped her head for a glance.
"Ugh!"
She squeezed her eyes shut at the wretched sight. A chest that might, just barely, fit in one hand. In terms of size... a very full A?
No. Breasts are nothing. What matters is the face, and the heart.
Lilith's heart, by comparison, was utterly vile. Wagging her tail at men, trying to monopolize their love with that indecent body. Serna made up her mind. As the older sister, she would have to educate her.
"Too many people moving at once doesn't look good."
And so, twenty handpicked young ladies of the elite. Each of them excelled at something—magic, for instance, or a build nearly as tall as Lilith's. With a force more than sufficient to deal with her, Serna charged straight in.
"Surround Lilith, all of you!"
They moved as one, like trained soldiers.
Hmph. Scared? Already trembling?
Contrary to Serna's hopes, Lilith showed no great stir of emotion at all. They had appeared out of nowhere and told her to come along.
I was getting bored. This works out nicely.
The place Serna led her to was a garden overflowing with beautiful flowers. The deeper they went, the thicker the trees and grass grew, until one might have mistaken it for a vast forest. From outside, there was no telling who had gone in.
The view is completely cut off.
Call for help, and no one would come. Scream, and the sound would never carry beyond the trees. Deeper in, a small table and a few chairs had been set out—a spot arranged for a picnic close at hand, without going far.
"Hmph."
Serna snorted and sat as if it were only natural. At once a young lady beside her opened a basket and began setting things out, spreading a cloth and laying strawberry cake and cookies upon the plates. Warm tea, of course, had been prepared as well. A soft pour, and the girl filling the cup looked for all the world like a maid.
"Hehehe! By now you've figured out why you were dragged here, haven't you?"
Legs crossed, head cocked, expression arrogant. Only Serna sat, sneering up at Lilith. The Heavenly Demon, for her part, stood with her hands clasped behind her back, calmly surveying the garden.
Strange. There's a faint smell of blood here.
The blood-scent that rose thick whenever someone was cut down. There had been a time when the Heavenly Demon was mad for blood, and so she knew it better than anyone.
Where? Where is it coming from?
She could not pinpoint the exact spot, but of one thing she was certain: someone had been killed here not long ago.
"Hey!"
Serna was panting, her voice loud enough to split eardrums. She had been calling Lilith for some time now, and yet there was no answer. The girl was paying attention to something else entirely.
"You dare ignore me?!"
She could have resorted to violence from the start. But what was a young noble lady? From time immemorial, twisting the knife with words came first. That was the foundation.
"Ah. My apologies. Something else seems to have caught my attention for a moment."
In truth, whether there was a blood-scent or not had very little to do with her.
"Well then. Why did you call me here?"
She was not fool enough to miss the reason for the summons. What bothered her was that these were women, not men. Women banding together were still just women. So long as they did not strike first, she meant to send them off gently.
A bright little smile. The corners of her eyes curved like crescent moons.
"Just because!"
Serna said it in a lively voice, still grinning from ear to ear.
"I see."
The Heavenly Demon nodded, unmoved. A child being irritating was hardly enough to anger her.
"......Ha? That's all?"
If anything, it was Serna's smiling face that twisted. Any other girl would have thrown a fit and raised her voice. What was wrong with this one? She looked utterly at ease! And she had been speaking strangely the whole time.
"If there's nothing worth seeing, I'll be going."
The Heavenly Demon took a step, and a foot planted itself squarely in her path. A young lady blocked the way before her. She was about Lilith's height, perhaps a centimeter shorter, and she had trained so hard that her muscles bulged to a degree that made one wonder whether she was truly a woman. This was Tweizen, a young lady of a marquis house—unlike the once-fat Lilith, a woman overflowing with masculine charm.
"Lady Serna has not permitted you to leave."
Her features were strong, her voice a little rough. Had her hair been short, one might truly have mistaken her for a man.
"Kahahaha!"
"Well done, Tweizen!"
Serna stamped her feet as she laughed, shoulders riding high with delight. In raw force alone, Tweizen was naturally the best of them.
"Lilith! You'd better be careful. She is—imagine!—stronger than most men!"
"...Is that so?"
All at once, the Heavenly Demon thought of Knight Commander Getz. Getz, who had by now become her personal sandbag.
"W-wait a moment! Ah, my lady! You're too fast! Gaaah!"
The Heavenly Demon's sword came at him from every direction at once. There was clearly only one arm and one sword, and yet in Getz's eyes dozens of blades thrust in all together. In less than a second he took dozens of blows and collapsed, or a single heavy strike sent him flying far across the yard.
"My lady, what... what are you, exactly? How can you lose weight and only get stronger?"
Even a lightly swung sword felt heavy. Getz had no way to withstand it. Honestly, at first he had been satisfied. Crossing blades with Lady Lilith, there had been things to learn. But as the days passed, far from learning anything, he could not even keep up with the young lady's rate of growth.
A soft breath of amusement. A smile drew itself across the Heavenly Demon's face, as if she found the memory entertaining.
"I was starting to feel sorry for hitting only my personal sandbag. This works out nicely."
"If she wants to be hit that badly, there's nothing to be done. Tweizen! Give her a proper lesson!"
Tweizen lowered her head in silence and looked Lilith over—the fine muscles of her arms, the abdomen showing tight against her clothes. Her thighs were solid, but overall she was far too thin.
"Those vanity muscles of yours are truly pathetic. That weak body, never properly bulked up. Allow me to educate you."
A madman... no. A madwoman.
The Heavenly Demon was beginning to suspect the girl was on something. A rustle. The sound of a branch underfoot.
"W-what was that?"
The sound drew nearer, and the young ladies grew flustered. This was the hour when the party should have been in full swing. No one ought to come looking in the garden. If, by some chance, a royal appeared and caught them like this...
It would be a disaster!
Serna told Tweizen at once to bring her fist down—but Tweizen's fist was already driving toward Lilith.
"Stoooop!"
Someone burst through the grass and threw himself forward. More precisely, he saw Tweizen's fist and launched his body straight at it. A heavy thud, and a man went flying. He had taken the punch in Lilith's place and collapsed.
"Y-Young Master Uni?"
Serna shot to her feet and recognized him at a glance. That refined face, that outstanding height. Even after so long, his looks still shone.
As expected, he's handsome. Far too good a man to waste on the likes of Lilith.
She rushed over and held out a hand to the fallen Uni, a kind face and a kind voice laid on as a matter of course.
"Khh... I'm all right."
He glanced back at Lilith, and refused Serna's kindness—as if he were refusing it because of her. His face must have hurt quite a bit; he kept rubbing at it. A twitch. He was smiling, but the space between his brows would not stop jumping.
You dare ignore my kindness because of a bitch like Lilith?
Handsome, yes. But he was only a baron's son. By rank alone, a noble of vanishingly low standing. Sticking his nose into her business without knowing his place, and making even her outstretched hand look foolish!