Waiting (7)
"Yes, I suppose you wouldn’t understand."
"Pardon?"
"From the moment you were born—no, from the moment you were still in your mother’s womb—you came into the world clutching everything in your hands. You’ll never understand."
“……”
As Robert began to speak, Vilma quietly closed her mouth. From the woman who had once been a Great Mage, a voice soaked in resentment and hatred flowed out, utterly unlike her former stature. To Vilma, it felt as though that emotion wasn’t even aimed at any particular person.
"Let me tell you a little about myself. I was born the child of a commoner. Yes, that’s right—I was a commoner. Then, by chance, I caught the eye of a mage who had retired and returned to his hometown, and I became his apprentice. He recognized my talent and treated me very well. But before long, my master died. I was still an immature mage, so according to the instructions he left behind, I entered the Magic Tower."
"Those were miserable days. My new master envied my talent, stole my research results, and didn’t even give me proper support. Everyone around me was full of jealousy, too."
"But I was a genius. My combat magic was nothing special, but in every other field I was overwhelming. Even so, the wall of this damned world was high. Then an opportunity came. During the war with the demon race, the Tower Master died. And in the middle of all that, the emperor gave an order: the next Tower Master would lead the front lines."
“……”
Vilma knew that part as well. She didn’t know the details of Robert’s past, but she had seen the imperial edict her father, the emperor, had issued in the records. And she knew the reason behind it, too.
It had been part of an ambition to conquer the continent after the war ended. Of course, it failed pathetically. Right at that moment, the Hero appeared, and the Hero’s party was formed. Thanks to that, the Dezac Empire’s response also became more cautious.
"So everyone hated it, and I became Tower Master. Then they gave me a title for propaganda’s sake—Great Mage, they called me. But absurdly enough, that was when the Hero, Pedro, appeared. I joined his party, and I survived to the very end."
"As a result, I became a true Great Mage, reached a level higher than I had ever known before, and became an undisputed Tower Master."
"But by then I was seventy-nine years old. Seventy-nine!!"
Bang!!
Robert’s fist slammed into the bars. Blood welled over the delicate skin of her hand, but she paid it no mind. Even the mere act of recalling the past made her fury enough to drown out pain.
"My life had been hell until then! Do you know what I looked like? I was a hideous monster!! And my body!! It was covered in scars from countless experiments and failures, and weak beyond belief!! What I was given after becoming a hero was only my one and only pride—my skill in magic—and the title of Tower Master!! Honor?! What the hell was I supposed to do with that!! Power?! The Tower Master’s power was worthless!! Anything that could be done from that position I could already do with my magic alone!! And above me stood the imperial family!!"
Unable to contain her rage, she kept pounding the bars over and over. Blood smeared faintly across the unmoving iron, yet Robert still seemed no closer to calming down, and she shouted at Vilma with all her strength.
"Yes, maybe I could have settled for that!! But then I saw it!! A man who had everything, as if he’d been blessed by a goddess herself—!"
"...The Hero Pedro."
"That’s right!! He was a truly monstrous man!! During the long war with the demon race, countless heroes were born!! But all those heroes were driven to despair by a single Hero!! Skill that reached the peak of swordsmanship at such a young age!! A striking face!! A personality worthy of the Hero’s name!! That man was!! That damned bastard had everything—!!"
“……”
Vilma remained silent.
Robert’s shouting had become a scream by then. It was full of savage rage and a hideous, festering resentment. But beneath it all lay an even uglier jealousy, smeared over everything like filth. If that had been an act, then she would have been the greatest actor in the world. It was that sincere.
Which was precisely why Vilma found it even more ridiculous—and more absurd.
It was worse than when she had learned Valdes was actually the reincarnation of the Hero Pedro, and that he had died because of betrayal by his own companions. Back then, the sheer flood of information had been bewildering. Now, she just felt angry.
It wasn’t as if Vilma had ever particularly admired the Hero. She was merely grateful to him as the man who had saved the continent. Still, she was curious. Why had his companions betrayed him?
When Marc, the king of the Ventorino Kingdom, had reported about Robert, he had asked Irena that very question. The revenge on Marc had already been settled, and Vilma was, for all practical purposes, no different from a demon lord’s subordinate, so Irena had answered without hesitation. She had even said this version seemed more plausible to her.
Of course, Marc’s own jealousy toward the Hero Pedro had played a part, but Irena had said the greater cause was the truth of the New Ventorino dynasty.
Compared to that, Robert’s reason looked downright pathetic.
"Haah... haah..."
Even after spilling out all manner of grudge-fueled cries, Robert was now trying to catch her breath. Her appearance was that of a stunning woman, so the sight of her panting was deeply seductive—but that only made her seem even more grotesque to Vilma.
She hadn’t really listened to the rest of what Robert said after that. Even if she had, it would only have been more jealousy-laden screeching about the Hero Pedro. Nothing worth keeping in her head.
"...I only have two more questions."
"Haah... heh, fine. Ask away."
Perhaps because she had finally spoken the thoughts she’d never dared tell anyone else, Robert seemed quite pleased with herself.
"I understand that your hatred toward the world runs deep. But what does that have to do with sacrificing civilians?"
The voice was cold.
By now, Vilma had stopped addressing her as Lady Robert and was simply calling her you, but Robert was too absorbed in the pleasure of talking to notice. If this had been earlier, she would have reacted sensitively even to such a small slight, but that only showed how mentally exhausted she had become.
"Why wouldn’t it?"
"What?"
"Slaves, animals, monsters—I bought them with my own money. Naturally, they’re mine."
“……”
Even though the Dezac Empire did have slavery, it was rare for someone to regard slaves as their complete and total property in this way. Usually, they were treated as subordinates or servants whose rights were entirely dependent. Yet Robert was speaking as if she couldn’t understand why that was strange.
"And the commoners I abducted. In the end, didn’t they survive because of me?"
"What? What do you mean by—"
"The war."
“……”
"Countless humans were dragged into the war with the demon race and died. The borderlands of the Dezac Empire were dangerous places, too. No one knew when the demons would invade. But they lived. Why? Because I protected them. I only took back the lives I had saved."
"Y-you’re insane..."
Vilma was appalled. Before she could stop herself, a curse slipped from her lips, and her face went pale with shock. It was that outrageous. It was enough to wipe away even the last trace of feeling she’d had toward Robert.
Trash.
She was truly trash.
Vilma couldn’t understand how a Great Mage could possibly think like that. She couldn’t believe that such a thing could exist in an empire that considered itself the most advanced society and culture on the continent.
"What’s with that reaction?"
Robert frowned at her response. Vilma answered with another question.
"Could it be that the reason the other companions betrayed him was the same as yours?"
"I don’t know. There may be some who were similar to me, and others who were completely different."
“……”
As Vilma thought for a moment, Robert’s past companions surfaced in her mind. The four heroes who had helped kill the Hero Pedro. She could guess at the broad reasons, but not the exact ones.
Then she felt something strange.
A truth known only to a tiny handful of people. A truth that should never have been known. It had slipped out of her mouth. She might not have known it exactly, but Robert felt uneasy.
"...Wait."
"What is it?"
"You...? How do you know that...?"
Robert’s voice trembled as she asked, and Vilma tilted her head in confusion.
"Know what?"
"W-what do you mean, what...?"
"...Ah. The betrayal?"
“……”
"Hahaha... You’re curious? I suppose you would be. Heh heh."
The laughter didn’t suit a maiden her age. And yet for a mage—especially a dark mage—it fit far too well. That laughter only made Robert’s anxiety swell and her impatience grow more acute.
"What is this! How do you know, damn it!! Tell me right now!!"
In truth, if one were the first princess of the empire—the strongest nation on the continent—this was the sort of information that could be uncovered with enough interest and effort. Robert knew that much as well. But the word Vilma had used—that person—instead of the emperor, and the situation she herself was trapped in, made her even more desperate.
"Oh, this is fun. How should I know? Someone told me."
"W-who in the world—"
"Why are you asking when you already know?"
“……”
"That person. That person."
"Then who the hell is that person─!!!"
"Kukukuk."
Vilma laughed. Very wickedly.
The reason she still refused to reveal that person’s identity was because Valdes had not yet given his permission. He wanted to come here in person and give Robert even greater shock and terror. So Vilma couldn’t reveal anything about Valdes.
But Robert didn’t know that, and could only assume Vilma was toying with her. There was a little bit of that intent in Vilma herself, too, so Robert only grew more furious and more resentful. At her own helplessness. And at the unknown enemy.
"Ah, sorry, but wait a little longer. I’m sure he’ll come before too long. That person who harbors a hatred so deep for you that it has settled into his bones."
With those words, Vilma turned and left. Robert wanted to grab her, but couldn’t. Part of the reason was that she knew perfectly well it would do no good no matter what she did, and part of it was the fear rising in her of what was to come.
"Damn it, damn it...! What did I even do! What the hell did I do!! Don’t be ridiculous. I... no matter what happens, I’ll—!!"
Listening to Robert’s voice from behind, Vilma let out a bitter smile.
To think she still hadn’t come to her senses. Truly remarkable. Or perhaps she never would come to her senses, even at the end. For one of the greatest heroes the empire had ever produced to be so vile... Vilma felt a faint bitterness in her chest.
What was more, the empire would still go on without ever learning the truth about her. Perhaps that would be better, but Vilma found it somehow unsatisfying. That a trash human being could receive the admiration and love of so many imperial citizens.
"Guess I should just do what Lady Irena told me to do."
She had planned to take her time, since they’d said it wasn’t urgent, but now her mind had changed.
She no longer even felt pity for Robert.
Rather than that fallen hero, it would be better to help the demon army—more precisely, Valdes—with everything she had. At the very least, he loved his people and cherished his subordinates.
He was nothing like her father, the emperor.
“……”
Shaking her head hard to fling away her stray thoughts, Vilma headed for another laboratory, one separate from the place where Robert was imprisoned.
It was where monsters still lived, surviving to this day after Robert’s research had reduced their basal metabolism to the absolute limit. They had also been made controllable through mental manipulation. In short, it was a waiting room for Robert’s monster legion.
There were truly all kinds of monsters there, in ways that made one wonder how it had even been accomplished.
Orcs, trolls, ogres, minotaurs, gray wolves, big mountain boars, and many other dangerous, powerful monsters. Irena had told her to modify them. More specifically, to revise their spirit magic so they would obey Valdes, herself, Vilma, and the others.
She might have thought that alone meant they were trying to turn them into useful subordinates, but once she added the further modifications Irena had requested, it became clear what Valdes was thinking.
It was such an atrocious idea that even imagining it had made her hesitate, slowing her hand. But now even that hesitation was gone.
"If it’s a homunculus body, it should be able to endure enough."
Vilma muttered calmly to herself.
Robert’s body had left its regenerative abilities intact for precisely that purpose. On top of that, even if her physical ability had declined, flexibility and various other special functions remained. In ordinary terms they might not have seemed like much, but if used properly, they made terrible things possible.
“……”
Her gaze drifted to the documents laid out in the corner of the desk.
The materials Robert had left behind after gradually coming to accept Vilma.
There was a family tree of Robert’s lineage.
A wife who had died long ago.
A son and daughter-in-law who had perished during the war.
And even a grandson and granddaughter who were still alive.
“……”
Somehow, Vilma had the strange feeling she could already see the future of the people listed in those records.