Waiting (11)
He had no intention of covering long distances in a hurry. The way to Great Mage Robert’s dungeon was exactly the same as before. He had already erased the magic circle he’d used last time. The one in the capital had been removed so it wouldn’t leave evidence behind, and the one inside the dungeon had been drawn on the outside in the first place, so it hardly mattered anymore.
It had been Irena who drew the circle back then, but Vilma had learned from her and could reproduce it herself. He planned to move to the newly engraved location inside the dungeon. In any case, Valdes himself knew perfectly well how to draw and activate a magic circle, so he could simply make one in the capital if need be.
He hadn’t explained this vacation in detail to Serenia or Beatris.
It wasn’t as though the pregnancy had reached a stage that could truly be called pregnancy yet, but even so, he didn’t want the women who would bear his children worrying themselves sick. That was especially true of Serenia. Unlike Beatris, she had absolutely nothing to do with revenge or betrayal, and that made her all the more fragile in this matter.
With a flash of brilliant blue light he hadn’t seen in a while, Valdes arrived inside the dungeon.
"Hmm. No sign of Vilma?"
He looked around the room that served as both bedroom and laboratory, but Vilma was nowhere in sight. He widened his senses and checked the other rooms, yet still felt nothing.
Valdes figured she must have gone down to the secret laboratory below, so he headed for the stairs and made his way downward. This was only his second visit to the dungeon, but since the structure hadn’t changed from before, finding his way wasn’t difficult at all.
Once he reached the deeper underground, one presence immediately caught his senses.
Familiar, and yet not familiar. And long absent.
Robert.
Just thinking about meeting that damned excuse for a Great Mage made his fists tighten on their own.
He had already grown somewhat accustomed to the thought through Beatris and Marc, but when the enemy was right in front of him, it was still hard to keep his emotions under control. Even so, it was better than before. At least he didn’t feel like charging in right this second and smashing the man’s face in with one punch.
"…I suppose I can put off our reunion a little longer."
Changing direction, Valdes went to find Vilma, whose presence he sensed a little farther away.
She was in the monster laboratory.
"Kya-ha-ha!! Wow, this is insane. Ah, this is fun."
"……."
Vilma was so absorbed in her research that she didn’t even realize he had arrived, laughing in a vulgar, uninhibited way. Valdes could only stare at the sight of this runaway princess, dumbfounded. It was a completely different side of her from the foolish, vacant girl he had seen until now.
Can I even take this one with me…?
For some reason, he hesitated.
Originally, once the Church announced the recruitment of the Hero’s party, he had planned to take Vilma along. And Ethylene too. He had considered the two of them absolute guarantees.
After all, when selecting the Hero’s companions, they didn’t accept people who were too strong in the first place. Even when someone volunteered, they still refused if necessary. And that made sense; if a companion was too strong compared to the Hero, the Hero’s own accomplishments would be diminished, and the Church would hate that.
As for Valdes himself, the circumstances were different. Because the war had left the front lines in dire straits, battle-seasoned heroes had been allowed to join, and even the Tower Master, though he had only just taken office, had thrown himself into the fray. So the situation was not comparable at all.
Especially since becoming a companion of the Hero guaranteed a future unless one died, they tended to accept a great many young people. Vilma and Ethylene were both top-tier talents among their peers. Unless they were catastrophically unlucky, there was no way they would be turned away.
Honestly, I’d like to take Merci too, but she’s a princess, so that won’t do. Vilma is on the run, so if I just do something about her hair color, she won’t get exposed.
No matter how strong and capable he was, his opponents were still the Hero’s party chosen by the goddess.
He absolutely needed subordinates or companions who could assist with his work.
Traditionally, a Hero’s party consisted of six to eight people.
Among them, the twin Heroes and one member inserted by the Goddess Church already made three. That alone was enough to require careful consideration of party balance, not just the total number. He knew nothing about the twins yet, but if both of them were frontliners, then the Church’s cleric would have to be a rear-line specialist. If the Hero’s positions were divided up, then that cleric was likely to be a paladin.
And Valdes used a sword, so he was also a frontliner. That already made three frontliners. If there were already enough front-line roles covered, Ethylene might be left out, so ideally he needed a rear-line specialist, preferably a mage-subordinate as well. Vilma was a perfect fit for that.
Of course, the best outcome would be if all three got in. But just in case. If that happens, then three of the maximum eight become spies.
That would be more than enough to corrupt the twin Heroes and the cleric. And if he had room to spare and could corrupt the others as well, then he would quite literally be able to move the Hero’s party however he pleased. And under the whims of a demon, no less.
After sorting out his thoughts, Valdes called to Vilma, who was still smiling as she busied herself with the monsters.
"Vilma."
"…And then if I do it like this… Huh? Ah—! V, Valdes-nim?!"
Vilma was genuinely horrified. She jumped so badly she nearly fainted. In her panic she even stumbled backward and fell on her rear in a graceless heap.
"W-why are you here…? I mean, you didn’t even contact me beforehand or anything…."
At her disordered words, Valdes gave a crooked smile.
Who would ever look at this hopelessly clumsy girl and think she was the daughter of that ruthless iron-blooded emperor? According to the Demon Army’s intelligence division, none of the emperor’s children besides one had inherited his temperament, but even so, it was still surprising.
"Wilhelmina."
"…!! …So you knew after all…."
Called by her true name, the Empire’s First Princess gave a small start, then calmly nodded.
"With hair like that, it would be stranger if I didn’t."
"Sigh. I do hide it properly when I’m outside. You just showed up out of nowhere, so I couldn’t cover it up."
"Did I say anything?"
"Ugh…."
Mortified, Vilma groaned and got to her feet, brushing the dust from her backside.
"But why did you suddenly use my real name? Weren’t you here to see that woman?"
That woman?
What an unexpected way to refer to her.
It wasn’t exactly respectful enough to call her by the name Robert, and it certainly wasn’t honorable enough to use any kind of title, but “that woman” was a little much. Valdes didn’t know what had happened while the two of them were living here together, but it seemed Vilma’s heart had gone through several changes. Those changes were very favorable to him, so he decided not to point them out.
"That too. But I also came to talk to you."
"Wh-what about?"
"Wilhelmina de Desac."
"……."
"It’s time to make a choice."
Vilma didn’t answer immediately.
It was abrupt, but not incomprehensible. What Valdes was really telling her was to choose a side clearly. Of course, he wasn’t accusing her of spying or of trying to play both sides. He was saying it because she was the daughter of one of his revenge targets.
Vilma understood.
She knew he harbored nothing good toward her father, Emperor Desac. She didn’t know the exact extent of it, but she suspected it was far beyond what anyone could dismiss as mere dislike. So she had no trouble understanding what he meant.
But her answer had already been decided.
"My father is…"
"…?"
"An emperor."
"……."
"The one and only emperor of the one and only empire on this continent. A monster with absolute, unchecked power. He’s probably the most ambitious emperor in history. After all, he’s got that absurd dream of unifying the continent."
"Just like me."
A dry laugh slipped from Vilma’s lips.
Come to think of it, it really was the same. A rare, continent-wide unification attempt — a monumental event so vast that even looking through thousands of years of history revealed only two successes. And there were two people aiming for it. One was the ruler standing above the largest power on the continent; the other was a demon prince who was nearly the strongest being in existence aside from the gods.
In a sense, it was a battle of the century. But the one holding the overwhelming score so far was obviously Valdes. Compared to the emperor, who still hadn’t even identified his enemy, Valdes was steadily executing his plan for continental conquest one step at a time.
"Ever since I was young, my father was more of an emperor than a father. So, yes, this should be fun."
Vilma—or rather, First Princess Wilhelmina’s eyes sparkled.
"Bringing down my father, the emperor, and the empire."
"…Not a bad answer."
"Not a bad answer? Hey, that’s rude! I’ve always been on Valdes-nim’s side from the very beginning!"
Back to her usual self, Vilma shouted at him in protest. The stark contrast was a little awkward, but Valdes didn’t particularly care.
"What are you talking about? You became my subordinate after I forced you into it."
"Even so, I thought your odds were pretty good! Honestly, back then I figured swallowing half the continent would count as success, but now I really think you might take everything! I’ll side with whoever’s going to win!"
"Is that all?"
At Valdes’s flat remark, Vilma hesitated.
Her expression, which had just been steady a moment ago, cracked again. Her face stiffened, completely unable to maintain composure, and she stammered,
"W-what? What d-do you mean by t-that?"
"Aren’t you underestimating the Demon Army a little too much? We’re investigating the imperial family and the Tower. Did you really think we wouldn’t know?"
"……ha, haha…."
"The reason you ran away. The reason you want to be alone."
"……."
"I know the rough outline."
Vilma rolled her eyes desperately, racing through every possible answer in her head. But she was so flustered that nothing came to mind. Then, the moment her eyes met Valdes’s, she knew instinctively that no matter what she said now, it would be useless.
"Sigh… Really. …You’re a cruel man."
"I’m a demon."
"A demon… haha, yes, I suppose you are. I did make a contract with an evil demon."
She muttered softly and lowered her head. Sighs kept slipping out of her mouth one after another.
"Then I guess… I don’t really need to explain myself."
Vilma, Wilhelmina de Desac, was the First Princess.
The emperor, who had many children, had more than ten besides her.
But only four of them, including her, had inherited magical talent. One of those was still very young, and another wasn’t especially gifted, so he had not focused on magic. That left two of the emperor’s children who were enrolled as disciples in the Mage Tower.
The First Princess, Wilhelmina, and the Fourth Princess, Theresia.
Born five years earlier, Wilhelmina had earned the expectations of both the imperial family and the Mage Tower, and she had shown particular talent for black magic. That was why she became the disciple of the Tower’s Fourth Elder.
Theresia, on the other hand, displayed tremendous talent in all forms of magic and was even considered a candidate to succeed Robert as a Great Mage. Her teacher was chosen to be the current Tower Master, Robert’s own disciple.
Gentle and kind Wilhelmina never felt jealous just because her younger half-sister was far more gifted and had become the Tower Master’s disciple. On the contrary, she congratulated her and helped guide her magical studies. From that angle, it would have been a heartwarming tale of sisters. The problem was that they were imperial royalty.
As people noticed Wilhelmina’s magical talent, those who had gathered around her one by one drifted away from her side. They moved, naturally enough, to Theresia’s. She could only watch as the many admirers who had once praised and supported her all turned toward her younger sister.
As the years passed, Wilhelmina grew jealous of her sister. And she grew stressed. Magicians who insisted on comparing her to Theresia, who was also a genius and yet possessed even greater talent; her mother’s pressure, asking why she couldn’t be as good as the much younger Theresia; all of it had become a burden.
So Wilhelmina seized her chance and fled the imperial palace, the Mage Tower, the capital, and the empire itself.
That was what Valdes had learned after continuing his investigation. Of course, he had combined information from the intelligence division with conclusions he had drawn himself, but most of it matched the truth.
"You can speak honestly, Vilma. What… do you feel toward your sister?"
"…My little sister, Theresia, is… a kind girl. I like her."
"Right. You like her. But is that really all there is to it?"
"……Valdes-nim. Please… stop."
"Sorry, but I can’t do that."
Valdes walked toward Wilhelmina, who was begging him in a tearful voice. With every step he took closer, she flinched and trembled.
She was afraid.
Afraid that the feelings she had desperately hidden would be laid bare.
"I’m the demon who made a contract with you. A contract is a transaction. And a transaction has to benefit both sides. You agreed to help me conquer the continent, didn’t you? Then I have a duty to help you too."
"……."
"It’s all right. You can tell me. I’ll… make what you want come true."
"What I… want…."
"Yes. Don’t worry. I won’t kill her. You want to keep getting along as before, don’t you?"
"Getting along…."
"So that others won’t stir up conflict, and so jealousy over talent won’t keep gnawing at you. I’ll help you. In a way you know very well."
The whisper of a demon. The whisper of the devil himself.
Wilhelmina involuntarily glanced at Valdes’s groin, then lowered her gaze to her own lower abdomen.
Hidden beneath her loose clothing was the pink magical mark that signified contract and subjugation.
The Crest of Obedience.
She had only tasted the pleasure it brought once, but as a black mage, she could already tell what a terrifying thing that crest truly was. And though she had heard very little about it, she had also overheard the things he did with women.
Most of those stories had involved Irena, but once, it had been Yueli.
She still remembered everything she had heard that day.
So she couldn’t help asking,
"Can you really… do that for me…?"