The Marchioness's Secret Dream
Juliana did not seem particularly flustered. If anything, her lips curled into a wide, grotesque grin.
"Indeed, Princess. It was merely a small curiosity. Shouldn't someone who runs the finest academy possess at least this level of intellectual curiosity?"
But I could see it. Green mana was swirling around Juliana like a shimmering aura. This was, without a doubt, a mage's full battle-ready stance.
"Princess, please step back," Filgret said, drawing his sword as he stepped in front of me. The knights who had accompanied us down also assumed a sharp, defensive posture, their eyes locked on Juliana.
"It is useless, Sir Knights. Fufu... you cannot hope to oppose a high-ranking mage with mere swords. The moment you foolishly trotted down into this space... any chance of victory you had, Princess, vanished."
Before anyone realized it, a worn book with a brown cover had materialized in front of Juliana. That had to be her grimoire.
"Are you truly serious? This act is treason, plain and simple. No matter how powerful the Noble Council is, they will not protect a traitor."
"Fufu, fuhut."
"Why are you laughing?"
"A search in the dead of night like this. No matter how you look at it, it is proof that you ignored protocol and rushed here in a panic. You couldn't possibly have left an official record in the Knight Order's logs. Am I wrong, Princess?"
She is sharper than I thought. It was exactly as she said. Given William's situation, we had to move quickly; there was no time to wait for administrative processing. The only ones who knew the knights and I were here were the people currently in this room. Which meant...
"Which means, as long as I silence all of your mouths, no one will ever know what transpired here, my cute Princess. Your impatience has ruined you."
Juliana made no effort to hide her delight. The mana enveloping her surged violently, mirroring her rising excitement. Her attitude made it abundantly clear that she possessed absolute confidence—confidence that she could easily dispose of us, who had walked right into her domain, as well as the knights waiting outside.
I asked, deliberately letting a tremor of fear slip into my voice. "...What do you plan to do with us?"
"Well, isn't it a bit too late to start worrying about that? Fuhut. Wouldn't it be amusing to turn our elegant Princess's mind into that of a sex-crazed fool, and then force her to bear the children of her loyal knights? I wonder what would become of the royal family's precious dignity then?"
"Shut your filthy, wicked mouth!" one of the knights roared, finally unable to contain his rage. Yet, Juliana's sinister smirk did not fade in the slightest as she shot back.
"Oh, how terrifying, fufu... But for all your bluster, you aren't moving an inch. Is a grimoire really that frightening to you knights?"
"Cut the crap...!" The knight made a move to charge at her, but that was as far as he got. His body froze, pinned to the spot as if nailed down.
"Th-This is..." Vines sprouting from the wooden floorboards had tightly coiled around his legs. And it wasn't just the floor. Eyeballs began to manifest on the surrounding objects, casting their eerie, yellow gazes directly at us.
"This space is now my domain. Blame the foolish judgment of your Princess for dragging you all down here. Suffer in a despair worse than death." Before we knew it, vines, tentacles, and all manner of grotesque, writhing things were sprouting from every corner of the room. Frowning at the repulsive sight, I spoke toward the brooch pinned to my chest. "That is what she says, Monas."
- Yes. There is no need to listen to any more of this.
The light emanating from the brooch gradually coalesced into a human silhouette. It was the officially recognized strongest mage in the kingdom, Royal Court Mage Monas. Upon witnessing this, the smile vanished from Juliana's face.
"...Blue-eyed Monas...?" There was no way Juliana wouldn't recognize him. Anyone who claimed to be a mage in this kingdom had to know his name. I looked at the dumbfounded Juliana and spoke calmly.
"The foolish one here was you, Marchioness Sancene."
It was already a well-known fact that Juliana was a powerful mage. If she was indeed the mastermind behind William's kidnapping, it was easy to predict that she would resort to any means necessary to keep it hidden. Naturally, I had prepared for such a scenario. Though, I hadn't expected her to be quite this overtly hostile.
In a voice laced with drowsiness, Monas spoke. "Lèse-majesté, threatening royalty, and active hostility—all of which constitute high treason. The minimum penalty for such crimes is execution. Even if carried out on the spot, no one would be able to raise an objection. Princess, what are your orders?"
"No, do not kill her just yet. First, clear away these disgusting growths and confiscate the Marchioness's grimoire. We will decide her punishment after that."
"Understood, Princess." As we conversed in such calm, casual tones, Juliana's face contorted with horror. In a voice that had lost all of its previous volume, she whimpered, "My grimoire...? Confiscate... my grimoire? No, anything but that... anything but that!"
Even with her execution being discussed, her immediate concern was her grimoire. Are all mages like this? A fierce rage instantly washed over Juliana's face. She flung her grimoire open, and an ominous mana began to writhe from her body, the book, and every corner of the room.
Monas reacted instantly to Juliana's surge of magical power. Summoning his own azure book, his eyes glowed with a brilliant blue light that matched his grimoire.
⟨ Dior Regis ⟩
Bound tightly in her own office, Juliana was completely despondent. Well, it was only natural. A woman who prided herself on being an exceptional mage had been utterly defeated in a magical duel—and by an opponent who was merely a remote projection, a mere illusion.
The confiscation of her grimoire was undoubtedly the primary source of her despair. She had been stripped of the very object she valued more than her own life. In other words, I now held everything that defined Juliana Sancene in the palm of my hand. Lifting her grimoire, I looked down at the bound Marchioness and spoke.
"Where is William Roberts?" A book is a fragile thing. Simply by gripping the pages and letting them crease slightly, Juliana reacted with more sensitivity than if a dagger had been pressed against her heart.
"The—the old warehouse just north of the Academy...! He is there! O-Of course, he is completely unharmed, not a single hair on his head has been touched..."
"Filgret."
"Yes, Princess."
Filgret immediately departed, leading a few of the knights. My suspicion that he would be nearby was correct. Since the disappearance had occurred within the Academy, and given Juliana's behavior, her involvement was undeniable.
Once Filgret and the knights had left the room, I turned my attention back to Juliana. "You have become quite cooperative, Marchioness. But surely you comprehend the sheer gravity of the crime you have committed?"
As Monas had pointed out, she was in a position where she could be summarily executed on the spot without anyone being able to complain. Even the Noble Council would face a severe backlash if they tried to defend such actions. In other words, if handled correctly, this incident could serve as a crucial card to pressure the Noble Council.
"At the very least, both you and the Sancene family must be held accountable. No punishment, no matter how severe, could be considered excessive."
"Ugh, uuuuh..." Juliana hung her head, her body trembling violently. Not a trace of her former arrogance remained.
"However, if you show sufficient sincerity, I might consider not pushing things to the absolute worst-case scenario."
"S-Sincerity...?"
"First, answer my questions without a single lie. The scrolls laid out in your workshop... they concern the shamanism of the northern tribes, don't they? Why were you researching such things?"
Without attempting to calculate her response, Juliana blurted out immediately, "Th-That was pure intellectual curiosity! It was a system entirely different from both the Kingdom and the Empire... I wondered if I could integrate it into my Book of the Red Fairy..."
According to the explanation Monas had given before leaving to catch up on his sleep, Juliana's grimoire, the Book of the Red Fairy, was a tome containing magic that imbued objects or spaces with a will of their own. In a way, it shared a common thread with Mistylia, the cursed object that implanted hatred as if it possessed its own consciousness. I had wondered if Juliana might be connected to the Black Sanyanghoe, but looking at her desperate state now, she did not seem to be lying.
"Then how far has your research progressed?"
Juliana was in no position to wonder why Princess Sera was showing such an interest in foreign shamanism. "F-For now, I have a rough understanding of the operating principles..."
Hearing that, I gestured for her to be quiet. Although the knights here were on my side, I wanted to keep information regarding Mistylia as restricted as possible. I could always question her in greater detail later in a more secure, private location.
"Next, why did you kidnap William Roberts? He is also a member of one of the Six Great Families."
Well, I already had a fair idea. The reason was bound to be obvious.
"M-Money... I needed... the wealth of the Roberts Merchant Guild... I-I am so sorry..."
"But the Sancene family is also one of the Six Great Families. Your assets should be far from lacking. Simply needing money is not a convincing explanation. Tell me the exact reason."
"I... I have a dream...!"
"Huh?"
At the sudden, unexpected word, an uncharacteristic sound slipped from my mouth. Yet, Juliana's expression was dead serious.
Just then, the voice of a knight investigating the workshop below echoed up. "W-Whoa! P-Princess...! There are so many bizarre objects down here...!"
Turning my gaze toward the source of the flustered voice, I saw a large, open crate. Neatly arranged inside were several grotesque phalluses.
The knights looked utterly scandalized, but I instantly recognized the purpose of those items. Devices designed to bring pleasure to women. In other words, dildos. Judging by the knights' reactions, it seemed that such explicitly shaped dildos did not exist in this world. Yet, the ones Juliana had crafted were of a quality that rivaled modern products.
"Is that... your dream?"
"Yes... I experimented with various materials and movements, but I just couldn't achieve a satisfying result... In the end, I even embezzled the Academy's budget to fund it, but still... S-So I had no choice... *hic*..."
They even move? The level of completion is incredibly high.
As I stared at them, I felt something stir deep inside me. While those devices were fundamentally meant for self-pleasure, they didn't necessarily have to be inserted of one's own free will. Yes, perhaps the next time an opportunity arose to humiliate Carmel... Ah... Just thinking about it sent a thrilling shiver straight to my lower abdomen.
Clearing my throat slightly, I looked down at Juliana, who was anxiously watching my every reaction, and spoke.
"Juliana, your sins are grave. There is only one path left for you to survive. I will tell you what it is now."