Not a Trick
What remained on the cliff where the Duke had vanished was a taut tension, and a vivid terror that seeped through the gaps. Everyone must have realized it clearly now—what it meant to oppose the will of the Imperial Family, and that they possessed the power to make anything a reality.
The Duke was a hero who had commanded countless wars, a man who could wield Manis, even if only a little. Having witnessed such a man die without being able to lift a single finger, it was only natural that their terror reached its peak. Even a hero of the masses is nothing but a trivial life before them. He died so easily. Then what about me? The raw thoughts of the crowd were laid bare on their faces.
"We shall send the tribute presented by the winner of the hunt to the Duke's estate as a gesture of condolence."
Leaving behind words that were nothing short of sarcasm, the Emperor rose from his seat. Everyone bowed their heads. I did the same. Through the gap of my lowered head, I saw the Duke's aide collapsed among the crowd.
The knight who had served alongside the Duke was helping him to his feet. Perhaps the faint-hearted aide had passed out; he dragged his limp body up with great effort, glaring at the departing Emperor and First Prince. Tollin quickly bowed his head like the others, as if trying to hide his venomous gaze. However, the blood dripping from his tightly clenched fists showed that he had not bowed his heart.
The Emperor and Rasiah departed, and I followed behind them along with my siblings. Glancing back slightly, I saw the nobles still bowing their heads. Standing among them, Tollin had risen again, glaring in our direction as if he wanted to tear us to shreds. I knew all too well what path he would walk now, tasked with guarding the obituary of a Duke whose very corpse was gone. It was the perfect completion of a hidden episode.
The First Prince's bedroom had plenty to look at compared to mine. A polished mahogany desk, a floor covered in the pelt of some tiger-like beast, and a lamp decorated with gargoyle claws. If I could just take one of these and sell it, I could probably live off the proceeds for a year.
Of course, for ornaments like these—likely crafted in limited quantities by a master artisan—the only option to avoid tracking would be black-market deals like the dark auction house. For someone like me who currently had neither connections nor backing, I wouldn't even get a tenth of the original price. The risk was far too high compared to the return, making it a poor option.
As I looked around, contemplating my future, the door burst open. Then, a now-familiar head of platinum-blonde hair walked in.
"You're back?"
"Aaargh!!!"
The First Prince must have been truly startled, as he shrieked and jumped in a completely undignified manner. Today was about three days after the Duke's execution. Thanks to that event, the First Prince had fully regained his former prestige, and anyone who doubted his position had vanished. He seemed highly satisfied with his life lately—so much so that it was almost embarrassing that I had come to shatter it today.
"If you make such a racket, people will gather."
I knew that ever since the nosebleed incident, he no longer brought a crowd of servants into his bedroom to tend to him, but I gave him the warning anyway to tell him to lower his voice. Though my calm advice only seemed to make him angrier.
"Are you out of your mind? Why do you keep sneaking into someone else's bedroom without a sound?! I thought I was just hallucinating last time because I was out of it, but you really don't make a single sound! How are you doing this?!"
Of course he'd think that. Whether it was thanks to my ability to transform into a crow—no, a crow and a horse—or because this body was treated as something lower than a bug, the royals didn't seem to notice my presence despite being able to use Manis. Perhaps it was the same principle as the body naturally numbing itself; if you sensed every single passing ant, you'd go mad. They probably perceived me as nothing more than a flying bird or a bug. Something difficult to notice unless they focused or paid close attention.
If you asked how I knew this, it was because I had tested it a few times. The subject was the simple-minded, ignorant prince standing right in front of me. On the night of the banquet, the First Prince had definitely failed to notice me inside his room. Since then, I had transformed into a crow a few times and hovered around him. Far from realizing it was me, he barely even cared that a bird was flying nearby. Still, I had no intention of revealing my ability, so I immediately diverted his attention.
"Seeing how energetic you are, it seems you're no longer spilling nosebleeds."
The First Prince, who had been babbling noisily, shut his mouth instantly. He glared at me with fierce eyes. It was a gaze similar to the one he had when he killed the Marquis. He was glaring as if he wanted to murder me. Keeping his glittering eyes fixed on me, he spat out through gritted teeth.
"You. You seem to have grown quite arrogant just because you saved my life once. Know your place. You didn't actually think I'd bow down and thank a worthless insect like you, did you?"
Seeing him raise his hand as if to threaten me, it seemed people really didn't change easily. To think his attitude would shift like this when he had acted as if he would do anything just a short while ago. By the way, considering how he emphasized the word "insect," he must have taken the word "insect" I spat out during our last conversation quite to heart. How petty. I already knew this from reading the book, but he really wasn't Emperor material either.
"Of course not. I haven't actually saved you yet, after all."
I didn't bother to add the implication that he had no reason to be arrogant. A faint look of bewilderment washed over the First Prince's face.
"What do you mean by that? My body is back to normal, and I can use my Manis however I want! Wasn't it completely cured?! You said that was enough!"
I wanted to ask him instead: Why did you think it would be cured so easily? When I remained silent without answering, he grew increasingly agitated and began to raise his voice.
"Did you trick me?!"
"I never said you were completely cured in the first place."
At my nonchalant reply, his expression grew even more menacing. If it were something that could be cured in one go, he wouldn't have died so miserably in the original story. Having no way of knowing that, he seemed absolutely furious at my silence. Well, it was understandable to be pissed off when you thought you had cheated death, only to find out you weren't actually saved and that your life was still in my hands. Still, wasn't launching an attack right away a bit much?
As if proving that his body had truly recovered its condition from the previous treatment, the First Prince raised his hand without any fear of spilling a nosebleed like that night. A sharp arrow made of water flew toward me at rapid speed. He really has a short fuse.
"What?!"
Fortunately, the disaster of his ferocious attack piercing my body did not occur. The arrow he unleashed was absorbed into my hand like a vacuum cleaner sucking up dust. To be precise, it was absorbed into the small stone held in my palm. Bewilderment filled the prince's eyes.
"That... That's what you used to treat me. Was that a lie too?"
The First Prince muttered blankly, seemingly shocked by how instantly his attack had been neutralized.
"If I had no intention of treating you back then, I could have just left you to die. If I had, I wouldn't be getting attacked like this right now."
At the First Prince's expression, which practically demanded an explanation for what had just happened, I let out a sigh and continued.
"It wasn't a lie. I had to draw out the contaminated Manis circulating inside your body. With this."
When I lightly raised the stone, the First Prince flinched and took a few steps back, as if it might suck away all of his Manis. The object in my hand was the sole means of extracting the contaminated Manis eating away at his body, as well as the relief item I had provided to the Duke. It was originally an item that appeared toward the latter half of the original story, but I had borrowed just a tiny bit of it. In exchange for using it, I planned to teach the protagonist an easier way to find it before I left. Of course, it wasn't an all-powerful item that could absorb any and all Manis. Several conditions had to be met for its activation. And the First Prince's condition fit those requirements perfectly for an experiment.
On the night of the banquet, the day the First Prince had asked what he needed to do to live, I had shown him this stone.
Even though he had been skeptical at first, he seemed surprised when the stone didn't shatter as expected and instead absorbed his Manis. When his nose bled, he glared at me as if he wanted to kill me, even though I had warned him beforehand. But when I didn't even blink, he continued his work, unable to cast aside his doubts. By the time his nosebleed stopped, dozens of pebbles littered his feet. At my word that it was enough, the First Prince left with a dazed expression, leaving everything behind, and I gathered the stones. Since then, he hadn't come to see me, and I had no reason to seek him out. It seemed he had assumed on his own that everything was completely resolved.
"If it's for treatment, why does it absorb my attacks on its own? It should move according to my command!"
The First Prince's voice, thick with betrayal, shattered my reminiscence.
"The fact that your power is absorbed by this is proof that you are not yet fully cured, Your Highness."
"Then once I'm completely cured, that stone will no longer have any effect on me?"
When I nodded, he still looked at me suspiciously and barked again.
"Then you should just draw it all out quickly. Why are you taking it out bit by bit?"
The first reason was that doing so might cause the variable of excessive deviation from the original story. But there was no need to tell him that.
"Because if I draw out too much at once, you will collapse. I doubt you want rumors spreading that the First Prince has health issues severe enough to make him faint. And..."
And the second reason was,
"There are a few favors I need you to grant me."
Because, naturally, he was worth exploiting.
"Is this worthless insect threatening me with my own life right now? Once I become Emperor, killing a wretch like you will be child's play."
"If you don't take my hand right now, you'll die before you can even become Emperor."
His eyes flared once more with resentment and rage.
"You...!"
"First, shall we fix that tone of yours?"
Cutting off his attempt to raise his voice again, I curled my lips into a smile. The First Prince stared at me with a look of sheer horror.
"From this moment on, you had better not raise your voice in front of me."
After all, I was someone who was sick and tired of people shouting at me.