Chapter 195:The Prelude to the Game 3

Knights of the Royal Knights rarely get to go home. They basically spend the entire year at the Knight Order’s barracks. However, they are not forbidden from receiving visits from acquaintances and friends.

That day, Danhill Calvert, captain of the Second Squad, frowned upon receiving news of a visitor.

“—I don’t want to see her. Maybe I should fake an illness and ask her to leave.”

He couldn't help but mutter it, but he knew from experience that such things were useless. Seeing the Second Squad captain let out a deep sigh, the knight who had brought the message’s face twitched. Among the captains of the Royal Knights, Danhill was relatively open and cheerful, but he was still a figure beyond the reach of the average knight. Especially since Danhill’s family was a border margrave. Of course, there were high-ranking nobles among the knights, but the majority were lower-ranking nobles, and many of the high-ranking noble families were not on par with a border margrave.

Danhill glanced up at the young knight and sighed in resignation. If he complained here, it would only put the knight in front of him in a difficult position. On top of that, the person who had come to see him was not an easy opponent. Either way, he would be caught by the end of the day.

“Alright. I’ll go. The meeting room, right?”

“Yes, she is waiting there.”

The knight’s cheeks relaxed in relief. Danhill stood up from his chair and, after just saying, “Get back to training,” he put on his sword belt and left the captain’s room. Though it was called a captain’s room, it wasn’t a private room like the commander’s or vice-commander’s. It was just a room with the desks of the various squad captains randomly arranged. There were partitions between the desks, but it was far from a personal space.

Of course, because of that, only a limited number of captains used the captain’s room. At least, Danhill rarely used it. As a result, his own room was piled high with work documents and had no place to stand—which sounded good, but in reality, he just didn't clean up. And he was sure that the desk of Bruno Scone, captain of the Eighth Squad, had never been used, it was so clean. Thinking about that, Danhill inwardly praised himself for being cooperative, since he did use the captain’s room, albeit rarely.

Of course, he was aware that this self-praise was a form of escapism. With heavy steps, Danhill walked down the corridor and arrived at the meeting room. He knocked on the door and entered to find a familiar face.

“—Sister. What are you doing in a place like this?”

“Isn’t it because you rarely come home?”

The person Danhill called sister was an extremely beautiful woman. Her rich blonde hair was tied up elegantly, and her almond-shaped eyes were a pale crimson. It was rumored that his sister was the spitting image of their mother, Beverly Calvert, who had once been renowned as a peerless beauty. Indeed, if his sister resembled her, then his mother must have been the flower of high society in her youth, Danhill thought.

But to Danhill, it was a familiar face, and knowing her inner self, he couldn't bring himself to be captivated by her beauty.

“The domain is far away.”

“I am talking about the mansion in the capital.”

His sister, Virginia, retorted sharply to his comeback. Danhill, having given up on fighting with his quick-witted sister early on, decided to stand and get straight to the point.

“So, sister, what is it that you need?”

“My, don’t you want to catch up with your dear sister a little?”

Virginia raised an eyebrow in displeasure. Even that single expression had a calculated beauty to it. Danhill felt weary.

“What about Lord Hindman? If you neglect your husband too much, he will lose interest in you.”

“A certain amount of distance will make him realize how precious I am. A certain amount of tension is necessary not only in romance but also in marriage. Remember that, Danhill.”

She has an answer for everything, Danhill sighed. He wondered for the umpteenth time what Virginia’s husband, Lord Hindman, had seen in his sister. Despite having other options—and some of them being quite beautiful—he had fallen in love with her character and had repeatedly courted the unyielding Virginia.

Both Danhill and his older brother, Angus, had warned Lord Hindman to “give it up” countless times, but their heartfelt concern had apparently not reached him. On top of that, even now, after several years of marriage, the two were said to be a loving couple.

“—So, what do you need?”

Danhill asked Virginia again. Virginia sighed theatrically. Looking at Danhill as if he were a hopeless child, she opened her mouth.

“The ‘investiture ceremony’ will be held soon. It would be a problem if there were any worries at that time.”

Danhill’s eyebrow twitched. But he didn't show his emotions. Virginia, looking at her brother with satisfaction, smiled enchantingly. It was an expression that could charm anyone who saw it, but it had no effect on the accustomed Danhill. And Virginia didn't think her brother would be flustered by a single expression of hers anymore.

“The only one I trust in the Knight Order is you. I have other acquaintances, but—you understand what I mean, don’t you?”

Having heard this much, Danhill’s face finally twisted as if he had bitten into something bitter. It was a very aristocratic way of speaking. Danhill had aspired to be a knight because he disliked the customs common in aristocratic society. Fortunately, he had the aptitude for it and had risen to the rank of captain of the Second Squad, so he had been trying to avoid aristocratic socializing as much as possible ever since. It was fun to use the aristocratic turns of phrase he had learned since childhood when courting women, but when it came to politics and power struggles, it immediately became boring.

Virginia was clearly choosing her roundabout way of speaking because she knew that about Danhill.

He wanted to curse her for her rotten personality, but he knew that if he said it, it would come back to him twice as bad, so Danhill wisely kept his mouth shut.

Virginia’s well-shaped, red-painted lips curved into an arc. Her smile was so brilliant it would have captivated any man around her, but to Danhill, it looked like the expression of a devil.

But his sister, her expression unchanged, took out a piece of paper from the small bag she was holding.

“I have cast a spell on this so that only you can see it. You will receive the necessary information when you need it.”

I don’t want to take it, was written all over Danhill’s face. But he wasn’t given the option of not taking it. Suppressing a sigh, Danhill roughly took the paper. Virginia’s eyes widened for a moment, but then she started to giggle with amusement.

“What’s so funny?”

“Because I didn’t think you’d take it so readily.”

“I thought you’d refuse with some lame excuse,” she continued, and Danhill frowned.

“I’m not a child anymore.”

“Oh, but to me, you will always be the child who played in the mud. And it’s the same for Mother.”

Laughing elegantly, Virginia stood up from her chair. Danhill stuffed the paper into his pocket and stood next to his sister to escort her. He really didn't want to escort her, but since she had had her guard and maid wait outside to be alone with her brother, he had to at least go that far as a matter of etiquette.

Virginia, escorted by Danhill with a graceful gesture, walked quietly. From the side, they look like a handsome and beautiful couple, a perfect match, but Danhill’s expression was so stiff that they probably didn't look like lovers.

After safely delivering his sister to her guard and maid, Danhill bid his farewell and quickly turned on his heel. Despite the short meeting, he was terribly tired.

＊＊＊＊＊

Liliana, who had returned home from the Navy barony by teleportation, felt a sense of weariness. It was painful to even sit, and she crawled into bed. She barely managed to ring the bell by her bedside, and Marianne came running immediately.

“My lady, what is the matter?”

Marianne, who had opened the door, widened her eyes in surprise to see Liliana in bed. But the next moment, her expression turned grim, and she hurriedly placed a hand on Liliana’s forehead.

“You have a fever—I will call the doctor at once.”

Only then did Liliana realize she had a fever.

Though she looked like a fragile young lady at first glance, Liliana rarely fell ill. She had been bedridden with a fashionable disease when she was six, but she hadn’t even caught a cold since then. That was probably why it had taken her so long to notice her long-awaited illness.

Marianne, who had left the room to call the doctor, soon returned with an ice pack.

“Please bear with it for a little while.”

Marianne undressed Liliana, wiped her sweat, and put her back in bed. With the ice pack on her forehead, Liliana closed her eyes in comfort. Marianne, though worried, gave her a gentle smile.

“Please sleep until the doctor arrives.”

With a childish nod, Liliana immediately lost consciousness.

The next time Liliana woke up was when the doctor arrived. In this world, doctors couldn’t do much in the way of diagnosis or treatment. However, one noteworthy point was that Liliana’s personal physician was somewhat knowledgeable about magic. But it was only “somewhat.” He couldn't use healing magic, and he wouldn't be able to tell if she was cursed. All he could do was examine the flow of magical power circulating in her body.

“—Your magical power is quite disturbed.”

“My magical power?”

It was Marianne, standing by, who repeated the words with a look of confusion. The doctor nodded. “Yes.”

“It is moving in a way similar to a magical power runaway—but unlike a runaway, it is a state where too much magical power is swirling inside the body. It would be good if she could release the magical power outside, but one wrong step and it could become a magical power runaway, which would be bad for both her and those around her.”

Liliana, her head throbbing with fever, realized that her thinking speed was slower than usual. But still, she felt a sense of unease at the doctor’s words.

When you use magical power, it decreases. Of course, due to homeostasis, the decreased magical power returns to its original amount over a certain period of time. But Liliana regularly used advanced magic, including teleportation, one after another. It was normally unthinkable that her body would be in a state where a large amount of magical power was circulating, enough to cause a magical power runaway.

But she couldn’t say that. The fact that she routinely used magic, including spells that were generally considered impossible, was a secret she couldn't tell anyone.

Marianne asked the doctor with a difficult expression.

“To release the magical power—should we ask a sorcerer?”

“No, it would be difficult even for a healing sorcerer. A sorcerer who can do it—as far as I know, there are none.”

At the doctor’s words, Marianne frowned. Normally, Marianne would have backed down, but this concerned her mistress’s health. She pressed the elderly doctor with a barrage of questions.

“Is it impossible even for Lord Ben Draco of the Ministry of Magic?”

“He is a researcher, so he might be able to, but—no, it would be difficult.”

At the doctor’s unyielding negative attitude, Marianne looked unusually irritated. She seemed to have judged that she wouldn't get a satisfactory answer by questioning the doctor any further. She quietly nodded. “I see.”

The doctor looked somewhat relieved.

“It will calm down a little if you rest for a while. I will prepare some medicine. This medicine also has the effect of calming magical power.”

“Thank you.”

Marianne quietly thanked him and saw the doctor, who had stood up, out. With a sigh, Marianne looked down at Liliana, who was flushed with a pained expression.

“I will send a letter to Lord Ben Draco and ask for a solution. My lady, I am sorry.”

“—It’s alright, don’t worry about it.”

Hearing Liliana’s answer, Marianne’s expression momentarily contorted as if she were about to cry. But Liliana, her vision blurred by the fever, didn't notice. Marianne changed the ice pack.

However, her exhausted body couldn't take more, and Liliana closed her eyes. Her body craved sleep, and her consciousness soon sank into darkness.

＊＊＊＊＊

—Her chest hurt as if it would burst.

Liliana opened her eyes. Standing before her was a slightly more mature-looking Liliana Alexandra Clark. Her pale green eyes reflected sorrow and despair, which gradually turned to hatred.

—That woman has everything I don’t have.

What I have lost, what I have desired but could never obtain, that woman has obtained without effort.

She takes her happy environment for granted, without even a hint of gratitude. She enjoys that happiness and love as if it were her due, living her life carefree. What's more, she is trying to steal the only thing I have, my fiancée and the position of Crown Princess—.

She could not forgive it.

Liliana had never known love from her family. She had lived her life being hated and despised since she was born. She had never had an environment where she could freely express her opinions. The pure, innocent, open, and endlessly bright and positive emotions that everyone loved did not exist in Liliana.

—A kind-hearted girl loved by all—Emilia Navy.

She had, as a matter of course, everything that Liliana had never had since she was born.

She was too bright for Liliana. The girl who always wore an unchanging smile and showed an honest smile and kindness to others was simply terrifying. Her place would be taken away; that was an undeniable fact.

‘I must eliminate her.’

A hoarse voice escaped the lovely girl’s throat.

‘I don’t need a world that takes away what is precious to me.’

Though not a single tear was shed, the girl in front of Liliana looked as if she were crying.

Let it be swallowed by darkness, she waved her hand.

And at that moment, Liliana—

Woke up.

—-

Toc

Chapter 196