Chapter 212: The Otome Game 12

With the banquet safely concluded, Liliana, exhausted, finished preparing for bed in the room prepared for her at the royal palace. She could have returned to her mansion on the outskirts of the royal capital, but the banquet had ended late at night. Taking up Riley’s offer to return the next morning, Liliana decided to stay at the palace.

(I believe Prince Roland and the heroine's event is tomorrow.)

Liliana mused inwardly.

Prince Roland would be returning to his country the day after the tea party. On that occasion, Emilia would happen to meet him. The prince would be departing in the morning. Liliana was scheduled to leave the palace before noon, so if she used her teleportation spell, she should be able to be present at the scene.

“—I’m tired.”

Muttering to herself, Liliana slipped into bed.

Since Marianne had been left at the mansion, the palace maids arranged by Riley were taking care of her. Riley said that as the future Crown Princess, it was necessary for her to interact with the palace ladies-in-waiting and maids, and Liliana understood that he was right. But Marianne, who had served her since she was a child, was more familiar to her, and she could relax when they were together. Without Marianne, Liliana couldn't let her guard down until she was alone.

As soon as she closed her eyes, sleepiness came over her. As if being dragged in, Liliana lost consciousness—and then she had a dream.

—A world of endless darkness. In a world of perpetual night, the trees and plants had withered, and both people and animals wore gloomy faces. There was no food, the rivers had dried up, and day and night—no, since the sun didn't even come out during the day, it was no wonder that monsters would appear, as the land was encroached upon by darkness. In a situation where they didn't know when or where monsters would attack their villages, the people were terrified. And tormented by a fear that had no end in sight, their minds and bodies grew ill.

Those with strong spirits sickened in body, and those with strong bodies sickened in mind. A kind husband would beat his wife, and a gentle, devoted wife would hurl abuse at her husband. A lively person would lose interest in everything and sink into depression.

A mother soothing her child would worry that her milk wouldn't come out, and a child who couldn't get enough food, with its bony limbs and unnaturally swollen belly, couldn't even move.

Looking at that world, Liliana felt a sense of elation.

‘It would be better if this world just perished.’

Looking down at the world that was steadily heading towards its end with eyes of a faint, dark color, she smiled faintly.

The resentment towards the world that had stolen away all of her few precious things and plunged her into despair welled up one after another. No matter how much she tormented it, it wasn't enough, and she even had the illusion that the hatred that lay beyond despair and sorrow was devouring her from within.

‘Suffer, suffer—and then know despair.’

If she did that, then surely the people of this land would know despair and sorrow. Even if they pleaded for help from the god they believed in, the god would never lend them a hand. Why won't you save us? the people would hurl curses at the heavens and the earth. The negative emotions would call miasma to their land and create monsters.

If she just gave them a single trigger at the beginning, then the people would create all the resentment, anger, and fear they wanted. So easily that she didn't even need to lend a hand, the people fell into darkness. There was no god to save them, yet they just clung to their god. They didn't even realize that the cause was on their own side.

‘The ones who stole — from me, were you.’

Who—no, what—had been stolen from her? Liliana couldn't recognize the words her own mouth had spoken. But when she spoke those words, a pain as if her chest would burst assailed her.

When I lost it, I despaired. I grieved and lamented and hated this world, and I cried out, why did you take it from me? I wished that my life had been taken instead, but I knew that was a wish that would never be granted.

‘I hate you, I hate you—even if I cast all of you into the depths of the earth and burn you with hellfire, this hatred will never disappear.’

In that case, would she be saved if she offered up her own life along with this world as a final tribute? As she asked herself this, Liliana’s eyes watched the ugly spectacle of the people suffering, struggling, and thrashing. She couldn't suppress the natural curve of her lips.

＊＊＊＊＊

Though it should have been impossible for him to enter, the black lion, Ajulite, had slipped into the royal palace with an unconcerned look. Evading the eyes of the guards and even going undetected by the barriers was an easy task for Ajulite.

‘There it is.’

The room Ajulite was aiming for was the one where Liliana was sleeping. With his presence and form hidden from others, he softly approached the bed. He placed his front paws on the bed and peered at the face of the soundly sleeping Liliana.

Liliana was sleeping soundly and showed no signs of waking, but her face was flushed red with heat. He knew she had a fever without even touching her. Ajulite let out a small sigh. The black lion had easily predicted this would happen.

‘It can’t be helped, but—you look like you’re in pain.’

Liliana, who was breathing heavily, was having a nightmare, and her brow was furrowed. She also seemed to be covered in a cold sweat. Ajulite extended a front paw and placed it on Liliana’s forehead, just as he had before.

In Ajulite’s eyes, he could see the vast amount of mana swirling inside Liliana’s body. The mana, which normally circulated with the gentleness of a babbling brook, was now churning and raging like the great waves of a stormy sea. The vast amount of mana would damage Liliana’s body from the inside if left as it was, so he had to calm it down as soon as possible.

‘Honestly, humans are so inconvenient.’

Though no one was listening, Ajulite grumbled in irritation.

To Ajulite, the human body was far too fragile. To the non-human black lion, human mana was pitifully small. But more than that, the human body had far too little resistance to mana. Even an amount of mana that was nothing to Ajulite could be fatal to a human. Among them, the amount of mana Liliana possessed had caught Ajulite’s eye. It was incomparably larger than that of other humans. But at the same time, it also carried the problem of how long Liliana’s body could withstand that vast amount of mana.

He slowly calmed the raging mana inside Liliana’s body. It took less time than the first time, but Liliana’s condition had not improved much.

Ajulite gently removed his paw from Liliana’s forehead and carefully examined her entire condition with his strangely colored eyes.

‘There’s a rejection reaction.’

The mana circulating inside her body had calmed down, but her body was still showing a rejection reaction to the mana inside her. But unfortunately, there was nothing Ajulite could do at this stage. The rest depended on Liliana’s own stamina.

‘You’ll probably fall into a similar situation a few more times, but…’

Ajulite let out a small sigh. Still, there was a single hope. Blinking his purple-and-green eyes, Ajulite spoke to Liliana, knowing she couldn’t hear him.

‘—The only thing I can do is regulate your mana, but please endure it.’

The wishful words disappeared without reaching anyone. Ajulite remained by Liliana’s side for a while, but before dawn, he vanished from the spot.

＊＊＊＊＊

When she awoke, Liliana realized she was not feeling well.

“—Do I have a fever?”

Her head was fuzzy and her body was hard to move. A sense of fatigue enveloped her whole body, and it was a struggle to even move.

(Could it be, I’m on the verge of a magical overload again?)

The thought occurred to her, and she concentrated, trying to feel the flow of mana in her body. But the mana was circulating calmly, as usual. Liliana couldn’t help but tilt her head.

The feeling in her body was similar to when she had collapsed on the verge of a magical overload the other day. But her mana was calm.

Liliana stared blankly at the ceiling. She felt as if she had had a long dream, but she couldn't remember the content at all. All she remembered was a pain in her chest. The burning passion was something she had never felt in her life before. The despair, sorrow, anger, and hatred all had a much greater intensity than any emotion she had ever held. She was still overwhelmed by their sheer magnitude, and she even thought that the strain was showing on her body.

(What on earth was that?)

Liliana furrowed her brow in irritation.

If she were to explain it to someone, she could only say that it had been a nightmare, though she didn’t remember the content. She should have slept for a sufficient amount of time, but she didn’t feel rested at all. In fact, she felt even more tired than before she had gone to sleep.

“Ah—yes,”

That’s right, Liliana murmured wearily. It was about time for Emilia and Prince Roland’s event to begin. Prince Roland, who was about to return to the Empire, would find Emilia’s carriage stranded on the road and order his men to help. The prince, who hadn’t realized it was Emilia at first, would realize she was the girl he had spoken with at the tea party when she got out of the carriage, and would get out of his own carriage to speak with her.

The reason Emilia’s carriage had a wheel in a ditch was because she had been attacked by ruffians. But halfway through, the attackers had realized they had the wrong target and had quickly retreated. It was never revealed in the game who they had intended to attack, and there was no information that anyone had been killed afterward.

According to the plan she had made yesterday, Liliana was supposed to make herself invisible and be present at the scene. But right now, she didn't feel like she could use magic properly. For once, a sense of anxiety that she would make a decisive mistake if she went to the scene stuck to her mind and wouldn't leave.

“—A rat,”

Her brilliant mind easily came up with the solution: she just needed to release a rat and have it bring back the information. But even though she understood it in her head, her body wouldn't move.

Before she knew it, her consciousness was sinking into darkness again. Though she thought she shouldn't sleep, her body wouldn't move as she wanted.

She thought she heard a voice calling her name somewhere, but she couldn't respond and fell asleep again.

—-

 Toc

Chapter 213