I strode briskly across the hallway.
Swish!
The rain pouring down outside the window had become a downpour. Thunder and lightning struck alternately with every step I took.
I headed to Brigitte's room with an ominous atmosphere as if the Demon King had descended.
Elijah clenched his fists and clenched his teeth repeatedly. As usual, he had a blank expression.
He couldn't just stand there like a doll without any emotions.
He raised his head. In front of him was Brigitte, sitting on the sofa like a monarch. She was savoring the scent of the World Tree tea that she had stolen from Rosenit's room.
The leisurely passage of time itself was a terrible torture to Elijah. Unable to bear it any longer, he opened his mouth in agony.
“Did you really have to do it this way?”
Bridgette, who had seemed cheerful for a while, gave him a cold look.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your Highness, aren’t you outstanding in both ability and talent? You don’t have to resort to this way..."
“This way?”
As soon as she arched her eyebrows, a question popped out. That alone increased the mental pressure directed at each homunculus.
Dump.
"Your Highness...'
Elijah immediately got down on one knee and bowed his head.
Brigitte, who had been looking down for a while, suddenly brightened the mood by smiling brightly.
“Yes, as you said, there is a way to compete fairly. The throne was arranged for me. It’s the same for me, so I can’t lose to Evienrose. But.”
Wouldn’t it take a long time? An empire that doesn’t have a proper ruler will suffer that much.
It would be a huge loss of time. She just wants everything to run efficiently.
It is also the wisdom of a wise ruler to be able to postpone personal justice for the greater good of the world.
It can be said to be a state of mind. On the contrary, it is sacrificing the generation for the cow by being bound by personal rules.
Isn't that the mindset of a small person?
"What?"
Today, too, he teaches with sophistry that pretends to be the correct opinion.
It was Brigitte. It was difficult to understand, but Elijah had no other means than to rely on advice.
There was no time to speak gently, trying to please her. He immediately raised his head and protested.
“Your Highness...!”
“Elijah Halsten.”
Brigitte's voice changed as if she had been watching him all along. It was cold as if the breath of the Arctic Ocean had melted.
“Are you still fighting back without coming to your senses? It seems like last night’s training wasn’t enough of a punishment.”
Brigitte raised her right hand. Her open palm covered Elijah's vision.
Baptism.
It was a gesture similar to the brainwashing of the Emperor's loyalty.
But what Brigitte was about to do was something more violent than that.
Elijah had been tortured all night with a splitting headache from the psychic spell that Bridgette had cast on him.
He gritted his teeth without realizing it as he watched the hand coming closer again, leaving him defenseless.
That was when.
Kwaaang!
As if the door was going to break down out of nowhere
There was a visitor who burst in with the door wide open. It was the first time Brigitte had experienced such an unprecedented situation in her life as a princess.
“What the heck! How dare you call it safety...!”
Bridgette couldn't come out until the end. It was because when she turned around, she encountered the face of someone who shouldn't be there.
“Sister.”
Eve was there, her face discolored to the point of being dreary.
“Hey, Eve? How?”
"Your Highness!"
While Bridgette was deeply embarrassed, Elijah could not erase the joy from his voice as if he had seen his savior.
Eve was taken into custody and questioned.
“What did you do to Michael?”
Brigitte sat up calmly.
“Where did you get the ignorant idea to open the door to your older sister’s room? Is this what a Princess should do? The elegance and nobility of a Princess is... Ah, because she is a spoiled princess.”
'Did you hear everything? Even though I used such strong potions and paralytics? How?'
While Brigitte was confused, Eve took her turn to speak again.
“It’s just as you predicted. You said there would be a day when you’d barge into your sister’s room out of sheer frustration, and I guess today is that day.”
“Yeah, I decided to take a look when the time comes.”
“No. You don’t have to do that. I don’t plan on looking after you first.”
"What?"
Pfft!
With one gesture from Eve, a powerful white light burst into the room.
Brigitte was greatly bewildered by the complex flow of mana that she had no idea what kind of magic it was.
“What are you doing...!”
“Your Highness, do not move.”
Elijah, frozen hard, warned with a cold sweat.
“What, what is this...?!”
Brigitte looked at this with wide eyes. Eve remained silent.
She moved the silver thread that had been spread out while making eye contact. Accordingly, the threads surrounded Brigitte on all sides more delicately and tightly.
“Oh, oh, so it’s possible to use magic?”
“Are you trying to tell me that you defeated the army of demons?”
"Is it so."
“That’s... impossible. You can’t use this level of attack magic. There's no way. Oh, right! This, this kind of evil magic must have sold the soul to the dragon..."
“You may have forgotten, but my teacher is the great sage of the fir forest. Picking a fight without reason will only reveal your lack of vision.”
Eve pushed her way through the curtains and sat down on the sofa opposite Bridget.
“Now tell me. What did you do behind the scenes? What did you do to Michael?”
“...Their noble sacrifice to protect the seal of the Demon Dragon will forever be remembered in history.”
Eve barely suppressed her rising anger.
“Tell me more.”
It was when Eve tried to tighten the silver-haired Arachne's grip a little more.
Elijah opened his mouth, not caring that his throat was being cut.
“Elijah Halsten... !”
It was a gesture similar to the brainwashing of the Emperor's loyalty.
But what Brigitte was about to do was something more violent than that.
Elijah had been tortured all night with a splitting headache from the psychic spell that Bridgette had cast on him.
He gritted his teeth without realizing it as he watched the hand coming closer again, leaving him defenseless.
That was when.
Kwaaang!
As if the door was going to break down out of nowhere
There was a visitor who burst in with the door wide open. It was the first time Brigitte had experienced such an unprecedented situation in her life as a princess.
“What the heck! How dare you call it safety...!”
Bridgette couldn't come out until the end. It was because when she turned around, she encountered the face of someone who shouldn't be there.
“Sister.”
Eve was there, her face discolored to the point of being dreary.
“Hey, Eve? How?”
"Your Highness!"
While Bridgette was deeply embarrassed, Elijah could not erase the joy from his voice as if he had seen his savior.
Eve was taken into custody and questioned.
“What did you do to Michael?”
Her voice was as cold as his face, especially her eyes, which had lost all warmth and were now glaring at Brigette with a sharp, tearful stare.
“Where did you get the ignorant idea to open the door to your older sister’s room? Is this what a Princess should do? The elegance and nobility of a Princess is... Ah, because she is a spoiled princess.”
With a sneer, Eve repeated Brigitte's words back to her. Brigitte was stunned.
While Brigitte was confused, Eve took her turn to speak again.
“It’s just as you predicted. You said there would be a day when you’d barge into your sister’s room out of sheer frustration, and I guess today is that day.”
“Yeah, I decided to take a look when the time comes.”
“No. You don’t have to do that. I don’t plan on looking after you first.”
"What?"
Pfft!
With one gesture from Eve, a powerful white light burst into the room.
Brigitte was greatly bewildered by the complex flow of mana that she had no idea what kind of magic it was.
“What are you doing...!”
“Your Highness, do not move.”
Elijah, frozen hard, warned with a cold sweat.
“What, what is this...?!”
Brigitte looked ahead and realized that countless silver threads covered everything in sight, and her cheeks were bleeding from where she'd grazed them in her haste to move.
Each strand was as sharp as a greatsword, and they were now pointing in a million different directions, aimed at Brigitte's throat and her entire body.
She moved the silver thread that had been spread out while making eye contact. Accordingly, the threads surrounded Brigitte on all sides more delicately and tightly.
“Oh, oh, so it’s possible to use magic?”
“Yes. What would I have to hide now, when Dandelion was being attacked by the Demon Legion, how do you think I could have won the hearts of the people?”
"Is it so."
“That’s... impossible. You can’t use this level of attack magic. There's no way. Oh, right! This, this kind of evil magic must have sold the soul to the dragon..."
“You may have forgotten, but my teacher is the great sage of the fir forest. Picking a fight without reason will only reveal your lack of vision.”
The attempt to accuse her of black magic failed spectacularly. There was nothing Brigitte could get out of her mouth except silence and spit.
“Now tell me. What did you do behind the scenes? What did you do to Michael?”
“...Their noble sacrifice to protect the seal of the Demon Dragon will forever be remembered in history.”
Eve barely suppressed her rising anger.
“Tell me more.”
It was when Eve tried to tighten the silver-haired Arachne's grip a little more.
Elijah opened his mouth, not caring that his throat was being cut.
“I lured the broken sealstone into a device intended to reactivate it. Presumably, it was a sacrifice to draw the mana required to reactivate it.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t ignore my master’s crisis.”
Using his noble loyalty as an excuse, Elijah struck Brigitte on the back of the head.
Brigitte had a fever, but she pretended not to care because she was in front of Eve.
“Well, it doesn’t matter if you know now. It’s too late to go anyway.”
Nothing could have been more provocative to Eve. Anger made everything about her grow colder.
“That is the cause.”
“My sister’s succession to the throne is not a matter of honor.”
Eve said, throwing down the ball.
“It's just your greed. Get over your delusions that you're the good and order of the world. Idealism and reason were not made for tyrants like you.”
“Shut up. I don’t feel like listening to the sweet words coming out of your mouth right now.”
The sight of Eve walking out with nothing to show for it was more than Brigitte could handle. While Brigitte was at a loss for words, Eve spoke up.
It was a sincere threat. The murderous look in his eyes proved it.
'How dare you, to my Michael.'
Whether it was power or influence, Eve was determined to make Brigette pay with everything she had.
“Ha, you want to harm me here? Me, the first in line for the actual throne?”
“I'm prepared to pay the price, and I'm not in the mood to do it by any means necessary.”
It felt threatening. But at times like these, Brigitte straightened her back and lifted her chin.
“You’ve gotten more courageous.”
“Is it just about guts?”
“How did that stupid and cowardly kid turn out like this?”
Eve swallowed her answer. It was not for her to say, 'Brigette, you should try regressing, too.'
Eve smiled and continued her lesson as if to change the atmosphere. However, that didn't mean she was calm.
“Please pray for Michael’s safe return before I go crazy.”
“You want to start an all-out war with me just because of a homunculus?”
“I've never given you permission to rank my worth as a person. Let's come up with something a little more lighthearted because that's what sisters do most nights, right?”
Eve's fierce eyes, Brigitte realized. She realized that Eve would not be deterred by what Michaelis Agnito had done.
The sound of heavy rain filled the eerie silence.
The sisters faced each other in the room occupied by Arachne's thread.
About half an hour had passed like that.
Dalgrak.
There was a strange knock on the window. Eve turned her head and a golden light flashed in her amber eyes.
“Amber?”
Eve's eyes widened in surprise as she discovered the golden morpho butterfly. The little guardian golem was carrying good news.
She couldn't tell whether it had come with news or bad news.
It was a time when a different kind of tension was in the air.
Click!
A second visitor appeared.
Their eyes met. The one who had come with the smell of rain in his mouth looked at Eve and opened his mouth.
“I am back, Your Highness.”
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