As if I were right, fortunately, she didn't lunge at me, even though she had eyes that looked like she wanted to tear me apart right then and there. She just muttered rapidly like a madwoman, and at the end, screamed as if bursting with rage.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Who the hell do you think you are that the elves are making such a fuss over me! This body is mine to begin with, so why did I have to be looked at with such loathsome eyes, like I was someone who stole something, when I opened my eyes?!"
"...Did they look at you with disgust?"
"Yeah, especially that blonde! That unlucky blonde tried to kill me. You know? As soon as I came to my senses, he tried to kill me because he knew something was wrong!"
Blonde hair? Is it the leader of the elves?
"Something is wrong here. Yes! It is definitely wrong! If I cannot have His Majesty anyway, perhaps taking your head to divert Iker's attention to myself would be a good idea. Come to think of it, that elf isn't a bad choice either."
"Wait, what did you say, Iker?"
It was a familiar name. A strange sense of urgency washed over me, and before I knew it, I asked Lari back.
"I don't know why the elves want you, but it's none of my business. Everything will go back to normal as soon as you disappear...!"
However, Lari seemed busy just rambling on about herself, like someone with their ears and eyes closed. Then again, she didn't seem to have any intention of having a proper conversation from the start. It seemed impossible to ask any more questions or persuade her at this point.
I smirked and stared intently at her as she raised her dagger. I could see the sharp tip of the sword pointing toward me, and Lari's shoulders tensing as if she were about to charge straight at me. I cautiously called out to her a half-step and lit a fire in my right hand, which was hidden behind my thigh.
"Trying to run away? Even if you do, there's no one to help you. Why? Because the elves are blocking the area!!"
Lari laughed like a madman. His green eyes, filled with madness, gleamed chillingly. He looked just like someone whose eyes had rolled back.
'It looks like the rebels and the elves are indeed connected.'
I furrowed my brows slightly.
'Or perhaps one side is being unilaterally exploited.'
The dressing room door brushed against my back, as if Oscar was about to come out. Lari, completely absorbed in me, didn't notice the dressing room door opening at all. I gently pushed the door open to ask him to wait just a moment longer.
"Then why did they send you here alone?"
It seems like they wanted Lari, disguised as a maid, to come and get me while the elf distracted the crowd...
I felt uneasy about it. Should I say it felt a bit complacent? No matter how urgent the situation was, there was no way I would be alone. Although the servants' quarters were currently under lockdown and Marie couldn't come to me, the knights who looked out for me were still here anyway.
"And why do you think I would just meekly let it happen?"
I held up the hand that had started the fire, as if to show off.
Lari's face, which had been grinning in a creepy way as if to tear the corners of her mouth apart, stiffened. At the same time, I saw the tip of her blade, which had been closing the distance as if pouncing on me at any moment, waver. Yes, this is it. It was a satisfying reaction.
"W- what is that? Why are you using magic...!"
"Curious? Want to see up close?"
Pushing the momentum forward, I levitated a flame into the air and sent it right in front of Lari's nose. As the hot mass approached, Lari tumbled backward with a terrified look on his face.
"Aaaah! S-save me!!!"
"You were asking what this was, weren't you curious?"
"Tch, get out of my way! It's hot. I said it's hot!!!"
"Lari."
"Save me. Hey..."
Lari, who was frantically backing away to avoid the fire, finally burst into tears as the fireball followed her to the very end.
I kicked the dropped dagger into the corner and approached Lari. Terrified by the fire that seemed about to engulf her face at any moment, Lari continued to press her butt against the wall, oblivious to my approach.
Soon, the sound of the dressing room door opening behind me came, and Oscar approached me. I glanced at him and saw him nod and grin; his look seemed to say he was proud, which made me feel a bit awkward.
"You did a great job on your own. What should I do?
"I guess you need to tie this up for now. I'm not sure if I'll be able to say anything helpful, but..."
"Are you okay even if you keep the fire going?"
"Yes. Ah. Should I clean it up if it's inconvenient?"
"No. If you don't mind, please keep it going."
Oscar swiftly grabbed a tie-back and tied the trembling Lari's wrists to the bedpost. It was a quick response that left no time for resistance.
"P-P-Please let go of that now! I can't do anything anymore. Please..."
"If you answer as asked."
"I'll tell you everything. So please move that away first! It's too hot!!!"
Lari's face was definitely flushed bright red, as if she wasn't just saying it casually. Sweat, whether from cold sweat or from the heat, was covering her face.
I looked down at her, then glanced toward the window. Torches and people were moving chaotically, as it was certain that a massive crowd had gathered. It was obvious that screams and shouts were all mixed together.
However, those sounds did not reach here at all. As the terrified Lari fell silent, there was nothing but silence. It felt bizarre, as if the outside world and this place were different.
Have they not been able to infiltrate the palace yet? However, I couldn't let that slide because what Lari had said earlier weighed on my mind. The mention that elves were blocking the area around here.
"How many elves have entered the palace?
"Me. Only one person came with me. Originally, there were two elves who came to free me, but the elf who was imprisoned had already lost consciousness, so he was carried out. Th-that is why the other one disguised me and came up with me!"
Ah. It looks like they escaped with that elf named Hael. Anyway, perhaps due to the fear of dying, Lari’s logical reasoning, which had seemed to have completely lost its mind, returned. She spoke so coherently that I realized just how strong her desire to live must be.
"So you're saying a single elf is controlling all the knights on this floor by himself? It can't be just one or two."
"They used magic just like you! It wasn't fire, though... what, what was it, that, hypnosis? Right! They seemed like a hypnotist."
"How do you know if he's a hypnotist?"
"Because I saw it before! An elf... Right, how would I know? An elf, a village? Did I see it in the village?"
"An elf village? Do you know anything about the elf village?"
"The elf's village... ahh."
Lari, who had been answering in an impatient tone, gradually slowed down. Staring blankly into the void with trembling eyes, she slowly lowered her gaze from me as if confused, and soon struggled to bury her face in her bound hands.
"My head... feels like it's going to explode! Argh!!!"
Lari rubbed her head against my words with a face that looked like she was going crazy from the pain, and soon began banging her head against the pillar as if she could no longer bear it. She was pressing her forehead down almost to the ground, as if forgetting even the fire she had feared so much and wanting to be freed from her current pain by any means necessary.
I was so shocked by the sudden situation that I couldn't do anything, and then I saw a back blocking my path.
"Princess, you would be better off stepping back. It looks like a spell has been cast."
Oscar gestured for me to step back immediately. I nodded and grabbed Oscar's clothes, pulling him back. I wanted to step back with him.
Bang! Bang! With a tremendous sound, Lari slammed into the pillar, and blood finally flowed from her face. Blood bursting from her nose and mouth covered her face.
"Gasp, gasp, cough...!"
Lari thrashed about, convulsing all over her body as if she could not stop despite the pain. It seemed as though her body was not obeying her. That struggle slowly began to subside, accompanied by fainting breaths and rolled-back eyes.
"..."
I stared down at Lari for a long time with a dazed look on my face. I have no idea what kind of trick the elf pulled. To think that a human, who had been struggling so desperately to survive, would take their own life.
Oscar muttered as he approached and saw Lari's condition.
"She is dead. It seems they have placed a curse on her so that she cannot even mention the Elf village."
"The memory itself seemed hazy, but is this the level of power? She seemed to remember the elf Iker earlier..."
"Well, I'm not sure if they were already in a mentally unstable state, or if they might have intentionally left it unerring."
Oscar simply replied steadily to my confused mumbling. My eyes met Oscar's jade-colored eyes.
'On purpose?'
Looking back at Lari's behavior earlier, the former is correct. But strangely, the latter stuck in my mind more, giving me goosebumps.
Seeing Lari unable to even close her eyes made my stomach churn. The room reeked of blood, with pools of blood having formed due to the massive amount she had shed.
"I can't take it anymore."
As I covered my mouth and turned my back, I felt Oscar leading me to the other side.
"I need to move rooms. I think I need to check the situation outside first..."
Oscar hurriedly brought a screen from inside the dressing room and set it up in front of me to block my view. However, he seemed to be contemplating what to do next.
"Although the Princess knows how to handle fire, I am still a bit uneasy about leaving you alone. Will you come with me?"
"...I'll stay here. I don't know what the situation is like outside, so if I followed you unnecessarily, it might restrict your movements."
I slumped into a chair and clutched my head with both hands. I hadn't realized it while dealing with Lari, but now that it was over, I felt completely drained, as if I had lost all strength in my body.
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