Chapter 170
“How do you... think of my Lady?”
An unexpected question.
Unable to discern his true intentions, I could only respond with a moment of silence.
Perhaps sensing my subtle wariness, Ruska muttered.
As if asking me to drop my guard.
“There’s no particular meaning behind it.”
“It’s not that I suspected anything, but it was a rather sudden question.”
“Bear with the discomfort. I merely came to exchange a few trivial words.”
“······Hearing that only makes me more suspicious.”
I tilted my head.
Nevertheless, his blue eyes silently stared back at me.
Questions couldn’t help but arise inside.
*What is this?*
What’s gotten into him?
To suddenly show up and make small talk.
Ever since he’d argued with Emilia because of me at the beginning of the semester, he’d been so petty that he wouldn’t even exchange a single word with me.
He even seemed to avoid classes that overlapped with mine, as if he couldn’t stand to see my face.
What wind had now blown this guy, who had been so disgusted by me, my way?
I had a rough idea, but... it probably meant the situation was dire.
I calmly organized my thoughts while listening intently.
The guy, who had been silent for a while, soon asked again.
“······So, what’s your answer to the question?”
“Well...”
I paused briefly.
If there were no particular meaning... he probably wanted me to answer honestly, as I felt.
Questions about the question itself still lingered.
My mouth didn’t hesitate to answer.
“She is someone admired by countless people.”
Emilia was like a star.
A star that captivated the attention of others.
She herself didn’t seem to realize it, but she was an inspiration to many students.
In some ways, she was even more ardently admired than the Princess sisters.
*The Vain One*’s beauty was truly genuine.
A master of many talents, you could say.
Her unique winter-like aura. Her youthful yet mature appearance. Talent ranked among the top five of this generation. The Heir who would one day stand at the center of the Ducal House.
In the eyes of others, she was no different from a flower on a cliff.
Like a camellia blooming proudly even in a field of white snow.
“At the same time, she’s also a warm person.”
The Villainess’s path was different from the original story.
She had broken free from her destined early exit and forged her own narrative.
She even became the best of friends with the Protagonist, who was originally her adversary.
And most importantly,
<F1>“Commoner, run out the door right now.”</F1><F1>“I’ll buy you some time here... you, at least, get out alive.”</F1><F1>“I won’t be able to hold out for long.”</F1>
In that moment of extreme peril, she showed a new choice.
It instilled in me the conviction that this world, too, deserved to change.
She was practically the reason that saved thousands of accumulated *Bad Endings*.
Therefore, I smiled faintly.
“Above all, to me... she is someone I am grateful for, and someone precious.”
“······.”
An honest sentiment conveyed.
Upon hearing my words, Ruska fell silent once more.
His deeply sunken eyes seemed to be troubled by something.
Just then, a spring breeze swept past, rustling his blue hair.
Only then did the boy add another question.
“If that’s the case...”
The air seemed to frost over.
A chilling resonance spread.
“If my Lady were to fall into trouble, what would you do?”
A rather direct question.
But I answered without hesitation.
Because sincerity leaves no room for doubt.
“I would stand by her side and be her strength.”
“Why?”
“Because, like countless others, I too admire her.”
“······Is that so.”
An unreadable expression.
Ruska remained in silence for a long time.
His blue pupils repeatedly wavered, as if he were walking through a complex internal conflict.
The resolute silence was broken as the boy stood up.
He rose from the bench.
“Right...”
A murmur brushed past my ears.
The boy’s voice drifted, almost inaudible.
“I’m the same.”
The same.
What did that mean?
Before I could even ask, the boy was silently leaving the gardens.
I watched his retreating figure, reflected in the season’s scattering.
The lonely, disheveled blue hair of a certain boy.
***
The rather unexpected conversation with Ruska.
It was quite bothersome.
I still didn’t know the source of his anguish.
I needed hints to deduce, so I had a brief private talk with Emilia.
We sat side by side in the Dormitory, the only two remaining.
The faint presence made us aware of each other.
Clink-.
It had been quite a while since we had spent time alone together.
Ever since she grew close to Regia, they had always been inseparable, like a matched pair.
Though for some reason, I recently felt she had been keeping her distance.
The blue-haired Villainess quietly began.
“······You’re curious about Ruska?”
“That’s right.”
Her blue eyes blinked, as if she didn’t understand.
Then, her delicate brow furrowed.
“Did you... hear anything from Ruska?”
“Nothing particularly special.”
“Specifically...?”
“He asked how I thought of Lady Emilia.”
“What? Th-then what did you say?”
“I explained that she is someone I am grateful for and is precious to me.”
“P-precious person...”
Her cheeks flushed faintly.
Swallowing my mischievous thoughts, I stroked *The Vain One*’s head.
The girl flinched but accepted my touch docilely.
The Villainess, her face hot, calmed her breathing.
Soon, she cleared her throat lightly and spoke.
“Ahem...! Ruska is a good boy.”
“Just a good person, you say.”
“He tends to get a bit eccentric when his family is involved... but his true nature is pure.”
“He certainly seemed concerned about Lady Emilia. Though I wouldn’t know about ‘pure’...”
“Even if he seems that way, he has quite a pure side to him.”
A soft laugh escaped her.
Emilia’s gaze had grown distant.
As if she were replaying past scenes in her mind.
“Ruska really loved heroic tales.”
“Heroic tales, you say...?”
“Exactly. Wandering Knights, Mages from the shadowed alleys, Adventurers of the land... he loved any story about heroes without discrimination. I even used to tease him for being childish.”
“He had tastes quite contrary to his cold demeanor.”
“Perhaps his father’s influence was significant.”
The Former Family Head of House Vanity, who had led countless wars.
Ruska, hearing of his father’s valor, had always fostered an admiration for heroes.
As the child of one of the few Archmages and Cryomancers on the Continent, he too aspired to be a hero.
It was said that his lack of maturity was so concerning...
*Was he quite a troublemaker as a child?*
*But.*
Around the time he turned fifteen, his demeanor reportedly darkened sharply.
It was probably due to the Duke and Duchess who had suddenly passed away.
They had lost their parents in an unforeseen accident.
Four years had passed since then.
The boy, too, had changed as the years had passed.
“Many things have changed.”
The Villainess’s complexion darkened.
Her lips, which had hesitated for a moment, continued the story.
“You... probably already know, but the last attack wasn’t just the Heretic Cult involved.”
“So Lady Emilia knew as well.”
“Though there’s no concrete evidence to put them under suspicion... I suspect my Family was also involved in the attack.”
“I won’t deny it.”
“That’s why I’m afraid, afraid that people around me might get hurt because of me.”
“Why do you blame yourself? It’s a tragedy beyond your control.”
“Because it’s the Family I was supposed to lead. This happened because I lacked the power.”
“Just because it was beyond your control, you don’t need to bear the entire responsibility.”
“Regia, Irene, and even you... all of you almost went through something terrible.”
The girl, uncharacteristically, called the Puppeteer and the Fox by their names.
Even if she didn’t show it, the emotional impact must have been significant.
Could her subtle distancing from her companions also have stemmed from this guilt?
*The Vain One* looked up at the distant blue of the sky with complex eyes.
Beyond the blue surface, emotions surged.
I asked quietly.
“May I ask? What is happening within House Vanity?”
“······.”
“Seeking help from outside...”
“It’s impossible. We can’t escape.”
The Villainess’s answer was self-deprecating, or perhaps melancholic.
Even resignation was reflected in her delicate voice.
As if struggling were pointless.
I asked, as if to refute her.
“If it’s all meaningless, then why are you telling me?”
“Well... I don’t really know either.”
Her hand toyed with the teacup.
Only the girl herself was reflected beyond the already cooled surface.
The ripples that followed shattered the thinly laid mirror.
The answer that finally came was just as faint.
“It’s just, if it’s you...”
Her voice faded indistinctly.
It was an almost inaudible volume.
“I thought perhaps you could save us from this mire.”
It was a promise made long ago.
Sealing my promise, the words I’d given were that I would be on her side.
I gazed at her faintly trembling shoulders.
Emilia, who had been momentarily blank-faced, soon shook her head as if regretting her words.
Emptiness flickered in her eyes as she struggled to open up.
“Forget it. I said something pointless.”
“No.”
I took her hand.
“If you wish it, I will gladly step forward.”
Because that was the promise between you and me.
To do our best for each other.
To be good Allies.
And that I would protect you.
My hand gently reached out and took the Villainess’s hand.
“Just... quietly.”
My fingers intertwined gently with hers.
The girl looked confused, but she didn’t pull away from the warmth intertwining with hers.
Instead, she simply relaxed, as if she had needed a place to lean on.
Before long, we were sitting as if embracing each other.
Our breaths mingled, and the distance between us was such that our scents seemed to melt into one another.
Our touching skin added a sense of precariousness to that intimacy.
I deliberately pressed my lips to her ear.
So that my whisper would melt into her breath.
“You just need to trust me.”
“······.”
Her focus blurred.
Emilia showed no particular reaction, only falling into a soft silence.
As if she had been momentarily enchanted by a whisper.
I smiled at the girl.
“Don’t worry.”
I will stop your misfortune.
The serpent’s whisper, melting into the fleeting moment.
I held the trembling Villainess for a long time.