Chapter 59
There were five people in the room.
Given that one was asleep in bed, only four of them could really speak.
At any rate, despite there being four people, the room was utterly quiet.
No one seemed able to bring themselves to speak.
Ashtein sat with a sour look, his mouth shut; Aria stared at the floor with a gloomy expression; and Azazel scowled as if displeased with the situation itself.
In the end, it was the prince's doppelganger who spoke first.
“May I explain the circumstances?”
A brief silence.
Ashtein realized he was the only one who could answer and nodded.
“Sure. That's why we arranged this place.”
Leon gazed wistfully at the ceiling.
“It happened one day. When I came to, another version of me was asleep in bed. It was a strange feeling, seeing my own face from a third person's perspective.”
He looked at his palm and smiled bitterly.
He must have had complicated feelings.
Azazel tilted their head as if they found Leon strange.
“You said you're a doppelganger, right? You talk just like the real thing.”
Leon’s doppelganger joked.
“Isn't that the essence of a doppelganger? The word itself means another self, as if reflected in a mirror. Anyway, when we came to, we were both astonished to see each other. But our surprise was brief, and we decided to figure out what had caused this to happen.”
He paused and looked around at them.
His gaze was proud and composed.
He could have been mistaken for the real prince if he hadn't said he was a doppelganger.
“It didn't matter much who was behind it. There were plenty of jackals who wanted my head. The question was, which of us was the real ‘me’? We found ourselves unexpectedly embarking on a period of soul-searching. Fortunately, neither he nor I was hostile toward the other. I had always been curious, after all, what it would feel like to meet myself.”
Everyone must have thought about it at least once.
Another self.
What would it be like to talk to them?
“Talking with him was a strange experience. He knew what I was going to say, and I knew what he was going to say. If I had to describe it, it was like talking to myself. It was unsettling, but it made sense, too. He was undoubtedly Leon de Gallia. We spent some time comparing our memories. As befitting a doppelganger, I had the exact same memories as him. They were identical down to the smallest detail.”
Aria asked hesitantly.
“Then how did you realize you were the doppelganger?”
It was a sensitive question, but one that got to the heart of the matter.
He smiled sadly.
“It was surprisingly simple.”
Leon moved toward the mirror in the room.
His sudden action caught everyone off guard, and they could only watch.
Everyone held their breath.
Leon’s reflection did not appear in the mirror.
It was a chilling sight.
“As you can see, with a body like this, both he and I could conclude I was the doppelganger.”
His voice sounded somewhat hollow.
Ashtein silently watched the doppelganger.
“From what you said earlier, the real Leon seems to be trying to kill you.”
“Ah, that was the result of a misunderstanding.”
Ashtein asked in reply.
“A misunderstanding?”
Leon smiled bitterly.
* * *
Two men who looked exactly like twins stood facing each other, like mirror images.
It was like looking into a mirror.
Facing one another, they looked solemn.
“Can you really say that choice is the right one?”
The real one asked.
“Didn't you agree, too? I'm docile for now, but I'm a danger—a bomb that could be controlled by them at any moment. It's easier to eliminate me here than to take me along.”
“Aren't you afraid of dying?”
“You know the answer better than anyone.”
Of course he was afraid.
All living things sought to avoid death.
“I admire your courage.”
“There's no courage in it. I'm just putting on a brave front.”
One man held a sword, while the other spread his arms and prepared to meet the death approaching him.
His deep, ocean-like eyes turned toward his other self.
“After you kill me, make my face unrecognizable. Say an assassin came in the night, and there'll be no problem. When they learn I'm dead, they'll surely contact you out of curiosity, if nothing else—to find out whether you're the real one or a fake they planted. Don't let that chance pass you by.”
“I know.”
“Right. We share the same thoughts, so it's obvious.”
He was letting himself speak as a sort of reprieve.
Time to collect his thoughts and make sure he had no lingering regrets.
He had said all he needed to say.
The doppelganger closed his eyes.
He heard a sound slice through the air.
He had asked him to pierce his brain so he would feel only a moment of pain.
There was no such thing as a humane killing, but it was a relatively merciful way to die.
It was a little sad that he wouldn't get to see Lady Edelis again.
He waited for death.
But death never came.
Clang!
The sword had been blocked.
The doppelganger opened his eyes and clicked his tongue.
“Lady Edelis, breaking into the prince's quarters without permission is a serious offense. How many times have I told you to knock if you don't want to be disciplined?”
Silver hair that shimmered like thread.
Eyes as pure white as a snowy field.
The silver uniform worn by knights serving the royal family, and only by those directly assigned to the prince.
She was a sight straight out of a painting.
Though she'd be horrified to hear him say so.
Edelis Bride, who had blocked Leon's sword head-on, spoke in a toneless voice.
“I apologize. I judged the situation urgent and acted on my own.”
The doppelganger scolded her.
“The law exists to be obeyed.”
“The law cannot be more important than Your Highness's safety.”
“You're quite flexible.”
“I'll write a report of my actions later, Your Highness.”
“Forget it. What report?”
The doppelganger looked at the original.
Couldn't you have acted just a little sooner?
The original seemed embarrassed and looked away.
Leon and the doppelganger both sighed.
The knight he had appointed was too rigid and loyal.
She would probably say that even Leon's doppelganger must not be killed.
To her, the doppelganger was also Leon.
Their prediction was correct.
“Things have gotten complicated, Leon.”
“I was just unlucky, Leon.”
It was pointless to distinguish who had said what.
It was almost a conversation with themselves.
But someone tactlessly interrupted their soliloquy. It was Edelis.
“First, please lower your sword, Your Highness.”
Leon shrugged and lowered his sword.
The doppelganger replied with displeasure.
“Honestly, Lady Edelis is never any help.”
A dozen question marks seemed to appear over Edelis's head.
Was this really something to say after someone had just threatened his life?
Or was some bizarre game going on that she didn't know about?
A game where someone tried to pierce another's head with a sword? It wasn't some primitive tribe's ritual.
The knight, rebuked by her lord, bowed her head.
No matter how many questions she had, he was the prince who had knighted her.
She couldn't even think of talking back.
“I'm sorry, Your Highness.”
At her apology, Leon and the doppelganger looked at each other.
“I can't even joke.”
“Not with you.”
The doppelganger, who should have died, survived.
All thanks to the knight named Edelis Bride.
Even after they explained the circumstances and pleaded with her, she somehow managed to argue in favor of keeping Leon's doppelganger alive.
Their opinions were at odds.
It was truly ironic that the doppelganger had to explain why he needed to die.
At last, Edelis asked, sounding somewhat angry,
“Your Highness, do you truly wish to die?”
The wording was rude, but the doppelganger didn't point it out.
After all, he was a fake.
Even the blood flowing through this body was fake.
“It's a shame I won't get to see you, but this has to be done. My existence poses a danger.”
The original fixed him with a piercing gaze.
The doppelganger gave a roguish smile.
Couldn't he at least speak his mind as he was about to die?
Edelis shook her head, her expression unchanged.
“My duty is to protect Prince Leon. Even if you try to kill yourself, Your Highness.”
The doppelganger waved a hand dismissively.
“I'm a fake, a shoddy imitation. Don't waste your concern on me, Lady Edelis.”
“You have all of His Highness's memories and personality. How could you not be His Highness?”
“I told you I'm just a manufactured copy.”
“To me, you're still His Highness.”
What a frustrating fool.
Who had commissioned such a stubborn knight?
……Right. I did.
And so the doppelganger's life was prolonged a little longer.
Anyway, Leon and the doppelganger had run into a major problem.
There were now two second princes in the royal family.
They were managing to keep the situation hidden for now, but like it or not, the truth would come out someday.
The doppelganger spoke to the original.
“……At this point, I have to leave the royal palace.”
“Leave the royal palace? Do you have somewhere to go?”
“Anywhere, as long as it's not by your side.”
It was an ideal solution.
But Leon shook his head.
“What if they come after you? And what if they have a way to control you?”
They.
The term he used for those who had caused this situation.
The doppelganger stroked the sword at his waist, identical to Leon's, and answered,
“Then I suppose I'll fight back however I can.”
His resolve was firm.
Leon started to stop him, but saw how unwavering his determination was.
So the prince said to Edelis,
“Lady Edelis, escort him beyond the palace walls.”
“Your Highness, that……”
“Are you going to disobey my order?”
Leon didn't like throwing his authority around, but he could do so whenever necessary.
If he spoke this sternly, Edelis would back down.
At least, he and the doppelganger thought so.
“……I cannot.”
The knight was far more stubborn than they had imagined.
* * *
The doppelganger stroked Edelis's forehead as she lay in bed and said,
“………It's gotten late. Shall we stop here for today?”
The doppelganger had cut off the story just as it was getting exciting.
Azazel grew angry at this malicious treatment.
“How can you stop here?!”
“I agree.”
Aria also looked at him in protest, apparently curious about what happened next.
The story itself was interesting, but the doppelganger's eloquence was also a factor.
Ashtein, too, looked annoyed, though he said nothing.
Their protest was fervent.
The doppelganger smiled bitterly.
He didn't want to talk about it at length because the memories were painful.
“To sum it up, the conflict between the original and Edelis over what to do with me grew worse. Days without an argument became increasingly rare. I did my best to mediate between them, but restoring a broken relationship is hardly easy, is it?”
As he spoke, the doppelganger glanced at Ashtein and Aria.
Ashtein grimaced as if he'd been struck where it hurt, and Aria lowered their head.
“Then that day came.”
Ashtein asked, as if trying to shake off his embarrassment,
“That day?”
“Edelis was attacked. More precisely, she was attacked while protecting me.”
* * *
It was an ambush.
As soon as the door opened, an assailant lunged with a dagger.
The surprise left them slow to react.
An ambush gives no one time to prepare.
Just as the doppelganger was about to be stabbed, Edelis shoved him away.
Shunk.
Naturally, the dagger sank deep into her side.
Edelis shoved the assailant away and pulled out the dagger, but her body staggered.
That was only natural; the blade had damaged her organs.
The doppelganger was enraged.
He cut down the attacker before him, then looked at the dagger on the floor.
Strange writing was engraved on its surface, which he guessed was ancient runes.
Edelis, who had been stabbed in his place, lay on the floor.
Suddenly, a blue light shone from her body.
At the sight of that ominous light, he was certain.
It was a curse.
The act of being stabbed by this strange dagger had triggered the curse.
“No.”
The doppelganger gathered the fallen Edelis into his arms.
His mind went blank.
I can die.
But not you.
You have to be there to support him.
“……Are you unharmed?”
Her voice was as weak as a candle flame about to go out in the wind.
The doppelganger felt as if his heart were being torn apart.
“Why did you protect me?!”
“That is… my duty.”
“I told you countless times that I'm a fake! What is wrong with you?!”
She smiled faintly.
“And I've told you countless times. To me, you're real.”
He wanted to cry.
In this state, despite being such a fake,
you still saved me.
Click.
The door opened belatedly.
It was, unfortunately, Leon.
Seeing Edelis's condition, he gritted his teeth.
“Did you do this?”
“No, we were attacked.”
“Then explain the dagger in your hand.”
“That dagger belongs to the assailant lying—”
“Where is the assailant?”
As he said, there was no assailant in the room.
As if it had been an illusion.
As if it had never been there in the first place.
The doppelganger felt suffocated.
Anger and betrayal colored Leon's eyes.
“I asked you where the assailant is!”
“Do you really think I did this to her?”
“Didn't you?!”
“Think rationally! Why would I hurt her?”
Sadly, the doppelganger's defense failed to reach Leon.
“Maybe you wouldn't, but the ones controlling you are another matter.”
“I didn't hurt her. I'm innocent!”
“Even if you didn't, it's true that you brought this disaster down on us.”
Though Leon had quarreled with Edelis, he cherished her more than anyone.
He must have been unable to tolerate the doppelganger who had caused this mess.
The doppelganger felt wretched.
“Ha! If you're so angry, then just kill me!”
“Yes. I should have done it from the start.”
He drew his sword.
He should have died back then, before things got so painful.
It would have been better to die detached from it all.
Was this what it felt like to fall into a carefully laid trap?
Wait.
A trap?
Could this have been a planned attack?
Now that he thought about it, there were quite a few things that didn't add up.
Why had the assailant attacked me instead of the original?
Because they couldn't tell the real one from the fake?
No, that couldn't be it.
They were the ones who had created the doppelganger.
They must have known he didn't show up in mirrors.
Then why were they trying to kill me?
No.
Maybe killing me wasn't the goal.
What if they were trying to inflict the curse on me, a doppelganger?
He felt dizzy.
But his instincts told him he couldn't let this happen.
However, the original didn't seem willing to listen.
He'd probably think it was just a pathetic excuse from the doppelganger.
Right.
Accept it.
What good would it do to struggle?
I wasn't a prince or anything else, anyway.
The doppelganger tried to release Edelis from his embrace.
He would have, if Edelis hadn't spoken in a faint voice.
“Please don't give up, Your Highness.”
Don't give up.
Were you saying that to me?
What was there for a fake like me not to give up on?
But…
If that's what you wish.
I'll do it.
Even if I have to stake everything I have.
I didn't want to be so wretched that I would betray the plea of the knight who believed in me.
The doppelganger dodged the original's sword.
Then, carrying Edelis in his arms, he fled.