Chapter 70
We go back a little in time.
Elna had been assigned to guard Mitsuba in the inner palace, but most of her attention was devoted to protecting Krista.
Whenever Mitsuba and Krista went their separate ways, Elna always stayed by Krista's side, and Mitsuba accepted that as only natural.
That day, too, Krista went to see Rita, who was in the castle, so Elna accompanied her.
"Ta-da! Look, Kuu-chan!"
"What's that...?"
As usual, Rita pulled out a coin in the castle courtyard.
At first glance, the coin looked like nothing more than a grimy piece of trash.
But Rita proudly showed it off to Krista.
"What could it be? I wonder what it is?"
"Come on, tell me...!"
"Hmm, what should I do? What should I do?"
"Fine! I'll ask Elna! Elna, tell me."
"Ehhh?!"
Krista toddled over to Elna, who had been watching the two of them, and asked her about it. Elna responded with a wry smile.
Naturally, it was something used by Rita, a knight trainee. As a full-fledged Imperial Guard knight, Elna knew what it was, too.
Even so, Elna wondered whether an adult should interfere in a frivolous conversation between children, and shifted her gaze to Rita.
Rita wore an expression that said she wanted to show off her new toy to a friend. Seeing it, Elna was reminded of her younger self.
Of herself, who had gone to show off to Al and Leo every time she acquired a new sword or magic tool.
"Well... that is a knight's secret tool, so I can't tell you for free. If you can beat me at a game, I'll tell you."
"A game...?"
"Yes. It's a simple game. Guess where the stone I've prepared is, and you win. Come along too, Rita."
"Okay!"
Called over by Elna, Rita watched what Elna was doing with keen interest.
Though Rita didn't quite idolize Elna, the famous older girl fascinated her.
Elna picked up a stone that had fallen in the flower bed, placed it on her palm, and showed it clearly to both girls.
"Rita, you join in too. If you guess correctly, I'll tell you what it is."
"Really!? Rita'll do it!"
"Good, I like your enthusiasm. Now, here's one ordinary stone. I'm going to hide it. Watch closely."
"Okay...!"
"I won't miss it!"
Thinking how adorable the two of them looked as they watched intently, Elna moved the stone from her right hand to her left. Then back to her right.
At first, she moved slowly enough for the children to follow, but the speed gradually increased until her hands became a blur, and eventually they moved too fast for the eye to see.
Unable to understand what was happening before their eyes, the two girls stared blankly, but Elna's hands soon came to a stop.
The hand that had been open was now clenched into a fist, and Elna smiled sweetly.
"Now, where is it?"
"Hmm, which one could it be~?"
"I don't know..."
"Let's go with our gut!"
"N-no, Rita! We have to work together! I'm taking the right, and Rita takes the left."
"Oh! Kuu-chan, you're smart! That's it! Rita takes the left!"
"I'll take the right...!"
Elna's smile deepened at the answer they had reached by pooling their childlike wisdom.
But there was no stone in the hand Elna opened.
The stone that should have been there was nowhere to be seen, and their eyes turned into dots. Eventually, Krista trembled and muttered,
"Elna ate it..."
"N-no! They're in your chest pockets!"
After being thoroughly misunderstood, Elna pointed at the girls' chest pockets.
Once told, the two of them noticed that their pockets were bulging and peered inside.
Then—
"Whoa!!?? There are two halves of a stone in Rita's pocket!?"
"In two halves... Elna, did you switch it...?"
"I didn't cheat. It's definitely the same stone from before."
"But it's in two pieces!"
"I cut it with the edge of my hand."
"Whoooooa!! Amazing! Amazing, Big Sis Elna!!"
"..."
While Rita was getting excited, Krista remembered something Al had said.
The words, "My sword."
Krista had thought he was speaking figuratively at the time, but...
After staring hard at Elna, Krista nodded as though she had reached a conclusion.
"Elna is a sword... dangerous to touch..."
"W-why!?"
As they talked like that, Elna felt a little relieved.
When she had first taken on the duty of guarding Krista, the girl had put up a small wall between them.
To tear down that wall, Elna had told Krista stories about Al's past and worked hard to win her over. If Krista remained wary of her, Elna could not protect her.
The price had been passing several of Al's secret embarrassing stories on to Krista, but Elna thought that couldn't be helped. After all, Al was the one who had asked her to do it.
By now, they had become completely comfortable with each other, and Krista genuinely trusted Elna.
"Elna, what happens if we both get it wrong...?"
"Then, since I've won, I'll explain. Rita, lend me the coins. Both of them."
"Yes, Big Sis Elna!"
Thinking that nickname had become firmly established, Elna accepted the two grimy coins from Rita. Then she handed one to Krista.
"Make sure you hold on to it."
"Okay..."
"Now, just like before, I'm going to hide this coin. Find it."
As she spoke, Elna moved the coin back and forth between her two hands just as she had before.
Then she sped up until it was impossible to tell where the coin was and held both hands out in front of the girls.
"Now, where is it?"
"Chest pocket!"
"I'll outsmart you and pick the left."
"You're both wrong."
Saying that, Elna opened her hand.
There was no coin in her hand, nor was there one in either of the girls' chest pockets.
The two girls searched around, asking where it could be, but they could not find it anywhere.
"Now, Princess Krista, take out the coin from earlier."
"This one...?"
"Yes. Spread it flat on your palm, and Rita, place a finger on the coin too."
"Okay!"
"Now, watch closely. 'Bande.'"
Elna muttered the word while putting a little magic into it, and a thin thread of light extended from the coin.
It connected to the pocket of Elna's skirt.
With her free hand, Elna took the coin from her skirt pocket and showed Krista the thread connecting to it.
"This coin is called a Bond Coin. It's a magic tool made of two pieces that function as one. If you touch one while saying the password, a thread stretches all the way to the other. Basically, only people touching the coin can see this thread. There may be people exceptionally skilled in magic who can see it, but very few would be able to detect it."
"Amazing... Do you use it to contact your allies?"
"It can be used for secret rendezvous, or for tracking. One person can infiltrate while carrying a coin and expose a hideout, for example. Production still can't keep up with demand, so it's currently limited to knights in and around the Imperial Capital, but eventually it will become a magic tool used throughout the Empire. Anyway, Rita, don't lose it, okay? You were only allowed to borrow it because you're a trainee in the castle. The instructors are also watching to see whether you can take care of something this valuable, you know?"
"Okay!"
Her response was energetic, but it lacked any sense of urgency, and Elna sighed.
Ignoring Elna, Rita went off to play in the courtyard with Krista.
"Can she really become a knight like that...?"
No knight trainee had ever gone on to become an Imperial Guard knight.
But Elna hoped Rita would be the first. She felt that Krista needed Rita by her side.
Becoming an Imperial Guard knight meant protecting members of the Imperial family. Since Rita, unlike Elna, did not come from a noble family, she could become Krista's personal guard if the princess wished it.
Imagining that future, Elna steeled herself.
To protect that future, the grim future had to be erased.
Just as Elna renewed her resolve, Krista called out to Rita in a voice that sounded almost like a scream.
"Rita!"
"I'm fine! I'm fine! Ah!"
Rita had been climbing one of the pillars in the courtyard, but the moment she saw Krista watching from below, she lost her balance and let go.
Rita's body dropped toward the ground.
But Elna reacted instantly and caught Rita with ease.
"Honestly, Rita, what kind of knight worries an imperial princess like that?"
"Ahaha... sorry."
"Rita! Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere!?"
Though it was called a pillar, it was not very high.
Elna knew from experience that a fall from there would not cause any serious injury.
Once, under the pretense of training, she had made Al climb it. Al, who was hopeless at physical activity, had fallen as expected, but escaped with nothing more than a few scratches.
Even so, Krista's panic was extraordinary.
That was because it involved the future she had seen.
"I'm fine, really. You do things like this all the time, don't you?"
"Stop! Don't do anything dangerous!"
"Your Highness, please calm down."
"Rita! I can see the future! A future where something terrible happens to you! That's why—mmph!?"
It had been a split-second reaction, so Elna was too slow to cover Krista's mouth.
Elna kept one hand over Krista's mouth while scanning their surroundings.
Sensing no one nearby, Elna let out a breath and looked at Krista.
"Your Highness, didn't Al tell you to keep quiet about that?"
"...He did... I'm sorry."
"It's too late now that you've said it. Rita, pretend you didn't hear that."
"You mean what just happened? Got it!"
Rita replied with a smile.
Elna did not bother to repeat the order to keep quiet.
Even if Rita made a fuss, it would just sound like a child's nonsense, and Elna thought Rita was not the type to blab that she had been told to keep quiet.
Rita had grown up around all sorts of children and could read the room in her own childish way. Elna figured it would be fine.
But Elna did not know.
Someone had been nearby whose presence even Elna could not detect.
And that person was a lady's maid to the one person who must never learn of this.
"I must report this to Zandra-sama."
Saying so, the brown-haired maid smiled faintly.
She had been watching Elna on Zandra-sama's orders, but had made an unexpected discovery.
The way Elna had been on guard was far from normal.
Even after undergoing thorough training, the maid had broken into a cold sweat at the thought that she might have been noticed. Even one of Zandra-sama's handpicked assassins would probably have been discovered.
But that only made the story more credible.
The Third Imperial Princess Krista could see the future. In other words, she possessed an innate magic that allowed her to do so.
Certain of it, the maid slowly disappeared into the darkness.