A week later.
Morning.
Uncharacteristically, Dersia and Ciel’s opinions matched.
"Jern. I think this is going a little too far."
"Yes. How about you reconsider?"
I had only one thing to say.
"No, how on earth did you two get in here?"
This was a detention center for nobles, located in the heart of the capital. Though the facilities were quite nice, it was still a single room, still a detention center. A place where unauthorized people could not enter.
And for Dersia to get authorization was difficult, given her position as my Master. Obtaining official permission should have been next to impossible. Without a word, she opened the door of the detention center.
The mansion came into view.
"... You said that was magic you could only install in places you've been before."
"Sir Jern. Logically speaking, there's no way our Master has never been locked up in a detention center."
"Isn't it impossible to put Master in a detention center even if you tried?"
When I asked back with a dumbfounded look, Dersia scoffed.
"They begged me to at least stay in the detention center. This is not the time for such trivial stories."
As I wondered what on earth she had done, she spoke with an urgent expression.
"There must be an easier way. Since we know nothing about the enemy, I question whether you truly need to drink this poison."
"Didn't we finish this conversation yesterday?"
"... I am asking you to reconsider. To be frank, this is madness."
"Hmm."
Clank.
As I scratched my cheek, the chains of my handcuffs moved, making a metallic sound. Handcuffs bound my wrists. I could break free whenever I wanted, but I didn't bother.
Because this was my goal.
"Then I'll stop if you can affirm just one thing for me."
"What is it?"
"Do you happen to think this method is irrational?"
"..."
Dersia did not answer. It was closer to say she couldn't. After all, the persuasion had ended in yesterday's conversation. It was merely a question of whether she could accept it or not.
"I know it's dangerous, too. That's why I'll be getting some help with my safety."
"Jern."
"I'll find as many materials as I can that you might find interesting, Master."
I met Dersia’s hazy eyes. As for whether they held any worry... I wasn't sure.
Was she afraid of losing her test subject, or was she afraid of losing her disciple? I hoped it was the latter. Before long, the sound of shoes could be heard from outside.
A steady rhythm. With a sigh, Dersia stepped back into the mansion.
"You have never once betrayed my expectations."
"I won't this time either."
"That is something to be thankful for. But..."
With a slightly weary look, she shook her head.
"Sometimes, I find myself wishing you would do just as much as I expect, and no more."
Thud.
Just as Dersia and a worried Ciel closed the door. That same door opened again, and two officials with tense expressions entered.
"Follow... us."
"Yes."
Even without using Tide Sense, I could feel their confusion. Well... it was understandable. The detention center Sharmia had put me in was a place where nobles who plotted treason were confined.
They must have been wondering what on earth was going on. After riding for about thirty minutes in a heavily guarded carriage from the detention center, we arrived at a building that stood so tall it seemed to pierce the sky. In front, as with most courts, stood a statue of a goddess.
This is just like in South Korea. As I was lost in reminiscence, I noticed that what the goddess held was not a set of scales, but a human head, and my brow furrowed.
Clang!
The doors of the court opened. Numerous spectators were already present. The first people to catch my eye were Elysia, clutching a handkerchief with an anxious expression, and Aletus, sighing beside her.
"Jern...!"
Aletus stopped Elysia as she tried to say something. I thought I had explained the situation in detail. Besides them, numerous nobles were seated in the gallery.
The moment they saw me, they began to whisper among themselves. Curious about what they were saying, I activated Tide Sense.
[Is that the one... Jern?]
[Hah, I thought it was just a rumor, but he really exists.]
[I told you, he's real! That man saved my son!]
[Then what will happen with this trial?]
[If the rumors are true, he will obviously be found not guilty. It seems the princess is making a public display for us.]
[What do you mean by that?]
[As you can see by the fact that he'll be found innocent despite such a crime, she's marked this child as her own. It's a warning not to touch him lightly—don't you think?]
[Ho, that sounds plausible. By pardoning all these crimes, Her Highness is subtly signaling her connection to him...]
They were writing a novel. As the chamber grew noisy with them getting carried away in their own world, the person sitting in the judge’s seat banged a gavel to quiet them down.
"Order. The trial will now begin. Defendant Jern Aspandil, please step forward."
I went to the defendant's stand and looked at the judge.
"Eleven years old, Jern Aspandil. Are you an apprentice of the Black Magic Tower, a trainee of Brimdal, and the direct disciple of Dersia?"
"Yes."
Just the recitation of my history caused another stir.
[What is that?]
[An apprentice of the Black Magic Tower at that age?]
[No, setting the other things aside, what does it mean he's Brimdal's disciple?]
[I did some digging, and he won the knight cadets' competition with overwhelming skill. It's not a huge deal since it was a gathering of those of similar age, but I heard he did it with only his sword skills, without magic.]
[What kind of nonsense is that?]
This time, the judge did not quiet them down, but sighed and continued.
"Prosecutor, state the contents of the indictment."
"Yes."
The prosecutor, who had stood up beside me, recited my charges.
"The defendant traveled to the Elf nation, a designated protected area, and committed acts of kidnapping, torture, and confinement against innocent elves."
At that point, I used Tide Sense to look at Dersia's face in the gallery.
[... Just focus on the trial.]
Hmm.
Perhaps this was the reason she had tried to stop me.
Turning back time, to the day after I heard the whole story from Karos. I immediately went to see Sharmia.
"Princess. Karos has betrayed you. She whispered to me your most hidden and secret matters. Please subject her to severe punishment at once."
"... Huh?"
Drip.
The tea the princess was drinking spilled into her cup. She looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, then turned around.
"Ka-Karos? What is he talking about?"
"... It is all true..."
Karos, standing behind her with her hands clasped, glared at me with murderous eyes and answered as if chewing her words. To be that angry even though we'd already agreed on this, what a temper. Sharmia looked back and forth between me and Karos with a bewildered expression and asked again.
"Wh-what is this? Was Karos trying to betray me? I trusted you more than anyone in the world, that's so cruel."
"At least, out of respect for our master-servant bond, strike me down in one blow. Then I won't resent you."
"I apologize, Your Highness."
Karos bowed her head deeply. Not just 90 degrees, but closer to 110. "I judged it was for Your Highness's sake and committed a foolish act. I will gladly accept any punishment.
Please, kill me."
"... Oh, come on, I'm just kidding. Don't take it so seriously."
Sharmia smiled brightly, taking Karos's shoulders and helping her up.
"I know you're not someone who would betray me. In any future, Karos never betrayed me. If something like that were to happen, it would surely be for my sake."
"No. It was for my own purpose—" "Jern?"
"Yes. Sir Karos made the choice to betray you for the sake of your safety, Princess Sharmia. I would be grateful if you would take that into consideration."
"See? That's what he says."
As Karos wore an expression that was a spectacular blend of emotion and guilt, Sharmia looked at me. Her eyes, breathtakingly beautiful as always, looked at me and asked.
"So, what is all this about?"
This was the crucial part. I answered with a serious face.
"To explain in more detail, the reason Sir Karos betrayed you, Princess, was because I refused to become your hunting dog."
"That was a real shame. Have you changed your mind? If so, I should praise her for the betrayal."
"Not yet. But I think we can reach an agreement."
I quietly placed the red necklace on the desk.
"I have a means of contacting the Red Lotus."
"Really? Where did you get something like that?"
She looked genuinely surprised, and I was stunned by the perfection of her act. This was on the level of creating real emotions to deceive herself. A level of skill my poker face couldn't even compare to.
Vowing never to challenge her in a battle of wits, I continued.
"What Sir Karos told me was that I am fated to become an officer of the Red Lotus someday, which makes me hard to trust."
"Ack."
Sharmia let out a small cry.
"Thanks to that, I understood. I understood just how cornered you are, Princess."
"To think of handling someone who will become a Red Lotus officer without killing them is not something a sane person would do."
"Sir Karos's judgment was right, a hundred times over."
However.
At the same time, this seemingly innocent princess must have been confident. Confident that she could control me and use me as a tool to reach the Red Lotus. She might have even laid out a plan spanning decades for that purpose.
"In any case, I suppose I can only be a disposable pawn. In fact, the reason for me to be on your side has disappeared."
"I-I suppose that seems to be the case... But! Now that you know, you have the choice not to join the Red Lotus~" "Sir Karos also said that it is something that will inevitably happen, an unchangeable future."
"... Karos! This really is a betrayal!"
"I am sorry..."
Karos hung her head gloomily. She was the truly good one. Without hiding or changing anything, she had straightforwardly explained the situation and asked for cooperation.
She said she did so after seeing my character, but it seemed she didn't know that being good was different from being trustworthy. I considered using that, but Sharmia's help was essential for my plan. The princess's gaze, after a sigh, lightly touched the dagger on the desk.
I narrowed my eyes and continued.
"Don't you think we can negotiate now?"
"Hmm, it feels more like the negotiation table has been flipped..."
"It's the opposite. I don't want to be discarded after being used. You want to use me, Princess. How about we mix that up a bit?"
"Huh?"
I tapped the necklace.
"I will become an officer of the Red Lotus under your command."
Sharmia blinked twice.
"What... what do you mean by that?"
"If the future where I become an officer of the Red Lotus is bound to happen, if that future cannot be changed, then we simply incorporate that into the scope of the plan."
"I have information I need to find out from within the Red Lotus anyway. I'm sure you wouldn't say you don't, Princess."
"If all goes well, the risk of me becoming a Red Lotus officer and betraying you will disappear, and when that time comes, I can be a reliable partner, not a hunting dog."
"I eliminate my own risk and get information from the Red Lotus. How about it?"
"Hmm."
Sharmia pondered for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
"I don't think that will be possible."
"Could you tell me why?"
"Being a member of the Red Lotus and becoming one of their officers are two different things entirely."
"You have to do what they want, perform the actions they desire. It will break you."
"I have a few secret plans."
When I told her what I had in mind, the princess's jaw dropped.
"J-Jern...? Even for me, I don't have that much power...?"
"You will if you try."
"A-ahem. Setting that aside, you are my royal envoy. The Red Lotus is extremely wary of me."
"The very fact that you were appointed by me will make it difficult to even execute that plan."
"Princess. I approached you under my Master's orders to gather information about you."
"What? No, you didn't." The princess replied as if it were obvious. ...
Did she say she knew a me that even I didn't know? I cleared my throat and continued.
"But you wouldn't appoint me easily, Princess, so in my impatience, I overreached and received the position of envoy with my Master's help."
"However, you sent me to a place where the Red Lotus was confirmed to be, in order to dispose of me."
"I, who barely survived with my Master's help again, then attempted to resist you."
"And so?"
"You imprison me, Princess, and frame me for the crimes my Master committed."
"... Hmm."
"Of course, my Master could easily have such charges dismissed, but she chooses to abandon me to hide the secret history of the elves that would be revealed in the process."
"I, filled with resentment for my Master and you, will have a sudden realization inside the prison. That I still have a way to contact the Red Lotus."
She pondered my words, then asked something else.
"Doing this might make your reputation hit rock bottom."
"I don't care much for the opinions of others. Besides, if you take me back in later, they will assume it was all an act and move on."
"If you can really pull something like this off, it might change the entire game, but~" The smile on Sharmia's face faded slightly.
"Why are you trying to do this? What if the Red Lotus finds out about your heart-realm, finds out your purpose, what if they notice something?"
"You know nothing about them. Don't you think it's dangerous?"
"I'm doing this because I know nothing. If I stay like this, I'll remain knowing nothing for the rest of my life."
"So, I don't understand why you're trying to do it yourself."
"No, Princess."
I retorted, genuinely bewildered.
"It is impertinent of me to say, but I don't think you, a princess who has dedicated her entire life to the Empire since the age of ten for no given reason, are in a position to say that."
"... Th-that's because it's a job only I can do~" "This is also a job only I can do."
Who was the fallen one? Who was the fallen one of the Great System? Who had been scouted by the Red Lotus?
Who could become an officer of the Red Lotus and dig up information? It was all me. In the first place, it was no exaggeration to say that I was the only fallen one the Empire could employ right now.
"And unlike you, Princess, I do not act out of conviction. My life is my objective."
"This means it is a judgment made after placing infiltrating the Red Lotus to gather information and simply living on separate sides of a scale."
"I don't think so..."
The princess squinted at me with suspicious eyes.
"No matter how I look at it, it seems there's another reason besides your life."
"What could there possibly be?"
"Hmm, you're in love with me?"
"... Excuse me?"
What kind of bullshit was this now? Sharmia rubbed the desk as if seriously considering the possibility.
"But isn't this story too good for me? They were so hard to track down, and then you suddenly show up and offer to burn your life away to find all their secret information."
"I've never heard such a convenient story in my life. Isn't this kind of thing usually because of something you can't put on a scale, like love?"
"Why are you killing me off? And I have no particular interest in you, Princess."
It's a cliché, but I'm the type who values what's inside over looks.
"Anyway... yes, I understand what you're saying."
Sharmia nodded with a satisfied expression.
"But there's still something unresolved. This might be the hardest part."
"And what is that?"
There's really so much to do, I thought as I asked. The princess frowned.
"Jern, persuading your Master... that seems to be the most difficult part."
"... Hmm."
As I let out a low hum, she took it as agreement and continued.
"She seems to care for you a great deal. If it looks like I'm driving you to your death, the picture won't be very pretty, will it? I might get into some trouble, and she's a 9-Star mage—" "That has just been resolved."
I took a small cube out of my pocket and placed it on the desk.
"I apologize, but my Master has been listening to this entire conversation."
"... Huh?"
"Of course, I told her beforehand. She was dead set against it, but she said that if I succeeded in persuading you, Princess, she would permit it."
Sharmia blinked three times. Then she asked cautiously.
"By any chance, am I on her bad side now?"
"Of course not. My Master isn't that petty."
As I said that, I shrugged my shoulders.
"But, well, you never know, so from today onward, you should always call for Sir Karos whenever you go out."
It was a moment where I learned that even a princess could feel the emotion of anger.