Chapter 10: Villainess

Chapter 10:
Villainess

 

AFTER DRAGGING Lelia out of the room, Marie emerged in the hallway, breathless.

Lelia had lost all composure, shocked by the revelation that Louise really did hate her. She held a hand over her chest as she griped, “What was her problem? She’s the villainess. She’s the reason we suffered so terribly. How dare she act like she’s the victim!”

“Let’s leave her to my brother to deal with,” said Marie. “More importantly, what about Loic? Things looked pretty bad from where I was standing. Did you really check in on him?”

Lelia huffed. “Of course I did! And I went and saw my sister too. She said everything was fine. Loic explained the collar was only for her safety.”

Marie immediately sensed that Lelia wasn’t going to be any help. She totally let him lead her on.

Lelia hadn’t managed to see through his mask at all. He was probably putting on a show for her like he did everyone else.

If Loic puts his mind to it, deceiving her is child’s play. Hm? Wait a second. Collar?!

“Collar… That’s right, he put a collar on her in the bad end! If he’s dragged that thing out, we’ve got a crisis on our hands. You should know that, right? We can’t afford to wait around anymore, so you better help out!”

Lelia glared at her. “He would never have put a collar on her if you and your brother hadn’t meddled. He only did it because he had no other choice—so he could protect her from you two!”

“What?! He put that thing on her before my brother even got to her, remember? You played the second game, didn’t you? Which means you had to have seen Loic’s bad end, right?”

It suddenly occurred to Marie that Lelia might be experiencing the same issue Marie had with the first game—operating under incomplete knowledge of how things went down. A sinking feeling pulled at her stomach.

“Of course I didn’t get the bad end! The walkthrough I looked up online said it was dangerous to involve yourself with any other man while doing Loic’s route, so I avoided it.”

In the game, showing affection to more than one character while pursuing Loic was a one-way trip to the bad end. As soon as Loic’s attitude changed, it was a sign he’d whip out the collar.

“You idiot!” snarled Marie. “That collar is no ordinary collar—it’s a special item! We’re headed straight for disaster!”

“What?” Lelia gaped, clearly surprised by this information.

“You did say you played through the true end at least, right?” She had mentioned something before to that effect, Marie was pretty sure.

Lelia averted her gaze. “I played with a walkthrough the whole time, so I never got any bad ends for any of the routes.”

Marie clutched her head. “You absolute moron! If we don’t do something fast, it’s game over!”

“Don’t blame me! I didn’t want to see any bad endings! Plus, it seemed like things were going well enough!”

“Forget that! You need to work with us. Oh, this is bad. This is really, really bad. I have to let my brother know! If we wait any longer, Noelle’s going to—” As Marie panicked, Lelia grew anxious as well.

“Are things really that serious?”

“Loic’s going to have Noelle imprisoned! That is, if things go according to the game. There’s no real love between them. That’s why he won’t be able to become the Guardian, which means the republic will fall!”

“That can’t happen to me!”

She’s not even worried about Noelle! Marie scowled at her. “Anyway,” she continued, “you need to help us. Now. Loic is too dangerous.”

Lelia dropped her gaze.

 

***

 

Inside the room, Miss Louise and I had settled on the sofa as I embraced her from behind. She had struggled and sobbed at first, but she had finally calmed down. Slowly, she began to speak about the past.

“My little brother Leon was meant to be engaged to Noelle. House Lespinasse brought the proposal to us.”

“I see.”

“It was a ridiculous suggestion. If things had gone according to plan, my father would have been the Guardian. Even though the Priestess had spurned him, her house started saying they needed our power.”

“In other words, despite having annulled her engagement with Albergue, the former Priestess had the audacity to request he wed his son to her daughter,” said Luxion. “Well, perhaps that was her attempt to mend the fence.”

Had Leon Rault married Noelle as planned and become the Guardian, that only stood to benefit his house. Miss Louise, however, didn’t seem pleased.

“And yet when my brother died, they didn’t even bother showing their faces at his funeral. They sent a representative instead, and that was it.”

That certainly seemed inconsiderate to me, but maybe that wasn’t so abnormal in the republic? “Is that customary here?” I asked.

“People send representatives if they have a good reason, but Leon was the heir to our house. The other houses at least sent their own heirs to attend, but House Lespinasse couldn’t even manage that.”

Honestly, that did make House Lespinasse sound pretty…awful. Their attitude toward the Raults, at least, was beyond redemption. Weren’t they supposed to be on the side of justice or something in the game? Why had they had such a rotten attitude?

“That’s why I hated those girls and their ignorance of all that transpired. From the bottom of my heart, I loathed them… But when we agreed to the engagement, they sent a photo of Leon’s betrothed, and he looked so happy. He started gushing to me, ‘Big Sis, look! My future bride is beautiful!’ Our father had to force a smile.”

Whoa, aren’t you being a bit too flippant about things, Other Leon? Couldn’t you at least learn to read the room a little? Well, I guess you were only five. Can’t really blame you if you didn’t know the situation.

“He wanted to meet Noelle. He was acting all mature, saying, ‘I swear I’ll make her happy.’ If all that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have…” Louise trailed off.

So the whole reason she’d stuck her neck out for Noelle was because her little brother had cared so much for her? She sure had a habit of carrying too much on her shoulders.

“But you still protected Noelle,” I said. “As long as you were ‘bullying’ her, no one else could mess with her.”

Louise had protected Noelle from Pierre and any other unsavories that might have approached her. This whole situation was annoyingly complicated. The villains were supposed to be evil. If they weren’t, it only made things more difficult for me when it came time to make a decision about what to do with them.

“I did it because Father asked me to. He said House Lespinasse didn’t deserve the blame. I argued that it would only make things dangerous for me if one of them were to become the Priestess, but he swore it wouldn’t be a problem.”

What was that supposed to mean? Suddenly, I remembered what Luxion had said before—why had House Lespinasse lost to the Raults when they were supposedly (sorry to say this) inferior?

“But now that it’s come to this, there’s nothing else we can do. If Noelle has been chosen as the Priestess, my father can’t oppose her.”

“Even if—hypothetically speaking—she is the Priestess of the Sacred Tree Sapling and not the Sacred Tree itself?” I asked.

“Either way, the important thing is the Priestess, not which tree chose her. She is an important figure to our people. They won’t care whether she’s the Priestess of the Sacred Tree or its sapling.”

“Ah, as I thought, then.”

This confirmed what I’d already suspected—Noelle’s status wasn’t tree-dependent.

Well, looks like rescuing her is gonna be pretty tough regardless.

Miss Louise squeezed my hand. “Hey… Do you want to save Noelle?”

 

***

 

After Noelle met with the heads of the other Six Great Houses, she was shoved into an anteroom, where she took a seat in front of a large mirror. Loic embraced her from behind, which made goosebumps rise all over her skin, but she tamped down her disgust and retained a poker face. Resisting would only prompt him to hit her.

“Noelle, Leon came to the party today.”

She sucked in a breath.

The moment Loic saw her react, his face went blank. He violently snatched Noelle’s side ponytail and yanked her around to face him. “Do you like him that much? You’re the Priestess. Would you really choose some foreigner?!” His chest rapidly rose and fell as he shoved her from the chair. Almost immediately, he raced to her side and held her. “I’m sorry, Noelle. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s just, you really can’t show interest in another man like that.”

Loic was emotionally unstable, and every time he lashed out at her, he instantly changed his tune. Suddenly, he became sweet and gentle. Having suffered through this daily, Noelle was growing too numb to think much of it. Besides…

It’s not like I can run away even if I want to.

The collar wouldn’t allow her to escape. Her only option was to obey. Trying to flee would only bring more suffering.

“Noelle, our wedding is almost upon us. No one will be able to come between us after that. And once I’m chosen as the Guardian, I swear to protect you.”

She didn’t respond. That apparently pissed him off, because he grabbed her head and slammed it against the ground, grinding her cheek against the floor.

“Why won’t you understand how much I love you?! You’re always like this!”

Noelle quietly waited for Loic to finish beating her.

I want to go home. Someone…save me. Leon…

She wanted to escape—but she couldn’t. All she could do was silently endure her despair.

 

***

 

When I returned to Marie’s estate, Miss Cordelia came out to greet me, her expression revealing nothing. “Welcome home, Lord Leon. Did you enjoy going to the party with Lady Marie?”

“Oh, yeah, it was a blast. I really got to let myself go.”

“How wonderful to hear.” Cordelia’s gaze turned even colder than it had already been before, which was practically subzero.

Miss Yumeria was standing beside her and eagerly took my jacket after I peeled it off. “Nobles seem to have parties so regularly. It must be exhausting.” Unlike Miss Cordelia, she was a breath of fresh air—healing to the soul.

Marie looked fatigued. “My brain is shot. All we have is more problems on our plate. I couldn’t even enjoy the food.”

After everyone had cooled down, we had met back up and sat down to discuss our plans. Our biggest success was managing to secure Mr. Albergue and Miss Louise’s cooperation.

Julius popped his head out to see us. “Oh, you’re back. Well, how did it go?”

I gave him a brief overview.

“So it is political infighting. House Barielle is dragging everyone else into their attempts to take down the Raults.”

They were eager to rise to the top, using the Priestess as their trump card. Loic was obsessed with Noelle on a personal level, but the current head, Bellange, seemed more interested in the chairman position than anything else—or rather, in becoming the leader of the republic.

Julius nodded. “Just as we suspected. Right, well, everyone is already gathered and waiting for you.”

We joined the idiot brigade—and Carla and Kyle—in the dining hall. A nervous energy hung in the air as we walked in. Marie took her seat, and Carla poured some water for her. Kyle brought me a drink, which I gulped down before wiping my mouth with my sleeve.

“I hate to admit it, but it’s just as everyone thought,” I said. “Loic’s own motivations aside, the rest of them just want to use Noelle as a pawn in their bid for power.”

Jilk didn’t look the least bit surprised. “That is simply how it goes. I gathered what information I could at the embassy while you were gone. It seems Barielle is using whatever means they have at their disposal to try to get ahold of that sapling.”

“If you’re willing to pay, there are some officials who are slimy enough to switch sides,” said Brad with a frown. “Though we’ll be at a real disadvantage if they retaliate by buying off our ministers back in Holfort. I’d prefer if we could settle things before it comes to that.”

Greg—(Hey, why was he still half-naked?! Put on some damn clothes!)—crossed his arms. “National interests and personal interests don’t always align. Even if we get our hands on Noelle as quickly as possible, the republic’s filthy rich. They’ll just use those resources to attack our weak spot—and that’s gonna put us in an awkward position.”

Chris was the next to comment. (And why wasn’t he wearing any pants?!) “It will be best if we can claim victory quickly, but we’ll need to enlist Her Majesty’s protection after. She’s the type to put national interest ahead of personal gains.”

Roland’s name never came up. Just went to show that Miss Mylene was the real head honcho of Holfort.

Marie dropped her head against the table. “So basically, even if we save her, all that awaits us is more problems. Ugh, it’s bad news all around. Can’t there just be one easy, fix-all solution?”

I agreed with her there, which was precisely why I had decided to do just that.

“Well, what will it be, Bartfort?” Julius asked, turning to me. “If we’re able to rescue her, we can leave everything else to my mother back in the kingdom. As Chris already stated, she will put Holfort before herself. I am certain she’ll be willing to safeguard Noelle.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, but it wasn’t a good one either. The problem is that I’m a coward, so I like to make sure there isn’t a single seed of doubt left to trouble me in the future.

Plus, I’d seen that diplomat from the Holy Kingdom of Rachel at the party. That was the very nation butting heads with Miss Mylene’s homeland. If the republic found itself behooved to pick a fight with us, I didn’t doubt that Rachel would support them. They’d probably send aid to our other enemies as well and make things as hard on us as possible. We had no idea how much time it would take before the sapling was grown enough to wield the same powers as the Sacred Tree. Would Miss Mylene really be willing to protect Noelle at the risk of making so many enemies?

If we took the route the boys suggested, those concerns would remain, and as someone too fainthearted to deal with such anxiety, I couldn’t abide that.

“We can’t,” I said. “If the republic gets serious, it’ll be a gamble as to whether Miss Mylene can really keep Noelle safe or not. And if they start attacking us where we’re weakest, it’ll be a nightmare. Instead, we’re going to utterly destroy the republic’s pride.”

Julius pulled a face, but he didn’t dismiss my idea out of hand. “You have some kind of ingenious plan then, I assume? Destroying a nation’s pride is no simple matter. Do you plan to let the Einhorn wreak havoc again?”

“Do I really look that simpleminded to you? I’m no barbarian who jumps the gun and goes to war at the first sign of trouble. I prefer to resolve things peacefully.”

“Peacefully, you say?” Jilk laughed and shrugged. “Oh, I do so hope your definition of peaceful is more amicable than I fear.”

These guys really do like taking pot shots at me, don’t they? I waved them off. “Don’t worry. This will definitely break them. However, before we do that, we need to save Noelle. I’m planning to move forward with the operation on the day of their wedding. What do you think?”

Since I’d made my decision to do it, I was going to see it through to the end.

Marie sat up straight. “I see you have your motivation back! But the wedding day? Don’t you think their security will be even stronger than normal then?”

“Yes, and I’m sure they’ll be wary of attack,” said Chris as he stroked his chin. “It will be an important day for the republic, after all. If any issues were to occur, it would ruin House Barielle’s image—wait, don’t tell me that’s your aim?”

Destroy the Barielles’ reputation? Yes, that was an appealing idea, and it was one of the reasons I had chosen their wedding day for my plan. However, that would only serve to anger, not break them.

“You really think that’s all I have in store for them?”

Greg shook his head. “Nope. You’re capable of way more cruelty than that.”

Jeez, thanks for the compliment. I won’t forget that, you jerk. I threw my arms wide. “All right, let us begin! We’re going to stomp on their pride so hard that they’ll never be able to oppose us again!”

Everyone reluctantly raised a hand and let out a feeble cheer. “Uh, yay…”

Oh, come on, put more feeling into it! This is where the real fun begins!

 

***

 

On the eve of Noelle’s wedding day, an eerie quiet had fallen over Marie’s estate.

Cordelia was livid. “I cannot believe this. What is he thinking?!”

Yumeria, working alongside her, glanced at her fellow maid and wrinkled her forehead. “I wonder if they’re all okay.”

Cleare was watching over the two. “Nothing to fret over,” she said. “Anyway, when you go shopping, be sure to buy enough for Elle too!”

Cordelia glanced at the sofa. A life-sized doll sat there, with a face that resembled Leon’s. Similar ones fashioned after the other boys were planted about the house as well. Luxion’s robots moved them around periodically. Cordelia couldn’t begin to fathom why.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“Oh, so much meaning,” said Cleare. “More importantly, aren’t you a bit cold toward Master? If you really are one of the Redgrave maids, I’d think mixing your personal and professional life beneath you, wouldn’t you?”

“That is entirely Lord Leon’s fault! He’s affianced to someone as incredible as Lady Angelica, yet he’s far too close to Marie.”

Yumeria tilted her head. “Huh? The two of them may be close, but it’s definitely not in the romantic sense.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. Um, I don’t know how to put it, but…they’re kind of like siblings?”

Cordelia couldn’t refute that. She had no experience with dating, having worked at the duke’s estate from an early age. Even though she had attended the academy, she’d refrained from romantic relations to maintain her virtue. Thus, she had no basis with which to evaluate the tenor of their relationship.

“Yumeria’s right,” said Cleare. “They’re basically like brother and sister.”

“N-now that you mention it, I do get that impression… B-but he’s still got something going on with these other women!”

“Oh? And what’s your problem with that? He’s putting his life on the line to save a girl about to be forced into a marriage against her will. I’d call that pretty heroic, wouldn’t you?”

“Political marriages are hardly a new phenomenon. By disrupting this one, he’s on the verge of instigating a monumental international scandal! And how many lives will be upended as a result?”

“So you support political marriages, then?” Cleare eyed Cordelia. “That’s funny, considering the romance novels you keep in your room often involve girls being forced into marriages only to be saved by their true loves.”

“H-how do you know about those?! At any rate, fiction and reality are separate matters. Dreams are alluring precisely because they’re dreams.” Cordelia’s words only made her sound even more like a young maiden with her head in the clouds.

“But I hear she’s being abused,” said Yumeria. “I don’t entirely grasp the situation surrounding their families—it sounds complicated—but if she doesn’t want to go through with this, I support them saving her.”

Cordelia sighed. “Yes, I agree with that, but nations have their own circumstances to consider. People can’t simply act on self-interest without regard for those.”

“I get where you’re coming from,” said Cleare, “but I’d appreciate it if you’d stop looking at Master through a biased lens.”

Well, it was true that Cordelia didn’t have the best impression of Leon. She could admit she hadn’t been fair. Since she was working at this estate, she would have been the first to know if anything illicit happened between him and Marie, and she hadn’t yet found any evidence to suggest anything had.

“Very well,” she conceded. “It seems I have some reflecting to do. I will try to have a little more faith in Lord Leon. That said, are you sure this thing is of any use?”

No sooner had she pointed than the Leon doll sitting on the couch toppled over.

 

***

 

Two silhouettes lurked outside of Marie’s estate, keeping watch from a nearby building. They glanced down at their watches.

“It’s almost time. How are things looking?”

“Not much movement. All of them are inside right now.”

“Keep an eye out. Can’t afford to screw up today.”

“Okay, but how are things down at the harbor? They have two of those one-horned ships, right?”

“Our security forces are on guard. The military even came out just in case, but there’s been no movement. Doesn’t seem like anyone has tried to enter either ship, so we’re probably safe.”

They continued observing the mansion.

“Still, it’s odd. They’re not moving much at all.”

“Hey, if they’re cooped up inside, that’s good enough for us. Once we get past today, Lord Loic will be the Guardian, and we’ll finally be relieved of our duties here.”

House Barielle had dispatched lookouts to keep an eye on both the mansion and the harbor. They had no small number keeping tabs on the Einhorn and the Licorne, all for the purpose of being able to alert Loic the second that Leon and his friends tried to act.

 

***

 

The Sacred Tree’s Temple normally played host to the Six Great Houses’ assemblies, but it was also used by the Priestess for ceremonial purposes. Special permission had been granted to use it for Noelle’s wedding. Members of the Six Great Houses gathered in the assembly hall, where they praised and congratulated Loic.

The leader of House Feivel, Lambert, was obviously trying to brownnose. “Ah, what a truly joyous occasion. Now the republic will finally have a Guardian again. We can’t let those fleas in the kingdom get too complacent. We’re expecting great things from you, Loic.”

The Sacred Tree gave its greatest blessing to the Guardian, and the power that came with it was absolute. The hopes of the people were resting on Loic.

“Noelle is the Priestess of the Sapling,” he said. “So I am afraid I don’t know how much power I will be able to draw from it as Guardian.”

“O-oh, really? Still, it’s good to see a Guardian and Priestess revived nevertheless. The republic can finally rest at ease.”

Any Priestess at all was still good news for the republic. Not to mention, she would soon select her Guardian. The Six Great Houses were anxious with anticipation.

Bellange glanced sidelong at Albergue. “It has been a while since we had a Guardian from one of the Great Houses, considering the previous one was of common birth. Isn’t that right, Albergue?”

Albergue didn’t respond to the barb. He kept his arms crossed over his chest and closed his eyes.

Beside him, Fernand said, “Chairman, please don’t pay him any mind.”

“I didn’t plan to,” Albergue curtly responded before turning to Loic. “Nonetheless, I hope you will let me extend my congratulations to you.”

“Thank you, Chairman.”

“As someone who failed to receive the Guardian’s Crest before, allow me to give you some advice: Don’t let your guard down until it’s actually yours.” After saying that, Albergue spun on his heel and left.

Bellange snorted. Fernand glanced briefly at Loic before following Albergue. Once they were gone, Bellange finally chuckled. “Nothing more than the dying whimper of a powerless man. He’s pathetic—having lost the previous Priestess to a peasant. You have nothing to fear, Loic.”

“I know, Father. He really is a pitiful man. He still hasn’t noticed that Fernand is on our side.”

The other house leaders started to join in the conversation.

“Weren’t the two of them arguing yesterday?”

“That young brat Fernand probably put him in his place. Albergue holds no sway anymore.”

“I look forward to seeing his despair when he learns of Fernand’s betrayal.”

It was a rare occasion indeed to see five of the Six Great Houses agree on anything as they did in that moment.

It’s all thanks to you, Leon, thought Loic. I wouldn’t have been able to unify them without you. Consider me grateful, Hero.

Ironically, it was the threat of Leon that had mobilized the other houses to join hands, with Bellange at their center. Albergue showed a clear bias for the foreign boy, which only made the other house leaders nervous. They saw Loic as a ray of hope.

Your mere existence gave me the power I needed. The board is now stacked in my favor. All you can do is bite your nails in frustration and watch.

Loic was certain that victory was his.

A servant suddenly entered the room. “My lords, it’s time.”

Noelle and Loic’s wedding ceremony was about to begin.