The Monster's Disappearance
The Empress burst into hearty laughter.
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
Amelia’s first foray into high society had been an overwhelming success. The Empress smiled with deep satisfaction.
“Please continue to look after the princess, Marquis. This is essentially her debut, so she is bound to be rather clumsy in many ways.”
While laughter bloomed like flowers throughout the Empress’s palace, the Noble Consort’s residence was steeped in mourning.
“Teresa, enough of this. Please get up and at least have a sip of water.”
“Your Majesty…”
Ever since Prince Cassil’s exile, Teresa had been wasting away in illness. Then, upon hearing of the humiliation Lilienne suffered, she had fainted once again.
“It’s all because I am unworthy.”
Tears streamed endlessly down Teresa’s cheeks.
“If only I had been a woman worthy of Your Majesty, neither Cassil nor Lilienne would have been treated with such contempt.”
The Emperor’s face darkened. Yet he could not bring himself to offer empty comfort.
Because she was right.
“That is why our son Argon gave up the throne long ago. He already knew it was impossible. Knowing that he could never inherit the throne with a mother of such lowly birth, he must have chosen to wander the outside world instead.”
“Do not speak that way.”
“Sob… my poor children.”
After crying for a long while, Teresa fainted once more. The Emperor stayed by her side through the night, only returning to his office when morning came.
How had things come to this? Just a short while ago, the situation had not been this dire.
Lilienne had reigned as the undisputed flower of high society. Cassil had been scheduled to return after completing his exile.
Canna Valentino.
It was hard to believe, but she stood at the center of it all. That woman had cured Amelia’s skin disease and completely overturned the balance of high society. She had driven Cassil into a corner and caused him to lose his wrist.
The Emperor sank deep into thought. Then his eyes fell upon a letter that had been placed on his desk.
It was from Orsini Addis.
Peaceful days had continued without incident until one day, when devastating news struck the mansion like a bolt from the blue.
“What?”
Canna, who had been concocting medicine using magic stones in the underground laboratory, nearly dropped the condensed magic core in her hand.
“Lea, what did you just say?”
“Lord Orsini…”
Lea glanced nervously at Canna before carefully finishing her sentence.
“They say Lord Orsini has gone missing.”
Orsini had been carrying out his usual duties related to the Black Fog.
His most recent destination had been Pailon Island. When the Black Fog appeared there, he had led a knight order and set out immediately.
Throughout the mission, he had sent regular letters reporting the situation. However—
The knights have been annihilated.
There is something wrong with this place.
I will explain the details later. However, do not send any more knights.
Under no circumstances should you send anyone.
After that urgent-sounding final letter, all contact had suddenly been severed.
A dark shadow fell over the Addis mansion.
“Sob… my son… what am I to do? My poor son.”
Chloe had taken to her bed in despair, and even Isabel, who was supposed to be in confinement, reportedly burst into tears every night.
“I think Brother Orsini is dead! If even he is gone, what will happen to me?!”
When it came to Orsini Addis, he was the exact opposite of Kallen—a complete wild card.
Kallen is the model student. Diligent, never doing anything half-heartedly.
Orsini, on the other hand, was extremely single-minded. He wouldn’t even glance at anything that didn’t interest him.
Because of this, he had frequently skipped etiquette lessons since boyhood and showed rudeness to everyone equally.
Despite all that, he had never fallen out of favor with the Duke of Addis. Even the Emperor had always spoken highly of him despite his countless acts of discourtesy.
The reason was simple.
They say he’s a monster among monsters.
His swordsmanship and martial prowess were said to be the spitting image of Alexandro in his youth.
There were even evaluations that, given time to grow further, he might one day surpass Alexandro Addis himself.
And now that very Orsini had gone missing.
Moreover, every single knight of the Addis family who had departed with him had been wiped out.
“Looks like Sir Orsini is dead too.”
“Shh! Keep your voice down. Someone might hear.”
“There’s no one around, so what does it matter?”
“Still, be careful. If the madam hears…”
“She’s bedridden. How could she possibly hear anything?”
Well, I’m listening right now.
They’re all saying the exact same thing.
Canna closed the window. Eavesdropping on the servants’ gossip from outside had started to lose its appeal.
Orsini is dead?
That twisted bastard, dead.
The feeling was strange.
To be a little more honest…
It feels a bit… good?
Canna hated every single person in this household.
Ah, except for Lucy.
And among them, the one she hated most was Orsini.
She disliked Kallen too, but that feeling couldn’t even compare to the hatred she felt for Orsini.
Maybe it doesn’t feel real yet? It doesn’t feel that good after all.
Just then, Lucy came looking for her.
“Sister Canna.”
Had she been crying? Lucy’s eyes were swollen and bright red.
“What’s wrong, Lucy?”
“Sister…”
“Did something happen?”
Lucy burst into tears without saying a word.
“What is it, Lucy?”
Canna gently stroked Lucy’s trembling back.
“Sister, the truth is…”
After crying for a long time, Lucy finally confessed between sobs.
“I… I killed Brother Orsini.”
“……”
What was she talking about? Canna stared at Lucy with a blank expression.
“I was so scared of Brother Orsini that I prayed to God never to see him again.”
“……”
“So maybe God granted my wish. W-what should I do now?”
Oh dear, how innocent.
Canna barely held back her laughter. The child was crying with genuine seriousness; laughing now would be rude. She lifted Lucy up and sat her on her lap.
“It’s okay, Lucy.”
“B-but…”
“It’s not your fault.”
“But I prayed for it…”
“You prayed for Orsini to die?”
Lucy shook her head vigorously.
“No, not that. I just… I was scared, so I prayed that I wouldn’t have to meet him anymore…”
“Why? Did Orsini ever harass you?”
That damn bastard! Had he beaten Lucy the same way he had beaten her?
He’s not even a child anymore. Is he still doing such trashy things even after growing up?
Orsini had tormented her when they were young. Brutally.
If some lunatic ever tried to defend his actions, they would probably use the excuse that he had been too young to know better back then.
That he had been ignorant because he was a child.
Of course, that’s complete bullshit.
But if he was now tormenting a young girl as an adult? Not even the Holy Spirit of the Great Temple would be able to shield him.
“No, it’s not like that.”
Thankfully, Lucy denied it.
“Brother Orsini never bullied me. He just… he just ignored me.”
But even that must have been terrifying for Lucy.
Orsini was slightly larger than the already massive Kallen, possessed an incredibly muscular build, and above all, had an extremely fierce gaze.
Just making eye contact with him felt like being stabbed by a sword.
It was more than enough to make him an object of terror for little Lucy.
“So I prayed because I was scared and didn’t want to see him, and I never thought God would actually listen…”
“That’s not how it works, Lucy.”
Canna gently stroked Lucy’s purple curls.
“God does not answer human prayers.”
“…Really?”
“Well, let me correct that. He absolutely does not answer them easily. So there’s no way He would have listened to your prayer.”
As she spoke, she began to regret her words.
She had said it to comfort Lucy, but wasn’t it too harsh for a young girl?
“Anyway, even if Orsini is dead, it’s not because of your wish.”
If wishes were granted that easily, Orsini would have died a thousand times by now.
One of the many prayers she had made as a child was, ‘I wish Orsini would disappear.’
Yet Orsini had never disappeared.
Instead, I was the one who disappeared from this place.
Maybe God had granted her wish in a different way? Canna shook off the stray thoughts and continued comforting Lucy.
“Besides, Orsini probably isn’t dead. So there’s no need to blame yourself like this.”