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38.

A ship, if mishandled, was the perfect place for a small group like us to become isolated.
So the most effective strategy ‌was to turn the tables and make them the minority instead.
I had sacrificed my sleep in the early hours before dawn to implement every necessary measure.
Of course, I had also contacted the Magicians laboring under Cassian's command.
‌‌‌
'A vacation, you said! ‌‌‌A vacation! Surely we shouldn't be tormented during our time off, Advisor Roselita Salice!'
'Are you insane? All these criminals are confident in their own abilities, which ‌‌‌is why they commit crimes in the first place. You want us to create a spell they can't stop in three hours?'

They didn't need to introduce themselves, ‌‌‌‌did they?
The criminals' excuses were rather lengthy, but what reason did I have to listen?
Still, as the saying goes, a criminal understands a criminal's heart—these were people who had attempted to line their own pockets before, so despite their grumbling, they produced excellent results.
If they didn't ‌‌‌‌obey, the restraints they wore would seal their magical power, which was apparently tantamount to a death sentence for a Mage.
Being virtuous and having never committed a crime myself, I wouldn't know for certain.
After preparing to redirect their efforts toward my ‌‌‌purposes, I naturally summoned the Knights.
A distance of eight hours by carriage from the Capital City was practically a short trip for the Knights that Cassian had personally cultivated and trained.
Even if something went slightly awry, I had already devised contingency measures to handle it.
"Well then, we should enjoy ourselves before boredom sets in."
"A wise decision, Miss."
It was time for us, infiltrated within this Delight Cruise Ship, to make our mark.

*

"D-don't ‌you dare treat it so carelessly!"
"Carelessly? How much is it? I can just compensate you for everything, can't I?"
I swept through the ship's interior, deliberately smashing their key merchandise alongside Cassian.
Crash—!
"Oh my, Miss! ‌Miss, you really mustn't do this. Our Delight Cruise Ship is refined and dignified—"
"Refined? Dignified?"
I scoffed.
"When your eyes are already bloodshot with greed. As long as I compensate ‌‌‌you, it's fine, right?"
Clink, clink, clink—!
I deliberately ‌‌scattered gold coins ‌‌everywhere, displaying ‌‌both my wealth and my ruthlessness in one masterful stroke.
As the coins bounced across the floor, I could see not just the employees but also those dressed in fine clothes scrambling toward them.
"Did you starve for days? Why are you all ‌‌‌‌scrambling so desperately to pick them up?"
Among them were clearly those addicted to narcotics, and I ‌‌‌carefully committed them to memory.
"It's hilarious how you all rush for such pittance, isn't it?"
"You are quite right, Miss. Whoever invited you here should come forward and apologize." ‌‌
"Well said. ‌I'm sure I mentioned that if I'm not entertained, there would ‌‌‌‌be consequences."
As I tapped my fan against the employees scrambling for coins, their eyes froze before rolling nervously.
"Was it you?"
Each time I pointed with my fan.
"Or was it you?"
Their faces desperate, praying they wouldn't ‌‌‌be chosen.
"Ugh, how ‌‌‌‌irritating. You all look equally pathetic."
"Your words are correct, Miss. They appear unworthy of existing in this world."
"Who would disagree? Truly, they are utterly useless."
Some reacted noticeably to my emphatic words.
Of course, we didn't miss those reactions either.
'It's like touching the reverse scales of Magicians.'
The amusing part was how obviously they reacted while remaining oblivious to it themselves.
Whether naive or simply stupid.
"It's only natural that you cannot be compared to such worthless things, isn't it?"
I ‌locked eyes with Cassian while committing those who reacted to specific words ‌to memory once more.
When I tapped his chin with my fan, he smiled coldly with sharp eyes.
"Truly, my beloved Miss speaks only truth."
"Mm."
Boom—!
A deafening explosion echoed throughout the ship.
"W-what is ‌‌this...!"
"Who is it? Is there a traitor?!"
"Ugh, defend! Defend yourselves!"
"It's a trap, a trap! Activate the teleportation array at once—!"
Panicked voices of the Magicians ‌‌echoed through the billowing smoke.
And when the smoke cleared entirely.
"Hmm, they truly are incompetent, aren't they."
"W-who are you!"
The Magicians stood in shameful silence, bound by restraints, their magic utterly useless.
Cassian's precisely aimed binding spell had captured every single one of them without exception.
'Master's reputation is well-earned, after all.'
And the smoke we had dispersed was no mere smokescreen.
"Ugh, ugh... my stomach..."
"W-water... please..."
It was a specialized smoke ‌‌‌that temporarily detoxified those addicted to illegal narcotics, inducing violent nausea at the mere sight of the substance.
We couldn't have them consuming the scattered ‌drugs while ‌we worked.
As we finished our work, I watched the Delight Cruise Ship ‌‌‌approaching the Dock I had designated, and the Knight Order lined up there, before restoring my hair to its natural color.
"I am Roselita Salice, advisor to the Second Prince. As of 10:22 PM, I am placing you under arrest for illegal drug trafficking and manufacturing, fraud and embezzlement against noble houses, and forgery of official documents."
With my declaration, Cassian's disguise fell away as well.
"B-but... we definitely... pushed you all into the River... you should have drowned!!"
And at those foolish words from the Mage. ‌‌‌
"Attempted murder of the Royal Family should apply as well, then."
I added the charge without hesitation, methodically building the case.

*

"Do you truly ‌believe we'll surrender to such restraint?"
The Magicians, now properly bound by the Knights, began to voice their indignation.
Of course, I let their protests go in one ear and out the other while issuing search ‌‌orders to the Knights.
"Magicians especially ‌‌‌‌love stashing things in the inner pockets of their jackets, so don't hold back—search thoroughly."
"H-how dare you conduct such a reckless search!"
"Some of them have such peculiar tastes they hide things in the most absurd ‌‌places, so if anyone resists excessively, drag them away and strip-search them completely."
"Y-you demon...!! How dare you obstruct our great cause with such methods!"
Of course, ‌‌prolonged exposure to such noise wasn't good for one's mental health.
"Ah, that person who just spoke—make sure to ‌‌‌drag him away and search him thoroughly. He clearly possesses the most crucial information."
"Understood, Advisor Salice! ‌‌We'll conduct a thorough ‌‌search."
I didn't overlook ‌‌‌the ship's interior search either.
By now, the Knights had surely raided the location where they'd stayed in Ilium.
"Roselita, here."
I widened my eyes as I ‌saw the thick stack of documents Cassian was holding out to me, ‌having been rapidly drafting preliminary reports based on the search items the Knights brought in.
"This is what you wanted most, isn't it?"
Documents with slightly ‌‌‌different colored covers but similar appearance.
None other than the operational ledger of ‌‌‌the Delight Cruise Ship.
"With this, Wilhelmina Lopez will be safe."
"Yes."
I nodded without suppressing ‌‌the smile that escaped my lips.
Dawn was breaking beyond the Forest surrounding the Dock.
As I flipped through the ledger, I suddenly found myself gazing at Cassian.
Like me, he stood at the scene organizing the evidence the Knights had gathered and directing the interrogation of ‌‌those intoxicated by the drug.
Over the past year and ‌‌a half, I'd grown accustomed ‌to moving ‌‌between chaotic scenes like this. ‌‌‌
Yet for some reason, today an overwhelming emotion surged up from deep ‌‌‌‌within my ‌‌‌‌chest.
'I've come to realize something.'
The reason I wasn't threatened with death in this Ilium incident
'was because Cassian experienced it instead.'
Originally, the incident involving Wilhelmina had escalated when Roselita Salice became poisoned by the wine she offered, teetering on the brink of death.
Moreover, even the Magicians who handled the drug were certain that Cassian would have 'died'.
That meant they'd used poison. There was no way not to understand.
"Your Highness."
"What is it, Roselita?"
Even though Cassian didn't know the original story,
"I'm sorry."
I felt compelled to apologize for some reason.
"...Sorry for what, exactly?"
Yet at ‌‌‌my words, ‌‌‌‌‌Cassian's expression hardened far more than I expected, becoming grave.
"Don't tell me you've become so fed up with having your vacation interrupted that you actually want to submit your resignation?"
"...What?"
This time, it was I who stood there with a dumbfounded expression.
'Here I was, letting my guard down and baring my heart, and ‌this is what ‌‌‌‌I get!'
Cassian set aside the documents he'd been holding, entrusting them briefly to a knight, and seized both my arms firmly.
"No, Roselita. Don't abandon me." ‌‌‌
"Why are you twisting my words like ‌‌‌that!"
"You don't owe me an ‌‌‌apology for anything else, Roselita."
"It's not even a work-related mistake—why would submitting a resignation letter require an apology?"
"You've ‌‌‌‌‌trained me, Roselita." ‌‌‌‌
"Pardon?"
When on earth did I do that?
By that logic, hadn't Cassian equally conditioned me to adapt to his grueling work environment?
As I stood there indignant, Cassian's eyes curved with mischievous delight as he whispered.
"So please, don't entertain such thoughts—do take responsibility for me, my dear lady."
At that familiar smile, the emotion that had been welling up inexplicably dissolved into thin air.
My superior truly was.
Reading my feelings far too arbitrarily.

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