110 – Found
“Uhm…young master…?”
“…What is it, Ella?”
“I was just wondering…after the banquet…did something
unpleasant happen…?”
“…”
Her worried voice
echoed in my ears,
but my expression refused to soften.
One cheek was raised in a sneer,
and my brows were tightly furrowed, the unmistakable
face of someone thoroughly annoyed.
I was well aware of this fact,
yet my expression seemed to have a will of its own.
Even with the intent to not worry her,
I maintained my sullen look.
“…It’s nothing.”
Still, I desired to reassure her.
Even if it were merely words, empty as promises.
It’s not as if I can be certain something has befallen Aria.
Even with that small frame, she wielded a magic
wicked enough to be feared.
Wherever she went, she wasn’t one to be
easily taken advantage of.
‘..Please, it has to be like that..’
Clinging to that one fact, I felt utterly
pathetic, but there was nothing I could do.
If not for that, Emperor’s authority be damned,
I would have bolted out that very instant.
Besides, the Charlotte family had also promised
to take action themselves, so in truth, adding
my own strength wouldn’t hasten her search.
If it was a place that one more person could
make a difference in finding, surely news would
have reached us by now.
All I could do now was to continue to
shake my leg, with an anxious heart, keep
waiting for them.
“If that’s the case…it’s a relief, but, young
master…if something is troubling you…please confide in me..”
She, who had been watching my expression,
hesitated mid-sentence and lowered her head.
Like someone lacking confidence.
Her thoughts were transparent.
She probably thought it was too presumptuous
for a mere maidservant like herself to step forward.
Without even knowing what my worries were.
“U-Um…th-that is..”
“..Haa.”
Seeing her still unable to speak easily,
hesitating and stammering,
I let out a deep sigh
and slowly approached her.
“Y-Young master?”
“Ella.”
I calmly placed my hand on her shoulder,
and her head immediately snapped up.
Her eyes darted back and forth, showing what she was currently
It felt as if it were revealing just how flustered she was.
Was my touch truly such a surprising thing?
“I’m truly thankful for your concern…
But I truly am alright, you can stop now.”
“B-but…”
The words of gratitude were the truth.
The words claiming I was alright were a lie.
Sentences brimming with the intention
of trying to set her at ease.
‘…My sister was taken.
There’s no way I could possibly be calm.’
“I… I also…”
But, alas.
It seemed it hadn’t completely worked.
As if she’d perceived the mixture
of truth and falsehood in my words,
she was not so easily convinced.
Only a voice tinged with sorrow emerged.
“I… I’m also worried about you, Master…”
From her lips, again and again,
only words of concern for me lingered.
Her head, which she’d been holding high just a moment ago,
sank back down as before.
How to describe it?
She resembled a dejected puppy.
If she had ears, surely
they would have drooped low,
and if she had a tail,
it would have been dragging along the ground.
Faced with such a sight, I unwittingly
placed my hand on the crown of her head.
“M-Master?!”
“…”
*Swoosh, swoosh,*
Her hair passed, brushed against, and was touched
between the spaces of my fingers.
As the beautiful silver strands
were felt and disarranged,
“Hngh…ngh…”
“…?”
Suddenly, from beneath my hand, something
began to emit a whimper.
Startled, I hurriedly looked down,
“…Ella?”
“It’s…it’s because of you, Master…!”
Ella, her face completely hidden by her hands,
her ears flushed crimson, caught my eye.
For a moment, I even worried if
she might be ill.
But was it simply shyness?
“Ella.”
“…!”
I remove my hand from above her head,
and match my gaze with her lowered one.
Her face seems to redden even more, but
after all, making eye contact is the best way
to reassure someone.
“It’s alright, nothing will happen.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Truly, nothing will happen.”
Whether she saw the unwavering sincerity in my eyes,
only then did she seem somewhat relieved.
It seemed the fact that a little white lie is a great help
in navigating the world was true, after all.
‘…I didn’t really want to lie,
but there was no choice.’
“Hehe… Master, I’ve already prepared the bedding!”
I truly felt relieved that she hadn’t seen through
my lie.
I didn’t want to taint that pure smile with worry.
‘She’s a delicate one as it is, I can’t
let her fret over every little thing.’
“Ah, and Master—”
‘…I can only hope that news arrives as quickly as possible…’
The unspoken words, that nothing should happen to her,
I forcefully bury them deep within my chest.
So that if news of anything happening to her
reaches my ears, I can explode on the spot.
So that I can throw everything aside and charge forward,
no matter who the opponent may be.
Of course, things being quiet would be best for us both.
*
“….”
“Miss Aria, regarding your meal today─”
“I have no need of it. Leave.”
From within the beautiful room, a beautiful
woman’s voice rings out.
In a room filled to the brim with luxurious furnishings that,
to a common person, would be but a lifelong dream.
“..Miss, you’ve skipped three meals already…Any more and it’ll take a toll on your health─”
“Enough. I said, leave.”
Contrasting with the beautiful room’s atmosphere,
a frigid dismissal echoes within,
and only then does an elderly servant
slowly back away out the door.
Both hands are laden with gleaming,
sumptuous dishes.
“..To think they’d lock me up in a place like this,
yet still make sure I’m fed regularly..”
Suddenly alone in the vast room,
the woman slowly surveys her surroundings.
Each and every window pane is etched with
layered, complex magical circles,
and perched atop the distant bookcase,
a black box tracks her every move.
In truth, this luxurious place resembles
nothing more than a prison without windows.
Its name? The Reinhardt family manor,
once the most comfortable, most beloved place,
where she had resided.
“..What do they intend to accomplish by imprisoning me like this?
The rumors have already spread far and wide.”
She whispers to herself, over and over,
but no one answers her words
within this room.
A silence, cruelly quiet and desolate.
Before that silence consumes her, she would like to move her body freely
She tried to move, but even that wouldn’t obey her will.
*Clink*—
Because of the long iron chain
bound to her ankle.
“And even this…with a mana seal attached.”
Today, her own helplessness
felt overwhelmingly resentful.
She felt a sliver of resentment toward her past self, who
had stubbornly only studied magic, while others grasped swords.
‘Milady, I believe it would be wise to complete
your swordsmanship training today…’
‘…I have no talent for the sword.
I have no desire to invest in something without hope.’
‘…Understood, if that is Milady’s wish…’
The memory arose of herself,
once so sure of her talent and investing only in that.
If only she had picked up a sword even once back then,
had built up her physical strength.
What good was a plethora of mana?
What good was exceptional mana manipulation?
What good was a magical skill far superior
to her peers?
If she couldn’t use that mana, her body instantly
became nothing more than useless.
Now, clenching her fist tightly changed nothing.
With these little hands, that likely couldn’t break even a branch, let alone a sword,
with not a shred of mana, there was nothing she could do.
Just to remain trapped here, like a fish in a tank.
That was the only thing she *could* do
right now.
It was pathetic.
This version of herself.
Until recently, she’d been stirring things up everywhere,
determined to clear her brother’s name.
If I were to expose the family’s disgrace myself, I had foreseen all the choices the family would make.
Yet, a single moment of carelessness robbed me of consciousness,
and I was kidnapped, ending up locked away in a place like this.
I couldn’t stand my own patheticness.
This helpless version of myself.
And that’s why he seemed even more remarkable,
even more longed for.
His figure.
With nothing more than meager talent, he ran from end to end,
never giving up, and that image seemed especially grand and missed today.
‘…What could Oppa be doing right now…?
Does he even know I’m gone…?’
Whether he knew she had disappeared,
or perhaps didn’t even know she was gone.
Or maybe he knew, but simply wasn’t bothering to look.
All sorts of thoughts began to slowly
take over her mind,
and unable to bear it any longer, she
uttered just one word.
“…Oppa.”
So small and
thin was the voice, that no one could have heard it, lingering in the emptiness,
but the darkness was filled with creatures that
specialized in finding voices like that.
“…Found her.”