Rita’s question made the temperature in the entire room seem to plummet to freezing. Whether it was the one asking, the one being questioned, or the reactions of both sides, a deep sense of incongruity hung in the air.
Angus, the magi maintaining the magical field, the soldiers—everyone harbored their own suspicions, but no one dared make any move until the situation changed.
Yes, Dorothy had an alibi—an absolutely perfect one.
That is, if Dorothy truly hadn’t done anything, or if the person standing before them was truly Dorothy.
Moments ago, Rita had asked Cecilia this question.
“Lady Cecilia, was there anything odd about Dorothy’s behavior right before the fire broke out?”
“I couldn’t keep an eye on her reactions every moment, but as far as I know, there was nothing.”
Cecilia’s answer hadn’t been categorical, but it gave Rita a valuable reference point.
She had just had a falling out with Dorothy, and then, right after, the enormous gate she had seen in the beetle’s memories appeared in the city. That meant Dorothy’s situation was passive as well.
Rita was no longer ignorant of magic. From Old Johnny, from Promi, she had picked up some basics about the rules of magic.
For example, a puppet cannot use powerful magic. Dorothy’s puppet certainly couldn’t, which was why Rita had been able to defeat it. Likewise, this gate should not have appeared in Sorus City; to move it here would require some sort of magic. And puppets were simply incapable of magic on such a scale—so the real Dorothy was not present.
Rita couldn’t guarantee that the Dorothy in this room wasn’t the real one, but she felt she had to try.
Hearing you ask like that, are you suspecting that I had something to do with this?
Dorothy narrowed her eyes in the room, asking in a cold voice.
“No, of course not, I don’t suspect Lady Dorothy of anything.”
Rita shook her head, stepped ahead of Cecilia by two paces, and lowered her head before Dorothy.
Her heart was pounding—though she was confident, she felt deeply uncertain.
If she guessed right, Angus would surely take her side—far simpler and more direct than any explanation.
But if she guessed wrong, or made a mistake, both her and Cecilia’s position would become extremely precarious.
Cecilia commented on Rita’s thinking:
“There is no such thing as absolute right or wrong in this world. People make decisions they regret. Instead of obsessing, why not act according to your heart?”
Just act first!
“In the future, when you speak—”
Dorothy shot a contemptuous glance, but before she could finish, Rita’s sheathed sword had already stabbed forward.
“I am certain you are involved in this.”
Dorothy’s expression darkened. A colorless vortex gathered before her palm, forming a wall of wind that blocked Rita’s thrust.
Tch, blocked?
But this wasn’t Rita’s real killing move anyway. Even against a puppet, she couldn’t guarantee a decisive blow, especially since the opponent was surely on guard.
Her real move was this!
Under several astonished gazes, Rita suddenly let go with her off-hand. The magic scroll she had clutched tightly since the beginning was flung directly onto Dorothy.
Rita had the habit of automatically picking things up—this one she had grabbed from the burning room that belonged to Dorothy. She didn’t know if it would be useful.
But a scroll carried by Dorothy couldn’t be bad, right?
Several whirlwinds burst from the scroll Rita threw, sweeping toward Dorothy. Dorothy had clearly not expected Rita to have this move, and was instantly slashed by several gusts.
Rita pressed the attack; Dorothy fell back repeatedly. After several exchanges, Rita’s dark blade struck Dorothy’s shoulder with precision, but the flames gathering at Dorothy’s side forced Rita to retreat.
Whirlwind, her sword—both had clearly wounded Dorothy, even if the injuries were minor. But that was enough.
Now, what stood before her—Rita, and surely Angus as well—was not a human.
Rita steadied herself, sword in one hand, and countered Dorothy, “Lady Dorothy, in such a critical moment, you don’t even deign to appear in person. May I ask, where are you now?”
The puppet lowered its gaze, looking at the torn hole in its clothes and the nonhuman form beneath. “Then let me ask you, you—”
Like a gust of wind, Rita flashed by at an astonishing speed. Dorothy’s head was already sent flying, rolling across the floor.
Rita lifted her foot and crushed the puppet’s head to dust.
Angus and Cecilia both knew Rita was fast, but they had never imagined she could behead Dorothy’s puppet in an instant.
The puppet only wobbled a few times, then raised its hand. Several fireballs blasted outward.
But this time, the target wasn’t Rita. It was Cecilia, who stood outside Rita’s protective range.
Useless!
Rita spun around, swung her sword, and knocked the fireballs aside—but as she instinctively moved to shield Cecilia, she realized something terrible.
The puppet’s temperature was rising rapidly. The massive explosion she’d experienced before was about to happen again.
At such close range, there was no way she could keep Cecilia safe.
Whoosh.
A staff swept past Rita’s cheek, striking the headless puppet square in the abdomen.
The staff sent the puppet crashing through the tightly closed window, flinging it out of the room.
A tremendous explosion shook the outside; even separated by more than ten meters, Rita could feel the searing heat. Every windowpane shattered in the blast.
But, they were safe—for the moment, at least.
Rita gritted her teeth. Even with the initiative, she had nearly failed.
She’d underestimated things. If Dorothy had said something she shouldn’t have just now, then even if Dorothy was involved, Rita and perhaps even Cecilia would’ve been unable to escape suspicion.
Luckily, she’d acted quickly enough to shut the puppet’s mouth in time. As for any lingering suspicion… that was still better than being exposed on the spot.
Rita stepped aside from Cecilia and bowed awkwardly to Angus.
“Lord Angus, thank you for your help.”
Angus did not directly respond, but addressed her with gravity.
“Rita.”
“Lord Angus, your orders.” Rita stood with sword in hand and bowed.
“The city is full of peril. Please escort Her Highness the Princess to safety beyond the city walls.” Angus turned to Cecilia, inclining his head in a respectful bow. “Your Highness, what do you think?”
Evacuate the city? Leaving aside whether it was safe outside, where could they go?
No, this wasn’t about taking refuge—he wanted them, her and Cecilia, to leave Sorus City at once. Rita was mulling this over when she saw Cecilia nod slightly. “No problem, let’s do as he says.”
In the corridor, Rita closely followed behind Cecilia. As soon as they left Angus’s sight, she spoke.
“Lady Cecilia, are we really going to just leave the city like this?”
“You actually figured it out? Not bad.” Cecilia praised, her pace unhurried.
Rita walked several steps before realizing Cecilia’s “not bad” was not just a compliment—it was also confirmation.
There was no need for Rita to stay and face unknown dangers. As a succubus, she could slip away while she had the chance.
But that gate was far from the end. The real trouble hadn’t even started. To just flee the city with Cecilia—Rita felt uneasy.
“But what about the people in the city?”
“You want to stay and help?” Cecilia raised an eyebrow.
“That’s right!” Rita replied immediately.
“But your current duty is not to abandon me to help others, but to ensure my safety and escort me out of the city.”
“That’s true, but I just thought—if I could help, I’d be able to save more people, right? Isn’t that the chivalric spirit you always talk about, Lady Cecilia?”
“Rita, you are not a citizen of Sorus City. You have no right to decide what others do next. Helping within your means is commendable, but charging forward blindly is not.”
Cecilia’s words made it clear that Rita shouldn’t meddle further. Rita knew her top priority was to protect Cecilia and get them out of this mess, yet she still harbored a small hope of saving more.
But Cecilia simply took her thoughts as a matter of course and continued to share her judgment:
“Angus’s current position comes from his military achievements. When facing crisis, he’ll do far better than you. Here, you’re just a person with some skill. But one person’s strength is extremely limited. Working outside the system, you can accomplish very little.”
“What’s more, if not for me and Dorothy coming here for the Holy Knight’s assessment, this city would never have suffered these disasters. The people of Sorus have done nothing wrong—they’re just caught in danger by coincidence.
“Angus’s logic isn’t hard to understand: as long as I’m not in this city, the danger will likely follow me elsewhere. And, if I’m gone, Angus can fight the looming threat without being hamstrung by concern for my safety.”
Rita could understand all this, but it was based on one premise: that Dorothy’s target was truly Cecilia.
Unfortunately, that premise had already been overturned by Cecilia herself. Dorothy wasn’t after Cecilia’s life. Leaving Sorus City with Cecilia would do nothing—it wouldn’t change anything.
“Lady Cecilia, so, are we really just… doing nothing?” Rita gritted her teeth, asking for confirmation.
“Of course not. I just said, don’t charge ahead blindly.” Cecilia stepped out of the building, gazing up at the towering gate in the clouds. “Right now, I am the one pointing the way for you.”