“Big Brother? You really are plagued by misfortune, aren’t you? Who attacked you this time? Was it the rebels?”
“Eveleel, are you satisfied seeing me like this now?”
Late at night, at a fork on the northern main road of Moravia, Eveleel stood guard with several dozen of her trusted guards.
When Valenrian saw her, he was momentarily stunned.
He didn’t dwell on why his little sister would show up here—he simply thought she was here to enjoy his misery.
“What are you talking about, Big Brother? I’m sincerely here awaiting your triumphant return.”
She wasn’t lying. If her brother didn’t return along this road, it would truly trouble her.
Su Yao hadn’t told her the details of the plan to attack Valenrian’s guard, but she supposed that the worst-case scenario would be her mistakenly killing Valenrian herself.
Though Eveleel knew that little golden-haired loli was strong, she still didn’t know the extent of Su Yao’s power.
But today, after seeing that fleeting pillar of blue fire in town, she was reassured.
Having read every human magic tome in this world, she recognized it as the seventh-tier fire spell, “Blue Hellfire.”
For a human army, a high-ranking fire mage is a nightmare.
Eveleel had worried more than once about whether she would ever see her brother again, but luckily, that loli was true to her word.
“You’ve got to be kidding! Eveleel, do you really take me for a fool?”
“How could I? You’re my esteemed big brother.”
To be honest, Valenrian wasn’t stupid, even somewhat clever—but that only applied to “normal people.” To Eveleel, this level of “cleverness” was just right for manipulation.
“Drop the lousy act. When I went to the inn to find you, I never mentioned how many monsters had entered the city. How did you know there were so many monsters?”
“Um…”
“And, I led the guards to the Dungeon to hunt down the criminal. Even moving quickly, a round trip would take at least three days before returning to Moravia. How did you know I’d be back tonight…?”
“See? You really are quite smart, aren’t you?”
The torchlight wasn’t enough to illuminate the girl’s expression, but Valenrian could sense her tone was completely different from before.
“That golden-haired loli isn’t just some ‘pet.’ You and she, along with Hilvi, the three of you are in cahoots! Who’s behind you? The Rhine Empire?”
“You’re only half right. Keep trying, maybe you’ll guess it all?”
Again, she used that tone as if he were a clown.
This time, though, he had his Record Crystal on him the whole time.
The griffin ridden by that loli could only be found in the northern mountains of the Rhine Empire. That proved the other side were spies from a neighboring country, and then there was Eveleel’s own outright admission just now.
“No need for more! In the name of the Vichy Royal Family and as Royal Prince, I command you all—Third Princess Eveleel has committed treason! Seize her for me!”
He already had enough evidence. As long as he handed the Record Crystal to his father, Eveleel’s collusion with enemy agents to sabotage his wedding would be nailed down beyond question.
Even the Princess Guard ought to swear loyalty to the Vichy Kingdom. As long as they obeyed his order, this wretched sister wouldn’t escape punishment…
It should have been so, but besides the dozen or so ordinary guard soldiers, no one else responded to his command.
“What’s going on? Are you all rebelling?”
“Go ahead—clear them out. Take care of all those guards who shouldn’t be kept around.”
At the girl’s order, all her guards sprang into action. Weapons flashed as they attacked the last of Valenrian’s remaining soldiers.
Exhausted as they were, the guard soldiers were no match for Eveleel’s loyalists. In moments, Valenrian’s side fell into utter disadvantage.
The fight lasted barely a dozen minutes before it ended. Only Deputy Captain Bam remained at his side—no one else left to help him.
Eveleel’s guards surrounded them, blocking off any hope of escape.
“You’ve won, Eveleel. I’ll hand over the evidence. The throne… I don’t want it anymore. Please, tell your people to stop—brother begs you.”
“Oh? Really? To be honest, it’s a headache for me too. If my subordinates kill you, they’ll carry the Mark of Vengeance. If it’s traced back to me, it’d hardly be worth it.”
She spoke in a playful, mocking tone. Valenrian couldn’t see where she felt troubled at all.
“That’s right, so I promise I won’t say anything about tonight. Add those two conditions from just now, spare me. With Captain Bam here, don’t push me into a corner!”
“Mmm~ How scary~ ‘Don’t push me into a corner?’ Captain Bam?”
“Ah—”
Eveleel softly called out the name of the man who was Valenrian’s last hope.
A stabbing pain shot up from behind Valenrian’s knees.
His once-handsome face slammed into the ground with no defense, and the pampered prince let out a heart-rending scream.
“Heal~”
The girl walked over to the once-arrogant prince, chanting the incantation for a basic healing spell.
A gentle light glowed at the tip of her wooden Magic Wand.
Noticing the space magic, Bam’s eyes lit up, but he merely bowed and withdrew behind Eveleel.
The screams faded into moans. After easing some of the pain, the healing magic stopped at just the right moment.
“Sister… spare me…”
“Mmm~ Back then, when Hilvi promised to give you her Chamber of Commerce if you’d leave her alone, what did you say?”
Eveleel bent down, smiling as she stared at the astonished prince.
“Is it really for something… something like that?”
“That’s right~”
Valenrian strained to look up, finally seeing the girl’s face clearly as he wished.
Her lips curved into a smile, but her blue eyes were cold and lifeless.
Those eyes cared nothing for the man groveling before her—or for anything in the world.
In those eyes, he saw only anger and contempt.
Perhaps this was Eveleel’s truest self…
“So that’s how it is… aha… hahahahaha…”
It wasn’t for Hilvi’s Chamber of Commerce, nor for the throne, nor even because she conspired with another nation. How absurd—his ambition had been ruined by a “freak.”
He wondered what expression her beloved girl would wear if she saw her like this.
“Don’t worry~ my dear brother, though I really dislike and even hate you, you’ve helped me greatly. I won’t kill you. I’ll pay you back for everything you did to Hilvi—but I’ll have someone else do it. As for when? Let’s say… for the rest of your life~”
……
With everything settled, Eveleel no longer cared about the “former prince” who coveted her beloved, leaving him to be stuffed into a sack and taken away by her subordinates.
“Captain Bam.”
“Here.”
“Here, ‘Blood of the True Ancestor.’”
Eveleel pulled out a small vial and tossed it to her “own man.” He caught it and carefully put it away.
“Don’t forget, the Blood of the True Ancestor is both a cure for your wife and a curse. If you breathe a word of what happened tonight…”
“I understand!”
Some stayed behind to clean up the scene, while others were summoned to Eveleel’s side.
There was nothing in Moravia worth lingering for anymore.
Bathed in moonlight, the girl and her loyal followers hurried toward the Dungeon.