Lobelia believed that the only person she had reason to fear was the Emperor.
The harsh life within the imperial family had long since stripped her of the very emotion called fear.
She had grown accustomed to assassination attempts and poisonings.
At some point, she found herself no longer feeling fear in the face of death threats.
Now, there was only one kind of situation that could make her feel fear—
Something incomprehensible.
The Emperor she had observed for more than a decade was like that, and so was the power of the Prophet shown by Kult.
In other words, nothing else could stir her heart in the slightest.
But now—
“N-No way… No, it can’t be. It just can’t.”
“Puhihihihi.”
Lobelia felt fear.
This fear was on a completely different level from anything she had felt before.
It wasn’t the fear of something incomprehensible, but the fear of something crystal clear—
The destruction she had brought upon herself.
“Your Highness, if the Magic Tower ever needs anything in the future, please come to me.”
“….…”
“As a candidate for the next Tower Master, I’ll even give you a special discount.”
“…I see.”
Even after that, Yuna kept rambling on about something, but nothing reached Lobelia’s ears.
Her mind had already drifted off to some faraway utopia.
Unlike her usual confident self, she staggered as she barely managed to stand, then left the Magic Tower.
She was exhausted.
She had never been so tormented in her life.
Perhaps that’s why—
Even though it was still early in the morning, a tavern caught her eye.
“Oh…”
For students of the Cradle, drinking had never been an unfamiliar culture.
Considering the countless acts of terrorism and the deaths of people they knew, it was inevitable that many students were suffering from PTSD.
Even now, there were plenty of students who couldn’t fall asleep without getting drunk.
After all, nobles always had ample opportunities to drink.
For the sake of proper socializing, it was practically unavoidable.
Of course, back then it was when adults offered them alcohol, and now the situation was different—
But by the time Lobelia was thinking through such roundabout excuses in her head, her decision was already made.
“Haa…”
She never imagined there would come a day when she actually craved alcohol.
Letting out a sigh, Lobelia began walking toward the tavern.
***
After Tillis left, I immersed myself in my studies and research.
“Ah, I’m so tired.”
Lately, I feel like I’ve really been living life to the fullest.
High-level magic spells were truly tricky to learn, each and every one of them.
Even though they were grouped under the same category of illusion magic, learning other types of spells feels completely different.
Still, thanks to Ariel’s explanations, I’ve at least gotten a sense of direction—
If I had tried to do this alone, I’d probably still be stuck in place.
My research was going smoothly as well.
Thanks to the synthesis formula I received from the Scriptwriter, I’ve managed to mass-produce a large number of samples.
So now all that’s left is the repetitive work.
Of course, the cost of reagents is astronomical, but who cares? It’s not my money anyway.
Combat training, on the other hand, was a little slow.
It’s not that I’m slacking off or not working hard—
It’s just that my stamina can’t keep up.
I mean, I was already studying and doing research, and then I was supposed to swing a sword and use magic on top of that?
I’m too tired to do it.
I still tried to put in my best effort during the combat training sessions that were part of the curriculum.
But I didn’t have the time to practice separately.
Even right now, it was the same.
“Whew, I’m a bit late today.”
By the time I wrapped up today’s experiments and stepped out of the workshop,
The sun had already disappeared, and only the stars glittered across the night sky.
I don’t know how much time has passed, but judging by how tired my body feels, it must be pretty late.
“Oh, Johan. What are you doing here at this hour?”
“Research. What about you guys? Why are you still training this late?”
“Well, this is our daily routine. But wow, you’re working hard, huh? I mean, you’re weak, so at least you’re studying—”
“Hey, it’s not like I’m actually weak.”
I exchanged a few casual words with a classmate whose name I didn’t even know.
Still, I think I’ve blended into my class pretty well since the second semester started.
When I walk around like this, there are even people who recognize me now.
Of course, that might be because I spent the entire first year practically hiding from everyone.
These days, I’m not living as cautiously as before.
So I’ve at least opened up a bit and built some acquaintances.
But that in itself was a little scary.
If these people come to be considered part of my “circle”, would I really be able to abandon them and run if I faced a terrorist attack?
If they were complete strangers, maybe.
But people I’ve exchanged greetings with?
And if I think about it the other way around—
If they saw me in danger, they might even risk their lives to save me.
That thought alone felt unbearably heavy.
“Hmm?”
As I walked along, exchanging greetings with passing students and mulling over those thoughts—
I spotted another familiar face.
But this wasn’t someone I could just wave to in passing.
I immediately prepared myself to bow before overwhelming authority.
Only those who’ve done it know—
It was best to get ready ahead of time.
If you’re careless, you can lose your balance or even hurt your back.
So before bending at a full ninety degrees, it’s wise to do a little stretching.
“Your Highness, I hope you’ve been well—”
“Johan Damus!”
“Yes? Uh…”
Just as I was about to naturally bow my head, Lobelia suddenly shouted my name in a tone far louder than I had ever imagined from her usual demeanor.
Thanks to that, the students passing by all stopped in unison and turned their attention toward us.
I halted my bow and took a moment to observe Lobelia’s condition.
Her face was flushed. Her movements were steady and composed, but just the sight of the liquor bottle in her grip was enough to tell me she was drunk.
The worst-case scenario.
No one could predict what a drunken person in power might do.
And to make matters worse, she seemed angry as well.
“Johan… Damus!”
“Yes, Your Highness. Please give your command.”
I decided to act in a way that left no room for reproach.
If I happened to offend her, there was a high chance my back would end up bent in half.
I reminded myself not to forget. She was perfectly capable of doing that to me physically.
“You… are truly… impossible to understand.”
“My apologies.”
“Whenever I get involved with you, everything becomes a mess. You, and only you…”
“Please, wait a moment, Your Highness.”
“Only you can make me feel this strange. Just what are you?”
“…….”
I instinctively realized something.
I had no idea what exactly she was rambling about.
I didn’t know what kind of grievance she had with me, but there was one thing I was certain of—
I knew exactly how this scene would look in the eyes of others.
“Ah, damn it…”
I was dead.
***
Alright, let’s take a moment to sort things out.
What should I do about this? What was I supposed to do about Lobelia’s explosive declaration?
First things first, let’s acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.
What would grace the front page of tomorrow morning’s paper had already been decided.
I hadn’t expected to end up predicting the future like this, though.
“Hmm…”
Honestly, I wasn’t all that angry about Lobelia’s blunder itself.
It could happen to anyone.
If someone other than her had done it, it would have been nothing more than a passing incident.
The problem was that she was an imperial member and that she had many political enemies.
Because Lobelia had blurted out nonsense without realizing that fact, my situation had suddenly become dangerous.
Expecting rational judgment from someone who was drunk was a tall order, so I had no choice but to chalk this up to something inevitable.
Now then, back to the matter at hand.
“What am I going to do about this…?”
It was far too provocative a topic.
By tomorrow, rumors would likely start circulating that Lobelia and I had that kind of relationship.
If that happened, other imperial members who were always waiting for a chance to exploit her weaknesses would start keeping a close eye on me as well.
If things went badly, the narrative could easily become one where I was kidnapped, tortured, and used to threaten Lobelia.
“I see… so that’s how it is.”
Laying out the situation made me realize the truth.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t angry about Lobelia’s mistake. It was that I was so furious I’d gone completely cold.
These damned imperial members had never once been of any help to my life!
“Good grief…”
Fortunately, I knew exactly how to handle this situation; otherwise, this could have been a real disaster.
From the outside, it might have looked dangerous, but having lived through modern-day Earth, I could see this was a situation I could turn around with ease.
“First, I’ll calculate just what I can squeeze out of Lobelia using this as leverage…”
This incident was 100% Lobelia’s fault, so she wouldn’t be able to say much in protest.
She had oppressed me with her power until now, but that ended here.
From this point on, I would be the one holding the advantage.
“Well then.”
I immediately pulled out the silver mirror I had hidden under the drawer.
Tomorrow morning’s front page was already decided, and changing that would be next to impossible.
No, changing it now would be like pouring oil on a burning house.
In situations like this, you don’t avoid them; you face them head-on.
And fortunately, I was confident in my ability to sway public opinion.
I immediately activated the silver mirror.
“Cattleya, are you available right now?”
“Huh? Me? I don’t really mind, but what’s going on this late at night?”
“Let’s start a project tomorrow.”
“A project? What kind of project? And what’s in it for me?”
“I’ve got some killer material. I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.”
“Well, now you’ve got me curious. You have some juicy information?”
“Yes.”
Tomorrow morning, the world would be buzzing with rumors of a love story between me and Lobelia.
But by the afternoon, the tables would turn.
“We’re going to leak that an antidote for the ‘mood poison’ exists.”
“What…?”
Cattleya’s voice trembled.
It was just a short response, but in those few words, I could hear the thrill in her voice.
After all, this was about the weakness of the person she hated most. The Second Prince, Loki.
“You can’t run this in a newspaper, right? So, spread the word through people instead.”
A sensational article comes out?
Then just bury it with an even more sensational rumor.
Of course, considering the Second Prince’s temperament, there were few newspapers that would dare to print something like this.
Even if one did, it wouldn’t last long.
Loki was the one who most resembled Abraham’s cruelty.
But what if the rumor started spreading in the midst of the morning’s romance scandal?
“Andvaranaut is good with crowds, right?”
“That’s right.”
Some people would think this:
The Second Prince Loki spread the dating rumor to hide his own weakness.
Of course, the truth didn’t matter in the slightest.
After all, who would believe that some idiot would leak such information just to cover up a dating rumor?
“So, do you like the idea?”
“Mhmm, I like it. But… surely that’s not all? You know…something like a gift to strengthen our relationship even more.”
“Ah, I see.”
Hearing the subtle tone in Cattleya’s voice, I replied with a smile.
“I’ll bring along a sample of the antidote next time we meet.”
“Perfect. Then I’ll be looking forward to it. Just give me a day, and we’ll make sure there isn’t a soul in the capital who hasn’t heard the news.”
All right, you imperial members.
From here on, tear each other apart.
***
The next day.
The newspaper front page featured a love story between Princess Lobelia and Johan Damus.
At the same time, rumors about the Second Prince Loki were also making the rounds.
But Lobelia had no room in her mind to pay attention to that—
Ever since she got her hands on the paper early that morning, she had wanted nothing more than to die.
She swore she would never drink again.
With that thought, she lowered her head, feeling a headache that was nothing like a hangover.
“What am I supposed to do with this…?”
She had turned to alcohol in an attempt to escape reality….only to shatter it completely with her drunken antics.
This isn’t the kind of escape I wanted…
Lobelia racked her brain, trying to figure out how to fix this mess.
First, she needed to apologize.
An apology to Johan.
An apology to Ariel.
Easier said than done. But the road to doing so looked impossibly rough.
“What a nuisance I’ve been.”
Her face burned hot.
She had done something unforgivable to Johan who had gone out of his way to avoid getting entangled with her.
And what about Ariel?
To be honest, Lobelia didn’t have the courage to face Ariel.
She truly didn’t know what kind of expression she should wear and she had no idea what expression Ariel would have for her, either.
But regardless of her worries, events were moving forward quickly.
“Your Highness, may I come in?”
“Uh… y-yes, I suppose…”
At the sound of Ariel’s voice knocking at her door, Lobelia trembled all over like a puppy caught in the rain.
What kind of fear was this?
How should she say it?
If she wanted to apologize and explain that it was all a misunderstanding, how on earth should she word it?
As the door began to open, Lobelia ran through countless possible sentences in her mind, preparing herself.
“Your Highness, what is going on here?”
But the instant her eyes met Ariel’s cool frosty gaze, every carefully arranged thought in her head was completely bleached away.
Seeing a cold expression on her friend’s face….something she had never once experienced before, Lobelia spoke in a trembling voice.
“I’m sorry…”
It was, unfortunately, a line that could be taken in entirely the wrong way.
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