“Ha ha ha…. Ha ha ha ha ha!”
If you had to name the most precious place in the Imperial Capital, it would obviously be the Imperial Palace. After all, that’s where the Emperor resides, and where all the empire-related business is conducted.
But strangely enough, today, there were two princesses, both of whom were highly coveted by the citizens, gathered there. And they were glaring at each other with a ton of hostility.
“Solana. Have you finally lost your mind?”
Hedera said while wiping her eyes with her finger.
But there was no answer.
Hedera had to ask again.
“Answer me, have you lost your mind or not?”
Ordinary folks would have crumbled just facing Hedera’s sharp questions, but Solana maintained a benign expression as if nothing was wrong.
“2nd Princess, I am completely sane.”
In an utterly calm tone.
It might have seemed like she was trying to sort things out, but Hedera saw through her stubborn hostility.
It looked like Solana was fully prepared to take things to the end.
…Like pouring oil on a burning house and fanning the flames.
“From the start, I’ve never said anything wrong, right?”
“…What?”
Hedera reflexively asked back. She suddenly felt her thoughts slow down as she faced such an unusual situation.
The 2nd Princess was about to probe further, but Solana continued, very gently.
“It’s me who has always shown unwavering interest in our teacher and brought him from the remote village to the capital, introducing him to the Inspector of the Magic Tower.”
In fact, Solana had been uneasy since the duel.
Ezekiel was not only the teacher she respected but also the man she loved. But the moment he got seriously injured, terrifying memories from the past resurfaced.
─ I cannot guarantee healing.
─ With the current Holy Power of the 3rd Princess, it’s still a stretch…
A future with no guarantees, her lacking abilities, and the teacher looking precarious…. The anxiety from that day that she had been trying to suppress bubbled up once again.
In the end, a psychological defense mechanism kicked in.
There was nothing her teacher had done wrong.
Right, the bad ones were the fox-like people who rushed to her teacher’s side and created misfortune. So she needed to shake them all off to ensure safety.
How logical this was, how right it was…. Such things didn’t really matter. For now, if she didn’t do this, Solana wouldn’t be able to hold on either.
Solana parted her lips again.
“2nd Princess, now you’re showing a great deal of interest in the teacher. Why? Have you finally done your calculations? That garbage-like Magic Tower is starting to look like a honey pot, huh?”
“Stop with the nonsense. I’m not just doing this for the Magic Tower; I’m also trying to repay the kindness shown by the Inspector towards me…”
Hedera hesitated, unsure where to start explaining, and suddenly realized a gigantic truth.
She began piecing together a puzzle in her mind.
What Ezekiel wanted was Hedera’s happiness, wasn’t it?
There was enough evidence. The actions shown by the Inspector and everything written in the letters served as proof.
…Although Solana had worked so hard, Ezekiel was actually laboring for Hedera’s happiness. Wasn’t that the very reason Solana had no choice but to burn with anger?
At least, Hedera understood the situation like that.
“…”
As soon as she recalled it, all her anger dissipated, and composure set in. Unlike before, she could now look at Solana with a gaze that seemed to dismiss her as trivial.
The feeling of superiority, knowing that Ezekiel’s favor was directed towards her?
A sadistic desire to put arrogant Solana in her place?
Or maybe, a desire for revenge against breaking the rules?
Most likely, all three.
Hedera then smiled brightly.
“Yeah, Solana. I finally understand your heart.”
But her tone lacked any compassion. The smirk behind Hedera’s mask was full of mockery.
“Now you’re anxious and nervous, aren’t you?”
Solana shook her head firmly.
“Let’s stop with the strange assumptions. I simply find it disgusting when the 2nd Princess acts opportunistically…”
“Always watching for opportunities, changing your attitude based on the situation, and even becoming obsessive. That’s you, no doubt.”
At those words, it seemed Solana’s composure slightly cracked.
Her face, which had only looked benevolent, started to harden gradually. She glared at Hedera, but Hedera continued speaking without a care.
“I thought making you Inspector would bring all good things, but seeing you work solely for yourself seems to have made you anxious, huh? Blinded by jealousy, even.”
“….”
“You, I mean.”
Hedera’s eyes narrowed mischievously.
“Wanting the Inspector to do well, but not wanting him to get hurt, and on top of that, hoping other women wouldn’t approach? Why so indecisive?”
“Is it wrong to have those feelings at the same time? It might not be ideal, but I consider it normal.”
“Sure, those feelings aren’t wrong.”
The expressions of the two women began to contrast sharply.
Solana’s expression continued to harden while amusement slowly spread across Hedera’s eyes.
“But,”
Hedera said, pronouncing each word like a sentence.
“If you just sit and wait, thinking you’ll be rewarded with something, that’s where you’re mistaken.”
“Waiting is also a virtue, you know. Maybe you don’t understand.”
“Waiting is that amazing? Not at all.”
Hedera shook her head.
“You can’t seize it. You didn’t stand out enough, so you have no choice but to wait. That’s a sign of helplessness.”
Hedera, who had been abandoned because she waited during her childhood.
Solana, who was rewarded because she waited during her childhood.
The paths their two lives had taken were so distinct that their beliefs about waiting were bound to differ.
Hedera spat it out as if chewing on the words.
“If you just sit still waiting, it’s only natural to lose it.”
“…Thief.”
Solana expressed her hostility strongly, but Hedera was no longer annoyed. Quite the opposite, every time Solana responded like that, her mood improved.
“Why, did I explain too vividly? And it’s not just about taking the Inspector away. This is ultimately for the public good.”
Solana let out a scoff as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Public good? How is this pursuing the public good?”
“The more I take care of the Inspector, the more the Magic Tower will thrive, and I’m also steadily preparing for the Ascension Ceremony. If this isn’t pursuing the public good, then what is?”
“That’s how the 2nd Princess always is. Always cloaked in grandiosity while merely satisfying her own selfish desires.”
Solana’s voice trembled slightly.
It was proof that her concealed fury was far from trivial.
“If the 2nd Princess becomes a dragon, wouldn’t the one benefiting the most be her? It’s not for the public good; it’s just to take even one thing more for herself, isn’t it?”
“To take? No, it’s to prevent losing.”
“A plausible statement, rationalization, pretending to be good… I get it. You’re not a thief. You’re a brazen robber.”
This was the first time Solana had laid her feelings bare so openly, but Hedera managed to keep her composure while facing it all.
The fact that Solana was losing her benign expression meant that Hedera had taken the advantage.
“Solana, don’t think of the Inspector as your creation. He would have shone no matter what.”
“So, have you been leaving him alone all this time? Thinking that way makes your past quite rationalized, doesn’t it?”
“What matters more is not how I’ve treated the Inspector until now, but what I can do for him in the future.”
Solana, who had steadfastly kept her heart, versus Hedera, who was now ready to do much more.
Their positions were starkly different and firmly opposed.
Neither Solana nor Hedera thought they had made a mistake. At least, they believed their convictions could not be wrong.
“Whoever stays here, or whoever occupies the Celestial Realm soon, it’s obvious who could provide more. So…”
“…No more rationalizations.”
At some point, Solana interrupted Hedera’s words.
And at the same time, she snuck in.
“2nd Princess, if you’re so amazing, and able to do good, then why do you keep receiving help?”
“What?”
For a moment, doubt flashed over Hedera’s eyes, but Solana continued in a flat tone.
“You received help with the Imperial Treasury’s Elemental Rampage, and help with the Dragon Speech interpretation…. With all that talent and that ability to do good, why are you always receiving help?”
Hedera was left speechless.
“While rationalizing it like it’s fine to reward later, you’ve ultimately never given anything, have you? You’re just pretending to care for the teacher.”
Thinking about it, she wasn’t wrong.
We don’t live for the future; we live for the now.
Even the future ends up being the present when we experience it.
Hedera was caught up in the thought that she would do something amazing for the future. But at the present moment, hadn’t she shown even a warm word or a single instance of encouragement?
…What exactly had she done?
Solana clicked her tongue.
“Stick around, you parasite.”
Solana’s decisive blow.
The tide turned again with that.
Hedera instantly lost the composure she had been maintaining. With wide-open eyes, she readied for a counterattack.
“You, as a Saintess, can’t distinguish between things you should say and shouldn’t?”
“It’s only natural for the impious to hear harsh words.”
“…You really want to go, don’t you?”
Hedera’s pupils dilated vertically.
The entire space began to shake under her intense spirit, but Solana didn’t back down either. An oddly sharp golden aura flared up around her.
Zzzt— Zzap—!
Cracks started to appear on the dining hall floor.
Clatter!
Dishes on the table began to fall one by one with no strength left.
“Solana, I can’t believe you…”
“Finally, the 2nd Princess is revealing her true colors.”
Just when it seemed they would collide at any moment.
Hedera uttered a clever idea.
“Okay. Then let’s ask the person in question.”
The gazes of the two princesses quickly turned to a man.
“Inspector, you decide.”
The question they had both desperately wanted to avoid.
“…Is it me, or Solana?”
Eventually, it had come to that.
“…”
Had she ever faced such a difficult question in her life? She had faced countless harrowing missions but never one like this before.
“…”
Ezekiel quietly chewed on the Sunweed.
‘…Why wasn’t I in my right mind?’
It was a moment where he was genuinely curious about himself.
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