Mia Crowfield’s face turned pale as she entered the room. Gulp!
She must have guessed that someone was inside since the door was locked in a way that was different from usual.
Moreover, if the person inside was someone she suspected had killed her father, then it was only shocking.
Especially if that person was sitting on her bed fiddling with a gun.
…Did I go too far? Uh-oh!
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind but I quickly brushed it aside. If I really thought I went too far, I could just turn back time and adjust the situation again.
“W-What’s going on?” Squeak!
Mia looked between my face and the gun in my hand and asked.
“Do you know what this gun is?”
“……”
Mia Crowfield hesitated for a moment. She could have just said she didn’t know and moved on. Although it was found under the bed, it wasn’t in a particularly locked place. If she wasn’t someone who already knew about it like me, she would have never noticed.
So, she could easily argue that it had just been there all along, and she had no clue.
But the problem was, it was me she was dealing with.
It wasn’t important that I knew this space existed in the first place; what mattered was that people around me saw me as some kind of genius.
The Emperor and those kids acted as if I had almost prophetic abilities, and I showcased my terrifying powers during the last class.
So, they would think I could find something hidden under a bed.
But showing what I really found was a whole different ball game.
“It’s illegal to bring a firearm on campus. Did you not know that?”
How I snuck it in isn’t important. The key point is that I got caught.
“May I ask why you brought this gun?”
I said while looking up at Mia Crowfield, still sitting on the bed.
“…W-Well…”
Mia hesitated for a bit. Her face was still turning a sickly shade of green, trembling a bit, which was almost pitiful.
After all, it might not have been her fault. The one at fault was her father. And perhaps that Baroness too.
She honestly knew nothing and just grew up listening to her parents.
And she still hadn’t even used the gun.
But according to Empire law, the story changes.
Getting expelled from the academy was a given, and the reason for hiding a firearm could lead her to face the death penalty.
Plus, with circumstantial evidence, if the Emperor wanted, he could pin anything on her.
Meaning, it was a far more dangerous situation compared to when Count Crowfield died. If justified, they could eliminate the entire Crowfield family.
After all, I’m a princess! Dun-dun-DUN!
“D-Do you plan to kill me?”
Mia Crowfield, struggling to form a coherent sentence, finally asked me that.
“…Let’s close the door behind us and talk.”
Only after I said that did Mia Crowfield hurriedly close the door.
Silence. Zzzz…
In the locked room, it was just the two of us. Alice knew about what I said beforehand, but no one else knew I had a bad relationship with Mia Crowfield.
“Could you explain why you think I’ll kill you?”
“…B-Because I’m a Crowfield!”
“Well, then you should also know I can’t just kill you, the Count’s daughter, without any reason, right?”
“B-But my father…”
Mia Crowfield gulped again before continuing.
“My father was killed, and you…”
“……”
I quietly stared at Mia Crowfield.
Did she say that based on some kind of evidence, or was it merely a blind belief?
Last time, I revealed the truth first and asked questions, but it was also important to understand how she was aware of such a situation.
“May I ask why you’re so certain?”
I inquired.
“……”
Mia Crowfield squeezed her eyes shut then opened them again, saying, “…On the day my father died, you weren’t at the Imperial Palace.”
“……”
I waited for a moment, but she didn’t continue her sentence.
“Is that the only evidence you have?”
“It’s not just that. Noble deaths are often followed by one of the Emperor’s children disappearing from the Palace.”
“……”
Indeed.
The Emperor probably had no intention of hiding that fact. No, he likely showed it off. Acting like a noble who didn’t listen to my words deserved to be taken down.
That’s why it made sense for her to have such certainty.
And the truth is, I did kill Mia Crowfield’s father.
“So you seek revenge, huh? By killing me?”
“…”
Yet she couldn’t answer my question properly.
Was she afraid of me? That if she got the answer wrong, I might just kill her on the spot? So she’d end up being unable to properly seek revenge?
“…I’m not sure…”
Mia Crowfield hesitated for a moment and said in an uncertain tone.
“…I don’t know.”
“……”
Now?
So after preparing a gun and Marmaros, she was still questioning whether to kill me or not?
I drifted off into thought.
In the original work, Mia had tried to kill Claire but ultimately gave up, and that change occurred after she got solid proof of her father’s actions against Crowfield. But that story was still far ahead.
Since Claire’s appearance, Mia Crowfield’s suspicions had never wavered.
Could that unwavering doubt be shaken by my appearance?
To be precise, wasn’t it easier to kill me? I mean, regardless of the means, psychologically speaking.
I’m just an emotionless killing machine. Someone who wouldn’t feel the slightest remorse for killing someone, that kind of person.
Wouldn’t it be actually easier to kill me since I’d shown no human side?
“…I want to ask you one thing.”
Mia Crowfield said.
“Why did you show such human emotions in a deserted place?”
“…Human emotions?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
Human emotions? Did I do something funny when no one was around?
Mia Crowfield, continuing her story, looked like she had thrown something away. Her face bore an expression of exhaustion from thinking too much, as if she just wanted to fall asleep and forget everything after going through too many things all at once.
“…I followed you.”
…Huh?
“I was trying to observe what you do when no one is around.”
…What?
“And… once I was sure no one was there, you acted just like a normal person. You sniffled, yawned, and sat down, dozing off.”
“……”
What in the world was she talking about? When did I do something like that?
…Oh.
A chill ran down my spine.
While I was always tense, knowing someone was hunting me in the Imperial Palace, the real problem was when Lucas hadn’t ‘killed’ me.
Unless Lucas popped out and said, “Surprise! I’m here!” I wouldn’t have any idea where Lucas was lurking.
So, I had no choice but to stick to my usual persona. If not, Lucas would report everything to the Emperor regarding my behavior. Even if Lucas has a cocky attitude in front of the Emperor, nobody could deny that he harbored respect for him.
He genuinely wanted to kill me in the end, but still…
Yet after coming to the academy… I might have relaxed a bit too much.
Mia Crowfield had followed me?
“When did you start?”
“Just answer my question first.”
Mia Crowfield still looked confused as she talked to me.
But there was a certain determination in her eyes. She seemed intent on getting an answer out of me.
“Was everything you did an act? Just to confuse me?”
“……”
“Is it true that you killed my father? Did you come into my room to silence me? I don’t know. What’s your logic behind your actions? What’s your consistency?”
“……”
Hmm.
Mia must have been following me for at least a week. She could only have seen me dozing off while waiting for the carriage that early dawn.
I must have done all that yawning and sniffing then too.
But there was no evidence that she hadn’t been trailing me before that. If I turned back time to prevent that moment, at least I could hide that specific image… but the problem is that there was no evidence I hadn’t been caught before or after that moment.
If I were to turn back time… I’d better turn back to the beginning of the semester completely.
As this conclusion sank in, I felt a sense of dread wash over me.
It was the weekend of the second week, but so much had happened in that span that I still felt overwhelmed. I had the ability to turn back time, but I had no ability to fast forward.
I’d barely set everything up to come to my desired conclusion, and now I was supposed to redo everything from the beginning because of this one thing?
No, well, sure.
I could probably handle it faster. Although the speed of time passing is the same, I would end up making far fewer turns.
The question was, even if I did rewind, could I maintain the relationship I’d built with every character until now?
For others, I might be meeting them for the first time, but by my standards, I’d seen them multiple times.
Could I really act as if this was the first time meeting them and keep up the image I’d built so far effective enough?
Moreover, I didn’t want to lose those feelings either. The sense of awe I’d experienced upon meeting characters I liked from the game for the very first time. If I erased those memories and experiences, that feeling would diminish.
No matter how much I might have dissociated from that game, those feelings were genuine.
Even with Mia Crowfield standing right in front of me now.
…
“Please answer me.”
Mia Crowfield, who had been silent, was now almost pleading.
“Why did you go out of your way to talk to me, trying to solve this together when no one else was around? What was the reason behind you being so nonchalant in front of me?”
The more I listened to her, the more I realized I had been overlooking so much.
“……”
I raised one hand to cut Mia off mid-sentence.
After sorting my thoughts in my head, I slowly spoke.
“…I know about the truth.”
Yeah, rather than turning back and starting over, it might be wiser to escape the situation first and then slowly reestablish my stance.
“But I can’t tell you just yet.”
I looked straight at Mia Crowfield and said.
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