As soon as I spoke, I tried to step with Elise to dance, but there’s no way a country bumpkin raised in the Forest of the Demon Realm could dance properly.
Hoo hoo.
“Is it funny?”
“If you had danced well, that would have been funnier.”
…
“Come on, move to my feet. You seem like someone with good rhythm; you can catch on quickly.”
“Why not just go talk somewhere over there instead of dancing?”
“You’re already on stage, aren’t you?”
It was true, having found myself right in the middle of people dancing, I eventually managed to move my feet in tune with Elise’s steps, and surprisingly, it was easier than I expected.
“Wow, you learn quickly! You really seem to have a natural talent for physical activities.”
“Cut the unnecessary chatter.”
Having started to dance somewhat naturally, I glared at the Elise wearing the swan mask.
“Why did you cause such a commotion?”
In response to my question, Elise let out a peculiar laugh and asked back.
“What do you mean by that?”
…You aren’t planning to speak?
“I’d actually like to ask you. Why are you here at this banquet, and on what grounds do you suspect me?”
I turned while mimicking the movements of the people around us and wrapped my hand around Elise’s waist.
We were close enough that our masks could almost touch.
Feeling pleased, I stared into her eyes hidden behind the mask.
“Fine, if you keep dodging, I’ll just play along until the end.”
With the orchestra’s elegant music playing, amidst the noble patrons wearing playful masks, Elise and I began to decode why I was there.
“It all started on a late night when we were returning from Yggdrasil. Since we crossed the border, we had to stay in Bethel, where the guards recommended a hotel.”
“A kind person, eh?”
“Yeah, if it was an ordinary hotel. But the place the guards recommended turned out to be a Murder Hotel that ambushes guests.”
No surprise or concern crossed her face.
She clearly understood that I knew everything already and didn’t want to waste my energy unnecessarily.
“The owner of the hotel was an old lady infused with the powers of a Magical Beast called Death Spider. If she so desired, she possessed stealth abilities that could elude any human.”
“How fascinating.”
“Yeah, seeing that made me realize that the Tudogs were connected to the hotel. The next day, I went to find the guard who had recommended the hotel.”
…
While speaking, I unintentionally tangled my feet, but Elise smoothly spun and continued dancing.
“However, he was a person with no connections at all. In fact, many people only praised the hotel, so he merely showed us kindness as we entered Bethel late at night.”
I took a breath, stepping a little harder as I continued.
“Now, here’s where it gets strange. ‘Many’ people recommended the Murder Hotel? The number of people who actually come out of there alive is minuscule!”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
Elise nodded nonchalantly.
“Next, we have Sen and Inspector Heini Rosales making their entrance.”
…
“The two got information on the Tudogs and came to Bethel. But isn’t it odd? How can those who were hiding themselves so well let out information from two sources at once?”
Plus, Sen wasn’t even affiliated with the Chokugen Faction and was operating as an individual.
I concluded that someone had deliberately leaked information to both of them.
“Additionally, Hayun’s uncle Heaven Len also appeared. At this point, they’re clearly not hiding anything.”
“Indeed, it seems that way.”
As if to say the event was no secret, Elise revealed it plainly.
Because that wasn’t what mattered.
“Everything started to turn in our favor. Mikael Portren mistakenly thought we were acting on Heaven Len’s behalf, and Heaven Len was eager to complete a deal because of Hayun.”
…
“On top of that, Inspector Heini moving in on Mikael really added pressure. Do you know what this means?”
“Please tell me.”
The music stopped.
Even as people hurriedly moved to prepare for the next dance, we stood stiffly, gazing at each other.
“It’s as if it was telling us we need to wrap this incident up before leaving here. After all, if me and the students take too long, we can simply leave Bethel.”
That’s why we deliberately rushed the two nobles to finalize the deal.
While we were in Bethel, to put an end to all events.
“Interesting. But that’s just a theory. Coincidences stacking up is actually quite common in our lives.”
“Mikael Portren said the same thing: ‘Coincidences overlap for a long time.’”
…
The music resumed.
Elise reached out her hand again, and with a sigh, I took her hand, rejoining the dance.
“I’ve come to realize that someone is plotting something revolving around us.”
Like in the academy’s festival play.
Someone had handed us our roles, and I felt the situation unfolding according to the script they had written.
“And the mastermind managing all these scenarios manipulating us is you, Elise. No… Elise de Phrygia, the Third Princess.”
Hearing my words, Elise chuckled and shook her head.
“You can’t possibly be serious.”
…
“That’s fine; I get the gist. Someone orchestrated a scenario with you at the center based on the events that unfolded in Bethel?”
“Exactly.”
“There’s a gap. You jumped from ‘Introduction’ to ‘Conclusion’ without showing the ‘Rising Action’. There’s no link; the ‘Rising Action’ and ‘Conclusion’ are disconnected.”
…
Elise greedily parted her lips and asked.
“How did you know? That I’m the mastermind.”
…
“Was it that the royal knights arrived before Inspector Heini’s support? That alone cannot pinpoint me. Until last vacation, you had no idea I was a princess.”
“True.”
I hadn’t expected Elise to be the veiled Third Princess who kept herself hidden.
“Tell me, ‘It was just a guess’, ‘It’s a hunch’, ‘It’s coincidence.’ Those won’t work. How did you come to me? By what method did you find me?”
“I already revealed it.”
“What?”
As the music swirled, inside the throng of dancers, Elise stood tall and glared at me.
I too looked down at her amid the people dancing, releasing her hand.
“What do you mean?”
She looked at me as if completely confused, and I spoke the final key that she had dismissed as trivial.
“Death Spider.”
…
A brief silence.
But soon, like ripples in a tranquil lake, Elise’s eyes slowly widened, and she stared at me with her mouth agape.
“I thought that mastermind surely had someone planted in this city to learn all the outcomes. It doesn’t make sense if they don’t know the conclusion to the play they’ve set.”
Thus, her agents disguised as ordinary citizens took in all circumstances to report back.
“I just returned what you had done. Thanks to our capable Mage taming the Death Spider through fear, we were able to reverse the surveillance on your eyes that were watching us.”
“Oh…”
A sweet gasp escaped her, yet it was lost in the melody.
I had mentioned multiple times.
How the Death Spider could remain hidden from humans at will.
No matter how competent the Lavender organization was, it would be a stretch for an assassin living in the Forest of the Demon Realm to realize they were being tailed.
“Ha, haha…”
…
“The rest was easy. Your informant would naturally guide us to you. Just in case you decided to run, I faked going to the Forest of the Demon Realm using Rin’s magic.”
I shrugged and added.
“Looking at you now, I probably didn’t even need to bother with that.”
Given Elise’s demeanor, she likely wouldn’t have run away.
“Hehehehe.”
Elise began to chuckle, hiding her face with her hand.
The music slowly drew to a close, and while the surrounding dances stopped, she still couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.
“So, do you understand everything now?”
“Heh, hahaha… No, none at all. You found me perfectly.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t easy getting in here though.”
Wearing a suit and sneaking through a window from the rooftop was quite a hassle.
As people greeted their partners for a good time, Elise bowed gracefully toward me.
“Correct, Daniel McLean. I am the mastermind who set the stage called Bethel for all of you.”
…
“Though you might already know, what I wanted was the destruction of the Portren and Len families and to catch the tail of the Tudogs. They are harmful to the kingdom, after all.”
“Yet, the Portren family ended up facing trial, Heaven Len fled, and you lost the Tudogs.”
“Right. Can I ask just one thing? Why did you choose this outcome?”
…
“I naturally thought you’d kill Mikael Portren, ruin Heaven Len who had severed ties with Hayun, and seize the Tudogs’ tail.”
“Yeah, that would have been the obvious choice.”
“You get it? Why did you choose this?”
“Well, I didn’t lose Heaven Len on purpose. That was Hayun’s choice.”
In order to completely sever ties with her family, she repaid whatever she received during her time there.
“Indeed, Hayun made that choice.”
She nodded in disbelief.
“The Tudogs were not lost. I still have clear connections with them.”
“Huh? Really? That’s surprising.”
Two members of the Tudogs who had come to erase the evidence of the Murder Hotel were still tied up by Rin.
“The final piece regarding the Portren family… is that, a long time ago, I met Michelle Portren.”
“…!”
As I finished explaining, Elise erupted into surprised laughter once more.
“Seems like I had another connection I wasn’t aware of.”
That said, this stage in Bethel was completely tangled.
Because of the relationship between Michelle Portren and Daniel McLean, which neither could know.
Elise slowly removed her mask and reached out her hand to me.
“Daniel McLean, won’t you be mine?”
…What?
Her smile was so exaggerated that it almost seemed twisted.
Her words started to spill out at an incredible speed.
“This is my first experience. Is this what pleasure feels like? Ah, Daniel McLean! Yes! It’s you! Only you can make me feel this way in my dull life! You showed me more than I imagined! You can rescue me from boredom! Ah! Daniel McLean!”
“Are you crazy?”
“Can I not be? Anyone who opposes me disappears the next day, regardless of my intent. No one dares speak their names again. Ultimately, everyone fears me, avoids me, and whispers behind my back.”
…
“A life where I can achieve everything! In this unbearably boring life, you revealed your teeth to me, growled violently, smashed all my plans, and brought me disgrace!”
“Sorry, but I have no intention of becoming yours.”
“No, you belong to me! If I cut off a leg first, you can’t escape, can you?”
“You crazy girl.”
“Kukuk! Keep at it! Who could say such things to me in this kingdom! Bertia!”
All eyes were on us.
She let down her neatly tied hair and called her maid, who promptly kneeled, bringing a large case.
With a clack, the case opened, revealing a sword inside.
Its twisted form resembled a wooden staff, but the golden body was so beautiful it could be considered a work of art.
“It’s a sacred sword called ‘Branch of the World Tree’ that was made for me to enroll in the Academy.”
“Are you planning to cut off my leg right here?”
“Will you just come along?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Yeah, that’s the idea! Bertia! Play!”
Immediately, Bertia rushed to the orchestra.
The orchestra, staring blankly, quickly started playing upon hearing Elise’s identity.
Along with the powerful sounds of the music, Elise began activating the magic in the ring on her hand.
Numerous magical spells empowered Elise’s body as if they were waiting for her command.
“Dance with me! Decorate the end of this night of ecstasy and climax with a dance with me!”
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