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Chapter: 12
Even so, I had wracked my brain to come up with a way that would be cruel in an Iryllin-like manner yet still protect Ciss… but in the end, I was met with nothing but suspicion, and not a shred of trust.
I felt utterly drained. I didn’t even have the energy left to argue.
Just then, a knock sounded at my door. I went to open it.
It was my maid, Wendy. She spoke in a rush.
“Miss! You have to come out right away!”
“What is it?”
“The master ordered that one of the maids be locked in the storage shed for ten days. They say she betrayed her master…? I thought you’d find it entertaining to watch, so I ran over as soon as I heard—ah, y-young master, you’re here too….”
“See? I told you it wasn’t me.”
I said triumphantly, looking at Ciss.
Even now, Ciss neither acknowledged his misunderstanding nor apologized.
Instead, with a face darkened beyond measure, he said,
“Iryllin. Please. Save Anna.”
“There’s nothing I can do right now. If I step in, he’ll just try to kill Anna immediately.”
“…Shouldn’t you start by apologizing to me for misunderstanding me?”
“That’s something you should’ve done long ago—back when you were tormenting me. I don’t know what kind of change of heart this is, but if you want to earn my goodwill, then save Anna. Correct your mistake. Iryllin Header.”
What kind of shameless, self-righteous request was that?
It wasn’t me who tormented Ciss—it was Iryllin! There was no mistake to correct!
…But filthy and unfair as it was, I had no choice.
I had to accept his “request,” which was really an order in disguise.
Because I had to survive.
“Fine, you unlucky, stubborn, idiotic bastard.”
I wasn’t about to give up on cursing him, at least.
* * *
After deciding to accept Ciss’s “request,” the first people I went to see were the marquis and the marchioness.
“Mother, Father. Could you please release that maid? What if she starves to death in that shed? Our precious estate would be contaminated.”
“My lovely Iryllin, that simply won’t do. Do you think that maid kept Ciss’s disgrace to herself? She must have spread it to others as well. This is meant as an example—so everyone understands what happens when they wag their tongues….”
“Then… could you let me punish the maid personally? Everyone’s afraid of me, so wouldn’t they be even less likely to gossip if I handled it myself?”
“Oh my, that’s a wonderful idea! How will you punish her? The usual xxxx? Or will you try xxxx this time for a change?”
“Uh… th-those are good ideas too, but… wouldn’t slapping her be better? Th-that really has the best feel to it!”
“Iryllin, you’d be satisfied with just that?”
“My dear, we must contact Doctor Saint immediately!”
…And just like that, my plan to ask my parents ended in complete failure.
For my next plan, I had no choice but to choose something rather primitive—and difficult.
A site inspection.
I examined the area around the storage shed where Anna was locked up.
Perhaps because it was a remote shed with nothing stored inside, there was only a single guard stationed in a watch post across from it.
Still, since the distance to the shed wasn’t far, he’d notice immediately if I tried to get her out.
Hmm… This feels hopeless.
But it was too early to despair.
I had something I could rely on.
The fact that I’d read the novel!
There was an episode like this. Iryllin once locked up one of Vin’s attendants in a shed after he bumped into her shoulder.
Feeling guilty, Vin secretly rescued the attendant behind Iryllin’s back.
And I remembered exactly what Vin did back then.
First, he got the guard at that watch post completely drunk and stole the key to the shed.
“Hans?”
It was the name Vin kept calling as he drank with him. Even though I had no real connection to the guard, I remembered his name.
As the guard—looking deeply moved, as if he himself had realized something—opened the door to the post, I muttered softly,
“All That Melhona.”
All That Melhona.
A spell that drives the target away until they find a whole melon.
The spell is supposedly created by Mona White—but in reality, I named it myself.
Just like all the “secret spells,” anyone can use it as long as they know the incantation, even if they can’t use magic.
Since no one even knows such secret spells exist yet, that guard would probably just think he’d gone crazy and wandered off to find a melon.
The golden time lasts until he returns from the melon farm, which takes about thirty hours.
Within that time, I had to find the shed key in the watch post.
“…Huh? Where is it, seriously?”
After searching every nook and cranny for about fifteen minutes, I still couldn’t find the key.
It seemed the guard had taken it with him…
I’m doomed…
No—it’s still too early to despair.
I still had a weapon Vin never had.
Making sure no one was around, I quietly closed the watch post door and walked to the shed.
I could hear Anna’s screams.
“Please, let me out…! I don’t want to die like this! I was jealous because I couldn’t have it… I was wrong…! I won’t do it again…!”
Then why do something you’d regret in the first place? It’s already too late.
That’s what I wanted to say—but because of that foolish Ciss’s request, I had to give her a chance.
Still, it is harsh to die just for spreading someone else’s secret.
If Anna were a noble too, this never would’ve happened.
After checking once more that no one was nearby, I quietly knocked on the shed door.
I heard hurried footsteps rushing toward it.
“W-who is it?”
“It’s me. Iryllin.”
“Iryllin… Miss… Wh-why are you here…?”
Her voice, filled with hope at first, instantly sank into despair the moment she heard the name Iryllin. I understood how she felt.
If I were her, I’d assume Iryllin had come to torment me—not to save me.
“I came to save you. Open the door, Anna.”
“If I could open it, I wouldn’t still be locked in here, Miss…”
“No. You can open it. You have a hidden power. You’re the chosen one.”
I answered confidently.
Of course, it wasn’t an honest answer.
Anna didn’t have any hidden power.
I was simply trying to awaken the will that everyone possesses.
With a secret spell.
“Taekbae Wat Smida.”
Think about it.
A shut-in recluse stuck in their room, an office worker trapped in bed muttering that the outside world is dangerous, an artist collapsing over their desk after a deadline—
Words that make everyone jump up and open the door.
“Your package has arrived.”
The ultimate phrase that brings forth even nonexistent willpower!
Even I think my naming sense is exceptional.
All That Melhona. Taekbae Wat Smida. Easy to remember, right?
It’s a bit ironic that only people outside the novel understand their meaning.
After all, this world doesn’t even have delivery services or melon ice cream.
CRACK—!!
That was the sound of Anna finally ripping the shed door apart.
The arm that emerged from inside was completely mangled. A frail body accustomed only to small errands had exerted strength beyond its limits—an inevitable result.
“N-no, how is this even possible…?”
“Congratulations, Anna. You’ve finally unlocked your hidden power.”
I said something straight out of a shōnen manga.
Then, to the stunned Anna, I held out the package—no, the box—I’d been carrying.
“Ciss prepared this for you. Take it and run. And never come back.”
“The young master did…?”
“Yes. That gullible idiot said he really hoped you’d live. He thanked you for treating him like a human being. But he never wants to see you again.”
“Ah… What have I done…?”
“If you’re sorry, then hurry up and run. Someone might come after hearing you tear the door apart.”
At the mention of the “door being torn apart,” Anna stared blankly at her own hands, but when I tapped the box to urge her on, she set aside her doubts.
Don’t give her time to think.
What Ciss prepared was a magical tool. When Anna touched it, the model butterfly expanded to a massive size, carried her on its back, and disappeared into the distance.
Watching that, I muttered to myself,
“It’d be nice if she caught a case of chūnibyō from this.”
She wouldn’t go around boasting, “Miss Iryllin encouraged me, so I was able to use my hidden power!”, right?
The secret spells were supposed to be my trump card… I wonder if I wasted them on something pointless.
Still, I did save Anna, so surely this will earn me some goodwill from Ciss.
Otherwise, I really might cry.
* * *
I want to cry.
I want to roll around on the floor and bawl my eyes out!
“My parents didn’t even grant your request—so how did you help her escape?”
“I told you! I took action while the guard was away.”
“By ‘took action,’ do you mean she tore the door off? If you really have that kind of ability, then go on—break that door right now.”
“…No. Why would I break a perfectly fine door?”
“So if you can’t, then we can assume Anna’s escape wasn’t thanks to you, right?”
I was an idiot.
I might have fooled everyone else, but I never considered how to fool Ciss, who knew the whole plan.
And I thought this would earn me his goodwill…
“If you’ve got nothing else to say, I’m leaving. Negotiations are over.”
