It was true that Defi had failed his mission, but someone with release magic shouldn’t have been a spy in the first place. He’d been given a job he couldn’t quit, taken advantage of, entrusted with a mission of heavy responsibility, then easily cut loose when he failed. That was the kind of world Defi had been living in.
Is that the reason he’s always so apathetic?
Based on our interactions, I definitely thought Defi was quite capable of doing his job. He’d hated the task assigned to him, but despite only having release magic, he’d made it all the way to Desnim unaided and had successfully broken Master Robin out of imprisonment. It was just that, in this particular case, the person he’d been dealing with—Master Robin—was just too horrible.
I can easily imagine Master Robin pushing around Defi. He’d even made Defi a victim of his scheme to abduct Solis. Nothing got through to Master Robin; he was beyond anyone’s control.
The offer to hand Defi back to his country had been refused, and he returned to the corner of the room where I was waiting.
“Defi, well...I don’t know what to say...” I felt lost as I started talking to him, but he smiled like he was already over it.
“Maybe he saw through me—how my heart is no longer in Myzahn. Well, I’m just glad I wasn’t eliminated in advance.”
“Huh...?”
“You know, to use my death to gain an advantage in the negotiations... That’s something he would normally think of.”
In short, Myzahn could have had Defi assassinated and falsely blamed Sutrena for his death; as a result, Myzahn would have to give less in reparations as an apology for the incident with Master Robin.
“I suppose he probably valued me enough to allow me to live for now... Perhaps I’m thinking too optimistically, but it might even be Prince Rivage’s way of showing kindness,” Defi continued. Somehow, I also thought that might be the case.
“But even though you complained back in Myzahn, you worked your hardest and achieved results, right?” I said.
“Well, yeah; that was my job. But even though I wasn’t executed, if I hadn’t met you, Lady Agnes, I’d probably be apprehended again the moment Sutrena tossed me away, and I might well have lost my life at that point.”
As someone with release magic, Defi’s life had already been decided the moment his magic had been discovered. He’d have to bear the duty of using his magic in service to his country for his entire life. He’d simply carried out the tasks he was assigned without any real hopes for his future. It was hard for me to imagine Defi’s way of life. He was facing a different kind of suffering than the people born into the House of Evantail.
Back when Defi had been imprisoned, he’d told me a little about his work in Myzahn. His main job had been going to the prisoners Prince Rivage instructed him to, secretly unsealing their magic, then taking them to the prince. In addition to Master Robin, Prince Rivage had also brought in other people with rare magic from various countries.
The prince had someone with the incredibly rare absolute release right next to him...yet he didn’t realize. If Prince Rivage knew about Defi’s true ability, he would definitely not let him go. We weren’t going to tell him, though.
“You are now officially free from Myzahn. Things are looking bright,” I said.
“Stop joking. I have nowhere to go and I’m not a citizen of Desnim either. Rather than bright, I’d say there are dark clouds on the horizon,” Defi replied.
“Don’t you have anything you want to do, Defi? I believe you’ll be set free after this. Sutrena doesn’t yet have the leeway to keep extra prisoners. We quickly release the ones who seem like they won’t cause problems.” Normally, Defi would have stayed imprisoned for some time, but we knew he had no intention of committing another offense. And since he possessed absolute release magic, successfully imprisoning him for a long period of time would be a real burden on Sutrena.
“I don’t know if there’s anything I’d want to do because I’ve never thought about it. I know what I don’t want to do, but I can’t come up with the opposite.” Defi had probably given up from the start, thinking that it was pointless to hope for anything. There’d have been no point in imagining something like that when he couldn’t become free.
“I see. Then if you don’t mind, how about coming to our estate?”
“The margrave’s estate?”
“Yes. I believe you can do anything as you are now, so you can stay with us until you find something you want to do. We’ll even pay you if you work for us. I’m sure Lord Nazel won’t be opposed to the idea. You saved him from Master Robin, after all.”
“Isn’t this...too convenient for me? I might harm your estate’s people with my magic.”
“You’d have nothing to gain from hurting anyone, would you? I doubt you’d put in all that unnecessary effort.”
“That’s true, but still...” Defi was lost in thought and seemed hesitant. It didn’t sound like he was opposed to coming to our estate, but I felt that he was conflicted about whether it was really okay for him to do so. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course. You’re more than welcome.” I smiled to encourage Defi, but perhaps because of my Lady Bumpkin makeup, he groaned and recoiled.
In the meantime, the discussion had reached its final stage, and Master Robin entered the room escorted by soldiers. Despite the situation he was in, he complained that it was boring with only men around him, and he looked around restlessly, until his eyes turned in my direction.
“Hmm? Is that little birdie?” But when he saw my face after I removed my hood, he was utterly shocked. “Nooo, it’s Lady Bumpkin?! Why?!” Even though he was farther away, he recoiled even more than Defi had. His reaction was too honest.