How could the lead beg the heroine he had saved for his own life?
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He had called himself the star; wasn’t it his duty to see his role through? Even if that meant their relationship as rivals would come to an abrupt end?
He was the heinous criminal who had attacked the queen. Mira was the one who would judge him.
“Salinger! Why did you do it?! Why would you do something like this?!”
The princess sobbed again.
Though her attendant, Schwartz, had come up behind her, she was too upset to notice him.
“I thought of you as my one and only archrival. I enjoyed being with you, even as adversaries. I wanted to spend more time with you. Why would you defile that?!”
“…”
That was it.
Internally, Salinger keenly felt the same.
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Even if only temporarily, I became your rival.
✦ ✦ ✦
Yes, my audience…
To the stars that watched all, to the many astral powers that bore witness, if you so wish, you may be the only ones to meet me with cheers and applause.
✦ ✦ ✦
I became her rival, if only temporarily, and saved her, if only once.
✦ ✦ ✦
And because of that, he would exit the stage.
Despite Mira’s tears, in a way, this was still a good ending.
However…
All he had done was quash the current scheme.
The wicked Hydra were still at large. They would likely lie low for a time, but he knew they would go on the move again eventually.
……Mira, when the time comes…
……I won’t be by your side. I can’t be there.
The two of them were incompatible. Their relationship was such that their paths would only meet here. But even then, the encounter had gone better than he could have ever anticipated.
That was why…
“Mira.”
The girl suddenly raised her head.
Salinger looked right into her eyes as he said, “You’re not fit to be queen.”
“Huh?!”
“You’re a dreamer. You’ll never have the ability to be ruthless. You can never become a witch.”
You weren’t actually a machine, after all.
You’re just too kind.
You wept for a criminal like me, and you’ve told me you wanted to be with me even when you thought I betrayed you.
Her innocence would be her undoing.
……You’ll ascend the throne and be surrounded by the vassals and retinue you trust.
……And then they will betray you. The royal family you trust most will betray you.
That’s why…
…you shouldn’t become queen.
“……Salinger.”
The princess took a step forward.
As her hand trembled, she awkwardly held her dagger.
“Why would you come all the way here just to say that?! You did this just to do that? You attacked the queen for only that?”
“…”
“Answer me! If you don’t, I’ll need to… I’ll have to…”
She couldn’t say it.
The princess who had once been called the “Battle Automata” was swollen-eyed and disheveled. Her lips were pale from biting them so hard.
“I… I-I’m…”
The dagger fell from her limp hand.
She couldn’t even pick it up. She clutched her remaining dagger in both hands and readied it, then ran straight at him, the blade pointed at his chest.
“I…! ……I never wanted to fight you like this—feeling so sordid and muddy!”
They met.
On that night, she let out the most furious shriek in the world.
✦ ✦ ✦
At the conclusion of the performance, Salinger was captured and sent to the thirteenth state’s Orelgan prison spire, condemned as the fiendish sorcerer who had invaded the royal palace in an attempt to steal the queen’s astral power.
✦ ✦ ✦
After that, Nebulis VII survived, but true to the witch Francoise’s word, she never recovered enough to speak as a witness.
Salinger was the only one who knew the truth.
And no matter what torture he endured while in prison, he never spoke a word of what had really happened.
……If I speak about the Hydra’s scheme, I can’t predict what they might do when cornered.
……Mira would be put in danger again.
His silence was his message.
He wouldn’t spill their secrets, so they were to behave. Salinger and the Hydra had formed a tacit agreement.
✦ ✦ ✦
Twenty-five years had passed in equilibrium and silence.
In the Orelgan prison spire, Salinger got the news through rumors and whisperings.
A new generation of Hydra had emerged.
After the head of house, Arken, had gone missing, Talisman’s ascension as the next head of house was the talk of the Sovereignty. And that meant…
“They’ve made their move…”
In his underground cell, Salinger was the only one who realized this.
They had formed a new plan.
The Hydra were surfacing. Just as before, they would command another monster like the witch Francoise, if not one that was stronger.
“But don’t you forget, Hydra scum.”
He would teach them again.
To bare their teeth at the queen was to make an enemy of the transcendental sorcerer.
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Five more years passed, leading to the present day.
An uninvited visitor showed up at Salinger’s cell.
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“I am Risya In Empire. Did I need to make an appointment?”
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A Saint Disciple from the Imperial forces and one of the Lord’s direct reports. To Salinger, who had grown bored of underground life, she was at least more stimulating than the guards.
“I will set you free from this place. Right now.”
“…”
Salinger had agreed to her terms.
But he didn’t have plans to become the Imperial forces’ dog, of course. The reason why he had accepted the Imperial forces’ help to break out of prison was because he had learned of the Hydra’s movements five years prior.
I know the truth of what transpired thirty years ago. If it comes to light I’ve escaped prison…
…then the Hydra will panic and likely prioritize targeting me over the queen.
That was exactly what he wanted.
He wished for nothing more than for him to become the Hydra’s top priority.
✦ ✦ ✦
……Mira, even if I can never tell you the truth…
……I’ll be onstage in the shadows.