Chapter 19: Cytisus’s Secret Love Life
SOMETIME later, Iris paid a visit to Cytisus’s office at the Temple of Magic. Exceptionally talented mages were given the title of Royal Mage and tasked with maintaining the palace using their mana; as such, they were given their own private office in the Temple, each with its own assigned door. Cytisus’s door was blue.
Today, there was something Iris dearly wanted to ask of him: now that Prince Bleuet had ingested the vaccine, she wanted Cytisus to administer it to his special someone. After all, she and Bleuet had both died by the start of HanaKoro, and in the game, it was Camille who helped ease the pain of these losses. This was what brought her and her love interest together. But without those emotional scars, neither Cytisus nor Reseda would have any reason to fall in love with Camille. At least, that was Iris’s hope!
As the villainess, it was her job to derail the protagonist’s romance. While she had no proof that either of them had died from soilpox specifically, she wanted to crush each and every possibility of a happy-bad ending—and to do that, she needed Cytisus’s girlfriend to stay alive. The problem was, Iris didn’t know who she was. But today, she was going to find out!
Iris sat across the table from Cytisus as a group of fairies carried them tea. When Iris thanked them, they flew down and tugged on her ringlets, then gleefully flew away. Good heavens, they’re so cute. She had a weakness for these little troublemakers.
“So, what did you wish to discuss?”
His question brought her back to her senses, and Iris straightened up in her chair. “I wish to ask you a personal question, and I thought it best to ask in private.”
“Ask away,” he replied with a smile. To him, Iris was the brilliant girl who had invented a type of medicine no one would have ever dreamed of. Naturally, he was expecting her to confer with him about some other ingenious idea.
However…
“You’re currently courting someone, correct?”
The question was so blunt, it made him sputter. “I…er…!”
“Correct?”
“…Correct.”
Their relationship wasn’t public knowledge; they had never even attended a social gathering together. He couldn’t fathom how Iris might have discovered it. As he faltered, she stared back at him intently.
So, it’s a secret, then? I suppose it’s no surprise, coming from the man behind the “Forbidden Love” route. Maybe this one is a “forbidden lover,” too…but he doesn’t have any other siblings, and his mother’s already passed away…so who is it, then? His father? No, his father was still alive during HanaKoro. It’s not some underage girl, is it? Oh dear, it might be. I mean, Camille’s a whole decade younger than him! If he’s dating someone her age, that’s a crime! Wait, but technically it’s just harmless fiction… No, it’s still a crime!!!
“Lord Cytisus, are you attracted to younger girls?”
“…I suppose I’m not especially opposed to younger women…”
Iris jumped to her feet and leaned across the table. “How much younger are we talking? Two years? Five? Ten?!”
“Er…Lady Iris?”
“You can trust me! I promise, I’ll keep it a secret! A ten-year age gap is kind of creepy, and you should probably go to jail, but as long as you wait until it’s legal, I won’t tell anyone!”
“What are you talking about?!”
Unfortunately, due to poor phrasing on her part, Cytisus was starting to panic, thinking Iris was coming on to him. As flattered as he was, he was already spoken for. Besides, Iris was a mere child…and Prince Reseda would be devastated, too…
“Tell me the truth, Lord Cytisus!” Iris pleaded.
“Yes, I have a lover!” he shot back reflexively. “But she likes her privacy, so she’s asked me to keep it between us!”
At this, Iris silently returned to her seat, and for a moment, Cytisus worried that she was going to start crying. I’m the adult in this situation. Surely I could have found a nicer way to turn her down, he thought to himself regretfully as he looked at her.
There was an awkward silence…and then Iris balled her hand into a fist.
“Excellent,” she whispered.
Cytisus looked dumbfounded.
“I have an important request to make. Lord Cytisus, I’d like you to go to her and ask her to take the vaccine.” Iris bowed her head. “People used to think a vaccine was just a homeopathic remedy, but now even high society recognizes it as an effective medicine. Still, I imagine the thought is unpleasant for any well-mannered lady, so she may not seek to ingest it of her own volition. Please, I need you to convince her.”
At this, Cytisus frowned. He didn’t understand why Iris was so invested in the well-being of a woman she’d never met and knew nothing about.
“Why is this so important to you, Lady Iris?”
“Because I don’t want you to get hurt,” Iris replied, looking him dead in the eye.
Cytisus smiled sadly. “You’re completely incorrigible, you know that?” He laughed weakly. How silly he was to think Iris was interested in him. “In that case, you’ll be delighted to know that she has already ingested it.”
Beaming, Iris whipped her head up so fast, her ringlets bounced with the motion. “You mean it?! Thank you so much!” Overjoyed, she raised both hands into the air.
He squinted at her. “I never imagined you would show so much concern for a stranger. You are truly a pure-hearted person, Lady Iris.”
“N-No, not at all,” Iris demurred awkwardly. After all, she wasn’t worried out of the kindness of her heart. But obviously, she couldn’t possibly tell him that she was doing this to avoid her own death.
“You know, you really remind me of the Holy Maiden.”
He smiled at her; Iris attempted to smile back.
“No, no, no!!! I’m afraid you’re simply exaggerating! Please, Lord Cytisus, you mustn’t joke about such things!”
Seriously, let’s not!!!