“A defective product? To whom does that term apply, I wonder? The fact that you lost your temper and sent your knight Canus after me shows just how predictable your future is.”
“I may have given that whelp the title of knight, but in the end, he’s just a hunting dog—nothing more than a tool for killing rabbits like you.”
“Says the man who can’t even leave Gosho without his tool to protect him. Would that make you less than a dog, then?”
“What did you say?! Even without Canus, I—!” Ross raised his voice emotionally, then suddenly realized something was amiss. The bulging veins on his temples were replaced by beads of cold sweat. “Wait, where is Canus?”
“Who knows? You should keep better tabs on your mutt,” Lupus replied sharply, aiming to unsettle the prince.
The boy who should have been protecting Ross was not in the palace. Somewhere down the line, he had gotten too engrossed in chasing some prey.
Ross hadn’t even noticed his knight’s absence until now. He turned his searching gaze toward Lupus, but she was too exasperated to respond.
“You don’t even know where your own knight is? Don’t you think now might not be the best time to be drinking tea?” she quipped sarcastically. Lupus adjusted the hem of her dress and crossed her beautiful white legs with an air of authority.
Not knowing where to direct his gaze, Ross let his eyes wander before placing a hand on his forehead and letting out a groan.
“So that’s how it is. I assumed you’d just try to run away if you found out everything. I never imagined you’d use that Informationist as bait and come here yourself.”
“Indeed. You underestimated me. But you weren’t wrong; I’m sure the old me would have fled after learning the truth. No matter how much people dragged me through the mud or talked about me behind my back, I probably would have run to the ends of the earth. But now things are different.” Lupus spoke frankly about her feelings, resting her chin on her hand. Her display of vulnerability revealed underlying strength. Ross swallowed hard as he faced the clearly transformed girl.
“What changed you so much? What could possibly have caused my scheme to fall apart?”
“You made me take this seriously; for better or worse, that’s all there is to it,” Lupus declared confidently, thrusting her chin forward. Ross ground his teeth in frustration.
He wasn’t going to admit defeat yet, however. He snorted with laughter and leaned back against his chair.
“Well, no matter. I didn’t expect this turn of events, but the real question is what you plan to do next. I’m sure you intend to kill me. But if you do that, you’ll be executed as a traitor. Even if you try to run, your enemy is the Empire itself. His Majesty the Emperor, who holds far more power than I, will come after you, along with the rest of the imperial family. Without an ally on the inside, escaping would be—” As Ross spoke, something dawned on him, and his words caught in his throat.
It seemed unthinkable Lupus would have any allies supporting her in this situation. And yet the image of someone who held more power and status than Ross himself flashed through the prince’s mind for a moment.
As that person’s smirk came to him, Ross’s face turned bright red.
“Don’t tell me Causa is behind this!” he yelled.
Seeing Ross rise from his chair in alarm, Lupus curled her lips into a malicious smile.
“That saves me the trouble of explaining. That’s right, I have Big Brother Causa’s backing. But it didn’t come for free—killing you is the condition for securing my safety. That’s why I’ll seize tomorrow, even if it means getting my own hands dirty. I won’t ask for your forgiveness. But remember, you’re the one who started this war. Give up.”
As Lupus spoke even more emphatically, Ross began reasoning with Lupus to suppress his worked-up emotions.
“Do you truly believe Causa is your ally? Why haven’t you considered he might just be using you? He could be planning to eliminate both of us right here.” Ross’s words sounded plausible.
However, the prince was just buying time. As a seasoned member of the imperial family with ample experience, Ross had spotted the faintest glimmer of hope.
Lupus’s slender fingers, visible beneath the elegant dress, were trembling. She had never killed someone before. At the last moment, she would hesitate to take out Ross. And in that instant, he could turn the tables. Certain of that, Ross began to focus intently on the precise moment of his counterattack.
Tension began to ripple through the air between them. Then Lupus’s words dropped like a bomb.
“I’m sick of listening to your nonsense. Let’s just settle this here already.”
The moment Lupus grew sick of Ross’s prattling, sparks started flying.
Ross swiftly reached for the saber at his waist. Having trained since childhood, he was an exceptional sword fighter. In stark contrast to his earlier demeanor, he moved precisely and efficiently as he drew his blade and slashed at Lupus’s neck.
He had used an instant-draw technique. Lupus, however, threw herself against the back of her chair. The momentum sent her beautiful silver hair up into the air behind her, and the saber only managed to graze her locks and cheek.
A droplet of blood floated in the air. With that bit of blood between them, Lupus’s eyes gleamed intensely. The brilliant blue light in her gaze burned like the most beautiful and noble color of the sky.
“Ross Ruberrrrrr!” Lupus clenched her teeth and executed a Code.
Instinctively, she had selected the heat conversion Code Tsushima had first taught her. As soon as the Code accessed the information factors, a heat ray formed behind her and pierced Ross’s shoulder.
“Aaaagghhhh!” Ross screamed, collapsing to the floor after a single hit from Lupus. His only weapon, the saber, clattered to the ground.
“Haaaah, haaah…” Lupus gasped for breath, large beads of sweat welling up on her forehead as the room was immediately enveloped in the stench of burnt human flesh.
It was her first time executing a Code with the intent to kill a human being. Fear and exhilaration pushed her forward. She felt like she had started rolling down a hill she wouldn’t be able to climb back up.
Looking down at Ross writhing on the floor, Lupus picked up the fallen saber.
“Wait… Stop…,” he groaned, clutching his shoulder. Lupus pointed the tip of the blade at him. It was time for her to dispose of this man.
This is where it all ended.
Lupus swallowed and steadied herself. She raised the heavy sword and took aim.
“May your sins be forgiven in death. Good-bye, you foolish man, Ross Ruber. There is no greater reward than never having to see your face again.”
“Aaaah!”
As Ross let out a final scream, Lupus swung the saber down with all her might. With the force of her slash enhanced by the weight of the blade, Ross’s skull split clean in two. The sword dug deeply into his neck before stopping, spraying Lupus in buckets of blood.
Even in the final moment, Lupus did not close her eyes. She burned into her memory the exact second when she took her opponent’s life.
It was anticlimactic, really, the death of this man who had made her life hell. Lupus looked down at his lifeless body as blood and flesh from his head dripped onto the gorgeous carpet. Then she looked at her own blood-soaked hands.
They were no longer shaking.
“I ended it the right way. With my own hands,” she said to herself as she stood up straight. Then she noticed a servant watching from the other side of the open door, their face going pale.
“Could I ask you to clean this up?” Lupus said with a radiant smile befitting a princess. Then she left the room as though nothing had happened. This time, not a single servant dared whisper behind her back as she passed.
When Lupus briskly left the mansion, she found a black car parked outside. In front of the vehicle stood a driver in a suit, waiting attentively with perfect posture.
He noticed Lupus and opened the rear door without the slightest hint of hesitation.
“Welcome back,” he said. “Right this way, please.”
Lupus gave a short thanks and got into the car.
The interior was designed like a limousine, with two seats facing each other. Sitting across from her, as if it were a matter of course, was Causa, his legs crossed.
“Was it a success?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Lupus feigned calm, but there was no hiding the relentless pounding of her heart.