She closed her eyes and listened carefully to the cries of the crowd. Among them, she picked out a voice she recognized.
“If it’s proof you need, then proof I shall deliver,” she proclaimed. “You, in the blue shirt. Oh, whoops, not you! Sorry, I actually meant the young man standing in front of the stall.” For a moment, she’d accidentally spoken as she normally would.
Under his breath, Ark muttered, “Idiot.”
“Huh? M-Me?” the man stuttered, pointing at himself.
“I-Indeed,” she answered, mentally shaking herself. “I know all about you. You’re a hen-pecked husband, and you complain about how domineering your wife is to your colleagues at work every day!”
“What? H-How did you…?” He gaped up at her, bewildered.
“Honey, is that true?!”
A marital quarrel broke out between him and the woman at his side, which temporarily distracted everyone from their hostile disbelief. The people around the couple scrambled to calm both of them down.
“And you!” Lille pointed into the crowd. “You might pretend to be a stubborn, old man in public, but when you’re at home, you do nothing but dote on your cat! You even speak to him in a baby voice! I know, for I am an omniscient god!”
“H-How can you know something that even my family doesn’t…?” the old man said shakily, breaking out into a cold sweat as people turned around to stare at him curiously.
“If you still find it hard to believe me, do not worry. I have plenty more knowledge to divulge. Now, you!” she said, pointing yet again.
One by one, she exposed the secrets of every person whose voice she remembered, silently apologizing in her mind as she did so. She had never imagined that her days spent listening to their conversations in the tower would come in so handy.
“Please, stop it! I believe you already!”
And when one person caved in, others soon followed suit.
“We believe you’re a god, all right?! So what do you want from us?” a soldier wearing a particularly magnificent set of armor called out to Lille. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was the imperial commander.
“All I ask is that you swear not to start any wars, and to improve your treatment of sorcerers,” Lille demanded.
“Oh, but…with my authority, I don’t think I can…”
She’d expected that. The only officials with the power to change such laws were the senate, and the royal family themselves.
“I see. In that case, let’s go about this another way,” she proposed. With a snap of her fingers, Charles cast a magic circle in the middle of the plaza.
“Wh-What is that?”
“Watch out!”
As everyone backed away, the circle glowed a bright yellow, and a gong-like sound echoed through the air as the king and some government officials suddenly materialized in its center.
The officials stood frozen in place, flabbergasted as they clutched their canes for dear life. Evidently, the king had been transported while sitting down, as he promptly fell onto his backside as soon as he appeared.
“Your Majesty!” The soldiers rushed to his side to help him up.
So, that’s what the king looks like…
The tower was a long way from the castle, so she’d never heard his voice, either. His overgrown beard and plump figure gave him a somewhat kingly image, but something about his expression felt frail. Actually, he didn’t have much of a royal presence at all. His dazzling clothes and sparkling crown didn’t seem to fit right, almost as if they’d been forced onto him.
“Your Majesty, I trust you heard what I said from the palace. I suggest you make that vow at once,” Lille all but ordered.
Sweat dripped down the king’s temples. He leaned over to the imperial commander and whispered in his ear.
The commander’s eyes widened. “B-But…” he muttered, sounding troubled. However, with the officials glaring at him, he eventually looked up at Lille and spoke hesitantly.
“He says…that won’t be possible…”
The people—who’d thought they were finally about to be freed from their terror—roared back into disorder.
“Then shall I simply burn this country to the ground, right here and now?” Lille bellowed, feigning anger.
“H-He says…just try to if you think you can.”
The plaza fell completely silent. The distrust the people had for the king was clear on their faces. It was only natural; he had just agreed to let the country and its people perish, after all.
The townspeople seemed taken aback by his reaction, but Lille knew better. If the king were a reasonable, caring man, then she would never have been locked up for ten years in the first place.
“You have made your decision. And so, I shan’t hold back,” she said resolutely.
As Lille raised her hands, pillars of fire sprung up at various spots around the plaza. That was thanks to Charles. He was obviously choosing places where the flames wouldn’t cause anything to catch alight, as well as far enough away that no one would get burned.
“Eeeeek!”
“P-Please don’t!”
Even the sturdiest of men were on their knees, covering their heads in fear.
“W-Wait! Please, just give us some more time…” the imperial commander begged, kneeling so low that his head was almost touching the ground. Lille thought it bizarre that the king didn’t try to stop him, nor scold him. The officials, meanwhile, hadn’t looked at Lille even once.
“Now, why would I do that? Hmm… My familiar here has little patience, you know,” she growled, closing her eyes and pretending to think it over.
Ark gave a small chuckle. “You got that right,” he commented quietly, even though Lille wasn’t the one who’d thought of the line.
“…Very well. I shall give you one more chance,” she declared, looking down at the king. “Look and listen very carefully, Your Majesty. This is the state your kingdom is in.” Reaching down to the belt tied around her thigh, she drew a knife from its sheath.
“Are you sure about this, Lille? You spent so long growing it,” Ark asked, not for the first time.
“I’m okay, Ark. I just never had the confidence to do it until now. That’s all,” she said firmly. Then, she positioned the knife halfway down her intricate braid. The memory of how she lost her life rose to the surface of her mind, as if to test her resolve.
I admit I’m scared. But I know I’ll be okay this time.
Because, this time, she wasn’t alone. She had a family who’d save her no matter what.
Tucked inside her dress, the stone of her pendant glowed warm against her skin. And as she held tightly onto the handle of the knife and moved it in a horizontal line, strands of hair fell from the blade onto Ark’s back.