Side Story 1: The Undersurface of a Now Beautiful World
☆☆ Embert’s Point of View☆☆
DELPHINA Celette continued screaming about being the heroine and the main character of this world until moments before her execution. Of all things, the loathsome woman shouted abuse at Ally, threatening to curse her.
Janus and I had visited Celette before her execution. This had been three days after her imprisonment. It had also been our final conversation with her.
✦ ✦ ✦
🐈 🐈 🐈
“YOU don’t seem the slightest bit remorseful,” I said when we arrived in the dungeon. “Your incessant demands to see me had the guards in tears.”
Celette smiled. “You finally came, Prince Embert. The world must have fallen into chaos without me, correct? I’m the heroine, after all. You must be in dire straits without the main character.”
Had she called me down here just to spew this nonsense? I stared at her incredulously. How did she exude such confidence while locked behind bars? The word dumbfounded must have originated to describe this sort of occasion.
“Actually, the world remains just as beautiful without you,” I said. “Sorry, I misspoke. It would be better to say, ‘The world is growing evermore beautiful without your presence.’”
Fuming, Celette grabbed the bars, their metallic rattle echoing throughout the dungeon. “That can’t be! You’re just feigning composure. Release me from this cell at once. Mark my words: this world will cease to exist if you execute me!”
“How comical,” I responded with a laugh. “Well then, I look forward to seeing what happens when you disappear. Will this world vanish alongside you? Let’s place a bet on it. Of course, I favor the world not disappearing.”
Celette glared at me. I saw no trace of her former beauty, which had once inspired protective instincts in men.
“I pity you,” she said. “That woman has you completely whipped. She’s the villainess, you know? Obviously, the world will collapse if you allow evil free rein. I know the truth. You were always a proudly aloof man who didn’t trust other people. That’s why I tried to stand by your side as the holy—”
“Silence,” I interrupted, unable to tolerate her delusional ramblings any longer. After donning a smile, I continued, “You’re severely lacking comprehension skills. As I’ve said numerous times, you aren’t the holy woman. Lady Alexandra is the one with healing magic and the Goddess’s divine protection. She is the true holy woman, not a vile temptress such as yourself.”
I forced myself to think of Ally’s myriad expressions. That alone brought me peace of mind. My mental state had grown hostile during this conversation.
“What did you call me?!” Celette shrieked, rattling the bars again.
I’ve had enough of this, I thought while turning my back on her. Nothing would come of continuing this conversation. As I tried to leave, Celette continued hurling abuse at me. That said, I wouldn’t suffer listening to each and every one of her insults. Thus, I took a step forward while treating her ramblings as incoherent noise. Unfortunately, her final words reached my ears. Magic swelled around me in a fit of rage, and flames ignited in my clenched fist.
“Do you mind repeating yourself?” I asked. “I might have misheard you.”
I then hurled a fireball at her hands, which were still gripping the bars. Afterwards, Celette glared at me, cradling her burned left hand in her right.
“I’ll say it a thousand times!” she screamed like a madwoman. “I’ll curse that useless, interfering woman to death!”
The sound of metal slicing through the air rang out, and the stench of burnt hair filled the dungeon. Celette didn’t seem to understand what Janus and I had just done. She stared at us slack-jawed, apparently having forgotten the pain in her left hand. Even so, both sides of her hair painted a clear picture of what had occurred. Janus had drawn his sword and sliced off the right side of her hair. At the same time, my fireball had burned off the left side of her hair. A few seconds later, a thin red line welled up on her left cheek.
Jan wore a devious smile, his sword already back in its scabbard. “Apologies. My hand slipped due to anger.”
“Huh?” Celette asked. “What’s going on?”
Ignoring her, I turned to praise Jan instead. “No, that was splendid. You had to slice between the bars, after all.”
“Thank you,” Jan responded with a charming smile.
Celette’s rage ignited once more in response to me ignoring her. “Hey, you!” she shouted at Janus. “What the hell did you just do to me?!”
Her shrill cries grated on my ears. I didn’t want to spend another moment in this dungeon.
“Let’s be on our way,” I urged Janus.
With that, we both turned our backs on Celette. Though she continued shouting from her cell, we both left the dungeon, never turning around.