“I’d swear you’d seen it too, like I have. I’m sure you can guess the rest.”
“Ras eventually fights off the Registanian army single-handed, but Barlama is left in ruins. Is that more or less how it goes?”
“Yes. Because of that, Charlgia suddenly fell into Argyll’s pocket. The only one of the top royals to survive the massacre was the fourth princess, Crown Prince Auriol’s fiancée. She was a foolish girl, weak and ignorant in the ways of politics, and blindly loyal to her mother.”
Tishna’s eyes were distant, and she wore a painful smile.
“Lumede made a bid for power, with Argyll at its back. The kingdom’s aristocracy opposed the coup, and it ended how all ill-conceived revolutions end.”
“Civil war.”
“Correct. Barlama was leveled once more, and I lost my life in the chaos. That is all I know. Thus ended the life of the foolish princess who led her country to ruin.”
Tishna didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Her smile seemed like it could shatter at any moment. In some respect, she had known she would become the villain all along. That was why she was so willing to accept the title of Wicked Princess. It was her way of atoning for the sins she would one day commit.
“But even then, Ras was always kind to me,” said Tishna with a sigh.
Fiarca glared in his direction. “Was he, now?” Ras felt it a little unfair to be getting the heat for events that hadn’t even happened yet. Tishna noticed their silent exchange and chuckled.
“And you, Fiarca… I always wanted to be like you. Even before I was sent back in time, I wanted to stand at your level and call you my friend.”
Then her expression turned solemn.
“So please, Fiarca. That’s enough. Let Emma-Leonie do her job. Let me die.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Why not?!” Tishna cried. Her very existence would lead her nation down a dark and violent path. It had to be stopped here, at the source.
“Because you owe me a favor,” replied Fiarca, unshakably firm. “You promised to act the part of my wife in our sham marriage.”
“I—I did, but…”
“Besides, it’s not just out of the goodness of our hearts. Why do you think we wanted to stop the assassination in the first place? Do you really think we’ll let you sabotage our nation’s good relationship with Charlgia?”
“I…I’m sorry about that, but you’ll just have to—”
“And one more thing,” Fiarca interrupted. “What if when you die here, it rewinds time again?”
“Uh…”
Tishna suddenly went pale. It looked like she hadn’t considered that possibility. To be brought back from death was a miracle so unbelievable that she assumed there was no chance of it happening to her twice. Once Fiarca pointed it out, however, Tishna realized she couldn’t discount the possibility. The last time she died, she was sent five years back in time. There was no guarantee the same thing wouldn’t happen again.
“If you want to go through puberty a third time, I won’t stop you,” said Fiarca, “but who knows if your plans will all work out so well again? Why don’t you work with us, and we’ll see if we can’t change that future you’re so afraid of.”
“Urgh…”
Tishna bit her lip and whined. In her heart, she had already accepted that Fiarca’s argument made sense. Tishna had come a long way, but still she feared what was to come. If she died, there was always a chance that this fear would send her back in time again. Perhaps, with Fiarca and Ras’s help, she could dispel that fear and obtain a clear mind. With her expertise in auramancy, maybe Fiarca could even find out what was causing her ability in the first place.
“Wh-what are you going to do with Emma-Leonie?” demanded Tishna. Emma-Leonie looked at her in shock.
Fiarca’s proposal had its merits, but there was one big reason Tishna could not agree, and that reason was Emma-Leonie. Emma-Leonie had always been good to her, right up until the very end, and Tishna could not have asked for a greater and more loyal confidante.
But the fact remained that she was an assassin, and what was more, she knew the secret behind Crown Prince Auriol. There was little chance Fiarca would let her live, and even if she did, Emma-Leonie would be returning to Eterusia in shame. Either way, her prospects were grim.
But Fiarca’s answer was immediate, almost as though she had considered the matter already. “The Silver Fangs are willing to purchase her from you, provided you agree to a few terms,” she said. “We’ll reeducate her and assign her to be your bodyguard. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve taken in someone like that.”
Tishna suddenly thought of Elmira, Fiarca’s body double, who often conducted herself similarly to Emma-Leonie, and seemed to possess the same unshakable loyalty.
“What are those terms?” she asked, still a little cautious.
“First, she must agree to a special procedure that will ensure her loyalty,” answered Fiarca. “And secondly, we’d like you to tell us who it was that introduced you to Eterusia.”
At Fiarca’s words, Tishna realized she could hide it no longer. Indeed, as a princess of Charlgia, she wasn’t exactly versed in the Argyllian criminal underworld. However, to carry out her plan, an assassin from the empire was absolutely necessary. Or, to put it another way, it was exactly because she had those contacts that she had come up with this plan in the first place.
“…It was an aristocrat of Argyll who assisted me,” Tishna admitted. “I had seen him in my future memories, and I knew he would cooperate.”
Fiarca looked a little surprised that the princess had confessed so readily, but Tishna knew she couldn’t keep secrets from her. If Fiarca was going to find out sooner or later, then it was better it came from Tishna’s lips, and buy Emma-Leonie’s safety.
“And who is that person?” asked Ras.
“It is someone you know very well,” Tishna answered. “A member of the Council named Count Veredica.”
“What?!”
Ras couldn’t hide his shock. In turn, it was Emma-Leonie who felt fear. Here was a man who had slain an earth dragon without a Chasseur, yet right now he was overcome with emotion—because the name to escape Tishna’s lips, that of one of the most powerful men in Argyll, was also that of his own father.
“Veredica…? That’s not…”
His own father being involved in planning Tishna’s assassination was more than Ras could believe right away.
Fiarca also looked a little concerned. “Hmm, that’s a name I didn’t expect to hear,” she said.
“Yes, and what’s more, he knew your true identity, Fiarca.”
Ras looked up at the sky, wondering what on earth his father could have been thinking. Meanwhile, Fiarca seemed to decide that this was something that could be considered later.
“This is getting complicated,” she said. “Let’s just focus on the now.”
On the plus side, she had finally learned the identity of an important piece of the puzzle. No matter the unsettling implications, that was a good thing.
“So, what do you say, Tishna? Do you want to become my fiancée and work together for a brighter future?”
“If that’s really what you want, Fiarca, then it looks like I have no choice in the matter. I did make a promise, after all.”
Tishna smiled, as if suddenly the shoe was on the other foot. She seemed free now, her mind clear, like a dark miasma clouding her mind had finally been lifted. Like the memories of the future no longer haunted her, and all that remained was her true self.
Suddenly, she closed in on Ras with upturned eyes.
“You heard the woman, Ras. It sounds like we’re going to be spending a lot more time together from now on.”
“Er, Tishna?”
Ras looked back at her, confused. The royal princess was pushing her ample bust into Ras’s arm, clearly with no concern about staying on Fiarca’s good side. Koko was attempting to mimic her, clinging to Ras’s legs, which only made things even more confusing.
“Fiarca says I’m meant to produce an heir, Ras,” Tishna whispered, bringing her lips perilously close to his. “I might need your help for that part.”
“Not so fast,” Fiarca snapped. “That was a necessary evil. I never said anything about the two of you getting romantic!”
“Oh? But we already have been getting romantic—in my future memories, at least.”
“You mean in your wild fantasies!”
“In real life, actually! How long do you think we spent together? How many years? Go on, guess!”
“I’ve changed my mind, Curbell. You can kill her after all.”
“What?!”
Ras watched as a pair of noble princesses quarreled like teenage girls, and sighed.
“Don’t they get on well?” came a voice. It belonged to Emma-Leonie, now free from Ras’s grasp. There was genuine care in her tone, and her love for Tishna was clear. Ras hadn’t expected to hear such kind words from an assassin, but as he gazed at the scene himself, his own eyes narrowed, as though what he was looking at was very bright indeed.
“Yes, they do.”
The evening sunlight glittered on the lake, casting the two girls’ faces in a golden glow. Even as the insults poured forth, Ras could only think that both of them looked very happy indeed.
But he also knew this peaceful moment could not last forever. The terrible future of which Tishna spoke was quickly approaching.
But for now, Ras closed his eyes and prayed. Prayed that calamity would stay away just a little bit longer. Long enough for these two girls to enjoy the happiness they had both finally found. Each of them had hidden their true self, lived behind a mask, lived a second life, and now, at last, made their first friend.