†††
“LADY SELENA, look.”
“……”
“It’s a swan!”
“It’s not a swan, it’s a goose.”
“It’s so cute and chubby.”
“Are you insulting the goose?”
Other than Ismail (our target), Shaghad (Ismail’s target), and Aisha (our next target), the picnic was also attended by a few noble boys and girls who had nothing to do with anything. They were invited as camouflage, but I was surprised Scarlanette was among them.
When I asked Evan, he gave an answer I couldn’t comprehend: “She seems the rare sort of person who could actually become your friend. I think she should be valued.”
And, right now, I was in a rowboat she’d dragged me into.
Evan was on the shore surrounded by noble girls, Aisha among them, of course.
“Is the position of next queen consort really that enticing?” I murmured.
The girls kept trying to hold each other back as they battled to make themselves look better than all the others. Didn’t those girls get tired of always trying to ingratiate themselves with Evan?
A short distance from him were Shaghad, Ismail, and a few noble boys. Ismail was hiding his usual arrogance and being friendly with everyone, even Shaghad, which was perhaps for his plan.
“I think you’d make a good queen consort,” said Scarlanette, following my gaze as I ran my fingers through the water.
“I wouldn’t expect you to say that,” I remarked.
“You’re not interested?”
“No.”
“Not in Prince Evan, either?”
“……”
“I don’t know what sort of life you’ve led, but I’m the daughter of a count. I’ve stood toe-to-toe with thick-skinned lionesses as we try to hold each other at bay, and it’s made me confident in my ability to read others. To me, it looks like you carry a fierce past that makes you not fit in as a noble or your mother’s daughter. Maybe that’s why you look so lonely sometimes.”
“Me? Lonely?”
“Yes. You didn’t know, did you? There are times when you look at us like we’re dazzling.”
Before I became an assassin in my past life, I would sometimes stand in the alleyways and look out at the main road. It was all so resplendent, like a different world cut off from my own.
But why?
If I took just one step, I could have been in that world, too.
So…why?
If I had taken that step forward, I would have been something other there, never accepted, even though I’d been born in the same country as the people there.
I had no parents; that was all that was different about me, about us, but that meant we had no choice but to live on the backstreets. We lived in a place where the weak were weeded out every day, and people fell to the ground dead like it was normal. It was not a safe place.
And that didn’t change after I became an assassin.
The amount of money I made from my assassin duties was plenty to go shopping on the main street, but my feet never took me there. I had no connection to that place.
Was I…envious?
“You’re mistaken,” I said.
“You think so?”
“And why do you think I’d make a good queen consort?”
“People who know pain can be kind towards others. And I know you’ll disagree, but your actions at the Festival saved me and several other nobles. It doesn’t matter what the reason is, but someone who can raise a sword against a threat can fight to protect the people important to them. That’s why I want you to be queen. Because you didn’t hesitate to fight. I also think someone who isn’t interested in the position is more trustworthy. They’re less likely to let the power go to their head.”
“…I won’t be queen.”
A former assassin becoming a queen? Impossible. It was impossible the moment I was reborn as a noble girl. I feel stifled as is. If I became queen, I’d be forced to take on even more responsibility and restrictions and be more than just stifled. I do not want that.
“Can I ask why?” questioned Scarlanette.
“Because I would likely crash to earth when my wings burned,” I stated.
Assassins don’t need the sun. Even if I was reborn into this pretty world and succeeded in dressing myself up, I could never change my core. I am an assassin. I would never become a proper, just person. I can’t.
One day, my flaws will come to light, and I’ll face judgment, either from Evan, who’ll be king by then, or by the people of Astra. Or by both.
Either way, a time will come when I’ll be found guilty.
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean,” said Scarlanette, “but I have a feeling you’re overthinking things. If your wings burn, Prince Evan or I just need to catch you when you fall so you don’t crash. And if all of us lose our wings, then, well, at least we can fall together.”
She smiled an innocent smile. What a flower-brained noble girl.
“If you want to commit suicide, do it alone,” I retorted.
“Oh, come on, Lady Selena. Don’t be so cold.”
✦ ✦ ✦
†††
“PRINCE SHAGHAD,” said Ismail.
The picnic was coming to an end. We’d finished eating lunch, and everyone was doing whatever they liked when the time finally came.
“I’d like to speak with you for a moment. I need to apologize for what I’ve done. Could you accompany me? I’d like to speak alone, if possible.”
Ismail never once imagined that Evan, Tiegel (who was hiding), and I were paying close attention to what he did as he led Shaghad into the forest.
“What was it you wanted to talk about?” asked Shaghad.
“Do you think coming to this country was a mistake?” asked Ismail. “Coming here seems to have put you under some misconception. And I understand it; the prince of Astra treats you as an equal. That’s what’s made you think you’re a prince who can interact equally with the royals like him here.”
Ismail seemed like he’d lost his mind as he gave a distorted smile.
“I am a prince,” said Shaghad. “I am of equal standing with them. It’s no misconception of mine.”
“We have to correct this mistake.”
“What do you mean, Ismail?”
“Yes, we have to correct it. I’m the rightful ruler of Rienbul.”
“No. You’re the grandson of a viscount.”
“I will be king!”
There seemed to be no reasoning with him at this point.
“Kill this pretender to the throne!” he shouted. “Once you’re dead, I’ll finally have the lawful authority I was meant to have. I will take back my legitimacy. I am the rightful king!”
The assassins Ismail prepared for this moment surrounded Shaghad. Rick had told me beforehand that Ismail was sending assassins at Shaghad, but this…
“There are too many,” I said. “Damn that Rick. This is too many for him to handle.”
Tiegel and I, who had been watching events unfold from the treetops, dropped to the ground in front of Shaghad.
“Selena! Tiegel!” he called.
“Lady Violette? Why are you here?” asked Ismail.
“Because this is all a stage that has been laid for you, Ismail Alaban.”
“A stage? Aha… Aaahahahahaha!” Ismail clutched his sides and laughed maniacally until tears came from his eyes. Once he’d had his fill, he looked at Shaghad with eyes filled with hatred and madness. “It’s always like this. You’re always the one being protected. You’re always the one who’s been acknowledged and loved. Why is it always you?!”
“What are you on about?” said Shaghad. “You’re the one loved by Father and your mother.”
It was only logical that Shaghad would sound confused by what Ismail said, which made him sound like he didn’t believe he was loved. In the words of the people of Rienbul, Ismail and Aisha were the product of true love or whatever, not born for a political strategy like Shaghad was. I’d heard the twins had been raised with their parents’ love.
“Love? Hah!” snorted Ismail. “Do you really think love exists, Shaghad? What a gifted mind you have. It pisses me off. I have no value if I can’t be a prince. Mother and Father won’t continue to love someone of no value. That’s why I have to prove my worth constantly.”
“When can you stop?” I asked.
Ismail smiled bitterly and said, “When I die.”
“I see. That sounds like hell.”
“It is.”
Ismail had no intentions of changing how he lived his life, which meant he and Shaghad couldn’t exist together. There was only one path to take, then.
So, Shaghad, what will you do? It’s time to choose. Show us what you’ve got.
“Kill him,” said Ismail, and the assassins obeyed, moving in for the kill.
I cut the throat of one of them with my dagger, then found my next target as the blood showered over me. At that moment, I forgot I was a noble’s daughter. I felt like I’d become nothing but an assassin again.
Tiegel and I bumped into each other back to back, and Shaghad was nearby as well, the three of us soaked in blood.
“Worn out yet, Shaghad?” I asked.
“No. I had an excellent teacher. I still have more in me.”
“Good. Tiegel, any problems?”
“No, my lady.”