Maybe that’s why he wanted me to come with him. But I thought he doesn’t know I can use magic… I don’t care how intuitive he is. He shouldn’t have been able to sus that out.
“You know, you resemble Albert in some ways.”
Huh? What did you say?
Stop it, Alicia. Don’t let your emotions show.
“I don’t appreciate being compared to an old man.”
“Well, that was rude.”
“Didn’t you say that just because we both have black hair?”
“I see your face a lot, you know.”
Oh, right. He has already seen my true face.
“Did you know about Albert?” he asks.
I hold a guarded silence—I don’t want to say anything, lest I reveal more than I’d like to.
Victor suspects there’s a blood connection between Albert and me. That’s why he took me down this path. Because he knows there’s a possibility I can use magic.
Victor turns around to face me. “Let me rephrase that—what did you think when you first saw him?”
Victor knows my grandfather and his friends were exiled from Durkis. He also knows I’m from another nation… It won’t make sense to feed him some stupid lie, but I still can’t let him trick me into revealing my true identity.
“I don’t know what you’re imagining, but don’t jump to conclusions. He and I are not related,” I reply curtly.
“Consider your place. Do you know who the hell you’re talking to?” he demands, roughly grabbing me by the collar.
His intimidating tone, his sharp eyes—they freeze the air in a flash.
Don’t let him see you squirm, Alicia.
Giving myself a silent word of encouragement, I smirk confidently.
“So what if he and I are blood related? Are you gonna lock me in the dungeon? Or are you gonna treat me like royalty? Is that why you paired yourself off with me? To ask all these prying questions?”
My counterattack causes Victor to weaken his hold on me.
“You want to exploit people who are useful to you. I’m glad we’re on the same page, Your Highness. So when the time comes, I will gladly let you exploit me to the utmost.”
He slowly releases me. “Seriously…brats like you are a pain in the ass.” There is a hint of resignation in his smirk.
Then he faces forward and resumes walking.
Captain Marius and Jurd gossip as they walk.
“Prince Victor really does seem taken with that Bitsy,” Jurd remarks.
After a brief pause, Captain Marius answers, “It’s the king who first took a liking to him. Of course the prince likes him, too.”
“He sure is a strange boy. He’s so young, but fearless. He’ll carry out any task you give him, without a care in the world… What sort of upbringing do you think a kid like him had?”
“I’m sure his life has been crueler than you or I can imagine.”
“Yes, I suppose his life was a far cry from the luxurious life of an aristocrat.”
“Though for a peasant, he sure doesn’t seem fazed at all by palace life.”
“He’s like a highly adaptive animal, I guess.”
As they talk, they arrive at a point in the road that makes them both stop walking. A downward staircase came into view. It’s too dark, however, to see where it leads.
“What’s the plan, Captain?”
“We have to go down,” Captain Marius answers promptly.
With grim resolve on their faces, the two soldiers slowly descend the staircase.
“What is that?” Victor murmurs.
I squint as light suddenly fills my vision. It takes some time before my eye adjusts.
Where is this coming from? It’s like somebody just lit a torch ahead of us.
“Guess we’ll have to walk toward the light,” Victor says, fearlessly pressing on. The sound of the water is only getting louder.
We should proceed with extra caution now, Your Highness… He really knows no fear, doesn’t he?
The path quickly gets narrower, and with it, the light grows brighter. The path shrinks to the size of a single small person. We somehow make it through and emerge before a great waterfall. The water is rushing with tremendous force. It lies in a space more open than the last, so it’s a little easier to breathe.
The walls are covered with lots of ivy, moss, and even tiny flowers. The clearing is so mystical I have to just stare and swoon for a while.
This is the sort of place you’d find in a coffee-table book on beautiful ruins. Who in the world would have imagined such a beautiful place could exist beneath that disgusting lake?
“What is that…?”
I glance over to where Victor is looking. There’s just one area where the water is not flowing. As though the water is intentionally avoiding that one spot.
Huh…? Yeah, something’s there.
I strain my eye, but the blindfold is making the picture hazy. The only thing I can make out is that it’s in the shape of a human silhouette.
Is that a doll…? There wouldn’t be a person so small here.
You know, I really wish they’d stop forcing horror imagery into this story. At least make it a human, please…… No, I take that back. Even a fat, middle-aged man standing in the middle of a waterfall would be terrifying.
“Finally found it,” Victor murmurs beside me.
“Is that the lake’s source?”
“Yeah. That fairy is the source of the lake,” he says, clear as day.
Fairy? Wait, is that a fairy? Huh? Do fairies exist in this world?
That’s news to me. I read all those books… How embarrassing that I didn’t know there are fairies. I need to study harder.
Most importantly, though, it’s not a doll.
“So if you capture that fairy, you get to be king?”
“That’s right. I can overtake my brother.”
“…The secondborn prince’s pitiful power grab?”
I put extra snark into my voice, knowing it will make him angry. It feels like my villainess cred has gone down since I started dressing as a boy. I had to say something cutting and bitchy.
“You’ve got a problem with that?” Victor answers, his voice a quiet growl.
Oops. I knew it. He’s mad.
“Is the firstborn prince a genius or something?”
“I couldn’t care less about that guy,” he snaps in annoyance, then turns and walks toward the waterfall.
I have only seen the long-haired firstborn prince once. It was in the arena, when I fought the lion. And from the way Victor acts, it’s clear he detests his brother—just as I have my own issues with my brothers. Right when Victor is about to step in the pool of water beneath the waterfall, something repels him.
What…was that? Fairy magic?
“What’s with this waterfall?”
He tries once more to push his way beneath the waterfall but is repelled yet again.
“Hey, brat, do something.”
Hey, I don’t know how to deal with fairies. I only found out they exist, like, two minutes ago.
I always assumed the only fantasy element in this world was magic. But there is no use bickering over semantics. So I try entering the space beneath the waterfall, Victor staring intently at me all the while.
First, I need to figure out what is pushing us away…… Huh? I got under it.
I whirl to face Victor. His eyes are wide as he stares at me.
“How did I do that?!” I ask.
“Like I know?!”
Did the waterfall reject Victor, but accept me? Is this a ladies-only waterfall?
Victor glares at me. “You’ve got really powerful magic, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, drop the act. Your magic is stronger than the fairy’s—that’s why you could easily get inside.”
“How exactly do you know that?”
“Legend has it that— No, forget it.”
Hey, why’d you stop there? You were just getting to the juicy part.
“Nothing displeases me more than an unfinished sentence—spit out the rest of it.”
“Hey, have you forgotten I’m a prince?”
“If you’re a prince, then stop being so half-assed.”
“As if I can just divulge my kingdom’s secrets to you.”
“……Are you saying your secret is more important than getting out of this rotten lake?”
“I am.”
This coming from the guy who almost blurted it out a second ago. You’d better be more careful. And for your legend to be that heavily guarded… I wonder what it’s about.
Well, I know I won’t get him to crack here. Guess I’ll just have to gain that intel myself.
“Now, more importantly, can you or can’t you capture the fairy?”
“If I capture the fairy, does that mean I get to be king?”
Victor clamps his mouth shut. He’s no cheater. He knows exactly what it means if I capture the fairy in his place.
“I know I said you could exploit me, but this is something you should do on your own.”
“But you know I can’t go over there. What exactly am I supposed to do?” Victor sounds on edge.
Haste makes waste, my friend. The goal is right before your eyes. Why must you be in such a rush?
“I’m saying I’ll help you,” I say.
“……How, exactly?” Victor’s face scrunches.
“A villainess sometimes loves her flowers.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Nobody ever has any love for the moss and roots that hold up the flowers… In other words, it doesn’t matter how you obtain the fairy.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying, Your Highness, the glittering glory is yours for the taking.”