The second daughter of Roam, said to be chosen by the goddess, possessed an unaltered, tyrannical temperament.
Before Anelli was beheaded, all those in the Roam residence who had witnessed her depravity up close unanimously declared they could not understand why she had been chosen by the goddess.
"I am curious how she subdues Monsters."
"Did you hear how she subdued the Dullahan in the imperial palace?"
"I heard it was just a few words."
"So that viper's tongue works on Monsters too."
With no one to watch their words, their speech grew even coarser. Frankly, this level of talk wasn't even considered severe.
After all, it was Anelli who had suddenly returned to Roam and stirred up trouble, so it was only natural the knights could not pledge loyalty to her.
Having easily justified their behavior, the knights continued their conversation, omitting the subject.
The words, initially somewhat sanitized, grew rougher as time passed. The resentment they harbored inwardly from the humiliation suffered at the hands of Anelli's escorts added to their ire, making their tone quite vicious.
"That seed of discord who stirs up trouble for the family should have its... Gah!"
It was then. The knight who had been happily running his mouth suddenly looked beside him, startled, and recoiled. A pitch-black cat was silently staring at them, having arrived at some unknown time.
"Tch, what wretched luck!"
The knight, patting his chest to calm his fright, spat on the floor. Just then, Anelli could be seen returning from afar. Unfortunately, she appeared perfectly fine.
"Tsk."
The knights of Roam swallowed their disappointment and reluctantly began to move.
The cat stared intently at their retreating backs.
The bead on the thin collar around the cat's neck was shining strangely, but the light was so faint that no one noticed.
* * *
By the time I finished all my business, it was much later than I had anticipated.
Emerging from the forest and returning to the Lindea River, I was met in the gathering darkness by knights with faces full of discontent.
Samuel and Xenon deeply distrusted them, but with no pretext to follow me all the way to Roam, they ultimately decided to stay at an inn for the time being. Thus, I returned to Roam under the insincere escort of knights who disliked me.
Finally, having expended considerable energy dealing with the last cluster of Rusalka clinging together in a massive lump, I had no appetite.
So, I intended to wash up quickly and go to bed early. That is, if my father hadn't summoned me to his study.
"You moved separately from the knights at the Lindea River."
My father's expression was stern as he pressed his fingers to his forehead.
I gazed at him for a moment, then indifferently averted my eyes.
It seemed the knights, likely worried I would fault them for dereliction of duty, had taken the initiative to complain first.
"Father, I expended quite a bit of mental energy and am fatigued."
"While it's fortunate you returned without incident, had anything happened, Roam would have been in a rather difficult position."
My father showed no intention of letting me rest. Swallowing a sigh, I pressed firmly on my eyelids.
Then, I took a small pouch from my pocket.
"I was going to report after handling it, but perhaps I should have told you from the start, since you're pressing me like this."
"What?"
My father's eyes widened at my words. I continued as if it were nothing significant.
"They are recording crystals."
What I presented were single-use crystals capable of recording short conversations, though not full video.
They were expensive, recorded only voices, and even that for only a short duration, making them often dismissed as impractical magical artifacts.
But for me, with money to spare, they were quite useful. Unlike crystal orbs that record video, these were small enough to carry several in a pocket.
So small, in fact, that if hung on an animal's collar, they would look like decorative beads.
"Recording?"
My father asked with a confused expression.
"It seems you are not fully aware of the sentiments of this household's employees, Father, so I took it upon myself to look into it a little."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means the vassals of Roam are not obedient to the will of the head of the Roam family."
Smiling faintly, I activated the crystals one by one. The voices of employees working throughout the Roam residence flowed from the crystals. Among them were those of the knights who had accompanied me to the Lindea River today.
The crude words and impassioned tones were all condemnations of me. My Dullahans had worked so hard to record these.
"Your silence has done more than just destabilize my position, Father. It seems these people have forgotten they are employed at the Roam residence. To express such intense hostility toward me, whom you have chosen."
My father's expression froze coldly. He seemed astonished that while he was preoccupied with external affairs, the employees had nurtured such enmity toward me.
Such open criticism of the successor chosen by the head of the Roam family was unacceptable.
That fact alone would greatly displease my father. But what would grate on his nerves even more... would be my mother, for failing to maintain internal discipline to this extent.
The internal affairs of the household are entirely the domain of the lady of the house, my mother.
That my mother tolerated the loose tongues of the employees meant that, ultimately, their chatter reflected her will. At least, my father would think so.
"I understand your grievance."
"My grievance is not important. I am merely a little concerned."
Having activated several crystals simultaneously, their recordings ended at roughly the same time. The vulgarities that had noisily filled the study vanished, replaced by a heavy silence.
"It seems Mother has found an alternative other than me. Were you aware of this, Father?"
It was a question asked knowing full well he was not.
And as I expected, my father could not answer immediately.
Sayri is still young, and the external situation is unstable. Whoever is ultimately established as successor, a plausible shield that draws attention yet remains manageable is needed for now.
My mother is the type to act only after all calculations are complete. She nods only when sufficiently assured of safety and that things will proceed as intended.
Naturally, this time too, she must have been calculating various options separately from Lilia's proposal.
Considering her Phrygian sister, who left home but is only waiting for a chance to return; the Resurrected One, who draws external attention; and the youngest of Roam, who is obedient and has grown up well-mannered.
"The opinions of you two cannot always align. I also know you always respect Mother's opinion, Father. But I was taught not to defy the head of the Roam family within the Roam residence."
Once again, my father did not answer. Staring down blankly at the crystals I had placed on the desk, he issued a curt order to see me out.
"Return to your room."
My body felt limp and damp, and my head was foggy. I gladly nodded.
Even if this incident causes a quarrel between my father and mother, in the end, my father will be the first to yield and concede. But once a crack begins, it inevitably leads to a greater fissure.
What if, after accepting my mother's opinion and designating Sayri as the final successor, everything goes awry?
What if the result of accepting my mother's judgment leads to the family's ruin?
No one knows if my father's noble love will remain intact even then.
'It's all too easy.'
I thought as I walked down the long corridor. All too easy.
Leading Roam to be trampled into dust and everyone to collapse was truly easy.
So easy, in fact, that it held no emotional impact whatsoever.
* * *
By the time I secured a room at the inn, washed up, finished my preparations, and sat on the bed, it was the dead of night.
"......"
Xenon, lying sprawled on the bed with his arms cradling his head, stared blankly at the ceiling. The image of Anelli just before they parted upon returning from the Lindea River wouldn't leave his mind.
「Wait.」
Was it his错觉 that her expression had seemed particularly weary?
Xenon slowly retraced his memories. Up until the initial fight with the Rusalka, Anelli had seemed more or less fine.
She even had enough energy to throw a punch at the first Rusalka. After that, she kept getting hit by the Rusalka's attacks and repeatedly waking up.
Apart from the fact that the duration of her dream states gradually lengthened, Anelli upon waking showed no particular issues.
'What changed was...'
The last time.
When she fell from the attack of the grotesquely clustered Rusalka and then woke up.
Until then, Anelli had slept for at most a few minutes, but after the last attack, she lay unconscious for nearly hours.
Though startled by the sudden increase in time, once she was trapped in an illusion, he couldn't recklessly touch Anelli.
Moreover, since Anelli had power to reclaim within the illusion, he couldn't arbitrarily kill the Rusalka that had put her to sleep.
Of course, as time dragged on, murderous intent toward the Rusalka did indeed simmer.
Gently brushing back the bangs of Anelli, who lay quietly with closed eyes, Xenon recalled the slumbering Empress. The Empress who wouldn't wake no matter what was done.
Just as he was finally focusing magical power into his impatient fingertips, Samuel, who had been quietly monitoring the Rusalka, parted his lips.
「Endure it.」
「Endure it? Aren't you worried about Lady Anelli at all?」
「Is a mage's patience shorter than a beast's?」
Only after Samuel's pointed remark did Xenon realize that the animals Anelli usually led around were quiet.
To be precise, not animals but Dullahans pretending to be animals...
Xenon was well aware of how exceptionally devoted the Dullahans were to Anelli. And the Dullahans were calmly watching over the sleeping Anelli.
At that moment, Xenon felt a strange sense of incongruity.
'It was as if... they shared some kind of bond among themselves.'
Even Samuel included.
At that spot, Xenon was the only one anxious because he couldn't properly grasp the situation. Realizing this, a haze of displeasure bloomed in Xenon's chest.
He held Anelli in his heart, but he did not know everything about her.
Anelli was generous to him, but she did not explain everything to him.
Unless she explained first, Xenon did not press for details. It had always been that way.
What exactly was her relationship with the Dullahans? What was the nature of the power she possessed? What was her past life like that caused her sleep to be troubled...?
He thought that if it was something he needed to know, Anelli would explain, and if she didn't explain, then he didn't need to know.
'But for how long?'
Along with a prickly sense of rebellion, Xenon became aware of his own emotion.
This was jealousy.