Chapter 222

Calculated Betrayal

I have no time to panic. Without a moment to calm the anxiously howling Pudding, I quickly moved forward without even having time to properly dispel my lingering feelings with my guardian deity whom I met for the first time.

‘I must head to the meeting point with Ricdorian.’

It was only the Roses who were affected by the festival, and it had nothing to do with their subordinates. In other words, if I pa.s.sed by that village, Hernim’s knight would be waiting for me.

Will they be with the magic prepared in advance? The magic was traceable, so I couldn’t use it as soon as I arrived here. I had to hide my direction as much as possible from Chaser, who was running this way by now.

‘Now there is one more person to hide from.’

It was not easy to predict for what reason the Empress partic.i.p.ated in the festival, but I had a feeling that it was never a good intention.

My senses told me so. We should not meet. There must be competent wizards in the imperial family, so I had to pay more attention to magic use. As I walked for a while, the bushes shook in front of me.

I instinctively grabbed the dagger hanging from my waist and stepped one of my feet back. A blue light flickered on my fingertips.

“Oh? h.e.l.lo!”

And what appeared through the bushes was a very small child. She’s a cute girl too.

“Are you a guest? Few travelers come to our town!”

I stared intently at the child’s outfit and face. I wondered if it was a trick or a ruse, but I didn’t feel the unique energy of magic. She feels like a real ordinary person as I can’t feel it even with the sharper sense after getting my guardian deity…….

Long ago, when I lived in Domulit, I was taken away by a kidnapper disguised as a child. Without erasing my vigilance, I stepped back.

“… that’s right. I’m on my way. Why are you here?”

“This is my way to pick up acorns!”

Showing that fact, the child’s hand held a handful of acorns, from her slightly opened pocket. My vigilance has loosened a bit.

“…… Well, this may sound strange, but this place might get dangerous soon. Go home quickly.”

“Huh, why? Is there a war? Is the rose coming?”

“What?”

I paused at the term.

“Our village is a village dedicated to the Blue Rose!”

The child smiled broadly with a clear face.

“There, that village.”

“… Is there a village?”

“Yes! A long time ago, the Blue Rose of the beginning lived here and loved us. The power from that time remains, and everyone born in the village has blue eyes!”

The child’s eyes were as blue as the deep sea. It felt different from Ricdorian’s eyes, which had a pale blue color, but I was strangely used to it.

Because this was similar to the color of the light emitted by my guardian deity.

“This was the land where the Blue Rose ruled.”

“…… Are you talking about a territory?”

“Yes. It used to be very, very big, but now it is small.”

The child said with a bright blush on her cheeks, happily explaining.

“Sometimes, the Blue Rose may come back to our village, so the village chief said that we had to take good care of it. The Blue Rose is a precious person who has made us live well up to this point.”

The child spread her hands wide.

“We are the Blue Rose’s people, so we wish the Blue Rose to be happy for a long, long time!”

I was at a loss for words.

“Who is Sister?”

“I…….”

In the child’s bright blue eyes, there was nothing but pure longing and admiration without any selfishness or scheming.

“… Are you waiting even though you have never seen the Blue Rose?”

“Yes. Maybe one day the Blue Rose will come!”

So the child’s eyes came back to me again, who are you?

Every Rose has a territory. I heard from the Empress that the Roses’ present land is the place where the original rose took root, and I also heard that their family name is the name of the original rose.

There was nothing about the Blue Rose in person or the territory in those useful information. But if all the roses had their own territory…… Wouldn’t the Blue Rose have one too?

It felt like I heard the answer right in front of my eyes.

All Roses are summoned to their territory. And that I, too, should be summoned to my territory.

“I am just a traveler who gets lost by chance.”

“Ah …… really?”

The child looked sullen.

“I thought maybe Sister is the Blue Rose. You’re so very pretty.”

“Really? Thank you.”

I had no time. I had to leave this place in a hurry. I smiled slightly and gently stroked the child’s head.

“But I think I might be able to meet the Blue Rose when I go to the capital.”

“Sister? Really? For real?”

“Yes. Do you have something to say? I will tell the Blue Rose.”

She was still a small child who was likely to believe such lies, so she seemed to have fallen for it. As expected, the child smiled broadly. I wondered if the child would tell the Blue Rose to visit this village.

“Hehe, then please tell the Blue Rose to be happy! May the Blue Rose always be happy!”

“…… What?”

But those words were unexpected.

“The village chief said that the Blue Rose is very strong and beautiful, but even then, the Blue Rose couldn’t live as she wanted. She was not free.”

Blue eyes that resembled my whale blinked.

“That’s why the Blue Rose comes back here every now and then.”

The Blue Rose that visited very rarely is probably the past Blue Roses that were summoned here to hold the rose festival.

In the past, the Rose Festival was said to have occurred because the Blue Rose gave up their choice or the fight got too fierce.

“But we were happy and doing well in the land given by the Blue Rose. So we’ll always wish the Blue Rose’s happiness.”

The child spread her little hands wide.

“May the Blue Rose always be free! Always be happy!”

A small village that used to be large, but gradually decreased and now only maintains a small life. People who have the same eye color as the guardian deity. I felt an indescribable feeling.

Even though I had no choice but to accept the name of the Blue Rose, I only felt that it was half believable and yet incomprehensible…….

“…… thank you.”

“Yes?”

“No. I will tell the Blue Rose.”

Why was it chilly under my eyes for a while? I couldn’t figure out the exact reason. There were people who purely wished for my happiness and freedom in a place I did not know.

I felt grateful. WIth a helplessness as well.

Now it was really time to leave.

“Then I will go. I hope to see you again.”

The child kindly gave detailed directions through the village and out of this bush. She told me to avoid the hunters’ traps, and told me where the traps were.

“Yes. Pretty sister! See you again! Sister looks pretty and um, mysterious! I want to see you again.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

On that path, I parted with the child and walked like running. By arranging my stamina, the meeting point with Hernim’s knight would not be far away.

A blue aura wrapped around my feet. No matter how much I walked, my feet did not hurt and my speed was much faster than my original speed.

It was around the time when I had just broken through the bush and came out to the huge field.

“You’re here now?”

I met the crowd waiting for me. Unfortunately, it was not Hernim’s knight who I wanted to meet the most. It wasn’t even my roses, which would run at an unbelievable speed.

Flutter~

The long reddish-brown hair fluttered. The Empress, who showed her scarred cheek, was smiling gracefully. Wherever her dress went, she was wearing a uniform.

“I see you again, Blue Rose.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a hugely prepared magic attacked me.

***

Bang! Bang!

An untimely roar echoed across the wide open field. Some fields were burned, others frozen and scorched.

“Haa, haa.”

In an instant, the hollowed-out lands revealed how huge the magic was and how fierce it was.

I took in a small breath. The dust settled over the blue veil that surrounded me to protect me, and I could see the Empress’ smiling face between them.

“…… It’s unexpected.”

She was smiling, but she was no longer relaxed.

The fight was fierce. Although it was a short time, the fierce and fiery fight told me a lot. I realized that it wasn’t difficult to block this myriad of magic, and that I wouldn’t be defeated at this level.

“Your Majesty, why are you going this far?”

The Empress narrowed her eyes as our realizations crossed.

“Are you asking this now?”

“You should at least have given me time to drink.”

“Your tone is still there. Even though you are cheeky, I’m still in a bad mood.”

The magic stopped for a moment as a smile crept into the Empress’s lips.

“What do you not know, now that you’ve already seen it? I have come to pick you up.”

“You‘re not trying to kill me?”

What are these fierce magic for then?

“Ah, as long as I am breathing, your condition doesn’t matter.”

It was only after the magic had stopped that I could properly see the Empress’s face, and only then did I know.

“Hahaha, hahahaha. It’s great to see you again.”

There was something strange about the sharp purple eyes. The whitishness circling around the Empress looked darker than before.

“Even the ghosts say they are happy to see you! What a great day, hahaha!”

They were shapes that evoked an ominous feeling the moment I saw them. I buried Pudding deep inside me so it wouldn’t run out.

She didn’t fully grasp my abilities. So, Pudding had to be left as a trump card. It wasn’t difficult to block the magic. The same was true of the sword too.

Perhaps it was aware of my dangerous situation, my guardian deity did not remove the blue veil that protected me. Rather, it just embraces me in a more blueish tint. It was like being embraced by a warm wave.

“…… thank you.”

A soft cry came in my ears.

“You asked me to help you. Was it all calculated that you came and partic.i.p.ated in the festival?”

I wasn’t really curious. It was just a question I asked to find a way.

“Well. Did I ? Hahaha. Maybe I did..….”

The Empress tilted her head. She didn’t hide her sharp eyes. Her tone was languid, as if she had taken the wrong medicine, and her words trailed off.

“…… Maybe I don’t…… No. Why does it matter? Now I want to have that…… position and power. I did……. I want, everything….”

The Empress’ finger stroked my chin.

“The roses of the past used everything they could to win this festival…… I like the Black Rose the most…… Didn’t he threaten to destroy something precious? Ah, right!”

As she mumbled her words, she turned her head to the side. The place where we met here was a wide field. Because the land of the field was in a high alt.i.tude, the view towards the village was open at the side.

It was the village where the child from a while ago lives.

“I heard that the Black Rose took the lives of innocent people hostage and conciliated them……. Shall we burn that village down?”

I shouldn’t have been agitated. But at that moment, the child’s bright expression crossed my mind, and I may have revealed my traces without my knowledge.

“Oh?”

I was caught. The expression on the Empress’ face showed that she was on the right path.

“Unexpectedly, is it correct?”

“What.”

Her face brightened brightly.

“Attack.”

Her fingers were not pointing at me. The moment I saw the flames heading towards the village, I bit my lip.

“Stop it!”