One Year Ago.
There were two young ladies to whom the emperor gave epithets.
...Sylvia Evanail, daughter of Baron Evanail...
...A golden thread blooms in a yellow flower garden...
...From now on, people will call you like so...
The Lady of the Golden Silk.
The heroine of this world.
...Raviel Ivansia, daughter of Duke Ivansia...
...A flower gilded in silver so as to not drop its head...
....Child. From now on, the subjects of the empire will call you...
The Lady of the Silver Lily.
The villainess of this Apocalypse.
Noble ladies usually receive an epithet when they have their debutant ball and enter aristocratic society. The royal family or high nobility who open their debutant balls give them their new names.
The noble lady's epithet differed based on how high up in society the presenter was. A name given by a baron and a name given by a count were of different classes.
The greatest epithet was, of course, a name bestowed by the emperor. It was the pride of one's family to be given a name by His Majesty.
Since these two young ladies attended the same academy, the huge storm that brewed was inevitable....
'But even so.'
I looked at the prince. The crown prince was holding my colleague, the Heretic Questioner, who had taken on the role of the Lady of the Golden Silk. He was holding the Heretic Questioner so tightly that the dress rippled around his fingertips like scales.
'Isn't he too superficial to be the crown prince of a country?'
Strangely, I didn't like him.
The prince met my eyes. He was looking at me a little distastefully, so I had to lower my gaze. But his gaze was also unusual.
Contempt. Fury. Disdain.
Negative emotions were lurking in his eyes.
"...You also survived."
Uhm.
Was that directed to me? Probably, since I was the only one in his gaze right now. However, his voice sounded like that of someone who ate spinach three days after its expiration date. It kind of pissed me off.
"Yes, Your Highness."
I imitated the way people in historical dramas spoke.
"I safely managed to survive."
"You're lucky."
"How can it be due to the luck of this humble child? Your Highness's grace must have been crazy good."
"...."
The prince's lovely eyebrows slipped. Just now, I more or less implied [you set up the raid on your own]. If he had a guilty conscience, then even an ordinary greeting should put him on edge.
"Your words are too much. Do you mean to say that my royal grace is embedded in everything that happens in the world? Saving your own life and saving Sylvia from the assassins and ruffians are all due to your own fortune. I thank you."
Wow.
He seemed to retreat and praised me, but listening carefully, that wasn't the case. It wasn't because of my 'skills,' but rather because of 'fortune.' No way. I'd like to think this wasn't true, but was the prince trying to keep me in check right now?
"The Lady of the Golden Silk is my master."
At that moment.
"And I belong to her."
My mouth moved without my intent.
"Your Highness. How can we say that it is luck that a sword protects its owner? The tool has just been used as a tool should. Your Highness praises me excessively."
It was embarrassing. Really, truly, I had planned to step back after saying something vague. What good would it be if the prince and a butler got into a fight? Nevertheless, my tongue moved agilely.
'Huh? Have I finally gone nuts?'
When my head became a bit hazy, I heard a voice.
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
What?
[Currently, your immersion rate is 1%.]
What the heck?
"...Really, you're so eloquent that I want to sew your lips together."
While I was going mad in my head, the prince's face became distorted. Outrage. Humiliation. It was really a face trying to hold back from cursing.
If possible, I also wanted to yell out a bucket of swears. It was because seeing the prince's face crumpled up was strangely refreshing for a corner of my heart. Rather than thinking I should stop, I felt that his look was quite good. Crazy. This was insane.
"These days, barons and such nobility seem to select servants based on their tongue rather than their personality. If His Majesty knew the situation, he would surely lament it."
Wait a moment.
Just wait. He was supposed to be the prince of this world, but he was just a blond ramen noodle. Don't provoke me anymore. Please, don't irritate [my] emotions. This is, this stage is....
"How could that be? How dare there be a day when His Majesty's eyes are blurred? Your Highness the Crown Prince is so mature that you accumulate virtues in our school every day. I am sure that His Majesty is pleased."
In other words, I was sarcastically saying his father sure would be pleased if he knew the prince hired an assassin. But that wasn't the important part.
I realized the trap of this stage.
And I realized why Count and Crusader, the two Hunters who dealt with the economy and safety of our Tower, became so weak and failed to attack.
'As time passed, those two people were eaten up by the concept!'
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
Oh no.
[Currently, your immersion rate is 2%.]
This was something crazy.
"Hmph. That's enough. It's beneath me to compete with you through words. As for what happened tonight, I will thoroughly investigate the truth."
"Is there anyone in our school who is as reliable as the prince? I sincerely request this. Please find who is behind the attack and punish them a hundredfold."
"Of course."
Aaah.
Was it 'this'?
Was this the special feature of this stage?
The prince glanced at me and said,
"Lady Sylvia must have been very surprised. Perhaps others are lurking and may attack tonight. Know that I will protect the lady tonight."
"Your Highness."
My tongue was evolving into an answering machine.
"Please forgive this child's rudeness. The more times things like this happen, the more one has to relieve one's fatigue where one feels most comfortable. My mistress will want to stay in her private room, as usual."
"...Are you saying that she can't be at ease by my side?"
"I apologize. This child is simply telling the truth to Your Highness."
Save me.
Please save me!
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
[Currently, your immersion rate is 3%.]
SOS! Help me!
-Hey, you... What are you doing?
Sword Emperor! No, Sword Emperor-nim!
-Eh. Did this brat go around the bend?
I really think I'm going around the bend now, so please do something!
-Uh... What do you want me to do?
I don't know. Anyway, help me control myself!
-Hmm. Can I really talk shit to you?
I don't care what you say, so please just help me get a hold of myself!
-Ah, then.
Bae Hu-ryeong grinned.
-Zombie. You seem to dislike Venomous Snake. But actually, whenever you get the change, you act more or less like the protagonist in the Venomous Snake's delusions....
Ah.
'That's enough. I came to my senses. Don't say another word.'
-Come on.
My mind seemed to flash to awareness as Bae Hu-ryeong masterfully dared to compare me to the Venomous Snake. Has anyone ever seen a nastier ghost? It didn't matter what he said, but he had to throw a nonsense festival. But thanks to this, the rate of immersion that rose like crazy came to a sudden stop.
"...."
Meanwhile.
The Heretic Questioner, who buried his face in the prince's embrace, was also acting abnormally.
"...? Huh?..."
The Heretic Questioner was tilting his head back and forth. For the first time ever, I saw the Heretic Questioner's 'confused' expression. That universally acknowledged leader of the nutjobs. The pure natural-born psycho didn't understand the feelings he was feeling right now.
Guilt.
Perhaps that's why the Heretic Questioner pushed away from the prince's chest. He slithered out of his arms. The prince who was fighting with me with his eyes was bewildered. He looked at the Lady of the Golden Silk, no, the Heretic Questioner.
"Sylvia, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"
"Huh? ...Hmm? Oohhh?" The Heretic Questioner tilted his head once more. "How fascinating."
"What's fascinating, Sylvia?"
"I'm feeling some unfamiliar emotion. It's the first time I've felt this since I was born." The Heretic Questioner laughed. "My heart is pounding!"
"...."
"My heart is beating so violently. Oho. Aha. Indeed! It's really mysterious…."
The Heretic Questioner closed his eyes. Then, he touched his chest with both hands. The Heretic Questioner, no, the Lady of the Golden Silk, was smiling. She looked like she was listening to beautiful classical music.
"The owner of this body seems to really like you!"
"Sy-Sylvia…." The prince's face looked like he had eaten the soup called 'emotion' with the rice called 'touched.'
If I hadn't been in a hurry to stop the immersion, I might have felt envious of the timing, but fortunately, thankfully, that wasn't the case. Even though I was late, I had come to my senses.
"Milady," I said forcefully. The Heretic Questioner opened his closed eyes and looked at me. "Let's return to the dormitory. His Highness the Crown Prince declared that he would personally uncover who was behind the attack. Since it's late, milady should go back to your room and rest. From tomorrow, don't we have to continue milady's life again?"
We had a 'purpose' as well as a 'role.'
The goal of clearing the stage.
We couldn't forget it.
"Oh, yes. You're right."
The Heretic Questioner blinked. He understood what I meant right away. The Heretic Questioner grabbed his skirt and greeted the prince.
"Thank you for your consideration. But I will go back with my butler."
"Ah?"
"Good night, Your Highness. I will now go back!"
The Heretic Questioner easily turned his back, abandoning the prince whose face turned blank. He lightly stepped out of the warehouse.
From behind, the prince shouted, "Sylvia! Sy-Sylvia?!" However, the Heretic Questioner only walked away with a smile. He didn't even turn his head.
"...The task has become difficult."
I muttered, following close behind the Heretic Questioner.
"I didn't think there would be a trap like immersion. Damn it."
I wondered why the Count and the Crusader failed, but now I understood.
"Ahaha."
The Heretic Questioner smiled mysteriously. Click. Click. Our footsteps echoed in the corridor, and our shoes were shaded white by the moon. The sound of human feet resembled the beating of a heart.
"It's definitely something we didn't expect. Death King, how much has your immersion rate increased just now?"
"It went up to 3 percent like mad. I barely managed to stop it."
"You're outstanding. Mine shot up to 10 percent right away!"
I was speechless.
'10 percent? 10?!'
It was devastating. He had only spent a short time with that prince character, but one-tenth of his ego had been infected.
The situation was more serious than I thought.
Only then, even living a normal life was like walking through a poison fog. Little by little, you became poisoned, and once you came to your senses, you couldn't escape.
When you let go of your hold on your mind.
In an instant, the mind would be eaten by the [romance] of this world.
"...This can't go on."
I opened my mouth. My voice was slow. Well, I was nervous.
Losing myself. That I might lose myself.
It was always the thing I feared most.
"Let's prepare safeguards for ourselves."
"Safeguards?"
"Yes."
I carefully touched the handle of my dagger. I felt the texture of the green tape around my finger. That familiar texture brought me a sense of stability.
"Choose a keyword. So that we can come to our senses whatever the situation, no matter how serious things are, when we say this keyword. For example, when I say [peach], you can say [carrot]."
"Aha. It's a secret code for the two of us!"
The Heretic Questioner smiled.
"I agree! I saw something similar in a drama before. Then what should the secret code be..."
Click.
At that time, we heard the sound of a heel from across the corridor. The heel of a shoe was pressing dangerously to the floor of the corridor. Dull footsteps followed. A person was approaching with several servants.
The moon shined.
A sharp shoe trampled over the moon reflected on the hallway floor.
Hair as silver as the moonlight. The Lady of the Silver Lily.
The duchy's young lady led several followers and walked this way. The villainous young lady frowned like she was angry. She glowered at us.
"Ah."
The Heretic Questioner let out a small moan.
"Death King."
The Heretic Questioner stood on his tiptoes.
Then, he opened his lips and murmured into my ear.
"I think I really do hate her."
Whisper.
At first, it sounded like the same voice as always.
"...."
Slowly, I turned my head and looked at the Heretic Questioner.
"Mhm."
The Heretic Questioner spun round and round. The hem of the long dress swirled, causing a small whirlwind to rise. The wind containing his weight pressed on my chest.
"I'm curious, Death King."
The Heretic Questioner stopped, then splayed open his hands. He curled his fingers other than his index fingers, which revealed his bare skin.
"Ah, I'm really curious."
Pressing both index fingers to his lips, he was smiling like always.
"Right now, what kind of expression am I making?"
But his eyes weren't smiling.
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
[Currently.]
[Your immersion rate is 4%.]