RISHE ONLY LET HER UNEASE show on her face for a split second. She quickly erased it with a smile.
"I'd be very interested in an experiment involving Prince Arnold." She feigned genuine zeal, hoping Michel couldn't tell how fast her heart was beating.
The "gunpowder" Michel had invented had the power to destroy anything and everything. The first time she'd witnessed its might, she'd barely believed her eyes. His experiment burst apart a small room from the inside, its stone walls crumbling in an instant.
Ever since then, Michel had been searching for someone willing to use his gunpowder, and his student Rishe had hoped with all her being that no one would ever take him up on it. But he'd finally found someone—the worst candidate Rishe could imagine.
"I never expected to find such an incredible possibility here." Michel's voice dropped to a gentle whisper. He knew exactly how sound traveled at this volume, so Rishe was sure her knights would barely hear anything.
"My gunpowder must go to someone with real power to use it in war. I've been investigating policies of many different nations' leaders, but Galkhein's emperor always seemed too emotional in the records—annoying, even. I never thought his son, the crown prince, would be suited to my experiments either. After all, his policies are those of a 'good ruler.' "
He smiled softly and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. Careful not to show her agitation, Rishe asked casually, "What sort of person were you looking for, Professor?"
In this life, maybe Michel would tell her. She looked at him, willing him to answer. His smile grew.
"Neither tyrannical kings nor virtuous ones suit my experiment. I prematurely judged Galkhein's emperor and crown prince as the same. How rash of me."
That's why Michel never had any contact with Prince Arnold in any of my previous lives.
As emperor, Arnold Hein never used Michel's gunpowder in his war. If he'd known of its existence, Rishe was sure he would've used it to maximize his efficiency, just like he'd used the pocket watch he'd lent her to carry out his strategies.
Michel has no interest in rumors. He trusted the results of Arnold's political policies over the gossip around his cruelty. And once Arnold became emperor, he ruled him out for the same reason as the current emperor—Arnold's father.
But now, Michel had met the real Arnold.
"Prince Arnold is a very virtuous ruler!" Rishe said, forcing a smile.
"I know how he seems, but he's a kind person. He ensured his people didn't become impoverished because of the war, and he's even come up with his own training methods to prevent his knights from sustaining injuries."
Rishe kept up her feigned cheer as she chose her words carefully. "He puts up with my selfishness too. Just the other day, I lost a bet and had to do whatever he asked me. Instead of giving me orders, he just bought me a ring! Ha ha, isn't that wonderful?"
She tried to pass it off as a woman boasting about her fiancé—and not like she was trying to convince Michel of anything.
"If he said something to Prince Kyle, I doubt he meant it. I don't think he's the one you're looking for."
"Say, Rishe." Michel smiled bewitchingly at her.
"Can you formally introduce me to your husband?"
After a beat of hesitation, Rishe nodded, her smile still neutral. "Of course. I'll see if he can make the time soon."
"Let's just go see him now. If he's as nice as you say he is, I'm sure he'll be fine with it."
"Professor Michel, I'm not sure that—"
"Ahh, I know. You don't want me to meet him, do you?" Michel chuckled at Rishe, who'd jolted at his words.
"You'll do then, Rishe. I'm just about as interested in you as I am in Arnold Hein."
"You must be joking. There's no reason for you to be interested in me."
"That's not true. I mean…" He fixed her with a stare. "You've never once asked me what gunpowder is."
At once, she realized her blunder. Her efforts to not come off as overly surprised had backfired.
"I'd like to study you. If you agree, I could see myself being satisfied enough to not bother with Arnold Hein… Oh, I'm sorry for being so cruel. But this is my duty."
"Your duty?"
"Yes. Something poisonous is only valuable when it kills someone, thereby fulfilling its duty. My value is much the same." Michel's smile never faltered.
"Someone who was brought into this world to make a mess of it must do as his duty commands. I was granted my alchemical abilities for that very reason."
A sweet, floral scent hung in the air: the smell of Michel's herbal cigarettes.
"I've been looking for something like that—something to flip the world on its head and shake everything loose. I've been searching for that capacity in a ruler for such a long time."
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