CH 8

The mood is decisive on the eve of the battle. I, Alice, have the sound of conch-shells wailing in my head like the trumpets of war. Come on, Rouge! Let’s end this!

That’s right. Today was to be the day of extermination of a poisonous woman.

The longer time passes, the more dangerous the situation become. That’s why I decided to go for a short-term decision.

Huh? Then why don’t we just fire Rouge and get rid of her that way?

Nope. That’s not the way it works. Not good enough.

Because it is my father who thinks that Rouge is using black magic.

Black magic is a type of curse magic. They call it something more primitive than magic, with different rules and forms depending on the individual.

Why couldn’t my father and the butler have noticed the movements of a criminal as vicious and dynamic as Rouge?

Furthermore, why didn’t I run to my parents or try to find out the truth? My father and mother are not the shy type to begin with, so why had things grown so complicated between them?

It seems that there is a high possibility that a mind-controlling black magic was involved there.

This is where the exciting fantasy-world element comes in. I’m not happy about it at all, though.

According to Alphonse-san, who is currently waiting beside me, when this type of magic is cast, there is some sort of oath that becomes visible in the caster’s eyes.

So the fact that neither Father nor Alphonse-san nor I can ever actually remember looking into her eyes is further evidence to support this theory (except in my case, when I was threatened).

This would not normally be too strange when there is a significant difference in status, such as nobility and commoners, but Rouge is the daughter of a baronial family, albeit a fallen one.

The consensus was that it was unnatural to think that we had never even seen each other’s eyes in at least five years of service at the mansion.

“But still, the deciding factor is the situation from when the young lady was threatened. When your eyes met, the young lady said she saw the wildness in those eyes and felt as if they were clinging to a black haze, which was probably a sign of black magic.

Alphonse-san says so regretfully that he had not been able to sense it.

I agreed with the theory.

But even if black magic is used, why can’t we just banish her? Couldn’t we just kick her out of the country or something and put some distance between us?

Even after the plan had been decided, I was still a bit worried the severity of it, so once Father had left the room, saying to leave everything to him, I asked Alphonse-san about it.

“Black magic is also linked to life. If we were to banish Rouge, the curse she cast on Young Mistress out of spite could be reinforced or, at worst, could be fatal.”

I gasped. What’s that—it’s like being cursed by a vengeful spirit!

Alphonse-san smiled, lowering his shapely eyebrows as if to reassure me who was frightened.

“Don’t worry. I will protect you at the cost of my life if it comes to that.”

“Oh, uh…”

I flinched at Alphonse-san’s handsome butler comment. Having a butler is kind of amazing.

“Unfortunately, even though Young Mistress’s willpower has overcome the effects of the curse, you still have not been able to recover your physical or mental strength enough yet so we don’t know when its power might return. As for me and the Master, we are sane now thanks to the strong impact of the young lady’s recovery, but we don’t know when we will be restricted in our thinking again. It would be a good idea to break the spell while we know.”

Well, that’s true.

Even though I hardly recognize it anymore, when I calmed down and searched inside, there was a slight trace of the black haze I felt back then. That was probably it.

Now, the plan is roughly as follows.

After dinner, my father always moves to his study, and that’s where we’ll set the first trap. He says that Rouge often fetches tea at that time.

Then, when they are alone, he’ll seduce her and lead her to come to father’s bedroom late at night.

By the way, my father said he would stop by my mother’s room first…I’m a little worried there. What will he say to mother?

Anyway, at the right time, I am supposed to hide behind Alphonse-san’s shadow and head to father’s bedroom. Then, I am going to hide and appear in front of Rouge, who was trapped at father’s signal

The reason why he isn’t settling the matter in the study and summons her to the bedroom instead is because he wants to please Rouge and catch her off guard. She wouldn’t be able to bluff her way out of anything.

And the other reason is to set up a spell that is firmly placed in father’s room. My father said it was a trap to expose the black magic, so it’s probably like those things fantasy stories.

I had been talking with Alphonse-san for a while to sort out the current situation, and before I knew it, I was asleep. Apparently, it was because I suddenly did too many things with the physical strength of a young girl.

So I slept for a bit while Alphonse-san watched over me and when I woke, I had just a tiny bit of the mostly liquid meal that was prepared for me for dinner. After that, there was a knock on the door of my room.

“Alice, I’m coming in.”

“Father! Please do.”

My father smiled loosely when he saw me as he quietly opened the door and walked in.

“Ahh, it’s such a relief to be near you…That was awful.”

When he said this, my father sat down idly in his chair and looked tired. It seems that his trap in the study had been successful.

“I was aware of the black magic and resisted it so that she wouldn’t notice. I felt a ridiculously corrupted feeling at the same time guiding my thoughts. I can’t believe that I didn’t realize something like that was in the house.”

Oh, that must have been tough.

“Both Master and I have a fairly high level of magical resistance, and yet it’s enough to make us not notice it. I’m sure her secret vindictiveness must be very strong.”

Alphonse-san also frowned in his thoughts.

“Anyway, I’m going to set it up. Come to my bedroom in an hour.”

Alphonse-san and I nodded with prepared faces.