CH 37

“This is… a trial of love.”

“Wait.”

I don’t know how many times I have used the word of restraint to this absurd Duchess.

The candle lantern that was still with us earlier had just been blown away somewhere, so Vivienne and I were both crouching in the dark.

As Vivienne said earlier, there really is a ‘cave-in’ and we were trapped. But thanks to Vivienne’s earth magic barrier, we were in a much larger place even though we were trapped.

While my eyes were blinking in awe at her advanced level of earth magic, Vivienne said proudly, “I’m very good at earth magic.” And then for some reason, the pendant that Mika bought for me is glowing faintly, so we can see around a little.

Ordinary noblemen’s daughters would be trembling and weeping, but Vivienne, with her usual blatant and distinct madness, proclaimed the same thing again.

“Trial of love!”

“I get it already… I don’t really understand anymore, but I got it! So, slow down!”

To be honest, love doesn’t really matter. Anyway, we survived in the end, and we probably wouldn’t die right away, from the way she knew about this cave-in.

But even though it was written in a book that Vivienne read, her recklessness was too much.

As I stared at her crouching next to me in the faint light, I opened my mouth.

“Listen. First of all, even if you knew about it from the book you read, a young woman like you shouldn’t do such a dangerous thing.”

It’s been a while since she regained the memories of her past life. If she acted with such certainty, she would at least have done something in the meantime to match her memories with reality.

If it really matched with reality, she might feel like she had become a character in a book.

—But this is related to human lives.

Noticing that I was angry, Vivienne stared at the ground. But then she raised her eyebrows and looked up at me.

“Ugh… What a beautiful face! Wait, no. That’s not what I meant. No. Listen to me, Your Highness. This is something I had to do, even if I had to risk my life… I mean, my life was already at stake, and this was the deciding point.”

“What do you mean?”

In the first place, there was no report of such a cave-in in the first summer. The Taurus mine will be hit by riot this winter. At that time, there were no reports of a cave-in, only reports of damage caused by great magic.

Vivienne had a mysterious look on her face, and it must have been an atmosphere in which she tried to say something important that would surely get to the heart of the matter. And then, she said.

“This is… a trial of love!”

“No, you’ve said that enough already. Really, what is that?”

“T-That’s not true! Eh, no way! Stop looking at me like you found rotten broccoli in the back of the refrigerator with such a beautiful face.”

I don’t know what kind of thing the refrigerator is, but it’s hard to talk with this strange woman. It’s hard for me to make sense of it when I’m caught up in an unexpected cave-in and being told it’s a trial of love.

As I looked at her with an empty feeling, Vivienne began to talk hurriedly, “The cave-in is no problem for the time being, so listen to me.”

“Your Highness Nagi, don’t you think it was strange that His Highness Vincent, no matter how much of a self-centered man he is, suddenly being all over a Baroness?”

“…That’s- you’re right.”

“Emilia has a unique magic called fascination.”

I blinked my eyes.

The magic in this world consists of the five attributes of fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning.

Then there are spells used in medicine, prayers used by the clergy, and what is called everyday magic, which is a simplified version of existing magic that can be used by anyone.

In the first place, there are still many unexplored aspects of everyday magic research, partly because it is very difficult to simplify it into the kind of magic that anyone can use, and partly because few people go out of their way to do research for the commoners.

However, the existence of “unique magic” is different among them all.

It means that the individual has a special non-attribute magic that can only be used by that individual from birth.

I’ve never met anyone like that since I was born. I had heard stories of a man from my mother’s side of the Malacia kingdom who could manipulate his own age, but I had never heard anything else.

Unique magic always has some drawbacks and is not all-powerful. However–

(Fascination…she said?)

If as that word means, Brother Vincent is being misled and manipulated, if what Vivienne said was right, does that mean that Brother Vincent is not acting with his true intentions?

It was so frightening that it gave me chills.

Vivienne continued.

“I’ve been looking into it, and the only way to counter the ‘fascination’ magic in this world at present is to give the person a spontaneous pain to bring them back to their senses the moment the magic is applied… That’s the only way. Of course, there is no magic without blind spots, so there are some drawbacks. But still, I didn’t understand it!”

Then, Vivienne, who had been cornered, apparently remembered one of the magical tools mentioned in the book.

An ancient magical tool is hidden in these tunnels. She said that it was an event? that confirms the protagonist’s true love at the end of the story.

That is the only item that can break the magic of ‘fascination’.

She said that Baroness Emilia Tessier is involved in what she calls “the trial of love” and in her escape, she finds that magical tool. That’s right, I also couldn’t immediately think of a countermeasure right off the top of my head.

And then, if such a magical tool really existed like how it was written in the book, Vivienne should want it even if at the cost of her life.

But that item should be found by Baroness Emilia Tessier… Wait, huh? Escape?

Huh, could it be that…

“Don’t tell me, Baroness Emilia Tessier was going to visit these tunnels?”

“That’s right. Emilia was kidnapped and a cave-in was about to happen.”

“Huh?!”

A noble came here and got kidnapped…that incident suddenly became a reality.

There were no reports of a cave-in. However, there was a report that it was damaged by great magic. And then that means the territorial army had caused damage by casting great magic. The word “noble” was obscured, and the cave-in was not reported.

(Don’t tell me… Has the information been tampered with?)

I thought about what that meant.

Vivienne says that the cave-in occurs when the pursuers stepped an old trap while chasing Baroness Emilia Tessier, who is fleeing from the kidnapping.

I don’t understand how the trap works. But, if that’s the case, if the pursuer had stepped on it and caused the cave-in, it would have been the same whether it happened in summer or winter.

However, what is the difference between now and the first winter? I immediately thought of that and realized it.

(That’s right, for now… the riot has not happened yet. Yes, the kidnapping of a noble has taken place, but there has not yet been a riot. But what if they mistook this cave-in for a great magic set up by the territorial army? What will happen? Is there going to be a riot happening from now on?)

The kidnapping is their card for a protest. That’s right, they said they wanted to take the money, but no one said a word about harming me. Certainly, the kidnapping is a serious matter.

But if they think that in retaliation for that, great magic was casted in the mine, people living here and people working here might have a grudge against the nobility and royal family.

If any miner was involved in the cave-in, and at the same time as the cave-in the territorial army showed up… For now, we don’t even know if it was the real Ackerson Territorial Army, but if they were surrounded by an army of some sort, the people would surely be outraged.

(It has been set up. The riot…is incited by someone. Who could it be?)

I didn’t know the exact answer yet. I also need to check the information properly.

To be honest, now that I have Vivienne, I might be able to talk to Mika about the future, and I also wanted to hear Mika’s opinion.

But, as I felt like I was on the right track, a chill ran down my spine.

I’m scared. I can’t believe this.

If, since this time, there have been countless set-up incidents like this one in various parts of Pluvia Kingdom, and if dissident groups have been growing… It would be the path to that future.

I don’t know what she thought about me being frozen in place, but I heard Vivienne’s voice and was pulled back into reality.

“Now that my fiancé is being stupid, my fate won’t change unless I do something about that, will it?”

“That’s… I guess you’re right.”

“I’m very confident in my earth magic. That’s why, I thought that even if the cave-in happened, I could at least protect myself. Ah! Of course, to protect Your Highness, too.”

As my eyes grew accustomed to the dimly lit space, I noticed that the space in which we were trapped was surrounded by strangely decorated dirt walls.

Until now, the bare rock and dirt of the tunnels have been supported by beautiful pillars that make you think you are in some noble’s mansion.

My head, which was getting increasingly calm, was thinking, “She made these in that split second?” I was witnessing an extraordinary earth-magic technique. When I silently stared at Vivienne, she said while laughing, “Well, if I were trapped in a place that screams ‘it’s a cave!’ I’m going to be very obsessed with decorating it.”

Well, she said she was fine with it, and I was slowly beginning to think that maybe I should believe her.

I asked.

“Well then, does it mean… you’re using all sorts of tricks to avoid your own execution?”

Vivienne might be more thoughtful than I had thought.

I thought I had already lost my mind when I thought she was a strange woman, but she might have been meticulously planning things to avoid her future.

Vivienne snorted and suddenly began to laugh.

“Ohohoho. A woman like me can’t have a plan. I have memories of my past life. With all kinds of future knowledge cheats, it will help me avoid that future brilliantly. T-then w-wh-what should I do next?!”

“……”

It looks like she has no plan.

I’m really worried about whether I can trust this woman or not.

I know that the information from her is probably important, and it would be good to have her by my side whether I believe her or not. However, my body was responding in rejection.

At any rate, I wanted to erase myself from thinking that maybe she was being a bit thoughtful.

I can’t help but let the infamous words slip out of my mouth.

“I think… I can see why Brother Vincent ended up executing you.”

“Huh?! Ah, you’re going to say that? You’re going to say things like that? But listen, at least I get a guillotine. Not being burned in flames like you. You’re not even a witch, and you get burned at the stake. Isn’t that right, the Seductive Evil Prince?! I thought you were a winner just for having a beautiful face, but it’s no good if you’re not good at getting around in the world.”

“I-it’s not like a guillotine is any better…! Besides, you can’t speak for others.”

“Ughh, that’s right… I didn’t even do anything… I get defeated in love, accused of a crime, and get executed. What a harsh tragedy.”

Certainly, by the looks of things, aside from the memories of our past lives, it is reasonable to assume that she, Brother Seth, and I were framed.

Honestly, if the enemy is that well prepared, she’s probably doomed to be executed, regardless of whether she actually tried to assassinate or not.

(I see… So, is that what she meant when she said we are fellow ‘villains’…?)

I finally understood why Vivienne decided to divulge all those things to me.

However, it was at that moment that I heard a voice from the darkness.

“Are you guys out of your mind? How can you be so cheerful when you say you’re about to die?”