CH 6

For every front, there is a back.

For every light, there is a darkness.

Both are correct, and both are wrong.

Humans, too, have both sides: the part they show and the part they hide.

Everyone must have them.

I had never thought about it, but I am sure that I have them too.

Someone made me aware of this fact.

“Y-Your Highness!”

As a newly appointed court Transmutation Master, I was struggling to figure out how to use the laboratory given to me.

Unexpectedly, His Highness Laurus arrived.

Surprised by his unexpected visit, I quickly lowered my head, but Laurus-sama laughed and said, “It’s all right. You don’t have to be so formal. I just came to check on things, so relax.”

“Um, well…”

“I said it’s all right. Or do you want me to give you an order?”

“Uh, no, um, I understand.”

When I answered, His Highness smiled gently.

To be honest, at first, I thought he was a little strange.

But there was no one in the royal castle or even in the estate who would talk to an outcast like me.

“Don’t you know how to use the lab? This is your room, so feel free to use it as you like. You can even renovate it if you want.”

“R-Renovate it?”

“Yeah, some Transmutation Masters have done it before. I think it’s better to be more eccentric as a Transmutation Master.”

“I-Is that so?”

He was a truly mysterious person.

I was sure he was a kind person, but there was also something that bothered me a little from the beginning.

His expression was gentle, and his voice was kind.

Yet, while talking to me, it seemed like he was looking at something else.

But that was a trivial thing.

From that day, His Highness began visiting my lab frequently.

Without any particular plans, he seemed to show up in his free time.

I was happy…very happy.

He came to see me in his spare time.

Normally, something like that would never be an option.

“Oh, so your Transmutation Art is self-taught?”

“Yes. I read books and did research, and I gathered materials on my own.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. To become a courtier through self-teaching.”

“N-No, not really.”

By entering the court, I no longer needed to go and collect materials myself. It was a good thing, but it also meant that I could no longer meet Yuren-kun.

There was no one I could talk to as freely as Yuren-kun, so I didn’t mention it, but I felt lonely enough to feel the solitude.

However, I think I managed to get through it somehow because Laurus-sama was concerned about me.

In that sense, I am grateful to him.

But…

One day, Laurus-sama asked me for advice.

“To me?”

“Yes, I can’t ask anyone else. It’s something only you can do.”

Something only I can do.

I remember feeling somewhat excited by that phrase.

It was a personal request from His Highness, and there was no one else I could ask.

I thought it must be that important.

“I want you to make this.”

I looked through the request form that was handed to me.

“A medicine? Uh, but this is…”

I was speechless and couldn’t believe what was written.

It listed the effects of the drug that needed to be made and the materials that could be used.

Almost all of them were poisons.

“Poison… Right?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure it’s not a mistake or something?”

“I’m not mistaken. That’s what I want you to make.”

Laurus-sama replied calmly.

His expression was calm as usual, and his voice was gentle.

But…

I’m scared.

I don’t know why, but I just felt it.

“Can you do it?”

“Uh, well…”

“You’re the only one I can ask. Of course, you can’t tell anyone.”

“…I understand.”

In the end, I gave in to Laurus-sama’s pressure and nodded.

I regretted it deeply and doubted it.

However, Laurus-sama is a kind person, so I thought there must be a reason for this.

The reason is…

Is it really?

The requested poison had an effect that clearly reached lethal levels.

Where would one use such a thing?

For what purpose?

I thought about it and soon finished making the poison that had been requested.

“Hey there, Aria.”

“Laurus-sama.”

“Is the thing done yet?”

“N-No… it isn’t finished yet.”

Laurus-sama visited me several times after the request.

Each time, he asked about the progress, but I was too scared and ended up lying to him.

Even though it was completed, I pretended to struggle.

I just couldn’t believe it, I didn’t know what it would be used for.

And then, the incident occurred.

In the morning, the first prince died suddenly.

He vomited after breakfast, collapsed, lost consciousness, and never woke up again.

The cause was unknown, but it was clear to me.

As a court Transmutation Master, I was also notified of the sudden change in the first prince’s condition. But what was written there was…

Requested by Laurus-sama, it was the very effect of the poison I had newly created.

“Why? I don’t think anyone…no way——.”

I searched my laboratory.

My bad feeling hit the mark, the paper with the recipe for the poison was nowhere to be found, and there were signs that the hidden drawer had been tampered with.

Instead, I noticed a single memo paper left behind.

You don’t have to do anything.

I trembled in fear when I saw it.

I thought this was his true nature.

After the death of the first prince, Laurus-sama, the second prince, takes the first prince’s place.

As a result, Laurus-sama became a strong candidate for the next king.

I realized this was the reason.

After that, I never spoke a word with Laurus-sama.

From the beginning, that person only approached me to use me.

Probably it started from this moment.

The gear of my life was decisively shifted.