It was shortly before Claude set out to rescue Celestia—.
"……Chesa?"
At the sound of her master's voice from behind, Chesa’s shoulders jolted.
"What are you doing in a place like this? Are you looking for a trip to the Punishment Room?"
"N-no……!! M-my apologies……!!"
Chesa fled in a panic from Claude, who wore a vulgar, mocking expression.
After rushing from the basement to the first floor, she ducked around a corner and finally caught her breath.
……That had been close.
She’d thought for a moment that he’d caught her.
But apparently, that wasn't the case.
After Claude headed toward the storage room, he leaped out of a window in a hurried manner, seemingly unaware of Chesa hiding around the corner of the hallway. It looked like he was clutching some kind of clothing in his hand…… but she didn't have time to worry about that now.
Sensing that her master had gone out, Chesa headed back toward the room she was after.
It was a massive basement partitioned off by a sturdy iron door. Claude called it the Punishment Room, but so far, no servant other than herself had ever been summoned there.
Chesa had been invited to this room once, but even then, it hadn't been for any kind of physical reprimand; it had ended as nothing more than a sparring match with Claude.
Doubts began to well up. Was that place truly a Punishment Room?
But hope did not follow. Even if it wasn't a chamber for torture, there was no doubt it was being used for some unsavory purpose.
To stop Claude's ambitions, Chesa intended to infiltrate this suspicious basement. She believed that was her duty as his Exclusive Attendant.
She had already steeled her resolve. Even if she found gruesome traces of torture beyond the door, she would not turn back. Given how Claude had been acting lately, she believed anything was possible.
Chesa pointed her fingertip toward the keyhole.
"……Freeze."
If one mastered Water Attribute magic, they could eventually manipulate ice for short periods.
Chesa had not reached that rank of mastery. However, for a momentary imitation, it was more than enough.
She poured water into the keyhole, froze it, and formed a key.
With a twist of her fingers, the door opened easily. It was a dilapidated room that looked as if it had been abandoned for years. Only the door was sturdy; the lock mechanism itself was ancient.
"……This is…"
What spread out across the basement was an unexpected sight.
Among the servants, rumors flew about what kind of torture devices might be hidden inside…… but there wasn't a single one.
Instead, there were wooden swords, battered and worn from heavy use.
And manuals covered in dense, handwritten notes.
……What did this mean?
The suffocating scent of sweat hung in the air.
Countless scars were carved into the floor and walls. They were the kind of marks that could only be made by repeating training so grueling it seemed he must have been coughing up blood.
Chesa was bewildered.
She couldn't make sense of it.
Claude was supposed to have reverted.
He was supposed to have returned to being the lazy, arrogant, and atrocious nobleman who looked down on everyone.
And yet, why was he putting in such immense, hidden effort in a basement away from public view?
For what purpose?
For whose sake?
……She didn't know.
Perhaps he was simply running wild in a desperate pursuit of power.
If so, she had to stop him all the more——.
"……!"
She heard footsteps. Claude had returned.
Chesa hurriedly slipped out of the basement and hid herself in the shadows outside the door.
……Is he injured?
Claude was dragging his feet as he returned.
Looking tattered and worn, he entered the empty basement.
Once the door clicked shut, Chesa softly pressed her ear against the cold iron.
She could hear Claude's voice.
"……I wonder if Tia will be careful."
Was he talking to himself……?
She could only hear Claude’s voice, yet his tone made it sound as if he were addressing someone else.
"It would be good if she stays on guard against The Order."
It really didn't sound like a monologue.
It was as if someone invisible was there, and he was responding to their prompts.
……Is he broken?
Her master. Claude von Einhart.
Could it be——has his mind finally snapped?
A chill ran down Chesa's spine.
However, she checked herself, thinking that judgment was premature.
Claude’s statements weren't incoherent. The topics followed a logical thread.
He really was having a conversation with someone.
………………But with whom?
Who was he talking to?
And why with that voice……?
The gentle tone she thought had been lost forever……
"The one who'll end up shouldering everything isn't me; it's Reiji," Claude said, his voice sounding as if he were trying to persuade someone. "……So, for now at least, it’s fine for me to shoulder the burden for him, right?"
The kind Claude from the past was right there.
Chesa couldn't understand the full context. But it sounded like Claude was sympathizing with Reiji's hardships.
What do you mean? Don't you hate Lord Reiji?
"But, it’s better than Tia dying."
Eh————?
She almost cried out.
"Compared to Tia, Reiji, Chesa, Father, Mother…… all of them dying, acting the part of a villain is nothing. ……If Reiji is the Flame of Hope that saves the world, I’ll become the Kindling for it. I'll make that guy stronger than anyone."
What she heard were definitive, soul-crushing words.
Chesa’s eyes widened.
Acting as a villain.
Acting————as evil————————.
In that moment, the scattered pieces inside Chesa’s mind clicked together.
The secret, blood-soaked effort.
The kindness that had never truly been lost.
The anguish he was vomiting out all alone.
It was all for the sake of playing the villain——.
If she looked at it that way, everything made sense.
His goal was to provoke Reiji Wolf……? What did he mean by the Flame of Hope that saves the world? Think. If she thought about it…… yes, there was a connection.
The Prophecy.
She knew from the gossip what kind of Prophecies her master and Reiji had received.
Reiji Wolf was prophesied to become the Savior. No one seemed to understand the details, but it was said that at that time, Claude had immediately challenged Reiji to a duel.
——I'll make that guy stronger than anyone.
Is that what it was……?
What her master was doing was…………
A performance to forge Reiji Wolf into the Savior.
A grand, solitary self-sacrifice to save the world——————.
"A-Ah…………"
An intense—an incredibly violent wave of self-loathing welled up within her.
Claude hadn't changed.
He was still the kind Claude that Chesa knew.
Why………… didn't I notice!!
If she thought about it calmly, it was so obvious.
After all, she had tried to poison him.
There was no way that man, if he had truly become evil, would have left her unpunished forever.
The past doesn't disappear. That was something the kind version of him had proven by drinking the poison himself. No matter how much one repented, a sinful past could not be wiped away.
By that same logic, the reverse was also true.
No matter how much Claude stained himself with villainy, the kindness of his true self would never disappear.
Why——.
Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why——didn't I notice!?
Why couldn't I see it!?
"Ugh, ah……!!"
Stifling her sobs, Chesa let the tears flow.
She was supposed to be the one closest to him.
And yet, why couldn't she believe in him……?
Regret, self-reproach, and an overwhelming surge of affection rushed over her like a dark torrent.
"……Sorry, I’m getting sleepy."
Hearing Claude's voice, Chesa snapped back to her senses.
Silence fell. From beyond the door, she could faintly hear Claude’s rhythmic sleeping breaths.
Chesa created another Ice Key and slipped into the room.
The heavy iron door groaned as it opened.
On the hard floor, Claude was sleeping like the dead.
Beside him lay a Jet-black Sword.
What is this sword?
She looked around. Compared to her last secret visit, nothing else had changed.
The only difference was this blade.
She had never known her master to possess such a weapon.
A black sword that had suddenly appeared, clearly harboring some kind of sinister power……
……Is it this?
Was this sword Claude’s conversation partner?
Chesa crouched down and glared at the weapon.
"……I am Chesa, Master Claude’s Exclusive Maid."
She addressed it with chilling politeness.
To an outsider, she would look like a madwoman talking to a piece of metal.
She was no different from Claude moments ago.
"Did you do something to Master Claude?"
There was no answer.
Naturally. It was just a sword.
However, as she spoke, a white-hot anger boiled over.
Her intuition told her. ……It was this sword.
This sword was the reason Master Claude had changed.
"Was it you…… who took advantage of Master Claude’s kindness?"
She cast a gaze colder than ice onto the blade.
The sword said nothing.
"Answer me."
The sword remained silent.
Only the inanimate coldness of metal met her gaze.
……
…………
………………
"Say something, damn you!"
Thud!!
She struck the blade with her bare fist.
The unpleasant sound of impact echoed through the basement.
Two emotions waged war in Chesa’s heart: intense self-loathing and a ferocious hatred.
"To Master Claude,"
Wham!!
"The one who changed him,"
Clang!!
"I’m asking if it was you!"
Bam!!
Dull sounds of impact echoed repeatedly.
Her hair, usually so neatly arranged, became disheveled and fell over her face.
Even after this assault, there was no answer.
The sword didn't have a single scratch. Only her own knuckles were scraped raw and oozing blood.
A hatred strong enough to drown out the pain burned in Chesa’s chest.
She didn't understand the full truth yet, but she had one vital conviction.
In this world, there was something—or someone—who wanted to force Claude into the role of a villain.
And Chesa would never forgive them.
She’d suspected the sword, but she had no way of confirming it for now.
She turned her gaze back to the sleeping Claude.
His face looked peaceful in sleep, though traces of tears remained on his cheeks.
Claude had been hurting. In this dim, cramped, and lonely basement.
All alone, this entire time——.
"……Ugh, uuu…………!!"
Chesa collapsed on the spot.
With her red, swollen hands, she covered her eyes.
"I’m sorry…… Master Claude……!! For not believing in you, I’m so sorry……!!"
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.
Over and over, she chanted the apology like a mantra.
As if carving the words into her very soul as punishment for her failure.
As if cursing her own existence.
"Never again…… never again will I…… betray you……!!"
Even if you do not wish for it.
Even if you choose to walk a path of solitude and fire.
I will follow you of my own accord, even to the place of your death.
Chesa was Claude’s attendant.
An attendant only needed to follow their master.
Absolute, unwavering trust. To maintain that was the true purpose of an attendant.
She would ask nothing.
If her master wished for his secret to remain hidden, she would play the part of the oblivious maid.
And while doing so————she would support him more fiercely than anyone else in existence.
In the dark basement, the girl’s eyes clouded over with a strange light.
It was an obsessive, distorted love—far too heavy to be called mere loyalty.