After escorting Irene back to the Royal Castle, I made a quick trip back to the Einhart Manor.
Since I was going to be staying at the castle for the duration of my guard duty, I needed to pick up a change of clothes.
『Wait, was that really necessary? They offered to lend you some, didn't they?』
Zest, you're such an idiot.
There’s no way a stepping stone like me could get away with wearing something so pristine and white!
Since the clothes were being provided by the Royal Castle, I’d been expecting something gaudy and over-the-top, but they’d come at me with something modest and refined.
A stepping stone has no business in clothes like that.
I can't play the villain while wearing something so light and airy.
『It’s proof that this country has some dignity... but I suppose you have a point. It would be hard to take your insults seriously if you were dressed like a gentleman.』
Exactly. I’m not here to perform a comedy routine.
While bickering with Zest, I opened my closet and began stuffing clothes into a bag.
Formal wear really is the best, isn't it? This stiff, formal look screams "villain."
"Lord Claude."
『Eek!?』
At that moment, a voice like the tinkling of a silver bell drifted through the door.
Chesa. I wondered what she wanted at this hour.
"Enter. What is it?"
The door opened, and Chesa stepped inside.
"I heard that you had returned, so I brought some refreshments..."
Still holding the tray, Chesa’s eyes suddenly went wide.
I caught the scent... herbal tea. Just as I was getting thirsty, too. As always, her timing was impeccable. If I weren't a stepping stone, I’d have given her my honest thanks.
"What... are you... doing...?"
"Preparing to leave."
Crash!
The tray slipped from Chesa's hands, and the saucer and cup shattered into a million pieces on the floor.
Wait, wait, wait, why?!
My tea!
"Ah... aah..."
Chesa's lips trembled violently.
"Are you... discarding... me...?"
"Huh?"
"Lord Claude... are you... abandoning me? Are you leaving... this place for good?"
She collapsed to her knees right where she stood.
Then, without even caring that she was cutting her knees on the porcelain shards littering the floor, she crawled forward and clung to my legs.
"W-Was I... a disappointment?! Is it because I... I couldn't trust you completely, Lord Claude?!"
"H-Hey, let go!"
Chesa screamed in a frenzy. Large tears overflowed from her eyes, staining her pale, unadorned cheeks.
"Ah... haha... of course... I'm just a convenience, aren't I? I even tried to poison you... It’s only natural... that you’d throw me away... isn't it?"
"The poison thing is over and done with."
I couldn't help but give a deadpan response; her sudden spiral into total confusion was beyond bizarre.
『...I think your capacity for dealing with nonsense is just as great as Irene's,』 Zest muttered in a raspy voice.
Seeing her this distressed, I honestly wanted to explain the situation... but as a stepping stone, I couldn't afford to be kind. Besides, I had to get back to Irene quickly.
"Let go. Don't touch me, you mere maid."
"..."
Chesa quietly withdrew.
Lately, it felt like my verbal abuse wasn't even fazing her anymore.
Hmm... maybe I’ve been using the same insults too often.
I’ll have to expand my Stepping Stone Lexicon later.
"..................Alright."
Suddenly, Chesa spoke in a small, hollow voice.
An Ice Blade manifested in her right hand.
Wait, since when could Chesa use Ice Magic?
Just as the thought crossed my mind—
"—Whoa!"
Instinctively, I activated Dark Arma and caught her wrist.
Wh-Why?!
Why did she just try to slit her own throat?!
"Please... forgive me. If I cannot be of use to Lord Claude, then this body has no value..."
"I-I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about... but I'll hear the details after I get back. Is that fine?"
I managed to say, cold sweat dripping down my back.
"...After you get back?"
Chesa looked up, her face streaked with tears.
"You're coming back?"
"Of course I am. This is my home. I'm just staying at the Royal Castle for a little while."
"Staying... at the Royal Castle..."
Life slowly bled back into Chesa's eyes.
"...Thank goodness."
Relieved from the bottom of her heart, Chesa slumped down and wiped her eyes.
"I'm so glad..."
"G-Good grief... trying to die without my permission. You clearly don't understand your place as a tool."
"You're right... Indeed, this life belongs to Lord Claude... It was not something I should have tried to dispose of on my own..."
Wow, that's heavy.
A lot heavier than I expected.
"Besides... now that I think about it, I cannot afford to die just yet..."
Chesa wiped away the last of her tears and looked at my right shoulder.
Her eyes were clouded with a dark, muddy fixation.
"...Because there is something I must do, no matter what."
『Hiee...!! Hieeeee...!?』
Zest's scream echoed in my head.
This guy has been acting weird lately. I wonder if a good smack would fix him?
After packing my bags, I activated Dark Arma and vaulted out the window.
Since I could run faster than a horse now, I decided to make the trip back to the capital on foot.
I felt a strangely sticky gaze lingering on my back.
But when I glanced back, Chesa was merely standing silhouetted against the window.
After returning to the Royal Castle.
I dropped my luggage in my room and began patrolling the corridors to stay alert. The view outside the windows was pitch black; by the time I’d finished my trip home and back, night had fully fallen.
I was just debating whether I should try to catch a nap when Prime Minister Logen approached from the opposite direction.
"Everything is ready. Tonight... in the middle of the night, we strike."
Logen whispered the words so that only I could hear.
Seriously? I just got my change of clothes...
『...Is that really what you're worried about?』
Ah, Zest is back.
He’s finally woken up from his faint.
『What's the situation?』
I just got back to the castle, and Logen already gave me the start time for the operation.
It’s much sooner than I anticipated. It’s only been three days since I started my guard duty. I wanted to dig for more information, but it looks like I’m out of time.
"Where should I take Irene?"
"Oh... comrade Claude, I appreciate your initiative. Outside would be best. Somewhere with thin security... the Slums."
"Understood."
I nodded with a dark, nihilistic smirk.
Alright, I will absolutely make sure she stays nowhere near the Slums.
After we parted ways with mutual wicked smiles, I headed straight for Irene's room. Given my role as her bodyguard, I had the right to move freely through the castle and permission to visit Irene's private quarters. Naturally, that permission had been granted by Prime Minister Logen himself.
"Irene, are you in there?"
I knocked, and heard a sudden, panicked thumping from inside.
Crap, as a stepping stone, would it have been better to just kick the door down?
『If you did that, you'd be thrown out of the castle.』
Fair point.
I couldn't afford to be separated from Irene right now.
After a short wait, the door swung open and Irene appeared.
She was wearing thin clothes, her skin was slightly flushed... she seemed strangely flustered.
"W-What is it at this hour?! I was just about to go to sleep!"
"You're slow. Your bodyguard is visiting; the least you could do is come to the door quickly."
"Women have things they have to do to get ready!"
Irene shouted back, then started fussing with her bangs.
She didn't look any different to me.
『You really have zero delicacy, don't you?』
Wait, what?
No, no, no! I totally do!
I mean, if you count my previous life, I have plenty of experience!
So... I have to have it! At least a little delicacy!
『Sigh...』
Zest's exasperated sigh echoed in my mind.
I wanted to argue the point, but now wasn't the time.
"You know that I'm staying in the castle starting today for guard duty, right?"
"Yeah... what about it?"
"Come to my room tonight."
I kept my voice low and commanding, like I was giving an order.
"Wh-Whaaaat?!"
Irene let out a shocked shriek and scrambled back.
Her face turned beet red in an instant.
"Th-Th-Th-That... what do you mean by that?! What are you thinking?!"
『You idiot!! I thought the same thing with the maid, but you really need to work on your phrasing!』
Shut up. Don't both of you talk to me at the same time.
I’m trying to be careful with how I say things; I’m going for the blunt, abrasive tone of a proper stepping stone.
『S-So that’s what you’re doing... no, even so, you're leaving out way too much context!』
Sorry, Zest is going on the back burner.
Was Irene really still this wary of me?
It was a point of pride for a stepping stone, but I needed her with me tonight.
"What's wrong? Surely a member of the royal family isn't getting nervous just because she’s been invited to my room?"
"O-Of course I am! You idiot! Moron!"
Idiot?!
Moron?!
Yes! I’ve done it! She hates me!
I’ve successfully pushed her away!
『There is no way that’s what’s happening... you really don't understand a woman's heart at all...』
Zest's voice sounded utterly defeated.
Whatever. Right now, Irene's safety was the only priority.
If Logen was planning to snatch her, I’d move her to a secure location before he could. My room was in the basement of the castle, which would be easy to defend.
"I’m not taking no for an answer. Come."
"Wait—"
I grabbed Irene's wrist and began forcibly escorting her toward the basement.
"E-Even if you're going to be this forceful... I... I don't know what I'm supposed to do..."
What was this tomboy princess even mumbling about?
Pulling Irene along by the hand, I made for my room.
"He-Hey... what about Tia...?"
Irene's stuttering voice echoed through the quiet hallway.
"What about her?"
"I-I mean..."
Irene stopped in her tracks and looked up at me.
Her cheeks were flushed.
Her eyes were moist and upturned.
"..................Is... is it okay if it's me?"
Before I could even begin to process the meaning behind her words—
"Ugh—!?"
My vision lurched violently.
A searing headache spiked through my skull as images flooded my mind.
There was no mistaking this sensation.
—The Master Eye had been activated.