"Is that... really true?"

Milia asked again, as if she couldn't possibly believe it.To this, Isella replied resolutely.

"Yes. 'Darkness' has attached itself to the Third Prince. And according to Luca Traverse, they use something called 'devil's power'."

"Devil? That's just something out of old stories. And even if it was real, wouldn't the Temple intervene, no matter how neutral their position?"

"It may be hard to believe, but it's true."

Milia's face still showed skepticism.Honestly, if it hadn't been Isella telling her this story, she would have just laughed it off.

"I mean, honestly, what does the Third Prince lack that he'd borrow power from a devil? The First and Third Princes are evenly matched, aren't they?"

"There is only one thing I can tell you. Whatever the reason, I almost died last night because of that devil's power."

"That's..."

"If it hadn't been for Luca Traverse, Ottbo Gress, and Professor Kryphi, I probably would never have seen you again, milady."

"...!"

Isella, who was always overflowing with confidence, was saying such weak words—Milia couldn't believe it.

'Just how intense was last night?'

For someone's attitude to change so drastically overnight.

And for it to be Isella, who's always seemed unchangeable!

It was a story that was hard to believe, no matter what.

"Milady, for the first time since I started the training to become a member of the Night, I thought I might die last night. Me, a member of the Night whose duty is to protect the Imperial Family. This is not something you can just ignore. The Third Prince has obtained a new power that will disrupt the balance of power in this succession struggle."

"I'm not ignoring you. I just don't understand. That the Third Prince would make such a choice."

The First and Third Princes, who were the core of the current struggle for imperial authority. Their forces were already strong enough.

The First Prince had exceptional eloquence, negotiation skills, and an unending investment in new things, which not only earned him an internal support base within the Imperial Family, but also garnered support from the guilds, several mid-to-upper noble houses, and even abroad.

There were even rumors that he secretly traded with the neutral Duke Partigel for mutual support.

Above all, the legitimacy of being the First Prince was immense.

The Third Prince, on the other hand, was overwhelmingly supported by mages based on his outstanding magical talent.

Even during his academy days, he had created many new magical theories, and because of that, even the externally powerful Magic Tower frequently sought collaboration with him.

Add to that the support of the Kimberly family, one of the three major powers in the Empire, and his influence hardly needs mentioning.

"With the kind of solid support the Third Prince already has, why would he take the risk of involving the power of a devil?"

"I suppose the devil's power was strong enough to ignore the risk. I mean, not even moonlight could overcome that power last night."

"... When you say you couldn't beat it, I have nothing to say."

The reason the Fourth Princess's faction had been able to survive until now—was absolute faith that Isella would never lose to anyone.But now, with Isella declaring defeat, there was nothing left to say.

"What I insist is just this. Ask Luca Traverse for help."

"... Are you serious?"

"I'm serious. The power of the sky he possesses is absolutely necessary."

This, too, was something that Isella would never have said normally.

Honestly, it was questionable now whether the person in front of Milia was really Isella.

Maybe Isella had really been defeated last night, and the one before her now was someone brainwashed.

'But the oath is still intact, so she can't be another person, nor could she possibly betray me...'

The reason she could always receive Isella's help in dangerous moments was because of the power granted to a member of the Night.

A person who has sworn to give their life can appear whenever their master needs them, but can never betray their master.

If they betray, they die under the power of the Night.

So, even if Isella had somehow been brainwashed, she wouldn't betray Milia.

Simply by Isella being alive in front of her, her innocence was proven.

"I think the best thing is to add Luca Traverse to the plan you were originally preparing, milady."

"What? But that means... ha... fine. But if I bring Luca, I'll have to bring Ottbo, too, right? That guy's just useless."

Milia spoke as if she had a headache, but Isella still remained resolute.

"It's true that Luca Traverse played the biggest role last night, but if either Ottbo Gress or Professor Kryphi had been missing, none of us might have survived."

"T-that much? But that guy's magic skills are terrible."

"At the very least, you can trust his understanding of drive magic and his skill at driving an automatic carriage. As I later found out, it was thanks to him disabling the safety system and pushing the speed of the automatic carriage past its limit, while flawlessly driving Professor Kryphi to our location, that they weren't late."

Though she spoke passionately, Milia seemed reluctant.

"Even a veteran automatic carriage driver could do that..."

"Milady!"

"Ah, fine! Ugh..."

Isella spoke almost chidingly. Though they had worked together for a long time, this was the first time Milia had ever felt so cornered by her.

"Huu... Fine. If someone's useless, we just make them useful."

"Thank you for accepting my opinion."

"If I hadn't, I almost lost you. I guess I have to, now."

Milia gave a wry smile and sighed.

"I thought I'd be able to enjoy myself at the Academy, but apparently not."

Watching her appear quite sorrowful, Isella hesitated a moment, then said in a lighter tone,

"Personally, I think you seemed to enjoy yourself more with Luca Traverse and Ottbo Gress than when you were with Theodore Partigel. Perhaps what you often call 'youth' is closer to those times."

"... Is that so?"

Milia wore a somewhat dazed expression, then chuckled.

"I suppose that's true."

* * *

"I never imagined they'd even disturb a single day of rest."

"You rested all day. Isn't that enough?"

"Ridiculous. Haven't you heard from the people next to you about what I did yesterday?"

Luca, his lips stuck out petulantly, was following Milia and Isella.

At his rather brusque tone, Ottbo, walking beside him, tried to calm him.

"Don't be like that, Luca. They must've had a hard time too."

"You ought to show off a bit more. You asked for help in such a cold manner, and still I rescued you. Isn't that so?"

"L-Luca?!"

Apparently finding it very amusing to tease Ottbo, Luca spoke mischievously again, and Ottbo, flustered, could do nothing but stammer his name.

Milia, watching their banter, sighed.

"Showing you this is actually a risk for me, you know? So, just keep quiet and out of sight for now."

"Listen to what the young lady says!"

"I-Isella, lower your voice."

Milia rubbed her forehead and glanced around.

Fortunately, it was a time when no one was around, so they didn't attract attention.

They were in the club activities area of the Academy.

It was similar to a club building in Korea.

Luca looked around and said,

"If we're in a place like this, why do you care about other people's attention?"

"Because first-year students are banned from club activities."

"I see."

Luca accepted it immediately. If it's banned, it's certainly a problem.

"To be precise, first-years can only experience club activities, but can't officially join. At this hour, even that experience isn't allowed, so first-years can't enter."

"I see."

Despite Ottbo's enthusiastic explanation, Luca's expression made it clear he didn't really care, and Ottbo looked disappointed.

Soon after, they arrived at their destination.

"Here it is."

"...?"

It was a space between the stairs and the hallway—seemingly empty.

Luca glanced around and then looked at Milia.

"Is this some kind of bad club or something?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You said showing us was a risk, then brought us to a place like this, so I thought maybe..."

Milia looked at Luca with exasperation, then reached her hand out ahead of her.

Whirrr!

A faint light shone from the back of her hand, and a door appeared in the empty space.

"Oh."

"A secret club?! Wow! I've only ever seen this in..."

"Isella. Cover his mouth."

Luca let out a quiet exclamation, but Ottbo got so excited that his voice rose; before he could say anything more, Isella, at Milia's command, covered his mouth and silenced him.

"Let's go in."

Saying that, Milia opened the door and walked inside.

Luca shrugged his shoulders and followed her in, and then Isella, still covering Ottbo's mouth, came in last, scanning the surroundings.

Vwooom!

The moment they stepped through the door, they felt their bodies float—then, instantly, the scene changed.

It was a fairly spacious auditorium.

Not only were there desks and chairs, but also beds, sofas, and some strange equipment whose uses were unclear, scattered about the space.

"... Hmm? What's this. Visitors?"

At that moment, a person lying on a sofa near the entrance lifted his head.

He had disheveled orange hair, a pale complexion with deep dark circles, and an impression reminiscent of a zombie.

Milia answered calmly, as if she was used to this menacing sight.

"No. They're new members."

"New members?"

The zombie-like man glanced briefly at Luca and Ottbo, then lay back down.

"Take care."

"Yes. Let's go."

Milia nodded and led Luca and Ottbo further inside the club's hideout.

Luca, passing by, sized up the zombie-like man.

He didn't seem to recall any such character from the original novel.

"... Who is that?"

"A senior. He's in charge of security here."

"Huh, security? What exactly are you hiding here that's so important?"

At Luca's question, Milia glanced at him, nodded, and stood before something in the center of the hideout concealed by a curtain.

"Let me say this one more time. Showing you this is a huge risk for me. I just hope you reward the trust I'm placing in you."

"Saying that to the person who saved your life just yesterday—"

Flap!

Before Luca could finish his complaint, Milia drew back the curtain. Luca's eyes widened.

—A hologram showing the entire Academy, even everyone walking through it.― So, what do you think? Does it still sound like a lie when I say the Academy is in the palm of my hand?—The title 'Undying Princess' wasn't just for show. Who would've guessed she controlled a surveillance system reminiscent of Big Brother? That's how she always knew his every move.

Rather than description, a phrase came to Luca's mind.

Perhaps it was because the setup here was slightly different from in the original work.

The hologram projected an image of the Academy. While it couldn't perfectly replicate the entire campus as in the original, it did visualize the form of this club building.

'She's been preparing this since her first year? I thought she was just an airhead, but... she's more meticulous than I thought.'

While Luca was inwardly in awe, Ottbo, in a disgruntled tone, asked,

"W-what is this?"

"I used the power of my dimension core and applied it to magic that monitors a specific zone. To be exact, it's ancient magic. It's still in the research stage, but soon I'll be able to know exactly what everyone is doing inside this building."

"What?"

Ottbo stared blankly.

"Th-that's... isn't that voyeurism?"

"... What?"

Such a blunt remark, coming from someone you'd least expect.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=LOL...【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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