[Vol. 7] Chapter 241: Stance
Hearing her mercilessly scold, the girl with dark blue hair, dressed in the same school uniform, suddenly shrank her pupils, as if struck in a sensitive spot, and fiercely retorted.
“Rosie, how could you think that!? You should know better than anyone that I could never betray Her Highness, and you should also understand why I'm doing this!”
“Her Highness knows everything, has predicted everything, but still hasn’t taken any action. Do you know why? Because she can’t do it! That kind and merciful person can't bring herself to harm her blood relatives, and even wants to solve this by hurting herself. Don’t you see that!?”
The blonde girl seemed to have thought of something because of this, slightly furrowing her brows, and responded ambiguously.
“So what? Are you trying to make decisions in place of Her Highness, defying her wishes and pushing the events forward? Even going as far as to imprison Princess Carinvega before everything settles? Orluk, do you think you’re doing this for Her Highness’s good? Even if you use such a so-called reason as an excuse, it doesn’t change the fact that you're going against authority!”
“Thinking that the princess’ actions are wrong and using force to interfere, even secretly infiltrating the guard team behind Her Highness’s back? Orluk, I never noticed how strong your desire for control is!”
Rosie shook her head, not hesitating to speak frankly.
“You, me, Noelle, Senior Gladys, we all admire Her Highness, and some of us even have feelings of love, we all know that... But don’t get it wrong, before those feelings, we first swore allegiance to Princess Carinvega Frederick. If you can’t even be loyal to the basics, how can you chase after your own desires and admiration?”
“If you think Her Highness is wrong or inappropriate, you can persuade her, explain your viewpoint, and try to help and fix things. But you shouldn’t act as if you know better and try to interfere with or control her actions! I’ll ask you one question, do you think she’ll be happy with what you’re doing?”
“I just don’t want to see Her Highness get hurt!”
“Bullshit, this is selfish desire! You dare to forcefully imprison Her Highness this time. If your desires grow, will you lock her in a cage like a pet to keep her from getting hurt? Oh, right, that way she won’t get hurt anymore. So, is that what you call protection!?”
“......”
After the intense argument, the two girls, who knew each other well, fell silent at the same time. Clearly, both were very firm in their stance, and neither could convince the other. Continuing the argument would only waste time.
Realizing this, Orluk’s face gradually lost all expression.
"It seems like you’ve made up your mind to go against me this time. What a pity. I thought we could continue working together like before, which is why I specifically took the time to talk to you..."
"Tch... Still don't get it? I'm not going against you, I’m trying to save you! With Her Highness's wisdom, do you really think she hasn’t noticed those little moves? She trusts you and has given you a chance to change, that's why she’s been so lenient. Although I don’t know exactly where she left a backup plan, if you keep going like this, there’s only one outcome. You’ll ruin yourself and bring even greater harm to Her Highness!"
"Heh..."
Listening to Rosie's sincere and somewhat urgent advice, the girl with dark blue hair fell silent for a moment again, and finally just shook her head.
"Rosie, you're right, we all care about Her Highness, but there's one thing. I'm different from you, from Noelle, from Senior Gladys and the others. You all see Princess Carinvega as someone who can do anything, almost to the point of idolizing her, but she’s just a person. She has emotions, she hesitates, and she fears things."
"Originally, I was also hesitating whether to do this, but after seeing her meet that guy, Xiluo, yesterday, and noticing the almost uncontrollable uncertainty and anxiety on her face when she came back, I suddenly understood..."
"Her Highness can’t solve everything easily and perfectly. She might have some preparations, but she’s already in an unprecedented dilemma. If I choose to just let things unfold today, the result will definitely make me regret it for the rest of my life, just like... back then. So, even if I might fail, even if it makes Her Highness hate me, I still have to protect her... No one can stop me, not even you, Rosie."
"Hmph... Looks like there's nothing more to say."
The blonde girl let out a soft sigh, her expression growing cold. She raised her staff and pointed it at the friend blocking the exit of the special audience section.
"Orluk, I can probably guess that you’ve gained some special abilities recently. That’s your trump card for infiltrating the guard team and acting like this. But at this distance, in this environment, do you really think your newfound power can make me lose the will to resist before a fight breaks out?"
"......"
Provoked like this, the thief girl fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. Her smile was just as calm as usual, yet for some reason, it seemed slightly mysterious to Rosie now.
“You’re very smart. Indeed, if it were under normal circumstances, it would be a bit difficult to pull something like this off. Even one-on-one, I might not be your opponent. But, Rosie, when exactly did you start having the illusion… that you still have the ability to resist?”
“!?”
It seemed that Rosie suddenly realized something from Orluk’s calm attitude. She was startled and, without thinking, quickly divided her attention and scanned the surroundings, feeling a rush of fear!
Only when she shifted her focus away from Orluk did she notice that the once noisy venue, filled with thousands of spectators and participants, had become eerily quiet, as if a pin could be heard falling. The special seating area for Frederick Royal Academy had also become empty, and even the vice-captain, Shutak, who had been talking to her moments ago, was gone.
“This…? No, this is impossible, you couldn’t have done this! This must be an illusion, right?! When did this start… I didn’t notice at all?”
“Hmm, quite an accurate guess. You’re very close to the truth. No wonder you’re the smartest and most talented mage by Her Highness’s side, Rosie. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised too…”
The girl with dark blue hair stepped forward. Though they were originally still at least ten meters apart, in the next instant, she abruptly crossed the distance and appeared right in front of Rosie. Rosie’s pupils shrank, and she instinctively tried to strike back, but was immediately horrified to find that her magic, which she could usually control with ease, was completely unresponsive. Even her body had become stiff, unable to move!?
Without any expression, Orluk reached out and gently lifted the blonde girl’s smooth, soft chin. Noticing the anger and slight confusion on Rosie’s face, but still seeing that she remained calm and thoughtful, Orluk spoke indifferently.
“I’ve given you many hints to stop focusing on the strange things related to me, but the effect was never quite as expected. Occasionally, I’d even be caught by small details that broke through your mental barriers. It seems that the differences in intellect and training paths between individuals have led to differences in spiritual power... Rosie, from the enemy's perspective, you’re indeed very difficult to deal with, which is why I had to come personally to handle this, just in case.”
“But that’s all there is to it. No matter how strong your talent is, in the end, you’re just a mortal. Even Senior Gladys couldn’t resist the power of the [Nightmare]. Naturally, you, who are even a bit weaker than her, are no exception. From the moment the [Dream Seed] was planted, the outcome was already decided.”
“[Nightmare]... [Dream Seed]?”
Seeing the blonde girl’s pupils shrink slightly, as if she had realized something, Orluk didn’t care. She just let go of Rosie’s chin, gently stroking her cheek as her hand moved upward.