SEVL 10

Chapter – 10

“You crossed the line this time, Kiana. You’re not a child anymore. You should know what’s right and what’s wrong.”

It was fair discipline. Pretending not to notice would have been real neglect.

And in that moment, I suddenly realized something.
I was breaking.

Living in the Duke of Frellai’s household, tormenting myself over everything I didn’t have like this—I would only continue to be unhappy. To think I’d sunk so low as to do something so disgusting and pointless. Changing Melissa’s eye color wouldn’t change anything at all……

“Reflect on your actions while you stay in seclusion.”

“Grandfather, then……”

Since he’d said “seclusion,” I replied calmly.

“While I’m reflecting, please send me to the academy in the Principality of Lillony. I want to go somewhere far away and reflect there.”

I suggested the Lillony academy because I’d heard it was famous for magitech. I’d originally begun studying magitech on my own just to torment Melissa, but as I learned more, I found it surprisingly interesting. If I was going to leave far away, that seemed like a good place.

So I decided never to use that magitech device on Melissa and to bury it forever. As I left the Empire, I slipped the device into my pocket and fidgeted with it the entire journey to the academy. It didn’t seem useful anymore, but it also felt like a waste to discard it immediately. After all, it was a successful creation I’d devoted my entire childhood to.

It was while we were heading west toward the Principality of Lillony.

The coach was traveling through a quiet forest road that the driver had called a shortcut.

“Stop for a moment.”

With a prim expression, I suddenly gave the order. I needed to use the restroom. Of course, there was no restroom deep in the forest.

“Pull over for a bit.”

“Yes, milady.”

Everyone reacted casually. This was normal during travel.

“Please don’t go too far, and shout if anything happens.”

“Got it.”

Leaving the guards behind, I walked into the underbrush. They told me not to go far, but out of embarrassment, I kept taking step after step farther away.

I wasn’t someone important enough to be targeted, and this forest wasn’t exactly a place where people lingered. So I let my guard down and wandered quite far alone.

Then suddenly, a low voice came from the nearby bushes.

“Don’t come any closer.”

I swallowed back a scream and staggered backward. Trembling, clutching the hem of my gold-threaded checkered skirt, I took a breath and barely managed to ask,

“W-What is it?”

A boy about my age was crouched there, gasping in pain. He wore a hood pulled low, not a single strand of hair visible.

I felt like I might faint, but I quickly regained my composure, swallowed once, and asked calmly,

“You said not to come closer? Is that what you just said?”

Even then, I maintained proper decorum and manners. The hood he wore looked quite expensive, so I spoke respectfully.

The boy took a deep breath and replied in a low voice.

“……Yes. It’s better if you don’t get involved with me.”

His voice was solemn, almost grave.

“Just pass by and go. Quickly. You didn’t see anything. Understand?”

Hmm. He seemed far too comfortable making demands of a complete stranger. In that case, I decided to match that level of familiarity.

“No, why are you concerned about the condition of my optic nerves?”

“……”

The boy looked momentarily flustered, then continued.

“Listen to me.”

His tone was firm.

“I’ll get better with time. But if you stick around out of misplaced pity, you might regret it badly.”

He even desperately tried to hide his face.

“Okay.”

I agreed easily. Honestly, my soft-hearted nature protested, but if that was what he wanted, I had to respect it.

“Then take care.”

Without hesitation, I turned around and strode away. I thought I heard him mutter, “…You’re leaving awfully fast,” but I ignored it.

After I’d gone quite a distance, something suddenly occurred to me. I turned back and approached the boy again. Sensing my presence, he reacted sharply.

“Why did you come back?”

His voice was sharp, but there was a faint trace of relief in it.

“I told you to go without getting involved, so why—”

“I would’ve left even if you hadn’t said that.”

I cut him off immediately.

“But listen.”

Then I asked casually,

“There’s something I was going to throw away. Want me to throw it away with you?”

“…What?”

“It’s a very rare magitech device.”

The device I’d been fidgeting with in my pocket this whole time—it was troublesome to deal with anyway.

“It can change eye color, but I don’t have any use for it. If you need money, sell it quietly somewhere. There’s only one like it in the world.”

After speaking, I gently rolled the device over to him.

“…What? Really?”

His breathing grew a little rougher, and he asked in a suddenly serious voice,

“Where did this come from?”

“Someone I knew made it. That person isn’t in this world anymore.”

It wasn’t entirely untrue. After feeling that sense of emptiness, I was definitely different from before. I wouldn’t obsess over appearances anymore. I planned to live freely, doing what I wanted in a new place.

I continued calmly.

“Only you and I know something like this exists. So feel free to use it for a scam if you want.”

“……”

“You activate it by feeding it your blood, then hold it to your eyes for about an hour while thinking of the color you want. It’s single-use—you can’t use it twice. And it’ll hurt. A lot. Like your eyes are burning. But you have to endure it until the end.”

To be honest, the process was so painful that mass production would’ve been impossible.

After hesitating, the boy asked,

“Why are you showing me such kindness?”

“Obviously, for my own peace of mind.”

I answered immediately.

“There’s no way I’d feel good leaving you alone here. But I’m also not the type to meddle when someone tells me not to.”

“…Hmm.”

“So I’m giving away something extremely valuable but useless to me, just to lighten my conscience.”

“…You’re honest.”

“I’m being rational.”

Despite clearly being in pain, he gave a small laugh. He tucked the device into his pocket, which made it seem like he wasn’t on the verge of death.

“Surprisingly… this is truly a miraculous device for me. Thank you.”

“Please sell it in some back alley where purchase records can’t be traced. I’d rather not deal with trouble.”

“You’ll never be troubled because of this. I promise.”

He said slowly in a hoarse voice.

I quietly watched the boy’s hooded back. It was strange. I couldn’t see a single clear feature, yet his refined manner of speech and precise pronunciation made him oddly trustworthy.

“…How did this happen?”

“I was betrayed. That’s all.”

“That’s awful……”

“I survived, so I can take revenge. Don’t worry too much.”

Moved by his thoughtful response, I confessed honestly,

“Yeah. Honestly, I wasn’t that worried. We just met, after all.”

“……”

I shrugged once and slowly turned around. As I did, the boy called out again,

“Don’t ever say you met me. Anywhere. For your own sake.”

There was no one I could tell anyway.

For my sake, he hadn’t even seen my face or asked who I was. It was as if he was restraining himself.

“That’s your situation. But if I may ask one thing—don’t die.”

I said primly.

“If you die, wouldn’t it feel awful knowing I turned away like this?”

Just as I was about to leave for real, he whispered,

“Imperial Capital. P.O. Box 1135.”

“…Huh?”

“After a long time has passed, secretly send a letter there with a place I can reply to. It’s dangerous, so you should create a private P.O. box too. When I can completely hide myself, I’ll let you know whether I’m alive. Then you won’t feel uneasy, right?”

“Well… it’s not like I care that much. Making a secret P.O. box just to know whether you’re alive sounds kind of annoying, but I’ll think about it.”

“Do as you like. But never tell anyone about today. Not even the person closest to you.”

His warning was firm.

“I’m serious. This is for your sake. You mustn’t be found out.”

“I said I got it.”

Honestly, since I had no one close to me, there was nothing to consider.

He asked urgently,

“You don’t need to write the box number down? Can you remember it?”

“It’s easy to remember.”

“1135 is easy to remember?”

“Yeah. One plus one plus three equals five.”

“……”

And with that exchange, I truly turned away and disappeared down another path.

To be completely honest, it was because I urgently needed to use the restroom.