Chapter 22
“……”
“……”
The two maids froze with papers in their hands after hearing the thunderous shout that filled the room.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“W-What was that sound?”
Fear washed over them at the realization that someone was in the room they had thought was empty.
As the two slowly turned toward the source of the voice, I stared down at them and frowned.
“You’ve completely lost your sense of fear! Do you even know where you are before barging in here?”
“Th-The portrait is t-talking… No, what is this…?”
“H-Hiiiiik!”
Watching the two collapse onto the floor in shock, I smiled proudly.
Maybe I’m talented at this.
“It’s smiling… A ghost, it’s a ghost!”
“Calm down! There’s no such thing as—”
“Why do you think there isn’t?”
One of the maids had already drawn a dagger hidden beneath her skirt and was approaching the portrait. She stopped dead at my words.
“How foolish. To think that after all these long years the world has existed, there could not possibly be things beyond your knowledge.”
A witch.
In a way, it was also an introduction to myself—a being these maids knew nothing about.
“You dared sneak into the LeBlanc estate and attempt to steal what belongs here. Naturally, you must pay the price.”
The two women shuddered as they stared at the moving portrait.
Then one of them suddenly snapped.
“What? Steal?”
The maid’s eyes burned with anger as she repeated the word in disbelief. When I remained silent, she gritted her teeth and continued.
“It’s not us who stole anything. It was the LeBlanc Ducal House! Because of the trade route rights that Blake LeBlanc seized, my family was ruined! Do you even know that before saying such things?”
Stole? Blake stole something?
Though Blake could be difficult and fierce at times, I didn’t think he was the sort of person who would steal.
“That murderer destroyed my family!”
When silence stretched on, the maid shouted again, her voice full of resentment.
“My father and brother died after being dragged into the Beast War. Our family fell apart. And even then… Blake LeBlanc took the trade route rights that should have gone to my father. His Majesty the Emperor and Saint Ophelia believed the victory was entirely his achievement!”
“…Miss, please stop.”
The maid who had been called “Miss” showed no signs of stopping. Instead, she widened her eyes and continued accusing him.
“The Beast War—what was it all for? My family were fools for trying to protect their people. We should have listened to Saint Ophelia’s prophecy from the beginning. It should have been me who became the sacrifice!”
“…A prophecy? A sacrifice?”
The words sounded strange and bizarre.
They reminded me of the tricks used by charlatans back when I had lived in the human world.
People who spouted nonsense about how illnesses could only be cured by offering sacrifices.
I studied the crying woman carefully.
Now that I looked at her, despite her maid’s uniform, she carried herself with a certain elegance.
Perhaps she had once been the daughter of a noble family.
“Blake LeBlanc claimed we could defeat the beasts without offering a sacrifice. My father and brother believed him completely. But do you know what happened? Both of them came back as cold corpses. Can you even imagine how I felt when I saw them?”
“……”
“Blake LeBlanc never cared who died in that war. He didn’t care who won either. He’s just a blood-crazed killer who wants more opportunities to bathe in blood. A greedy man who wanted all the glory for himself!”
A bitter smile twisted her lips.
“It’s no wonder this family can’t sleep. The spirits of all those who died after being used by the LeBlancs must be cursing them even now.”
Spreading her arms as if casting a curse, she glared at me.
“So kill me or spare me. I don’t care. I won’t beg the LeBlanc family for my life.”
Her chin remained proudly raised, but her tightly clenched fists trembled.
I watched her silently for a long moment before speaking.
“I won’t kill you.”
“……”
Kill them? Please.
I had never intended to kill them in the first place.
I wasn’t the kind of witch who harmed humans.
I simply wanted to hear more of this story.
“More importantly, this prophecy and sacrifice business sounds interesting. I have many questions. What exactly was the prophecy? Did it demand a human life as a sacrifice?”
“Why do you care? I’m not telling you anything. I’m not going to beg for my life, so just kill me!”
“Was the prophecy saying that your life had to be sacrificed in order to win the Beast War?”
“……”
The Beast War.
The same mysterious conflict that Blake and the blond knight had mentioned before.
Magical beasts.
Creatures driven by magic but lacking reason.
I knew the basics about magical beasts, but something about this bothered me.
Normally, magical beasts were not creatures one encountered often.
≪The corrupted remnants of magic,
Within them are born savage monsters.≫
A race born from the magic shed by wicked witches.
Why had such creatures appeared within the Kasdonia Empire?
If magical beasts truly existed in this land…
Then there was no way they could be eliminated through some ridiculous sacrifice.
Though this woman clearly didn’t know that.
“If that was really the prophecy, then it’s such absurd nonsense that it’s laughable.”
“…N-Nonsense?”
The woman blinked in shock at the crude language coming from the dignified figure in the portrait.
“Your father and brother who fought in the Beast War were wise. They ignored that nonsense about sacrifices and chose to keep you alive.”
“……”
“If Blake truly stole those trade route rights or whatever they were, then yes, that would be a serious wrongdoing.”
Blake was certainly difficult to understand.
Yet after observing him, I had become certain of one thing.
Regardless of how harsh or cold he appeared, he wasn’t the sort of person who would commit petty, underhanded acts without reason.
There was always a reason behind his actions.
The problem was that he never bothered to explain them and simply accepted whatever judgment others passed on him.
Even if it meant becoming the villain in everyone’s eyes.
Whether that stemmed from laziness or because he genuinely believed himself to be a villain, I couldn’t tell.
“Even so, I don’t believe Blake really did that.”
“How would you know? You’re just a portrait!”
She had a point.
Even I didn’t know why I was saying all this.
Blake was merely a character from a romance fantasy novel I had read long ago.
Even if this woman completely misunderstood him, it wouldn’t affect me at all.
But…
I couldn’t forget Ronald’s tears when he said Blake could finally sleep.
Nor could I forget those trembling violet eyes.
He was terrible at expressing himself, but there was definitely more to the story.
Of course, if he heard my overall assessment of him, he’d probably respond coldly:
“No. I’m the exact opposite of everything you think I am.”
“I believe in Blake LeBlanc. But I also want to understand your feelings. Losing your family and being left alone would make anyone want someone to blame. But think about it.”
The woman’s eyes trembled.
“What parent would sacrifice their child? They probably wanted to protect you even if it cost them their lives. And they likely believed that by following Blake, they could save both you and their people. Blake LeBlanc doesn’t lie.”
Considering how he’d shoved a contract in my face the moment I asked for help finding a portal, it was obvious enough.
If he made a promise, he kept it.
Lying simply wasn’t his style.
“More than anything, he probably promised your father that he would protect you and save the people. And Blake would have risked his own life in that war as well.”
“……”
The woman fell silent.
“No one is unafraid of death. No matter how many victories he achieved, Blake must have faced death every single time he stepped onto the battlefield.”
I remembered the expressionless Blake from the newspaper just before I came here.
Despite his victories, there had been no joy on his face.
“And every time he returned from war, the guilt probably piled up inside him. People just didn’t notice because he never showed it.”
A truth hidden beneath grief.
Or perhaps one people chose not to see.
Come to think of it, that was exactly how it had been in the original story.
Every time the monstrous Blake LeBlanc returned alive from battle, grieving families sought him out as the target of their anger.
As if the terrible curse he already bore wasn’t enough, they hurled even crueler curses at him.
Just like now.
“Isn’t it strange? People die whether they follow the prophecy or not. So why does all the blame always fall on Blake? The choice belonged to each person.”
No answer came.
The atmosphere had grown noticeably colder.
I coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem. I wasn’t trying to give a sermon. Maybe I sounded like some old nag.”
“So what you’re saying is that Blake LeBlanc is completely innocent?”
“Miss, let’s just go. If someone finds us, it’ll become an even bigger problem. Let’s leave this haunted portrait alone—”
“Let go of me!”
The woman clearly had no intention of leaving.
With a sigh, I finally gave her my honest answer.
“Well… if failing to save the comrades who fought beside him is a crime, then perhaps it is.”
A burden so heavy that no punishment could surpass it.
“Why don’t you go confront Blake directly? Tell him to return the trade route rights.”
There. That should answer your question.
Now please leave.
Stop talking to me.
The longer this conversation went on, the more I could feel my magic running out.
At this rate, the spell was going to break.
“Alright, alright. Time to leave the room. If you still have something to say, tell Blake directly.”
“Hah? The more I listen, the stranger you sound. What exactly are you?”
“A portrait. Probably Blake’s grandfather. Or maybe his maternal grandfather.”
“…No way. I need to see for myself—”
Before she could reach for the portrait, an unexpected voice interrupted.
“I wondered how far this would go, but apparently there’s no end to it. You certainly do talk a lot.”
A low, heavy voice cut through the conversation.
The woman and I both turned toward the sound.
And there stood Blake, silently staring at the woman and at me—the portrait—with dim violet eyes devoid of light.
