kscans

Chapter 26 - Where Anger is Directed, and Where it is Received ②

Her friends. They were the commoner girl who had treated her without prejudice since she entered the academy, and the sons and daughters of merchant families with ties to her own count family. There were many.

But what about Lupia?

She was the promising daughter of a duke, unilaterally and arbitrarily chosen as Falty's 'rival lady,' her own sense of self largely stolen by the System, and manipulated so as not to interfere with the 'protagonist.'

And now, that same Lupia was moving on, away from the royal family, away from Falty, away from Liam. According to the Will of God (System), she had been 'liberated.'

"Why would you do something so selfish...?"

≪Selfish? I wonder, what do you mean by selfish?≫

"I! I never agreed to it!"

≪Why not?≫

"Doesn't Lupia have a role to play in improving this country with me?!"

≪Had you achieved the Grand Finale ending, that would have been the case. But you... you couldn't do it, could you?≫

She could only fall silent. Falty had only thought they had become friends; she had only been looking at the numbers. This was the result.

"To think... a duke's daughter wouldn't even inform the royal family of her recuperation destination!"

≪Coming from you, the one who stole her fiancé, that carries no weight at all. Can you not understand that?≫

What a problem, it seemed to say, sneering with Falty's own face and voice. What right do you, the thief, have to play the victim? Lupia was no longer Crown Prince Liam's fiancée; she was free to go where she pleased and think what she wished.

The thoughtless rumors in the capital would only hurt Lupia. So she was leaving the capital, distancing herself from the royal family. In the meantime, Lupia was starting to run down the path she was originally meant to take.

"How can I... How can I get the Grand Finale...?"

As Falty began to cry like a child, the Will of God (System) spoke with an air of exasperation.

≪You were never introduced to Rupert by Lupia, were you? The path would only have opened if you had gained the interest of him, the one who respected her with all his heart... It was clearly written on the to-do list we provided.≫

"...Ugh... sniff... waah..."

Everything it said was the truth. An event to introduce family members that she had carelessly skipped. She hadn't known it was so important. The gaze directed at the sobbing Falty was no longer just lifeless; it was like looking at a still image.

It let out a great sigh it didn't need to breathe and continued.

≪From our perspective, you were a very good person... but to fall apart like this after one failure, one stumble...≫

"Take me back..."

≪Pardon?≫

"Turn back time, you defective product! If you take me back, I'll do better next time!"

≪Hah... Fine.≫

"Huh, really?!"

Falty's eyes widened for a moment at the unexpectedly casual agreement to her desperate scream, but the words that followed wiped the expression from her face.

≪If you can turn burnt meat back to how it was before it was cooked, then I will show you how to turn back time.≫

"......... Th-that's... ...There's no way I can do that!"

≪You see? It's impossible.≫

The tone was unfailingly gentle. Like explaining something to an unreasonable child, yet, because she was an adult, it showed no mercy. The words it spoke gouged out Falty's heart without remorse.

≪Please do not throw a tantrum just because a fairytale you finished reading has no sequel. The way forward, what you must look at, is the 'future.'≫

"Then... what should... I do...?"

≪You should continue to devote yourself ever more diligently to becoming the Queen. ...Because you stole that from a certain young lady.≫

No, she could cry and scream, but this 'reality' she was now moving through would not stop.

Only after being told all this did she finally realize. Unaware of the exasperated look she was receiving, Falty stared blankly at the floor. For a moment, she almost resented Lupia, but she understood that was misdirected anger.

She thought she understood. In every way. The story was over. Falty had been far too unaware that she was now living in the sequel to the ending. Although she had, in a way, been instigated into this situation, it was undeniably Falty herself who had chosen this path and walked it. Lupia was merely an existence forced to play along in the position of 'rival lady.' Falty had to properly understand that in chasing her own ambitions, she had thrown the future of a young lady into disarray. Even if the way the Will of God (System) was speaking sounded sarcastic, and even if she was dissatisfied, she had to accept it.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

"Big Sis... Big Sis!"

"...Oh... my... was I... sleeping...?"

"You must have been tired, Sister-in-law. Are you alright? It seems you were dozing off. But... your complexion..."

"...I feel like... I had a strange dream..."

A strange dream? Rupert and Vernella tilted their heads. Although they were in a carriage with only people she trusted, it was very rare for Lupia to doze off. On top of that, she had looked very pale while she slept. Rupert and Vernella watched her with concern.

When asked if she was carriage-sick, Lupia just shook her head.

For that brief moment she had been dozing, Lupia had seen something like a dream. She thought it was probably a dream, but the contents were so detached from reality. It was as if she had been standing in the Crown Princess's room in the royal palace, forced to watch a scene of Falty talking with someone.

Lupia herself was in a carriage, on her way to a place of recuperation. There was no way she could be in such a place, and since Falty was the Crown Princess now, she didn't have a shred of interest in it. If anything, she needed to think about her own future. While she had the path of the next Duchess, a plan to move to her mother's home country was also emerging. Before they left, her father and mother had told her to think of it as having more options and to explore various possibilities. So why had she seen something like that?

"Big Sis, a strange dream?"

"A dream, or rather... um, like I was being shown... a video? Something like that..."

Her hesitant, disjointed explanation left Rupert and Vernella looking confused. Thinking she might really be unwell, Rupert was about to contact his uncle, who was riding alongside them, but Lupia quickly stopped him. His uncle looked over inquisitively, but Rupert smiled and shook his head to signal that it was nothing, and his uncle, seeming to understand, turned his gaze forward again.

"...Big Sis?"

Rupert questioned Lupia, who was still holding his wrist. As if she had made up her mind, Lupia murmured in a small voice.

"In the dream... that girl was arguing with something."

"That girl?"

"...Falty-Ardia."

At the name, a wave of tension shot through Vernella and Rupert. Because of her, Lupia had had one of her futures stolen. No matter how much she said she didn't mind and was fine, they knew the gossip-loving nobles were all laughing at Lupia.

"What about her?"

Rupert asked, his voice tinged with anger.

"She seemed to be... questioning something. Something about how Falty and I had a duty to improve this country together... or that Falty and I were... best friends..."

"S-Sister-in-law, you were friends with that person?!"

"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!"

Lupia frantically shook her head in response to Vernella's question.

"I was in a strange state, as if taken over by some incomprehensible 'System,' and before I knew it, that person was just... next to me! After graduation, I rushed to contact my real friends. It seems they all thought something was strange too, but..."

"I-I see..."

"In any case, a girl like that is no friend of mine. We may have crossed paths at evening parties, but... the people you want to be close with, the connections between families, the relationships between nobles—it's not that simple."

"...Well, I suppose that's true."

"Exactly. If you called anyone you knew one-sidedly a 'friend,' then everyone would be your 'friend,' wouldn't they?"

That made sense, and both Vernella and Rupert nodded.

But now they had more to worry about. The content of the 'dream' Lupia had just seen. If the 'System' had done something to manipulate Lupia, and if Falty had made it happen... then even if she wasn't the main cause, assuming she was one of the causes...

The three inside the carriage, having arrived at the same thought, looked at each other without anyone needing to say a word.

"That Falty woman, what the hell has she done...?"

Rupert's mutter, directed at no one in particular, faded within the carriage, but Lupia's face twisted with resentment.

For a whole year, her own thoughts had been largely stolen, and she had been forced to endure Falty acting like her friend, all leading up to the recent wedding. It was convenient that she didn't have to become the Crown Princess, but there was also the mental and physical strain from the Memory Erasing Magic.

She was grateful only for the fact that, although in an unexpected way, she was able to return to her original path and now might have other paths as well.

She tried not to let it bother her, but the chorus of mocking stories about her that she'd heard while in the capital was utterly unforgivable.

To inherit the house = the next Duchess. That's what she had thought, but another idea had floated into Lupia's mind. If the move really happened... If she didn't return from her recuperation, but instead walked a future in their new home...

(Even if I'm not the next Duchess... it seems the range of paths available to me is widening.)

She had been on the verge of being consumed by resentment, but she shook her head slightly to quickly change her train of thought.

(I must make sure to settle things with what is unnecessary as soon as possible.)

When the time came to bid farewell to the country, Lupia predicted she would have to greet the king and queen again as the next head of the Calmond family. If they moved, she would likely no longer hold the position of 'Duchess'.

My, I have more to think about while I'm recuperating... Lupia thought, gazing at the passing scenery.