kscans

Chapter 48 - Great Fury [Part 1]

"Father, Nelly's in a terrible mood. Can't you do something about it?"

"Give up. The cause is the cause. We don't have Lady Lupia here to calm her down, so it's impossible."

It was a conversation between a father and son. Today, like every other day, the topic was Vernella's foul mood. To be more precise, she had been in a deathly foul mood for the past several days. She'd been letting out screams she'd normally never utter, and the maids who cleaned her room had offered some rather colorful reports: "I mistook the young lady's room for one that had been burglarized..." and "I thought a storm had passed through the young lady's room and nowhere else."

"...So, what happened today?"

"Apparently, the Crown Princess said to her, 'Hey, Vernella-san, could you help mend my relationship with Lupia? If you and Lupia are best friends, then we're friends too!'"

"And what was Nelly's reaction when she got back?"

"Uh, well... 'Who the hell does she think she is, calling herself my dear sister-in-law's best friend?! Has she lost her damn mind?!' is what she yelled while punching her stress-relief target, Father."

"For a daughter of mine, her language is quite foul."

The Alcioni Family was, for all intents and purposes, a respectable house. Because the family was so close, their manner of speaking was quite frank, but this time, both Vernella's anger and her crude language were perfectly understandable.

Vernella's older brother, Juda-Alcioni, and her father, Aurel-Alcioni.

Though the two were speaking calmly, they heard a cry of "Don't you mock me!" followed by the sound of a heavy impact, and then silence. Normally, a meeting with Lupia would quell her temper, but their lifeline was currently in the Qua Kingdom studying for the Knight Order's entrance exam, so there was no way they could disturb her. They couldn't exactly write her a letter asking her to visit, so for now, they had no choice but to wait for the storm to pass. The only other people who could calm Vernella down were her older sisters, who were already married and no longer lived at home, but they couldn't ask them to come all the way back just for this, which left them in an even tighter spot.

"...Think a little sparring might calm her down?"

"I doubt it."

"...Figured as much."

Juda and Aurel were, without a doubt, members of the Alcioni family, Vernella's brother and father, but their personalities were polar opposites. That's why Vernella handled the 'underground' matters, while Juda acted as Aurel's support. At present, Juda was being trained to take over the 'public-facing' side of the family business.

The one who had discovered Vernella's talent for the 'underground' was Lupia, not anyone from the Alcioni family.

Vernella's etiquette was impeccable. Her social skills were, for the most part, perfectly fine. However, in the past, Vernella had always been listless. If asked what work she was suited for, there was nothing she particularly excelled at, and she was always worried, not knowing what to do. Of course, marrying for the sake of her family had a certain value, but she felt something was off, yet didn't know how to change it. What's more, no one with an aptitude for the 'underground' work had emerged in some time, and no one in her family or among her relatives had even thought to test if Vernella might be suited for it.

But then, on the advice of a relative to attend a party just for a change of pace, Vernella met Lupia. She was as dazzlingly brilliant as a diamond, yet at other times, she was like the moon—a quiet, beautiful, and radiant presence.

"Beautiful..."

She had murmured it without thinking. The way Lupia walked with her back straight and chest high, the way she accepted a glass and drank from it—every single one of her movements was refined.

"...I want to talk to her."

After whispering this, she had dazedly followed after Lupia, only to be questioned as to 'why she was able to follow her.' The end result was that she became engaged to Rupert and grew close enough to Lupia to call her 'sister-in-law.' To hear that the person she respected and adored had been practically cast aside by the entire country, and furthermore, that they were persistently demanding she 'help with the Crown Princess's education' and 'lend her power to the royal family,' was simply dumbfounding. To top it all off, she had recently received a letter from Falty declaring, 'We're friends!', which sent Vernella into a full-blown rampage.

"Who is!! My sister-in-law's!! Best friend!!"

She slammed a pillow onto the floor with all her might, sending a flurry of feathers dancing through the air. Panting, her shoulders heaving, she recalled the contents of Falty's letter, and her anger surged anew. How dare she lie about being her best friend. In reality, the high-ranking noble ladies whom Lupia considered her true best friends had all fled the country. According to them, "We can't afford to go down with this sinking ship. If it's going to sink, let it sink on its own." Vernella couldn't have agreed more.

"...Ah, how infuriating..."

The quietly muttered, rage-filled words dissolved into the air of the room.

"She's nothing but a thieving cat who manipulated my dear sister-in-law and stole everything from her, yet she has the gall to come begging for help at a time like this..."

As she ran her fingers through her disheveled hair, there was a hesitant knock at her door.

"...Yes, come in."

"Nelly, I'm coming in."

"...Brother?"

Her visitor was her own brother. Wondering what could have happened, she opened the door, only to see him freeze solid.

"Is something the matter, brother?"

"Did a burglar break into your room?"

"No, I was just so furious with the Crown Princess that I let loose a bit. She's utterly ridiculous, isn't she?"

"Nelly, I love how honest you are..."

Her hair was still a bit messy, but her breathing was perfectly calm. He was about to ask just how much she had rampaged, but one look at the state of the room made it all too clear. To anyone who didn't know the situation, the chaotic mess would undoubtedly make them think a robbery or a surprise attack had occurred. The sight made him dizzy.

"Still... this was quite the... rampage, wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry, brother. It's just that, well..."

"Well?"

"I was so ticked off, I was seriously contemplating how I might assassinate that Crown Princess... uhm..."

That was not a line to be delivered with a faint blush on one's cheeks. He mentally chided her, but knowing the contents of the letter, he understood his sister's feelings all too well.

If it weren't for Lupia, Vernella would have remained listless and ended up in a marriage of convenience for the sake of her family. At the very least, she never would have forged a connection with the Calmond Ducal Family.

Lupia was a benefactor not just to Vernella, but to the entire Alcioni Count Family. She had seen through to his sister's talents... well, it was more that she found out because Vernella had been following her, but it was something that wouldn't have been discovered otherwise. Furthermore, Rupert had been there at the time, which lent her assessment much more credibility. Back then, Rupert had been so determined to become a knight for his sister's sake. For him to acknowledge Vernella's talent meant she truly possessed something extraordinary.

"Well, uh... let's just put the assassination of the Crown Princess aside for a moment."

"Please don't. I'm being quite serious, you know."

"You have a letter from your beloved sister-in-law."

"Give it to me!"

So this is what they mean by 'at the speed of light,' Juda mused to himself once again. The sheer speed at which she snatched the letter from his coat was impressive, to say the least. As Vernella read the contents, her face, unbecoming of a noble lady, slowly twisted into a dark, cunning smile.

"...Nelly."

"Yes, brother?"

"Do something about your face."

"Ufufu, but you see..."

Vernella trailed off, then grinned broadly. The face of the woman known in high society as the Blue Rose was now so bewitchingly distorted, she could have been called a femme fatale and no one would have blinked.

"My dear sister-in-law is relying on me. Yes, yes! I shall stake everything on this, gather any and all information for her sake, and use it as ammunition to hunt that woman down!"

"How far are you planning to go?"

"How far, you ask...?"

Vernella blinked, her eyes wide. Then, she smiled sweetly and continued.

"Until that fool who stole everything from my sister-in-law understands what she has done. As far as it takes."

Seeing Vernella declare this with a smile still on her face, Juda secretly pitied the target, Crown Princess Falty. His sister would never, ever forgive her. Once she had made up her mind, she would show no mercy.

Now, as for why Vernella was so suited for the 'underground' work... It lay in how she used her body and her magic.

If she followed someone, she'd be accused of stalking. If she demonstrated her light-footed movements, so unusual for a lady, she'd be mocked as being 'like a monkey.' When she showed off her magic, she was told it was 'incomprehensible what use it could possibly have.' But that couldn't be helped. After all, Vernella's specialties were Gravity Magic and Presence Concealment Magic. She could manipulate the gravity around herself to leap about lightly. At times, she would focus immense pressure only on a ruffian chasing her, controlling it to immobilize him, then increasing the pressure on just his limbs to break them. She never meant to follow anyone, but when they made a fuss, she would knock them unconscious with a swift strike without hesitation. In this way, she gradually learned how to 'use' herself. While others found her knack for information gathering unsettling, Lupia and Rupert accepted it all without question. On top of that, they had reached out to her. It wasn't creepy at all. It was a shining talent, they said, and she should nurture it.

If she was activating her magic unconsciously, then she should learn to control it. Then, she could think about what purpose it could serve. Not only had Lupia pushed her forward and given her a chance, but she had also thoroughly investigated every aspect of the Alcioni family before making a proposal to Vernella.

'I hear the Alcioni's 'underground' has been in decline recently. In that case, since you have the aptitude, why don't you become it?'

Take control of the underworld, which had no one to manage it. That's what she had told her. Vernella had thought it was impossible for her, but when she consulted her grandfather, relatives, and family, they all held their heads in their hands, wondering, 'Why didn't we think of this sooner?' She was the right person for the right job—they had to place Vernella there.

Some relatives had objected, asking if she was just going to be used like a chess piece by Lupia, but Vernella had laughed and denied it. 'She was the only one who saw this in me,' she had smiled.

"Lady Lupia, my loyalty is for you alone. However, my heart is for Rupert. Call me a fool, but I have fallen in love with him."

Vernella still remembered the look on Lupia's face when she had confessed this.

"And what's wrong with that? Your heart is your own. I have no right to say who you give it to. But are you sure? Pledging your loyalty to me alone?"

When asked, she had nodded without hesitation.

"If you hadn't told me, Lady Lupia, I would have spent my life as a living doll, just a plain version of 'me.' But now it's different. I know I can be of use to my family, and I've gained a weapon that is mine alone!"

"I love that about you, Vernella."

She didn't mind being used. This was the person who had helped her find her own worth, so she would serve her with her very being. The idea of someone who used strange arts to manipulate people's minds becoming the Crown Princess, let alone the queen, was simply outrageous.

Even if the story was already decided, a counterattack was possible. So, let the preparations begin.

Clutching the letter from Lupia to her chest, Vernella declared.

"If the Crown Princess's future as queen is set in stone, so be it. In exchange, we'll expose everything she's done to everyone. Then they'll all learn their lesson."

Her hand on her cheek, her smiling face was filled with utter delight.

"They'll learn just how wonderful the person they mocked and ultimately drove away truly was. We will let this entire country know that the person who will become their Crown Princess, and eventually their queen, is someone who was instigated by an inhuman being and did its bidding. Until my sister-in-law makes her appearance here, I will gather and gather and gather evidence."

She knew that Falty was communicating with something from time to time. Vernella herself had never seen this 'System' that Lupia spoke of, but if the Crown Princess herself was making contact with it, she would find a way to catch her in the act.

"...Well, to do that, I suppose I'll have to attend that damn Crown Princess's tea party."

"What are you planning to do?"

"For now, I'll be planting various ultra-compact magic tools and other things."

"Meaning?"

"Magic tools that can eavesdrop and record video!"

...Lady Lupia, just how deeply have you made my sister fall for you?

Though he knew it wouldn't reach her, Juda couldn't help but mutter it in his heart.

"...Achoo!"

"Big sis, are you catching a cold?"

"I wonder if someone's talking about me."

"Maybe Vernella?"

"Could be."

Lupia looked up from her reference book for a moment, her gaze turning toward her homeland.

"...I'm counting on you, Vernella."

Thinking that she would likely be going to that country in the not-so-distant future, Lupia turned her attention back to her book.