Chapter 68
A conversation suddenly came to mind.
—What is it? What are you talking about? Don’t leave me out, tell me too, okay?
—Dimodi’s seal comes first.
—If the seal is broken, will you tell me too?
—……
—You’ll tell me, right? As expected of a princess, you’re loyal.
“Promise? What are you talking about? You said that on your own.”
“Ah—no, no.”
Hist shook his head briskly and spoke firmly.
“I’ve had enough of being the only one in the dark. Do you know how anxious I was waiting for the fainted princess? I even held back from asking about Count Zelaur—!”
“That really has nothing to do with you.”
“I know, that’s why I held back,” he continued in a dissatisfied tone.
“But not now. It’s obvious that my efforts contributed to Dimodi being released from the seal—didn’t the princess admit that too? So I have the right to know!”
……A deep sigh escaped.
Indeed, it was hard to keep withholding information from Hist now. There was simply too much he had witnessed to just brush it off.
Thinking about it, Hist has always been curious about my conversations with the spirits.
Had that curiosity turned into feelings of exclusion after today?
I didn’t want to clash with him emotionally, so I needed to explain the situation.
But how much should I reveal?
Hist was the only one in this world who could perceive the same existence as me. So I could explain the phenomenon I’d just witnessed and even share some of my feelings with him.
As I briefly wrestled with myself, the deepest emotions inside me stirred. I frowned slightly.
…Right, focus.
Don’t weaken now. I’d already promised myself never to be careless again. To trust no one and doubt everything.
Hist could see the spirits, and he had tried his best to help me. Those two facts were undeniable—but that didn’t mean I could share everything.
Even if he’s on my side now, who knows when that might change.
People are like that. At least, those I cherished were.
Even my beloved mother tried to deceive my origins, and the nanny I wanted to trust ultimately betrayed me.
My precious friend Brilint had obvious weaknesses, and Brindel, someone I valued, turned a knife on me from behind.
Even Moren, who I wanted to rely on, was hiding something from me.
People can change at any moment, and they will lie to deceive each other.
Even if it’s excessive suspicion, I can’t help it.
Deep inside, there was an emotion screaming not to trust anyone. That was fear.
How obnoxious.
I constantly lied, yet I feared others lying to me. But this was my honest feeling, my weakness I had tried to ignore.
I calmed myself and looked at Hist. His sharp purple eyes stared straight at me.
Always someone who speaks their mind transparently.
He was the type of person who unsettled me—someone I had never encountered before. I had to be extra careful not to get swept up.
Just as I was about to speak, Hist sighed lightly.
“The princess sure has a lot on her mind.”
“Did I really make it so hard for you to trust me? I tried my best, you know.”
Hearing him say that, I realized he had probably guessed my feelings. I shook my head lightly.
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I’m naturally very suspicious.”
“Seems like it. Thanks to you, I’ve done some real thinking for the first time in a while—about what to do to dispel that doubt.”
“A waste of time, I guess. It’s just my nature; even I can’t change it.”
“What do you mean ‘waste of time’? I found a solution surprisingly quickly.”
“A solution… you found a solution?”
At my question, the spirits hovering around Hist looked curious.
[How?! How?!]
[I want to know too~!]
[You’re not going to use some bizarre magic on our master, are you?!]
[Hmm, I’m opposed to that…]
“Opposed?” I muttered Dimodi’s words without thinking, and Hist spoke clearly.
“The conclusion is simple. I just need to prove to the princess that I don’t lie. And, luckily, I know a suitable spell for that!”
“What strange thing are you planning now?”
“Don’t worry. This time, the princess won’t suffer at all!”
Confidently, Hist stood up, plopped me onto the chair he had been sitting in, and walked to the far end of the room.
Sensing unease, I tried to get up, but he shouted:
“Stay put! You’ll get hurt if you get swept away!”
“What are you doing?!”
“Just a moment, it’ll be over!”
“Explain while you do it!”
“The princess doesn’t tell me anything either! So I won’t!”
“Stop being childish!”
“Didn’t you know? I’m naturally childish!”
Hist playfully answered, stopped, and closed his eyes. At that moment, I sensed the air in the greenhouse ripple across my sensitized skin.
Feeling uneasy, I frowned. The spirits spoke up.
[He’s really going to cast magic!]
[Looks like something impressive~]
[Hmm, the flow of mana isn’t normal.]
[…It’s starting!]
Bwoooom—.
Vibrations spread under Hist’s feet as a massive magic circle appeared. The glowing purple circle contained symbols and drawings I had never seen before. I didn’t recognize them, but the spirits watching did.
[Huh?! Where did I see that?!]
[Hmm… what was it~?]
[I remember! That’s forbidden magic!]
[And, super powerful too…]
“Forbidden magic?”
What exactly is he trying to do…?
As I frowned, the brilliant magic circle condensed into a single beam and shot straight at Hist’s head!
“Ugh!”
“Hist Neton!”
In an instant, the magic circle was absorbed into his head. The unstable mana returned to normal, and Hist clutched his head, staggering. I leaped from the chair and rushed to him.
“What are you doing?!”
I wanted to grab him by the collar for doing something reckless, but seeing his pale complexion, I chose to support him instead.
Hist smiled casually.
“You realized what I did?”
“Did you really use forbidden magic?”
“Haha, smart as always, princess.”
“Answer me!”
“Yeah, it’s true.”
I could only stare in shock at his calm confirmation.
“Hist Neton! You foolish man!”
“It’s fine, princess.”
Leaning against me, Hist shrugged lightly.
“Forbidden magic isn’t a big deal. It just uses formulas that are a bit difficult to handle.”
“That’s what you call ‘not a big deal’?”
I bit my lip and let out a frustrated sigh. Being this worked up accomplished nothing. I calmed myself and asked:
“What exactly did you do?”
“I could scold you more, though.”
“Stop dodging the question.”
“No, I’ll explain first.”
He stepped gently away from me, wearing his mischievous grin.
“Listen carefully. From now on, I absolutely cannot lie to you, princess.”
“What?”
“This is a type of torture magic used on criminals in the Tower of Magic long ago—”
He tapped his own head with his index finger.
“The moment I lie to a set target, this brain takes a huge shock. The more lies and the stronger they are, the bigger the shock becomes, and if pushed too far, it can drive someone insane.”
……
“Now, it’s classified as forbidden magic, and most of the old formulas were lost. But who else am I? If this genius puts in the effort, I can restore it in no time.”
“So, now…”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“You’re saying that if you lie to me, you’ll get hurt?”
“Exactly. Lie to me three times, and my brain loses function immediately.”
Want to test it?
Hist asked casually. I couldn’t even react, finally managing:
“Are you insane?”
“Not entirely, but… yes, in a way.”
“Don’t you care that this burdens me? Why go to such lengths?”
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand. Why would he use such an abnormal method on himself? Wasn’t it scary?
Wait, what about me?
Why was he doing this? Just to gain my trust?
Or does he have some other scheme?
If not, it’s way over the top. What’s his intention?
Seeing me at a rare loss for words, Hist patted my shoulder.
“Princess, calm down. This is no problem for me.”
“How is it no problem?”
“You’re misunderstanding something.”
