– Brrr!
As chills ran down my spine, I looked up at the sky, and the messenger pigeon with the blindfold began descending slowly.
‘No, let’s calm down. It might not be here to deliver a letter to me, right?’
Startled, I stepped back in fear, but a sudden thought brought me a sliver of hope.
‘Those people weren’t even that interested in me to begin with…’
It’s in the past now, but the White Mage Alliance, Lumen Ordo, once rejected my application, claiming my white magic was somehow off.
Of course, I wasn’t trying to join on my own will—it was my father who pressured me into visiting—but still, I can’t be certain the letter is meant for me.
Who knows? Maybe Lumen Ordo has business with Lady Meredia. Or maybe with Cecil, who’s practically perfect in every way…
– Brrr!
But my escapist thoughts shattered the moment the messenger pigeon landed squarely on top of my head.
“Ow. Owwww.”
Even as I averted my gaze to avoid eye contact with the pigeon shaking a letter tied to its leg, I ended up getting pecked before reluctantly accepting the letter.
“…Haha.”
As expected, the letter was decorated with an outrageously eccentric design.
It was so cluttered with decorations that it hurt readability, and the seal looked so unnecessarily sinister it could have come from the leader of the black mages.
Even the cursive letters were written in what appeared to be dark, blood-red ink.
“Sigh….”
Honestly, I wanted to send it right back, but if I did that, the executives of Lumen Ordo might come storming into this mansion.
The servants are already worn out from the Holy Nation’s interrogations, and if they have to entertain those people too, we might see a mass resignation.
“Wait.”
“…Huh?”
Just as I was about to read the letter, holding back tears—
“To think you’d try to open something like that so carelessly… You’ve still got a long way to go.”
“What?”
It was Lady Meredia, who had suddenly appeared beside me, gripping my arm with a visibly tense expression.
“You said before you made contact with the leader of the black mages, right? I’m certain this letter is from her.”
“Uh, well….”
“You never know what kind of curse might be on it. Just stay put. I’ll open it instead….”
Well, to be fair, even I felt like this grotesquely designed letter was crawling with curses.
“…Wait, hold on. What?”
“Haha….”
“Why does it feel like there’s white magic coming from this letter?”
But really, no package in this world could be safer than this letter.
“That’s a letter from Lumen Ordo.”
“What?”
“Just look at all the blessings stuck on it—it must’ve been sent by the Head herself….”
Even with my limited knowledge, I could already identify protection from tracking, confusion enchantments, tamper prevention blessings, and so on. These are the kinds of protections high nobles would pay a fortune for.
“Then why… does the design look like this?”
“…Well, um. The Head’s sense of style is a bit… unique.”
“You’re not lying? It really is from Lumen Ordo?”
“Haha, I’m telling you, it is.”
Seeing all that, I figured at least opening it wouldn’t be a problem, so I opened the letter next to the still-suspicious princess.
「O warrior, kindred of our kind and bearer of the mandate. The moment your eyes capture these sacred words, transcend time and space and heed the call of this one.」
And in that moment, I could only regret opening the letter right next to Lady Meredia.
「The Absolute of Lumen Ordo, guardian of the balance between light and darkness, summons you.」
“Aaaaaaaaah….”
I haven’t cringed this hard since I accidentally read Cecil’s homemade warrior novel from her diary as a child.
Could this be a curse in itself? If so, then the Head might be the greatest black mage in the world.
“What the…”
Even Lady Meredia, who usually crushes curses without flinching, started twitching with a pained expression.
「Then. In the place where the eternal starlight bonds are made and extinguished, I shall await the day of destiny.」
And yet, I forced myself to read the rest of the letter to the end.
Honestly, I wanted nothing more than to slam it shut right away, but you know what they say—strike while the iron is hot.
To be even more honest, if I stopped now, I knew I’d never find the courage to read it again.
「P.S. Offer sustenance to my familiar who delivered this bloody message. That is your rightful duty toward my kin.」
After finally finishing the postscript at the bottom, I hurriedly folded the letter and shoved it into my coat, then turned to Lady Meredia with a question.
“…Lady Meredia, what do pigeons usually eat?”
“…Insects or grains. Bread crumbs too, sometimes.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Though the Head went all out with the dramatic language—even using Eastern Continent script—the blindfolded pigeon did look rather exhausted. I should probably feed it something.
“Give it here.”
“Huh?”
“If it’s bird feed, I have some.”
Just as I was thinking that, Lady Meredia suddenly held out her hand.
“I keep birds as a hobby.”
“Oh….”
Now that I think about it, raising pet birds was one of her rare hobbies.
I still remember that day when my past-life memories returned, and I saw birds flying around Lady Meredia’s garden.
Strangely enough, Lady Meredia doesn’t keep them in cages—she lets them roam free.
“By the way, I have a bit of a question.”
While I was thinking I might have to gift her a bird someday, she comfortably held the messenger pigeon and asked me a question.
“Are all white mages… like this?”
“……Umm.”
I wanted to immediately deny it, of course, but my conscience just wouldn’t let me.
That’s because white mages are rare by nature and usually live communally.
That naturally makes them a closed-off group, which in turn means their social skills and personalities tend to hit rock bottom.
“There are… a few normal white mages out there.”
“Like, say, my father… or me….”
That’s why the few white mages who live outside the headquarters serve as the public face of the group.
Of course, it’s obvious that I, having become a hero, am greatly contributing to that public image.
“…Right, of course you are.”
“Still, they’re all good people…”
“For someone who says that, I’ve never actually seen one who’s truly nice.”
But contrary to what Lady Meredia said, one thing I can say for certain is that Lumen Ordo is the empire’s last conscience and the embodiment of absolute good.
Even in the game, they support the protagonist hero without hesitation, and even in bad endings, they’re the group that resists the final boss, Lady Meredia, until the very end.
‘If only they didn’t look like demon generals or black mage officers at first glance, they’d be such wonderful people.’
Anyway, now that I’ve taken on the role of the hero, I have no choice but to cooperate with these people, even if I don’t want to.
‘And besides, it’s about time I properly investigated my own abilities.’
To be honest, considering the strange phenomena I witnessed at the academy, the marks of subjugation appearing on the executives, and how my magic reacted to Lady Meredia’s curse, it’s a confirmed fact that I possess some kind of special power.
If that’s the case, the best place to uncover the truth would be none other than the headquarters of Lumen Ordo.
Of course, there’s a risk I’ll be mistaken for a black mage masquerading as a hero, but even so, I need to take that risk now if I want to truly understand my abilities.
Well, considering their virtuous deeds in the game, and the fact that we’re both white mages, Lumen Ordo will probably treat me better than the Holy Nation would, right?
So anyway, as soon as I get back to the mansion, I need to write a reply to that cringy letter…
“Right, that reminds me. The demon you requested should be delivered to the mansion soon.”
While I was quietly gathering my thoughts, Lady Meredia, who now had the messenger pigeon comfortably perched on her shoulder, spoke up.
“The emperor offered to provide top-grade restraints, but I turned her down.”
“Huh?”
“Magic restraints… are my specialty.”
As she said that, Lady Meredia gave a chilling smile, and I wisely decided not to question her further.
“Well then, I’ll be off—back to the duchy.”
With that, Lady Meredia turned away and began walking toward her carriage.
“If anything comes up, contact me…”
“Lady Meredia, wait a moment.”
As I watched her back silently, I reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks.
“Why are you…”
And before Lady Meredia could even finish her sentence, I did something I had always wanted to try once as a farewell.
“……!”
“….”
I gently kissed the ring she wore on her finger.
“Farewell, Your Highness.”
As soon as I finished, Lady Meredia quickly turned away, so I unfortunately couldn’t see her expression, but to me, it was a satisfying goodbye.
“Crazy… He’s totally lost it…”
From inside the carriage, Cecil peeked her head out and gasped while covering her mouth, which let me imagine exactly what kind of expression Lady Meredia might have had.
***
“Well then… I guess I should head inside too…”
As Meredia disappeared swiftly in the carriage, Whitney, now looking utterly exhausted, slowly walked toward the mansion.
“O-Oh, you’ve returned, young master.”
“W-We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Y-Yes, we really missed you, with you gone for weeks…”
All the servants who had remained at the mansion had come out to greet him.
“There was no need for such a grand welcome…”
“N-No, not at all!”
“This is our duty, after all. Haha…”
In truth, they used to draw lots to decide who would be part of the welcoming committee for Whitney, but this time, everyone came out voluntarily.
That was because, despite their desperate prayers, the news had broken in the papers that Whitney had indeed become the Hero.
With their dream of Cecil taking over as the head of the household now shattered, the servants were now bound to Whitney, for better or worse.
“Why does it feel like there are more people than usual…?”
“N-No, not at all!”
“We’ve always been here for you, young master…!”
And just as they were scrambling to explain themselves over Whitney’s casual remark—
– Woooooo…
Suddenly, a dark aura rose right in front of Whitney.
“H-Hii!”
“W-What is that?!”
“Q-Quiet…!”
The servants were momentarily unsettled by the obvious supernatural phenomenon, but years of finely-honed instincts quickly kicked in, and they fell silent in an instant. A heavy stillness settled over the garden.
“Whitney Lingard.”
Within that silence, a figure emerged from the smoke and spoke coldly to Whitney.
“A message.”
“…….”
“For the next Shadow Union meeting, attend in my place.”
With that, the mysterious figure vanished into the dissipating smoke.
“…Haha.”
Then, Whitney, who had been standing there with a calm smile the whole time, turned to the still-frozen servants and spoke nonchalantly.
“Could you prepare some hot water?”
“H-Hot… water?”
“I’m just… a little exhausted.”
“Ah, right away!”
Of course, not one of them had the courage to ask what that smoke had been.
“…Thank you, everyone.”
Not that they would have, considering Whitney’s already chilling expression now looked even more unpleasant than usual.
As Whitney quietly disappeared into the mansion, the servants—now pale as ghosts—turned their eyes to Cecil, who was stepping down from the carriage.
“L-Lady Cecil! D-Did you see that?”
“That was… That was definitely black magic…”
“W-We should report this to the Holy Nation right away…”
As the servants gathered around her and began to vent their long-held fears—
“Everyone, keep this incident to yourselves.”
Cecil, unlike her usual self who used to lead the charge against Whitney, merely silenced them with a soft voice.
“There’s no way my brother—the Hero—would do anything bad, right?”
“Ah.”
“Oh, by the way.”
The servants, confused by her suddenly changed demeanor, could only shut their eyes tight at her next words.
“…Who was it that said they were going to report this to the Holy Nation earlier?”
And from that day on, an unofficial guideline circulated quietly among the servants of House Lingard:
「※ All previous assumptions regarding the ‘young lady’ in the rulebook are now void. She is no longer on our side. Please act according to the young master’s responses instead.」
Cliche Novel 