“What, what…?”
“What is this…?”
The Mistilane siblings, who had been quietly observing the situation, could not help but doubt their own eyes after witnessing what was happening in front of them.
-Goooo…
Just moments ago, during the first round of interviews, Runiel had been more or less evenly matched with them.
However, the Runiel now standing before Whitney, receiving some strange energy with a sinister smile, was clearly not the same person they had seen earlier.
“…Is it, is it black magic?”
“No. That can’t be…”
If Whitney were not publicly known as the white mage and hero who saved the saint, the siblings might have accused him of being a black mage.
“If that’s not black magic, then what is it?”
“White, white magic… no, it doesn’t seem like white magic at all.”
Even so, the energy Whitney was sharing with Runiel was suspicious enough to make it hard for the siblings to drop their doubts.
“If it were white magic, there shouldn’t be such a wicked aura…”
Whitney, smiling while stroking the back of Runiel’s neck, looked as if he were unleashing a fierce hunting dog.
Naturally, it was far from the image of gentle white mages known for saving those cursed.
Of course, if one knew the true nature of Lumen Ordo, the story would be different, but little was known about either Whitney or Lumen Ordo.
“As expected.”
“…Yeah.”
Thus, the siblings’ interpretation of the situation started to spiral into very strange territory.
“I was wondering how she was healed, and of course, it wasn’t a normal method.”
“Yeah, no way those completely burned mana circuits could be healed properly.”
“Even if it’s not full-blown black magic, it’s clear that at least some illegal sorcery was used.”
“Indeed… It was worth believing that person’s words.”
As evident from their conversation, the siblings’ real goal was not to pass the interview but to find out how Runiel had been restored from her supposedly incurable state.
In other words, both Runiel and Whitney, who had played a decisive role in her recovery, were of great interest to them.
The only unexpected part was that Whitney would so openly demonstrate the method right in front of them.
“Are you ready?”
“…Yeah.”
But that was only unexpected — ultimately, the situation worked to the siblings’ advantage.
-Viinnng…
For instance, they could discreetly activate a top-level stealth-enchanted recording orb hidden on their bodies to capture this moment.
“With this, we can also…”
“…Ah, look ahead!”
However, there was one more thing they had overlooked.
“Ugh!?”
The moment Whitney’s energy fully merged into her, Runiel’s skills surged far beyond what they had anticipated.
“Eva!!!”
In the blink of an eye, Runiel grabbed the neck of the second daughter, Evangeline, and slammed her into the ground, causing Richard to scream in shock.
“…It’s been a while since I heard that nickname.”
At the same time, Runiel, wearing a chilling expression, began muttering in a low voice.
“It’s also been a while since I’ve seen that pathetic face.”
“Ugh…!”
“Isn’t that right.”
Still glaring at her with hateful eyes, Runiel looked down at her sister coldly, then suddenly added with a frosty smile.
“You two really… haven’t changed.”
“……!”
“Even if your skills have improved a little, you’re still the same.”
At that point, even Evangeline, who had been stubbornly staring back, began to sweat coldly.
“You are weak.”
From Runiel’s drawn sword, a horrifyingly intense aura was visibly wafting like smoke.
“Moreover… what happened to the chivalry I instilled in you?”
“W-wait a second.”
“Seriously… you’re the worst.”
Sensing instinctively that something was terribly wrong, Evangeline began to struggle desperately, but Runiel’s grip was too strong to escape.
“What are you doing!”
“You’ll kill her at this rate….”
Richard, finally understanding the situation, rushed toward Runiel with his sword drawn, but it was futile.
“…Kuh!”
An impossibly fast sword strike overwhelmed him instantly.
“Cough, cough… Ugh…”
Fortunately, Richard barely managed to block the blow with his sword thanks to his superhuman reflexes, but he was flung far away and began coughing up blood.
Even though he blocked it, Runiel’s devastating blow inflicted serious internal injuries.
“Ah.”
Meanwhile, Evangeline, still gasping for air, blankly stared at the scene.
Through her blurry vision from lack of oxygen, she saw the sword pointed at her again and let out a weak moan.
“As expected, old ties must be severed.”
Runiel, pointing her sword at Evangeline, muttered coldly without a shred of mercy for the girl who had once been her kin.
“U-ugh…”
Realizing that the sword aimed at her was about to strike down at any moment, Evangeline’s hazy consciousness nearly gave out.
-Srrrk…
Suddenly, Runiel’s hand, which had been strangling her viciously, slackened for some reason.
“…Khuh, keck!”
Not missing her chance, Evangeline used her last bit of strength to kick Runiel in the chest, gasping for breath as she rolled away.
“Kehek, kehek…”
“Such a shame.”
As Evangeline desperately gulped fresh air to steady herself, a cold voice pierced her ears.
“It seems the domination isn’t complete yet, huh?”
“?”
“?”
“I put so much effort into making a perfect chess piece… How disappointing.”
Through her still-blurry vision, Evangeline saw the figure of a man standing ahead.
“And besides, playing around like this is just wrong.”
It didn’t take long for Evangeline to recognize that it was Whitney, looking down at her with an even creepier smile than before.
“Huff, huff….”
As soon as her eyes met Whitney’s gaze, Evangeline’s breathing began to quicken again.
‘Scary scary scary scary…’
Although a smile lingered on Whitney’s lips, typical of him, a little higher up, his face was filled with a chilling, murderous intent.
For Evangeline, the second daughter of a prestigious swordsmanship family who had trained her body but never her mind, it was so terrifying that she nearly forgot how to breathe.
“Hmm….”
Even after Whitney, who had been glancing sideways at Evangeline, withdrew his gaze, she was unable to breathe properly, her whole body soaked in cold sweat.
“Runiel, whose sword are you?”
“……”
“Answer me.”
While Evangeline’s condition worsened due to hyperventilation, Whitney approached the frozen Runiel and began whispering to her in a low voice.
“…I am your sword.”
Hearing his whisper, Runiel’s sword trembled violently as she lifted it again.
“Then whose orders should you follow now?”
“That, that would of course be…”
For someone as skilled as Runiel, her grip on the sword looked awkward and precarious.
Evangeline, still capturing the sight through her blurry vision, showed a fleeting expression of confusion across her pale face.
‘Why… why is she making that face while looking at me…?’
Whitney’s figure, seemingly forcing a duel, and Runiel’s figure, raising her sword under his command.
The chilling smile on Whitney’s face and the pained expression of Runiel drenched in cold sweat.
‘Come to think of it, what was it that man was muttering earlier…?’
While capturing those images in her mind, Evangeline’s confused thoughts suddenly recalled Whitney’s earlier words.
‘Incomplete domination, a crafted chess piece…’
And in the next moment, the pieces of the puzzle began to align in her mind.
“…Of course, I must follow my master’s orders.”
“That’s right.”
But even before all the pieces fit together, Runiel’s voice, now strangely calm, came out first.
“Then what are you doing?”
“……”
“Hurry up and do what you must.”
Evangeline, who had been flailing helplessly in fear, began trembling in despair as she saw Runiel walking toward her.
“Ri, Richard….”
“…….”
“…D-damn it.”
She called out to Richard, who had been thrown aside earlier, but he had already fainted from internal injuries.
“S-stop, I said stop….”
“Please stop…!”
Having exhausted all her strength from earlier defiance and Whitney’s overwhelming energy, Evangeline could only scream desperately as Runiel approached.
-Step, step…
But ultimately, it was all in vain as Runiel raised her sword right before her.
“S-sister, please.”
“……”
“Please, stop….”
Utterly exhausted and about to collapse, Evangeline finally threw away her pride and pleaded tearfully.
-Srrk….
At that moment, Runiel’s gaze, which had been staring down at her, wavered, and the sword trembling in her hand slowly slid back into its sheath.
“Ah….”
Seeing that, Evangeline’s tear-soaked eyes finally closed.
*****
“Huff, huff….”
“You did well, Runiel.”
I had been nervously watching Runiel’s sword from behind, and when she finally managed to sheath it, I let out a sigh of relief and approached her.
“I-I’m sorry, Master. I lost control of my emotions for a moment…”
“…No, you didn’t lose control.”
Even so, I had to correct what needed to be corrected.
“Someone tried to extinguish Runiel’s emotions temporarily.”
“Huh?”
“No, you are not someone who could kill your own blood in an emotional fit.”
My Runiel is not an emotionless killing machine but the capable captain of the Lingard estate’s knights.
Such a person would never defy my order for a sparring match and seriously try to kill her blood relative.
In other words, someone orchestrated this whole situation to manipulate both the siblings and Runiel.
“Then, who could have manipulated her?”
“…Indeed.”
“Impossible. Maybe against weaklings like you, but not with me here. How could anyone possibly…”
As the cold voice of Lady Meredia echoed from behind, it was true that with her ability to detect most magical activity, such a thing should have been nearly impossible.
“…There’s only one person who could.”
But what if that person had powers similar to Meredia’s, someone with comparable strength?
And if that person’s innate ability happened to be brainwashing?
“The Emperor? But how…?”
Catching onto my line of thought, Meredia scowled deeply and muttered.
“Her ability requires direct eye contact…”
“Well, that’s not necessarily a strict limitation, right?”
“…Even if the Emperor has another method, if we can’t prove it, it’s useless.”
I didn’t know all the details either yet, but it seemed about time to start seriously confronting the Emperor.
“Lady Meredia, please don’t misunderstand.”
“…What?”
I was starting to get angry too.
“What would you say if I told you… that I know one of Her Majesty’s darkest and most humiliating secrets?”
“What?”
Cliche Novel 