TUHWKM 05

Chapter 05

Silence fell over the reception room.

Kaierus rested his chin on his hand and stared at me intently.

Why is his reaction like this.

I wish he’d at least give me an answer.

Because it’s scary.

Eventually, he curved his lips into an elegant smile. Even in this situation, his smile was lethal.

“What do you think I’m going to say?”

“…I think you’re going to say you don’t need one.”

“You know me well. Alright, I’ll specially lock you up at the top of the grand ducal castle’s spire. Now then….”

“But please hear me out.”

I urgently called out to stop him as he was about to rise from his seat.

Kaierus, who had been staring at me askew, rubbed his eyes and leaned back against the backrest. He raised an eyebrow as if to say, go ahead and try.

“Just one year. If you spare my life for that long, afterward I’ll disappear before your eyes without a trace. Ah, of course, if you let me go.”

“Why should I?”

A indifferent question came back. In the meantime, Kaierus’s expression was filled with boredom. It was a face that was already half-tuning out my words.

Before Kaierus’s patience ran out further, I spoke.

“…Well, you see, I.”

“You.”

“I can find out about the culprit of the incident eight years ago.”

Kaierus, who had been crossing his legs and wiggling his toes at the air, stopped completely.

An obvious crack appeared on the face that had been displaying boredom all along.

I unconsciously gripped the hem of my dress that had become rags.

Menacing.

So menacing.

Why did his eyes have to be yellow, of all things.

It makes it even more chilling.

…I did write it that way, after all.

“And once you know all the details, you’ll set me free. So I can cross beyond the border.”

“…Oh.”

“…….”

“Well now.”

With a soft burst of laughter, Kaierus bowed his head.

And then it was instantaneous.

Shing.

The sword came to my neck again.

“Hngh.”

Why does he keep putting the blade to my neck? I really want to cry.

“Find the culprit, you say….”

Kaierus, who had risen from his seat, opened his eyes into thin slits without a trace of a smile.

“To me, that sounds exactly like you’re connected to the incident eight years ago.”

“…I’m not, though?”

Sting.

At that moment, I felt the skin of my neck being thinly sliced, and something hot ran down my nape.

I didn’t need to check to know. He was genuinely trying to cut me.

“You’d better choose your words carefully from now on, witch. My patience just ran out.”

Kaierus spoke in an unusually gentle voice. He had a tendency to become calmer the more furious he was.

…If I mess this up, I really die.

Because I felt an instinctive sense of crisis, I answered quickly without delay.

“I can track the culprit.”

His bright yellow eyes still showed no emotion.

But I knew that the fact that he hadn’t cut my neck yet meant he was sufficiently shaken.

“The culprit is a heinous criminal, and now they’ve even gone into hiding. So I can’t find them all at once, but if you give me a little time, I can track their general identity. You know I’m a magic genius, right? Once a month, I can use a clue-finding spell. I’ll report to you each time.”

It’s complete bullshit.

The truth is, that bastard can’t be tracked with ordinary black magic. I only know because I’m the author.

“Provide a clue about the culprit once a month, and in exchange, gain freedom after one year?”

“Yes!”

I subtly stepped away from the sword and nodded frantically.

The reason I had struggled all the way here was simple.

Because one year from now, an ancient divine artifact called the ‘Stone of Yearning’ was scheduled to appear here.

In the original work, the bastard Kaierus was chasing obtains it, but this time I planned to intercept it.

With that, I can return to the real world. And after I leave, Charlotte will regain her original body according to the laws of romance fantasy.

Since you won’t be able to set foot in the capital anyway, leave the Empire and live well somewhere no one knows, Charlotte.

“This is something only I can do. No other mage could do it.”

“To be called the worst witch in the capital, and yet your arrogance is remarkable.”

“I’m serious, though.”

I added hesitantly.

“…And thanks to Your Grace the Grand Duke, most of the nearby black mages are dead, aren’t they?”

You killed them all yourself.

“…….”

Kaierus was silent for a moment.

Taking advantage of the gap when his murderous intent faded, I quickly added.

“Think about it carefully. Even if you’re being deceived, trusting me for about a year—you have nothing to lose anyway.”

Eight years since the previous Emperor and Empress passed away. Despite usurping the territory of black mages and killing countless black mages, Kaierus hadn’t found even a clue to the culprit.

It was only natural. The culprit of that incident was the final mastermind of this novel.

It can’t be revealed yet.

“You will definitely need me.”

He still wore a half-believing face.

As expected, I need a decisive finishing blow.

“Just a moment, please wait.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and furrowed my brow as if deep in concentration. I created a dark purple mist with one hand, deliberately creating an eerie atmosphere.

Even through my closed eyelids, I could feel Kaierus’s persistent gaze.

To think I have to put on such a show just to survive.

Life isn’t easy.

When about several dozen seconds had passed, I subtly opened my eyes.

“A sword.”

I said, meeting his eyes.

“The sword that disappeared that day—that was the culprit’s objective.”

“…What?”

Finally, he showed noticeable agitation.

He couldn’t help it.

The sword the culprit stole that day was an ancient divine artifact that the imperial family had secretly protected for five hundred years. Even after the sword was stolen, that fact was kept strictly confidential, so it was something no outsider could possibly know.

“I just saw it. Faintly, but I did.”

If I hadn’t become an author, I might have become a con artist.

This is the first time I’ve realized I can lie so smoothly without changing my expression.

Is it because my life is on the line?

Kaierus made an unreadable expression. He tilted his head slowly.

An uneasy silence flowed through the reception room.

“…You’re still suspicious. I should kill you.”

“Ah.”

You unfilial bastard!

Oh no, I’m dead!

Because Kaierus raised his sword again, I squeezed my eyes shut.

However, even after several seconds passed, I felt neither the sensation of my neck being cut nor even the touch of a cold blade.

“…….”

I subtly opened my eyes.

Kaierus was staring at me intently with his sword still raised.

…Am I alive?

It was an unreadable face. It seemed like he was frowning, and it also seemed like he was smiling.

We stood there facing each other like that for a long while.

Finally, Kaierus slowly lowered his sword.

“…Alright, one year.”

Clack, he sheathed his sword.

“However, merely providing clues won’t do. Let’s make it catching the culprit within one year.”

It was a gentle tone.

“What happens to your life will be decided then.”

His twisting lips couldn’t have been more menacing. I could feel his blatant will to kill me without fail if things went wrong.

“Fine.”

But it doesn’t matter.

In the story, I’ll naturally learn the culprit’s identity after one year anyway. And by then, I’ll already be gone from here.

Hahaha.

“I’ll give you a room. Stay within the grand ducal castle.”

“So for now, you’re sparing my life… is that it?”

Kaierus gazed at me quietly, then curved his eyes dryly, as if mimicking my expression.

“Yes.”

***

Click.

Footsteps faded away.

Kaierus sat leaning against the sofa, staring at the door through which Charlotte had disappeared for a long while.

“Vasel, did you check?”

He said to the empty air while stroking his chin. Then, at the window where no one had been, a man with dark brown hair appeared.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Tell me.”

Kaierus smiled.

“The justification to kill that witch.”