AMLSL 2

Chapter 2

Temporary Alliance**

” Well done. It’s dangerous, so please continue to keep about ten steps away like that.”

‘What the hell is this, why is this happening.’

That was my reaction after witnessing, at the end of about five minutes of desperate effort, a black flame beginning to bloom in my hand.

” I’ll say it again, but I could die, you know?”

‘Somebody help me, fuck.’

My original plan was to subtly reveal the traces of black magic left in the teacup and discreetly give Merdia a hint. In truth, it was an operation most people wouldn’t even dare attempt because of the danger of black magic, but I had something to rely on.

Do you know why the Lingard family, riddled with problems inside and out, had managed to maintain appearances until now? It was precisely because of their inherited aptitude for ‘white magic.’

Of course, the problem was that for certain reasons it was now on the verge of dying out, but still, since it was one of the few talents I possessed, I had trained it enough to be able to use it in a situation like this.

So, trusting in my accumulated results, I had intended to send only a tiny amount of white magic energy into the teacup and reveal its traces only to Merdia—but what on earth was this?

At this rate, Merdia might mistake me for a black mage. And if that happened, I would be finished right there.

Because the kind of people Merdia hated most in the world were, unexpectedly, black mages. Even in the game, the black mages who approached her when her notoriety was rampant all died by her hand, directly or indirectly.

And that applied not only to black mages but also to anyone associated with black magic.

Even the emperor, the sun of the current empire, could not escape Merdia’s mad obsession and was eliminated, so what more was there to say?

‘The emperor is quite a remarkable figure too, though.’

The one ranked first in overall stats in the game, and the one most likely to become the final boss after Merdia—even the emperor was eliminated by her in most routes simply because he was associated with black magic. Would you believe it?

And I was boldly putting on a black magic flame show in front of such a person.

” So, is that what you called the ‘interesting thing’?”

And sure enough, the patience of the black mage slayer Merdia seemed to be hitting rock bottom.

” What reaction am I supposed to give to that?”

Looking at her, who had dropped the formal speech and was giving off killing intent while slightly trembling her right hand, I felt suffocated.

‘It was definitely supposed to be a small, simple curse—small enough to fit in a tiny teacup. So why the hell is this happening?’

So if I don’t want to be killed on the spot, I have to somehow deal with this curse, which for some reason is rampaging violently the moment it reacts with my white magic.

The usual solution in a situation like this would of course be to inject a large amount of white magic to neutralize the black magic. But unfortunately, that is not an option.

Because—and this is a little embarrassing to admit—my white magic is rather unimpressive.

Normal white magic radiates a bright, warm energy. But the white magic energy I was born with, for some reason, radiates a dark and cold wavelength.

The elders of the family say that in a certain sense it’s an even more ominous energy than black magic, and honestly, even if that’s an exaggeration, it’s certain that my white magic is not normal.

Still, fortunately, there had never been a problem with the effectiveness of white magic’s essential nature, so I had been diligently training, eating mustard while crying—but who would have thought something like this would happen in my first real combat situation in life.

If I’d known this would happen, I should have tested it at least once on actual black magic. No, come to think of it, that’s also taboo.

Anyway, now that things had come to this, there was only one solution left.

Setting aside white magic, one of the most efficient ways to remove a curse caused by black magic is to eliminate the caster themselves.

However, even in the original game, the identity of the pawn who betrayed Merdia and helped poison me is never revealed. So here, removing the medium—the teacup—would be the most efficient method.

Honestly, I’d like to just smash the teacup on the floor before my hand gets damaged. But if I did that and the black magic spread everywhere, it would be a disaster, so breaking it inside my hand, which is surrounded by white magic for protection, would be best.

In theory, there’s no problem. Of course, my white magic deviates slightly from theory, but there’s no other way right now, so it can’t be helped.

” Lady Merdia.”

Yes, let me first put out the urgent fire and calmly explain the situation. That someone intervened in this matter and placed a curse on the teacup, and that you nearly killed me unintentionally.

” It’s best to get rid of rats as soon as you see them, you know?”

It was right at that moment, as I was about to utter that meaningful opening for my explanation and put strength into my hand.

” Actually, this teacup—”

” Cough!!”

A sudden choking scream came from among the servants who had been murmuring about ten steps away, just as I’d said.

– Thud….

And before I could even finish grasping the situation, a young attendant, his whole body turned pale, collapsed to the ground clutching his heart.

” P-please… save…”

He, trembling all over as if writhing in pain, for some reason began crawling toward me with all his might, reaching out his hand.

No wait. What kind of situation is this now?

” Save me…”

” Pardon?”

Getting engaged once is really hard, seriously.

* * *

” It’s best to get rid of rats as soon as you see them, you know?”

By the time Whitney had just uttered those incomprehensible words, Merdia’s patience had crossed its limit and was plummeting to the bottom.

‘Should I just kill him.’

However, upon seeing what happened right after, she had no choice but to postpone that thought for a moment.

” Please… it’s not like we agreed…”

The attendant, desperately crawling toward Whitney and muttering, had eyes bloodshot red, and black smoke was rising from his mouth.

To Merdia, who was knowledgeable in such matters, this was a typical sign of mana circuit reflux—a fairly common penalty for a curse placed to seal someone’s mouth.

The attendant must have known this too, for he now forced his stiffening arms and legs to move forward, letting out a fading voice.

” Save me…”

” Me? Save you?”

Whitney, who had been observing the scene as calmly as Merdia, suddenly made a genuinely puzzled expression and asked just that.

” Why?”

And that was the end.

” Urgh…”

As soon as Whitney’s indifferent words ended, the attendant let out a sound like air escaping and slumped to the ground, never to raise his head again.

” H-he’s dead…”

” Gasp…”

His subordinates’ faces turned pale. They had been prepared for the possibility that a moment like this might come someday while serving their master, but actually witnessing a person die was another matter.

” Why is he coming to me in the first place?”

In the midst of the chilly atmosphere, only Whitney’s aggrieved muttering could be heard as he brushed off the teacup that had crumbled in his grasp.

” Ha.”

It was precisely at that moment that the corner of Merdia’s mouth curled up ever so slightly.

‘Whatever nerve he had to pull something like this—at least he had a plan.’

In truth, the situation that had been unfolding until just moments ago had been nothing short of a checkmate for Merdia.

She had no idea how such a thing was possible, but in any case, it was certain that Whitney had known the full picture of this incident in advance.

Whitney had gone even further and set a trap for Merdia in return.

A bold trap that turned a minor incident—where her prospective fiancé collapsed after ingesting a sleeping poison during a tea party—into a major case of poisoning using black magic.

In the former case, even if it had been exposed, she could have simply used the duke family’s power to cover it up. But once black magic was involved, things became complicated.

Anyone associated with black magic is subject to disposal without exception, even if they carry imperial blood. It was even a grave matter in which the emperor—the greatest being in the empire—could be dethroned depending on the severity.

Of course, one could say it would be fine as long as she wasn’t caught, but the problem was that Whitney had already laid out the entire board in advance.

Even if she killed him here to silence him, the spies he had likely prepared would deliver letters to the imperial court or the Holy Kingdom within a day.

If that happened, even the daughter of the mighty Embergreen ducal house would have her life hanging by a thread at the Holy Kingdom’s heresy trial that very day.

If she failed to prove Whitney’s meticulously prepared manipulation at the trial, it would be the end, and even if she somehow proved it, the aftermath would be enormous.

Even considering whether the Holy Kingdom would show favor to the Embergreen ducal house—which had already incurred the Holy Emperor’s displeasure—even Merdia felt a chill run down her spine.

‘But the likelihood of that happening has now faded.’

However, Whitney’s chosen action was not to accuse the ducal house, but to eliminate with his own hands the black mage who had clearly cooperated with him, along with the only piece of evidence.

Furthermore, judging by the attendant’s reaction, the cold and chilling action Whitney had shown moments ago was clearly something that had not been agreed upon. In other words, Whitney had never intended to accuse the ducal house from the start.

Then what was the real purpose of his actions? Merdia, rapidly turning over reasons in her mind, soon formed a hypothesis.

” The situation is absurd, but still, I suppose I should say what needs to be said.”

Perhaps all of this that Whitney had done was merely a means to prove just how far he could go against the Lady—a rather frightening hypothesis.

” As I said before, I am a white mage. Thanks to that, I was able to notice the black magic placed on the teacup, and I did all this to show it to you.”

And that terrifying hypothesis began rapidly becoming reality as Whitney, who had been frowning at the dead attendant, turned his head toward Merdia and continued speaking calmly.

” I don’t know why the attendant suddenly had a seizure and collapsed, but I think I can offer the most plausible explanation.”

It was still a mystery how he had managed to insert a pawn—and a black mage at that—among the retainers the ducal house personally selected.

” The truth is, there was a third party manipulating all of this from behind the scenes.”

” A third party.”

” It seems things weren’t going according to their plan, so they must have quickly eliminated the pawn.”

But to Merdia, that was no longer important.

What mattered now was that Whitney, having proven his ability through the series of events, was now proposing a deal to Merdia herself.

” So neither I nor the Lady have done anything wrong.”

” ……..”

” Do you understand?”

Only then could Merdia understand Whitney’s purpose.

Whitney’s true intent—showing such a chilling side moments ago and then suddenly spouting nonsense about a third party—was a blatant signal to quietly bury what happened today between them, and at the same time an unmistakable gesture of goodwill.

And the conditions for that ‘goodwill’ he had gone to such lengths to obtain must surely be something only the Lady herself could fulfill.

“…Fine.”

If Whitney himself had been a black mage, or if he had shown even a shred of mercy to the black mage from before, Merdia would not have accepted his proposal.

But in the Lady’s eyes, though there were some suspicious aspects, Whitney had definitely used white magic.

Also, although it bothered her slightly that he had joined hands with a black mage even as a means of proving his ability, he had just brutally killed the man right in front of her eyes.

If it had been an ordinary person, she would never have dared associate with him again, but to Merdia, that very point counted as a bonus.

” Let’s say today’s events were… just that.”

” Thank you for understanding. Then, shall we—”

” So, now why don’t you tell me what you want?”

Having dropped the pretense first, she threw the question at Whitney.

” What I want… you mean?”

” I understand what you’re saying. So now it’s time to hear your real purpose. Surely you didn’t really come here to get engaged to me.”

” But that’s exactly right?”

Whitney tilted his head and scratched his head at those words, but to Merdia, who had already figured things out, it only looked like pretense.

” Saying it with that kind of face doesn’t make it convincing at all, so just tell me what you want.”

” Well, if you insist…”

So when she mixed irritation into her tone as if slightly displeased, Whitney, who had been staring at Merdia for a moment, soon reached into his bosom.

” You just need to stamp your seal here.”

Having said that and pulled out a document envelope from his bosom as if he’d been waiting for this, he was wearing a smile so chilling that it made Merdia pause her hand just as it reached for the envelope.

” The only thing I want is that one thing.”

Whitney, who calmly placed the envelope in her hand and added in a soft voice, was now openly making a sinister expression, as if he no longer intended to keep up appearances.

” Finally revealing your true colors.”

” Pardon?”

” It’s infuriating, but I’ll let it slide this once.”

And the same went for Merdia, who had flinched briefly at Whitney’s smile.

For it was the first time in her life she had encountered someone of the same kind as herself—perhaps even someone more dangerous.

To her, that was nothing short of a rare and intense stimulation in her life, so she decided to generously overlook the rudeness he had committed so far in the name of proving his ability.

” Well… anyway, you can take your time to think and give me an answer.”

” Fine. I’ll read it carefully and give you an answer as soon as possible. You may escort Sir Whitney out now.”

” You could read it here, you know.”

” I’m afraid there are eyes and ears around.”

” If that’s the case…”

Once they were in sync, their conversation began to flow smoothly.

” Ah, next time we sit down together, I’ll serve you proper tea.”

” Pardon?”

” We’re in the same boat now, after all. There probably won’t be poison in it.”

” Ahaha.”

” Huhuhu.”

As creepy laughter echoed doubly in the garden where a person had died just minutes ago, the faces of the servants struggling to carry the slumped attendant became even more tearful.

It was the moment when the empire’s worst duo was unintentionally born.

‘Whitney Lingard… he might become quite a useful card.’

‘What is this, is he saying he’ll poison me again if things don’t go his way?’

Somehow, their thoughts seemed to be completely at odds.

* * *

Anyway, Merdia had sent Whitney off in a good mood, even making a joke unlike herself.

“…What on earth.”

Several tens of minutes later. Having entered her room—the source of all schemes—locked the door, and just checked the contents of the envelope, her expression had returned to what it was when Whitney, vomiting blood and collapsing, had just gotten up from his seat.

[Marriage Proposal]

“What is it that he wants…?”

Because what Whitney had left behind for her was none other than a marriage proposal.