Why does this make me happy?
Efficiently taking care of the ‘nuisance’ with a bit of spite, Diana left the mansion with a refreshed expression. The servants, preoccupied with tending to Millard and preparing for the imminent visit of the first princess, did not notice her departure.
Now, Rebbeca won’t recognize me and won’t try to take me as her pawn.
The square Diana headed to was on the opposite side of the capital from the Sudsfield mansion, so there was no worry about encountering the princess’s procession. Taking a deep breath, Diana gazed at the expansive square before her.
…Finally, first step.
She had finally taken the first step towards bringing down Rebecca. Under her hood, which covered half her face, Diana blinked.
First, I need to secure a fake identity. Attacking the first princess with my real name would be suicide…
Since she had nothing else to do while waiting for Rebecca to leave the Sudsfield mansion, it was a good time to start.
Thanks to living as Rebecca’s shadow for five years, Diana knew most of the underworld forces necessary for her plans. There was one place particularly suitable for handling various tasks.
Having decided on her destination, Diana loosened her shoulders and walked towards a dark alley. The shadows in the alley were colder than the winter’s biting wind. Some people loitering in the alley glanced at Diana, who walked with her cloak pulled up.
Ignoring their stares, Diana quickened her pace, retracing the path in her mind. It was then that a strange groan pierced her ears.
“Ugh…”
She stopped and turned her head. Further down the alley, a boy, beaten to a pulp, lay sprawled on the ground. Bruised and battered, the boy noticed Diana’s presence and struggled to lift his head. His distorted face contorted as he spoke in a trembling voice.
“He-Help me…”
He was pitiful, undoubtedly appealing to most people’s sympathy. But Diana tilted her head indifferently.
“Why should I?”
“…Yes?” The boy, completely taken aback by her unexpected response, asked again.
Diana calmly walked towards him, continuing. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. To gain someone’s kindness or favor, you need to be useful. No matter how small or trivial it is.”
“What—”
“And.” Diana cut him off, squatting before him. Her blue-violet eyes softened under the hood. “Here, who’s really in danger? Me or you?”
The boy’s expression vanished instantly. Behind Diana, vagrants carrying ropes and weapons hesitated.
Yuro will like this. It’s been a while since he’s fed.
Diana moved her magic without a second thought. She had expected this situation from the moment she entered the alley. This was one of the most common sights she had seen while serving Rebecca.
Just as she was about to summon the high-level dark spirit, ‘Yuro,’ a low voice echoed in the air.
“Elfand.”
Diana’s eyes widened as she turned around, and the vagrants screamed.
“Keuuugh!”
“What the… Aaack!”
“A high-level elementalist, why is he here…!”
Diana saw white-furred leopards tearing into the vagrants. Among them stood a figure holding a bow radiating with a light as bright as the sun.
“You, lower your head.”
The voice came from someone wearing a hood, just like Diana. As she instinctively lowered her head, the person released the bowstring. A white beam of light whisked past her, fluttering her pink hair.
Thud—
“Keugh!”
An arrow struck the boy about to stab Diana, knocking him unconscious.
“Well done, Elfand.”
The bow in the man’s hand dissolved into light. He patted the head of the returning high-level spirit of light, Elfand, and smiled.
Diana couldn’t believe her eyes. She looked up at him, her mouth agape.
The man, who had just dismissed Elfand, finally turned to Diana, who was still sitting motionless. “Hey. Are you okay?”
The unforgettable voice echoed in her ears. Her heart dropped with a heavy thud. Kayden…?
Plop— As soon as she confirmed his face, a tear fell from Diana’s eye. Kayden’s eyes widened in surprise.
“No, wait. Why are you crying…? Are you hurt? Injured?” Kayden approached her with a flustered expression. Crouching down, he spoke gently, trying to comfort her. “Where is it? I won’t hurt you. So, can I see your wound? Okay?”
Diana, momentarily bewildered by her inexplicable tears, eventually laughed at his concern, which was unchanged from the moment before her death. “…No. I’m okay.”
Diana wiped her tears and stood up, smiling slightly. She patted down her wrinkled clothes. After straightening her appearance, Diana lifted her head.
Kayden, who had been scrutinizing her, also withdrew his gaze. Diana smiled brightly at him.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“It’s nothing. As long as you’re safe.” Kayden responded curtly, his brow slightly furrowing with a strange feeling.
Meanwhile, Diana’s rationality, temporarily forgotten due to the sudden situation, returned. She tilted her head, puzzled, and asked. “But what brings a high-level elementalist to a place like this?”
“Ah.” Kayden, momentarily lost in thought, came to his senses at her question. He kicked one of the unconscious vagrants at his feet. “Because of these guys. Their methods are vicious, and they’ve gained quite a reputation in the capital recently, with a substantial bounty on their heads.” Kayden made a circle with his thumb and forefinger, grinning mischievously.
Diana then remembered a forgotten fact. Ah, now that I think about it, around this time… Kayden was broke. Quite severely.
Was it the first consort’s doing?
The first consort, Rebecca’s mother, was from a prominent ducal family and practically controlled the imperial palace’s internal affairs. Normally, distributing the palace budget was the empress’s role, but the current empress, being from a foreign kingdom, had little standing within the empire. So, no one could stop the first consort from manipulating the imperial palace budget allocations.
Although Kayden, as a light elementalist, was ahead of Rebecca in imperial legitimacy, Rebecca still held the upper hand in other aspects. Kayden’s mother had been a maid in the imperial palace, leaving him without a significant maternal family.
Diana recalled her memories before her return, searching for information about Kayden.
While Duke Wibur supports him… they’re still part of the first prince’s faction. Marquis Saeltis isn’t financially strong enough to support an entire palace…
She hadn’t paid attention before, but now she realized that Kayden had to personally take care of budget shortages. Diana found this surprisingly endearing.
An imperial person running around back alleys to take care of his subordinates. Thinking about ‘that’ person is Kayden, it made sense. But compared to Rebecca, who was like a snowy mountain, it was hard to believe he was a member of the imperial family.
Kayden extended his hand to Diana. “If you’re not injured, you should leave this place. I need to take these guys to the guards.”
“Ah, yes.” Lost in thought, Diana grabbed his hand without thinking. Both of them flinched simultaneously.
What is this…? Diana barely managed to refrain from pulling her hand back, looking down at their clasped hands. Under her hood, her blue-violet eyes trembled with confusion.
When their hands touched, a sensation enveloped her body, something she couldn’t put into words. A sense of comfort or peace. It felt like returning to a place she was meant to be.
Could it be because we have opposite attributes…? In her confusion, Diana blinked, a hypothesis crossing her mind.
Kayden was an elementalist born with the brightest light since the founding of the empire. Meanwhile, Diana was probably the darkest elementalist. Recalling this, it didn’t seem like an unfounded hypothesis.
There’s no mention of this reaction between other attributes like fire and water…
After the first dark elementalist was erased from the founding myths, Diana was the second. No dark elementalist had existed, so there had been no research or mention of such a reaction.
I’m not sure, but it seems like tension of relief… or psychological comfort.
Remembering what she had learned from Rebecca, Diana nodded in understanding. But Kayden, who had neither seen nor heard of this, was understandably confused by the unfamiliar sensation.
As they say, opposites attract, lol.
oooh