——Banseim Kingdom, Central.
In a room in the royal palace—a room too large to merely be called a "room"—Ceres was choosing an outfit. She held her favorite dress in both hands, preparing to welcome her father Maisel, who was coming to Central.
But the words of the maid who entered the room left Ceres frozen. Claire, her mother, who had been choosing dresses alongside Ceres, also stood with both hands pressed to her mouth in shock.
Ceres stood there, still holding the dress in both hands.
"...What did you say? What did you just say!"
She tore the dress she had been fond of, then took her rapier-concealed cane from the Automaton, Bart, who was standing nearby. The yellow Jewel embedded in the handle glowed faintly.
The maid spoke.
"Ac-according to reports, House Walt's forces invaded Baim. However... Count Maisel, the head of House Walt, was killed in battle. The forces have also surrendered, and... they were defeated!"
Looking at the kneeling maid, Ceres was trembling violently.
(No way... Why... Father is strong. There's no way he'd lose to a leftover like her. There's no way he'd lose to some small fry... Novem. So Novem did it. That damn woman!)
She gritted her back teeth, and her grip on the cane tightened. Then, she heard Agrissa's voice.
"Poor, poor Ceres. You've lost your beloved father. But you can't just stay angry. Shall I guess what you're thinking? Let's see... you're probably thinking Novem did it."
Ceres struck the maid who had delivered the unwelcome report with her cane. The maid, entangled with the outfits scattered around the room, was sent flying into the wall.
She was barely alive, but on her last breath. Ceres's breathing was ragged, her eyes wide open.
"No way... Maisel... for him to die..."
Watching her mother collapse to her knees, covering her face with both hands as she began to sob, Ceres embraced her mother.
"Mother. I... I..."
"Ceres!"
Claire, her mother, held Ceres close. And together, the two of them shed tears. Watching this scene, Bart issued orders to those around him.
"Treat the wounded and move them. And clear the area."
The maids did as they were told, and in the room, Rumeru the Kirin sat on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Agrissa spoke to Ceres.
*'It's a pity, but Novem wouldn't have laid a hand on Maisel directly. He might have been involved indirectly, but that one doesn't get his own hands dirty. If that's the case, the one who defeated Maisel was—'*
The light faded from Ceres's blue eyes, and a frown formed between her brows.
"That bastard. I let him live because Novem told me to, and he goes and kills my father... To think a mere husk of a man... nothing but garbage..."
Agrissa held back a laugh as she addressed Ceres.
*'Are you frustrated, Ceres? Then why not give that person every pain this world has to offer? But before that... we must hold a proper funeral for your dear father. Let's prepare a magnificent grave for the father you loved so much. That's right... Let's bury plenty with him so he won't be lonely. Let's bury ten thousand people together with him. That way, your father won't be alone.'*
Ceres snapped to awareness at the words, which could not possibly be sane.
"Y-Yes. I have to mourn for Father. I have to pull myself together... Mother?"
"Wait a moment, Ceres. Just a little while. Let me cry just for now."
Seeing her mother like that, Ceres did something that would astonish any onlooker.
"O-Okay. I'll wait. Ceres will wait."
If anyone other than her parents had told Ceres to wait, it would have been a disaster. And yet, Ceres felt no displeasure at being told to wait by her mother.
—Why?
It was simple. The Septem had a tendency to cling fiercely to their parents. Agrissa was the same. But these two, Agrissa and Ceres, were steeped in madness. The thoughts of ordinary people did not reach them.
*'...Ceres, would you like to stay with your mother forever?'*
"Of course! If you and Father aren't by my side... I, I..."
Agrissa laughed inside the Jewel. She twisted her lips and spoke to Ceres.
*'Then just have me stay by your side forever. Maisel got away, but if we recover the body, there's no problem. Now, you can already fully control "that Skill." If you do that, you can be with your mother forever. How enviable, Ceres.'*
Even Agrissa, who truly envied her, had been attached to the idea of parents. It wasn't as though Septem alone was abnormally fixated on them.
Ceres looked at her mother, who was holding her.
"...Right. That's right! Mother, now we can be together forever! Father will be able to come back soon too!"
"Ceres, what on earth are you—"
Ceres drew her rapier and beheaded her mother before she could suffer. She cradled her mother's severed head, and when the blood spraying from the body bathed her entire being, she looked delighted.
"We'll be together forever. Forever... Ah, right. I need to recover Father's body too."
*'In that case, should the funeral be cancelled? No, I'd like to see it after so long. Ceres, recovering Maisel's body is important, but you'll also make arrangements for the funeral, won't you? I... want to see over ten thousand humans in agony.'*
Ceres, drenched head to toe in her mother's blood, pouted. She wanted to complain to Agrissa, but Ceres couldn't push back against her.
"Fine, fine, I understand. I'll do it. Well, recovering part of Father's body comes first, though. I want the three of us to have a party together soon."
*'A party. You never get tired of those, do you.'*
Ceres cradled her mother's head tenderly and activated her Skill.
"Mother... Come now, wake up."
Her mother's head floated in midair, then began to regenerate by reusing the nearby flesh and blood of her own body. No, not regenerate. She was no longer alive, after all.
But when Claire had returned to her original form—
"Ceres, why are you so filthy? Honestly, you're such a handful. Let's go take a bath together and get cleaned up."
Her mother stood there, looking exactly as she had in life. Ceres smiled.
"Sorry, Mother. But now you'll be able to see Father again soon, so there's nothing to worry about."
Claire smiled too.
"That's right. There's nothing to worry about, Ceres."
From within the Jewel, Agrissa's voice rang out.
"There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of doing something good. But I'm already longing to hear those humans scream their dying breaths, Ceres. And... Lyle, huh. To climb out of that place—as expected, she's got real potential."
But Agrissa's voice did not reach Ceres' ears—
"Hasn't your resolve changed?"
In the underground prison beneath the Lufence royal castle, I stood face to face with Beil. She was someone I had once looked up to as a knight, but she looked a little worse for wear now.
Still, she held her posture straight and knelt before me inside her cell.
"...I am no longer in a position where I can serve anyone. I can't simply forget everything and serve Lord Lyle as though nothing happened. However, House Landenberg will remain loyal until the end. Baldoa will surely continue to support Lord Lyle."
Her determination appeared unchanged.
Beil had laid bare everything about Banseim's inner workings and left me with a great deal of information. But when I suggested she serve under an assumed name, she refused.
"Baldoa has served me well. I'd like to extend some measure of gratitude to House Landenberg—"
"That is unnecessary! Besides, given Lord Lyle's current standing, if you don't punish the one responsible, it will only plant seeds of discord. I cannot cause Lord Lyle any more trouble. Please!"
Why was she so eager to throw her life away?
Couldn't she try to live a little more freely?
The Third Generation spoke up from within the Jewel.
"...Honestly, House Landenberg takes things far too seriously. They should try living a little more freely."
Its voice sounded sadder than usual.
"...I hold no personal grudge. It just means Ceres was that much of a threat. She's my sister too, you know. I'm a human of House Walt, after all. I believe I've caused you trouble."
Beil said to me.
"Your words are too generous. I have already made my resolve. Whether it's torture or a gruesome execution—"
"I dislike torture. I'm different from Ceres..."
I wanted to believe I was different, but in the end, wasn't I the same? I always carried that doubt. I did carry it, but even so, I still intended to face Ceres.
"...I'm sorry I couldn't help you. It's my responsibility."
It wasn't just me whose life had been twisted by Ceres. Starting with Vail right here, countless others had their lives warped as well.
"I truly am sorry, Lord Lail!"
Vail wept, his body shaking with suppressed sobs.
I stepped out onto the terrace of my room and gazed up at the sky.
Sure enough, the mornings and evenings were chilly, but a stinging pain on the skin was what I craved right now. Normally, this temperature would make me shiver, but I felt nothing.
Then, warmth touched my back. Someone had draped a jacket over my shoulders.
"Oh, it's you, Monica," I said without turning around.
Monica spoke in her typically haughty manner.
"It doesn't suit you, acting cool while wallowing in sentiment. You should show more affection to Monica, who stopped you from catching a cold and embarrassing yourself again. You can say 'I love you,' you know! Monica will respond with all her might to the Chicken's love!"
"You're so noisy. It's because you always demand to be told 'I love you' that I can't say it. Learn to read the room a little better."
At that, Monica's twin-tails swayed in the wind as she looked at me with a perfectly straight face.
"He's tsundere! The Chicken has finally gone tsundere towards this Monica! I win! As expected, I am the ultimate victor!"
Raising both hands, Monica ran around the terrace, looking thrilled. I tilted my head, confused.
"Victor? What are you talking about?"
Then, Monica said, blushing.
"Oh, don't be mean. It's about the Little Chick. Who will be loved the most, and who will be the first to receive the Little Chick. A faction war has broken out among the Valkyries, and a fierce battle is raging to see who gets to care for the Little Chick."
Third Generation, inside the Jewel, was also surprised, and I covered my face with my left hand.
"Seriously? Even Automatons have faction wars? What a pain..."
"...You lot, stop calling my child 'Little Chick.' And why has the conversation even turned to that? That's the one topic we absolutely cannot touch lightly."
Monica said, hopping up and down toward me.
"I'm sorry, but this is a road we can't avoid. Well, since I'm the Chicken's number one, it's only natural that I should be the one to handle your first night and take care of Little Chick—"
Monica's words caught me off guard, but it was true—this was unavoidable. Still, I wanted to avoid a full-blown disaster. I gripped the Jewel tightly.
Third Generation seemed to sense what I was feeling, but said with a laugh:
"Sorry, but I've got no advice. I've realized something too, you know... Laiel's harem—it's exceeded Laiel's capacity, if you catch my drift."
...Wasn't it a bit too late to realize that? I'd already been feeling like I was at my limit, and now he comes to this revelation? The timing was almost insulting.
Third Generation said, as if having achieved some grand enlightenment:
"I've seen the light. I'd rather love one woman than maintain a harem. Pursuing multiple women at the same time—it's just wrong, you know."
It was you lot who pushed for the harem in the first place! I held back the urge to scream that, and tried to calm myself down.
Calm down. It was too late to turn back now. This train had already left the station. Innis had said it too—avoiding the disaster was impossible. What mattered was keeping it as contained as possible.
...Damn it! If a disaster was waiting for me no matter what, what kind of life was this!
That was when it happened.
A sudden wave of unease washed over me. Something like the same sense of loss I'd felt when Father—
"What is it?"
I looked around but felt nothing. I checked with my Skills, but there was no response. Monica looked at me.
"What's wrong? Oh! If you're nervous about the first night, don't worry. I, Monica, will personally guide you through every little thing—"
"Cut it out. No, I just... felt something like a sense of loss, that's all. Maybe killing Father has been getting me down. I think I'll turn in for the night."
As I turned to head back to my room, Monica hung her head.
"...To think you'd dismiss it as a joke. And you ignore me when I throw myself at you. Oh, it's just perfect."
Still impressed by Monica's inability to stay dejected, I gazed out beyond the terrace. Just what had I felt?