Shadow

After returning to the capital’s portal station and buying macarons from a dessert cafe, Kane immediately purchased a portal ticket to Bold City, where Aria lived.

It’s winter vacation anyway. No one can tell Kane how to spend it.

After parting with Kane with a promise to see each other again, Bella decided to have an early dinner together to discuss lilies as well.

I felt a bit mentally tired from the constant portal travel, but preventing Roel from finding out that I’m a lily was my priority, so I had no choice.

Whether it’s because of the Crown Princess title or not, I was able to sit at the best seat in a restaurant in the capital that’s notoriously difficult to book, simply by stating my name without any waiting.

Not at the same table, but at the table right behind Bella, sat Ian and Theodore, who introduced himself as the commander of the Second Imperial Knights. Bella explained that she had appointed both of them as her escort knights.

They didn’t seem particularly close, as Theodore was the only one talking, and Ian just nodded silently.

Bella and I ordered the chef’s recommendation: a minimalist dish with baby pigeon breast and leg, and quail meat.

As the server who took the order walked away, Bella got straight to the point without beating around the bush.

,If you’re a lily… you have to answer so many things for me.”

Why?

When I looked at her with that expression, Bella scoffed, looking genuinely dumbfounded.

,I didn’t know you were a lily, and I even went to warn you to be careful of the Modest guild leader. You shamelessly pretended to cry in front of me, and I even comforted you! Considering my shame, isn’t it natural for you to answer my questions?”

It was true, and I had no excuse, so I rubbed my forehead silently.

Now that I’ve revealed that I’m a lily, there were a few things I had to explain.

I sighed and asked.

,…What are you curious about? If it’s a difficult question to answer, I’ll have to decline to comment.”

As soon as I gave my permission, Bella widened her eyes and her golden eyes sparkled. Judging by the fact that her upper body was leaning slightly towards me, she seemed to have a lot of questions.

I knew without looking how much the existence of lilies had bothered Bella. She must have tried to get information about lilies, even by using information guilds other than Modest. Bella hates unexpected ‘variables’ in her plans.

After staring at me for a while, Bella finally finished thinking and asked me a question.

,Did you really kill the Green Magic Tower Master?”

She hit the most important point with her first question. I slowly took a sip of the warm tea in my glass and opened my mouth.

,…Yes. I killed the Green Magic Tower Master, Tarantula.”

,Why?”

Bella’s voice, which came out in an instant, was filled with pure curiosity that I had never heard before. Bella seemed genuinely curious about why I killed Tarantula, rather than the fact that I killed someone.

,Because she’s a monster who kills people without a second thought. It was the magic scholar Rotten who found the clue to the cure for the Thorn Disease that Rosalyn-sunbae made. Tarantula killed Rotten and deliberately spread the Thorn Disease across the continent, planning to make a huge amount of money using the cure.”

I took another sip of tea and added.

,I had no intention of letting such an evil person live.”

Bella, whose gaze was filled with admiration, smiled and asked.

,Is it the same reason you killed the Sixth Prince?”

,…Similar. Because he was a bastard who killed innocent children and tried to summon a demon.”

Bella nodded, looking satisfied, as if she understood.

,The rumors about lilies seem to be true. That they make deals with demons or kill people related to the cult. Wait, could it be… was that why you killed Professor Dwin back then?”

I said I would answer her questions, but I never said I wouldn’t lie. Bella, who can figure out the truth, wouldn’t be able to distinguish between truth and lies mixed together.

,I asked the Modest guild leader to investigate Dwin. Like I said before, I thought there was a cult spy in the academy. Just in time, the guild leader told me that you were caught in a trap, so I was able to go and save you.”

I answered smoothly without hesitation, but Bella frowned.

,How on earth did you and the Modest guild leader become a joint destiny? How long have you known each other?”

I couldn’t help but stick out my tongue at her question that hit the nail on the head again. Is this a natural talent, or a skill I gained from surviving in the imperial family where every day is like walking on thin ice?

I was a little embarrassed, but a plausible excuse quickly came to mind.

,I said before that it was a lie that Modest approached me first, right?”

Bella rolled her eyes for a moment, then nodded as if she remembered.

,Yes, you said with your own mouth that the explanation you gave to Roel was a lie.”

,That’s right. The one who approached me back then wasn’t Modest, but the guild leader.”

Bella’s golden eyes instantly turned sharp like a predator’s.

,…The Modest guild leader herself?”

,Yes. Suddenly, the guild leader’s voice rang in my head. I met her in person and had a conversation after she told me to come find her.”

This is true. When I participated in the duel, Estelle approached me first to warn me that there was a cult executive mixed in with the audience.

,The Modest guild leader already knew that I had killed the Sixth Prince and Tarantula. But instead of using it as blackmail, she offered me an alliance. With the goal of resisting demons and the cult. Since we were comrades with the same goal, we became a joint destiny.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Bella’s eyes wavered. During the brief silence, the server began to place dishes of food on the table.

I had already drunk wine at the Yousef Duke’s mansion, so I didn’t order wine this time. I picked up a knife and fork and cut the pigeon meat on my plate. The famous restaurant was definitely different.

It had a rich flavor that you couldn’t get from a dish you made by following a recipe. The ingredients inside the meat were excellent, and the seasoning was perfect. It was a dish that perfectly captured the unique flavor of pigeon meat.

This is a flawless taste. I have to come here with Luna next time.

Just as I was about to empty my plate, Bella, who had been lost in thought, finally broke the silence.

,If the Modest guild leader’s goal is the same as the lily’s… I can rest assured.”

Only then did I realize what Bella had been worried about. Modest, a mysterious secret information guild in the capital. There’s no way Bella wouldn’t be concerned about a place with tremendous information power and immense power.

When I think about it, the plausibility fits.

The reason why Bella, who became the empress in the novel, tried so hard to bring Modest under her control. It was because she didn’t know whether Modest would become an enemy or an ally.

It doesn’t make sense for Bella to leave a secret group with immense power whose guild leader she doesn’t know alone in the capital. Of course, she would try to swallow it.

But now that she knows that Modest’s goal isn’t her and Roel, she can rest assured. Bella will be able to ease her vigilance and form a closer relationship with Modest.

Bella picked up her fork and knife with a satisfied expression. She enjoyed the food to her heart’s content with a relaxed expression, without any worries or anxiety.

The empty plates disappeared, and the server brought a plate of dessert. The server explained. They boiled grapes with lemon juice and cinnamon in wine, then sprinkled a little honey on top and grilled the grapes to give them a smoky flavor.

The sweet wine and honey, and the sour taste of the grapes, harmonized in one place, and I could feel a wonderful taste as the grapes burst in my mouth.

I felt strangely awkward at the sight of Bella taking a grape into her mouth and smiling happily. I never thought I would see Bella looking so relaxed.

Even though I have a bad relationship with Bella, she’s a character I’ve always loved. I felt strangely disturbed, and I sighed without realizing it.

Bella, who was enjoying her dessert, wiped the sauce on her hands with a luxurious handkerchief and asked.

,I didn’t ask you the most important thing.”

She didn’t continue speaking and paused, so I stroked my chin and asked.

,What is it?”

,Why did you become a lily?”

Bella’s expression didn’t change as she asked that question. But I could instinctively tell. Bella was observing my reaction with all her attention. The reason why I became a lily was that important to Bella. This was an issue that could be related to Roel, who was most important to Bella.

Bella has a natural ability to figure out the other person’s true feelings. I know how to deceive it, but there was no need to do so with this question. Rather, I wanted Bella to know my complete sincerity.

,All the rumors about lilies are what I dream of. To make the world a little more peaceful from evil people, even if I have to get my hands dirty.”

I was about to end the conversation like that, but I felt like something was missing in the explanation. So I added an explanation as it came to my mind.

,There are evil people who harm countless people just by being alive. By killing them, I’m saving countless lives in the future.”

When I finished speaking, Bella asked in a dry voice, devoid of intonation or emotion.

,…Do you want to be a hero like Roel?”

I felt strangely choked up at those words. It’s not because of my inferiority complex towards Roel. It’s because I knew from the beginning that the lily I envisioned could never become a hero.

,Roel will become a hero loved by everyone. But a lily can’t become such a hero. No, it shouldn’t be. The name lily will be a warning. The evil people who hear that name will be afraid, terrified, and tremble with anxiety.”

I looked into Bella’s golden eyes, which were reading my true feelings, and added with sincerity.

,While Roel shines a light for everyone, I will be in the shadows under the name of lily. And I will hunt down those who try to hide in the shadows to avoid the light.”

Even if the shadow where I exist disappears from that light.