episode_0031

After finishing the semifinals, I went out to a place where there were no people and lifted the curse that had been placed on my body, and the curse’s rebound massaged my entire body.

“Kkeuch… … .”

The arm that wielded the halberd felt like it was about to break, and my stomach and waist felt like ants were gnawing at my flesh. I thought I had gotten used to the pain, but I guess I’m not strong enough to withstand the backlash of the curse.

I couldn’t even stand up properly, so I leaned my back against the wall and collapsed into my seat.

“Ha… … .ha… … .”

Still, I still won this time. I defeated an opponent I had never defeated in the previous rounds, this time.

I looked down at my shaking hands and clenched them into fists. Because my strength wasn’t working properly, I was limited to just folding my fingers, let alone clenching my fist.

The reward for victory is a body ruined by the reaction of the curse. I’m extremely satisfied. He covered his mouth with a trembling hand, hit his neck, and let out a burst of coughing.

“Kuhup, big! Phew!”

Tap――patter――

Dark, dead blood flowed out between the fingers covering the mouth.

ah. You got it on your dress. I wiped the blood from around my mouth with the back of my hand and slowly stood up.

“But it’s the last time.”

After making water with magic to wash away the blood, I headed back to the exam room.

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Afternoon time passed. It was time for the finals. In the huge testing hall, there was only one test table.

I’m going up there from now on… … . I looked down at my still shaking hands and sighed. In this state, I can’t even dream of cold weapons.

He took out a fan from his pocket and tapped his mouth. What can I do? Now that it’s like this, we have to play our trump card from the beginning. As I was staring blankly at the host talking hard, I heard Mel’s voice from behind me.

“Lady.”

When I turned around, I saw Mel looking at me with a pale complexion. More specifically, I was looking at the blood on my dress.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to see it because it was black, but how could I see it again and come back? On one hand it was amazing, but on the other hand it was annoying.

“Huh? Mel? How did you get here? There is no entry fee except for those involved――”

“Please answer honestly. Isn’t that blood on your dress?”

When I saw Mel looking at me with her eyes wide open, I smiled and covered my mouth with a fan.

“Please answer me, lady! If you’re overdoing it… … !”

” What if you are doing it? What, are you planning to make me give up?”

“Your physical condition is more important than winning! Go to the doctor right now and get tested――”

“That championship is more valuable to me than life.”

It has been tied up in the same place for over a hundred years. He was killed just as the world wanted. I tried to defeat my opponent, but I ended up being defeated. He tried to rise above the world, but was trampled to death.

Sometimes they died before even getting on the road. Sometimes there was a cliff at the end of a well-traveled road.

at last. When I followed someone else’s wishes, the only thing left for me was death.

I have lost my life sixteen times for the sake of the happy ending that only I can see, the happy ending for others that can only be achieved if I die.

Now I can finally take the first proper step with my own will and my own will. What a big deal about your physical condition.

I also opened my eyes and glared at Mel, and she lowered her head.

“Lady… … . please… … .”

“Mel. You must learn to trust your master.”

[Magic and cold weapons! An all-rounder who can’t use anything! Princess Charlotte La Rochelle is entering!!]

“I’m there watching if I win.”

I said that and climbed onto the exam table.

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The Crown Prince came up before me and stood with Flamberge as his cane, but as soon as I got on the exam table, he narrowed his eyes.

“You seem to be in very bad shape.”

“Hehe. ̴͍̀̇ Are you worried right now?̷̱͌ I appreciate your concern, but it won’t affect the exam at all, so don’t worry.̶̲͘”

“You lie so shamelessly while smelling like blood… … . done. Let’s postpone this match until later.”

The Crown Prince said that and immediately turned his back.

“Are you running away?̴̢̂”

“What?”

“It’s just that there’s blood on the dress.̸̡̊ What’s the problem?”

“I’m not worried about you. This is because even if you fight an opponent whose condition is bad enough to vomit blood, you will not feel any sense of accomplishment.”

I smiled and covered my mouth with a fan.

“Yes, ̶̹̔ I posted this because I know the crown prince would feel that way.̷̘̑”

“… … now. Are you saying that you can deal with me in that physical condition?”

“There’s nothing that can’t be done, right?̷̜͊”

Let’s smile and fold the fan. The crown prince looked back again. Seeing that he was frowning more than before, it seemed like my words had scratched his pride.

“Don’t regret it.”

“Because I think it is better to commit and regret rather than not to do and regret.̵̝̄”

I stood up with a satisfied expression on my face, and the crown prince also turned his back to look at me.

[It looks like the story is over! then! start!!]

I smiled and made a promise to myself as the host’s voice was loud enough to sting my ears. I guess I’ll have to put a curse of silence on that host later.

As I looked ahead with that thought in mind, I tilted my head to see the crown prince just looking at me while holding his sword.

“Why don’t you come first?̷̓͜”

“I was thinking about how I could break your heart.”

“Hehe, ̷̡̋ ̵̲̐Be scared. Is it okay to say something like that to the person who will become your future wife?”

“I already know that you have no intention of doing that, so stop trying to deceive me with such words.”

He shrugged his shoulders at the crown prince’s words and closed his eyes.

“Your Majesty. Do you know why wizards chant?”

“That’s a random question. Are you planning on buying time?”

“No, you already know that I can use magic without chanting, right? I’m just asking with pure intentions.”

The Crown Prince frowned and answered my question by running forward and swinging his sword.

He erected a thick ice pillar right in front of him to block the sword, then slid backwards to increase the distance.

“Music chanting is something that is manifested through imagination. ̷̜̊ Accumulating something with imagination is fast, but ̸̬͂it is too vague, so the power of the magic is low.̸͚̺̫̮̉͊̌̀̀̏͌̂͜ That is why wizards chant. ̶̖͌ More clearly, more clearly. To use magic properly.̷̜͊”

Me, no. Someone said that and smiled.

“Then why do you have to say that?̴̀̏̕ The reason is simple. That’s because words have power.̶̭̙̦̟̇̓̐̕ That’s the same with curses.”

T̷̨̤͉̠̐̀̎̏̔͝h̵̨̹̙̅̃͐͘͜e ̷̠͇͍̖̫̬͝ṛ̷̰͇̾͂͐̒̓͑ ̴͚͋̿̑͊̿̐͝ ̐͒í̶̤͈̙͙̞̬̝̽̾̌̕s̴̛̻̭̟̲͛͒͑̚

The surrounding scenery becomes distorted, and the shape of the person in front of you collapses. No, was it broken from the beginning? Since when did I start thinking I was Charlotte?

no. is not it? I am the crown prince. okay… … . I am Crown Prince Sargela Rey del Trueno. Not Charlotte.

“Your Majesty. Where are you looking like that?”

Hearing Charlotte’s voice whispering in his ear, he leaned back and swung his sword.

But there was no one there. Suddenly, the surroundings became so dark that when I raised my head, the black sky and the black sun burning darkly came to mind.

“What the hell is this… … ?”

“What’s going on?”

Suddenly, I turned around and saw Charlotte sitting on a chair made of ice.

He frowned and glared at Charlotte.

“What have you done!”

“Nothing. I just chatted a few words.”

I ran forward and swung my sword, but all that was there was an ice chair split in half.

“The human brain is so fragile that it can easily fall into illusions with just a few words. Prince, how many of these do you see?”

Charlotte said and raised two fingers.

“Two――”

When I blinked, what I saw was Charlotte with three fingers spread out.

Charlotte put her hand down, walked around the exam table barefoot with her back to her, looked at me, and smiled.

“If you repeat the same thing over and over again until your brain is deceived, you will make arbitrary mistakes, think and imagine things your way, and soon believe it to be the truth.”

“Once the overloaded brain stops working, it’s the unconscious’s turn.”

“What the other person might say, what they might do, they combine memories according to the situation they were going through, and if there are no pieces of memory, they create fake memories and fill in the empty spaces.”

“It’s still like that.”

Crown Prince, do you really see me?

“――Go!!”

sudden! The surrounding scenery changed in an instant and my head became clear. Charlotte was standing in front of me, looking embarrassed, and I raised my sword.

The brightly burning sun shone on me, and my whole body was filled with fullness.

“You tried to deceive me with your words. He deserves to die 10,000 times. But please forgive me. That would be best for you! But, that’s over now!”

“What… … ! Are you saying that you solved the hallucination with just your mental power!?”

“Haaaa!!”

He rushed forward and thrust his sword into the center of Charlotte’s chest, and poofed. With a sound, the sword pierced the center of Charlotte’s chest.

“How… … crab… … !”

“Don’t look down on me. I am Sargela Rey del Trueno. Because he is the person who will become the next king.”

As I said that, Charlotte in my arms stroked my cheek with her bloody hand, and I looked down at her with a pitiful face and held her hand.

Charlotte coughed up blood and muttered as if she was trying to say something. As a last act of mercy, I lowered my head and put my ear to Charlotte’s mouth.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“What?”

Taaa!!

I woke up to the sound of a finger snapping loud enough to sting my ears. A tremendous sense of exhaustion weighed on my body, and I had a headache that felt like my head was breaking open.

“Ugh… … !!”

“Hehe. Did you enjoy performing the play alone?”

When I opened my eyes to the feeling of the cold weapon on my neck, Charlotte’s brightly smiling face came into view.

“What… … ? You, you are definitely on my sword… … .”

“He was stabbed in the chest and died? Hehehe. majesty. I’m telling you because I think you’re mistaken, but all the weapons in the testing room are equipped with safety devices, so they won’t stab you if you stab them, and they won’t cut you if you cut them?”

“… … !”

Well then, no way.

“Since when? Since when did you start hallucinating?”

Charlotte smiled at my question and covered her mouth with a fan.

“Yes, from the beginning.”

I looked at that for a moment and then lowered my head.

“lost. I admit my defeat.”

After hearing the applause pouring in around me, I suddenly raised my head and looked at Charlotte.

“This isn’t a hallucination either, right?”

Charlotte quietly reached out and pinched my cheek.

“It hurts.”

Her grip must have contained not only strength but also malice, and the flesh on my cheek was extremely painful.

She let go of her hand with a thud, took the Flamberge she was holding in one hand, and turned her back.

“Then I’ll just leave. Please come down after you come to your senses.”

Charlotte said that and left. It was a complete defeat that I had experienced for the first time in my life.