Chapter 95

Shukona POV

I placed my palm on the tree in front of me leaning forward and laid my head on top of my hand, panting while I covered my mouth. My stomach, it's boiling. The grass below me danced while everything started to become white.

"You have a bad stomach ache again? Shukona?" A sympathetic voice spoke beside me, rubbing my back and a vial came into my view. I lifted up my head, turning it at the maid smiling at me.

Black formed into a messy short hair all the way to her shoulders, the beaming sun reflected wavy locks that were really dark brown. A blank yet mischievous smile, she had her hand extended, pity in her hazel eyes.

"You dare come back... Here?" I asked Emica, my voice wavering and took a step back.

"I ran away," Emica's smile hardened and she looked to her side, "I wanted to turn myself in."

I snatched the bottle away from her hand, opening it and softly placed it on my lips, gulping it down. I looked down at the shorter maid, sighing.

"You do understand that you will most likely die, correct?" I asked, folding my hands. She chuckled and nodded, staring back at me. Her earth colored eyes didn't show a hint of hesitation, I sighed and shook my head. She really has grown but...

"Why are you asking?" Emica asked, making me flinch and rubbing my temples to lessen the pain in my stomach and head.

"It's just... Ugh." I didn't want to admit that despite her doing all of that, I was still worried. Worried about her. She's not as great as Nikami, or as important as Raijin, but she was still my best friend. Perhaps I found comfort in the fact that she was lower than me?

"We're both into this mess, if you get caught, I will too." I made a reasonable excuse, the medicine already cooling my acidic stomach. Where did she get this? Taking effect quickly, this should not have been cheap.

"I won't rat you out, Shukona-sama, I'm not that low." The shine on her face became dimmer, It's as if I was looking at a clone of Nikami, albeit her poker face was a smile. It annoyed me, how frozen and stiff her face looked.

"Where did you get this?" I lifted the glass vial in my hand, gesturing with my eyes.

"Ah, I made it."

"You did?" I was pleasantly surprised, as far as I knew she never showed any interest in herbal medicine. I could tell from the taste having a sweet after taste rather than a bitter one, the effect was something that a beginner can't do.

"Do you really think I just ignore all of your rants about plants? Ahaha, you look so happy talking about them, I can't help but research more." Her smile softened, leaning on a tree and patted her long skirt.

This is why...!

This is why I give mercy to you...

I knew from the start that I was simply an audience from the crowd in THEIR waltz, but you were always there beside me. A fake smile at the start turned warm, don't you dare give me that emotionless smile again!

"Shukuna." Someone called out to me, using a very specific way of saying my name. My back straightened and I made a deep bow. I didn't even see his face. But the daggers from his eyes were already an indicator of who he was.

"Greetings, elder brother. What do you need from me?" My stomach started to turn yet again, sweating while I focused my gaze on the grass below me.

"I just wanted to ask if you found Yuutsu. She hasn't been here for a day now, and since you're her roommate you obviously know where she is." He demanded, each tap of his shoes halted my breath.

I can't talk about Yuutsu, I tried saying her name to senpai but it only gave me more flashbacks that I clearly don't like. Even describing her wouldn't seem to work.

But why her out of everyone? Why take interest in that fake insane noble? Why that woman filled with darkness? Why her? Why?

Why not me? Why not ask how I've been? Is a terrorist more important than me?

Because you're just nothing but useless, because nothing you do can make you better, just give up already. Even a playgirl like her has more use than a pathic weed on the side of the road like you.

"I have not seen her since yesterday, but may I ask why you are asking about her?" The moment he inhaled to answer, I froze up and didn't remove my gaze on the ground. The air strangled me, knowing that he would yell at me for not knowing where she was and even daring to ask what his motive was.

"I doubt someone like you would know, but that girl is actually one of our people." Surprisingly, he didn't yell at me, but my position is still frozen in its place. A single wrong move might get me punished.

One of our people? Excuse me?

"Those Kurogane brats have no place in the noble world, they keep panting at fathers legs and ask for things. So, they are all technically serving under me and father. Did you really think just because a commoner was adopted into a noble family she could immediately go to a magical academy? Of course not. She had great social skills and is already beloved by the noble women, so she was a great info gatherer for our family. The Amatarini have a mole in all major families." He explained and my mind went blank, thinking about the implications of what he just broke to me.

Before I knew it, his footsteps were already away from me. My legs gave out, landing bottom first on the ground while Emica rushed beside me to soften the fall. I turned my head towards her, staring while she tilted her head in concern.

"Emica..." I connected the dots in my head, my brain being overrun by the pretty poison of conclusions.

Emica is Yuutsu's older sister right...? Then, she must be the mole in the Shiromoru family.

And I... Oh no. I was always taught to love prince Raijin from the start, I even fought Nikami because of that.

Was I groomed to be the Gakerumi Family's mole too?

I always thought that it was that Masked bitch, Yuutsu's fault, that Emica's mother was being threatened. But if they're actually sisters, aren't the two of them actually being blackmailed by my family? Yuutsu she was just...

She was just keeping Emica in place, making sure she couldn't forget about her work.

"Shu? What's wrong? Do you need more stomach medicine? You look like you're about to die-" Emica's professional smile shattered, holding my shoulders and asking what was wrong with me.

"Is everything my fault?" A whisper in the form of a gasp came out of my mouth. My lips tugged upward, tears of dew fell on my cheeks, arched eyebrows while I started to laugh at the patheticness of this situation.

Smiling and laughing while crying, have I really gone insane from this mess?

"I can't believe your brother needed to spell it out for you! Every word is the truth, why did you think I targeted you first?" A chuckle came from above, hanging from the tree is none other than the masked bitch herself, Yuutsu.

"Yo-you-" I growled through my tears, glaring up at her.

"That's right! Ding ding ding!~ A personal vendetta! You should blame everything on your fault, because it is! If it weren't for your family, Emica probably wouldn't even be like this!~" She stared down at both of us, Emica holding my hand tightly.

"It's truly unfortunate, this whole situation is. Waaahh, waaaah, I've been forced to do things by a corrupt noble! Honestly, that isn't even that important in my plan. Whether you find out or not doesn't really matter to me, because all I want right now is Yasachu's head on a stick." She landed on her toes, gripping my chin and lifted it up to face her mask, her twisting gaze pierced my soul.

"Get in my way, and I have enough proof to make your family fall. What do you choose, Villainess? Your status or your idealistic sense of justice? One will forever be gone, so please, choose wisely."

Something snapped in me, the moment I heard those words.

I smiled, tears falling down my eyes, laughing once again at this situation. My eyes twisted and turned like her, staring deeply into her eyes. I could feel sympathy at what she was feeling, drowning in red and black. The smile I kept on my face went stiff, twitching, my face was being deformed into the cheshire smile that she has.

I'll have to tear them all down with me!

Nikami POV

"Can't you do anything with the curse?" I asked sensei across the table after Raijin finished explaining everything to her. She is still trying to fit the pieces together, cupping her face with her palms but I couldn't help but ask. If she's really such a genius, creating artificial mana stones, then she probably could make something to stop this right?

"I don't know when it will hit again, the curse seems potent. And you seem good at creating things, sensei." I added, Raijin's hands holding mine under the table. Her hands shook when she gripped me, staring right at Keshi as well.

"That's... I probably could, yeah but... The thing is, curses have little to no information about them. The things I make are to make life easier! Traveling, controlling your magic, everything you can see everyday first hand! But, curses are a different monster altogether. It takes a lot to curse someone, let alone fix it with magitech. If I had more time and resources, I could make something... But, clearly not in a snap." Keshi explained her situation, wiping her monocle and placing it back on.

"Did you ask Kikyou-sama about it? If it's anything magic related, she's the girl to go to."

"She had been looking stuff up all night, so she's kinda napping right now. Dunno if she actually found something useful though." Raijin answered, shrugging with a sigh. It's hopeless, I would search the archives myself but I'm not in the right mind. Kikyou is... Really just on another level isn't she? Talking about how pathetic she is, but in the end she's the most overpowered character in the visual novel.

How cliche.

"Mm." I sighed, tapping my foot under the table.

The silence was loud, deafening, the taps of my heel hitting the ground became loud. Until I found out that I was back in control of the body again. I shivered all over, taking my hands away from Prince Raijin's hands. I feel like hives would crawl in my skin if I even breathe near that brute.

"Nika?!" I shot my legs up, the chair falling behind me and ran away, breathless.

I have to find Yasachu. Only she can save me from that alien taking my body away again. The prince is dangerous, I should not ever get near him again.