Problem Arc 4
Her gold eyes looked straight at me.
She was quite charming with face surrounded by violet hair full of waves, distinct facial features, and plump lips. I overheard someone say she was beautiful before, but she — Viola — boasts of a beauty that far exceeded my imagination.
Everything is dependent on gold here as the jailer said, so it seems she didn"t have to live a miserable life. Viola had a very tragic feel to her, her appearance wasn"t too thin nor shabby. Her hair was properly being taken care of with how glossy it was.
That"s right, her hair.
Man~ I knew there was nothing I can do despite saying that. I knew, but I"d like to say it again.
What kind of gene is at work to turn your hair violet!?
While I was thinking about the mystery of this world"s hair colors, Viola"s handcuffs were removed by the jailer.
Her garments were modest, and even though her handcuffs had just been removed, Viola calmly sat on the prisoner"s chair with an att.i.tude of a master.
Just as I had promised, I stayed quiet, keeping my mouth shut until the jailer left the room.
But as expected, I was a little anxious, and when I threw a glance towards the entrance, I could only see a bit of Bern"s elbow as he leaned on a wall outside the entrance. That much gave me a sense of security.
Speaking of Viola, I"ve had a feeling that she"s been curious as to who I was, but was surprised when the jailers left, and turned towards me, her eyes glittering from the thought of getting a trial.
“Who might you be? From Count Kretzmann? Or Viscount Thon?
Uhm, about that…
Uh, who"re those people?
I had a veil on so the other party couldn"t see my expression, but Viola was able to sense my confusion, and made a questioning face.
“You"re not a messenger from either of them?”
“…Sorry, but no.”
She made an obviously disappointed face, and yet, she said more, hope never disappearing.
“But you came out here for me, right?”
“Yes.”
Because I wasn"t someone she was hoping for, Viola sighed heavily.
As for me, I was still confused because of how sudden the rising of my expectations was, but in any case, it doesn"t mean that I lost hold on the situation.
I corrected my seating posture, and introduced myself in order to pull myself back together.
“I"m Lizia Rietberg. I"m not a messenger from your Count and Viscount acquaintances, but my purpose is to come and meet you.
I only added in my mind, The one who proposed it is Bern though.
“Lizia Rietberg…”
Viola"s beautiful face grimaced, and whispered Lizia once more. But in the next moment, the corner of her eye twitched, and spoke, her tone vigilant.
“What is your business with me? Did you come here just to laugh at the loser?”
Sigh~ There it is.
Probably because she remembered how things had developed, she quickly saw me as hostile.
I knew I wouldn"t be given much of a welcome, but it does hurt a little bit to be treated this way.
Let"s try and understand what kind of existence I was to Viola, I desperately thought it over.
Having put together both of Clarissa and Lila"s stories, I suspected that the fortune teller that didn"t exist in the game, Viola, was a reincarnator. I haven"t heard straight from the person herself the words, That"s right, but I figured it was safe to a.s.sume so. Bern seems to also have the same opinion as me. Moreover, Lila as well suspected that Bernhardt"s fiancee that didn"t exist in the game, aka me, was a reincarnator, and went to press me about it at the meadows behind the school building.
Viola must have heard from both Lila and Alois when that happened, so it wouldn"t be weird for her to distrust me as well.
It"s not weird, but it shouldn"t be this much.
Despite having said that, the way Viola looked at me was filled with fury, as if she was looking at a bitter enemy of hers.
Or rather, hasn"t there been many times where the other person turned their hostility towards me even though I have no clue whatsoever? I only planned on living my life very quietly, without being hated by anyone but… Living a peaceful life is surprisingly difficult.
Anyways, I managed to pick up what Viola thinks of me from her words, and have no other choice but to collect information.
I"m worried if I can do this properly.
“Why did you refer to yourself as a loser?”
“It"s obvious, right? My plans were proceeding accordingly. If only you didn"t do those unnecessary things.”
“I apologize, I don"t quite get what you want to say, but what do you mean by unnecessary things?”
Displeased, Viola suddenly laughed scornfully.
She was a beautiful person, so this kind of rude behavior was really strange. Is this what people call queen?
If it was me, Darius would probably tell me, Don"t do things you can"t do.
“How shameless. You also know that this is a game world, right?”
Wow, straight to the point.
But with this, it"s decided that Viola is a reincarnator.
And she too knows that I"m a reincarnator.
“…Yes, I do. But I don"t think it"s at the same level as the game.”
“Is that so?”
If I had to say it, it seems that she thinks that this world and the game world are the same.
I had been a little suspicious that this was the case, maybe…
“You also realized it, didn"t you? That this world fundamentally follows all of the original scenario.”
Hmm?
“But I protected Alois" mother from being poisoned, and despite saving her, there didn"t seem to be a compelling force returning things to its original course. Which means that someone like us who knows of the scenario intervenes, then things would never deviate from it.”
I-Is that so?
I never considered that possibility…
Even if things I had no knowledge of were to happen, I could only think, That"s kinda weird, but well, I guess that"s supposed to happen as well.
I mean, it"s cause even if you told me it"s supposed to happen according to the scenario, my existence itself doesn"t exist in it.
But now that she mentioned that, Lila or Viola were involved in moments that were different from the game, moments I wasn"t involved in. Because if there was something that they could intervene in in this world, they would.
R-Right…?
Hmm, is it really like that?
Even if I was told of the world"s truth all of a sudden like that, I wouldn"t know how to take that.
It seems that Viola was absolutely confident of her own thoughts, and continued the conversation without me agreeing, slightly tilting her head to the side.
“Seeing as you specifically came here from so far away, could I ask you a question?”
“…Go ahead.”
I wonder what Viola wants to ask me.
Though from how she speaks, she seems to be the smart type that conclude things on their own.
“Why did you mediate between Lucas and Bernhardt?”
“Excuse me?”
Why is she mentioning Lucas?
“Something like he who runs after two rabbits will catch neither is simply untrue. I only looked at Alois, and did my best for his sake only, but in the end, you, who meddled in Bernhardt and Lucas" businesses, won. Even if one were to be reborn again, life is really unfair.”
Viola sighed, and grimaced, murmuring, How did I end up in a place like this?
As for me, I think being born as a beautiful person like her is the unfair part of life.
For me, and I"ll say this part in a loud voice, what"s more unfair is that Lila and Viola are born beautiful even though we"re all reincarnators! is what I wanted to shout. Yep.
Well, I"ve come to terms with that. Well, not really, but right now, I"ll leave it be.
“Uhm, I think there"s been a misunderstanding between us.”
“A misunderstanding, you say?”
I talked slowly and clearly, so that Viola calms down from speaking so aggressively.
“That"s right, a misunderstanding. I have never meddled in Lucas" matters.”
I liked his face, so in my previous life, I cheekily went for his route, but in reality, I would never think to fall in love with that kind of awful person. This is strictly just my personal opinion, but, well, hmm, I don"t actually, I think… I mean, it"s cause he"s usually scary.
“Then why did Bernhardt and Lucas team up?”
“Why…”
That"s because Bern"s mother is Lucas" older sister, his first love.
Probably because she was frustrated at how I wasn"t very good at grasping the gist of her words, Viola raised her voice for the first time ever since I came here.
“That"s because those two don"t interact in any route!”
“Huh?”
Don"t interact…?
Huh, but, Emilia…
Huh? Wait a minute.
Actually, something does feel weird about that.
That"s because if Bern and Lucas had a connection even in the game, seeing as Viola knows more about the game than me, there"s no way she wouldn"t know about it even after properly playing the Bernhardt route.
I thought that it was because information about Emilia was strictly hidden, but why did such a setup never pop up in the game? Despite how important it is.
So that means, this current situation where Bern and Lucas cooperate because of knowing someone mutually should have been impossible?
And what Viola said about this world"s scenario rules — when an irregular existence like us were to intervene, then the scenario deviates from the original.
Is this why Viola thought I was the reason for Bern and Lucas teaming up?
But it seemed that both of them had known each other way before I even met Bern, plus they were not only uncle and nephew, but also teacher and student.
Instead, their relationship had been established before I even got a chance to do anything, and because Viola said this, Lila and Viola couldn"t have done anything either.
Which means–
…W-What exactly does this mean?
Not a lot of time has pa.s.sed ever since I started talking with Viola, but it"s just full of things I don"t understand.
Wait, that"s not it.
This is the first time I"m seeing things that I couldn"t see up till now.
Talking to Viola here and trying to get an answer is… somewhat difficult.
Not because of her obvious dislike of me, but because it doesn"t look like she could leisurely accept this conversation.
If it"s Lila–
I might get an answer if I go see Lila.
If I remember correctly, she"s played the Bernhardt route, and has spent a lot of time with Viola. I"m pretty sure she has a lot of information more so than me.
Man, the reasons that I should ask Lila has increased. I complained in my head, I"ll have to put things together in a memo after this.
I"ve always thought this, but because I"ve been living my life so happy-go-lucky, I don"t know anything at all.
I"m ignorant.
Too ignorant.
Or rather, ‘I normally rely on others! Myself! Ah, as usual!
“Sigh.”
For some reason, my head started hurting, and I rubbed my temples with my fingers. I can"t deny that it"s because I didn"t put in enough effort.
“I"ve already said this, but I have never meddled in Lucas" business, nor thought to capture Bern. You may not believe me, but that"s really what happened.”
“I see.”
You know, you"re making a face that says you don"t believe me at all~ But it"s true~ Even I"m confused as to how things ended up this way. I had my eye on living a peaceful life, but even for me, why is it so full of drama? Am I right?
Sigh…
Well then, what should I do now?
Should I delve a little deeper about Bern and Lucas" relationship?
Actually, I feel like I should think more about this matter on my own as much as I can, so that I can find an answer when I have a proper talk with Lila. Besides, it doesn"t mean I have to solve everything right away. I don"t know whether it"s already too late for me to figure things out quickly, or because I might be doing something really unnecessary.
Besides, the visiting hours are limited, so is there anything else that I wanted to ask Viola?
Something.
Something, huh…
Ah, that"s right.
“Why did you brainwash Lila?”
What I heard from Bern was: Viola planned on having Lila get close to His Highness, making her queen, and having Alois promoted. Doing that, then the chances of the second son of the Donitz house, Alois, would increase tremendously.
I understand that. I do, but was it something that had to be accomplished at the expense of Lila"s mind?
If it was for Viola to tie herself to Alois, then Alois doesn"t have to become the head of the family, right?
I wonder what went through Viola"s mind to involve Lila, and corner her into the wall that badly.
I feel this is where we somehow differ in opinions.
“Why, you ask. That"s because that"s where she"s going to be really happy.”
Exactly the same as when she talked about this world"s rules, she didn"t doubt her own thoughts in the slightest.
“I mean, that"s how it is, right? Lila"s the protagonist. If she gets together with Prince Edwin, then she"ll live happily ever after. She"ll always receive the world"s blessing. She"ll always be happy with that, more than the love that would never come true that she harbors for her own brother. Lila would surely thank me for helping her marry Prince Edwin.”
She pretended to pity Lila, but it felt completely devoid of enthusiasm, as if she was somehow looking down on her instead.
Which shows how worthless considering Lila"s feelings were to her.
“Besides, even in my previous life, I"ve always loved Alois. When I realized that I was reincarnated into a maid from the Donitz family, I thought it was fate! Moreover, if I took care of a huge event, everyone would believe what I say even if it"s slightly off. See, for me, on the day I realized I had reincarnated, I swore that I would try and make Alois happy with my own power. That"s why even though I helped Lila out, with her slight timidness… That"s why I tried making her more a.s.sertive. No more than that.”
After having said all of that so fast, Viola firmly kept quiet.
Stared at my face behind the veil for a while, and quietly but strongly said,
“I definitely won"t give up, I won"t let it end like this.”
She forcibly said that as if she was frightened of me.
“Someday, I"ll definitely make you realize just who the protagonist really is!”
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
She"s still caught up in the game.
Heartbroken and having already used up all my strength, I could only shake my slightly downturn head.
I couldn"t find the energy to reply, nor the words.
Is it already too late for me to say something?
This was an island prison where no one could get out. The Island of Grief.
Even if she expects the Count or the Viscount to negotiate for her, she"s here because of the law and decree of the King.
But I could say one thing,
“You"re right. You"re definitely a protagonist… Just like how I"m the protagonist in my life.”
I could only say this cliched line.
We exchanged a few words after that, but the mood had turned dangerous and I couldn"t solve the mystery, so it only ended in me simply being tired all of a sudden.
I pretty much figured out what Viola"s thoughts were to incite that fiancee feud.
For better or worse, she was someone who was extremely confident in herself, intensely seeking happiness.
And probably insensitive to other people"s pain.
I definitely won"t give up, I"ll definitely be happy — With such strong tenacity, she"ll definitely be able to survive in this prison. It"s extremely pitiful and sad, thinking she"ll have to live her whole life imprisoned here, which feels too severe for the crime she committed. Well, I can only say that because I don"t fully know just how much damage she inflicted on those she deceived.
The time had come for Viola to return to her prison, and until the very end, she fully complained to me with her whole being that everything was my fault.
I didn"t plan on denying nor confirming her words.
That"s because I thought, Stepping on others or doing evil things only come back to you in the end.
Nevertheless, for some reason, I just can"t think that she deserves it.
“How was it?”
Noticing me staggering out the visiting room, Bern asked.
He patted the back of my head seeing how tired I was. Bern"s hand was surprisingly a little warm, and I noticed just how colder my own body was.
“…I"m glad I got to talk to her.”
But now, the things I don"t know have really grown.
Though one of those mysteries, the person himself, was patting the back of my head.
“What do you plan on doing from here on out?”
The jail guide said, completely attending to us.
“If you don"t mind, what do you think about inspecting the prison seeing as you went through so much trouble to come here?”
The warden probably repeatedly told him to be polite to us. Similar to how you would a tourist.
“What do you wanna do? You look tired, Lizzy.”
Hmm, what should we do?
I"m really tired, but it might just be mentally.
“No, it"s fine. We"ve here already anyways, so let"s have him show us around.”
d.a.m.n. Viola you crazy. Now I just feel really bad for Lila. Also, why is this mob also beautiful but Lizzy isn"t? That"s really unfair man.
On another note, this story will be updated every Tuesday and Sat.u.r.day @12AM from here on out. Well, I"ll try to.