I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 4, page 15
“I can hear voices. She has to be in there.”
“The thought that I’d been in love with a man like that filled me with despair.”
“—But in that case, we aren’t much different. We thought making you our principal consort would keep you quiet.”
“No.” Roxane shakes her head. “You asked me whether I would be your principal consort. I know you were confident I wouldn’t refuse. Still, you did ask… And so, when I agreed, I did so of my own free will.”
Slowly, Roxane puts a hand to Baal’s cheek. Baal’s eyes widen, stunned, and he lets her do as she pleases.
There’s no love there. Their romance hasn’t even begun yet.
However, whatever she’s trying to grasp with that hand exists—it’s there.
“I thought I’d rather die than remain the fiancée of a man like that, and I chose you of my own accord.”
Her determination to crawl up from the bottom is the same feeling Aileen once experienced.
“That is why I am your principal consort— Now go, please. You mustn’t show me mercy. As things stand, you’ve done no wrong. Thank you for all you did for me.”
“Roxane.”
“I’m sorry I don’t have time to love you.”
Roxane shoves Baal’s shoulders hard. He falls down into the space below, but the sound is camouflaged by the pounding on the door.
“Lady Aileen, Master Claude, you hurry as well. I won’t ask you to save me. Please escape to a place that has no connection to any of this. That’s all I ask.”
Ashmael’s dignified principal consort raises her head, straightening up.
Baal begins to shout something, but Aileen covers his mouth. Above their heads, the door slowly closes, blocking out the light.
“Come, let us move quickly!”
“—Wait, what’s going to happen to Roxane?!”
“Lady Roxane is innocent, which means whatever proof General Ares produces is falsified. For now, a tactical retreat is in order; we’ll use this chance to find out who’s behind everything!”
A principal consort in name only, respected by none, treated coldly by all, and suspected of summoning the fiend dragon. No one will protect her. Using that fact as her weapon, she’s transformed herself into a decoy.
“I won’t allow you to squander Lady Roxane’s feelings. If you do, I’ll take her away from this country myself!”
“Aileen.”
“You should conceal yourself quickly as well, Master Claude. I imagine the palace isn’t safe anymore. Once you’re outside—”
“You don’t have to put on a brave front.” In the darkness, he gently traces her lip; she’s bitten it so hard there’s a little blood on it. “I should always be the only one who makes you cry.”
“Is this any time to say that, Master Clau—?”
He puts an arm around her waist, pulling her close, and covers her lips with his own. She knows this because it feels the same as the kiss they exchanged a moment ago—or so she thinks, but then an unfamiliar sensation slips into her mouth.
“Nn, nnuh?!”
When her eyelids open, she can just make out a pair of red eyes in the shadows.
So intense they seem to see through everything.
“They’re more likely to take the bait if a man believed to be the demon king is with her.”
Her head is reeling; he seems to have stolen her very breath. He pushes her toward Baal. “I’ll loan her to you. As collateral, I’ll hold on to your consort.”
“…Master Claude…?”
“This is a good opportunity. Aileen, you should see how I feel once in a while.”
Light streams in from overhead again, dazzling her eyes—and then the bed falls onto the hatch, blocking it.
“Wha—? You’re…!”
“Unhand that woman.”
“Don’t shrink back, surround them! Whatever you do, don’t let Roxane escape!”
Clashing swords, angry shouts, the sound of many feet. Dazed, Aileen stares at the path of retreat Claude has cut off. Clenching her fists, she speaks quietly over her shoulder to Baal. “We’re going. If you complain any more, I’ll end you personally.”
Her eyes have begun to adjust to the darkness, and she sees Baal get to his feet. “…Right. We won’t let Ares do as he pleases any longer.”
Baal grips Aileen’s hand. Sacred power flows into her.
It’s the same. Power that’s meant to protect.
“We have the holy sword. We can win.” He wouldn’t have told her that if he didn’t trust her. Aileen nods firmly as he continues. “Work with us, in order to rescue your husband.”
“Yes. In order to save your wife.”
Before she knows it, they’re back in Baal’s quiet bedchamber.
Less than an hour later, they receive word that General Ares has arrested Roxane, the principal consort, and her guard Claw for the crimes of adultery and summoning the fiend dragon.
Slowly, Lilia opens her eyes.
The clock tower that marks time in the harem is located at the very center of the barrier. Sacred power flows in the night wind. She’s seen something very, very good, and her lips curve in satisfaction. However, the two holding her hands—the ones she’s just shown that scene—don’t seem to share her feelings.
“Lady Aileen…”
“Ares is absolute scum… Who ties up their ex-fiancée like that?!”
“What will become of Lady Roxane and Master Claude?”
“Shh, you two. You mustn’t. You have to pretend you don’t know. Lady Roxane was in communication with the demon king; they’re villains who were attempting to destroy this nation.”
“Don’t you have any thoughts about this at all?!”
“It’s a gripping story!”
Insolent wretches. That was what the dauntless villainess had said, as a throng of soldiers surrounded her. She’d been lovely. The demon king had tried to protect Roxane even though he couldn’t use magic, and had challenged them with a sword. He’d been splendid as well. So splendid, in fact, that when Ares had slashed him from behind, she’d been infuriated by the man’s cowardice. What a beautiful scene.
“That’s why I showed it to you. I thought you’d be moved.”
“‘Moved’? Look, you… Nevermind, I’ll let that slide for now. Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“Let’s see…” She puts a finger to her chin, thinking hard.
The heroine and villainess of Game 2 watch her attentively. Their eyes are alive. Everyone who gets involved with Aileen ends up like that. Not bad at all.
“I did promise Lady Aileen that I would help her… But are you sure? Particularly you, Serena.”
“Huh? Why me?”
“Because you won’t be able to go back.”
She asks because she genuinely wants to know.
She wouldn’t mind choosing for her. The player gives a cruel smile, and the heroine flinches. However, she promptly returns the smile. “It’s a little late to be worrying about that.”
“Um, you don’t intend to make Lady Serena do anything dangerous, do you…?!”
“What’s with you? Don’t tell me you’re worried about me.”
“Th-that isn’t why…”
“You, too, then, Rachel. You’re sure about this?”
“I’ve been prepared ever since I made up my mind to serve Lady Aileen.”
The villainess never has any power, and yet she tries to put up a fight anyway. The sight makes Lilia’s heart tremble uncontrollably. She’s entranced.
“Good. Then let’s all give it our best together.”
To think the day would come when she’d say something so ridiculous to characters! How entertaining.
“That power you used just now sure is handy. If you watched Ares that way, couldn’t you find out where the holy sword is right away?”
“Oh, no, that’s not possible. I don’t have the sacred sword right now. I managed that because of you.”
“—Huh?”
“Well then, time to go.”
She has no further use for the Daughter of God. Characters who aren’t chosen by the player have no reason to exist.
Fifth Act
The Villainess Conspires with the Final Boss
The Queendom of Hausel’s envoy, who has been staying in Ellmeyer in order to exert diplomatic pressure, is rattled by the report of the demon king’s arrest in Ashmael.
“That’s ludicrous. The demon king is definitely here.”
“Then the one in Ashmael is an impostor?”
“That’s right. It isn’t possible to use magic in Ashmael. There’s no way he’d go there. If he did, there’s no telling what would happen to the fiend dragon—”
“Ah, envoy. Has there been a new report from the Queendom?”
The demon king emerges from the depths of the corridor. At the sight of him, the messenger who’s just brought the report looks dumbfounded. There, you see? Bottling up those bitter thoughts, the envoy steps forward.
The demon king approaches, his steps graceful, his black cloak billowing around him. Hair like black silk thread, eyes like red jewels. The beauty of his face makes the sunlight that streams in through the windows pale in comparison.
“No, Your Majesty. I was just reporting the progress of negotiations here. Such as your claim that the crown princess has not run away.”
“I see. You have it rough as well. I’m sure simply staying here must be dull for you.”
The sarcasm is clear, and the envoy’s jaw clenches. Know your place, Demon King. However, the two guards behind the king seem to pick up on that faint trace of displeasure, and they curb their visitor with a single look.
They’re Nameless Priests: church-made weapons who exist to slaughter demons. These two were once said to be their finest masterpieces, talent the Queendom of Hausel would have given its figurative right arm to get. How in the world had the demon king managed to snatch these two from the church and domesticate them?
“We are also actively working to clear up the misunderstanding regarding the crown princess,” replies the king. “Be patient.”
“Sire…!”
On his way past, the man casts a red glance at the envoy, who hastily bows to him.
No matter how repulsive the envoy found him, the demon king had a presence that instinctively made humans kneel.
Watching the three of them move on, the envoy sighs heavily, shoulders slumping. The demon king is here. He couldn’t possibly be in Ashmael.
As soon as they’re inside the room, the spell comes undone with a boomf.
Walt hastily shuts the door. Keith, who’s been waiting inside with a pocket watch, grimaces. “As we thought, it doesn’t even last five minutes.”
“I’m…sorry…but this is the best…I can do…!”
Elefas topples over backward, gray-faced. Kyle catches him, refusing to let him fall. Luc promptly comes over, checks his pulse, and nods. “He’s alive. It’s all right; he can keep going.”
“No… I can’t do it anymore… It’s not just my magic… It feels like this is wearing my life force away…”
“…Drink this. We made improvements. It may let you stay transformed longer.”
“You’re absolutely experimenting on me, aren’t you…?!”
“There, open your mouth and tip that medicine down the hatch. You have a meeting to attend.”
“No, I mean it, I really can’t—”
Working together, Luc and Quartz pinch his nose and manage to pour the hot medicinal decoction into his mouth. A ferocious bitterness he’d really prefer not to get used to makes him feel faint.
“Hey, Elefas? You alive?”
In theory he is, but he feels half dead. He can’t respond.
“Well, I suppose we have no choice. Lay him down on that sofa. We have a little time.”
“Why is he this worn down when he’s borrowing Master Claude’s magic?”
He was considering just dying right here, but Walt’s skeptical voice annoys him, and he musters his strength to respond. “As I’ve said before, many times… Changing the color of one’s hair and eyes is taboo, a violation of the laws of this world! I’m doing something that ordinarily can’t be done, making the impossible possible by channeling Master Claude’s unreasonable magic with my own skill! And as a matter of fact, borrowing the demon king’s magic is a fairly reckless endeavor to begin with. Do you understand now?!”
Desperately, he highlights his own brilliance and efforts, but the demon king’s servants show no mercy.
“But Master Claude is having you do it because he thinks you can.”
“Yes, and I am doing it! Frankly, it’s taking years off my life!”
“It’s all right. Master Claude will do something about your life as well.” There’s a trace of sympathy in Kyle’s eyes, but his words are less than comforting.
Elefas flops over sideways. He wants to go home. He doesn’t want to work anymore.
“Still, is this meeting about what I think it is? The thing about the demon king being captured in Ashmael?”
“Not the demon king, Walt. Someone who looks exactly like the demon king.”
“Shouldn’t we go rescue him?” Kyle sounds worried, and Elefas opens his eyes a crack. He’s been wondering the same thing.
Keith, their highest-ranking superior, pushes his glasses up and speaks flatly. “No. It would make him happy, and he’ll acquire a taste for it.”
“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”
“He’ll be delighted we came to save him, and he’ll start getting captured on purpose. That’s the sort of person he is.” They can all visualize it, and no one argues. “We’ll have to let him suffer a bit. After all, we tried to stop him from going, and he shook us off. In fact, if he loses and comes back home in disgrace, I’m not letting him into the castle.”
Realizing that the calm-looking attendant is actually the angriest of them all, Elefas quietly averts his eyes.
“Respond to any inquiries from the Kingdom of Ashmael with firm denial. Prime Minister Rudolph is doing the same.”
“Um, but then what will happen to Master Claude…?”
“Oh, perhaps they’ll execute him or something. It’s fine, just let him be.”
“That’s fine?!”
“Yes, it is. After all, he probably got caught because he was trying to show off for Lady Aileen, or because he thought it would be entertaining. And so the man in the Kingdom of Ashmael is an impostor. Our demon king isn’t that much of an idiot. Is that clear?”
Elefas, Walt, and Kyle all exchange looks. Seeing this, Keith sighs. “—We already have instructions for what to do in a situation like this. It was an anticipated scenario.”
Oh, it was? Elefas feels a little relieved, and the tension drains from his shoulders. This strikes him as odd.
Before, no matter what sort of master he served, he never felt worried or uneasy for them.
“I’m counting on you, Elefas. Until I return, you’re the only one I can rely on.”
All because the king said such words to him. In that regard, he and his wife are exactly the same.
“All right, break time is over. Elefas, get up, please.”
“I—I can’t yet.”
“You are Master Claude’s mage. Make the impossible possible.”
But he does still want to go home. He hopes the king will forgive him for that.
In this world, what’s right isn’t always allowed. Ares knows that.
“Roxane won’t confess to anything?”
“No. She denies summoning the fiend dragon and committing adultery with the demon king. Even when we show her proof, she feigns ignorance. It’s pointless.”
However, it isn’t in his nature to resign himself and admit defeat. He wants to rectify mistakes. He’s irritated by people who don’t correct their errors, or refuse to admit them. Even if that person happens to be his own ex-fiancée—in fact, that makes it all the more irritating.
“She must not understand her position,” the holy king says, toying with the drawing of the magic circle used in the fiend dragon’s summoning. The drawing on the paper is extremely precise; it’s the proof Ares fabricated in order to charge Roxane with her crimes.
I thought she’d give up and confess if we had that, but…
Roxane had definitely been attempting to summon the fiend dragon. The harem attendants had testified she had borrowed a suspicious book from the library, and she had been off by herself, absorbed in studying spells of a dubious nature. The house of Fusca was covering for their daughter, saying she had been conducting research in order to subjugate the fiend dragon, but it was obvious to everyone her goal had been harming Sahra. Ares had no choice but to act before his wife’s life was endangered.
That was why he’d made his move before she actually summoned the dragon. The dragon was imprisoned, and Ares had known Roxane wouldn’t be able to summon it. Even so, she’d been plotting to do so, and as far as he was concerned, that was more than enough to condemn her.
“I hate to do it, but shouldn’t we extract a confession from her even if it takes torture? If it turns out that the demon king tempted her, we could grant her lenience.”
He’d assumed that if they confronted her with proof, she would confess in order to protect herself. However, Roxane obstinately insisted that she knew nothing about the demon king or summoning the fiend dragon. Even when they asked her leading questions—such as whether it was the demon king’s fault she’d soiled her hands with such misdeeds, or possibly Baal’s fault—she’d given the same answer. He hadn’t expected that. He’d assumed she was bound to deflect the blame onto someone else, but he’d been proven wrong.
Ideally, he would take this opportunity to firmly establish that the demon king had used the fiend dragon to target Ashmael, but the woman is being thoroughly useless. He really doesn’t feel like showing her mercy.
“Speaking of the guard you say is the demon king, we’ve just received an answer from Ellmeyer. Or rather, it came via the Queendom of Hausel.”
“I see. What did they say?”
“That they know nothing about this. They claim the demon king is definitely in Ellmeyer.”
