“Alicia, are you there?” I hear Gilles call from the other side of the door.
“Yes. You can come in.”
“….Is there anyone else in there?”
“No, it’s just me.”
There’s a moment of silence after my reply before Gilles slowly slides my door open.
……Hm? Why is his expression so serious? Don’t tell me something’s happened again?
“What’s wrong?”
“……I found this at the academy,” Gilles says quietly, handing a single card over to me.
“This…? But where did you….?” I ask while gazing at the card.
……It’s a playing card. In this world, I believe they call them ‘royal cards’ to be exact. Aristocrats use them for gambling. But a card used for adult entertainment….. what could it have been doing at the academy? Though, I guess it isn’t unimageable to think that some student might have brought a deck to campus to fool around and place bets with in order to pass the time.
“I found it in the area where the wolf appeared.”
“Eh?” I gasp out involuntarily, stunned by Gilles’s words.
“So… that is to say… there could be some sort of meaning to it…..?”
“That I don’t know. But if there is, it seems strange that it would it be a four of spades, don’t you think?”
The four of spades….. Could this really be something that the culprit left behind? Or are we just reading too much into it?
Ugh, I do like to have a bit of excitement in my life, but sometimes I really do just want to relax in peace for a little while.
“If this card is indicative of who the culprit is…..” I let my voice trail off for a moment.
“That means….” “It’s…..”
” “Kate of the Aristocracy” ” Gilles and I say in perfect sync.
“Oh, as I thought, you knew about it too, Alicia.”
In the world of playing cards, the suit of spades represents the aristocracy and the number 4 can be read as ‘Kate’. If this card has some sort of significance, then we can at least surmise up to here.
“But, there’s no way that we can trust this. It could all just be a trap,” I note.
“Right. Someone from the Ravaal Kingdom could have planted this as evidence. They might have been trying to cover up their involvement and pin the crimes on someone from the magic academy.”
“Finding this really doesn’t tell us anything….. It only adds to the mystery. The intrigue just keeps thickening.”
…..Is infiltrating the Ravaal Kingdom really my only option?
But, Father would never allow it. I mean, he even tried to make me quit monitoring Liz-san for my own safety.
Maybe there’s a way I could get myself banished from the country…..?
No. That plan seems rather short-sighted….
But wait….. It would be a very villainess-y move to get exiled, would it not? Maybe that is the best way to go…. And, afterwards, I would have to forcefully return to Duelkis. I can’t say whether it would work out well or not in the end. But if the operation was a success…. then that would be my ticket to instant stardom. My name would go down in history for sure!
“Alicia….? What exactly are you thinking about?” Gilles says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“……My role as Liz-san’s monitor.”
“I may not be able to use magic, but it doesn’t take magic to know that’s an obvious lie,” he replies, staring at me with eyes full of deep-set mistrust.
“I’m trying to decide on what course of action would be the best for my future as a villainess.”
“…..And? Have you come to any conclusions?” Gilles asks me, his eyebrows raised.
If I explain to him what I had been considering just now, he’d definitely be opposed. But, if I try to lie to him, I’m sure to be found out…..
“I’ve realized that it’s not enough to merely stay near Liz-san,” I tell him evenly, maintaining pointed eye contact with him.
T/N: It feels like all these little scenes tying in with the wolf are building up to something big… I’m getting excited to see where this is going to go! What do you guys think? Do we want her to head out on her own to the Ravaal Kingdom? Personally, I’m getting quite excited by the idea!
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