Genius 29

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Chapter 29. What He Lost

"Don't joke around!"

Katia pushed Sara down, shouting baseless accusations at Zenos von Frembleed.

Rushing to Sara's side, relieved to find her injuries weren't severe, Katia retorted with all her might.

"That magic just now. It was [Mistle Teinn], right?! What's your intention, harming Sara—harming our ally!"

"Don't spew blatant lies! Y-you're the one who did it!"

With the initial shock wearing off, the situation gradually became clear.

These people likely intended to frame Katia for a crime.

Because Aster hadn't "exposed his flaws immediately," they had to fabricate something to tarnish their reputation.

Did they hurt Sara for such a reason?

"You're prepared, aren't you...!"

Katia's rage erupted, her magic surging from her entire body, leaving Zenos breathless.

"Enough, your status doesn't matter anymore. Right now, I will absolutely—"

"S-Shut up, shut up, shut uuuup!"

Yet, even as he faltered, Zenos yelled:

"It's you! If you weren't here, none of this would've happened!!"

"—Eh?"

It was undoubtedly Zenos's slip of the tongue.

But more than anything before, it pierced a part of Katia's heart.

"You must be feeling great, being able to use magic you couldn't before, feeling powerful! Defeating monsters here and there, acting like a hero of the nation!? Ridiculous, you're not fit for that! The only hero of this country is His Highness Aster!"

"N-No, His Highness is too arrogant! It will lead to disaster—"

"Disaster someday, you say! Then has such disaster ever occurred before!?"

"—"

Indeed, it hadn't.

The ultimate decree of nobility is to subdue monsters.

And Aster had never failed to defeat monsters.

With his overwhelming magical talent, he had effortlessly crushed monsters in every battle.

Even in domestic affairs, though Aster had been tyrannical in various decisions, there hadn't been reports of catastrophic monster damage caused by him. Many nobles who supported Aster and the mages emanating from there covered everything.

"You understand, follow His Highness, leave everything to him, and everything will go smoothly! But you people, resisting in vain, are the cause of it all! Because of you, we—she's suffering! Because you resisted unnecessarily, Sara is hurt now!!"

In a moment of self-reflection, Zenos corrected himself from 'we' to 'she'. But Katia had no more room to pay attention to that.

She realized she had messed up.

She tried to become a splendid noble.

Eliminate what threatens the people, protect someone's happiness even at the cost of her life.

So she tried to correct Aster's mistakes, which could disrupt the country— but in reality, it was the opposite.

"The conflicts between the Ministry of Justice and others, the inability of nobles to unite, it's all because of you! ──You're the ones disrupting the country!!"

The moment she was pointed out, Katia felt her vision darken.

Without any resistance or explanation, she was seized by the soldiers who rushed in.

She hadn't realized it. No, she had been pretending not to notice.

That the underground strife between the Ministry of Justice and the Aster faction had intensified so much. That her father Jurgen's fatigue, which appeared increasingly, was affected by it.

Katia and Hermes had subdued many monsters in various places—meaning, other nobles were troubled by the emergence and activities of Katia, making it difficult for them to focus on monster subjugation, which resulted in.

And now.

Her actions had come full circle, even hurting her precious friend—

"Uh..."

She felt scared.

The consequences of what she had tried to do were the complete opposite of what she had imagined.

The more she tried to become like her mother, the farther away from her ideals she drifted.

I don't want this.

I don't want to admit it, but I have to.

Because that's who I am now.

"..."

She looked around.

A dark, gloomy cell. In the center of a prison resembling a fortress on the capitsl's outskirts.

The flickering candlelight in the darkness seemed to hint at her fate— and she suddenly thought.

If by doing something, this country falls into chaos, and if everything goes well by leaving Aster, whom she had tried to correct, alone.

Then what should she, as a noble, do?

And as she thought that—

"We've kept you waiting, Katia-sama."

A glint of silver suddenly appeared in the cell.

Its owner—Hermes, in his usual calm tone with an unchanged demeanor, spoke up:

"At the Duke's behest, I've come to rescue you... Shall we escape immediately?"

◆

"Herm...!?"

Hermes, who had infiltrated the prison where Katia was brought, entered.

Soon, he found her in the cell, and despite her worn-out appearance, she exclaimed in surprise.

"H-How did you get here!? What about the guards outside!?"

"The infiltration itself was done with a bit of a 'forbidden technique.' I did knock out a few guards, but it hasn't turned into a big deal yet."

Katia was dumbfounded, seemingly questioning how many tricks he had.

As long as the 'forbidden technique' wasn't blatantly exposed, it wasn't an issue, and what he used this time was quite simple in its effectiveness.

But that also meant he successfully infiltrated with minimal effort by exploiting the guards' vulnerabilities. It was best to avoid causing a commotion considering the upcoming circumstances.

However, it was only a matter of time before they were found out. Therefore, Hermes reached out to expedite their escape, but.

"...I've had enough."

"─Katia?"

Her denial-filled words hinted at an ominous premonition.

"I don't intend to leave this place. I appreciate you coming all this way, but it's unnecessary. I don't intend to pile up any more sins."

"N-No, what are you saying—besides, you, of all people, don't have any sins—"

"It's me!! Because of me, Sara got seriously injured!"

Katia's enraged words, still looking down, resonated in the room.

"It wasn't me!! But she got dragged into this—because of my selfish actions!"

"...Eh?"

"And not only that, how many people were inconvenienced, how much harm was caused by my actions trying to advise His Highness! This country has gotten worse since I did nothing—so I'm done!"

Katia paused her words momentarily, then filled them with an uncontrollable rage, glaring at Hermes.

"...Herm, you too. You don't need to put up with me anymore."

"'You too'?"

"You served me out of obligation. But I know! The moments you shine the most, the moments you're happiest, aren't when you're with me, but when you're with magic! You probably don't really care about me at all, do you!?"

"!"

"There's no need for you to be here! Go out freely, master magic, or whatever you want to do!!"

After stating that firmly, she looked at Hermes for a moment with an expression that seemed to show regret.

But it was too late to retract her words. After a brief silence, she muttered softly:

"...I wanted to be like my mother."

She revealed the deep-rooted aspiration.

To be noble like her mother, to have a noble heart that can protect someone's happiness. She thought that was the duty and the ideal form of a noble— but she was wrong!

"..."

"What I was doing wasn't a duty or anything! It was just selfish...!"

With that, her words ceased.

A deafening silence filled the prison, contrasting with the water droplet hitting the floor.

"...What's wrong?"

But the source of the sound wasn't Katia.

"Why are... you crying, Herm?"

"...Eh?"

Being asked, Hermes finally noticed the identity of what was running down his cheeks.

I see.

He realized he felt sad. He empathized with her wailing and despair.

—Ah, that's right.

It's something to be very happy about.

"...I'm sorry."

"What... are you apologizing for?"

Apologizing first to her, who was glaring at him with sadness.

"It's because what you said is true. I'm more attached to magic than you. No, not just you."

And then he revealed the true nature of the great distortion within him.

"Since the day I got expelled from the Frembleed family... my feelings toward others have become terribly thin. Everything other than magic became irrelevant to me."

What Hermes lost in the capital. What he couldn't regain even under Rose's care.

It was his heart.

Attachment to others. A heart that cherishes someone. That was lost.

After he confided in Rose about his past, embraced her, and was shown a new hope.

With burning joy and admiration for his mentor— as if that was the last glimmer.

Everything other than magic rapidly faded away.

"Surely, during those three years from the age of seven until my expulsion, something wore thin."

Hermes analyzed himself like that.

Certainly, Katia's presence was a source of solace back then.

But even so, he was exposed to much malice during that time. From his father, his brother, and many nobles influenced by them.

The greater the happiness before, the more severe the contrast.

To protect himself, he had to shave off parts of himself. The painful feelings, the sorrow. And as much as there was, the joy and happiness only made it harder now.

He wore everything down and focused solely on magic as his beacon of hope.

But his efforts were not rewarded and were discarded. At that moment, surely something wore thin.

Only his attachment to magic remained like an empty shell. That's how Hermes became who he is now.

He appreciates his debt to his mentor and undoubtedly holds a respect for her.

However, it's also a harsh truth that there's a strong aspect of duty, of 'this is how it should be done,' in his actions.

His reverence for gratitude is also part of it.

Rose understood that, but she also felt that Hermes didn't like it, so she poured her affection as a mentor to try to bring his heart back.

But even then, it never returned.

That's why he came back to the capital.

Because if he returned to the place he lost, Hermes thought he could regain what he lost.

"That's why... I want to empathize with you. With noble feelings like yours—beautiful aspirations and noble hearts."

That's what he needs now, and that's his wish.

And because he knows that those feelings create magic.

That's why he came to the capital.

If the connection that's important to him, the thing that's important to him is about to be lost.

He wants to hold onto it. He wants to do that.

"Let me correct one thing. It's outrageous to say 'You don't really care about me.'. I really, really don't want you to leave. That's why I came all this way."

"...Herm."

His tone had unknowingly reverted back to how it used to be.

But then, suddenly, there was a commotion outside.

They probably noticed the infiltration. It seems time is running out.

"...I can't give you an answer to your worries and conflicts right now. So I'll ask you one thing."

He tightened his resolve and asked.

"Do you want to die?"

"!"

It was such a fundamental question.

Faced with it, she hesitated more than before, looked down, but finally:

"...No."

She whispered softly.

"I don't want to die! There are so many things I want to do, things I haven't done yet! But...!"

"As long as you have that feeling, that's enough for now."

Once again, he reached out his hand.

"Let's live for now. I lost everything once, but because I lived, I met my mentor. And..."

"...?"

"I don't mean to boast—but didn't you, too, want this?"

"!"

She hesitantly reached out her hand, and soon, a warm hand touched hers.

At the same time, he used his Reinforcement Universal Magic to cut through the iron bars of the door. He pulled her out, and she leaned against him.

"Sorry... for saying awful things..."

"Apologies can wait. Let's escape from here first."

With a red face, she muttered, and he firmly embraced her, looking toward the exit.

The commotion was spreading further. There would likely be intense interference during their escape.

However, he wasn't worried at all. Because—

"I got the Duke's approval to 'go all out', after all."

His magic, which he had been forbidden to use recklessly in public by Jurgen, was stored up. And—what he learned since coming to the capital.

He could use it all to the fullest without fear.

With that conviction, he took Katia's hand and ran for the exit.