Volume 1 – Following the Maze Drawn With Lines of Blood
The girl ran while pulling Mary by the hand.
She seemed to be living in a small home with her two parents.
“Well, may I ask your name first?”
“Ami Hedira! I’m 12 years old!”
She was as young as she looked, which made the injury on her cheek more painful to look at.
The arcana of the Death God could not heal other people’s injuries, so there was nothing Mary could do.
The girl’s parents in the living room were very surprised when they saw Mary there.
The couple almost fell off their seats.
“A-A-Ami, who’s this person!?”
“This is Lady Mary, we met over there!”
“W-Wait, is she really the princess!? F-First, we gotta……”
“Tea!”
“Yes, let me make some tea!”
“Please don’t worry about it, I don’t intend on staying that long.”
“Still, we have to offer something to a princess…… Oh, it’s not like we have anything of much value to offer, but still!”
“We’ll use our best stuff!”
“Okay!”
Mary felt bad for making the couple so frantic.
This was the first time she visited a commoner’s home like this.
Mary curiously looked at the furniture inside.
“Okay, Lady Mary. Sit!”
“Thank you very much, Ami.”
“Ehehe, you said my name……”
Ami fidgeted shyly as her cheeks blushed.
This joy changed her mood, and the girl lightly skipped to help her mother in the kitchen.
“She’s a lively girl, isn’t she?”
“Your compliment honors us. We can’t give her a life of luxury, so we’re happy she grew up to be a cheerful girl.”
While sitting down, the newspaper on top of the table grabbed Mary’s attention.
On the front page, it said, ‘the young princess kills everyone.’
“Is this newspaper… from this morning? It’s already this big of a deal, hh?”
“O-Of course it is! The heir of the Duke of Slava is dead. It’s a festival in our village!”
Ami’s father spoke as he nervously tensed his shoulders.
Mary forced a smile.
“A festival, huh? Are people that happy about Lord Romeo’s death?”
“Of course! You must also know that this village is becoming obsolete. The Territory of Slava has gained so much power that there are rumors of it becoming independent. As you know, the source of this power is-“
“Their military, right?”
“That’s right. Dugan focuses on military affairs alone, and ignores us farmers. The one ruling over this village, Logance, also squeezes us dry. They even act violently towards the commoners! We can’t even buy any sorcery guns, so we have no chance of resisting them either!”
It was only natural for the soldiers to have sorcery guns, but they were too expensive for common folk.
A new model could even be worth as much as this house.
“And he built that huge building, just to look down on us from up there……”
I see, Mary thought.
She did think the building was unnecessarily big, and the people also seemed to think the same way about the tower Romeo died in.
It was built to show off his authority, so Dugan’s expectations were met.
“That’s when you showed up, Lady Mary.”
“I’m just taking my revenge-“
“Still!”
The man’s eyes turned bloodshot and he spoke in a stronger tone of voice.
His wife and daughter preparing sweets in the kitchen were surprised by his voice and looked over to him.
“Romeo’s death gave us so much courage! So much hope! Yes, Lady Mary, won’t you lead us after you kill Dugan!? You understand our pain. Please, please!”
“Father, it’s rude to say things like that to Lady Mary!”
“Ami, this is our only chance! I have to do this now, otherwise…..!”
Ami’s father desperately begged Mary as his eyes started tearing up.
(I did have a bad feeling after first talking with Ami, but this is……)
She knew that the wealth disparity in this country was massive.
But, Mary had her own objective.
She wasn’t going to let emotion affect and stop her.
Mary calmly spoke the truth and nothing else.
“I understand how you feel.”
“Lady Mary…..!”
“But, I cannot become a hero.”
“Why!?”
“Because this is revenge. My sister was murdered. That’s why I killed Romeo. And I will also kill the Duke of Slava, who ordered her death. I don’t care what happens to the territory after it loses its ruler.”
“T-That’s so irresponsible……”
“Yes, it is. That’s how murder is.”
This was mean, but she certainly preferred it when compared to being seen like a hero.
Maybe it would be different if she could use these people for her revenge.
But they were farmers.
Even if they respected Mary as a hero, she couldn’t use them for anything but an honorable defeat.
So it was best not to get involved with them.
“So, please don’t expect anything from me. After His Highness Slava is dead, it’s up to you what happens. I’m not going to get involved.”
“But…… another noble will just replace him and do the same things again……”
“Father, don’t look at the princess like that. You’re being rude.”
“But……”
“We don’t have the right to push anything on her.”
Mary was a little surprised at how wise Ami was.
She looked over at Mary, smiled innocently while showing her canine tooth, and said:
“Sorry about my father, ehehe.”
◇◇◇
Afterwards, the father recomposed himself and apologized to Mary.
He apologized for getting too ahead of himself, as Ami said.
Mary wasn’t particularly angry anyhow, because since he gave up, he was surely a good man.
Then, he took the family up on their offer and enjoyed a meal.
It was a stew made using the potatoes from their fields, certainly not elegant nor particularly tasty, but there was a lot of it.
Mary surprised Ami and her family with how quickly she ate.
Mary intended on leaving the village as soon as possible and not bothering the family any longer, but the family had a different idea.
“I wanted to hold a banquet tonight. Please stay over!”
“Everyone will be so happy when they see your face, Lady Mary! Right, mother!?”
“Yes, our food may not be suitable for a princess, but I will do my best. Please.”
The family was in an optimistic, no, a festive mood.
Despite the soldiers outside searching for Mary right now.
“I can’t stay for long. You will be in trouble as well if the soldiers notice that I’m here, won’t you?”
Then, Mary looked at the bruise on Ami’s cheek.
She was laughing, but it probably still hurt pretty badly.
“But we need this! Maybe you can just let them catch a glimpse of you? Please, please!”
“If you really want this so badly……”
It was hard to decide.
The little girl looked at her with tearful eyes, while the father looked disappointed and the mother was kneeling so much that her head touched the ground.
Mary always had a gentle personality.
She was burning with a passion for vengeance, but she could not ignore the request of those who provided her with a meal.
“……I cannot join the banquet.”
“Lady Mary……”
“But, if it’s enough for them to just see me, please bring them here. I will leave the village when it’s over. You can consider this as me repaying the favor…… for the meal.”
“Oh…… that’s enough for us, definitely! Please wait, we will call everyone here right now!”
“Just to make sure, there’s nobody among them who would tell the territory lord my location, right?”
“Of course not! Everybody in this village resents Logance. Noone here would try to butter up to him!”
“In that case, please make sure not to draw much attention.”
“Of course, of course! Ami, mom, let’s hurry up!”
The three of them left the house in a great hurry.
Mary sighed, anxious to see what is behind this, and stared at the scenery outside through the gap in the curtains.
Although only a little, she could see the fields outside.
To the untrained eye – it didn’t seem like fertile ground.
“In running a nation, securing food is the most important issue. Yet both Duke Slava and my father neglect the farmers……”
The country had managed to keep itself running because it hadn’t suffered a major crop failure recently – but when the time came, what were they going to do about it?
Mary suddenly remembered what Francis had told her.
“Yes, I know it’s a problem, too. But there’s no way that man has no idea what he’s doing. I don’t like to admit it, but he’s a cunning man, your father, being a king and all.”
She said this in a self-mocking way.
Mary thought so, too.
“There’s no way he’s not thinking about it. Either he has an alternative, or… what’s the point of building up our military strength if we’re going to make the food problem secondary?”
Either way, all Mary had to do was kill.
But – the presence of military power, which was growing by the day, could be a barrier for her.
It seemed like a good idea to know the reason why.
While she was thinking about this, Ami returned early with the villagers.
“Look, look, it’s the real Lady Mary!”
“Oh…… oh, it’s really Lady Mary…..! Thank you, thank you…..!”
Mary was bewildered by the worship as if she were a god, but in order to fulfill her duty, she began to talk with them.
◇◇◇
“Don’t tell anyone, but Lady Mary is hiding at my house.”
“Really!? The princess who killed Romeo?”
Ami’s father told the neighbors about Mary.
They were all shocked to hear it.
But their eyes started glittering like a child’s right afterwards.
The presence of Mary gave them a hope that their daily struggles crawling at the bottom might come to an end.
“Yeah. You want to meet her too, don’t you?”
“Of course. But it’s a bit difficult right now, can I come later?”
“Lady Mary is going to leave the village soon, so be as quick as possible.”
“O-Okay.”
The middle-aged man Ami’s father saw off after talking to him began running immediately
His eyes were sparkling too.
But, they had a darkness in them.
He frantically kept running, barely breathing, sometimes almost falling, and kept going on an improper road.
“……Hehe, of course. Early bird catches the worm.”
Then, he arrived by the estate of Logance.
A gatekeeper in full armor, seemingly out of place in this era, turned his spear towards the man.
The man raised both arms, and said that he had no hostile intentions.
“Please wait. I’m here to tell Lord Logance the location of Mary!”
The gatekeeper glared at the man’s flirtatious smile, but perhaps after Logance gave the permission, he signaled the man with his head and said ‘come in.’
The man stepped inside the grounds while being led by different soldiers.
He entered the estate, went through a golden door and faced Logance.
The plump man’s fingers were full of clinking rings, he was wearing a fine suit and had blonde hair.
There were a lot of golden decorations, and the man certainly seemed to have an air of vulgar prosperity.
Sitting while crossing his legs, he looked at the man who entered his room and laughed scornfully, ‘hmph.’
“So you know where she is.”
“Y-Yes. She’s hiding at the home of someone named Hedira.”
“I see….. It’s strange, though. Mary, who killed Lord Romeo, is like a savior for you people, is she not?”
“That’s not true! We are only alive by your grace, Lord Logance, and by Lord Dugan’s. Hehe!”
“But, you’re giving me this information because you expect a prize in return. Am I wrong?”
“W-Well…… hehe, if I can get anything, I would like to get it……”
“Hahaha, you’re an honest one. You have no pride, and you’re truly miserable, just as a commoner should be. I really like trash like you.”
“Heh, hehe, hehehehe, t-thank you very much.”
The man kept buttering up to him, even as he was looked down upon and insulted.
He hated Romeo, Logance and the others, just like Ami and her family did.
But he did not see the presence of Mary as salvation like the Hedira family did.
So he decided that he should sell the information for his own gain.
Of course, Logance already knew this.
In his eyes, this man was below livestock; a piece of garbage that abandoned all dignity.
“By the way…… you can use Analyze, at least, right?”
“S-Sorcery? Yes, I can do that much.”
“Use it, and look at me. How much is my sorcery rating?”
“……It says 1574. Heh, hehe, that’s incredible. Of course, you are a noble. You must be a fine sorcerer as well.”
“Indeed, unlike those common soldiers, I possess noble blood. I can use sorcery without using sorcery guns. Like this…”
Logance aimed at the man with the palm of his hand and fired a bullet of light.
It scraped the man’s cheek and burned the wall behind him.
“……Ah, eek!….. Hehe, you do love your jokes, Lord Logance……”
“The light I shoot has the same value as a gold bar.”
“Err…… Huh…..?”
“Don’t you think it’s too good of a prize for you?”
“B-But, wait…”
The second one fired at the man’s face and killed him.
His skin melted in an instant and his flesh burned away.
Having his bones exposed from the neck up, the man fell to the ground without even a dying scream and died.
“Take the trash out, someone!”
A soldier carried the corpse out right after Logance’s order.
Then, Logance gave another order to a different soldier.
“Also, get our special weapon ready.”
“Understood. But that weapon is-“
“All the villagers will die if we use it, right?”
Logance grinned as he showed his white teeth.
“Who cares? Lord Dugan will praise me if Mary dies. I’ll have more than enough after that to make up for our losses. I can get rid of this shitty rural village and build an estate in Captis.”
He had an inferiority complex because of the fact that he had to rule over a declining farm village like this, despite the fact that the territory capital was right in front of his eyes.
His vulgar display of wealth was probably a manifestation of this as well.
“Dozens of victims is a cheap price to pay. They will be my stepping stones and cry about it with joy in the afterlife. Uhihihihi!”
Logance warped his mouth and loudly laughed as his belly shook.