その時の私は、まさに人生の絶頂期、我が世の春にあった。王国の小さな太陽とうたわれ、眉目秀麗、人望もあり、賢君になること間違いなしと人々が口々に褒め称える王太子。しかも、久しぶりに明らかになった聖女が、私の妃になることが決まったのだ。心優しく、皆から愛される聖女ミアが私の妃など、畏れ多いことこの上ないが、父王をはじめ、重臣たちもこぞってすすめてくれるので、私はありがたく受け入れることにしたのだ
いや、私やミアに余計な口出しをしてくる者もいる。まずはクラウス。
「殿下。聖女様には、神殿でお努めを果たして頂きたいのですが…。聖女様に皆が加護を受けたいと思っています。」
「聖女は舞踏会や茶会の予定が詰まっている。それに、まずは身分の高い者から加護を頂く。神殿での務めは体調を見ながらだな。」
「ですが…」
「うるさいな。魔力のない者は後回しに決まっているだろ。お前は結婚式の準備でもしていろ！」
クラウスは苦々しい顔で引き下がった。昔から私に色々と意見をする奴ではあったが、最近やたらと煩わしく、鬱陶しく感じる。魔力も少ないのに生意気だし、不遜だ。いっそのこと左遷してやろうか。
もう一人はカレンベルク侯爵令嬢。こちらも聖女に神殿で働かせろだの、魔道具に魔力を込めさせろだのと言ってくる。聖女がやりたくないと仰っているのに、働かせるなどもっての他だ。しかも聖女を貶めるような発言や行動も多数報告されている。茶会などで、ミアを公然と苛めているようだ。
エラは私の婚約者候補の一人だった。魔力が非常に高く、優秀で、妃を最有力視されていた。だが、ミアが聖女と分かって以降、その言動は目に余る。自分が妃になれなかったことを妬んでのことだろう。気が強い令嬢だとは思っていたが、ここまで性悪だとは思っていなかった。聖女が現れて本性を現したというところか。心優しい聖女は苛められ、虐げられてすっかり彼女に怯えている。私がお守りしなければ。
彼女の父侯爵や、兄のエリアスも口を揃えて彼女の非業を訴えているのだから間違いはない。彼女は希代の悪女だ。しかも最近はその膨大な魔力をコントロールできていないときがあるという。性悪のエラがあの魔力を暴走させたら、王都が、国が危険だ。私は父王やカレンベルク侯爵をはじめとした重臣たちと相談して、彼女を魔塔に幽閉することにした。
これで、とりあえずは安心だ、そう思っていた矢先のことだった。
王家主催の舞踏会。華やかな装飾に音楽、着飾った人々。このところ頻繁に行われるこういった舞踏会の主役はいつも聖女ミアだ。連日の舞踏会に、下々の者は王家が贅沢をしているだの、浪費だのと口うるさいが、知ったことではない。聖女が望んでいるのだから、やっているのだ。今日も上から下まで新調した煌びやかな宝石やドレスで、聖女は会場の注目を浴びていた。皆が彼女とのダンスを心待ちにしていて、国王すらも例外ではない。私もきちんと順番待ちをしていた。
突然、轟音がして食器やグラスが割れる音がした。テーブルや椅子がふっ飛ぶ。舞踏会の華やかな雰囲気をぶち壊して会場に現れたのは、漆黒の髪を振り乱し、黒い囚人服をまとった一人の女。紫苑の瞳が燃えている。
エラ・フォン・カレンベルク。反逆者が、あの鉄壁の魔塔から脱出してきたのだ。私を、私たちを憎悪に満ちた瞳で睨み付けてくる。彼女の周りに竜巻のような渦が巻く。魔力の量が半端ではない。これは手ごわい、一筋縄ではいかない。咄嗟にそう思った。
会場の外で警備にあたっていたはずのアレクは見当たらない。恐らく簡単にあしらわれてしまったのだろう。力が違い過ぎる。案の定、エリアスの渾身の一撃はにべもなく風の魔法で退けられ、彼の身体は勢いで地面に叩き付けられた。
私は、持てる精一杯の魔力を剣に込め、エラに対峙する。風と剣がぶつかり合う。重みがまるで違う。押し返すのがやっとだ。だが、苦し紛れに出した私の捨て身の攻撃がエラの起こす爆風を切った。その瞬間、ふっと風が止む。私の剣は吸い込まれるようにエラの左胸に突き刺さった。
その瞬間、剣が突き刺さったエラの左胸から眩い光が溢れ出す。剣が光を帯びているように見えたが、その光は辺り一面を覆い、王宮全体、いや王都中を明るく照らした。
光の中で、彼女は穏やかに、笑みさえ浮かべているように見えた。痛みに顔を歪ませることもなく、アメジストの瞳には憎悪の炎ではなく、静かな湖面のような煌めきがある。
その瞳がゆっくりと閉じられ、同時に眩いばかりの光は消えた。
そのとき、私は一瞬にして悟ったのだ。いや、その光に包まれた者皆が悟った。
光を失ったことを。
自分が犯した罪を。
自らの手で聖女を殺めたことを。
ゆっくりと倒れていくエラの身体を受け止める。瑪瑙の肌に指を伸ばす。穏やかに、眠っているかのような表情。優しく微笑んでいるようにすら見える。だが、その身体は、既に氷のように冷たくなっていた。
「う…う゛ぁあああーーー！」
エラの身体を掻き抱き、私は咆哮した。
At that time, I was at the peak of my life, in the spring of my life. The crown prince was the little sun of the kingdom, a man of fine eyebrows, well-liked, and praised by everyone as a man who was sure to become a wise ruler. Moreover, the saint, who had not been revealed to me for a long time, had been chosen to be my queen. It was the most awe-inspiring thing to have Mia, a kind-hearted and beloved saint, as my queen, but my father, the king, and all my chief advisors recommended her to me, so I accepted gratefully.
No, there are those who would meddle with me and Mia. First of all, Klaus.
‘Your Highness. I would like to ask the saints to fulfill their efforts in the temple…. We all want the blessings of the saints.”
The saint has a full schedule of balls and tea ceremonies. Besides, we will receive blessings from those of higher status first. As for the temple duties, we’ll have to see how your physical condition is.
But…
“Shut up. The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you’re going to be doing. You should be getting ready for the wedding!
Klaus withdrew with a bitter look on his face. The most important thing to remember is that you can’t just take a job and expect to get paid for it. I should just send him to the left.
The other is the Marquise of Cullenberg. She, too, wants the saint to work in the temple and to put magic power into her magical tools. The saint said she didn’t want to do it, but it’s outrageous that she should be made to work. Furthermore, there have been many reports of comments and actions that demean the saints. It seems that they openly torment Mia at tea parties.
Ella was one of the candidates for my fiancée. She has very high magical powers, is very talented, and was considered the most likely candidate for queen. However, ever since she found out that Mia was a saint, her behavior has been unacceptable. She was probably jealous that she could not become queen. I had thought she was a strong-minded young lady, but I had not expected her to be this vicious. It was as if she revealed her true nature when the saint appeared. The kind-hearted saint is tormented, abused, and completely frightened of her. I must protect her.
Her father, the Marquis, and her brother, Elias, have all spoken out against her misdeeds, so there is no doubt about it. She is an evil woman of rare caliber. And recently, she has been unable to control her enormous magical power at times. If the evil Ella lets her magic run wild, King’s Landing and the country will be in danger. I consulted with my father, the Marquis of Kallenberg, and other important advisors, and decided to imprison her in the Devil’s Tower.
I thought that this would be a relief for now.
The royal family hosted a ball. The ball was held under the auspices of the royal family, with gorgeous decorations, music, and dressed-up people. The star of these balls, which are held frequently these days, is always the saint Mia. The people below her complain about the extravagance and extravagance of the royal family, but it is of no concern to them. The saint wants to have a ball, so she does. Today, the saint was the center of attention, dressed from top to bottom in new, sparkling jewelry and dresses. Everyone was looking forward to dancing with her, even the king was no exception. I was also waiting my turn properly.
Suddenly, there was a roar and the sound of dishes and glasses breaking. Tables and chairs were blown away. What appeared in the hall, ruining the gorgeous atmosphere of the ball, was a woman with jet-black hair and clad in a black prison uniform. Shion’s eyes blazed.
Ella von Kallenberg. A traitor has escaped from that iron-walled evil tower. She stares at me, at us, with eyes filled with hatred. A tornado-like vortex swirls around her. The amount of magic power is not half as great. This is formidable, not a simple task. I thought so as soon as I saw her.
I couldn’t find Alec, who was supposed to be guarding the outside of the venue. Perhaps he had been easily defeated. Their powers are too different. As expected, Elias’s full force blow was blithely repelled by wind magic, and his body slammed into the ground with a mighty thud.
I put all the magic power I could muster into my sword and faced Ella. The wind and the sword collide. The weights are so different. I can barely push it back. However, my desperate attack, which I launched out of sheer desperation, cut through the blast that Ella had caused. At that moment, the wind suddenly stops. My sword was sucked in and thrust into Ella’s left breast.
At that moment, a dazzling light overflowed from Ella’s left breast, where the sword had pierced. The sword seemed to be bathed in light, and the light covered the entire area, brightly illuminating the entire royal palace, or rather, the entire royal city.
In the light, she seemed calm, even smiling. Her face was not contorted in pain, and her amethyst eyes were not burning with hatred, but gleaming like the surface of a quiet lake.
Those eyes slowly closed, and at the same time, the dazzling light disappeared.
At that moment, I had an instantaneous realization. No, everyone who was enveloped by that light realized.
I had lost the light.
That I had committed a sin.
That I had killed a saint with my own hands.
I catch Ella’s body as it slowly collapses. I reach out my fingers to the agate skin. Her face is calm, as if she is asleep. She even seems to be smiling gently. But her body is already as cold as ice.
“Uu…uu…aaaaahhhhh!”
I roared, clutching Ella’s body.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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