LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Chapter 582
Like the End of a Wonderful Dream
On the first night of the horse match-up, an incident quietly occurred in the Southern Capital.
“Mm… huh?”
It was late at night. Citrina woke up to a noise coming from the hallway.
Tap, tap… it was the sound of hushed footsteps on the floor.
Citrina momentarily suspected it was a Chaos Serpent assassin, but the footsteps passed right by her room.
Judging from the direction, they seemed to be heading outside the building. Recalling the layout of the rooms in the building and picturing the location of the guards she had checked beforehand, Citrina tilted her head in thought.
‘If I think about it, an assassin capable of deceiving the eyes of the Royal Guards wouldn’t make footstep noises loud enough for Rina to hear.’
She then looked at Bel, who was sleeping on the adjacent bed. Citrina smiled wryly at the sight of the blanket that had fallen off, leaving Bel in an unsightly state. She gently covered her with the blanket again.
Then, Citrina quietly opened the door and stuck her head out into the hallway. She caught sight of the back of a girl walking past.
‘That’s…’
The girl with swaying black hair and a dignified posture was none other than Ka Aima.
‘Aima-san, where are you going at this hour?’
Aima headed out of the building, peering around restlessly. Citrina, feeling uneasy, slipped on a blanket over her nightgown and quietly sneaked out of the room.
Perhaps she was using her wild instincts, as there were no guards in the direction Aima headed. Mia’s absence, due to her participation in the horse match-up, had led to their forces being divided. Additionally, the guards were positioned to prevent intrusions from the outside, not to stop anyone from leaving. As a result, it was surprisingly easy to get outside.
‘Ludwig-san must be busy arranging guards for Mia-sama. If Dion Alaia were here, he would surely have noticed and put a stop to it, but he too is with Mia-sama.’
With those thoughts on her mind, Citrina quietly followed Aima. Aima had exited the building without any trouble and appeared to be headed towards the stables.
‘Perhaps Aima-san is planning to leave by herself?’
At that moment, several figures appeared in front of Aima.
“Oh? Aima-san? What’s the matter? Why are you out at this time of the night?”
Under the moonlight, her long hair swaying beautifully, stood Rafina Orca Belluga.
“Saint Rafina… What are you doing here?”
Upon hearing Aima’s suspicious tone, Rafina gave a gentle smile.
“I was praying for Mia-san’s victory.”
Suddenly, Citrina noticed the figure of someone behind her. It was Lin Malong, who was probably acting as her escort.
‘Rafina-sama, if you’re with Malong-senpai in the middle of the night like this, it’s likely to invite misunderstandings… But, it looks like Belluga’s attendant is also with you, so I guess it’s fine?’
Tilting her head slightly, Citrina decided to observe the situation.
“Now, to return the question, what are you doing, Aima-san?”
“That’s… well, that’s right. I was planning to go on a long ride…”
“Alone at this hour?”
Rafina looked at Aima sceptically.
“Well, a long night ride is quite enjoyable, right? That’s what Miss Rafina did the other day too…”
“Malong-san…”
For some reason, Citrina felt goosebumps rise up her spine. Rafina turned towards Malong with a cool smile on her face. Observing her from behind, Citrina sensed an indescribable aura of intimidation.
Finally, Malong realised and said,
“Oh, that’s right. It was supposed to be a secret. Hahaha.”
‘That’s not right! Isn’t it bad to reveal that it’s a secret?’ Citrina thought to herself.
“Malong-san!”
Rafina screamed. The intimidating tone from earlier was gone, and she sounded like an embarrassed young girl.
It seemed like something was going on between them, but setting that aside…
Rafina cleared her throat softly.
“Aima-san, perhaps you are planning to go out on your own?”
The quiet question made Aima clench her fist.
“I know that Princess Mia is putting her life on the line for us. That’s why I can’t just stay still and do nothing.”
Slowly raising her head, Aima continued.
“Watching the exchanges at the Clan Chiefs’ meeting… no, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. If my brother and I weren’t here, the Fire Clan could easily be accepted by the Equestrian Kingdom. The issue is the technique to control wolves. But that is not something everyone can use. Only my brother, the Clan Chief, and I have mastery of it. So, if…”
“Aima-san, do you think that if you take the wolf and leave the Fire Clan, everything will be resolved?”
Rafina’s question was flat, almost emotionless. Whether she noticed it or not, Aima chose to ignore it and continued speaking.
“All the members of the Fire Clan are very kind. They won’t drive me out, and they will try to protect me. But I can’t take advantage of their kindness. The surest way to resolve this issue is for me to leave.”
“Hey, that’s…”
When Malong tried to interject, Rafina stopped him with a hand gesture and shook her head slightly.
“That’s unfortunate, Aima-san. I thought you were Mia-san’s good friend.”
Rafina sighed and then glared at Aima.
“If you were a true friend, you wouldn’t doubt Mia-san’s victory, would you? At least I believe in Mia-san, as her true friend.”
In Rafina’s mind, Mia had been elevated to an exalted existence, but there was no one there to point it out.
“It is not a matter of winning or losing. Placing our fate on Princess Mia’s shoulders is causing her unnecessary burden.”
“You don’t want to cause trouble for your friend, is that what you mean?”
Rafina interrupted Aima, who bit her lip in frustration, and continued to speak in a stern tone.
“But that’s just to make yourself feel better. It’s simply running away. It’s disrespectful to both Mia-san and to the Fire Clan, who are trying to protect you.”
“But…”
“It’s fine. Mia-san will definitely not lose. If you consider her your friend, you should believe in her. And if you think you’ve caused her trouble, then you can help her next time. Aren’t friends supposed to help each other?”
Rafina spoke in a firm and unwavering voice.
‘Good. It looks like Rafina-sama will sort this out nicely…’
Watching the exchange, Citrina breathed a sigh of relief. If Rafina hadn’t shown up, she probably wouldn’t have been able to convince Aima.
Citrina thought that Aima’s judgement was correct.
‘After all, if Aima-san and the wolf are gone, the Fire Clan could return to the Equestrian Kingdom without any problems. There would be no need for Mia-sama to push herself any further.’
So, rather, Citrina felt that she ought to support Aima’s decision. That was probably the rational way of thinking, but…
‘I see. So it would be fine if Rina decided to stop Aima-san… That is because of Mia-sama’s presence. For what Mia-sama is trying to do, that is the right thing… So, it’s okay for Rina to make a compassionate decision.’
Citrina felt happy to be able to stay in such a gentle and warm world. Perhaps that’s why she failed to notice the presence approaching from behind. Suddenly, she was grabbed and held down.
“Mmph!?”
A cloth was pressed simultaneously over her mouth and nose. As soon as she detected the sweet, dangerous scent, Citrina realised its true identity.
‘Ah, this is bad…’
She flailed her arms and legs in panic, but soon her body turned numb, and she lost all strength.
“Mmph… mmph…”
She struggled in vain, and finally, her knees gave way. She felt light-headed, as if she were drunk, her consciousness floating and swaying.
‘Bel-chan!’
She tried to call out, but no sound emerged.
“Well, well, I never thought I’d find a traitor in a place like this. What a bother. I’m not good at dealing with kids.”
The voice crept into her hazy thoughts like a cunning, poisonous serpent.
“Well, the Serpent Priestess is very good at using people, so I’m sure she’ll use even a traitor without wasting a single strand of hair. It would be best to carry the goods carefully to avoid any damage.”
Her consciousness fading, Citrina sank into the darkness as she heard those words.
It was like the end of a wonderful dream.