Chapter 5
Uwoooooo.
Uwoooooooo.
Uwoooooooooooooo…
The urgent cry I let out rode the mountain breeze, carrying far, far away.
Maybe it was because the village was surrounded by tall mountains—
it echoed like a perfect “Yoo-hoo!” shouted from a peak.
Or maybe it only felt that way because no one else was talking.
I slowly opened my eyes and glanced around.
“…”
“…?”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, every gaze was fixed squarely on me.
People who, just moments ago, had been locked in a grim discussion now wore uniformly vacant expressions.
“Gasp.”
This kind of attention might be a bit excessive.
If I could save Mom, I’d do far worse than this.
I rolled my eyes toward the floating scroll.
Progress: still stuck at one percent.
Just as I thought.
Unless Mom shouted “To the Imperial Palace!” the side story wouldn’t begin.
Which meant—if I could keep her from going, she wouldn’t die, and the world wouldn’t end.
“What’s wrong, Cece?”
“Are you hurt?”
Mom and Dad Harzen, shaking off their daze, looked at me with concern.
Good, I’d gotten their attention.
Now to drive the nail in.
If I could ride this wave, I might separate Mom from Count Leonard—even if only for a while.
“Mommy.”
I slipped down from Dad Harzen’s arms, grabbed Mom’s hem, and gazed up at her with big, round eyes.
“There are too many people here. I’m scared.”
“So that’s why you screamed, Cece?”
“That wasn’t a scream just now—it was practically a battle cry. I thought—♪♬—some monster had shown up,” Dad Kyle muttered, shivering his shoulders.
I shot him a sidelong glare, then returned to my most pitiful expression.
I was the Puss in Boots right now.
No one alive could withstand my gaze.
Trembling lip… glassy eyes…
“Indeed—”
Perhaps my desperate look had struck home.
Dad’s blue eyes swept the surroundings before he spoke.
“It’s an environment that could frighten a child. If all you wanted was our cooperation, you needn’t have brought so many soldiers.”
Count Leonard swallowed hard before answering.
“I believe I already explained this earlier.”
“You’ve already given your answer?”
“The Emperor commanded that if you refused, we were to bring you in by force, no matter what.”
“Force?”
Harzen gave a cold, derisive laugh.
“With that many troops?”
“…Even if you are Duke Einhalt, we will not tolerate further insults to our soldiers.”
Jesus Christ, holy moly.
I was trying to stop the end of the world—now it looked like I might cause the fall of the Empire instead!
“Mom, Daaaad.”
I hurriedly reached out, clutching my father’s leg.
“That scary man is scary, and you’re scary too. I want to go hoooome.”
These big, burly men needed to be quarantined from each other.
Permanently, if possible.
“Why don’t you go inside with your dads first, Cece? Mommy will come in right after I finish talking—”
“No! I can’t be without you, Mommy!”
Mom was the most important one here!
“Cici.”
Her voice sharpened as she called my name.
Looks like there was only one method left.
I’d resolved to be a well-mannered, sensible seven-year-old from now on…
Sigh… guess I’ve got no choice.
For just this moment, filial Cece would have to be set aside.
I lay down on the ground, and—
“Noooooooo!!!”
—kicked my legs wildly.
“Those scary men tried to hurt Mommy earlier! They’re bad men! No!”
How about that?
This was the tantrum of a very bad seven-year-old!
“Oh, this is embarrassing. Oh…”
Kyle covered his face with one hand, turning away.
Finally, Derrick strode over toward me.
“Naughty behavior.”
He scooped me up mid-kick—
“Stop.”
—only for Harzen’s icy voice to cut in.
“This is the first time the child has shown such dislike, isn’t it?”
“…”
“And for someone who’s come asking for help, your courtesy leaves much to be desired.”
“That is—”
“For today, withdraw.”
He lifted his chin, eyes sharp.
“It’s too sudden a proposal to accept on the spot. We need time to think.”
“But—”
“Or do you plan to subdue us by force?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a massive magic circle flared above the soldiers’ heads.
“…I’ll return at this time tomorrow. Alone.”
Count Leonard took a step back, clearly unwilling but left with no choice.
I checked the scroll again—progress still at one percent—and sighed.
Good. At least the side story wasn’t starting today…
“And Cecilia.”
That glacial voice rolled down from above.
“Come inside. We need to talk.”
Looked like it was time to pay the price for my terrible seven-year-old act.
Once we were home, I got it.
Not just scolded—thoroughly scolded.
Ugh… exhausting.
Being told off by four people at once made my soul feel like it had flown right out of me.
“Cici.”
After the lecture, while I sat in my room trying to think my way out of tomorrow, a voice slipped in through the cracked door.
“Still sulking?”
I turned toward it.
As expected, my parents were standing there.
They must’ve felt guilty after chewing me out so much.
Like little sausages strung in a row.
“They did go a bit overboard, though. One verse would’ve been enough—they had to go to the second and third,” Kyle grumbled.
“That’s not it.”
I shook my head, rejecting his excuse.
The four of them circled around my bed.
“Doesn’t look like ‘not it’ to me.”
“Our princess is still pouting, isn’t she?”
That wasn’t because I’d been scolded—
it was because tomorrow looked bleak.
Actually… this is a good chance.
Might as well try persuading Mom now.
“Mom.”
As soon as I’d decided, I fixed my gaze on her and asked slowly—
“Are you going to the Imperial Palace?”
“Well…”
“Can’t you not go?”
I couldn’t tell her the real reason, but it was important.
“How am I supposed to live without you? Hm? Hm?”
“You can live with your dads, can’t you?”
“Dad Harzen won’t be here either.”
So she was planning to leave me with those two?
Seriously? Really?
“…”
Mom pursed her lips, eyes shifting.
“What, what’s wrong with us? Got a problem?”
“Plenty of problems.”
“Hey, that’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
Mom exhaled slowly, then began speaking again.
“Cici. You want Mommy to live a long, long time, right?”
“Mhm.”
Of course, Mom.
That’s exactly why I was trying so hard to stop her.
“There’s someone who wants Mommy to live a long time too. But that person is very sick right now.”
Gasp. Using the “put yourself in their shoes” parenting trick?
That left me speechless.
“They might be lying.”
“And if they’re not?”
“…”
“I’ll be back really soon. If you listen to your dads, I’ll return in less than ten nights.”
She held out her pinky finger toward me.
I stared at it.
If I made that promise here, Mom’s life could be in danger.
But promise or not, she wasn’t going to change her mind.
Because my mom—though terrifying to bad ♬♪ types—
was someone who always wanted to save lives.
A thoroughly selfless person.
Still… just this once, I wish she wasn’t such a good person.
I rolled my eyes toward the scroll.
Progress until full activation: 0.5%
Half a percent.
Was this thing mocking me?!
“Grr… fine. No choice.”
I pursed my lips and looked at Mom.
In that case… Plan B it is.
Pink-Haired Heroine Protection Squad
Spoiler:
If only someone else had been in the Imperial Palace at that time,
this ♩♬ of an ending might never have happened.
And I’d happened to read that right after coming back to my room.
