Roselia’s gaze clung to my face, refusing to let go. After watching me for a long, quiet moment, she finally spoke in a remarkably calm voice.

“Father. I will contact you again soon.”

“…Very well, Roselia. Stay strong.”

The drunken duke vanished the instant the blue light faded. Only she and I remained in the empty room. I pressed my head against the wall, desperate to conceal even the slightest shift in my expression.

Roselia continued to observe my every move. Then, raising a hand, she rubbed at her reddened eyes.

“I’m sorry. You had to see me like that.”

No matter how much she rubbed, the tear stains would not fade easily. The aftershocks of her crying must have still been lodged like a bruise in her chest, yet she regained her composure with remarkable speed.

“You heard it too, Lope. The situation has become rather complicated.”

“It seems that way.”

“I’m not sure how to explain it to Lena. She’s been having a hard time lately as well.”

“She’ll find out soon enough.”

“I just hope she won’t be too shocked.”

A smile had already returned to her lips, though it was clearly manufactured rather than natural. The voice that slipped through carried a trace of forced playfulness.

“Still, it sounds like the ship will come, Lope. Isn’t that good?”

“I don’t think I received any guarantee that I could board it.”

“He said it didn’t matter either way, didn’t he? I can talk him around if I just explain things properly.”

Was she trying to say that everything hinged on her? The implicit message was, unsurprisingly, true. A ship belonging to the Roselia family would mean that the right of passage remained hers even up to the day of arrival.

What a headache. Meanwhile, she was slowly walking toward me.

“Hey, Lope. You know that question I asked earlier. About what you’d have to do if you took my side. I think I can answer that now.”

“What is it?”

“You wouldn’t have to do anything. Just stay by my side.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re worth it.”

Roselia had closed the distance until she stood right before me. My reflection was caught in her eyes, which shone with a pitiful light like a cat’s.

“The truth is, when you’re in a situation like this, you need someone to protect your heart, not just your body. Someone capable of emotional connection. Not fools like Baron or Rus, who have nothing but sex and food on their minds all day long.”

“So you need a plaything.”

“Don’t use such frightening words. I’m tired of hearing things like that. And I’m tired of constantly being put in these situations.”

“…”

“Stay by my side, Lope. Be my emotional anchor.”

She extended her hand toward me. Fresh tears welled at the corners of her eyes, crystal clear. Before the apocalypse, I could never have imagined such a sight.

But I stepped aside, avoiding her hand. And I answered without emotion.

“Roselia.”

“Yes?”

“I’m not an elf.”

“…”

As if I had struck a nerve, Roselia’s hand stopped midair. But she maintained that characteristic smile.

“Why are you being like that, Lope? That’s not what I was trying to say.”

“Don’t waste your time, Roselia. And don’t exhaust yourself with nonsense. I’m not an elf. I don’t have exceptional physical abilities, and both my parents were human. The reason I was a loner was mostly because of you.”

“But you’re so handsome, just like a half-elf. Isn’t it possible you had an elf somewhere among your relatives?”

“No. Not at all.”

“You don’t know that. There could have been an elf among your ancestors.”

Despite my firm denial, Roselia merely smiled. All the while, her eyes continued to scan my body from head to toe. As if she were dissecting the person called Lope piece by piece.

Then her wandering gaze fixed on a single point. Still wearing that smile, Roselia spoke slowly.

“By the way, Lope. Can I ask you something?”

“What.”

“You. Since when did you start wearing gloves?”

“…”

This time it was my turn to fall silent. But I soon raised my hand casually and answered calmly.

“Gloves are essential for standard swordsmanship. You wouldn’t know since you never bothered attending swordsmanship classes.”

“Is that so? But there could be another reason.”

“There isn’t.”

“Haha…”

She suddenly let out a small laugh. This time it wasn’t manufactured—it was a self-deprecating laugh at the absurdity of the situation. After laughing for a while, she abruptly lowered her voice.

“Lope. Can we stop now?”

“Stop what.”

“The meaningless lies. We both know we’re lying to each other.”

“I haven’t been lying.”

“Let’s not fool each other when we both know better. You and I can see through flimsy lies like these in an instant by now.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And you may not have paid attention in magic class, but…”

A blue aura suddenly rose around Roselia. Shrouded in faint mana like mist, she gave a faint smile.

“Seeing through cloth that thin is the most basic of the basics in magic.”

“…!”

In that instant, I drew my sword. The biting cold blade was aimed at her eyes in a flash.

“Ugh…”

Only then did Roselia take a step back. This must have been the first time in her life she’d had a sword pointed at her. But the mana gathering around her showed no sign of dissipating.

“…Don’t do anything pointless. You can’t actually cut me.”

“You think I can’t?”

“Of course not. You need me to get off this island.”

“Don’t worry. I only need to cut out your tongue. The duke has already promised to take me aboard, so I just need to make sure you can’t say anything unnecessary.”

“…”

The vivid cruelty pierced through her arrogance. But she was not the type to be broken by something like this.

“Even without limbs, communication is still possible. If you lay a hand on me, I’ll make sure you never board that ship.”

“Then I’ll cut off your limbs too. And your eyes if necessary. I’ll just tell the duke I rescued you from being tortured, and that will be the end of it.”

“I’m sorry, but magical communication is possible. We learned that in our very first class, so you haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“Then I’ll just carry your corpse. If the duke truly loves you, that alone will be enough to earn his gratitude.”

The lowered blade now pointed at her throat. Yet her resolve did not waver.

“It’ll rot before the ship arrives. There’s no salt or ice to be found on this island.”

“Preserve it with magic.”

“You don’t know how. All bluff.”

“I just need to find someone who can.”

“You say that as if you already know such a person. Lena would never do it for you. Do you have other companions?”

“That’s…”

“No. Don’t answer. I had already suspected as much. Otherwise, you would have had no reason to hesitate when I first made my offer. You needed time to think because you weren’t alone. Isn’t that right?”

Damn it…

She was too clever. No, perhaps cunning was the better word. It was a common enough mistake in this world for intelligence to nest inside wickedness.

While I remained silent, Roselia casually reached for the tip of my blade. Then, slowly pushing it downward, she whispered.

“Don’t do this, Lope.”

“…”

“I’ll take all your companions aboard. So just hand over the marks. It might sound selfish, but my family must survive. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of all humanity.”

“Are you telling me to just give up my life?”

“Father will certainly compensate you for the marks. Every treasure remaining in the ducal house. And beautiful women you’d never find on an island like this. He might even build you a bunker. If you’re lucky, you might survive there too.”

“You know as well as I do that’s absurd.”

“I know. But Lope…”

Roselia grabbed the blade itself with her bare hand. The sharp metal sliced through her tender skin, and crimson blood trickled down. The noble lady of the academy offered her blood to a lowly commoner and pleaded with tears.

“Still. It’s better than dying on this godforsaken island, isn’t it?”

“…”

I gripped the sword tightly. Its tip still pointed at Roselia’s throat. But a blade I couldn’t bring myself to swing no longer felt so sharp.

Just how much did Roselia know? The existence of the marks. Their location. Could she possibly know the count as well?

No. She didn’t seem to know the number yet. Having never seen the marks, she might have assumed the three together were one.

If I promised to hand over just one, could I end this wretched situation?

With anyone else, it might have been a viable alternative. But Roselia’s greed knew no bounds. If there were three, she would want three. If there were four, she would want all four. Unlike me, she had too many people she needed to save.

Above all, I doubted I could keep the existence of three marks hidden forever. Even if I boarded the ship, the moment she discovered that Saya had one too, she would surely try to take it as well.

Absolutely. I could not act according to her wishes.

“Let’s go. We’ll continue this conversation after.”

“Let’s go, you say.”

“We’re leaving as quietly as we came. Don’t even think about opening your mouth unnecessarily.”

“…Haha.”

Roselia smiled softly at my proposal. It was as serene as could be, yet that smile always carried an undercurrent of unease.

“I’ve thought so for a while, but you have excellent situational awareness. After all, once you drag me outside, you can seize control. Isn’t that right?”

“It doesn’t seem like a bad deal for you either. You’ve already received confirmation that an escape vessel is coming. Why stay here?”

“Of course. It might not look like it, but I still have some standing here. Duke is too preoccupied with Lena to pay much attention to this side of things.”

“Don’t be stubborn. Follow me. Quietly.”

“I actually love this situation. The one being held at weapon-point is the one doing the threatening. Sorry, but from this moment on, you’ll have to stay with me, Lope.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“No. It will. You know that, Lope.”

Roselia blew a light kiss in my direction. Then, without warning, she reached toward the window.

“I’m a crazy bitch.”

“You—!”

In that instant, mana surged around her hand. Before I could react, a blinding flash shot forth. The light passed through the window and rocketed into the heart of the night sky in an instant.

And then, with a deafening roar, it exploded.

Bang!!!

“Roselia!”

The light of creation forcibly woke the dawn that had not yet arrived. The world outside the window turned white in an instant, and incomprehensible shouts erupted sporadically. The sleeping academy was waking up all at once.

Roselia watched the scene and smiled. It was the same expression she used to wear when she stomped on my hand, before the world turned upside down.

“People will come swarming soon. Even you can’t take on the entire academy. If you don’t want trouble, follow me. Right now, I am your only way out.”

“You…”

“I know. Lope.”

Roselia tilted her head slightly. Then, pressing her lips to the raised tip of my blade, she whispered.

“I love you too.”