Chapter 39.1
—What a beautiful soul.
The moment she heard that voice, Bianca stood up.
(No way…! That was the voice of a spirit, wasn’t it…!?) (Bianca)
That voice wasn’t the same as the other ones. It was a noble and elegant voice, like the voice of a woman.
“Neh-sama, that voice, right now—wait, your hand, is–!” – Said Leo, as he tried to bring the little princess’ attention to her own bandaged hand.
However, Bianca wasn’t paying attention to anything around her anymore–
“Follow me, Leonora! I’m sure that voice came from over there! And it’s probably the Lady of the Lake!” – Said Bianca, as she started walking in the direction of the mysterious voice she heard earlier.
–The little princess was so excited to finally be of use to something, that she even forgot about her tired legs and just kept walking forward–
“!!!!!!”
“!!!!!!”
–Until she reached her objective: a clearing with a beautiful lake in the center.
Leo and Bianca were quite stunned by that sight, after all, this place was leagues above the gloomy forest behind them.
The surface of the lake was like a delicate mirror; it was reflecting the light of the sun and enveloping the whole place in an almost holy light.
Without a doubt, this was the home of the Lady of the Lake.
“What a beautiful place….” (Bianca)
“Un….” (Leo)
Even though Bianca didn’t know why the Lady of the Lake was so angry, she still wanted to apologize to her on behalf of the other students who, somehow, evoked the wrath of the spirits living in the forest. So, with her little sister in tow, Bianca pressed forth towards the shore.
Once they reached the shore, Bianca took a deep breath, and said–
“–My name is Bianca von Weizsäcker and I’m the representative of the students who stepped into your domain. Please, reveal yourself to me, O Lady of the Lake.”
However, right after she said that, Bianca realized that she had made a mistake.
According to what Gustav had taught them, the spirits would only speak with you, if you spoke to them in Elandic, which wasn’t Bianca’s area of expertise, so she glanced to the side. When it came to Elandic, Leonora was much more fluent in that idiom than her, so she decided it’d best to ask for help.
“Hey, hmm, Leonora… could I ask you to, please, translate my words to the Lady of the Lake? I’m not that good at speaking in Elandic, so… can you please help me?”
“I can, but… I don’t know, if I’ll be, able to, translate everything. Is that, okay with you, Neh-sama?”
“It’s okay. I just want to apologize for what happened back at the camp. Besides, apologizing in Elandic is better than apologizing in Weiz anyway.”
Apologizing in Elandic was, without a doubt, the right decision, but giving that job to Leo was, unfortunately, another mistake on Bianca’s part, since he was more worried about getting the Lady of the Lake’s blessing, than the apology itself.
“Well then, let’s restart. My name is Bianca von Weizsäcker and I’m the representative of the students who stepped into your domain. And the one standing by my side is Leonora von Harkenberg, my best friend. Please, reveal yourself to us, O Lady of the Lake.”
After she finished her part, Bianca looked to the side, prompting her little sister–or rather, Leo, to repeat exactly what she just said–
[Good day to you, M’lady. This girl here is Bianca von Weizsäcker, the representative of the people who stepped into your domain. And I’m Leonora von Harkenberg, her best friend–oh, by the way, my hobby is counting copper coins. Please, could you reveal your ethereal beauty to us, O Lady of the Lake.]
–However, instead of just repeating what she said, Leo decided to add a lot of things to her introduction, just to give a good impression of them to the Lady of the Lake–
(Breaking the ice is the basic of every negotiation!)
–But Bianca didn’t even notice a thing, since she wasn’t fluent in Elandic.
There was a moment of silence right after Leo said that, but the lake soon started showing signs that the master of the place had head them.
The water around the center of the lake started rising, forming a giant water pillar that overtook the clouds… and from within that giant pillar, came out a woman.
(Tl/n: I’m not sure if that’s really her, but the depiction fits perfectly, so I’ll use it. BTW, this is the cover of the fourth book.)
Her figure was nothing short of perfection. She was wearing a light blue dress that enhanced her purity, her eyes were as blue as the sky itself and her hair was as pale as the moonlight that illuminated the darkest of nights.
Without a doubt, she was Carnelian… the Lady of the Lake.
It was the second time that she witnessed something like this, however, the little princess couldn’t help but stare at the Great Spirit of Water in pure awe… and fear.
Carnelian’s holy aura was overwhelming Bianca–
—To what do I owe this sudden visit from you two?
–Not to mention that she was speaking directly to their brains, which made the little princess feel even more overwhelmed, after all, she could still understand what the Lady of the Lake was saying, even though she was clearly speaking in an unknown tongue.
“F-forgiveness… w-we’re here to beg for your forgiveness.” – Said Bianca, in a shaky tone.
Her legs were almost giving up from the fear… however, that wasn’t the case for the little girl standing next to her–
[We’re here to beg for your blessing, M’lady!]
–Leo was clearly not bothered by Carnelian’s holy aura. At all. So, instead of cowering in fear, he used that opportunity to start the negotiations behind Bianca’s back.
—What…?
Carnelian was genuinely confused. She wasn’t expecting to hear such a shameless request. But because of Bianca’s current mental state, she thought that the Goddess standing in front of her was probably angry because of her request. So she kneeled down in a hurry to show that she was being submissive–
“I-I know I’m probably being rude, b-but please, could you at least spare the lives of the other students? I-I promise that they won’t do anything to anger you again.”
–Which Leo quickly followed suit.
[I know we can make this deal work, so how about I give you some gold coins in exchange for your blessing? …No? Then maybe I can convert some believers for you? Well, if that isn’t enough, then maybe I can do both… if you want, of course.]
To Leo, giving money and believers to the other party was better than just a promise, so he did his best to tickle Carnelian’s heart with her innermost desires–
—Enough with that. Those sweet words will not work on me, child. Just tell me what is your objective in coming here.
–However, that didn’t work. She was a much tougher opponent than Leo expected. But Bianca didn’t know what was going on, so she joined her hands in a praying stance and begged again.
“P-please, I’m begging you! Spare the lives of the other students! They didn’t know what they were doing!”
[Our people are suffering from the water shortage! The poor can barely even buy food! So please, help us stabilize the market!]
At this point, Leo had already stopped translating what Bianca was saying. He was just blurting out his own desires, like that was the most normal thing to do in front of a God. However, instead of getting angry, Carnelian let out a hearty laugh.
—Alright then. Those strong emotions are what I love about your kind, so I do not mind granting those kinds of wishes.
When they heard that, Leo and Bianca quickly glanced at each-other with happy smiles on their faces… however, Carnelian wasn’t over yet.
—However, you have to understand that I shall not grant that wish for free. My condition is that you must say my real name, if you want my help.
That’s the moment that Leo was waiting for. He already knew her name, so that test was a piece of cake for him. But before he could say anything, Carnelian raised her right arm with a mean smile–
—But first, you have to survive the baptism of the lake!
–When she swung down her arm, the entire lake engulfed the two of them.
“Mmmmm!!!” – Screamed Bianca, as she desperately tried hold onto something.
However, the water current that Carnelian summoned was too strong, so she soon found herself being dragged by that raging current.
On the other hand though–
(What is this water!? This is so good! It’s better than anything I’ve ever drank before! A rich noble would probably pay a lot of gold just have a sip of this!)
–Leo was just calmly appraising the water, like there was nothing happening.
The raging currents kept dragging the two towards the center of the lake, where a giant whirlpool was waiting for them.
When he saw that, Leo finally started to panic. He was fairly good at swimming, so he did his best to get away from it… but that was to no avail.
The two of them were being dragged to the bottom of the lake and they couldn’t do anything about that.
On the edge of her line of sight, Bianca could see that her little sister was also struggling against the current. The little princess wanted to help Leonora, so she tried to grab her arm… but she couldn’t reach her. She was powerless. She couldn’t do anything. It was so frustrating, that she almost started crying.
However, at that time–
—Well, well, look at what we have here. It seems like the First Princess of the Empire can’t even help a friend.
–Bianca heard Natalia’s voice.
(N-Natalia Nee-sama!?)
She tried to look for the voice’s owner… but she was alone. There was just void all around her.
However, as if not caring about her distress, another voice spoke up.
—I’m sorry, Bianca… but I guess you’ll remain in my shadow for the rest of your life, after all, you’re the most useless princess of all time.
The owner of that voice was Albert, but, contrary to his bright tone, the words he spoke were really cruel.
(No…! Onii-sama would never say something like that!)
From then on, the voices only became worse.
Gustav made fun of her in front of everyone.
Oscar laughed at her inability of making friends.
They were staring at her with those fake smiles… again.
—Ha! You call that a princess?
They were throwing fake compliments at her… again.
—She’s so useless compared to her brother.
Everything was fake.
(No! Stop! Don’t say that!)
Even though she was trying to be more useful, no one really cared about her.
Even though she was doing her best, no one paid attention to her
—Are you really doing your best?
(I am!)
—Really? Because, to me, it seems like you’re just jealous of her.
(I’m not jealous!)
—Then why aren’t you trying to help her?
When she heard that, Bianca finally realized that those cruel voices were, in fact, her own voice. She was the one torturing herself.
However, soon after she came back to her senses, the little princess noticed that she couldn’t breathe–
“Mmmmm!!!”
–So she reached out towards the surface of the lake… only to see her own bandaged hand. Leonora was the one who did that. She used her own clothes to bandage Bianca’s hand.
—I got, a lot of things, from Bianca-sama.
This time, the little girl’s beautiful voice echoed in her head. Her voice was warm and kind, like a mother’s hug.
—I also like, your hair, and your smile, Bianca-sama.
Leonora was the only friend who ever treated her like a person, instead of just a princess. Yes, Bianca was no match to her, but just because she was royalty, it didn’t mean she had to be better than Leonora. Everyone had their own weaknesses and strengths… Bianca just had to find hers.
(That’s right! I made a promise with her—!)
As the little princess emerged from the lake, she gasped loudly for air—
“—And I don’t plan on going back on my word anytime soon! So don’t you dare think you can break my resolve with mere water!”
—And shouted that.
However, as if to throw a bucket of cold water over her heated statement–
“Shut up!”
–A captivating manly voice echoed throughout the place.
(No way… that voice-!?)
Bianca quickly turned to the side and saw Gustav standing by the lakeshore. His clothes were disheveled and he was glistening with sweat, which was a sign that he ran all the way here.
[In the name of Gustav Schneider, the Holy Knight, I beg thee, O spirit of the lake, please, release those innocent girls!]
The little princess couldn’t understand a word of what Gustav was saying, but she knew it was probably Elandic, after all, as soon as he said that, her body started floating towards the shore.
(Haaah∼, we’re saved…)
Bianca was relieved.
With Gustav here, now they would be able to go back to the camp… or so she thought.
When Bianca turned around to look for Leonora, the little girl was still floating above the lake, instead of being sent to the shore with her.
“Leonora…!”
However, there was something odd about her. She wasn’t struggling… it was like she was in a trance.
Leonora then extended her right hand forward, as if to grab something, and said–
“–Car… sama…….”
“!!!!!!”
At that moment, Bianca realized that she wasn’t the only one who was having those hallucinations. Just like her, Leonora was also hearing those cruel voices.
“She’s*… calling me….” (*Tl/n: The original was, it’s calling me = the voice is calling me, so I changed it to she’s calling me, since it makes more sense in English.)
“No! Don’t listen to those voices, Leonora! They’re just hallucinations!”
“She’s… by my side….” (Tl/n: Same thing.)
“Be strong, Leonora von Harkenberg! I know you can fight back!”
“Please, Leonora, don’t listen to those voices!”
Bianca and Gustav were desperate. Of all things, the lake was showing Leonora an illusion of her own deceased mother.
Gustav even thought about jumping into the lake to go save her, but breaking the ritual of baptism was too dangerous.
There was nothing that they could do.
“We’ll be together… forever….”
As she said those words, Leonora’s body sunk back into the lake.
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