The Daughter of Evil - Volume 3 - Chapter 2.13

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Chapter 2, Section 1-Footprints of the Evil Food Eater; Scene 3
Praeludium of Red, page 77-86

♣ Yukina ~In the Beelzenian Empire, “The Graveyard Before the Garrison”~

Chartette and I walked along the road through the graveyard.

You needed to go through here no matter where in Beelzenia you were headed, if you started from the garrison.

If it had been a clear day out there wouldn’t be anything special about the place, but as today was unfortunately foggy, the dim light brought about an indescribable eeriness in the graveyard.

“Is that soldier that you were talking to earlier another one of your subordinates, Miss Chartette?”

I spoke to Chartette to distract myself from my fear.

“Yep. Although he’s patrollin’ the checkpoint right now, yannow.”

“Is there something going on at the checkpoint?”

After making a moody expression, Chartette averted her eyes from me. “Yeah. I’d like to tell ya, but it’s confidential military business, so…”

If it was confidential then there was no helping it. Military regulations were absolute to them. But then, there were people who were diligent about that, and those who were unexpectedly irresponsible about it.

“Sorry.”

“Haha, I don’t mind,” I replied with a smile.

“…There just might be a full-fledged fight about to start with the Lucifenian army nearby, yannow…”

I hadn’t seen any sign of conflict between the Beelzenian and Lucifenian armies since arriving in Rucolebeni–since I’d been in Retasan, strictly speaking.

Perhaps that was caused by the internal affairs in both countries, or maybe there was some political strategy going on. In either case, generally speaking I had little way of knowing what it was in more depth, not being a member of either countries. I didn’t need to know, either.

But the soldiers of the Langley Unit were all good-natured people, and in Lucifenia I’d been looked after by Lily and the soldiers in the Retasan Fortress. I had no wish to see them all fight and kill each other.

Chartette abruptly stopped, and whispered, “…Hold up, Yukina.”

“What’s wrong, Miss Chartette?”

Chartette picked up a branch at her feet without answering my question, flinging it towards a spot deep in the fog. I couldn’t see clearly, but there appeared to be something there.

“What a distasteful place you’re living in, Chartette.” The voice that came back to us seemed young, and feminine. “Ah, you know what? When you die, there’ll be graves right nearby for you. If you look at it that way, I guess this place is pretty convenient, haha.”

She quietly drew closer to us. She wore a blue longcoat and a mantle.

Is that a Marlon military uniform? Why is there a Marlon soldier in a place like this?

Her hair, wrapped in a long side-ponytail, was very beautiful. She was smiling, but there was certainly no suggestion of friendship in it; rather, it had an overpowering hostility.

I quickly hid behind Chartette.

There’s nothing to worry about–Miss Chartette won’t lose to a foe like that!

Even as I thought that, Chartette’s back was shaking a great deal.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!?

But it seemed that fear was not the source of her trembling.

“…What are you doing here?”

Were they acquaintances? I asked Chartette.

“She’s a workmate from long ago…when I was a maid, yannow,” she replied.

Chartette having once served as a maid attendant on the princess in Lucifenia was something that I’d only just heard from the person herself earlier.

“We two who once played with Princess Riliane at the palace five years ago are now facing each other again as soldiers. I’ll never understand this world of ours…Kyahaha!”

The girl in the Marlon military uniform laughed maniacally.

“So it was you who killed the border guard and invaded at dawn today. Why would you do something like that!?” Chartette cried, voice suffused with anger.

“Why?” The other girl tilted her head to the side mockingly, expression unchanging.

“Right now we’re in an armistice. Even a Marlon soldier can get in the country, assumin’ they go through the proper channels, yannow.” I myself had considerable pains getting into the country, and I wasn’t even a soldier, but I didn’t interject. This wasn’t the time to point that out. “You don’t need ta use such rough tactics, yannow…”

The girl in the Marlon uniform interrupted Chartette’s sentence. “That’s why! I came here to pronounce an end to the armistice!”

Chartette gazed upon the other girl who talked with a strangely exalted speaking style, and muttered, “…Yer personality’s changed so much since I last saw ya…”

“By the way.”

The Marlon girl suddenly moved her gaze from Chartette to me.

It was like she had only just now realized I was there.

“Who’s that cute little girl you’ve got with you? …Have we met somewhere before?”

I did feel as though I’d seen her face before, long ago, but…I couldn’t remember. She was a soldier, so maybe she was from the Retasan Fortress? But I had no memory of catching sight of her during my time in Retasan.

“My apologies. I don’t quite recall.”

It wasn’t good to put on any pretension. I confessed honestly.

“Ah, I see. Well then, let me introduce myself~” It seemed she didn’t care about my response either way. “I am the head of the Marlon Special Maneuvers Task Force that was dispatched to Retasan Fortress, Ney Phatipe. Pleeeased to meet you.”

“Ah–Thank you for the polite introduction. I myself am…”

Chartette interrupted as I was about to tell her my name.

“Anyway! If yer sayin’ the armistice is over, then you better get outta here right now, yannow! If you stay, I’ll have to beat you up, yannow!”

“You’ll beat me up unarmed, huh?”

It was true that Chartette wasn’t carrying a weapon right now.

In fact, I’d never seen her carry one.

“My fists are all I need, yannow!”

“Oh, is that right? You trained yourself in that, didn’t you? Then you’re going to try to kill me, eh? Just like you did the head maid…just like you did my mother!”

The smile vanished from Ney’s face.

That’s right, Phatipe. I recognized her surname. It was the name of one of the Three Heroes, Mariam Phatipe, who Chartette bested in the “Battle of the Heavenly Yard”. If Ney Phatipe was her real name, then that must mean she was Mariam’s daughter.

“Th-that’s not true, yannow. I wasn’t the one who killed the head maid! …I think.”

According to documents that recorded what happened, Chartette had won in one-on-one combat against Mariam, but as she hadn’t delivered the killing blow, Mariam escaped. Her corpse had been discovered after the revolution was over, stabbed in the back….That’s how it was thought to have happened.

If Chartette’s weapon was her gauntlets, than that would mean that the stab wound on her corpse was done by someone else.

I didn’t know if Ney wasn’t aware of that, or if she knew and said it on purpose to unsettle her.

Ney smiled once more.

“Haha, I’m just kidding, Chartette. I know you didn’t kill her. Because I’m the one who did it.”

“Wha–!?”

Chartette cried out in surprise, clearly shocked by what she was saying. Then she stiffened, as though frozen.

Ney continued speaking, not minding Chartette.

“Well, I don’t care about that. This is our long-awaited reunion after all. Let’s have a drink. I picked up a good wine in town earlier.”

She suddenly took out a wine bottle and glass.

The conversation had gotten so off track that I couldn’t follow with what was what. Chartette seemed to be in the same position, just looking on in bafflement.

“Oh no! This won’t dooo! I only have a glass for me. Well then, I guess I’ll be drinking alone.” Ney skillfully undid the cork on the bottle with one hand. “Chartette, you’ll have to drink later with Allen.”

“…? But Miss, my name isn’t Allen.”

Ney ignored me, pouring wine into the glass.

“Well then, a T O A S T”

Then, after filling the glass to the brim, she raised it overhead…

And dumped it on the ground without drinking it.

“…?”

I couldn’t grasp the significance of her actions for a moment.

But a strange event occurred immediately afterwards.

“UUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNHHHHH!”

There was an indescribable low noise, sounding like a moan or subterranean rumbling.

Gravestones swayed all over, and then the ground began to rise unnaturally.

Was this…some form of spell!?