The Daughter of Evil - Volume 4 - Chapter 2.16

chapter 2, section 1-hometown of misgivings; scene 6
Praefacio of Blue, page 68-75

♣ Yukina ~The Country of Marlon, “Freezis Estate/Keel’s Room”~

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“I’ve heard various rumors regarding you,” my father said, leisurely resting his elbows on the desk in front of him.

Germaine was seated with her legs crossed in a slightly impolite manner, facing him.

“I’ve just been traveling.”

He widened his eyes a little at her blunt response. “That so? I heard you raised a racket in Asmodean and Beelzenia.”

“Goodness, seems you’re very well informed of my actions. Nothing less than I’d expect from Keel Freezis.”

When morning came, I’d been summoned to Dad’s room. He and Germaine were already inside.

Gumillia had returned once, but then after breakfast she had left again. My father had ordered the servants to try and detain her, but it seemed she’d successfully snuck out.

There was no sign that King Kyle was coming, so for the time being I guess Dad had decided to hear my and Germaine’s side of the story.

“Although, that’s kind of strange then.”

Germaine cocked her head to the side. It appeared she had some doubts regarding my father knowing her deeds.

“What is?”

“It seemed to me that Kyle went a very long time without knowing my whereabouts.”

He rested his chin in his hands, as though to say “ah…so that’s it”.

“I didn’t bother to pass along any of my information to him.”

Why was that? The two of them were best friends. Why would he keep silent on what his best friend wanted to learn more than anything?

Before I could voice my question, Dad continued speaking. “There were several things that didn’t make sense to me during the revolution five years ago, you see.” Germaine was silent. He leaned forward slightly, and gazed at her. “As one of the interested parties, you probably already know what those are, don’t you?”

Was he talking about the issue with Michaela? In that case, I had obtained an answer during my travels. If he didn’t know the truth, then I would have to tell it to him.

But Germaine turned her face away and replied, “…I know, but I can’t tell you.”

When I had asked her about the incident with Michaela, Germaine had clearly refused. Why was she obscuring her answer now?

Or–was there a different mystery remaining regarding the revolution?

The two of them continued speaking.

“I surmised you might say that. So I kept quiet to Kyle, and did a little investigating on my own. My inquiry into you was one part of that.”

“So then what did you learn from your investigation?”

“Various things, but to bring up the biggest one, it’s that the Empress Dowager Prim and the sorceress Abyss I.R. appear to be involved with Kyle having been manipulated by some sort of power.”

Abyss I.R. Gumillia had mentioned that name too.

“Who is that?” I had been silent, and at that point I first opened my mouth.

“She’s the Empress Dowager’s resident sorceress. Though she doesn’t show herself often publicly.”

According to my father’s explanation, Abyss I.R.’s origins were unknown, but apparently she had been living in Marlon for quite some time. Her name had been seen close to twenty years ago, so they said.

Germaine also listened in with great interest.

“Miss Germaine, have you heard the name Abyss I.R. before?”

“No, this is first time. What kind of scheme is this sorceress dreaming up?”

My father sighed that he didn’t know much himself. “To get involved with her, I would have to more deeply investigate the royal family.”

“I imagine there’s quite a bit of risk in that.”

“So around that point, my investigation had hit a dead end. I had thought that I was fine with not rushing to learn more, but…” My father once again widened his eyes, looking at Germaine and then me. “Then there was the aforementioned turmoil with you two.”

I could tell from the wrinkle of his brow that he was just a little displeased.

Germaine replied with a light tone, whether knowing of my father’s mental state or not, “So you’re saying you’re taking it more seriously now that your daughter’s been wrapped up in all this.”

“I am not an ally of justice.” There was a rapping on the desk. The source of the noise was my father’s right hand. “The investigation itself was just out of a sense of duty as someone involved in the revolution, and a thirst for knowledge.”

“Good grief, like father like daughter–you both like to traipse all over people’s business.”

My father continued speaking, not responding to Germaine’s sarcasm. “As a result, it’s no longer just someone else’s problem.”

“So you called us here hoping to hear the whole story with all the involved parties together.”

Germaine had been able to guess the direction the conversation was going too.

“Um…Papa, I’m sorry. For causing you such trouble.”

When I said the apology that I had been intending to make since yesterday, my father suddenly grew flustered.

“Wh-what-what are you saying? It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault at all, Yukina, no. It’s all Kyle’s fault, for becoming the yes-man to a demon.”

Upon realizing that Germaine was watching our exchange with an unamused expression, Dad cleared his throat and resumed his strong posture.

“Just to confirm.” He once again turned to Germaine. “Is Kyle alright now?”

“You know that yourself to some extent, don’t you?”

“What makes you say that?”

“If he wasn’t, you wouldn’t have sent your son to Lucifenia.”

“…Most impressive.”

It sounded like my father had grasped much more information than I’d thought.

In that case–

“Papa! There are two people that we need you to tell us where they are.”

Dad looked somewhat surprised at my abruptly cutting in.

After prefacing it with, “Assuming I know,” he returned to his usual smile. “Fine. Ask Papa anything.”

First was Ney Phatipe. When I brought up her name, Dad responded without pause, “The head of the Special Maneuvers Task Force, eh? She came into Marlon several days before the rest of you, and was seen heading to Marlon Castle. After that, though, I don’t know.”

So she was in Marlon after all.

“Marlon Castle…I wonder if Kyle’s alright,” Germaine murmured, looking worried.

“Us aside, there’s no reason for Ney to cause harm to King Kyle. It’s unthinkable that anyone would aim for the king’s life inside a castle with so many other people in the first place.”

"I guess…Yeah.”

The anxiety vanished from Germaine’s face.

Mister Kyle and Miss Germaine…The two of them were so hostile with each other until just a short while ago…

A fun, wild idea came to mind, but it vanished for the moment. For now the conversation continued.

“As for the other one…it’s Elluka Clockworker. I thought maybe she’d be in Marlon too.”

This time, a short silence ensued. My father flipped through the documents he had on hand.

“She…” Finally he opened his mouth. “She might be gone.”

“…! What are you saying?”

“Elluka and Gumillia met with Abyss I.R. three years ago. Apparently at the time the two of them had been caught in a trap, and were harshly attacked by Abyss and the Special Maneuvers Task Force.”

“It can’t be…”

I couldn’t imagine that Gumillia and her mentor Elluka would be defeated by her enemy so easily. Was this Abyss I.R. really such a frightening sorceress?

“Gumillia somehow managed to escape, but Elluka was captured.” He told us that after that he was completely in the dark on her movements. “It’s best to be prepared for the fact that she may already be dead.”

Germaine gazed at the Column forest outside the window.

“…Maybe we shouldn’t say that to Master Gumillia.”

My father clapped his hands twice, as though to dispel the heavy air.

“Come, now it’s my turn.” He slightly rose up from his chair. “Let me hear everything you two have experienced.”

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After that Germaine and I told him of the events that had happened since I entered Beelzenia.

Taking some mild artistic licenses with it so he wouldn’t faint, of course.