TEWMD Chapter 08

Chapter 8

It was definitely the child’s presence.

Even the faint magical energy around her was unmistakably Cecilia’s.

Besides, when he had opened the door a moment ago, hadn’t he clearly seen Cecilia’s figure?

Then why?

Why was this strange object neatly placed on the bed instead of Cecilia?

“Why are you just standing there…? What the ♬♩ is this?!”

Kyle, who had followed Derek into the room, also saw the scene and immediately started swearing.

So this was…

“This is the prototype of my ‘Skip Class Project.’”

Kyle immediately recognized the object and opened his eyes wide.

“Wow, this thing still works? I made it when I was attending the academy because I didn’t want to attend classes.”

“……”

“Even though this thing looks small and ♬♪ ugly, it actually works pretty well. It can temporarily create an illusion, copy the user’s usual habits, and even give off the user’s unique mana. At a glance, even a professor wouldn’t notice the difference… Wait.”

Kyle, who had been excitedly explaining the invention, suddenly stopped.

“Why is something that should be in my laboratory here?”

“Idiot.”

Derek muttered quietly.

Then he picked up a piece of paper lying neatly beside the pile of scrap metal.

The paper said:

Dads, stay here.

Cici is going with Mommy!

Bye!

The words were written in crooked, childish handwriting.

…She was going with Mommy?

With Yuria?

“♬♩.”

After reading the note, Kyle looked completely stunned.

He quickly turned toward the window.

There was already nothing outside.

The Imperial soldiers who had surrounded the house.

That annoying count.

That even more annoying Harzen Walker.

Even Yuria and Cecilia were gone.

“♪♬……”

Another stunned string of censored swearing echoed through the room.

Then…

“No, ♬♪, what kind of ♪♬♩♪♩♬♪—!”

This time, an even more colorful collection of musical notes filled the room like a roar.

But it was only an echo in a room whose owner had already left.

The dads must have found the letter by now.

I deliberately made a few spelling mistakes.

If my spelling suddenly became perfect overnight, that might look suspicious.

Anyway.

I am Cecilia Miller.

Codename: Cici.

Initial mission complete.

Progress remaining until full activation: Unable to measure due to an error.

I looked at the window floating in front of me and shrugged.

Hehe.

I really managed to change things just by getting involved!

I’m a genius!

This probably isn’t the end, so I still need to keep making plans.

But I’ll think about that after I safely reach the Imperial Palace.

I looked away from the scroll and examined the scenery that had suddenly changed.

The first thing I noticed was actually the huge number of soldiers wearing armor.

I guess we teleported pretty far inside.

I quietly slipped out from between the silver-armored soldiers.

Unlike the wide plains in front of our house, there was now a thick forest surrounding us.

Magic really is amazing.

A spell that could instantly teleport every living creature within a certain area!

Dad Harzen had said that only someone like him could use magic on this scale.

And it could even teleport carriages and luggage along with the people.

It was basically a revolutionary invention in the history of magic.

“I feel like I can still hear Blake’s swearing in my ears.”

Dad Harzen put one arm behind his neck and muttered tiredly.

Well, he had just teleported this many people at once, so of course he was tired…

“And it seems I used more mana than I expected.”

He can even calculate that?

I tightly grabbed the edge of the Invisibility Cloak and widened my eyes.

Dad Derek was scary.

Dad Harzen was scary too.

My dads really are terrifying.

“The Imperial Capital is surrounded by barriers, so teleportation isn’t possible from here. It would be better to continue by carriage.”

Count Rionard bowed his head slightly as he spoke.

Dad Harzen arrogantly raised his chin.

“You mean the barrier that could break at any moment?”

“Duke Einhalt.”

“There is no need to be so cautious. There is no reason for me to break it right now.”

“…The two of you should travel by carriage.”

Count Rionard pointed toward the carriage.

He looked like he had aged ten years in just those few seconds.

I quickly followed behind Mom and Dad Harzen.

After walking for a little while…

I saw a magnificent carriage over their shoulders.

A white carriage!

As expected of an Imperial Palace carriage.

It looked completely different from ordinary ones.

If I had seen this carriage before remembering my past life, my dream probably would have become becoming an Imperial Palace carriage.

“Cici would have loved this.”

Maybe Mom was thinking the same thing.

She quietly said this as she climbed into the carriage.

I followed closely behind her and carefully climbed the steps.

Good.

This time too, I’ll get in without being noticed—

“Then I’ll close the door.”

Oh no!

The door suddenly slammed shut.

The force sent me rolling all the way into the carriage.

I quickly grabbed my dizzy head and awkwardly sat up.

Fortunately, the Invisibility Cloak prevented me from making a loud noise.

That was close.

I almost ruined everything at the very end!

“Didn’t you hear something strange just now?”

Mom tilted her head slightly.

Dad Harzen answered coldly.

“Perhaps the carriage is old.”

He still clearly wasn’t happy about this situation.

I sat down in a corner of the carriage and pulled my knees close to myself.

This was clearly a very nice carriage.

And he called it old?

This is what happens when you’re imperial royalty!

“Old? It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden in such a nice carriage.”

Mom gently ran her fingers over the velvet seat.

“When we left the Imperial Capital, I never thought I’d ride in a carriage like this again.”

“You promised that you would never set foot in the Imperial Capital again.”

Dad Harzen slowly closed and opened his eyes as he replied.

I rolled my eyes around and carefully listened to their conversation.

For some reason, I felt like this conversation would be important for what happened later.

“…Things were not good back then.”

Mom looked out the window and continued slowly.

“At that time, leaving the Imperial Capital was the best choice we could make.”

“It is still the same now.”

I understood what they meant and nodded.

In the original story, the original Yuria Miller, before my mother possessed her body, had been infamous as a villainess in the Imperial Capital.

Of course, she wasn’t actually evil.

You know how it is.

When someone doesn’t fit your standards, people tend to avoid them first and judge them afterward.

The original Yuria Miller had been like that.

She was flashy and stood out from everyone else.

She was also very different from what society considered normal.

And even after Mom possessed her body, she was still like that.

Anyway, after defeating the Demon King and saving the world, Yuria gained the support of the people.

But…

That actually made the nobles hate her even more.

The people who spread rumors that Yuria was a villainess were none other than the nobles of the Imperial Capital who were jealous of her.

And once she gained great achievements and the support of the people, their jealousy naturally became even stronger.

That was why Yuria chose to leave the Imperial Capital.

I thought that would be the end of it.

They would live happily ever after.

At least, that’s what I thought was a pretty happy ending.

But then this happened.

“Still, things are much better than they were a few years ago. Shion even returned to the Imperial Knights—”

“He didn’t return. He was dragged back.”

Dad Harzen gave a cold laugh.

“The hero who defeated the Demon King, the greatest Sword Master of his generation, is still working as the Emperor’s dog. What excellent propaganda.”

“If that were really their intention, they would have called all five of us back…”

“If all five of us gathered together, our presence would overshadow that great Emperor’s glory. How could they possibly allow us to gather?”

“……”

“It’s probably for the same reason they always send Shion Owen to the harsh border regions. They probably hope he will die gloriously there.”

How could they do that?!

This was something that had never appeared in the original story.

Even I didn’t know about it.

I was so shocked that my mouth fell open.

Why is everyone so determined to make our family miserable?!

Dad Harzen was always negative whenever he talked about the Imperial Palace, so I couldn’t completely trust what he said.

But it was also true that there was probably no one who knew the Imperial Palace better than him.

Even if this is true, Shion Dad probably won’t die.

After all, if he’s going to help destroy the world, he needs to stay alive first!

Besides, who in the world could actually kill Dad Shion?

But Mom was different.

Mom was incredibly strong too.

Still, she was much softer-hearted than my dads.

If someone manipulated her emotions and took advantage of her kindness, even Mom could have a hard time dealing with it.

“Anyway, I hope we can return without anything going wrong.”

A faint smile appeared on Mom’s lips.

“Cici will be waiting for me.”

Mommy, stay strong.

Cici is here.

And I’m right beside you.

“Looks like we’re almost there.”

Soon, a huge castle appeared outside the carriage window.

At that moment, with a cheerful ding, another scroll suddenly appeared in front of me.

The problem that prevented progress from being measured due to an error has been fixed.

Progress remaining until full activation: 5%

I knew this wasn’t going to be the end.

But…

Already?!