1/2 Bonus chapter thanks to @whytho from Ko-fi!
After listening to Armel and Quinie’s conversation, I looked into the incident from 13 years ago.
Even back then, Kora went berserk and attacked the Viet family. The only survivor of that incident, aside from Armel who caused it, was Quinie.
Excluding those who had left the mansion due to assignments, missions, vacations, and other reasons, everyone from the family was killed.
As a result, there were no more eyewitnesses to the incident, which ironically allowed Kora to stay by Quinie’s side all this time.
In that case, conversely.
How did Quinie survive? Why was she the only one left unharmed when everyone else died?
Who stopped Kora’s rampage?
I realized something strange while investigating the incident from 13 years ago.
The Roach family had been acquainted with the Viet family from the very beginning. Before Quinie became the head of the family, when her father Armel was still in charge.
At that time, Enfer had been on his way back from an imperial summons. I suppose it was a stroke of luck for Quinie.
…And he was accompanied by none other than the young Frondier.
Sensing something amiss with the Viet household, Enfer rushed to the scene and managed to stop Kora’s rampage.
As I’ve been studying the ancient language that Frondier had learned, some of his memories have also seeped into my mind. However, my recollection of the incident was hazy.
Perhaps because it had been so long and he was still young, Frondier’s own memories were vague. He must have been around four years old at the time.
Enfer didn’t injure Kora. Of course, he didn’t have an antidote or anything like that.
But now, I know how he managed to subdue her.
‘That’s how you did it, Enfer.’
I put on a mask to change my face to that of a young Enfer and approached Kora with Excalibur in hand.
After consuming the Dragon Heart, I poured almost all of Penelope’s fabric, into Excalibur.
Kwaaaaaa-!
Excalibur boiled with a torrent of mana, already holding a wind close to a typhoon, and whirled around. The hand holding it trembled violently. My clothes and hair fluttered so much that I worried the mask might come off.
The ground around me cracked with a sound, and as I slowly moved, dust particles rose and then seemed to collapse.
Recalling how Excalibur had obliterated the Tyburn’s barrier.
Now, wielding Excalibur incorrectly could be no different from dropping a nuclear bomb.
Krrrrrrr-
I faced Kora, who was bristling with fur and growling. There’s not a trace of reason left in Kora now. There’s no chance to inject a sedative. I don’t know how to restore Kora’s reason.
And probably Enfer didn’t know a way either.
“Kora.”
I directed the tip of the sword towards Kora. All the magic contained in the sword targeted Kora.
I won’t persuade to Kora’s reason.
I appeal to her instinct, the wildness of her White Tiger form. Enfer did it with Gram and his dignity.
But since I’m far from enough, I borrow the power of Excalibur.
“Shut your mouth.”
If the current Kora really has nothing but wildness left,
She would well know what to do in front of the logic of power.
* * *
By the time Frondier directed the tip of his sword at Kora, all the teachers of Constel had already arrived at the scene.
On the rooftop, behind the building, on the way to school, in the trees, etc. They watched Frondier and Kora from their respective positions at a certain distance.
Of course, Principal Osprey was there too.
“Enfer?”
He was also surprised when he first saw Frondier’s face. Among Constel’s teachers, only Malia and Osprey knew Enfer’s face when he was younger.
“No, that can’t be.”
Naturally, there was no way that the young Enfer was the real Enfer, so Osprey kept an eye on Frondier.
Who would dare to take on Enfer’s face and act like him? In normal circumstances, he would have been called a crazy bastard with no regard for his life.
However. At this moment, an aura stronger and more formidable than the young Enfer was emanating from him.
To be exact, it was from the sword in his hand.
“…Excalibur.”
A young Enfer wielding the Excalibur. A picture he had never imagined appeared before his eyes as reality.
Osprey focused magical energy in his eyes. The man wore a fairly expensive mask. It was not easy to see through, but someone like Osprey could see the general outline.
“…No, that man is.”
Osprey’s expression changed.
“…Principal, what should we do?”
A teacher standing next to him said. Osprey shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“…What do you mean?”
“It’ll be over soon.”
At that moment, someone’s scream was heard nearby.
When Osprey looked down, he saw a man lying down. Teacher Malia and Jane were already restraining him. Quinie, who was holding a fan nearby, was also visible.
“This is crazy! Trying to deal with the irrational Kora! She’s of the White Tiger bloodline! Do you think such coercion would work!”
The man yelled out loud as if possessed by an evil spirit.
Osprey snorted.
“Seems like that method only works because he’s irrational. Look, that White Tiger is incomplete. It’s not yet an adult. Looks like there’s other blood mixed in, too; it’s a half-breed.”
Kora’s instincts must be kicking in right now.
This overwhelming mana before her eyes…If she makes a mistake, she’ll definitely die. She surely knows that better than anyone.
Above all else,
Even a real White Tiger would be terrified if it saw that much mana about to explode right at it.
Clank, clank.
The man with Enfer’s face walked slowly. The White Tiger stayed still. It stopped making angry noises, and its raised fur slowly fell.
Osprey examined the man’s attire. He wore the uniform of the Constel, Enfer’s face, and wielded Excalibur. On top of that, there was the enormous amount of mana he could feel, and the glowing cloth he held in his left hand. Each one of those was something Osprey couldn’t just ignore.
‘…Especially that glowing cloth. It’s gradually getting smaller.’
The cloth he was holding in his left hand got smaller and smaller until Osprey couldn’t see it clearly anymore. He could only see that his left hand was still glowing, so the cloth must still be there.
However, just when the glow was about to disappear, when it seemed like the cloth would completely vanish,
“Ack!”
The man stumbled. The enormous mana of the Excalibur he was holding wavered. At that sight, the White Tiger’s eyes flashed again and its fur stood on end.
But.
Whoosh-
The man stabbed something into the White Tiger’s neck. It was a syringe. Swish, the syringe’s liquid was injected and the White Tiger’s focus wavered.
Thud-
The White Tiger was so large that even its collapse seemed heavy and ponderous. Slowly, its fur receded and its size gradually diminished. It meant it was returning to human form.