As soon as we entered the temporary meeting room in Celesta’s dormitory, an oddly awkward atmosphere hung over the entire space. Celesta looked startled when our eyes met, and for some reason, Agnes was quietly staring off into the distance, avoiding eye contact.

Ethan, well, he still blushed whenever our eyes met, so it didn’t seem too different from usual.

I wondered if it was just me sensing something off, so I subtly glanced at Bolt’s expression, and it seemed he had noticed the strange atmosphere as well.

“What happened? Why does everyone seem so uncomfortable…?”

“…There’s more important work to do first. What about verifying the truth of what Lillis said?”

“Oh, that? It was all true. Prince McHart did indeed attack Lillis, and he is truly connected to the demons.”

“I see….”

“…So it was true after all.”

Celesta and Agnes, who still harbored some doubts, nodded as if Bolt’s statement had confirmed everything for them.

Given that Bolt had confidently taken me outside to verify the truth with his “holy sword,” it might seem like a natural conclusion. But the fact that neither Celesta nor Agnes noticed that the story about the holy sword was a lie just showed how naive they were.

Or perhaps the idea of lying in the presence of a weapon blessed by the gods was so irreverent that it never crossed their minds. Of course, Bolt, who had lied to me without a shred of guilt, clearly had no such reservations.

“Honestly, Lillis never struck me as someone who would lie. Still, I felt it was worth confirming, just in case. Lillis doesn’t seem like the type to lie, after all.”

“…If you’re trying to win Lillis over with obvious flattery, I’d suggest you stop. Claiming you trusted her all along after supposedly verifying it with your holy sword only makes you look foolish. I never once doubted Lillis.”

“Lord Ethan?”

“…Ahem.”

Ethan’s response seemed more guarded than before, though I couldn’t quite understand why.

“So, what do we do now?”

“What else? There’s only one conclusion to draw.”

“We’ll have to fight Prince McHart, won’t we….”

Celesta, who had no qualms about confronting monsters or demons, didn’t look pleased at the thought of fighting a human, especially a prince.

In the standard storyline, most of the enemies were either monsters or demons, and there were only one or two human villains. For someone as gentle as Celesta, it was natural to react this way when it came to the idea of killing a human, especially a prince.

However, we couldn’t afford to exclude Celesta from the upcoming battle with McHart, as we’d need all available forces. I’d have to leave it to Bolt to comfort her later after we dealt with the immediate threat.

“Since we need to come up with a concrete plan, I must ask everyone here not to speak a word of this conversation outside of this room.”

“Of course.”

“…Got it.”

“I understand.”

“…Y-Yes!”

“Even if you think someone else might be able to help, you must not let this information leak. Please keep that in mind.”

If it were anyone else, it might not matter, but what we were planning was nothing short of a royal assassination. If word got out, everyone here would be branded as traitors, and their entire families could be at risk.

Not only did we have to keep this secret from Seraphine, a member of the royal family, but also from people like Natalie or Thomas, who were currently allies of the protagonist. They might misunderstand and think the protagonist was being manipulated by me, which could cause even more problems.

The only people we could truly trust, who were also valuable assets in this situation, were Agnes, Ethan, and Bolt.

“The first step is to lure Prince McHart out.”

“We can’t exactly have a sword fight in the middle of the academy or the royal palace.”

“And from what I remember of my encounter with Prince McHart, his demonic magic doesn’t seem well-suited for fighting multiple people.”

“…What kind of magic was it?”

“He grabbed my wrist and suddenly transported me to a strange, dark space. A small circle of light surrounded Prince McHart in the center, and shadows enveloped the area, blocking my escape and gripping my ankles.”

To be honest, I was itching to explain everything about McHart’s abilities and how to counter them. But if I, who had only been attacked once, suddenly knew more than I should, it would raise suspicions. It could even make my recent near-assassination by Prince McHart seem suspicious.

So, I opted to give a detailed description while leaving the others to figure out the magic’s nature and how to counter it. This way, I could share the information without arousing suspicion. With a magic genius like Agnes present, I trusted she’d interpret it correctly.

“The fact that you were dragged into a dark space the moment he grabbed your wrist does suggest demonic magic.”

“How can you be so sure, Lady Blaze?”

“Demons wield mysterious powers, using strange magic that operates on completely different principles from ordinary magic. It’s likely that the magic Prince McHart used was pre-stored in his body. Demons can store magic within their bodies and activate it under certain conditions.”

“Indeed, the Snow Witch we fought in the north used a similar ability! She was said to be the third-ranked officer among the seven elite soldiers under one of the Four Knights serving the Demon King…”

…Is that really a position where one would bother introducing themselves?

I almost laughed at the thought of a demon who was the equivalent of a fourth-grade civil servant in terms of rank introducing themselves like that. The fact that Celesta remembered it was impressive in its own way.

“Anyway, unlike ordinary magic, demonic magic comes with activation conditions due to its unique nature. The magic McHart used likely required grabbing someone’s wrist to activate.”

“It seems it would be difficult to use in the middle of a battle, then. Offering your wrist to your opponent during a fight is practically an admission of defeat.”

“Yes. But it’s undeniably dangerous magic for assassination or one-on-one situations. He can pull someone into his domain as long as he grabs their wrist.”

“It might not be easy to use in a general fight, but I imagine McHart could easily take advantage of his status and appearance to use it.”

Once the discussion shifted to magic, Agnes enthusiastically shared her expertise, with Bolt smoothly jumping in to keep the conversation on track.

Of course, Bolt already knew about McHart’s abilities and how to counter them, so he was now subtly dropping hints for the others, pretending to piece it together.

If Bolt really was ‘PureLoveSavior,’ as he claimed, he would have already completed the McHart battle guide.

“The problem is proving that Prince McHart is using demonic power. Even if we succeed in taking him down, if we can’t prove his connection to the demons, we’ll be branded as traitors.”

“…I’ve heard that there are ways to extract evidence of demonic power from a demon’s corpse, but would that work?”

“It seems that McHart hasn’t fully transformed into a demon yet. The time it takes for a person’s body to fully assimilate with demonic power varies. We have two options. One is to wait until his body fully assimilates with demonic power, and the other…”

The discussion about how to take down McHart and prove his demonic ties continued for quite some time. During the three-hour-long meeting, Ethan absentmindedly looked at me and muttered quietly.

“Now that I think about it… it’s possible that the recently missing noblewomen are related to him too.”

“…You’re right. We might be able to find their whereabouts after dealing with Prince McHart.”

“……”

“L-Lord Ethan?”

While discussing the missing noblewomen, Ethan suddenly looked at me with a sorrowful gaze. Then, as if overcome with emotion, he took my hand tightly and quietly sobbed.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Lillis.”

“Yes, thank you…”

“I swear, I’ll tear that McHart scum limb from limb. I’ll expose all his ties to the demons and destroy his reputation.”

“Um, could you please let go of my hand now? The others are watching…”

Especially since Bolt is watching.

As Ethan tightly held my hands and cried, seemingly genuinely worried about me, Bolt stood off to the side with a smug grin, as if he were watching an amusing spectacle.

…If he weren’t the hero, I’d seriously punch him in the face.