How to Raise a Villainess

Chapter 95: Cracks of convergence. (12)

Alice gently stroke the girl’s hair as she looked at the closed door. The reports she’d received indicated that he would arrive today, as efficient and quick as always. She was still clad in the dress she wore to the investiture, a dress that had been many years in the making, just waiting for the day it could knock him out. The flickering lights of the candles danced across her face, her eyes occasionally turning as she thought back to the end of the investiture.

Gabriel had left to join the investigation, and slowly but surely the evidence came rolling in. Well, the witnesses kept dying one after the other, but it didn’t matter much since all the relevant evidence was found. Alice naturally stayed behind and had already finished working out a deal with the emperor and ducal households, the terms she offered meant that they would have to be fools to reject it.

And then, after a while, only a few hours after the first pieces of evidence started to roll in, an attendant bowed in front of her.

“Countess Vritara, the Crown Princess requests your presence so I would be greatly honored if you would please follow me.”

Abigail. Well, Alice had expected that Abigail would call upon her sooner rather than later. Back when the two of them first met, Abigail had warned Alice that she should not trust anyone who looked like Gabriel. For years, Alice had played along, never mentioning her lovely knight. But it was inevitable, the truth would come to light sooner or later. And in the end, it was this investiture where Abigail learned the truth.

“Of course. Please, lead the way.”

Alice placed her glass of champagne on the tray of a servant that walked by and followed the attendant with a curious mindset. She would have to be a fool to not know that Abigail clearly knew something out of the ordinary, otherwise she wouldn’t have warned Alice about both Gabriel and her family.

The warning about her family, especially Leonardo and Francis, could be considered somewhat reasonable if you just knew the personalities of her family members. But that point could also be rendered moot if she simply factored in their ages at the time, they should be too young to consider things like that.

And then there was the warning about Gabriel, which quite frankly could only be considered nonsensical. Warning her about someone she had supposedly not yet encountered but may meet in the future? Seemingly already well aware of their methods and thoughts? It was nonsensical. That was, if you excluded the notion of precognition. Naturally, most people would discard an idea like this, precognition was not something in the realm of humans.

But Alice never did discard it. It made sense of some of the things that Gabriel and Abigail had done over the years, it shed light on some of the knowledge they had shown. Yes, she was sure of it, the two of them knew the future, or at least parts of it. She had been waiting quite patiently, was it finally time for her to get some answers?

——

“Thank you for coming. You may leave us.”

The voice Abigail used to dismiss the servant was rather heavy, almost drawling as she spat it out with a weary breath. There was a familiar scent hanging in the air, just barely tickling Alice’s nose. Blood had been spilt here recently.

Abigail looked normal, if exceedingly pale. But Alice could tell that some of her make-up had become smudged. Around her ears, around her eyes, beneath her lips, around her fingertips. Was she the one who did the bleeding? Had the blood poured from her orifices?

“Alice, I can see the future.”

While Alice was quietly investigating Abigail’s appearance, the girl herself dropped a nonsensical statement as one would a greeting. Alice’s eyes narrowed slightly, observing Abigail’s demeanor.

It was slightly… strange. Her shoulders looked as if she had shed a heavy burden that had been weighing down on them, and yet it looked as if a gargantuan weight had placed itself on top of her head. If Alice had to put it to words then it looked as if Abigail was on the verge of collapsing under her own weight.

“It started quite a few years ago, before I even met you actually. At first, it came to me as I slept, broken scenes scattered throughout my dreams. Then they started to invade my thoughts while I was still awake, like terrible premonitions.”

Abigail was resting on a couch as she spoke, a languid air suffusing her very being. She just looked tired, like someone who wanted to sleep yet could not, always just one more task to do. But more than that, she looked… Hurt, lonely.

“It’s never just one vision, the future isn’t set in stone like that. No, it’s possibilities upon possibilities, hundreds of different outcomes. And yet… They all end in tragedy. Hundreds, thousands, millions, they all die time and time again. No matter how I look at it, no matter how I try to change the possible outcomes, they all just keep dying.”

Abigail honestly looked weary as she spoke, as if each death had become a shackle that wound around her legs. Forget seeing it in visions, she looked more like someone who had actually been forced to live through it all. But well, Abigail kept talking so Alice was fine with remaining silent and letting her spill it all.

“It’s Az… Gabriel. Always. Every time. When a country falls, he’s at the center of it. When the world burns, he’s the flame that ignites it. No matter the future, he keeps bringing it to an end. I looked for hundreds of different ways to stop him, but he always seems to find a way. The world always burns in the end.”

Abigail’s eyes flickered as she spoke, the flames of a nearby candle reflected in her amber pupils. Shadows danced within the fire, reflecting a scene only she could see.

“And then there’s you. Poor Alice. Abused Alice. Abandoned Alice. He always takes advantage of you, the unparalleled magician. The one-woman army who can take down countries if she tries hard enough. You’re always such a useful tool for him. Be it because you’re lonely, be it because you’re abused and vulnerable, be it because of your unrequited love for Caine, he always finds a way to worm himself into your heart and use you.”

Alice’s eyebrows ticked up for a moment as Abigail spoke. The things she said, they were starting to line up with something she had experienced. On the way back from the Barong territory, she had a nightmare. She dragged a much older Caine through the ruins of the Vritara mansion as they overlooked the burning city, a cracked sky as fire rained down.

The her in that dream, Alice could still taste the sickening feelings she had when she looked at the Caine in the dream. Just recalling it made her stomach churn. And in that dream, Caine spoke of simply trying again. Another time, another life.

Everything burned in that dream. Fire fell from the sky, and fire poured out of her. Thinking back to that dream, she could still feel that last lingering sensation. The strings had burned, it was time for the marionette to fall.

A strange nightmare, Abigail’s visions of the future, Alice did not believe that they were unrelated. Teresa had also spoken of several strange things after returning, the things she had seen and felt while out on her mission. They were similar to Alice’s nightmare. Were they too visions of a possible future?

What a sickening thought. Were those supposed to be futures for them?

Abigail didn’t seem to realize that Alice’s eyes were wandering, her gaze trapped in the flickering flames as her thumb rose to her mouth, her teeth nibbling on its tip.

“He’s always lying to you, Alice, just like I warned you back then. From his first words to his last, everything he says is to deceive you, to use you. There are no emotions inside that thing, it’s just a husk, strings of spite and malice causing it to jump and dance like a puppet.”

Alice’s mouth felt slightly dry as Abigail spoke. If she used magic and moved at her fastest speed, would she be able to pluck out her tongue and tear off her head before the guards outside could stop her? Would she be able to escape the palace before the emperor and his men could detain her? Hmmm…

Hmmm….

Hmmm…

It wasn’t impossible…

Ah, but Gabriel might complain. They had just gone through all the trouble of getting their titles and settling things publicly like this, it would be a waste to throw it away immediately. She’d just have to do something later instead.

“It’s all cracking, Alice. The hundreds, if not thousands, of possible futures are all trying to impose themselves as the true one. They’re all converging in one spot, the here and now, and everything is cracking as a result, time itself groaning under the immense stress. If one of the possible futures isn’t chosen as the proper one and the rest pruned then I dread to imagine what may happen.”

Abigail still did not realize what Alice was thinking, it was as if her soul was trapped within the flickering flames.

“There is still hope for you in the possible futures, but that thing is beyond saving. You cannot believe that thing, Alice, you cannot follow that thing. The greater your hope and trust, the deeper your despair. He will use you, and then he will abandoned you. And if he doesn’t abandon you, then he will drag you to hell.”

Abigail let out a long and heavy breath as she finally freed her eyes from the dancing fire. Her gaze was slightly dim as it landed on Alice, the veins in her eyes protruding slightly as they filled with a bit of blood.

“Alice… Please help me. Help me and Caine so that we can finally get the best future, let us finally bring peace and an end to the visions.”

Alice locked eyes with Abigail for a moment, the two girls looking at each other, observing the other. Eventually, Alice opened her mouth to speak.

———

“Gabriel, who are you really?”

Quite frankly, it wasn’t the first question Alice wanted to ask when she finally managed to accomplish one of the goals Gabriel had set for her. There was one question she wanted answered more than anything, and it was that question she originally chose to be her first. But seeing as she had accomplished several of the goals in one, she decided that she might as well change the order a little.

She looked at him after she asked the question. He’d been rushing about for quite a few hours already, plotting and setting in motion more than a few deaths in the process, but he didn’t look the least bit weary. Despite what was likely a rough ride, his whitish-silver hair was still swept back neatly, only a few errant strands arching forward.

Tight-fitting white pants, black boots that almost reached his knees, and a crimson jacket with three golden buckles on his abdomen. A black leather belt ran around his waist at a slight angle, just barely encroaching on his abdomen, his sheath fastened to it as his sword hung at his waist. The jacket was mostly crimson, but the parts on the side, from his waist to his armpits, were black. Red and black, just like her dress.

His capes were also still fastened to his jacket, a long red cape on his back with a dark violet inside, as well as a black half-cape on his right shoulder, a dense line of white fur running along the section closest to his neck. Thin braids of violet silk stretched across the half-cape, connecting it to a black lace rose that decorated the left side of his chest.

Her knight. Her Savior. Her man. Really, wasn’t he just too good looking when he dressed up? She had the urge to lock him up in their room, lest others look at him too long and covet him. And yet… She wanted to show him off. This was Gabriel, this was her hero, this was her man.

“My…”

“Stop.”

She cut him off just as he was about to start talking. Yeah, no, she wouldn’t be able to just sit there and look at him while he talked, it wouldn’t work. She carefully carried the girl, Edith, over to the top of the bed and put her down amongst the pillows so that she could keep sleeping.

“Sit here.”

She pointed at the edge of the bed where she had been sitting earlier and Gabriel sat down without a word. He never questioned it when she told him something, when she wanted him to do something. He always just looked at her with those violet eyes, that poison he had drowned her in.

“Support…”

She sat down sideways on his lap and started to speak, but his arms wrapped around her waist before she had the chance to finish her sentence. She leaned into his arms for a moment. She felt comfortable, safe. No matter how much weight was put on them, no matter what happened, those arms would support her.

“Now you can talk.”

She looked at him while seated in his lap. She was so close that she could feel his breath on her face as he opened his mouth. Yes, this was where she should sit while they talked.

“My name is… was, =¤#%/&( #()%?=, and I’m not originally from here, this world.”

As she expected, he started his introduction off with something nonsensical. But well, it was her man, of course he would be extraordinary. As for that name… No, it was basically just noise, Gabriel was much better for him.

“I originally come from a place called Earth, a world much like this one, except more advanced. And well, there wasn’t magic or demons or things like that either, just people.”

He spoke calmly, slowly, making sure she could understand each word. Looking at him speak of a time and place she had no knowledge of, something inside her itched. There was something…

“I was part of something known as a Death Squad, a specialized group of the military you called upon when you wanted to make sure that your target ended up dead no matter what had to be done. If you want to compare it to something in this world then a Slave Corps would be the most similar, as long as the task was done it doesn’t really matter what happens to the squad.”

Ah, yes, that’s what it was. She didn’t like the way he talked about it, that was what was causing her insides to itch. The way he spoke was so cold and calm, detached. He spoke of his own life, but it felt as if he didn’t even consider himself to have been a part of it. It was his, but he wasn’t in it.

“My father had a decently high rank in the military, but he probably wasn’t what you could call a good father. He trained me and my sister, oh yeah, I had a sister back there, but she ended up departing before I did. Anyways, he trained me and my sister from a young age so that we could join the military as soon as we could walk. Our country was embroiled in a civil war at the time, and father was on the side of the revolutionaries, so there was no choice but to learn, but to fight with every dirty tactic. I took part in my first mission when I was five. There was no choice, they needed someone inconspicuous to wander through a nearby village to poison the well and I just so happened to look harmless. In, kill, out. The world never was more than just black and white, a dull monochrome.”

She recognized the way he spoke, it was somewhat similar to how he spoke when they first met. And the person he called father… She couldn’t feel an ounce of warmth in his voice as he spoke about him. It was better when it came to the person he called sister so it seemed as if at least wasn’t all alone.

“Tell me about your sister.”

She cut him off for a moment. She wanted to know about the person who had been at his side, the person who may have played a role in safe-keeping his heart when he was younger.

“My sister was a bit older than me, five or so years. She was… An idealist. While I was only looking at the current mission, the current battle, she was looking at what lay beyond. What to do after the war, what to do in the future. She was always looking ahead, trying to figure out the best outcome. But she was also someone who easily grew nervous when things didn’t go her way, and she’d chew on whatever was closest when her mind started running. Her thumbs were always red and sore as a result, her nails chewed down time and time again.”

Listening to him talk, she became more convinced that he was rather fond of his old sister. She knew Gabriel, she had been with him for most of her life. And yet, how often had he talked about someone at length like this? Usually he would end things after a short sentence or two. It was nice to hear him talk, even if the contents of the conversation made her insides itch violently.

“In the end, she never got to see the end of the civil war. Father died when I was seven so our standing in the army dropped drastically, the severity of the missions we had to undertake growing with each passing day. Still, we persevered under our new master, our training only growing harder and harder. But it wasn’t enough. So, one day, when she went out on a mission, she didn’t return. I had to bury an empty casket and was given half a day to grieve, and then it was back to fighting.”

The more he spoke, the more she felt that she could understand him. Ah, these were the people who had broken her man. These were the people who had taken him and turned him into a tool, a weapon. They didn’t need Gabriel the person, they needed a weapon that would kill their enemies. So that was how they raised him, that was how they trained him, that was how they erased him.

Ah, she wanted to lop of their heads.

“But speaking of my sister, I cannot say that she is unrelated to this situation.”

All of a sudden, the conversation took a slight turn. Oh? Someone from a different world was related to their current situation?

“She liked to watch TV, moving pictures much like a stageplay, but recorded long ago. She said it was preparation for when the war was over, when she could travel the rest of the world. There was a show she really liked, Throne of the Golden Rose. She constantly pestered me to watch it, but I never really listened. Even after she passed, I didn’t really have the time to spare. I was always just fighting or training.”

Alice tried to picture it, moving images that were different from a stageplay. But she didn’t allow herself to be immersed in the thoughts for long, she wanted to listen to him.

“And then the war ended. The revolutionaries lost, understandably. What remained of the army was scattered across the world, absorbed by other armies. I became part of something akin to a mercenary company, sent out to various wars across the world. Wherever there are people, there will be those who want others dead. I was still a death soldier so things didn’t really change, just moving from one death to the next. The world remained black and white.”

Yeah, she could see that. He’d done that after he started working for her as well, just constantly moving from plan to plan without a moment to rest. He wore himself out to set things up. And he was good at it too so she had no doubt that he must have been highly coveted in his own world.

“But suddenly, I found myself with a bit of time on my hands, in-between missions. So I sat down and I started to watch the show that my sister had gushed on about, slowly but surely making my way through it over the years, only missing the final season. The story was about Abigail De Earhart and Caine Woodime, a romantic tale of their adventures and life as they struggled against the machinations of the story’s villain, Alice De Vritara, who constantly tried to get in their way because of her unrequited love for Caine.”

Alice felt as if a shock ran through her. Parts of it were wrong, but didn’t it line up quite nicely with what Abigail had said? It missed out on the part where Gabriel was supposedly the greatest threat, but otherwise it matched her story quite well.

“I didn’t think much about the story at the time I watched it, I didn’t really think it was anything special. And yet, when I took my own life, it ended up being the only thing I could call something of a regret. It was the last thing I had of my sister, but I couldn’t finish it before I ended it all. It was just one last season, why didn’t I just watch it? At least then I could properly say that I found it boring or uninteresting.”

For a moment, time seemed to slow to a crawl for Alice. Gabriel spoke so casually, so calmly. It was still his life he spoke about, but he still wasn’t part of it, he could barely be called an observer of his own life.

Took his own life? The reason he was no longer in that other world was because he… ended his own life? He spoke of it so impassively that it seemed like it didn’t even mean anything to him, as if he took his life as casually as you would go to the market to buy some bread.

“And then, to my surprise, when I opened my eyes again I was here, in the orphanage. And then you came, and I realized where I was. A show. Ink brought to paper to write a tale, someone’s fantasy, and I was just another tool in that tale. A different world, but it was still just a black and white blob. I really thought this was all nothing more than that for a while.”

His voice dragged Alice out of her thoughts, she could feel his gaze. She raised her eyes to meet his, and there she saw it. A person. Not a tool, not ink on paper, not a fantasy, not an observer. A person. He spoke so impassively, so detachedly. But looking at her now, he was a person, he was a part of it all.

“But we aren’t just ink on paper, are we, Alice? We aren’t just tools to put words to pages.”

There was a small curve to his lips. Did he perhaps not notice it? It was so natural, so relaxed. He was smiling. He was looking at her and smiling.

“If the world is black and white, then we just need to add some color. I learned that thanks to you.”

Alice felt her chest clench. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire, her scorching breath getting caught in her throat as Gabriel looked at her.

“I didn’t think much of it before. Life was just life, a monochrome bore that meant nothing. It was all just blank and empty. Even as I jumped and ended it all, I didn’t really think of much, I just did it on a whim. But in this life, this world, I want to try living.”

There was color in his eyes. Deeper than the flames of the candle, brighter than the sun, darker than the night. He was alive with colors. And she was the one who did that. She gave those eyes color, she painted that world. She gave life to the one who jumped. She had looked at him all along, from the first time he stretched out his hand to her. And now… In return, he was looking at her.

As her heart pounded, she thought back to her conversation with Abigail.

She will be used and abandoned, there was no hope for Gabriel, but there was hope for her in the myriad of possible futures. In the end, what was it she said when she finally chose to speak?

Ah, then let’s go to hell together.