Elen is thoroughly, utterly, scheming.

Try to imagine it.

The look on the King’s face when he finally understood what “scheming” actually meant.

“Hmph?”

A dark smile playing on his lips—though I’d like to blame it on the height difference, it still feels like he’s looking down on me.

Still, I squared my shoulders and boldly approached the King.

“Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll be calling you ‘Scheming’ from now on!”

“…Elen, that’s not a report, is it?”

“Sorry, it’s a post-facto report!”

“…You’ve been calling me that all along, haven’t you?”

“Ah… crap.”

“Deadpan delivery?”

Yeah, the King’s definitely scheming. I’m disappointed I didn’t get his approval—no, wait, I didn’t even try to charm him into it. I was just… too honest.

The King cackled, genuinely amused. But Father, silently watching from the side, finally raised a question.

“Hey, Elen. Got one question for you.”

“What is it?”

"Two hundred years ago, the royal family used Ark indirectly to carry out that tragedy, right? Did the royal family at that time even know about Ark’s existence?"

"Probably not aware, I’d say."

"...Why are you so certain?"

"Because of that tragedy itself."

"...?"

"If the royal family had known about your existence, wouldn’t they have gone straight to you instead of going through Mother? It would’ve been faster, and far less effort."

"!!"

"One quick explanation, and you’d immediately realize it’s due to a blocked circulation. You’re the one who could easily fix the Monster Tempest."

The headmaster’s ancestors had discovered Ark and conducted countless experiments. Even when the capital faced crisis from the Monster Tempest, they hid Ark’s existence and only reported the experimental results they’d gathered from it.

And judging by the scale of that magical experiment, it’s safe to assume it doubled as an application test.

They twisted the royal family’s efforts for the people—using even the royal family itself—just to serve their own selfish ends.

“So… all of it was brought about by the Belundoor family…?”

The king, who’d been silently listening, narrowed his eyes at the headmaster.

Given everything—how the royal family had been cursed, how deeply this house was involved—it wasn’t surprising if emotions slipped through, just a little.

The headmaster, who’d tried to flee, was now caught by the guards, dragged to the floor, and tied up with rope.

Trembling as he listened, the headmaster suddenly screamed, flustered.

“Nonsense!! Who’d remember something from two hundred years ago!!”

“Isn’t that exactly what your family’s noble records would show?”

The king and queen froze at my words. The one who’d been pondering seemed to have instantly arrived at an answer.

“Ah… So if one publicly demonstrates a large-scale spell, it’d be considered a feat and earn a promotion. Especially if one sees it as the very art meant to save the people.”

The king nodded, as if to say, “Let’s look into it.”

By this point, I let out a long, heavy sigh.

Maybe the thread of tension I’d been holding for days—trying to save Ark—had finally loosened.

Maybe it was because I’d been bedridden with fever two days prior, but my body still felt off. A little wobbly again.

I felt my father gently run a hand over my head. I let him. The headmaster, standing rigid beside us, glared at me and shouted.

"Damn kid!! What kind of 'deduction' is that?! Do you even realize how it feels for the Hume who was worried sick about you—just lying there, helpless—to be treated like this?!"

She must’ve known by now—every last one of them would be condemned.

Even the Hume who showed me around the academy—was the headmaster laughing, his eyes bloodshot, cackling like a madman.

I tilt my head, saying nothing at all—just a silent “What are you talking about?”

"There isn't a Hume in your family, is there?"

The king, puzzled by the headmaster’s laughter—clearly not noticing that the headmaster was laughing at the very idea that the child was mine—couldn’t help but speak up at last.

"Why doesn’t Belundoor know? …… Lovell, did you deliver my letter?"

"Ah"

As if mimicking the king’s words, my father spoke them aloud. The king sighed in response.

The king muttered, “Probably just stalling for time,” as if he’d already read my father’s every move.

“Sauvel.”

“Brother… why make me explain this?”

“Because you’re acting like you’re trying to?”

“…I don’t get it, but fine.”

Sauvel knelt before the headmaster and slapped the letter open with a flourish.

“This is your divorce decree, Lady Liliana. Already approved by the church. And His Majesty’s letter here mentions Hume’s relocation. Hume’s been granted independence from the household. …Either way, he’s no longer your child.”

“W-wait—”

The headmaster stood frozen, mouth agape, utterly stunned. The king snickered softly.

“I adore those who’re loyal to their duties and full of talent. Hume’s one of my favorites.”

The royal guards puffed out their chests, beaming with pride.

These people really are just pure-blooded royalists.

"Good thing Hume's bloodline doesn't run through your family."

The headmaster seemed to understand everything from that single remark, shoulders slumping with a dull thud.

The royal guards escorted him out.

So this is it, then.

The moment I thought that, the king turned and smiled at me.

Cold toward the headmaster—but the king’s expression when looking at me was unmistakably pleased.

And I realized why.

I flinched back instinctively, stepping away from the king without even meaning to.

"Why are you running?"

"...It just happened that way. I didn’t mean anything by it..."

"Aha. Already figured it out, huh? A shame. But it’s true, isn’t it?"

"..."

"Elen dear, what’s going on?"

I said it clearly, glancing sideways at my mother, who tilted her head in confusion. I didn’t want to, but I knew. And that knowledge made me feel like I’d just stepped into a trap I hadn’t even seen coming.

"I didn’t exactly defend the king. It’s just… that’s how things turned out…"

I denied any link between the royal family and the headmaster.

Everything had been the headmaster’s doing. I’d just proven it.

The spirits might not like this. They’d realized the royal family, cursed and imprisoned by Ark, weren’t actually tied to the root of the evil.

"The royal family still did what they did to the spirits. Even if they could’ve made excuses… well…"

I said it myself—and something clicked.

My thoughts immediately traced back through everything that had happened.

The king, silent all of a sudden, finally spoke up. "What’s wrong?"

…And then I realized it.

Right. The king hadn’t said a single word. Not a single word about wanting the curse lifted.

I stared at her, disbelief creeping in.

The king looked at me, surprised, as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying. Then he spoke. “You’ve figured it out already, haven’t you?”

“Why… why!?”

Why didn’t she ask to have the curse lifted?

That thought just kept circling in my head.

And then—I realized the answer.

Good heavens.

“Such a thing…”

“Ah, Elen, you’re sharp. …No, perhaps too sharp.”

I shook my head at the king’s faint, wry smile.

What could I even say? I was completely lost, my mind spinning.

“Being unable to stay by your side… it’s a little lonely, that.”

He said it with a smile, then turned and walked up the stairs with his guards.

***

When the king’s party vanished from sight, only I, my father, and my mother remained in the hall.

Still, I stood there, dazed.

Then fear gripped me—my skin prickled, gooseflesh rising all over.

I threw myself into my father’s arms without thinking. He and my mother both looked at me with worry in their eyes.

"Elen-chan, what's wrong? You were just talking with that last sneaky one...?"

"Father..."

Father notices my watery eyes, startled. Pressed by his quiet "What happened?", I finally manage to speak.

"The King has no intention of lifting the curse at all."

"...What?"

Father and Mother speak in unison. They clearly didn't expect me to blurt that out so suddenly.

"Father... the King sees the curse as meaningless. It won't serve as a warning to him."

"...How do you know that?"

"Father, the spirit curse is poison to us. We could easily lose ourselves to it."

"...Yes, that's true."

"The King turned it into a weapon. What if a royal family member charged into a group of spirit mages?"

Father’s expression shifts—realization dawning, then shock.

"The spirits would flee..."

"The royal curse can nullify spirit magic. That's why His Majesty doesn't actually want it lifted at all."

I finally got the full measure of Her Majesty’s scheming nature.

No matter what mess they’re thrown into, they always turn it into a weapon somehow.

Mother couldn’t help but cry out upon hearing that.

That's why I can't stand the scheming type!!

And.

We sighed, exhausted, and decided to head home.