Armored Girl Monette Ch. 40

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3986di/40/

 

Even if Everything is a Witch’s Curse

“Good Alexis, even if you search this entire world, you will not find a single monarch with a witch on their side. Do you know what that means?”
“Not really. Does it mean that not many countries have tried making them allies?”
“Wrong, fool. If you actually think that, then the other nations will have you wrapped around their fingers.”

Alexis’s eyes had gone even rounder than before as Ordo told him off with a tone chiding him for the fact that something like this even had to be explained. It’s an idea that is far too strange for him. I can see a large question mark hanging over his head right now.
Having seen such an Alexis, Gina let out an elegant laugh and added on, “It is just as Ordo says.” Before he could say anything in his defense, Gina shoved a piece of bread into his mouth though saying, “Be quiet for a moment or else the story cannot progress.” Then Concetta, who should have been sleeping, was suddenly up! He turned his eyes towards Alexis, and as to be expected at this point, he jumped over to his lap and started to nibble on the bread hanging from Alexis’s mouth.
Percival looked like he wanted to say something or complain, but before he did, he pressed his own hand against his mouth. “I won’t say anything, so please spare me the bread,” he muttered through the gaps of his fingers.

Ruling with a piece of bread, is this another skill developed through from a witch’s skill?

…..No, it’s probably something else.
I forcefully denied this thought that had popped up in my mind as Gina was still facing Alexis.
“Let’s see,” Gina mused as if she were about to tell some funny joke as her eyes focused on him narrowed more and more.

“For example, if Ordo here were to say, ‘Lend me your power so that I can change this world,’ I would ignore him because I really do not care. But if Alexis were to say, ‘I’m tired of everything going on, so help me change the world by destroying this country,’ I would accompany you.”
“Gina, Alexis seems to completely lack any form of ambition.”
“Indeed. Monette, what would you do if he asked that?”
“If Gina goes, I will go as well.”

Of course I gave an immediate reply, and Robertson who was sitting on my knee put one of his legs forward. I bet he is also agreeing to join in.
His declaration was small, but it warmed my heart. I gently stuck out my iron covered forefinger, and my finger and Robertson’s leg touched. It seems that we are able to communicate through our hearts.
Gina watched the whole exchange between Robertson and me, and so she reached out her hand to my helmet and brought me in for a hug. She was grinding her cheek against metal, but this just goes to show how much she loves this newbie witch who looks up to her. As I thought that, a smile spread underneath my helmet.

I suppose this interaction between Gina and I just serves as more evidence for why Alexis could overthrow the world.
If Alexis decided to do so, Gina would assist him because she has taken a half interest in this matter, and I would join in as well following Gina like a chick following its parent. In conclusion, Alexis has two witches backing him.
Originally, witches would never just agree to something that sounds like it might be a pain even if it is a royal decree, so there is no real precedent in any other country for this type of situation.
Of course, even this situation is due to a witch’s whim. Nobody else can try and take charge even if Alexis were to ask Gina to follow Ordo’s command.

“From this point on, you are now a bigger threat to me than my brother.”

As Ordo clearly stated this, the realization finally started to sink to for Alexis, freezing him.
But Ordo showed little interest in him, and on the contrary, he changed the subject and moved his eyes to Percival. Clearly not expecting to be suddenly called upon, Percival just sat there under Ordo’s gaze with a dumb look on his face.

“By the way, why is Percival accompanying Alexis in this situation? Actually, what is the situation?”
“No, that is, even I do not know why I am alone in defending the Prince. But with the witch’s curse…..so, His Majesty and the people……”

‘Being deceived’, Percival’s words and explanations about his comrades and the citizenry quickly lost volume as his voice descended into some unintelligible mutterings. He was most likely reliving what had just happened in the palace.
Clearly not motivated enough to care about Percival in his current state, Ordo listened to the story and said, “What, so this is all some hoax brought about by a witch?” Everyone was slightly taken aback by his casual response.
According to him, he figured that something strange was going on in the background, and some of the strange details of what he had learned led him to believe that a witch may have been involved. Halfway through, he started praising the witch for her unique yet effective method. —It seems like he was having a little fun, probably because he was thinking about how he could pull said witch to his side—

“Uncle, when you heard the rumors…..you didn’t believe them too?”
“I was able to figure out that it was a hoax, but I could never find out where the rumors were coming from.”
“Even though I asked everyone around me, they had all been deceived…..”

Even though they were only ever baseless rumors, the fact that there was someone out there who did not believe them was surprising for Alexis.
Ordo took this moment to look at Alexis very closely and placed his hand on Alexis’s shoulder.
The wild look in the royal brother’s eyes was able to slightly calm down the prince with eyes of the same shade. The sight of these two like this almost looked like it was straight out of a painting, and I unintentionally let out a sigh of exclamation……….

“I don’t trust you, and I never had a high impression of you in the first place.”

I narrowed my eyes and lost every ounce of warmth that had built up in me.

“………..Uncle, you don’t need to shake me.”
“I have always despised you just for sharing the blood of my brother. Furthermore, I knew that there was no way that some childish honor student like you would ever put your hand on a woman like that.”
“The fact that my uncle has such stalwart faith in me truly touches my heart.”
“Rather than listening to some absurd rumors of infidelity, I thought, ‘I guess even he has someone he wants to do it with.'”
“That’s highly appreciated! I have never once been unfaithful!”

I am innocent! Alexis’s mood rose as if Ordo was sending energy straight through his arm. At the same time, Ordo was calling Alexis words like ‘virgin,’ but everyone ignored such small details.

“I have never pushed my work off onto someone else, nor do I have any illegitimate children. I have never used government expenses for personal pleasure!”
“What, as usual you’re a childish honor student.”
“……No, I can no longer return to being a good honor’s student.”

Ignoring Ordo’s words of calling him boring, Alexis returned to his normal behavior and turned his eyes on me.
I could tell he could feel the pity in my eyes even though they were hidden beneath my helmet, but even then he had a determination to him. His deep brown eyes looked darker than usual, and the longer he looked at me, the more a sense of pressure grew on my shoulders.
Looking like he wanted to say something, he narrowed his eyes trying to find the right words. At the moment I was about to urge him to spit it out though, he called my name before I could say a word.

“Monette, I have been continuously apologizing to you. I had hoped to be forgiven for my past mistakes, and I thought that if I just kept apologizing to you, someday I would be forgiven. If everything that had happened, if all the problems in my life were because of a witch’s curse, I figured that I would finally have forgiveness……”
“……Alexis.”
“But it was me. I was the one who rejected you and caused you pain. I will continue to apologize for what I’ve done, but I no longer want you to say that you forgive me……… Even if everything was caused by a witch’s curse, please continue to hate me forever.”

Alexis’s eyes showed his strong will.
He is coming to the heart of the matter, and so he has abandoned the witch’s curse as an excuse.
For what reason, there is no need to think about it.

“Even if everything was caused by a witch’s curse, I cannot forgive them. That’s why, I cannot ask you to forgive me either.”

Alexis’s words were heating him up and I, who those words were aimed at, had lost my breath underneath this iron helmet.
He abandoned the excuse of the witch’s curse and gave up on being forgiven for his former disrespect. Because he decided that he was not able to forgive everything that had been done to him because of a curse, he was not going to seek forgiveness for the pain he had cause either.
Any words I could say were lost, so I took a deep breath in order to calm myself down and gather my thoughts.

My mind wandered to past memories of my parents and my sister. The happy times I spent with my family and the fall that had ended it all……..
The time where the expectations my family held of me were crushed, the hopelessness, the misery, the jeering eyes that chased me all the way into the old castle. But was this all because of Alexis’s words? No, it’s different. Those words were the starting point from which all the misery started.
In the same vein, a single word from my family could have caused it all to go away, yet I still have not yet heard those words.

I also have to come to a decision. Believing so, I held Alexis’s gaze.

“Yes, of course. Even if everything was caused by a witch’s curse, I will not forgive the pain I have received.”

These words were for Alexis, but it seems like they had rebounded off of him and soaked into my armor, or perhaps even my heart. It has blended into my heart, run through my body like an arrow and penetrated those memories I held of my family.
Thinking so, I breathed in deeply once again.

Chapter 39

Chapter 41