“Don’t play dumb with me . You were the one who seduced her . ”
“No, that’s not it . ”
So Eve was Manaria’s lover?
“That person loved me dearly . I had to back off for her sake, but I’ve never forgotten about the love that she held towards me . ”
“……”
I somehow felt a bit uneasy about the crazy things that Eve was spouting out of her mouth .
There was something suspicious about her .
I had a strange feeling about this .
What exactly was making me uncomfortable though?
“But even so, you did something to her……! I won’t forgive you……!”
“Eve, I think you’re mistaken . Manaria-sama and I never did anything with each other . ”
“Shut up!”
Eve tried to hit me .
I quickly moved my body to dodge it .
I took a step back from Eve, who had forcefully closed the distance between us, and we stood face-to-face with one another .
Unfortunately, the only door to leave the room was behind Eve .
Since this was a room full of important data, in order to make sure that the documents couldn’t be leaked, there were no windows .
“Eve…… Where did you even meet Manaria-sama?”
“What are you trying to accomplish by asking that question?”
“I just want to make sure of something . ”
“Hmph, are you trying to make sure that Manaria-sama loves you?”
“Like I said, you’re mistaken . ”
Ignoring my words, Eve put her hand in her pocket .
What she pulled out was a small knife .
Eve prepared herself .
“Manaria-sama is mine…… I’m the only one who will serve her with my mind and body……!”
“……”
‘Serve her,’ she says…… .
Manaria-sama once mentioned that she had laid a hand on one of her maids, but it seemed that the maid in question was Eve, huh .
If I remembered correctly, the maid left the royal palace, and as a result, Manaria-sama ended up being neglected as well .
I thought that her age didn’t match with the story, but I recalled that Eve once mentioned something to me .
That was back when we were tailing Joel before we lost track of her .
Eve had said that she was much older than me .
In any case, that did not seem to be the source of my discomfort .
What was it then?
What’s making me feel like this?
“You stole Manaria-sama from me! Give her back! Give Manaria-sama back to me!”
A glint flashed across the blade of Eve’s pocket knife .
She had missed me by a hair’s breadth .
Eve’s melee combat ability seemed quite weak, but the same could be said for me .
Although Claire-sama taught me a bit of self-defense, I hadn’t had a lot of time to sharpen those skills yet .
If I used magic, I was confident that I wouldn’t lose .
Eve’s magical ability was also much stronger than her melee combat ability, but even so, I was sure I’d come out on top anyway .
The problem was, my magic was a bit too powerful .
If at all possible, I didn’t want to injure her .
Using magic was virtually not an option .
I thought back to the fight that we had against Louis .
Hm?
Louis?
“Hey, Eve . You mentioned before that you and Lana are from the same country, right?”
“What does that have to do with anything right now?”
“Just answer me . You and Lana are from the same hometown, right?”
“Yes . Lana and I are from the same place . ”
I see .
So that’s why it seemed strange .
“In that case, where did you even meet Manaria-sama? You mentioned that you were from Euclid, so how was it that you ended up serving in Sousa’s royal palace?”
“!? T-That’s……!”
Eve’s eyes widened with surprise .
Unlike the Empire, Sousa never adopted a meritocratic system .
It was reasonable for somebody with a high status like Claire-sama to enter the royal palace, but for a commoner like Eve to be there―― and to be serving the royal family as a maid, no less―― was impossible .
Perhaps when Sousa enters an era of peace, it would be possible .
But Sousa was still in the middle of a dispute of who would succeed the throne prior to Manaria-sama’s ascension back then .
Under those circumstances, there was no way they’d hire a commoner from another country to serve as a maid at the royal palace .
“Eve, just try and think about it . Were you really Manaria-sama’s maid? Or rather, are you sure that you’re actually from Euclid?”
“…… . Ah…… . ”
Eve’s face gradually became more and more distorted .
It looked just like the face of somebody who had just seen a ghost .
“Ah…… Aah…… . Aaah…… . . !!!”
Eve held her head and started rampaging .
She twisted her body around like she was in pain and burst into a shriek .
“Eve, please get a hold of yourself!”
I approached her, threw the knife out of her hand and held her down as she rampaged .
When I looked at her face, there was no light to be seen in her eyes .
The sight reminded me of something .
She looked unlike herself .
This was――
“Hypnosis… . . !”
I don’t know how it happened, but most likely, Eve was under Salas’ hypnosis .
It seemed that her actions were done out of her own will .
Figuring that was the case, I took something out of my pocket .
“With the blessing of the moonlight, banish the evil that spreads through her――!”
When I said the phrase, the ring-shaped Tears of the Moon began to glow .
A soft light surrounded Eve .
“Ah…… . Ugh……”
Eve’s distorted expression gradually softened and became more gentle .
I gambled on whether or not it would have any effect on her, but it seemed like Salas’ hypnosis was treated as a status ailment .
Eventually, Eve stopped moving and fell on the spot .
I rushed to catch her body .
“Eve…… Eve……! Please get a hold of yourself……!”
I patted Eve’s cheeks repeatedly .
Eve, who seemed like she had fainted, woke up immediately .
“…… Rei-sensei…… . Where are we……?”
“We’re in the data room in the Empire . Do you remember anything?”
“……”
Eve looked absentminded for a while .
Her gaze wandered around and examined her surroundings .
“I…… . was here to help you and Lana…… and then……”
“Yeah . ”
“…… And then, if I remember correctly…… ――!?”
Eve’s eyes suddenly shot wide open and she got up immediately .
“I…… How could I……”
“Eve, please calm down…… You didn’t do anything wrong . ”
“But… . . !”
“It’s fine, so please stay calm . Take a couple of deep breaths . Okay, inhale . ”
“…… . ”
“Now exhale . ”
“……”
Eve obeyed me as it seemed like the hypnosis had worn off .
The hatred that she had always directed towards me was nowhere to be seen in her eyes either .
As I thought, Eve was hypnotized―― most likely by Salas―― and deceived by him .
“Well, let’s make sure of something first, okay? Eve, is it really true that you served as Manaria-sama’s maid and you were her former lover?”
“…… Yes . ”
“And because of that, you came to hate me?”
“…… At least, that’s what I should be feeling, but I’m not sure now . Why did I feel like that at all, anyway……? Right now, I don’t feel like that at all anymore……”
“Yeah . It seems like you were under somebody’s hypnosis then . None of this is your fault, Eve . ”
I hugged Eve tightly .
Eve entrusted herself in my embrace as she held her head down .
“Manaria-sama and I…… had already made things clear between us . When I think about her circumstances, we both knew that we couldn’t be together, so it was for the best that I left . ”
“Yeah . ”
“After I left Sousa, I did a lot of maid work in various different places, and then…… after that… . . ”
As Eve was digging through her memories, it seemed like she had suddenly remembered something important as she raised her head immediately .
“Sensei! This is bad! You need to return to the dormitory right away!”
“Eh?”
“Mei-chan and Alea-chan are in danger!”
“W-What are you talking about?”
Suddenly, Eve became incredibly flustered, and left me bewildered .
And then, she said one sentence that quickly roped me back to reality .