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The One Who Believes in Citrina’s Pure Heart
In the Holy Principality of Belluga, Bandoor Village an abandoned village. Sunset’s red light seeped through the rows of falling-down buildings, giving the area a sad colour.
It made Bel think of home. Her real home. It just seemed to mean that this wonderful dream was almost over.
In the middle of the empty village was an open space, which was probably the village square where people used to gather. A man in a mask stood there by himself.
Well, not really alone. A wolf was obediently lying down next to him.
Is that…a big dog? But I don’t remember dogs’ faces being so scary…
Bel was thinking about something when she heard a deep laugh.
“We appreciate it very much that you kept your promise, Miss Bel. Thanks to your help, we had no trouble getting here,” said a happy Barbara from behind her.
It made her think of Lynsha, who had been left for dead in the woods.
“I hope that Miss Lynsha is all right…”
Her quiet murmur surprised Barbara.
“Oh? Worried about your servant? Why bother? You’ll never see her again, so it shouldn’t matter to you what happens to her.”
Bel turned her head away.
“It is important to me. Even if I never see her again, if I’m worried, I worry. Shouldn’t that be how people act?”
Ludwig, her teacher, had told her to be kind to those who had worked hard to help her. Also…
Mia-neesama would feel the same way. I’m sure of it.
Barbara turned up her nose at how quickly and firmly she answered.
“Ugh, spare me your platitudes. Really, it’s like you’re also a princess.”
Then, the old woman’s lips curled back into a smile that was even crueller than before, and she cupped Bel’s face in her hands. The way she looked at her made him think of a snake that was about to strike its prey.
“So good… So honourable… You make me sick, you damned girl.”
Bel suddenly felt a weight on her shoulders.
It took her a moment to figure out that Barbara had seized them. She lost her balance because of the force, and since her hands were tied behind her back, she fell backwards painfully.
“Look at you,” said Barbara with a hiss. “Where’s all your class now?”
Every word was full of malicious sarcasm. “All the great honour that the order of this world has given you? You’re such a sad sight. Or was all that regality just a show? Are you a fake princess?”
Barbara put her face close to Bel’s, grinning cruelly. Then she raised her hand as if she was going to hit.
“Stop it, Barbara.”
“Ah, Rina…”
Citrina went up to them, almost to defend Bel, and gave Barbara a hard look in the eyes.
“Don’t hurt her in any way.”
“Oh? What is this, milady?”
Barbara cocked her head.
“Do you plan to keep up this appearance of friendship?”
The old woman put her hand over her mouth to act surprised, then laughed.
“Do you really want to be her best friend until the end? Even after bringing her here?”
Citrina’s shoulders moved when she heard what was said. Then erasing all her feelings, Barbara moved her face close to Citrina’s. She looked at the girl for a while with wide, scary eyes before whispering in her ear.
“Of course, Princess Mia won’t be here for a while yet. Go ahead and play your little game until then. But I believe in you, milady. I think you’re a great Serpent who won’t think twice about killing even her ‘friends.’ As long as you keep that in mind, you can entertain yourself in any way you like.”
She clapped once, as if she had just thought of a great idea.
“Why don’t I give you two some time to yourselves?”
“Huh?”
“I have to go talk to the others about how we’re going to kill the princess. In the meantime, I think it would be nice for you to talk to your friend. This is your last chance, after all. Then I think you should be the one to kill her. That should be a nice little thing to remember.”
“W-Wait—”
As Barbara turned to leave, Citrina reached out, but her little hand only touched air.
Her attendant talked with the wolf man for a few moments before they both walked away, leaving her alone with Bel.  Her lips shook, and she watched Barbara leave with the helpless look of a kitten who has been left behind.
Bel puffed out her cheeks at Barbara and thought, She is a very mean person. I bet she’s doing this because she knows Rina will feel bad about it. Just to be mean to her, she left us alone.
When Bel saw this, she decided to talk in a very casual way.
“Mmm. Hey, Rina, is it just me, or is it getting a bit chilly tonight?” She shuffled slowly towards the small fire in the middle of the square. After taking a moment to enjoy the way the fire was crackling, she turned towards Citrina.
“Heh heh. I was hoping to see the bonfire at the Holy Eve Festival, but this is a good substitute,” she said with the same bright smile she always wore.
Citrina was shocked by how happy she sounded, and she didn’t know what to say. Citrina gave a confused nod and said, “That’s…I guess nice.”
Then she got herself back together and smiled her usual sweet smile.
“How about some tea, Bel? I’ll go make some for us.”
“That sounds just right. We were supposed to have a picnic here, now that you mention it, weren’t we?”
Bel looked up at the night sky and then continued with a voice that sounded like it came from someone much older.
“The moon is up, and it’s so pretty. What do you know? It might be more fun to have a picnic at night than I thought.”
She kept staring at the cosmic canvas without saying anything for a while, and she only turned when Citrina came back.
“Hm? Rina?”
The young Yellowmoon was standing next to her, holding a small knife.
She got down behind Bel and said, “Don’t move. After all, you can’t drink tea this way.”
Citrina smiled and cut the ropes that were around Bel’s wrists.
“Well, thanks. They kept rubbing against me and were becoming a bit of a bother.”
Bel said to Rina as she massaged her reddened skin, “You are so kind.”
Citrina quickly nodded.
“That’s right. Now that the water is getting warmer, why don’t we talk for a while?”
She sat down next to the fire and threw the knife on the ground near her.
Bel frowned and said, “Hey, Rina, you can’t just leave knives like that. It’s not safe.”
Citrina didn’t try to get the knife back, even though she was told to. Bel shrugged and walked over to it, then picked it up and held it out for Citrina to take.
“Listen, Bel…” Citrina said, but she still wouldn’t look at the small blade. “I want to give you an opportunity. Because you’re my friend. Use that knife if you want to.”
“…Eh?” Bel blinked, puzzled. “Use how?”
“For example, this…”
As Citrina turned towards Bel, she had a strange, almost feverish sparkle in her eyes. She closed her hands around Bel’s, around the hand that held the knife, and put the blade to her own neck.
“You can hold Rina as a hostage and then leave.”
She tilted her head and smiled in a way that made her look like a doll.
Well? What’s holding you back?
“Um, are you kidding?” Bel asked, getting stiff at the idea. “Absolutely not. It’s a long shot, but it beats sitting around and doing nothing, doesn’t it? Or you could just shove it into my chest. After all, I did something awful to your servant. It would just be fair.”
The eyes that looked up at Bel were large, endearing, and entirely serious.
“It could work either way.  Still, it’s better than nothing. So, what do you think?”
“Hmm…”
From her friend’s face to the knife, Bel looked. She held the flat of the blade between her fingers with her other hand and held out the handle to Citrina.
“Not really.”
“Oh? Why is that? Didn’t Her Highness tell you to hold on to the things you love? Should you then be so quick to let go? Giving up so easily? You do know that you’ll be dead by the time Her Highness comes to save you, right?”
No matter how small, it was Bel’s only chance to live. She would have to give up her life if she turned down the chance.
Or so Citrina thought.
All Bel did was shake her head.
“I’m not giving up.” She put her eyes shut. “And I’m not letting go.”
Her voice didn’t sound like she was lying.
No bitterness. The things she said were true and honest. She could tell that she hadn’t given up because Citrina’s hand was still in hers. She still held on to what she cared about.
Then, Citrina asked, “Why don’t you take up arms and fight back? You might be able to get away if you hold Rina as a hostage.”
“Because I feel like if I do that, I won’t ever get you back.”
“…What?” Citrina all but froze. “Get…Rina back?”
She just stared at the statement, not sure what it meant. Bel looked right at her.
“I’ve been thinking, Rina. Since a very long time ago. About how I can best hold on to the things I care about. Rina, I’ve been thinking about how I can get you back because you’re my friend… Get back our friendship. I gave it a lot of thought, but…”
Bel laughed in a shy way and rubbed her head.
“I’m not smart, so I still don’t know. If I were Miss Mia, I’m sure she’d figure it out right away, but I still don’t know.”
Citrina’s face turned into a mask, making it hard to tell what she was thinking.
“Friendship? Are you kidding me, Bel? Do you have any idea what’s going on? I just made believe I was your friend. To get close to you. To manipulate you.”
“That’s what you say, but I know it’s not true.”
“Why? What made you so sure?”
Bel put her hand on Citrina’s chest without taking her eyes off of her.
“This is why, Rina. The charm I gave you is still on you.”
The troya that Bel gave her as a gift did still hang around her neck.
“…Is that all? Bel, are you really that stupid? This was just a trick to get you to believe me.”
Citrina smiled in her most villainous smile. It wasn’t really close to one. It was betrayed by how tightly her fingers were wrapped around the charm. The protective motion was subconscious, revealing, and urgent.
“Even so, it still makes me happy.”
Bel went on to talk. She kept trying, hoping that her words would reach Citrina’s heart, like someone trying to get back something important.
“I was so glad, Rina. You’re the first person I ever made a friend with, and I got to give you something I made myself. And you kept it. And even wore it. I was so happy about it. I’m still happy…”
She took Citrina’s hands in a gentle way.
“That’s why I’m holding on as hard as I can. Because I value the friendship we have. And I won’t ever let go.”
The face of Citrina twitched. She looked like she was about to cry for a moment, but her smile won again. She used it as a shield to keep her own and other people’s feelings at bay.
“Tell me, Bel. Do you get what I was trying to do? I tried to kill you, do you understand? Because I’m a Serpent. I do just that. I kill people. Even my friends. Even Miss Mia, who you love.”
Bel smiled playfully when she heard this confession.
“Okay, then I’ll tell you a secret. It’s a very secret secret, but since you’re my friend, I’ll tell you.”
She dropped her voice to a whisper for effect.
“To tell the truth, I’ve been this close to dying before. In fact, I might still be this close. When I wake up from this dream, a group of terrifying men I’ve never met will kill me.”
“…What?”
“This is why… It doesn’t bother me that much. If I have to put a weapon at my friend to stay alive, I’d rather let her kill me, because I don’t want to give up… I’d rather die than give up the things I care about. Besides…”
And that’s when her serious passion turned into humour.
“We’re talking about Grandmother Mia. I don’t think she will die so easily. After all, she is the Great Wisdom of the Empire,” she said while puffing her chest, full of pride.