ALL NOVEL C27
Chapter 27: Dreamweed (2)
The wait for Ms. Sierra to appear on the scene was a bit long.
We had to be ready at least two hours earlier than the traditional event time in order to be able to hide and wait without being spotted by her.
The wait wasn’t all that boring, though, as I was able to chat a bit with Charlotte, who was sitting next to me.
Although Alex would occasionally send wistful glances in the direction of the bushes where Charlotte and I were hiding.
If he did make eye contact with me, he’d quickly shift his gaze to the book he was holding and pretend he didn’t see me.
The sight of Alex sitting on a bench surrounded by flowers, reading with one hand, was a sight to behold.
After more than two hours of waiting, squatting behind the bushes, Miss Sierra finally emerged from the garden entrance.
A little later than the scheduled time.
“…Huh?”
As soon as Miss Sierra saw Alex alone at the event, she began to mutter with a look and voice of disbelief.
“Uh, how…?”
Perhaps she thought that all the previous events had been broken, but she didn’t seem to be expecting anything in particular from today’s final event.
Events were already moving in a completely different direction from the original, and there were a number of events I had deliberately removed from reach.
Because of that, she looked puzzled for a moment, but that quickly turned into a smile of relief.
She couldn’t have imagined that she’d fallen into a trap.
Alex noticed Ms. Sierra’s arrival, but he just kept up the pretense of nonchalantly flipping through his books.
Silently, Ms. Sierra walked up to him, reached into her uniform pocket, and pulled something out with one hand.
It was a small glass vial of pink powder, its contents instantly recognizable.
“Alex.”
“…….”
“It’s a gift.”
From her perspective, today’s event was a last chance that would never come around again, so Ms. Sierra didn’t hesitate and immediately sprinkled the contents of the bottle on Alex’s face.
It was an irrefutable spot-on arrest.
“Ha, that was close. Yes, actually, as long as I have Alex, I don’t have to care about the Academy. If I’m going to live as a princess anyway, an academy diploma means nothing…”
“That’s enough joking around, Miss Sierra!”
“Ew?!”
Miss Sierra snapped, startled by my sudden appearance from the bushes.
“You just brainwashed Alex with a dreamweed, didn’t you? I’ve already saved it all in the magic record, so don’t even think about making excuses!”
“What…what are you talking about?”
“Miss Sierra, I’m going to put you on trial for possession and use of illegal drugs, and for attempting to disturb state affairs by brainwashing Alex!”
Sensing something was amiss, Miss Sierra tried to flee, but her path was already blocked by Prince Eamon.
“I didn’t realize you were actually using the dreamweed as Ariana said.”
Kael immediately followed suit, and Charlotte also approached Miss Sierra with a prepared magic bullet in her hand.
“We’ve already established that you’ve been growing dreamweed in your home, so it’s probably best if you don’t lie to us anymore.”
“If you try any more shenanigans, I’ll fire this magic bullet right into your body.”
With the pressure on her from all sides, Miss Sierra’s eyes darted from side to side, searching for a way out.
Meanwhile, she glanced over at Alex, who seemed confident in his ability to overcome the dreamweed.
“…….”
He was wearing the classic goofy look you see after a binge.
I guess it can’t be helped, it’s something I created in a previous lifetime.
Aside from Alex being brainwashed, it’s not like it’s going to interfere with the operation.
I’d made thorough preparations to account for that, and I’d used as many trusted people as I could find.
…I was expecting a little bit, but it’s not like I’m going to be disappointed.
“Oh, don’t come!”
Miss Sierra cried out, terrified by the encirclement that surrounded her, and hid herself behind Alex’s brainwashed back.
I really wish she’d cut back on clinging to other people’s fiancés.
“What, what are you doing, Alex, I’m in danger, do something!”
This was another expected category.
It was obvious that Ms. Sierra would try to use the brainwashed Alex to get out of this situation.
However, Alex’s behavior after this point was well outside of my expectations.
“…….”
The brainwashed Alex pulled out a sword long from inside the suit he was wearing.
It was a short, wide-bladed sword, commonly referred to as a wide blade.
Sharp silver flashes of light reflected off the moonlight.
“…Foolish prince, I see you haven’t gotten over your brainwashing this time after all.”
Charlotte’s gaze at him was filled with contempt and insult.
“Ariana is too good for you after all. I’ll personally take you down with a magic bullet, so you can lie around with that woman….”
Before Charlotte could finish speaking, a red liquid splashed out from the tip of the broadsword.
It was so fast that no one on the scene could react.
There was no hesitation in Alex’s sword swing, as if he had decided to do this from the beginning.
“Gee, what did you just do, Alex?!”
“…….”
There was a look of fatigue in his eyes.
Alex’s eyes changed so much that they could almost be considered ghostly, and everyone except me could not even open their mouths.
Even Ms. Sierra, who hadn’t expected Alex to do something like this, was staring at the blade wound in bewilderment.
“…….”
The broadsword that was embedded in the flesh was pulled out by Alex’s hand.
From the tip of the blade he was holding, dark red blood dripped onto the floor.
It was Alex’s blood.
“…Whoa.”
Alex’s eyes, which had been relaxed for a moment, immediately returned to their original color as soon as he was stabbed.
The pain in his thigh seemed to have overcome the brainwashing effect of the dreamweed.
The broadsword in Alex’s hand dropped to the floor, as if it had done its job.
The sound of the blade clattering against the stone brought him back from his momentary reverie.
“What the hell?! Why is he suddenly stabbing himself in the thigh….?”
“…I told you that if you ever showed up in front of me again, I’d kill you.”
“…Huh?”
It had happened in the blink of an eye.
Alex grabbed Sierra by the chin with one hand and lifted her body into the air.
Ms. Sierra’s body, held by Alex’s hand, formed a semicircle in the air.
“……thunk…!”
And with a resounding thud, Ms. Sierra slammed into the ground.
She let out a single, short cry of pain, but remained motionless on the ground.
Her knuckles were white with pain, and she could only twitch slightly.
Seeing that she was down, Alex raised his head, this time making eye contact with me.
He flashed me a smile, then spoke in a satisfied voice.
“I got over it, Ariana, as promised.”
“Just call the priest already!”
The deep gash in Alex’s thigh still hadn’t stopped bleeding red.
* * *
As soon as Alex’s emergency contact magic tool was activated, the rest of the operation went smoothly.
Dale and the Royal Priest, who showed up after being contacted, let out a horrified scream as soon as they saw Alex’s wounds.
“Alex, do you know how many times I’ve told you not to be so rough with yourself!”
I couldn’t agree more with Dale’s words but Alex doesn’t seem to heed Dale’s advice, and hops into the carriage that would head to the church.
Meanwhile, a stunned Miss Sierra was also restrained in her sleep and taken to a facility for holding criminals.
After the storm, only four members of the student council remained in the secret garden, not including Alex.
“…I didn’t think he was that serious.”
Charlotte, who had watched Alex’s exploits from start to finish, commented on his behavior.
“Brainwashed or not, I was going to give him a shot in the stomach, but seeing him shove a knife into his own thigh took the wind out of my sails.”
“I didn’t think he’d be that determined, either, and when I saw the broadsword coming out of his chest, I was afraid something was going to happen.
No, I’m not saying that stabbing yourself in the thigh didn’t have its consequences….”
“As it turns out, he almost didn’t need us because he managed to resist the brainwash and capture her.”
Kael was right.
Alex’s behavior today was, to be honest, quite admirable.
Undoing the brainwashing state by inflicting damage on one’s own body while under the effects of dreamweed would be an impossible idea to even think of with the criminal’s way of thinking.
And even if it did, how many people in the world could actually carry out the act of plunging a knife into their own thigh while in a dazed state of mind?
He also subdued Ms. Sierra as soon as he woke up. Even after the brainwashing, Alex hadn’t forgotten what he was supposed to do.
However, if someone were to ask me if this was the perfect response to today’s operation, I don’t think I’d be able to say yes.
“…….”
I pick up Alex’s sword from the floor.
There was still some of Alex’s dried blood on the blade, enough to give me a good idea of how deep into his flesh it had gone.
Alex hadn’t been brainwashed, and Miss Sierra’s capture had been successful but my greatest wish, that my fiancé would come out of this unscathed and unharmed, was not granted.