Do Your Own Revolution

#038.

“Am… I alive…?”

When Mari finally got up from her bed, the first thing she felt was terrible fear.

The gun barrel pointed at her.

The soldiers dying while spewing blood.

Irene getting shot while protecting her, and Irene’s blood spraying on her face…!

“Young Lady!”

“Kyaaahh?!”

When Irene suddenly popped out from under the bed, Mari almost fainted again within a minute of regaining consciousness.

“Irene? But you were definitely shot…”

“Shot? What’s that?”

Irene tilted her head while saying that, then as if suddenly remembering something, she lifted her bangs to show Mari her forehead.

“Don’t worry, Young Lady! I’m not hurt at all!”

On Irene’s forehead, where there should have been a bullet hole, there wasn’t even a scratch.

“But that’s… that’s impossible…”

The knocking sound came at just that moment.

“Are you alright? I heard you fainted.”

“Ah, Brother.”

The one who opened the door and entered was Eugene.

His attire was clean as usual.

However, the fatigue visible on his face suggested he had just finished dealing with some troublesome matter.

“I-I’m fine. Nothing hurts.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“No, that’s not what’s important! Irene…!”

“You mean how she got shot but didn’t die?”

Mari’s expression became even more bewildered at Eugene’s casual remark.

However, Eugene calmly began speaking as he pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down.

“Actually, that’s partly why I stopped by. I wanted to talk about something before heading to the Imperial Palace.”

“Imperial Palace?”

“Yeah, that’s a thing. I don’t know why life difficulty had to spike to inferno level at age ten.”

Grumbling like that, Eugene tucked the letter he was holding into his chest pocket.

The glimpse Mari caught showed it was sealed with golden wax – a color she knew only the Imperial family could use.

But no, this wasn’t the time to ask about that.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Well. I’m sure you have many questions, but let me start with the most important thing first. It will probably be shocking, sudden, and also infuriating news.”

What could it be?

The Eugene that Mari knew had an iron-faced personality that was indifferent to worldly matters.

So why was this Eugene being so hesitant?

While she was thinking this, Eugene looked at Mari with a complicated expression and slowly said:

“We’re going to get married in 5 years.”

…

……

………

“…What?”

***

“So to summarize what Brother just said…”

Even though she was an eight-year-old child, I had no intention of explaining things vaguely.

After I explained in detail the terms of the deal between myself and Keiren, Mari furrowed her brows and finally spoke after a long while.

“Papa decided he wanted to properly fight against our family members, and because he needed a skilled and talented mage for that, he decided to make you his heir?”

“Nice and concise summary.”

“But since adopted son status isn’t enough to formally become Papa’s heir, he’s going to have us marry after you graduate from the military academy?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

When I nodded, I could feel Mari’s fists clenching tightly.

Countdown to explosion: 3, 2, 1…

“What kind of nonsense is that-!”

As expected.

Right when Mari’s patience exploded with the predicted outburst, I quickly covered Irene’s ears and took a defensive stance.

“Where did my opinion go in this arranged marriage?! Dad actually approved this? Really?!”

More than just approval, he was the one who proposed it.

I thought about saying that but immediately decided against it.

In the current situation, saying that would likely make her blow up the entire train.

“He thought this was better than sending you off to another noble family for a political marriage…”

“Be quiet!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I decided to keep my mouth shut until her anger subsided.

It was natural for her to react this way when life’s biggest decision was made while she was sleeping.

After spending dozens of minutes shaking my shoulders, crying, getting lost in thought, and laughing like she’d lost her mind…

“Sniff Sniff”

Finally accepting everything, she was now wiping her tear-stained face with the handkerchief I gave her.

“Don’t look like the world is ending. The marriage will just be on paper anyway.”

After confirming she had calmed down somewhat, I reassured her in a gentle tone.

“The marriage isn’t happening for another 5 years anyway, and I have no intention of interfering in your private life just because I’ll be your husband.”

“……”

For nobles in the Kalhyram Empire, adultery was like a level 1 snail throwing skill.

It was an era where it was natural for men to take concubines and women to have lovers.

Keiren, who only looked at his deceased wife his entire life, was the abnormal one.

“If you really can’t accept it, I can talk to him. Say we should look for another way…”

“No, it’s fine.”

Mari’s hand grabbed me as I was about to get up from my seat.

“Like Brother said, it’s just a marriage on paper… And Papa made this decision himself.”

“……”

“I’m sure he made this decision for my sake. Saying he couldn’t let me die like Mom.”

Looking at Mari speaking like this, I was newly surprised.

‘I thought she was just an immature noble young lady, but that’s not quite right.’

As Walter said before, Mari is more mature than her age would suggest.

While she acts like an innocent child in front of Keiren, even I as a transmigrator find it surprising.

One example of this was Mari’s reaction to hearing about the arranged marriage.

The part she got angry about wasn’t the fact of marrying someone she didn’t know, but rather that her opinion wasn’t included in the marriage process.

In other words, this child understood what her political marriage meant and was also prepared to accept it.

And this was a normal eight-year-old child, not a transmigrator like me.

‘…Wait a minute.’

If she can understand and accept all that at age 8…

Can we really call that a normal 8-year-old child?

“I get it roughly. I’ll talk to Papa about the rest.”

Mari interrupted my thoughts and shifted her gaze to Irene, who was clinging close to my side.

Ah, right. This was what she was most curious about.

“Irene.”

“Yes?”

“Show that to Mari.”

“That?”

When I said that, Irene asked me back with a puzzled expression.

“Can I really show her? Eugene told me to keep it secret.”

“You’ve already been found out. Then it’s better to explain properly.”

“Ah, I see.”

Nodding her head, Irene approached Mari with small steps.

“Young Lady, watch carefully. Okay?”

“U-um… okay…”

After hearing Mari’s response, Irene spread both hands with a bright smile.

Then her hands were dyed in black shadows…

With an eerie sound, two eyeballs popped out from Irene’s blackened hands.

“Ta-da!”

“Ky-kyaaah!? W-what is that?”

Although Mari was shocked, thankfully she didn’t faint.

Perhaps she had gotten used to being surprised by now.

“Irene is an experimental subject created through hybridization experiments between monsters and humans. She was imprisoned in the underground lab of the noble house where I was, but she escaped with me when the mansion collapsed.”

An even more sensitive piece of information than my engagement to Mari came out.

Since I asked Keiren to assign someone to her, Mari would be the only one hearing this information.

That’s why I could tell her the truth about Irene without holding anything back.

“Irene was also the one who dealt with the guys who attacked you.”

“They were delicious!”

“De-delicious…?”

“But I told the Major General that I was the one who saved you.”

Oh dear, Irene.

How do you think a noble young lady will view you if you say you ate people in front of her?

I quickly covered Irene’s mouth and changed the subject.

“Brother did?”

Thankfully she went along with the change.

I nodded and said:

“A hybrid of human and monster is dangerous just by existing. If Irene’s power is discovered, she’ll be dragged back to the laboratory.”

As I patted Irene’s head while saying this, she smiled brightly and clung to me again.

She felt noticeably heavier than before, probably from all the feeding during this recent attack.

“So that’s how it is, and I’d like you to match stories with us if you end up being questioned. That’s what I came to ask.”

“Mmm…”

She probably doesn’t want to lie to Keiren, even if it’s fine with other investigators?

Thinking that, I said to Mari with a smile:

“Surely you wouldn’t want to send your lifesaver to a laboratory?”

“…Alright. I won’t say anything.”

Good. That takes care of Mari keeping quiet too.

Just as I was thinking that and about to get up…

“But in exchange!”

Mari stopped me, raising her finger with shining eyes.

“I have one request.”

“Request?”

What is she going to ask for now?

As I looked at her with an uneasy heart, Mari grabbed her blanket and said to me:

“I’m going to get the Magic Awakening surgery.”

“You…?”

“So when I awaken, teach me magic. I’ll accept everything – keeping Irene’s secret, the marriage, all of it!”

I thought she had given up back then, but she’s still saying she wants to learn magic?

I looked back at Mari thinking that, but I couldn’t immediately say no like before.

Instead of her previous childish expression, she had a serious, composed look.

In the end, rather than flatly refusing, I asked for her reason.

“…Why do you want to learn magic so badly?”

“Because I don’t want to remain just a burden who only receives protection!”

Mari shouted at me in a clear voice.

Her hands gripping the blanket were trembling slightly.

“So many soldier uncles died just to help me escape. And there will be more incidents like this in the future, right?”

“……”

“So am I supposed to just let other people die in my place every time? No! I want to protect my body and my people myself!”

As her speech continued, almost reaching the level of eloquence, the trembling in her hands gripping the blanket gradually ceased.

And when that trembling completely stopped, Mari shouted at me with clearer eyes than ever before:

“I am the daughter of Keiren Buckenheim, the Shield of the Empire-!”

“…!”

Hearing those words, I felt pure admiration for the first time in a while.

Her first encounter with death. The shock and fear she experienced from it.

Yet instead of becoming withdrawn after experiencing that, she overcame it in this short time.

And she was only eight years old.

‘This is…!’

Maximilien’s words about the protagonist came back to me.

The ability to not succumb to fear, maintain clear convictions, and lead people with honest eyes.

It was certain.

My fiancée… possessed the ‘qualities of a hero.’

“Alright, I’ll teach you.”

“R-really?!”

When I said that, Mari’s face lit up.

From now on, Mari would no longer be a powerless protection target, but an ally worth investing resources in developing.

I had been wondering how to spend the 2 years until entering the military academy, and this was truly an unexpected harvest.

“Well, I should get going now. Seems like we’ve sorted things out.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Mari, who had been excited, asked as I got up from my seat.

“I told you, didn’t I? I just stopped by before going to the Imperial Palace.”

Saying that, I pulled out a letter from my chest and waved it.

An Imperial decree handed directly by the commander of the Imperial Knights Order.

Now, I had to go meet this game’s final prophet.