(unedited)

Their faces were grim as they headed for the carriage.

They should have suspected it from the start. They hadn’t realized that to be invited to the Empress’ tea party, a lady had to be a high-ranking noblewoman, or a lady of some distinction.

“How the hell are we going to catch that blackmailer….?”

Someone muttered with a gloomy face, causing another lady to glare at someone. She looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Lady Benson, you know who that blackmailer is, don’t you?”

All eyes turned to Lady Benson as they rushed down the wide staircase. Lady Benson looked back at them in confusion.

“What…. How am I supposed to know that?”

“But then you averted your eyes when the Empress mentioned the blackmailer, and I saw it, so you must have some idea.”

The secret they were being blackmailed with was a secret of its own. Only their closest confidants or personal maids would know, and as a result, they had been suspicious of those around them since the day they received the letter. Some of them even had to torture an innocent maid or handmaiden.

“If anyone suspects anything, tell me, or I’ll tell the empress that you’re the mastermind, and you’ll be one of the five!”

Lady Benson was horrified to hear the lady of the Marquis speak so loudly.

“Why should I, I’ve only done it twice!”

“Lies! You’re in league with the blackmailer in that you know their name! Or tell us who that person is!”

Lady Benson’s face clouded with embarrassment as the impatient young ladies pressed her. It was a name she had barely recognized through a familiar maid. Of course, as soon as she heard the name, she lost the will to fight back.

“It’s too… she’s a person with very high status…. I have a suspicion, but no proof.”

“So who is it?”

A young lady shouted, ready to ruffle their hair at any moment. Their servants and handmaidens, who had been escorting them to the carriage, looked on from a distance.

“Isabelle… Carulias.”

The young ladies’ eyes widened at the name that came out of Lady Benson’s mouth. Some whispered that it couldn’t be true, that she was lying, while others glowed with suspicion. The rest looked puzzled.

“Carulias….”

“Oh my God, she’s got us all fooled….”

The lady, the oldest of them all and the one who had been blackmailed the longest, was furious.

“No way! To be called the Rose of Carulias… to use people! You all know what Isabel Carulias’ reputation is, don’t you?”

At her words, all the young ladies fell silent. They were resentful, but Isabel Carulias was an abomination.

All of her. She had the house, the power, the money, the beauty, the fame, and yet…. and yet, behind their backs, she had sanctioned this behavior. Without even soiling her own hands!

“…We’ll have to get the evidence you mentioned, but isn’t it too unfair that we’re the only ones being blamed for everything?”

“That’s right, she’s pretending to be noble all by herself, is that all the duke’s young lady is good for?”

The angry young ladies spoke one by one, but the one with the droopy eyes looked around anxiously and said.

“But it’s Lady Carulias, and unless we’re members of the imperial family…, how would we stand a chance against her?”

With those words, everyone fell silent. But there was an air of injustice among the Young Ladies, and it was an outburst of frustration that they had to remain silent when they all knew she was the culprit.

“Why can’t we fight back? We have methods she taught us.”

The young lady’s words caused heated glances to pass among the gathered women. They were a majority, and even a powerless majority had cards to play.

“If Lady Carulias even knew about it….”

“Even if she does, she can’t do anything now, not after we’re done!”

“In the end, Lady Carulias will be punished by the Empress, so won’t that weaken her power?”

The chattering voices startled a few of the Young Ladies who had some connection to Duke Carulias. One of them spoke up.

“But it’s still Lady Carulias! Even if the princess is punished, do you think their power will be weakened?”

“But we, too, are over twenty families strong.”

“And are you willing to be one of those?”

The sharp tone of her voice caught her off guard. As much as she feared Carulias, she had no intention of taking Isabelle’s place and suffering the punishment of her tongue being cut off. Hadn’t Isabelle pushed her into this dirty business in the first place?

When the young lady from before shut up, the questioning young ladies snorted.

“I think we’ve all agreed on this. Now, let’s think about how we should respond. First, let’s move our seats and….”

At the Marquis’ words, the assembled young ladies nodded. It would be a shame if what they were planning to do fell into the ears of Lady Carulias.

? ? ?

The month-long honeymoon passed quickly, and Rosetta, who had gotten used to being in Michael’s arms, was scratching her head. She kept seeing something strange.

‘What is it?’

A water balloon filled with red paint appeared in the sky for a moment, as if to burst, and then disappeared. Along with a bluish flame. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t looking at the wrong thing, but it only lasted a second.

‘That’s weird.’

Before she could point it out to Michael, it was gone, leaving Rosetta with only her teary eyes to question.

“Rosetta. Is that all you want to take with you?”

The puppets packed their things, and Michael stuffed them into his magic pouch. The lightweight, shallow backpack was tens of thousands of times more spacious than it looked.

Including Rosetta’s favorite dress, it was big enough to hold her shoes and a dresser. Of course, she didn’t put a dresser in it.

“I tried to…. But I keep thinking about something.”

“What?”

“Oh!”

In order not to miss it, Rosetta pointed to the far side of the sky. Through an invisible pane of glass, red stretched out like crushed raspberries. Then, in an instant, it was gone, engulfed in blue flames.

“Look at that, Michael, did you see that?”

“Oh…. Yep. I saw it.”

Michael shrugged, looking somewhat embarrassed. It’s the kind of look he wishes Rosetta wouldn’t recognize. Rosetta, who had gotten quite used to him over the past month, recognized the look.

“Why, what’s that?”

“Um. Rosetta…. I’ve explained the magic circle I’ve set up to protect this island, haven’t I?”

Rosetta nodded. There were several different magic circles that Michael had set up on the island. The first was a circle that used light-related magic to keep the island hidden from view, the second was a circle that protected the entire island. The third was….

“The magic circle that protects the island is so strong that even if a demon bumps into it, it won’t break or crack.”

The third magical circle was to kill any demons that might try to invade the island. It would be superimposed on top of any demons or intruders who tried to break the shield.

In short, it looked like two identical bowls stacked on top of each other, with the fruit… between them… crushing the non-monsters, and burning the bloodied ones back into magical flames.

“Huh?!”

Rosetta shouted as Michael explained. That means that the crimson thing in the distance was a demonic blob!

“It’s not uncommon for forests and islands to be invaded by demons…. but lately, it’s been more common.”

He had a suspicion as to why, but there was no reason to talk about it. It would make Rosetta uneasy if someone else was responsible.

“Then we shouldn’t be going outside the circle, should we?”

“It’s okay. I’m here.”

So…. You may be fine, but I’m not. Rosetta wanted to say it out loud, but she held her tongue. Michael was the best mage in the empire, so whatever was lurking out there was probably nothing.

“Nothing will happen.”

Sensing Rosetta’s reluctant reaction, Michael unwrapped the bracelet from his own wrist and slipped it onto hers.

“…What is this?”

The bracelet was silver and encrusted with sapphires. On the side of the bracelet was an engraving of a long-tailed bird. It was all blue feathers, with a red tip to its tail, and tiny pieces of gemstone molded it into shape.

“It’s a magical tool with a protection spell and a float spell on it. Nothing’s going to happen, but it would be reassuring for Rosetta to have it.”

In short, it would help in the event of a demonic attack or fall. Rosetta looked at the bracelet, feeling more at ease. It felt more like a bracelet for Michael than for her, but….

‘I’ll never give it back! He’s an Archmage! I’m Villainess 2!…. And in the middle of it all, I’m going to be tricked by Villain 1 into getting killed….’

“Shall we go now?”