The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 14
Regardless, when I opened my eyes again, the head maid held a mirror before me.
My emerald green irises had turned into a dull yellow, not as strikingly beautiful as Hedonia’s golden hue, but enough to deceive people.
It was almost unbelievable that all this preparation had been completed in less than a week.
Indeed, it was evident that the Duke Apharantes doted on Hedonia.
During the moment when I became curious about their relationship again, The head maid’s satisfied words snapped me back to attention.
“Preparations are complete. You’ll meet Lord Esban after lunch.”
Finally, the day to meet the esper has arrived. But who is he?
Esban?
…Huh? Esban? Why him?
“Hm, meeting Esban for the first time isn’t so bad.”
I inwardly chuckled at Hedonia’s half-hearted attempt at comforting me. Not bad, though. Esban was the person I wanted to meet last.
“Hedonia, it’s time for you to return to your room now…”
“I know.”
Despite the continued insistence from the maid, Hedonia rose from his seat.
As he escorted the maid out with a brief farewell, Hedonia approached me, lips tightly sealed.
Then, he tapped my shoulder with his index finger.
“I dislike those who defy my words.”
He admonished me for not coming to the room.
“It’s like a shrimp getting caught in a whale’s fight, and there I am, right in the middle.”
It feels like the Duke of Apharantes and Hedonia are pulling my limbs in opposite directions.
I’m in a precarious position. I want to earn Hedonia’s favor, but at the same time, I can’t reject the Duke of Apharantes’ words.
There was only one thing I could say.
“It was intentional…”
“You believed I couldn’t defeat my father.”
His voice carried conviction.
In truth, he wasn’t entirely wrong.
“…Yes.”
In the end, I conceded.
That’s right. In this mansion, the Duke of Apharantes’s power still felt much stronger to me than the inert power of Hedonia.
Even if he were to become the guide and protagonist who would one day reshape the world.
“I can’t defy the Duke right now…”
I spoke frankly.
“You know I can’t follow Hedonia even though I want to, right? Don’t take it out on me for doing my best within those limits.”
Hedonia, who chuckled at my words, asked in a low voice,
“I am the one seeking revenge. So shouldn’t you believe I can achieve it?”
“….”
“Then think about who it’s better to listen to for the sake of the future.”
“I can’t sacrifice my own future safety right now.”
He spoke arrogantly.
“Trust me. I’ll handle the aftermath.”
Seeing his confident demeanor, a wry smile escaped my lips.
I wondered if he was truly the one who knew his father’s power better than anyone else and had been willing to die to escape from him.
Though the aura of death hadn’t completely receded from him yet, there was a gradual resurgence of vitality.
It wasn’t stagnant water but a flowing river.
With this in mind, my response was already predetermined.
‘…In the end, you’ll end up with everything anyway.’
The way he spoke, as if declaring himself the emperor of the future, was rather unfamiliar to me.
It’s probably what puts him at the center. Dignity, arrogance, and confidence.
It’s a different way of thinking from mine.
So, I’ll just have to be satisfied with being an extra, not the protagonist.
“Yes.”
I nodded my head.
With a satisfied smile, Hedonia Left the room.
* * *
As described in the novel, not many people know that Hedonia has not yet become the guide.
Among those who do are the three espers who will later be connected to him.
The heads of the families to which the three espers belong are currently receiving guidance from the Duke of Apharantes, and they are aware of the truth about Hedonia.
However, no one has spread this fact.
I expected there to be threats from the Duke of Apharantes. They needed the guidance of the Duke of Apharantes.
Among them, Esban, as a noble and highly proud sword master, had quite a high nose.
He wasn’t an easy opponent to face as a counterpart for the first time.
‘Wait a moment.’
But would I end up guiding them as well?
In the book, Karina hardly did any guiding.
The Duke, who already didn’t want to give everything to the greedy Karina, appropriately put a stop to it.
But I’m different from the Karina in the book.
I’ve never shown any signs of being greedy for what’s around me, so the first impression was different.
I would appear as a knowledgeable commoner.
There is hope.
There aren’t many who truly understand guiding. Even the laws concerning guiding were biased towards the aristocracy, and cases where commoners like me were born as guides but died without properly utilizing their abilities were numerous.
Guiding is a useful power. If I could learn it, it would be beneficial for my future.
‘For the sake of my future.’