Tiara Ark Gate Couldn't Understand

Once a week, there was a day I dreaded.

It was the day I had to report to the head of House Ark Gate—no, to that evil god.

“…Tch.”

I looked over the report I had compiled and clicked my tongue softly.

Compared to when my elder sister had been the head of the family, the work was absurdly simple and did not even take a full week.

And yet, I was only permitted to visit the Ark Gate manor once a week.

That woman had not only stolen my elder sister’s manor, but had even driven out the people who lived there.

And recently, she had added yet another restriction: I was only allowed to come once a week. Truly infuriating.

She irritated me, but there were others I disliked even more.

The increasingly insolent Aurora, and Nova Fols.

Nova Fols in particular had insulted House Ark Gate.

Aurora’s refusal to remain obedient was also a problem, but compared to that man, she was still preferable.

“Honestly—”

“Good afternoon, Aunt Tiara.”

The voice from behind me sent such a chill through my body that I felt as though all the blood had drained from it.

I desperately suppressed the cry that nearly escaped me and turned around.

Standing there was someone who should not have been here.

The current head of House Ark Gate, Leticia Ark Gate.

A monster so terrifying that I considered her an evil god.

I desperately tried to calm my heart, which was pounding like a warning bell at her sudden appearance.

I almost wanted someone to praise me simply for managing not to scream.

“H-Head of the Family… Why have you gone out of your way to come all the way here…?”

While keeping up appearances, I desperately tried to remember everything I had done moments earlier.

Again and again, I tried to recall whether I had spoken any insults about that man or this woman aloud, but I could not be certain.

“No particular reason. You’re always the one who comes to see me, Aunt Tiara, so I thought I might come and collect it myself for once.”

“I-I see… Thank you for going to the trouble.”

Apparently, I had not said anything aloud.

That was a relief, but I still did not understand why she had come here.

Why only this week? Could Aurora have tattled on me?

I considered it, then concluded that could not be the case.

Judging by how she had acted, Aurora was unlikely to say anything.

Besides, I had not said anything wrong in the first place.

Surely even this woman had some concern for House Ark Gate.

“Oh, right. I heard you argued with Aura in the Royal Capital. And right in front of Nova-san, no less.”

The crushing pressure made me feel as though my heart might stop, and cold sweat broke out across my skin.

I see. That man must have tattled on me.

“…I apologize for causing a minor disturbance in the Royal Capital. But I only wanted Nova-sama to contribute to House Ark Gate.”

“You wanted him to contribute… rather than believing it was only natural that he should?”

“…………”

The torrent of mana pouring from her grew stronger.

Terrifying. Memories of that day resurfaced, and my body threatened to tremble.

Even so, I stared straight back at her.

“…Every man who has ever become involved with House Ark Gate devoted himself to the family. Surely you, as its head, understand that perfectly well.”

“…………”

“House Ark Gate… No, my elder sister used everything available to her. Things outside House Ark Gate, the men of House Ark Gate, even members of the Ark Gate bloodline itself. That was how she led House Ark Gate to even greater prosperity.”

I knew this woman did not think highly of my elder sister.

But it was an undeniable fact that our family had prospered because of her, and I knew this woman herself did much the same thing.

“T-That is precisely why I expected the same of Nova-sama. Everything was for the sake of our family! Remember this—who was it that created the masterpiece known as Aurora?!”

“…………”

She did not offer a single rebuttal.

That’s right. My elder sister had always been correct. My elder sister alone had been the supreme existence. I became certain of it.

“How amusing.”

“…What?”

Yet the woman before me dismissed everything with a single incomprehensible remark.

The moment I saw the blatantly artificial smile on her face, my body finally began trembling beyond my control.

It was the same. Just like that time.

The terror of something beyond my comprehension, something that existed on an entirely different plane from me.

“Your sensibility in treating people like works of art is questionable enough, but when someone without even the ability to create anything worthwhile starts talking about masterpieces, it becomes nothing more than a joke.”

“What… are you… saying…?”

What… was this woman?

“Because it’s true, isn’t it?”

Was she really my elder sister’s daughter?

“Aura aside, even the great Mother you worship so dearly could not surpass me, despite the fact that no one ever laid a hand on me.”

The overwhelming pressure of her mana began to make me dizzy.

No matter how much mana I used to resist it, hers crashed down over mine as though mocking my efforts, leaving me unable to think clearly.

“Well, I have no intention of fighting Aura when Nova-san is so fond of her, and besides, Aura is my little sister, not some work of art.”

The monster took one step closer.

She was smaller than me, with a build that looked slender and delicate at a glance.

Her appearance was that of nothing more than a frail woman.

But to me, she looked like nothing except a being containing power beyond comprehension.

“Ah, come to think of it, there may have been one thing you said that was correct.”

I thought she was leaning in to peer at me. Yet her face seemed to distort and waver.

No… I realized that I myself was rejecting even the act of perceiving her.

“‘There aren’t any good girls in House Ark Gate,’ was it? Yes, you’re absolutely right. Of course, the degree to which each of us is a bad girl may differ.”

No. She had not heard it from that man.

I had no idea how she knew, but I became certain that she knew everything.

Her tone when she repeated my exact words had been reproduced far too perfectly.

The monster smiled sweetly. It was such an artificial smile that it sent a shudder through me.

“Then you should think very carefully about what happens when you anger the worst girl in all of House Ark Gate.”

“…………”

“From now on, you are forbidden from making contact with Nova-san or Aura. Well, if you happen to pass each other, a brief greeting is acceptable.”

“…Y-Yes.”

The monster walked past me and disappeared from my field of vision.

“I’ll take the report with me, then. Take care of yourself, Aunt Tiara.”

With those final words, the mana pressing down on my body vanished.

Even though the oppressive mana had disappeared, I collapsed to the floor.

I was no longer capable of standing.

“Hah… haa… ngh… haa… haa…”

Perhaps because I had unconsciously been holding my breath, it spilled out of me all at once.

My body would not stop trembling. The fear showed no sign of fading.

“What… what is she…? I don’t understand…”

Everything was far too different from everything I had ever known. I understood nothing anymore.

What my elder sister had believed in, and I, who had believed in her.

Faced with something utterly impossible to comprehend through anything I had known before, all I could do was clutch my head.

“I don’t understand…”

I truly understood nothing, but there was one thing I did know.

That thing really was a monster. Coldhearted witch? Heartless demon? What nonsense.

That was an evil god powerful enough to destroy even the world.