Part 2

“But even so, isn’t it really rare for it to snow around this area of the kingdom?”

“That is correct! I believe that this hardly ever happens. At the very least, this is my first time seeing snow!”

“First time, it’s at that level, huh. You must be feeling pretty excited then, Schult-chan.

Saying this, Al looked at the pink-haired boy with a gaze as though he was looking at something charming.

The boy’s name was Schult, a chamberlain in training working in Priscilla’s mansion ― Or rather, Priscilla’s page who was something like a cherished pet to her.

The person in question didn’t really care, but the reason Priscilla originally picked him up when she found him on the verge of starvation was because their eyes happened to be the same color.

Priscilla had stated that if this weren’t the case, she most likely would have just ignored him. Even Al understood that she wasn’t trying to hide her embarrassment or anything by saying this, her words simply described the reality of the situation.

Amazingly, despite the various hardships he had experienced until now, Schult did not take any strange turns in life and was growing up to be a nice and wholesome boy, it was adorable. Even Al could see that.

“―? Al-sama, is something the matter? Have I said something strange?”

As Al thought this, his gaze caused Schult who was picking up the scattered papers to tilt his head. Al shrugged his sole arm’s shoulder at the boy who was presently engaged in his usual chores that weren’t even worth discussing.

“No, I was just thinking that it’s adorable how you’re so wholesome. You probably feel the same way, don’t you princess?”

“Do not speak such absurdities, Al. Even supposing he were an infant, it is only natural that he would give his all for my sake. Therefore, Schult’s efforts have no bearing on my evaluation of him. The reason I keep him by my side is only because his appearance and bearing are splendid, nothing more.”

“That was an incredibly roundabout way of putting it, but basically, you just like the way he looks?”

Priscilla who had given this haughty answer hmphed at Al’s simplified explanation. But considering she made no attempt to correct his explanation, it was probably fine to think that it was for the most part accurate.

Despite her attitude, she left the task of cleaning the room to Schult as she sat on the windowsill, idly watching the dancing snow.

“――”

Suddenly, Al realized that he had forgotten to even breathe as he gazed at her profile, captivated.

There was the unusual snowy scenery as well, but to begin with Priscilla’s own beauty was already at a transcendent level on its own. There existed beauty in this world which no paintbrush could reproduce, it would be no exaggeration to say that Priscilla was among such beauty, that was simply a fact.

“Well, that’s basically what my argument amounts to, so please forgive me.”

“I haven’t even said anything and you’re already making excuses for stealing glances at my profile, you truly are an insipid man. Regardless, do not misunderstand me. I am not so narrow-minded as to lose my temper over such a thing.”

“Eh, talk about unexpected. Wouldn’t you be like, your gaze is bothersome, zubaaa or something?”

“It is inevitable that men would experience carnal desires at the sight of my beauty, such is this world. If I were to find fault in this, I would have to behead every man in the world. That in itself would be the height of wastefulness.”

“Mm, that’s some confidence you’ve got. But from someone at your level, I guess those aren’t words to make light of.”

Smiling wryly at her display that was both pompous and magnanimous, Al fiddled with the metal at his helmet’s joint. With this metallic sound behind her, Priscilla continued to gaze at the outside.

It was also difficult to understand just where exactly her interest was directed, that was the sort of woman she was. It was true that they were experiencing some unusual weather, but Al didn’t think that it was the sort of thing you could enjoy looking at for extended periods of time.

“You seem rather passionate about this, princess. Do you have some sort of emotional attachment to snow?”

“It is nothing of the sort. Rather, the issue at hand comes before that… Much like Schult, I too am seeing snow for the first time.”

“Eh? Seriously?”

Her unexpected statement caused Al’s eyes to widen within his helmet. Next to Al, Schult too looked up at Priscilla with an expression of surprise on his cute face.

“This is your first time seeing snow as well, Priscilla-sama! How surprising! But I am also delighted that we are experiencing this together!”

“You do say some cute things, Schult. I shall pat your head.”

“Please go ahead.”

As Schult smiled innocently, Priscilla beckoned him over to her and started stroking his pink, fluffy hair. Al sighed deeply as he watched her hand move.

Perhaps annoyed by this reaction, Priscilla’s crimson eyes narrowed,

“What is it, would you perhaps like to say something?”

“It’s not like I particularly want to say it or anything. I was just thinking about how unpredictable you are. How should I put it, it’s kinda weird to say it like this, but you seemed to be the kind of character who knew everything and could do anything, you know?”

“―Hm. Certainly, there can be no doubt that I am a being not far from such a description.”

“I said it myself, but this is my first time seeing someone who would actually accept the descriptors omniscient and omnipotent.”

Anyway, it was a fact that that was the sort of impression Al had of this woman who was so full of confidence.

It probably was a bit too much to say she knew everything and could do anything after all, but even so, he thought that perhaps Priscilla who had both extensive knowledge and excellent analytical ability had seen all there was to see in this world.

That was exactly why he thought that he of all people would be able to catch her interest.

“So it’s quite the surprise to hear that something like snow is a fresh experience for you. Unexpectedly, it would appear that you’ve never had certain common experiences, princess.”

“While I am certainly curious as to what basis you are using to define the word common, you evidently haven’t put much thought into your statement. Rather, the impression you have of me has unexpectedly roused my interest.”

With her hand still on Schult’s head, Priscilla smiled sweetly at Al’s words. Al’s shoulders trembled slightly, as if someone was running their finger down his spine.

Seeing this out of the corner of her eye, Priscilla once again directed her gaze towards the sky,

“I have seen it any number of times in books, but I had never in my life encountered snow. The sight of white snow descending from the skies was ultimately something I could only imagine.”

Snow descended onto the palm she held out. This snow as ephemeral as grains of sand immediately melted in her palm, becoming ordinary drops of water.

Priscilla hmphed having confirmed this,

“It was not quite as wondrous as I had hoped.”

“Hoping for something wondrous, you just said something pretty damned cute.”

“Fool. Do you not think it disrespectful to describe me as cute. There exist much more fitting words to extol my beauty. Shult, let us hear them.”

“Eh? Y-Yes! Umm, umm… Priscilla-sama is really ‘elegant’ and a ‘beauty’!”

[T/N: These words are in English]

“You’re quite a fast learner. You used those words well.”

Shult turned red in the face as he displayed the knowledge he had only just learned, impressing Al. Priscilla too nodded with satisfaction in response to his efforts.

“Behold, this is the manner in which my servants ought to serve me. Al, you too must exhibit the proper diligence.”

“Alright, understood, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Saluting with his right hand, Al nodded at Priscilla’s words, not taking them too seriously. His attitude was probably completely transparent to Priscilla, but she did not say anything about it.

“Fundamentally speaking, they are no different from raindrops it would seem. Dried up water solidifies atop the clouds, and then it is merely a matter of whether it descends as raindrops or snowflakes. Should it become snowflakes, they cling to one another and descend as snow. And they hence melt and repeat this process.”

“Heeh, you could have fooled me. Was that written in your books as well?”

“When I see something in person, I comprehend it to its core. This does not extend as far as the minute details, but it is for the most part true.“

Seeming bored as she said this, Priscilla pulled her folding fan out of her cleavage. Concealing her mouth by unfolding it, she turned away from the sky and towards Al.

“I told you just moments before. That there can be no doubt that I am a being approaching omniscience and omnipotence.”

“Oh-Ohh, you’re digging that up again, huh. No, I do think that you possess such traits to some extent, but…”

“If so, for what reason did you hold such an impression of mineself? There are of course the beauty and elegance with which I was born as well as my countless other virtues, but among them which was it that stood out most?”

“That’s…”

“Slow. I shall tell you. ― It was my intelligence.”

Al faltered, and Priscilla firmly declared this without waiting for his answer.

She was so overwhelming that he could actually feel some heat, causing him to fall silent and bite his lip. Priscilla shouldn’t have been able to see him do this within his helmet, however, she donned a faint, sadistic smile,

“Intelligence, that is the ability to reason which is all that separates mankind from beasts… There are those who say such things, but I do not agree in the slightest. Even beasts in the wild possess consciousness, they possess the instinct to learn, and they possess a life with which to make use of their knowledge.”

“――”

“Intelligence, it can be said that it is a guide which transcends fetters such as sentiment and bonds, and which determines whether one lives or dies. That being the case, beasts too possess intelligence. There exists no qualitative difference between man and beast, to unconditionally deem them beneath humans goes beyond pride, it is simply laughable.”

“Wooow, that’s an absurd argument in itself.”

“Do not try to gloss over this by acting like a clown, Al. I am asking you a question regarding your principles.”

Al tried to shrug in response to her smile, but he suddenly stopped.

From directly before him, Priscilla’s crimson eyes were fixed on his eyes within his helmet.

“Answer carefully. If it is not the presence of intelligence which separates man from beast, where exactly lies the difference between them? What is it that definitively separates them?

Her gaze made Al feel like his neck was burning. Al’s breath halted, and realized all too late.

―That right now, he had been placed at a crossroads far more extreme than he had imagined.

“――”

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