Reincarnated as the Weakest Shadow Queen in the Academy-Chapter 41: A Clown Should Not Touch the Crazy (2)

"Greetings."

A kind voice, ringing with true elegance, echoed from behind Vipero, continuing in a low hum. "I was going to ambush them, but this is a nice surprise. Thank you for intruding for no reason, commoners."

Her red eyes closed into a kind curve. The red twin hairs spilled as she tilted her head, the gesture imbued with a strange, natural innocence.

Her uniform was a grey coat paired with a white blouse and black skirt, the same as Quia’s and Ciel’s, indicating her entry into the academy.

Yet her fingers danced all too lightly at Vipero’s throat, treating the merchant’s life as a fragile toy.

She was much more polite than back then. Maybe not bleeding from her forehead made her saner?

Ciel’s posture lifted with excitement. The former shadebeast had longed for this meeting.

"It’s been a while!" Ciel nodded, earning a weird look from Quia.

Shire, with an unbending smile, merely nodded the same. "It has indeed been a while."

Then, her clutch suddenly strained, the merchant’s mouth gagging at the sudden force.

An irritated, almost amused edge sharpened Shire’s voice. "So who are you? Should I know you? I don’t think so, so why are you acting all familiar with me?"

Ciel blinked. Indeed, she had only met Shire once, but the deep impression came from the heart, and the fact that the red-haired girl was the first human she met that was not a mimic.

Unfaltered under Shire’s threatening ’smile’, Ciel’s hands fluttered at her waist, her excitement barely contained. "We shouldn’t, but is there such a thing as the best impression?"

She returned Shire’s kindness with a gleam of her own. "We did try to kill each other, so you could say our meetings were ordained by life."

’Life’. As if any other words didn’t matter, Shire’s eyes re-opened with a dull emptiness.

"So casually was the word ’life’ thrown around," Shire rambled on. "Hey, did you know? Till the mimic hunt exam, I’ve never taken a life before."

She then glanced around. The other guards hurriedly dodged her gaze, as if afraid they would earn her ire.

Shire chuckled out with malice. "Those mercenaries were the first time I tried. And it was...a mediocre experience."

A sigh escaped the redhead, as if recalling boredom beyond her imagination.

"I was so excited. The mercenaries attacked first, and I had the perfect excuse. My hands were trembling so much that I couldn’t aim properly, and my injury felt like proper flames that doused my strength with pain."

Her grip over the merchant slightly loosened. "I felt free, liberated even. The hollow eyes as their lives slipped away were mine and mine alone, but then..."

Those blood-red eyes squinted. "That damn spellbind had to happen. And they had to be healed to make my first kill... tasteless."

And yet, she took a deep, deep breath before facing Ciel once again.

"But I also found relief, gratitude even." Shire seethed. "Thanks to you, my ’death’ at least found its spice, delivered at your hands."

She licked her tongue, her gaze raking over Ciel’s figure. "After all, how could nobles live without their spices?"

The creepy insinuation, however, only excited Ciel further.

The little Queen clutched her chest. Heartbeat, full and steady, drummed into her chest.

She didn’t know why she felt this way.

Ciel giggled outward, finding this intriguing. "I’m glad to be part of you."

Shire’s chortle, mirroring Ciel, came a second late.

She could only answer. "And I’m glad my academy’s life didn’t seem boring."

An innocence they only knew melted into the space between them. Quia only winced, misunderstanding Ciel’s talk as an attempt to save the merchant.

As for Vipero-

"Uh..."

Not a muscle in him twitched, even as Vipero dared to speak in Shire’s grasp. "Miss... Shire? My former Fiance?"

And the careful inquiry killed Shire’s smile. Flare surged, and inhuman-like squeals erupted as flames enveloped Vipero’s head.

Shire just watched as she let go, Vipero’s figure wobbling as it rapidly lost strength. Her foot then gave a small nudge, sending him sprawling onto the floor.

"You won’t die." She coldly stated. "Don’t worry. It’s not the first time since I burned your head."

Muffled gasps stiffened in the air. The guards hurried away, not even bothering to glance at the gruesome scenery.

Ciel didn’t step back in horror and just admired Vipero writhing with a clinical calm.

The fire, despite swallowing the head whole, never touched the skin. Instead, it blistered with a stubborn vigor, radiating a heat so fierce even her nerve tingled.

What a precise control of her magic.

Ciel recalled Shire’s crazed self back in the forest. With blood and injuries, perhaps her control over the flame was not as precise as today?

As thoughts lingered, palms surged and enveloped her eyes, darkness overtaking her vision.

Quia’s panicking voice followed. "No lookey!"

The elf’s worry, despite being unnecessary, made Ciel flutter inside.

Though the scream ahead of them dulled it a little.

"Ah! Ah! Crazy bitch! Get this off, get this..."

Ignoring the man’s scream, the elf’s eyes met with Quia’s, calm, quiet, and boiling with a shared bloodlust against each other.

Ciel, unaware, merely caught the elf’s wrists before lifting them high up her head, just in time to witness the aftermath.

Shire cast a glance behind. The guard captain from before sprinted past the writhing merchant, before saluting Shire.

"This," Shire pointed down at the trash. "Remove him. Get him out of my sight, and remind him that the protection fee is due tomorrow."

Unlike the disgust before this incident, the guard had only respect for the redheaded, mad villainess.

"Understood," he bowed his head. "I thank you for lending your grace to us, Miss Lirene."

The guard captain ordered. His subordinates, despite the reluctance, hoisted the merchant by his muscled arms, careful not to touch his flaming head.

Screams faded away in the distance as they escorted him along with the mercenaries, leaving behind only Shire, standing against Ciel and Quia.

Shire’s hand briefly ghosted the carriage’s side. Her gaze held a strange attachment, but Ciel knew in her heart it meant nothing.

There were two types of insanity. One who was chosen by it, and one who chose it.

Shire was not normal in the head, but Ciel rather liked it that way.

Because, for some reason in her heart, she believed Shire was the latter.

And then, Shire jotted towards them.

On the way, her hand caught Ciel’s, wrapping them tightly in a folded, possessive grip.

It felt smaller, fitting perfectly with their similar sizes, yet bearing an intensity that Ciel’s softness lacked.

The red‑haired noble’s body pressed into Ciel’s frame, and only then did Ciel realize they were nearly the same height, with Shire standing just half a head taller.

"Say..." Shire hummed, her breath close. "Do you have any spare time after this?"

Shire’s closeness sent Ciel into a daze.

Their fingers crossed over one another, as a regret lingered within the depths of Ciel’s mind.

She could only chuckle apologetically at Quia, whose face flushed with an absolute fury.

Next time, Ciel wouldn’t hesitate to grasp the elf’s hand.

Panels flickered by through Ciel’s vision.

[ Quest: Mercaneries on the Hire: Completed! ]

[ Reward: <Balista> fragment x1 ]

[ You have made contact with key target, Shire Lirene. ]

[ The Queen of ??? admired you both. Less perilous subjugation ahead. ]

[ Reminder: Please open the Rare Item Box, or the Stars will be displeased. ]