There was an innocent, untainted cruelty in that smile.
And Lord El-Melloi II knew that what came next was the real crux.
He swallowed, hoping he would not die too horribly.
But when he spoke, he still had to sound resolute.
He had to show his "resolve."
"There were no signs of resistance on Karina's body. That person trusted you completely, which was why your sneak attack succeeded. And after she became the Gold Princess, I still saw no signs of resistance on her body—under the same circumstances, you killed her twice."
The current Gold Princess had not actually died, but if this continued, it was hard to say whether she still counted as "alive."
In a sense, she could be considered dead as well.
—Mao had killed her twice in succession.
"B-but this is what a mage must do!" Mao still stuttered, but compared to his earlier cowardice, he was now far more frenzied and aggressive.
He had deceived someone twice, ambushed someone twice, and finally killed someone twice.
"Ah, yes. But—if so, why didn't you ask her to die for you?"
The tentacles in the sky stopped, and even the sounds around them seemed to fall silent.
Lord El-Melloi II's voice rang out clearly. Even the surrounding mages widened their eyes, as though they were all thinking, "What the hell is this guy talking about?"
"What did you say—"
Mao said.
"Before you chose to keep her even at the cost of killing your childhood friend, why didn't you ask her to die for you? Why didn't you beg her, saying, 'To indulge my selfish wish to witness ultimate beauty with my own eyes once more, let me dissect you to my heart's content'? Since you claim that is an impossible dream, why didn't you cheerfully and proudly