WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 138: Javert’s Iron and Justice (5)

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There I was, sprawled on the floor.

Lua, on the verge of tears.

And the red-haired woman standing at the center of it all.

“...I’ll go get some air.”

With those words, Javert left the laboratory.

Her retreating figure disappeared down the hallway.

Not the slightest change showed on her face.

She was as cold and mechanical as ever.

Yet even beneath that armor of iron, she couldn’t hide the tremor in her eyes.

‘She was shaken.’

I sat on the laboratory floor, thinking.

A shattered vial lay in my hand.

Perhaps because a shard of glass had scraped me, little beads of blood welled up.

‘Did I... really shake her?’

I quietly clenched my stinging hand.

So Lua wouldn’t notice, I subtly hid it.

“Dad... sniff, Mom...”

The girl had finally burst into tears.

She seemed to be trying to hold them back, but the tears kept slipping out.

“Oh, Lua.”

I pulled my daughter close.

I lifted her up and gently patted her small back.

Lua buried her face in my chest and wiped her tears.

Maybe what I’d done had been too cruel for such a little girl.

‘I’m sorry.’

I murmured it inwardly without speaking because the matter wasn’t over yet.

All I could do was quietly soothe my daughter.

“It’s all right... Investigator Javert is just a little sharp today. Dad’s fine.”

A few reassuring words.

That was all I could give her right now.

“Everything will be all right.”

Yes.

Every piece was falling into place according to plan.

‘...Still, I never meant to make Lua cry.’

The original plan had been for Javert and me to have a small argument, then for Lua to step in and stop it.

But Javert’s reaction had been more intense than I’d expected.

The atmosphere had turned ugly, and she seemed confused.

She had raised her voice at a student, then even pushed me hard enough to make me fall.

‘Something I could never imagine from the usual Javert.’

A person like a machine.

Always so cold that, even if you pricked her fingertip, it felt like cold coolant would come out instead of blood.

Like a robot with nothing but a manual called Principles programmed into it, producing only the results that manual demanded.

‘But to think she’d show such a serious reaction...’

She had been shaken.

A small gap had opened in that sturdy armor of iron.

‘It must be because of last night.’

That was good news.

It meant the words I’d thrown at her were making Javert reflect on herself.

As she thought, she would question things. As she questioned things, she would waver.

The principles she valued more than her own life would begin to shake.

As the wind that had stirred those waves, I had a duty to watch her through to the end.

“Phew...”

After that, Javert didn’t return to the laboratory until a full two hours had passed.

Lua must have tired herself out from crying. She was asleep in my arms.

Perhaps mindful of her, Javert spoke in a soft voice.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. I needed some time to sort through my thoughts.”

Javert had regained her composure.

The charged atmosphere from before was gone, and her usual calm had returned.

Her eyes still trembled, but she seemed determined to ignore it.

“Then... without further delay, I will continue our earlier questioning.”

Questioning.

Naturally, it was about last night.

With a blank expression, Javert began asking me one question after another.

“...So you’re saying you remained in the dormitory all night, Student Viktor?”

“Yes. After returning around evening, I didn’t step outside even once.”

“Can you prove it? Is there anyone who can testify to your alibi?”

“You should be able to check the record of my comings and goings. Lua can testify as well, but... hmm, I think it would be best not to wake her right now.”

“...Understood.”

She also asked repeatedly about my schedule from the day before, the people I’d met, and more.

That relentless interrogation only ended after about an hour.

Javert finished her notes and nodded.

An air of exhaustion clung heavily to her.

“Thank you for cooperating with the investigation. I will take your statement into account.”

Her usual businesslike tone.

For some reason, though, it sounded forced today.

“And... I would like to apologize once again for my discourtesy earlier.”

Javert bowed her head.

Her back bent at a perfect angle, then straightened again.

Her expression was impossible to read.

“...”

Her green eyes lingered on me.

More precisely, on the hand I had subtly hidden.

My right hand, injured when the vial shattered earlier.

Perhaps she had noticed the wound, because Javert spoke in an even quieter voice.

“...I’m sorry.”

“Ah... it’s all right. It’s not a serious injury.”

“Please visit the infirmary. Even a small wound can worsen.”

“Ha ha, that’s exactly what I said.”

“...”

“I’m fine. Really, I don’t mind. You were only carrying out your duty, weren’t you?”

I gave her a gentle smile.

I had taken off my mask, so she saw it clearly.

“Um... in return, I’d like you to give Lua a hug later. I think today’s events frightened her quite a bit.”

“...I will.”

Javert simply accepted my request.

The conversation ended, and the brief disturbance seemed ready to fade away.

But I didn’t let go of her heart until the very end.

“Investigator.”

“Yes.”

I would shake her principles.

For that, there was a question I had to ask again and again.

“The unauthorized clearing of Purgatory. A kill-on-sight order has been issued for the culprit, correct?”

“...Correct. The headmaster ordered that they be killed immediately upon discovery.”

“It’s unlikely, but... what if the culprit is a student?”

“The principle remains the same. Being a student does not make them an exception.”

“Not the principle. What do you intend to do?”

“...”

Javert did not answer for a moment.

Why was that?

The usual Javert wouldn’t have had any reason to hesitate.

Keeping a calm expression, I tilted my head before her.

“Professor?”

“...”

“Was that a strange question?”

“No. Even if the target is a student, a principle is a principle.”

Her answer came a beat late.

I quietly probed that answer.

“I once told you something like this, Professor.”

The academy banquet.

I was referring to what happened then.

The words I had offered a rose beneath a terrace shrouded in night.

-How should I put it... Investigator, you always seem bound by something.

-I think it might be all right to let go a little.

I questioned you. I questioned the life you lived, one that relied on principles rather than people.

“I asked you about principles, and you answered. You said principles must always be upheld, or everything would fall apart. You said that, even for the sake of precious things and those you love, principles must never be shaken.”

“...”

“But what if those principles put you at odds with yourself? Precious things, those you love, things you want to protect... If your principles tell you to stand against them, must those principles still be carried out? Then what are those principles for, and what is carrying them out for?”

“I do not understand the intent behind your question.”

“If being bound by principles makes you oppose the things you love... isn’t that ironic?”

“That is enough. That statement rather disregards this matter and the academy’s order...”

“It seems you can’t think of a logical rebuttal.”

“...”

Silence again.

Without answering, Javert turned her back to me.

Her red hair swept through the laboratory as she left.

“...”

Even then, the silence in the laboratory showed no sign of breaking.

* * *

After spending the day like that, I returned to the dormitory.

I sat in the room as night fell.

“...Viktor, are you all right?”

As I sat there in silence, the silver-haired girl came over and sat beside me.

“Your Highness.”

“You don’t look well.”

“Ah... it’s nothing.”

Soft, steady breaths.

Lua was asleep in the bed beside us.

Careful not to wake her, I gently stroked her hair.

“I think... I did something a little cruel to Lua.”

Her cheeks felt soft beneath my fingertips.

Lua shifted in her sleep, then rubbed her face against my hand.

Then she gave me a tiny, angelic smile.

The princess watched us quietly.

“...Viktor, you really do like children.”

“Do I? I suppose I might.”

“Lua will be fine too. She must know that you truly care for her.”

“Even so, I feel sorry for her. If I’d known she would struggle like she did today, I wouldn’t have dragged her into the plan...”

A bitter smile formed on my lips.

I gently fussed over Lua.

Then Carmilla carefully asked me a question.

“So... how much longer do you intend to keep this plan going?”

“Not long. It will be over soon.”

“When is soon?”

“Four days from now.”

I answered softly.

The plan I had drawn out in my mind.

A vague murmur slipped from my lips.

I sounded as though I was pondering something, yet waiting for it at the same time.

“When that time comes, that person will make a decision too.”

Javert Droit.

I carefully folded the woman’s name into one corner of my heart.

* * *

Then, exactly three days later.

Javert and I met once again in Purgatory.

“...Student Viktor.”

“Chief Investigator.”

This time, I wasn’t hiding my face beneath a robe.

Footnotes:

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