WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 165: The Future I Chose
──────
* * *
Tata was surprised.
Because Ainsha, not even the Blue Dragon Princess, had suddenly crossed space and appeared before her?
Because she was in an indecent outfit, held in the arms of an unrelated man?
Because a faint blush had appeared on Ainsha’s expressionless face?
Of course, those were reasons too.
But what truly surprised Tata was that Rimon and Ainsha had already caught up with her.
It had been as Tata foresaw that the combat units left behind to delay them would not buy much time, but being tracked down at this point had not been part of the plan.
That was why Tata voiced her honest question.
“This is unexpected. How did you find out that Tata was already here?”
“That can wait. Offer your neck quickly. Then I can do it without pain...”
“Ainsha, wait a moment.”
“...
I will wait a moment.”
Ainsha had stepped forward eagerly, only to slump her shoulders and retreat at Rimon’s single word.
As Tata made another strange expression at the sight, Rimon asked quietly.
“There’s a complicated answer and a simple answer. Which do you want to hear?”
“The complicated one, please.”
“That’s not a very White Dragon Clan thing to say.”
For a moment, Rimon stared steadily at Tata after hearing those words, both unexpected and entirely expected.
Then he let out a faint chuckle.
And with a kindly manner, he answered.
“It’s nothing impressive. I simply followed the clues you left behind.”
“I don’t recall leaving any breadcrumbs behind.”
“You left a much clearer clue instead. The fact that you were a traitor, for example.”
“...
Is that a clue?”
“Of course it is.”
As though it were obvious, Rimon immediately nodded.
Then, with a mischievous look, he continued.
“A traitor has to do something traitorous. But there are only so many things you people can actually pull off.”
If this had been the Holy League, Tata could have done many things.
If she had borrowed the strength of the Liberation Brigade or other Holy League forces, she might even have overturned the White Dragon Clan if fortune favored her.
But in this country?
Even borrowing the strength of one of the Ten Great Guilds, never mind the Liberation Brigade, would leave her with few options.
Ainsha and Li Qing-yu were here. Above all, Rimon was here.
Fighting head-on against two Seven Dragons Society Princesses and humanity’s last Sword Master was suicide.
Which meant Tata’s betrayal had to be some kind of covert operation unrelated to open warfare. Something she could do even while openly revealing herself as a traitor.
Secretly fleeing.
Leaking internal secrets.
Provoking friction with other forces.
Or...
“For example, indiscriminate attacks on facilities or civilians.”
“Even so, isn’t it quite a leap to assume a traitor would suddenly become a terrorist?”
“Of course it is.”
Rimon readily admitted it.
Even he would normally have considered it unlikely. It was the sort of thing less suited to a traitor than to an enemy spy.
But Rimon had grounds to take that possibility seriously.
“If your Princess had not foreseen a future where you died by my hand.”
“...”
Though Tata had heard of her own death, she showed neither surprise nor agitation, calmly letting the words pass.
As though he had expected that, Rimon continued with a cold smile.
“If the White Dragon Princess saw that prophecy, then there must be a reason you will inevitably die by my hand. With that as the premise, this was the most fitting answer.”
If Tata had merely done something harmful to the Seven Dragons Society, Rimon would not have cared much.
Whether Tata lived or died, it would be Ainsha’s decision as the White Dragon Princess.
Even if the damage extended to the Black Dragon Clan, Li Qing-yu might intervene, but Rimon would not necessarily have to.
But if he reversed that logic, and considered what would require Rimon himself to act?
The answer became simple.
Something Rimon could never tolerate.
In other words, he only had to assume Tata would kill or harm innocent people.
“Once I considered that, finding this place was easy. I only had to think about why you contacted that bastard Moon Cheon-yeop.”
“Moon Cheon-yeop... Is that the name of the man who handed Tata the bag?”
“That’s right.”
“That is strange. He could not possibly have known where or what Tata intended to do.”
“Well, probably not. You likely only met through the Liberation Brigade’s crime-for-hire service in the first place.”
At first, Rimon had considered the possibility that Tata had joined hands with the Liberation Brigade. But as he tracked her down, that suspicion had nearly vanished.
It was unlikely enough for the Liberation Brigade, a Player criminal organization, to work with an Elder of the Seven Dragons Society.
And even if they had joined hands, it would have been strange to expose a traitor who should be kept hidden so easily.
Once the Liberation Brigade’s involvement was ruled out, the situation became even simpler.
Tata had used the Liberation Brigade’s criminal services to obtain what she needed, and there her interests had aligned with Moon Cheon-yeop’s.
“But I happened to know who that bastard held a grudge against.”
Rimon gave a faint smile.
Moon Cheon-yeop must have used the Liberation Brigade’s card to seek someone who would carry out his revenge for him. Tata had ‘coincidentally’ met those conditions, and in return, she had obtained information from Moon Cheon-yeop.
And through Yeonhwa, WIM’s guild leader, Rimon had learned at least roughly what materials Moon Cheon-yeop had stolen.
“That was how I realized your target was this [Music Challenge] program.”
The place where Ainsha had first met Rimon.
Even now, the audience seats were packed with people, while staff hurried about behind them preparing the broadcast.
The Music Challenge studio.
Standing on the ceiling above, cloaked in darkness by the very lights illuminating the studio below, Tata murmured coldly.
“...
You figured it out.”
“I have more connections than you might think.”
Rimon wore a cold smile from the ceiling opposite Tata.
At that moment, Ainsha, who had silently listened to Rimon’s explanation, spoke with an expressionless face.
“I do not understand.”
“What?”
“I do not understand why Tata would target a mere broadcast program.”
“Ah, I didn’t understand that either.”
Rimon nodded.
Even Rimon, who had pieced together most of the puzzle through persistent pursuit and instinct, had not been able to determine why Tata was targeting Music Challenge.
But that was precisely why he could easily voice one truth.
“Which is how I knew your nurse betrayed you solely to ruin this one program.”
“...
That is absurd. It is an extreme assertion. Complete nonsense.”
Ainsha instinctively objected.
Naturally so.
The Seven Dragons Society never tolerated betrayal.
Considering the Seven Dragons Society’s influence across the world, Tata and the other traitors were as good as dead now.
Even if they escaped by luck, they would have to spend their entire lives hiding and running.
Yet the nurse who had served her all her life had taken such a risk for nothing more than a broadcast program.
It was as foolish as a general declaring a coup and occupying a single convenience store.
“Normally, it would be absurd. But you are the White Dragon Clan.”
“The White Dragon Clan has nothing to do with this.”
“No, it does.”
Rimon easily crushed Ainsha’s objection.
Then, instead of looking at Ainsha, who stared at him as though she could not comprehend him, he turned his gaze toward the silent Tata.
“That is why your White Dragon Clan is called foolish.”
“...”
“So tell me. What kind of future are you trying to create by committing this kind of ‘foolishness’?”
Ainsha, who had tried to poison him right in front of him to change the future.
Like her... no, a woman who had committed, was committing, and intended to commit even greater foolishness.
Hearing Rimon’s question, Tata smiled.
As though she had given up on something.
As though she were immensely happy.
As though she regretted something.
With a smile so complicated that it felt empty instead, Tata spoke in a calm voice.
“A future where the Princess ends up with you.”
* * *
After receiving the Black Dragon Princess’s letter.
When Ainsha said she had foreseen meeting her destined partner, Tata had been genuinely happy.
It was something she had wished for all her life.
A dream that had become her lifelong desire while serving three generations of Princesses.
Ainsha traveling all over the world solely to find someone to make her prince consort had also been influenced by being raised under Tata’s guidance.
But the moment Tata saw Ainsha meet Rimon at this studio.
Tata knew.
That at this rate, the two could not end up together.
She had foreseen a future where this broadcast caused Ainsha and the destined partner she had finally found to come to a disastrous end.
It was an ending Tata could never accept.
Fortunately amid the misfortune, the future Tata had foreseen was not just one.
She had also seen a future where destroying this broadcast program gave Rimon and Ainsha a chance to end up together.
Though that future also included Tata dying as a traitor in the process.
Which future she should choose.
Tata’s choice had been made from the moment she saw Ainsha cry while listening to Rimon’s performance.
“Fortunately, the other members of the clan saw the same future as Tata and made the same choice. That made preparations easy.”
The girl listened to this with an expressionless face.
Only after a long time did Ainsha speak in a blunt voice.
“...
I will summarize. You betrayed me for my sake. That is a contradiction.”
“There is no contradiction. It is simply that our future is decided. We will ruin this program and die as traitors of the White Dragon Clan.”
Tata spoke as though it were perfectly natural.
Then she looked straight at Ainsha and gave a faint smile.
“Is that not why the Princess could not foresee another future?”
“...”
Naturally, Ainsha alone had not seen the future the others had.
Ainsha was the White Dragon Princess.
She was the greatest prophet of her age, one who saw only futures that could be realized, while what the others had seen were futures that would ultimately not come to pass.
As Tata herself had said, from the moment they saw two futures, this had been a decided ending.
“I cannot understand.”
Ainsha shook her head.
As the White Dragon Princess, she could sympathize with Tata and her clan’s actions themselves.
Following the future was natural.
What she could not understand was why they had chosen that future.
“My marriage is a minor matter. There are many men in the world. Tata has no reason to throw away her life.”
No matter how much she liked Rimon, it was not enough to weigh against the lives of Tata and the others in her clan.
That was why Ainsha, who had tried to change the future even by killing Rimon, could not understand their choice.
“No. That is more than enough reason for Tata to throw away her life.”
Tata stated it firmly.
Then, her smile gone, she looked at Ainsha with a dry expression and continued.
“If it can prevent the Princess from dying without ever meeting her destined partner, like the Princesses before you.”
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
