The initial problem that Saria wasn't certain how to deal with, and which she needed most help with, was rather simple…
The space they were in had no obvious exit.
No passageway or even something like a hole to squeeze through.
Luckily, just as Saria hoped for, Penelope approached a seemingly inconspicuous wall, one that didn't even have any bricks, pushed on a space that looked like a seamless part of it, and then the latch-like door opened a few feet to her right.
The door itself was masked with bricks, but Saria wouldn't have guessed that the switch that opened it would be in such a place or masked so well.
The two of them began a long walk through the tight passageways, some reeking of sewers, some clean and devoid of any smell whatsoever… well, except for the one of dust.
Penelope was an outrageously competent guide, so competent that it made Saria begin to seriously doubt her even more than ever before.
She never hesitated even the slightest bit about which turn they should make, or which passageway they should go into, and which to pass.
But then, surprisingly, just as Saria was about to voice her concern, Penelope stopped in place in front of a fork in their path…
"You got close to Amelia those past few months… say… After all that I've done, does she even recognize me as her sister anymore…?"
"...what…?"
Alas, the words that came out of Penelope's mouth slammed into Saria's brain like a sledgehammer and thoroughly confused her.
"Now that my end is drawing near… I… have regrets. All she ever did was… her best, while I… focused on messing up her efforts to make myself look better instead of trying to improve myself…"
Penelope breathed out, gripping her left arm with her right hand tightly.
"Why was I so certain that my mother was correct…? If anything, wasn't she in the wrong in attempting to use her own child to get closer to a man who had already moved on to other women?"
"I'm the wrong person to talk to about those kinds of things. All you Southerners are weird in my eyes. Vallhalls are monogamous as a principle, and having multiple wives is frowned upon. My parents love each other, so I can't relate to you at all. Also, about Amelia, I hate her guts, so whatever closeness between us you're imagining, it is just a delusion on your part."
She said with a somber smile, but Saria merely shrugged and said in an attempt to cut the conversation before it could delay any more of their progress.
"You're right about that… You can't relate to my situation, but you might find yourself in one similar to my mother's."
"...excuse me…?"
Penelope glanced over her shoulder and scoffed, causing the silver-haired girl to tense up and release a low growl.
"Hmhm~"
"...!"
Instead of a proper response, Penelope merely smirked and chuckled lightly, greatly stirring up Saria's anger.
"Watch your mouth! I might have liked him back when we were children, but that's long over!"
The silver-haired girl called out in actual anger, clenching her fists hard.
"...I… I was just speaking in general since, as the next head of the Vallhall family, you might end up in a loveless political marriage…"
"!"
Penelope furrowed her brows and turned to Saira, greatly confused by her words, causing the silver-haired girl to flinch, stunned by a wave of embarrassment that came after the realization.
In the complete silence between the two of them, both began walking again in agreement to drop the subject.
"...do… do you remember the first time you did something bad to Amelia…?"
"?"
Or not… as, shockingly enough, it was Saria who spoke up on the related matter.
"I do, because it backfired on me… she was practicing magic and broke one of the mansion's windows. I told on her, but that only revealed that she could use 2nd tier spells at nine years old."
"..."
Penelope's answer momentarily silenced Saria…
"...as for me…For the longest time, I was convinced that he started hating me first for no reason, but… haa… I don't remember doing it, but recently I learned what I did to cause it…"
"..."
Saria said, breaking her sentences with guilty and awkward sighs, but Penelope did not bother her about it, waiting patiently.
"I couldn't believe I would do something like that, but when I asked my mother about it, she confirmed everything…"
Saria said, stopping in place with her head lowered.
"The thing about his mother's death…? That's certainly something that would make him hate you, but he didn't. Or at least not enough to wish harm upon you."
"Yeah, well… Eh…? Wait…"
Penelope inquired only to shrug off Saria's worry, which took the silver-haired girl by surprise.
"How do you know that? I refused to talk about it to Amelia, and I am certain that I wasn't eavesdropped on. Then how?"
Saria asked, taken aback.
"There are three defoolized humans plotting against Rotsard Vallhall. Teacher Hervolst is one, but another is that maid who seemed incredibly close to your cousin. Kyle Houndred. When they all shared information on him, she declared you as one of his major weaknesses. Since she made sure to convince him that everyone he loved and cared about were bound to die, he distanced himself from you as far as he could. Which means he had cared about you the most this whole time."
"...!"
Penelope revealed so casually, as if she didn't realize what kind of information she was sharing.
"That's why you weren't killed but rather abducted… to act as a bargaining chip in case Rotsard will turn out to be more troublesome opponent than they expect."
She added.
"N-no, but that's impossible… In the first place, Rotsard is a weakling…! Trash…! He… he cheats on the exams and…!"
"You say that, but out of the three deofolized humans, two had fought and lost to him, and the third one is the teacher who was let in on the secret."
Saria shook her head and called out defensively, but Penelope merely shrugged her shoulders as she pointed out.
"Before my contracted fae left me, she gave me advice before I joined them. Advice about Rotsard."
"...your fae left…? Oh, gedwyld, right… What kind of advice…?"
Penelope added, causing Saria to shake her head a couple of times.
"Once everything fails and falls into ruin, I should beg for forgiveness and help. Since I'm Saria's half-sister, he might find a solution."
"...how would he even do that? Isn't gedwyld pollution a death sentence?"
"..."
Saria frowned, and Penelope went silent.
A couple of moments later, they began walking again.
Maybe because of the lack of natural light, it was very difficult to tell how long they had to travel, but, alas, finally, they got to the exit.
Honestly, at one point, Saria could ditch Penelope and simply follow the fresh air, yet she chose to continue the slow pace.
She… did not believe Penelope at all.
Not in the talk about deofolized humans.
Not about gedwyld pollution.
Not about the reason the two of them ended up in the sewers.
Not about the remorse that Penelope supposedly felt towards Amelia.
And definitively not about Penelope's willingness to let herself be preemptively killed.
Everything reeked even more than the sewers.
Which ended up putting the silver-haired girl on guard, thanks to which, once the two of them finally returned to the outside world…
"YOUNG MISS!"
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
"Hmph…! Snowball!"
As they were attacked by two fox-eyed third-year students of the Royal Academy, she merely scoffed, unleashing two spells with only a single incantation, following them with a couple of ephemeral blades that no longer needed to serve as torches.
"You two?! What the hel is going on?!"
As both fox-eyed students were forced to back off, Saria shouted in anger, recognizing them quite easily.
…but instead of an explanation, she received a rather clear answer in the form of hostile glares and more offensive spells being prepared.
"Felix, Ren, that's enough!"
"...!?"
"B-but, Young Miss…!"
Still, before combat could properly begin, Penelope called out, taking the fox-eyed students by surprise.
"???"
…even though Saria was shocked the most by that fact…
Up until that point, she believed that the fox-eyed cousins were Amelia's followers. Quite devoted, too, as far as she was aware, at least.
"...you didn't think that I somehow managed to keep spreading rumors about Amelia and Rotsard all on my own…?"
To answer the suspicion that was already forming in Saria's mind, Penelope said with a shrug.
"Both of you… Why are you here in the first place…? I told you that it's too late for me."
Then, Penelope addressed the fox-eyed cousins, but she was avoiding making eye contact and only looked to the side or at Saria.
"You did. But we never said we would."
"Absolutely not."
"...!"
The cousins said without an ounce of hesitation, causing Penelope to go silent as her chin trembled and her eyes teared up.
"...Amelia doesn't know you weren't on her side… you only spread rumors about Rotsard and not her… You both are splendid men, you should just move on from someone like me."
She said, her voice trembling.
"Nonsense. In the first place, both of us like girls who are older than us."
"Hey, genius, you make it sound like any older girl would do."
The gray-haired one said proudly, but was admonished by the red-haired one.
"Young Miss… no… Penelope. When you're not plotting anyone's downfall, you are such a sweet woman with enough love to share between me and this dimwitted brute of a cousin of mine."
"No matter how annoying, what my talkative, know-it-all, cousin said is true. Apologize to Young Miss Amelia, and just leave the Edemsworth house. We will support you… although, a trio is already stretching it, so do not agree if you intend to seek intimacy of any men besides the two of us."
"...!"
The two said, one reassuring, the other playful, causing Penelope to tremble even more.
"And for that to happen, I will have to request you to take away those blades, Young Lady Vallhall."
The more crude of the cousins turned to Saria… and his words, although brash, were far gentler than the look he was giving her.
"How about it, Penelope? Just come with u…"
*smack*
"It's too late!"
The gentle one said, focused on Penelope herself, but the hand he was offering her was slapped away.
"Stay away! You two don't understand! I was polluted by gedwyld! I can't be sawed! I can't… I can't…"
In the silence that followed the slap, Pnelope cried out, trembling uncontrollably as she fell to her knees.
"I can't doom you to the same fate… not the two of you…! Just stay away!"
"..."
"..."
Penelope sobbed, causing the cousins to glance at each other with awkwardly happy expressions as it was obvious that, despite the circumstances, what they were facing was the opposite of rejection.
"..."
On the other side of the scene was Saria, left standing in disbelief as she ended up facing a supposedly dramatic development.
Only that it didn't make sense.
If Penelope was lying, this was clearly a distraction aimed at her… But, what for…?
And, if she was telling the truth, there were far more important things that required confirmation and attention than some cheesy romance!
"Ugh… Can we at least confirm facts before you continue with this theatrics? I swear, I want to smack the living shit out of…"
Saria scoffed at the trio, waving her hand at them with great annoyance…
*WHOOOOSH* *WHAAAAM*
…and the very next second, a tree-sized moldy root that wasn't there a second ago bent and struck Penelope, Felix, and Ren, like a giant whip, slamming into them and sending them tumbling across the ground without giving them the slightest chance to retaliate!