Chapter 92: I'm sorry, Rishe

Thank goodness Prince Kyle was here. Any other country, and it would've been a breeze for me to find the right people myself.

This was the one place Rishe hadn't visited in her past lives. She had at least a passable understanding of the trade situations in other countries, but she was tragically unfamiliar with Galkhein's market. Luckily, Kyle's connections extended all the way here.

Since he's met so many merchants face-to-face for honest dealings, he has connections with Galkhein merchants too. They must consider Prince Kyle an important customer, since they were willing to procure rush orders for him.

Merchants valued personal connections highly, and someone like Kyle was an incredible score.

"They told me they had no way to verify the authenticity of this powder, though. Michel might have been able to tell, but…"

"It's not a problem, Prince Kyle; I can verify its components. And I already told you I'd like to keep this plan a secret from Michel. Is the professor in town again today?"

"Yes. Whenever he's not experimenting, he likes to immerse himself in books."

Kyle was assuming that Michel was visiting the library in town, but Rishe was more familiar with his patterns of behavior. If Michel was down in the town, she had a good idea of what he was up to.

"I managed to get Prince Arnold to agree to meet with you one more time. Two days from now, in the evening."

"Yes. Our party plans to return to Coyolles in four days."

Kyle's visit was ostensibly to celebrate Arnold and Rishe's wedding. His other pretexts were an exchange of information between their respective scholars and some observational tours of the country; the formation of an alliance was not on the books for either prince. If he extended his stay for no reason, Arnold's father—the emperor—would grow suspicious.

If they find out what we're doing, one of two things will happen: The emperor will invade Coyolles, or, to prevent that, Prince Arnold will invade Coyolles. Either way, Prince Kyle will be in danger.

Concealing her worries, Rishe spoke up, her voice bright. "It will be fine, Prince Kyle. I was expecting your meeting with Prince Arnold would be tomorrow—now I have another day to prepare."

"How fortunate. Please tell me if there is anything I can do to help."

"You've done more than enough. Given that I'm marrying into this country, I'll be very pleased to have you as an ally." Rishe said.

Kyle's eyes widened, and he bowed deeply to her.

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Rishe returned to her room and dismissed her servants in order to "sleep" — or rather, to quickly prepare the next phase of her plan. After a bit of work, she listened carefully to the adjacent room.

Arnold didn't seem to be there; he must have still been handling his duties.

Once Rishe was certain, she went onto her balcony with a rope. Rishe descended from her fourth-floor room to the garden, heading for her field. She approached as silently as she could, catching the expected scent of flowers.

"Hello, Professor." Just as she thought.

When Rishe addressed him, the blond man looked up from where he stood beside the field, an herbal cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Michel tucked his hair behind his ear and smiled, plucking the cigarette from between his lips.

"Hey, Rishe. Good evening. You ready to take a journey with me?"

Rishe shook her head. "I believe I told you I wouldn't be taking you up on that offer. I'm only here to speak with you."

"All right. Let's talk."

Facing Michel, Rishe couldn't help but recall that day in her life as an alchemist where their paths had diverged. A little nervous, she asked, "Professor, do you really intend to give Prince Arnold your gunpowder?"

"I think I will. After all, I expect he'll make effective, decisive use of it. He'll change the world."

Michel took a drag on his cigarette, blowing out smoke before going on. "Poison is brought into this world to do harm. If you don't use that poison to kill, it has no reason to exist, does it?"

Rishe did heard those words in her previous life too. "Gunpowder is the same. It exists to change the world, therefore it must be used to tip order on its head."

Michel was still smiling, the light in his eyes turning them to ice. "All things must fulfill their purpose. I am no exception."

Rishe knew why he was being so obstinate. "Someone who was born to turn the world upside down must act in accordance with their mission, then?"

"That's right. You know exactly what I'm trying to say, Rishe."

Of course she knew; he'd told her before. He had even said it with the same unyielding expression.

"If I cannot achieve this, there is no meaning in my existence. And if gunpowder does not find someone to make use of it, it will suffer the same fate."

"It must be used even if it will lead to many deaths?"

"Heh heh heh, what a dilemma. I'm sorry, Rishe. I truly don't mean to upset you." Michel's smile faltered, growing lonely. "That much, at least, is true."

Rishe clenched her fists. "You were always like this, Professor."

"Hm?"

"You behave more carelessly than anyone I know, but you deprive yourself of true freedom. There are things you want and things you don't want, but you're a captive to this 'role' you think you must play. You pour your alchemical talent into your experiments, striving to shoulder some burden you've arbitrarily decided belongs to you."

"What are you—"

"There are certainly things in this world that only you can accomplish. But achieving incredible feats is not your purpose." Rishe stopped to take a breath, staring him down.

"People don't need a purpose to exist in this world."

Michel's eyes widened just a little, so quickly and slightly it was hardly an expression. But for just a fraction of a second, he looked surprised. In all the years she'd spent with him, Rishe had never seen that look on his face before.

"You say such strange things."

The surprise was gone, replaced by his usual soft smile. "Nothing comes into this world without meaning. Once it exists, it must strive to fulfill that meaning."

"Professor, I—"

Michel turned away, but he looked back just once to tell her, "Good night, Rishe. See you tomorrow."

Rishe was a little relieved that his goodbye hinted at the future. In her third life, they'd parted with the devastating words, "Farewell, my student."

Shutting her eyes, she inhaled deeply. Exhaled. Then her eyes flew open.

I have to hurry…

Rishe only had one day left.

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