Symphony for the Insect Princess

Everyone's eyes immediately focused on her. Lillian trembled all over, her eyes wandering, and she said -

"Nothing, I just... was just thinking..."

Gurgle gurgle!

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a strange noise, the source of which was right behind her.

Nia covered her stomach, her face flushed red, and she tried to shrink behind Lillian.

"Uh, um, sorry, I... Sister Lillian and I... are a little..."

At this time,

Gulu!

““““““…”””””””

York frowned and touched his stomach——

"...Looks like Lux is hungry too."

"Eh hey hey? It's obviously you—"

"Ahem, anyway...it's past dinner time now, so it's normal if some people are hungry, so..."

Everyone looked at each other for nearly a minute before Lux broke the silence.

"Really? It's just dinner, right? Everyone should have brought something," he said, pulling out a small bag from his own pile. "Everyone was watching us pack, so everyone should know who brought what. This bag of biscuits is something I always keep in my room in case I get hungry after staying up late to settle accounts."

After opening the package, I found that the biscuits inside looked dry but were of very high quality.

"I can guarantee it's not poisonous... Of course, even if I said that, no one would eat it. After all, words are not enough."

"...Let's each eat our own food."

York said this briefly, then pulled out a small bag of biscuits and dried meat. He and Lukes often worked late into the night, and since calling in servants was a hassle, they always kept some food in their rooms. Since neither of them had high dietary requirements, they only prepared dry food.

As for the others——

“…I’m not hungry.”

“…I have no appetite.”

Ellen and Chloe didn't seem to have any appetite. Considering that their emotions were normal, York and Luke knew it was useless to persuade them, so they looked directly at the others.

Molly nodded silently. As a guest, she had brought homemade cookies.

And since everyone was only allowed to go to their own rooms to get food, Lillian and Nia had nothing to eat.

"Would you two like to eat something?"

York waved the biscuits toward them, and their eyes lit up immediately, but they looked away. Lukes also invited them, but was also rejected. They were both extremely nervous and wary, and unless they were absolutely starving, they would never eat food offered to them.

York sighed and was about to eat the biscuits, but he immediately stopped, took out a small test tube from his clothes, and dripped a few drops into the biscuit bag.

"Is this... an alchemical product used to test for poison?" Lux looked over curiously.

"Yes, I carry it with me."

"Oh, your preparations are really thorough."

"……What do you mean?"

"…It's nothing, just talking."

"If I'm suspected, I have no complaints... After all, anyone could be the murderer before the truth comes out."

"Uh, sorry, maybe I didn't word it right..."

"It's okay, just fill your stomach first. Do you want to use a poison test?"

"That's fine..."

"Most common poisons can be detected, although I can't provide evidence that I didn't intentionally poison the test solution."

"…Forget it then."

The hall fell into silence again.

York and Lukes Kabakaba ate a dinner that looked no different from dry food, while Molly nibbled on the biscuits she hadn't finished at the Harvest Festival dinner. Lillian and Nia, who were already a little nervous, bit their lips as they watched them eat, while Ellen and Chloe still seemed to have no appetite.

"…………Um?"

York suddenly realized that he had missed someone, and then Lux also noticed it.

"Hey... Nelris? What are you eating?"

Chapter 13 The Long Night (Part )

Although the amount of things each person took out of the room was different, the types were similar. They were nothing more than portable thin bedding, pillows, toiletries, etc., and each item was handed to someone else for review.

But there is an outlier here - me.

It’s not so much that “everyone trusts me” as it is that “no one wants to check what I bring out”.

"Hey... Nelris? What are you eating?"

I was just taking out dinner when York and Luke looked over at me.

"As you can see, take dinner. I'm a little hungry too."

This is the truth.

""...""

For a moment, the brothers' faces showed a very blatant expression of "disgust", but the two well-educated people immediately changed their expressions.

"Uh, let me confirm again, Nelris."

"Ok?"

"You, take 'dinner' out of the insect breeding tank and eat it?"

He emphasized the word "dinner," his eyes fixed on the only item I'd brought from my room: the aquarium. I'd painstakingly crafted this aquarium, with a blackout curtain outside. Inside, it housed a small, warm, and humid habitat perfect for insect reproduction. I'd specifically instructed them not to kill each other. After all, I was a daughter of an aristocratic family, well-off, so I'd collected a wealth of rare insects from around the world.

By the way, it was Allen who helped me carry this rather heavy breeding tank.

"Yes."

What I took out was a worm as big as my forearm, a bit like a mealworm, but with dark green lines like water ripples on its body, and a tube as thick as a finger extending from its mouthparts.

"Just for the sake of asking, what is this? If it's some dangerous creature—"

"Don't worry, it's called 'Sickfood,' which means 'special food' in the dialect of its native land. It's a low-level insect-like monster that excels at hiding rather than attacking. I raise it because of its remarkable physiological characteristics."

I pulled the tube out of its mouthparts. When it was about the same length as its body, I put the top of the tube into my mouth. It was sticky and slippery.

Then--

I picked up the Seckford worm and squeezed its abdomen as gently as I could. As it contracted, streams of thick, pale green mucus flowed out of the tube and into my mouth, leaving not a drop behind. It stayed there briefly before I swallowed it. To avoid wasting it, I scraped the mucus from the corners of my mouth and chin with my fingers and brought it into my mouth.

"...Huh, I'm done. Thanks for the treat."

I put the tube back into its mouth, and it twisted its body as if to protest my rough treatment. I'm really sorry, I'll put you back into the breeding tank now.

Looking up, I found that each of them looked like they were about to vomit...ah, Lillian was already retching.

"...So, you, just eat, this?" Lux asked me with a pale face, and York's face looked similar.

"Seckford worms can mix their own body fluids with the magic power they normally absorb to create a highly concentrated, non-toxic and harmless nutrient solution."

—That's the slime I just drank. Seckfords are one of the very few creatures that can survive solely by absorbing the free magic in the environment and can even create food from that magic. Inhabitants of their native land always bring one along on any long expedition to ensure a food source.

"Just a few sips of this nutrient solution can guarantee the body's energy supply for two full days. It's very useful. Would you like some?"

""""""don't want!!!""""""

“It tastes a bit like lemon juice.”

““““““Don’t do that!!!”””””””

"...Yes, that's a pity."

They didn't want it, but that was exactly what I wanted. After all, I was reluctant to share such a good thing with others. It seemed that deliberately eating it in a disgusting way was the right choice.

------------------

After eating some food, time passed in silence.

The clock in the hall was ticking, and there was no other sound except the occasional growling of someone's stomach.

Everyone stayed where they were like stone statues, thinking about their own things while paying attention to the actions of others, but it was obvious that almost everyone was exhausted. Molly, who was the most nervous at the beginning, had fallen asleep due to exhaustion.

"Everyone."

York made a somewhat dry sound, and everyone's attention immediately focused on him.

"I think it's time to discuss the issue of keeping watch while sleeping."

"""""...""""

Silence represents tacit agreement, and everyone expresses the idea of ​​"I'll leave it to you to decide."

"My idea is simple. Half of us go to sleep first, and the other half will keep watch until the second half of the night. During this time, Ellen and Chloe must be awake or asleep at the same time. Does anyone have any objections?"

"...Me." Lux raised his hand.

"explain."

"How do we allocate personnel? I mean, everyone is... very tired now. Who should rest first and who should rest later?"

"Well..."

York looked around the hall.

There were eight people in total now: York, Lukes, Ellen, Chloe, Lillian, Nia, Molly, and Nelris. If they took shifts, it would be four to four. Molly, who was overly tired, had already fallen asleep.

"Has anyone had dinner? People who have replenished their nutrition can eventually last a little longer."

Three people raised their hands: York, Lux, and Nelris.

"Anyway... I'll take the lead. It's okay if I keep watch first. Is there anyone else who isn't too sleepy?" York said.

Lux and Nelris looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

"My words are OK."

"same."

"So... Ellen, and Chloe? You..."

"Don't bother talking, I'll be awake! If that bastard dares to attack me at night, I'll—"

Although Allen looked a little tired, there was a fighting spirit in his eyes... to be more precise, even a little crazy.

"...That's what she said, Chloe. You know, as the strongest, you two haven't been ruled out as suspects, so..."

"So we can't just sleep while the other one wakes up, right? I can... do that too..."

But there were deep shadows under Chloe's eyes. The successive deaths of her father and Anhans were too much of a blow to her. York hesitated for a moment, but still nodded.

"So now there's me, Ellen, Chloe, and one more person."

He looked at the rest of the people. Lillian and Nia immediately shrank back. It was not their fault, because they were all hungry and mentally exhausted. If they didn't rest, they might not be able to hold on.

"Lukes and Nelris, please discuss this."

The two people being talked about looked at each other.

"...Um, Nelris, are you okay?"

"It should be okay. Where's brother Lux?"

"I'm fine too... Ladies first, you go to sleep first."

"Since Brother Lux said so, I won't let you down."

Although the other party was her blood brother, Nellis still bowed very solemnly, then lowered her head and sat on the chair without saying anything.

“…Then that’s it.”

------------------

into the night.

Molly was still curled up on the floor with her eyes closed and a distorted expression, as if she was having a nightmare.

Lillian and Nia lay on the carpet in the hall, using cushions they had brought from their rooms as pillows. At first they kept their eyes open uneasily, but soon fell asleep.