"Special ability?"
Isael frowned and asked again.
"What kind of ability is that?"
"Clairvoyance."
"Clair... voyance?"
"Yeah. I used that ability to see that the princess is trapped on the bottom floor."
When I spoke confidently, Isael responded with disbelief.
"Clairvoyance? Hah... I've never heard of such a thing existing."
"Then how else do you think I saw the princess all the way down on the lowest floor?"
"Because everything you're saying right now is a complete lie to begin with."
Isael's voice turned cold.
"Saying you saw my sister is probably just another lie you made up."
"Why would I lie to you right now?"
"Well—"
He glared at me threateningly, lips moving as if he were about to say something, but then he fell silent.
I met Isael's gaze head-on and said, "I'm not lying. It's true."
There was no reason it should be strange that I knew what the princess looked like.
That's because Dominic Grace, the heir to a marquis family and the crown prince's childhood friend and playmate, was my older brother.
I had often visited the imperial palace holding Dominic's hand since I was little.
Of course, I never met the princess or this guy at the palace, though.
I'd had a few conversations with the crown prince, the first prince, but I had never met Isael, the second prince, or Princess Beatrice.
He had claimed earlier that he'd seen me before, unexpectedly, but as far as I was concerned, this tower was my first time seeing him.
But whether I was lying or not, he had no way of knowing.
And that was what mattered.
"Blonde hair like mine, and blue eyes. I saw it clearly. The person locked up on the lowest floor was definitely the princess."
I spoke firmly, like driving a nail into the wall.
There wasn't even a shadow of doubt in my voice—I sounded completely convinced by my own words.
"Then with that amazing clairvoyance of yours, can you also see what's on the floor below us?"
"Of course."
That was an easy answer.
I didn't have clairvoyance or anything like it, but I knew the original story.
Which meant I understood exactly how this tower was structured.
"There's nothing on the next floor."
"Nothing?"
"Yeah. Literally. Just an empty space. No monsters or beasts."
I was so clear in my words that Isael didn't press me further.
He simply stared at me, eyes filled with skepticism.
While he watched me, as if trying to assess something, I also studied him.
The first time I'd seen him, the situation was life-or-death, so I hadn't been in the right state of mind to notice. But now I could see that he really had a handsome face.
Hair so dark it looked almost navy blue, and vivid red eyes.
Every one of his features seemed to assert its own presence.
As the main character of this world, it made sense that he looked extraordinary.
While I quietly nodded to myself in admiration, he suddenly asked, "...But if you've got such a special ability, why were you lying there unconscious like that?"
Spe. Ci. Al.
He clearly put extra emphasis on those words, no doubt trying to mock me.
Well, I suppose that was fair enough.
I responded casually, as if it was nothing.
"I've been traveling with people from the Empire of Camelot until now. But they abandoned me."
"...They abandoned you?"
"Yeah. Because I got hurt. They said they couldn't be held back here all because of me, so they left me behind."
I had failed spectacularly to board the protagonist's bus, so now I had to catch a different one.
And that bus's name is you, Isael.
Maybe I could escape this tower on my own, or maybe not.
Relying on an uncertain chance wasn't wise. It made more sense to grab onto someone more dependable.
No, I needed to hold onto every possible chance I could get.
Isael's departure from the tower was a firmly established fate in the original story.
That was the reason I clung to this villain-to-be who had been about to leave me behind.
Letting out a faint groan, I stood up and said, "Anyway, I get why you don't trust me. I'd feel the same in your place."
"…..."
"But soon you'll be able to prove whether what I say is true or not, so don't worry."
If there really was nothing on the floor below, just as I'd said, then Isael would be forced to believe I had the power of clairvoyance.
"If it turns out I was lying, then you can decide what to do with me after that. Right?"
With those words, I held out my hand to Isael, telling him to take it and get up.
But Isael only stared at me like a beast on high alert, all bristled fur and suspicion.
I let out a quiet sigh and spoke again.
"Well, if you want to find out whether I'm lying or not, first we need to go downstairs."
My voice came out gently, like I was coaxing him.
"You have to go see what's down there with your own eyes, right?"
This was harder than expected.
Of course, it would've been even weirder if he had trusted me right away.
Still, I can't waste time like this.
No matter what, I had to reach the ninth underground floor before Leonard, that damn hypocrite.
Only then could I rescue Beatrice and escape the tower with Isael.
That way, I'd block Leonard's path, teach him a lesson, and save Isael's sister in the process.
It would be a win for me and a win for Isael.
They say "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," and that saying wasn't wrong.
Of course, I plan to go my separate way from this guy the moment we leave the tower.
Since Leonard is the protagonist of this novel, he might still manage to open the door and escape the tower even without Beatrice.
If that happened, Isael, being the villain, might end up just like in the novel, defeated by Leonard and dying miserably.
But I'll help him as much as I can until we escape the tower.
Maybe things will turn out differently for him this time.
I'll give it my all, so let's make this work, okay? You fresh little budding villain.
"So let's just get down to the next floor first."
Only then did Isael finally stand up.
He completely ignored my outstretched hand and rose on his own.
Then, as if talking to himself, he muttered quietly, "Fine. For now."
* * *
So began our journey together, and it went surprisingly smoothly.
"Why do we even need to take that thing with us?"
"Just pick it already."
"..."
"If you're going to take it anyway, can't you just quietly do as you're told from the start?"
Isael clenched his fist at my grumbling.
The veins on the back of his hand bulged, looking pretty intimidating, but I chose to ignore it.
"Be careful not to drop it!"
"Easy for you to say."
Despite the complaint, Isael managed to pull the flower hanging off the cliff's edge out by the roots.
Pleased, I gave him a bright smile and patted his shoulder, then quickly snatched the flower from his hand.
"We need this to get through the next floor safely."
Isael stared at my smiling face in silence, then muttered ominously, "I suppose we do."
"..."
Of course, he still didn't trust me at all.
Well, that was something that could be fixed in time.
"Anyway, now that we've got everything we need, let's head down."
"Finally, we'll get to see if you really have that clairvoyant ability."
"…Sure. Let's go."
Okay, I get it, so stop with the threatening tone and cryptic comments...
Though honestly, having a skeptical attitude in a place like this was very wise.
Still, can I really get along with this suspicious guy?
I swallowed a sigh and began to move.
Leonard, that annoying jerk, had probably already gone down ahead of us.
Meanwhile, I ended up staying on this third floor with Isael for a few extra days, long enough to recover from my injuries and gather the supplies I needed.
If I wanted to overtake Leonard, I had to hurry, no matter what.
According to the novel's setting, the tower wasn't meant to be climbed but descended.
Once you passed the trial on the final floor, the ninth underground floor, you could leave the tower.
I stood before the door leading to the next floor with Isael.
Then, I took a stone out of my bag and pressed it to the wound on my abdomen, which had mostly healed by now.
At that, Isael grabbed my wrist in shock.
"What are you doing?"
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