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The massive pool before us, easily mistaken for a subterranean lake, and the towering heap of a monster that had emerged from it—if we’re to believe Maria Lou’s words, this creature is her true body. No longer merely an Artificial Saint, she now serves as the womb of countless wastebeasts—their Mother—known as Echidna.

But then… who is this Maria Lou?

The one that emerged from Echidna’s mouth, currently cradled in the arms of a stone golem, about ten mertes away from us, standing in knee-deep pseudo-alkahelic near the pool’s edge. She called herself a “duplicate,” but what exactly does that mean?

I watched her closely, curious. Compared to when we last met, her complexion looked worse. Her presence seemed duller, somehow faded. And when I actually measured her magical and life energy… both were at death’s door—barely a flicker, like an elderly person in their final hours.

“—!!”

I gasped.

Could it be that her injuries from before hadn’t been properly healed? If we don’t act quickly, she could very well breathe her last right here.

“This is awful… she’s barely clinging to life. We need to move fast.”
“Ah, I see! You’re going to finish her off cleanly, right? As expected of Lady Clara! As a trueborn Saint, it’s only natural that you’d want to crush this unpleasant, unsightly fake of an Artificial Saint without hesitation!”

Without the slightest hint of fear toward the massive Echidna right in front of us, Coppelia strolled casually back from the pool as if she were just walking through her garden—still spouting her usual nonsense.

“What’s this about an Artificial Saint? A knockoff of My Princess? Absurd. That wretched-looking, scrawny girl? Unbelievable. Truly… I see now. As Coppelia says, acknowledging the existence of such a thing would be nothing short of blasphemy against My Princess.”

And for some reason, this time even Regulus agreed—adding his own unsettling commentary.

“Oh-ho! Well said, slave! I like your style. I hereby grant you a special membership in Lady Clara’s Official Fan Club! And right now, as a special offer, I’ll throw in ‘The Complete Truth of Lady Clara: 99 Mysteries and 46 Secret Techniques’ at 30% off! Installment plans available up to 36 payments!”
“Truly?! To receive such an honor—I am humbled beyond words!”

The two of them enthusiastically high-fived each other loud enough for everyone to hear.

…Also, what is that book title supposed to be!? “Complete Truth”? You never even interviewed me!! Where did you get your source material!?

Setting that aside, even if they meant no harm, I couldn’t help but glance toward Maria Lou—now referred to as an “unpleasant, unsightly fake” and “wretched, scrawny girl”—to gauge her reaction. She still looked listless… but I could swear a vein was popping out near her temple.

“Hey, um, you two… could you maybe lower your voices a little? Especially you, Regulus. Criticizing a woman’s appearance is disgraceful for a man, you know?”

Telling off Coppelia was pointless at this stage, but Regulus might still be salvageable. So I figured I’d at least try to correct him.

“Hmm? My Princess, what do you mean by ‘criticizing’?”
“Well, like when you said, ‘that wretched, scraw—’ uh, never mind.”

As I trailed off, another vein appeared on Maria Lou’s forehead.

“Was it because I stated the fact that she was ‘a wretched, scrawny girl’? You mean that qualifies as insulting a woman?”

I was still mentally scrambling for a way to defuse the situation when Regulus lobbed the question back at me—dead serious. And with every exchange, Maria Lou’s temple looked more and more like a road map of throbbing veins.

“Listen, it’s just—”

Before I could finish, Coppelia jumped in to summarize the whole thing in the most offensively blunt way possible—the kind of phrasing that guarantees 100% rage if said to a woman:

“In short: you called her ugly.”

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

A split second later, Echidna’s massive forelimb—more fin than foot—came crashing down onto the stone floor. The impact was deafening, and the entire room trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

Ah, look at that. Maria Lou’s color has returned somewhat. Guess being furious is helping her cling to life. Her whole body is now exuding this aura of rage.

Just then, maybe finally shaken from his stupor by the monster’s arrival, Colin snapped back to reality.

“…Maria Lou. I don’t understand what you’re saying…”

Looking completely at a loss, he slowly shook his head and started walking toward her, still held in the golem’s arms.

But when he reached the edge of the pool— “Colin! Don’t come any closer!” Maria Lou’s desperate cry rang out.

Startled, Colin stopped in his tracks.

“Look—” She glanced at his confused face, then pulled a ragged strip of cloth from her coat—was that part of the bandage we used to treat her last night? She slowly unraveled it, and, “…” Carefully dipped the end into the surface of the deadly liquid.

Fsssh! A sizzling sound like stir-fry filled the air as the submerged end instantly dissolved into nothing.

“—!” Seeing it firsthand, Colin instinctively staggered back a few steps from the pool’s edge.

As the distance between them widened, Maria Lou gave a wistful smile. Colin, visibly shaken, tried to step forward again—but her firm gaze stopped him in place.

Pathetic. Come on, you’re a man. So what if your feet melt a little? Step up! …Well, okay, fine—even I wouldn’t be able to heal melted feet.

Just then—

“…Something’s off.” A thought struck me, and I tilted my head in puzzlement.

“What is it, Lady Clara?” Coppelia asked while deftly removing her rocket punch arms and using them like makeshift dryers to blow the toxic sludge off her soaked body.

“I mean you, Coppelia. Isn’t something odd?”

“…This again? She’s always been odd.” Cestlavie sighed, clearly fed up.

“No, I don’t mean it like that.”
“She’s right. Know when to speak, peasant. Interrupting a serious conversation with nonsense makes me question your sanity.”

Even Coppelia, of all people, scolded him with a straight face.

“…She has a point,” muttered Cestlavie. “But it’s infuriating to be lectured on decency by her of all people.”

Anyway.

“There’s one very important thing here.”
“Exactly, Lady Clara! —There, my panties are dry.”