Chapter 161 - Recognition (5)

Bibi pressed her face against the carriage window, watching Damian.

Damian, who had rarely shown tension even in Barbisia, was fidgeting. As if dealing with a sulking lover. What could make him show such behavior? Not knowing what would happen, she unconsciously tensed and pressed her lips together.

And as he approached Silveryn's carriage, in the blink of an eye, Damian was pulled inside by a snow-white hand. Like a crocodile hidden underwater swallowing its prey.

"What in...!"

Just seeing that scene, she could roughly guess Damian and Silveryn's relationship.

It seemed Silveryn firmly held and unilaterally wielded control over their relationship. Though Damian was gallant, he was still a student, and Silveryn was far superior. That point kept irritating her.

And above all, she disliked that Damian was alone with a woman like Silveryn in such a cramped space. Even if it was a master-disciple relationship.

Considering that relationship, they wouldn't do anything embarrassing, but strangely, Bibi felt her insides burning.

"I must go too!"

When Bibi tried to burst out the door, the knights guarding it blocked her path.

"You cannot!"

"My lady! If you leave here, we cannot handle the gathering crowd!"

Having no choice but to squeeze back into the carriage, Bibi sat quietly, gripping her skirt hem tightly in frustration.

The carriage that had swallowed Damian resumed its march as if nothing had happened.

***

I couldn't properly control my body. I was restrained in an awkward position, neither sitting nor standing.

Fragrant hair tickled my face.

Someone had constrained my torso, leaving me barely able to flail my limbs like bandages. I felt like a large teddy bear being tightly hugged by a girl sitting in the carriage.

The carriage interior was dark, probably due to the drawn curtains.

I felt the other person's body with my arms. A delicate waist that seemed it might break if struck. Long hair. And strength that seemed impossible to come from such a feminine body.

It seemed to be the Silveryn I knew.

She slowly loosened her embrace. In that narrow space, I ended up kneeling on the carriage floor while trying to find my balance. Then she glared at me with cat-like eyes. She looked thoroughly angry.

Her arm slowly rose to pinch my cheek. Her grip was so strong it felt like the flesh might tear off.

"..."

"..."

She just glared at me silently with a deeply upset face. 

Is she waiting for me to make excuses? 

The more our eyes met, the more my heart felt constricted.

"Teacher."

"..."

The grip pinching my cheek tightened. 

Oh dear, does even opening my mouth make her angry? Yes, I understand. After spending so much time raising me, feeding me, clothing me, getting me into the academy—how could I send letters so sporadically?

I blurted out whatever came to mind to soothe her disappointment.

"I'm glad you're healthy."

"..."

"I was planning to go to the Holy City to see you."

"..."

"...Teacher?"

"Do you know how worried I was?"

"..."

"What trouble had this child gotten into? What reckless actions had he taken? I couldn't sleep from worry. Eventually, I thought rather than seeing you die by someone else's hand, it would be better to kill you with my own."

"What a scary joke."

Silveryn brought her face close with an expression that made it hard to tell if she was angry or sad. Then she pressed her lips firmly against my forehead and said, "It's not a joke."

"As you can see, I'm healthy. My skills have improved so I have no problem protecting myself, and I wasn't badly injured."

"Stop making strange excuses and hug your teacher. Quickly."

"..."

I wordlessly hugged her upper body. What more words were needed? Her embrace was one of the few sanctuaries in my life.

She also held me tight, patting my back while speaking.

"Haa, I've really mellowed out. Until you came, I was planning to scold you severely."

"..."

"And... it seems you did many dangerous things while I was away."

I quickly answered before her barely calmed feelings could ignite again.

"I can explain that."

"Yes... Coming to the Principality, I often hear your name."

"My name?"

"Yes, even in other cities, in squares, taverns, markets, they're all talking about you. I don't know whether to be pleased or angry."

"...I haven't been here long, so I don't know much."

More precisely, I had been in a half-dead state after overexerting myself in Barbisia before waking up.

"What happened? Did you do something to harm the Duchess?"

"Could we sit properly and talk first?"

I seem to be restrained in a very strange position.

"No, stay held like this."

"...Alright."

She patted my back.

"Good boy."

Her anger seems somewhat resolved. The fact that there’s no talk of underground prisons or Wiesel... is definitely a good sign.

While feeling my body, she suddenly spoke as if puzzled, "But... you've brought something strange. What have you been doing and where?"

"Something strange?"

"Something's parasitizing your body. Did you know?"

"Parasitizing...?"

"Yes. The energy is pure and pristine so it probably won't harm you... but did you make a contract with a phantasmal beast?"

She must mean the blue deer that guided us in Barbisia. But it wasn't acting separately—it was parasitizing my body?

"I didn't make a contract... but I did receive great help."

"Hmm, then... I'll watch for now and deal with it later."

"It's never caused harm... so it should be fine."

"Okay. And... one more thing. Sit down."

Silveryn released the embrace and patted the seat right next to her. It was a signal to sit there. When I sat down, she slightly pulled back the rear window curtain and said, "Something else strange is attached. Is it your friend?"

Right behind us, a carriage was following uncomfortably close. It was Duchess Bibi's carriage.

"...That's Duchess Bibi's carriage."

Silveryn frowned as if she'd bitten into eggshell while eating pie.

"Yes, I suppose she's the one who helped you gain such fame. What happened?"

While the carriage moved, I told Silveryn about what happened with Bibi's guard. Silveryn listened quietly without much emotional change, then looked at me with a meaningful expression.

"Did your prophetic dreams help this time too?"

I nodded.

Contrary to expectations, her response was negative.

Silveryn pinched my cheek again and spoke in a cold tone, "So you went knowing it was dangerous. You really don't keep any promises made to your teacher."

"I thought I could handle that level of danger. The problem was that the actual situation was bigger than expected."

"You don't need to follow all prophetic dreams. They might be warning you of dangers to avoid. Completely avoiding the dream's situation is also an option."

"Then the Duchess would have..."

"Since when did you care about the wellbeing of someone you've never even seen?"

"..."

"I want you to... only involve yourself in problems that don't require risking your life."

Her advice, though cold, wasn't wrong.

"...I will."

Though I said that, I felt I wouldn't keep that promise when the time came.

Silveryn released her pinching grip and gently rubbed my cheek as if soothing it.

"Still, you thought about coming to find me... I'm proud."

After chatting for a while, the carriage stopped briefly on a main street lined with large embassies. Since Silveryn had an appointment with Grand Duke Gainax, I had to get off here.

"We'll continue the rest of our talk in the evening."

"Yes. I'll be waiting."

She blew me a kiss and waved goodbye as I stood on the street. Then she glanced at the Duchess' following carriage with eyes like looking at prey before drawing her curtain.

I wondered how Silveryn viewed Duchess Bibi. Given that she showed no intention of greeting her and spoke no words of goodwill, she seemed to harbor no positive feelings.

The carriage departed like that. My racing heart gradually calmed. Fortunately, nothing like confirming a trip to Wiesel happened. There was no conflict with Bibi either.

Soon after, Bibi descended from her following carriage and walked toward me, her frilled skirt fluttering. After showing signs of contemplating what to say for a while, Bibi opened her mouth.

"...You had quite a long conversation."

"You could have left first, there was no need to wait."

"I did it because I needed to. Don't worry about... what's that on your forehead?"

Bibi stepped closer, pressing near. Then she reached out to try to brush aside my bangs. Come to think of it, my forehead was where Silveryn's lips had touched. There must have been a mark left.

I stopped Bibi's hand. I had been careless. This would only start strange rumors, so I couldn't let her expose it.

Though Bibi's arms were restrained, she didn't stop there but brought her nose to my neck and inhaled.

"The scent is... different too. I know your scent. You originally smelled of herbs... but suddenly there's an unfamiliar scent mixed in."

"It's because I was in an enclosed space for long."

Bibi tightened her grip on my arm and persisted.

"How strange. L-let go. I really must see what's on your forehead."

"...Let's just go."

And so we continued this struggle for a while on the main street, with embarrassed knights watching behind us.