Chapter 181 - Misgivings (11)

"There are some slight scratches... but nothing significant."

I was being examined by Eternia's healers after completing the sparring evaluation.

"Ppiyak! Ppiyak!"

"Look at this one! It's so cute."

"Let's try feeding it something."

"Flap your wings!"

Meanwhile, several Art Club seniors, including Zenia and Haley, were holding and examining Ppiyak.

Ppiyak was enduring well the endless onslaught of attention—being touched, stroked, and pinched from all sides.

No, given its lack of resistance, it might even be enjoying it. Anyway, that guy has become quite confident, not knowing how worried I am.

Art Club President Haley, while holding and fondling Ppiyak, asked me, "Is its name Ppiyak? I wondered what it was when I saw it before, but it was the first-year’s pet?"

"You've seen it before? Did Ppiyak come to the Art Club too?"

"It came to the greenhouse occasionally. Since Mount Grace is such a unique place, I thought spirits sometimes came there too."

Zenia added, "I've seen it too when painting in the greenhouse. I don't know what it ate, but its belly was always full."

"Actually, it doesn't listen to me well, so I don't know where it wanders off to."

This guy, it's been going all around Eternia like its own home without my permission.

While dealing with the Art Club seniors, I was internally worried.

This sparring evaluation was satisfactory overall.

Except for one thing. One action of Ppiyak's.

Because one crucial plan went awry, I was in a predicament.

In fact, Ppiyak wasn't supposed to reveal itself in front of people.

I had told it to hide in the ice prison and come out only when there was enough steam, but Ppiyak got excited and burst out, running wild.

I had used Ppiyak to lure Cecil in my Candy form before.

So, by using Ppiyak in this sparring evaluation, the chances of Cecil recognizing me had skyrocketed.

My head was throbbing. 

Could I get away with pretending not to know anything?

No, considering Cecil's personality, that probably wouldn't work.

Another worry I had was Olivia's well-being.

Ruscus had sent his fiancée to dig up my weaknesses, but he got thoroughly beaten without gaining anything, so he must be furious.

I was uneasy because the anger built up from our match would surely be directed at the innocent Olivia.

I couldn't directly intervene in their relationship. Noble marriages were contracts involving multiple families and factions, not just individuals. Even if I appeared like a prince on a white horse and beat up Ruscus, it wouldn't solve the fundamental problem.

The sparring evaluation was over, but there were still issues to resolve.

Soon after, Trisha, who had gone out at my request, returned. Having caught the eye of the Art Club seniors before, she approached me as inconspicuously as possible.

She whispered in my ear, "Damian... I have a bad feeling."

"What is it?"

"Sis says she needs to see you...!"

"...Do you know the specific reason?"

"I'm not sure. She seems to have made up her mind after watching the match! It was the face Sis makes when she's plotting something. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen!"

"...Alright, thanks. Let's talk about it later."

The recovery room was occupied by me and the Art Club seniors, so it wasn't a good place for our rival Drama Club to enter.

"I'll try my best to stop Sis...!"

Trisha quietly left, receiving glares from the Art Club seniors.

Hearing about Cecil sent chills down my spine. It really seemed like I had been found out, but was there no way out?

While I was seriously pondering alone, there was a knock on the treatment room door.

Then an unexpected person entered.

"Is Sir Damian here?"

It was the Principality's ambassador who had been sitting in the observer's seat, coming to see me personally.

The noisy recovery room suddenly fell silent. Zenia and Haley took a step back discreetly and watched me with wide eyes.

The Principality's ambassador stroked his well-groomed beard once and offered a flattering greeting.

"It's a great honor to meet you like this, Sir Damian. As I heard, your swordsmanship was like lightning, and your movements were unpredictable."

I quickly got up to greet him.

"What brings you here?"

He glanced at the Art Club seniors and said, "You were with the ladies... Is it alright to speak here?"

"It's fine."

"Actually, I came with something to deliver on Duchess Bibi's orders."

"...?"

"Bring them in."

As the Principality's ambassador gestured behind him, two knights entered the recovery room, each carrying a bouquet and a letter tied with a silver string.

Zenia and Haley exchanged meaningful glances without a word.

"This is a letter from the Duchess and a small gift for Sir Damian."

It had been a long time since I received a bouquet as a gift. When I was young, Lisa used to make and give me a few, but this is the first time I've received one so large and gorgeous. I knew the name because I had seen it in an herbology dictionary.

"It's a Finlandis flower."

"That's correct. Do you happen to know its flower language?"

"No."

"It means 'eternal friendship’. The Duchess specifically ordered to convey this meaning as well."

"..."

Zenia covered her mouth and patted Haley's shoulder, saying, "Oh my, oh my."

The Principality's ambassador leaned slightly towards me, adding in a voice others couldn't hear, "Ahem, it may be presumptuous advice, but it would be best to send a reply as soon as possible."

"...You don't need to worry about that part."

"And there was an instruction to spare no support for Sir Damian's stay at Eternia. The Yulisia Embassy in Rigved will provide whatever is needed without reservation."

Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. While I couldn't completely save Olivia, there was a way to empower her.

"I'm fine with all the help I'm getting from those around me. However, there's something I need to discuss privately... Could you ladies give us some space?"

***

After finishing my conversation with the Principality's ambassador, I approached the recovery room door to gather my things. Although I was supposed to have a mandatory health check after the sparring evaluation, I hadn't received any effective hits throughout the match, so I could actually leave.

I could hear Zenia and Haley, who remained in the recovery room, talking, "...Is the first-year really going to... the Principality Academy?"

"That won't happen. ...his master put him here, how could they take him away."

"The Principality Academy specializes in swordsmanship... he could go there. People from there keep coming... I'm getting a feeling."

"Ah... Then we should... so he won't be swayed by the Duchess..."

"...Against the Duchess?"

"Haley, you... use the power of your family..."

Feeling awkward about eavesdropping, I abruptly opened the door and entered the recovery room.

They were whispering gloomily in the corner, but upon sensing my presence, they nonchalantly changed the subject.

"Oh my, we still have sparring evaluations for our other members."

"The first-year’s here?"

"Ppiyak!"

Ppiyak was sitting on Haley's head. It looked as if it had participated in that secret meeting, sticking close to both Zenia and Haley.

"..."

"Oh right, First-year, here's this."

Zenia, still seated, pulled out a letter and held it out to me.

"Some fox-like girl suddenly appeared in front of us, looked us straight in the eye, and told us firmly to deliver this to you."

I took the letter and asked, "Do you remember her name?"

"She said it was Cecil. Are you close?"

"No, we're not well acquainted."

The inevitable has come.

I immediately opened the letter. It contained only a short sentence.

[Come to the Guardian Tree as soon as you see this. I'll be waiting.]

"May I go out for a moment?"

"Sure, but don't be too late. We need to cheer for Fabella's sparring evaluation soon."

***

Even as I approached the Guardian Tree, I hadn't made up my mind. Whether to deny everything to the end or reveal the truth.

Is there a plausible lie I could tell? A convincing alibi that could fool someone like Cecil...

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't come up with an answer.

Cecil was standing quietly in the shade, looking up at the Guardian Tree. It seemed like she would stand there all night until I came.

She slowly turned as she heard my footsteps.

Then, looking straight at my face, she said, "It's Damian, right?"

I dealt with her bluntly. Though her face was quite familiar, as Damian, I had no relationship with Cecil.

"Yes. What do you want?"

"I saw you fight in the sparring evaluation. Your skills are better than what's known."

"Did you call me here to talk about that?"

"And your spirit. It's exactly the same as the one someone I know used to handle."

"So?"

A flash of anger appeared in Cecil's eyes.

"...’So’?"