The First Letter (51)

The forest clearing was steeped in silence. It was unusual. Normally, whenever Seria and I met in this clearing, we would be swinging our swords or letting out shouts of exertion.

However, the silence that had settled over the clearing now was chilling in the extreme. It was a precarious atmosphere, like a taut thread that might snap at any moment with a sharp twang.

I stood at the very center of that knife-edge situation, while Seria kept pushing me toward its very brink, as though even that was not to her liking.

The pleasant scent peculiar to a woman's body tickled my nose. And my vision was filled with harmonious features so beautiful that I could not help admiring them no matter how many times I saw them.

No matter how outstanding someone's beauty was, there was bound to be at least one flaw when seen from up close. Seria did not even have that. She truly had been blessed with perfect genes. Senior Delphine's beauty, which I had observed at close range, had also been so perfect that I could not find a single flaw.

I almost wished I could leisurely admire her beauty like this. If only her eyes had not been sunk in such a dull, gloomy light.

At the very least, there was no way I could admire her with a 'leisurely' mindset in an atmosphere like this. As I looked into Seria's eyes, which had lost all their light, I broke out in a cold sweat.

“Y-yesterday? With Senior Delphine, you mean…….”

I briefly retraced my memories of the previous night. They were mixed with unpleasant recollections, but in the end, it had been a time when I gained a great deal.

Expensive wine, the chance to land one final blow on Senior Delphine, and plenty of lessons learned—and above all, Senior Delphine's snow-white naked body...