Chapter 86
The Magic Department dormitory.
Morgan and Carla sat in a private room reserved for high-ranking nobles. At Carla’s sudden proposal, Morgan fell silent.
“Morgan, let’s return to the family.”
“….”
A little time passed.
Morgan answered Carla’s proposal. Her brows arched into a frown, and she tapped a finger against her crossed arms. Her irritation at having to spell out something so obvious was plain.
“…You know, don’t you remember what I told you before?”
“I remember.”
“Then why? Have you suddenly started feeling sorry for me? You ignored me for a year, and now you’re acting like this?”
“….”
Morgan began to mock her softly, with exaggerated politeness. Her tone seemed to imitate the situation Carla had experienced in her dream the night before.
“Maybe you woke up and thought, ‘Oh no, one of our proud Driach family’s own has been living like a miserable beggar! She seems pretty useful, actually. I should bring her back to the family right away and use her as a pawn…!’”
“….”
“…Something like that.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then why call back the girl you cast out to a collateral branch because she was born a commoner? Have you come up with an excuse the people in the family can accept?”
“….”
Despite the scathing mockery and ridicule,
Carla couldn’t answer right away. She quietly ran her fingers over her hands. The confidence that usually glimmered in her eyes was gone. At the sight, Morgan fell silent.
“….”
“….”
After a brief silence,
Carla answered carefully.
“Because it’s the only way I can repay the debt I owe you for saving my life. Unlike the princess, the Hero, and the Saintess, who are from other countries, I thought there might be something I could give you.”
“….”
“I thought you’d hate the idea.”
“….”
“But I still wanted to tell you. If you want, I’d like to help you return to the family whenever you’re ready. If you come under my protection, the family won’t dare mistreat you. And I have no intention of treating you as a subordinate, either.”
“….”
There was not the slightest hint of calculation,
or political intent.
She had simply been swept up in irrational sentiment and thought of the greatest consideration she could offer. It was an utterly aristocratic way of thinking, but she’d decided she had nothing to give Morgan without it.
That was how much
Morgan already had.
Money
Friends
Magic
Knowledge
Except for the one last thing she’d had before.
They were all things
she had wanted so desperately.
And now they were already in her hands.
‘…Lydia.’
If you hadn’t been there,
would I have accepted that woman’s offer?
“….”
No…
I wouldn’t have made it this far in the first place.
‘I was ready to sell myself to back-alley research experiments just to buy materials for the next day’s class. Worn down by hunger and poverty, I was becoming more and more isolated….’
That day.
When sunlight streamed through the dust,
in that moment when it glimmered faintly gold,
Morgan had already been saved.
So.
I…
Thinking of that name,
Morgan stood up.
“Hmph, I refuse. You already know this, since you’re the one who made the offer, but going back to the family… isn’t exactly something I’d welcome.”
“I see.”
“So let’s pretend you never made this offer. I never heard it, and you never said it. You just couldn’t control your ‘emotions’ and started muttering nonsense to yourself. I only happened to overhear.”
“….”
Carla smiled bitterly. She’d understood the final bit of consideration tucked into Morgan’s prickly words.
“You said that for my sake?”
“….”
The family’s precious heir had been saved by a collateral relative born to a commoner. So the family’s heir had asked them to grant her benefactor the honor of being restored to the direct line.
On the surface, it could hardly have been a more heartwarming story. But the moment the Driach family acknowledged this ‘good deed,’ they’d have all sorts of headaches to deal with.
They couldn’t easily dismiss a request from the family’s precious heir, asking them to help her benefactor. And when that benefactor was a collateral relative who’d never been allowed near the center of the family…
Carla said,
“…Everyone would fight like crazy.”
“….”
So,
I’ll leave with nothing but the ‘muttering’ you mentioned hearing.
I’ll accept only the gratitude you’re offering me.
So neither of us gets into trouble.
That was her answer.
“….”
“….”
Carla quietly expressed her thanks.
“Thank you.”
“…Hmph.”
“But I won’t forget that you saved me. And I won’t forget that the princess and her companions did everything they could to save me, either…”
“It wasn’t for your sake in particular.”
“But you saved me in the end.”
Carla murmured,
“In the study of mana, the ‘result’ matters more than the ‘process.’ That’s because the intent behind the ‘process’ can change depending on the ‘result’ you show… It’s my favorite thing I’ve learned since coming to the academy.”
“I don’t care.”
Morgan stood up and said,
“You’re not… my ‘result.’”
“I see.”
“And quoting <Basic Mana Theory> makes it sound like you’re subtly trying to advertise yourself as some kind of stickler for principles. It’s tacky.”
“….”
In the words everyone knew,
Morgan couldn’t find her life.
Instead,
she had found it in the heretical book
that everyone in the Republic scorned.
The Holy Scripture of the Sun God.
A passage from its first chapter.
“Dust, return to dust.”
Heresy is heresy.
As soon as she uttered those words,
she became certain about what she should do next. It was the direction affirmed by the knowledge and reason she’d accumulated over seventeen years of childhood and a year at the academy.
The place for Morgan…
“…isn’t the Republic.”
“….”
Morgan strode out of the room.
Leaving Carla and the fragrance rising from their two teacups behind, she reached for the neatly painted white door. The Republic’s flag hung proudly upon it.
The flag she’d once looked at with hatred
now stirred nothing in her.
‘Getting tangled up with strange people like demon worshippers and the like has a lot to do with it, but now the Republic looks like no more than a place where people live.’
And this, too…
was all because of that girl.
“….”
Creak—
She opened the door.
And as she stepped outside,
she murmured softly,
“…Goodbye, then.”
My half-sister.
The only blood relative who welcomed me, even if it was late.
Click!
The door closed.
Carla was left alone in the room.
“….”
She smiled bitterly and said,
“…I’d hoped we might grow closer by talking now and then. It seems even that attempt was completely rejected.”
She looked out the window.
Beyond the open window, the traces of the battle by the distant lakeshore were still vivid. Workers came and went, leveling the ground and repairing the road.
The fighting was over,
but the cleanup wasn’t finished yet.
The atmosphere was chaotic, and someone had to step in and mediate. There was one person who absolutely had to be among those mediators.
“….”
‘This incident is going to make Princess Lydia a major figure overnight. She’s connected to important people in the Theocracy, the Republic, and the Kingdom….’
She herself didn’t seem to crave power, though.
If the world needed her,
that power would fall into her hands all too easily.
*
Arti and Mave walked awkwardly through the shopping district. Their arms and legs moved stiffly, like soldiers on parade. Each step rang out against the ground with a sharp clack! clack!
Lydia, Aria, Morgan, and the recently arrived Leonard followed behind them. They were heading to a restaurant they often visited.
“Oh…!”
Leonard was impressed. He’d never studied swordsmanship in any real depth, focusing instead on academics and politics, and Arti and Mave’s powerful movements appealed to him.
‘Mirian said they’re both at the very edge of the Flowing Realm… If they keep growing at this rate, it’s certain they’ll both become Sword Masters before they turn forty….’
There were two geniuses of the century.
And he had the chance to watch them walk side by side.
It was a rare sight.
Leonard murmured,
“I see… So the promising students of the academy’s Swordsmanship Department practice marching in formation even in their everyday lives. As expected of Sir Jacques’s prized disciples, trained by a renowned commander who served for so long on the Northern Front. They’re putting what they learned in training into practice even now. It’s easy to let your guard down after a year…”
Hearing that,
Lydia, Aria, and Morgan, walking beside him, gave awkward laughs.
“….”
“….”
“….”
‘They just seem overly tense because there’s one more royal they have to protect….’
That truth
never made it out of anyone’s mouth.
Perhaps because he was well versed in military affairs,
Leonard’s admiration continued.
“Indeed, indeed… To change direction at a right angle just by slightly turning your ankle. That’s extremely efficient movement. Have they internalized the Northern Corps’ marching formation?”
Aria glanced at Leonard and thought,
“….”
‘I knew Lydia’s twin brother would resemble her, but their whole presence is practically identical… The difference is that His Highness Leonard has a gentler look than Lydia.’
Blond hair and blue eyes
A tall frame and sharp features
If Lydia were a man, she’d look exactly like that.
But compared to Lydia, whose feminine curves were so pronounced, Leonard was tall and lean, making for an extreme contrast.
In a word…
‘They’re both stunning.’
Glances flicked toward the group
as people watched them walk through the shopping district. They whispered among themselves, filled with admiration and awe.
-Those two Highnesses really are like gold.
-Are all the royals of Gallia that charming?
-It feels bright all the way over here…
-His Highness Leonard is so dashing, while Her Highness Lydia is so delicate…!
Hearing those words,
Aria found herself laughing.
“Hehe…”
The group entered the restaurant.
Naturally, all eyes turned toward them.
As they approached, everyone at the surrounding tables fell silent. A strange hush settled over the restaurant.
“!”
In that atmosphere,
Leonard immediately recognized the enormous old man sitting inside. It was old Max, the loyal servant and gardener who had followed him here.
“Max! Did you come for a meal, too? Haha, I told you to take a break, and now I run into you here.”
“…!”
Lydia flinched.
Old Max had been sitting there in plain view, yet she hadn’t sensed his presence from outside.
‘Of course. My brother would’ve brought him along.’
Old Max set down the glass of water he’d been drinking and smiled warmly. Then he slowly turned and walked over to Leonard. Bowing politely, he said,
“That’s right, Your Highness. I heard this was a very good restaurant and couldn’t resist checking it out.”
“Haha, is that so? Is the food good? Lydia brought me here, too.”
“It’s quite delicious. I’d certainly recommend it. And…”
Old Max looked at Lydia with kind eyes. She swallowed lightly and nodded.
Lydia said,
“It’s been a while, Max.”
“It has, Your Highness Lydia.”
Leonard tilted his head. On the surface, it seemed like nothing more than a reunion between his younger sister and her servant, but for some reason, there was a solemn air between them.
That feeling was so subtle
that no one but Leonard, standing right beside them, could have noticed it.
“Hmm?”
He had no idea.
That here, right now,
two of the strongest swordsmen unknown to the royal family had come face-to-face.
“….”
“….”
The Secret Society of the Ember Knights
The Order’s commander and its last member
The first Sword Master and the last Sword Master
The old and the young shook hands.
The strongest in the Southern Continent,
Maxwell, the ‘Sword Saint,’ said,
“Have you been well?”