Ghislaine's Side
A crack in the wooden sword began just above the grip.
When Ghislaine pressed it with her thumb, the thin fissure spread along the blade. Had even a little more force gone into it, it would have broken during their spar.
She set the sword aside and opened her right hand.
Her palm was red and hot. Whenever she rotated her wrist, a dull ache ran to the inside of her elbow. Her back and flank, where she had struck the ground, felt much the same.
There were no serious injuries.
Eugene had controlled his strength to precisely that extent from beginning to end.
Enough force for Ghislaine to endure, to rise again, and to continue into her next attack. He had never used more than that.
From beyond the door came the sound of a wooden sword cutting through the air.
Ghislaine opened the window.
The sun was sinking below the manor walls. Eris was alone in the center of the training ground.
From low to high.
She planted her right foot, turned her waist, and raised her wooden sword diagonally.
She was copying the motion Eugene had used to split the clouds.
Naturally, nothing happened.
Only a little wind was pushed aside by the tip of her sword.
Eris corrected her stance and swung again.
This time, she put too much strength into it. Her front foot failed to drive against the ground, and her upper body turned first.
"No."
Ghislaine spoke.
Eris looked up.
"What?"
"Your foot is late."
Ghislaine descended to the training ground.
Standing beside Eris, she adjusted the girl's stance herself.
"Do not swing your sword first. Your foot and waist come first."
"Eugene moved his sword first."
"No."
"I saw it."
"You did not."
Eris closed her mouth.
Ghislaine had expected anger, but Eris did not argue this time. She narrowed her eyes, her face showing that she was replaying the scene in her mind.
Ghislaine lightly tapped Eris's front foot with the tip of her wooden sword.
"The force began here."
"But it only moved a little?"
"Yes."
Eris corrected her footing and raised her sword once more.
It was better than the first time. Still, there remained a vast difference between it and what Eugene had shown her.
If Eris believed that difference was merely strength, she would never catch him.
Before Eugene swung his wooden sword, he had already determined how far he would cut. The target, the shrubs, the hill, the rock face. No force escaped beyond that line.
The Sword God Style cuts its opponent in the shortest possible moment.
The Water God Style reads an opponent's attack and returns it.
The North God Style creates victory using the terrain, tools, and even deception.
Eugene's sword shared traits with all three, yet none of them could explain it.
Eris swung for the fifth time.
Ghislaine watched in silence.
A few years ago, Eris would have thrown away her wooden sword after failing twice. She might have become angry at the person teaching her a movement she could not perform, or struck a pillar because she lacked the strength.
Now, even after failing ten times, she set her feet again.
Rudeus Greyrat was the one who had changed her that way.
When Rudeus had first come to Roa, Eris hit him.
Not once or twice.
She hit him when he tried to teach her words, when he presented an arithmetic slate, and drove him out when he corrected her manners. She showed momentary interest when he displayed magic, but it never led to lessons.
Ghislaine had thought he would not last long.
Rudeus was not strong.
His magic was exceptional, but he had many openings at close range. When he held a sword, his thoughts moved first. He tried to read his opponent before moving his feet, and if he failed, his body froze.
He could not have been a good match for Eris.
Yet he did not leave.
When she hit him, he returned the next day. When one method failed, he prepared another. If Eris hated books, he mixed in adventure stories. If she hated arithmetic, he brought goods and money. He said she had to learn to read before learning magic, and promised her more sword training if she listened well in class.
Many of his methods were wrong.
His plan to make Eris understand the need for lessons by staging a kidnapping had turned into a real kidnapping midway through.
Ghislaine had found the two of them a little too late.
The merchant building smelled of blood, its floor and walls wrecked by magic. Rudeus had been beaten so badly he could scarcely stand, yet he had not stepped back from in front of Eris.
When Ghislaine cut down the final enemy, Eris was still clutching Rudeus's clothes.
After that day, Eris accepted lessons.
It was not that she came to like them.
She still grew irritated while writing, glared at the arithmetic slate whenever division appeared, preferred swords to magic, and ran away from etiquette lessons several times.
Still, she came back to her seat.
Because Rudeus was waiting for her.
As time passed, the two learned each other's movements.
When Eris was on the verge of getting angry, Rudeus put away the books. Before she fully exploded, he changed the lesson to swordsmanship or magic.
When Rudeus lost himself in pointless thoughts, Eris grabbed him by the nape and dragged him away. In danger, she stepped in front of him before he could speak.
They had begun as teacher and student, but at some point, theirs had ceased to be a relationship where only one followed the other.
Ghislaine liked that change.
Rudeus's swordsmanship had not improved quickly.
His talent for the Sword God Style was ordinary. He could not properly cloak himself in battle aura. If he fought Eris at close range now, he would not last long.
Even so, when Eris trained with Rudeus, she completely exposed her back.
Because she knew magic would fly from behind her.
Rudeus, too, trusted that Eris would block the way ahead.
They could not do that with Eugene.
There was no such division when fighting him.
Though he stood before his opponent, he missed neither their flank nor their rear. He had no need to entrust his back to anyone, and there was no opening for another person to cover.
It had been that way since they first crossed swords in Buena Village.
Ghislaine had tried to cut Eugene down with the Sword of Light. He blocked that sword, and in the next instant, she had lost.
After that, Ghislaine had grown stronger.
While teaching Eris, she reexamined the sword she had learned. She created attacks to follow when the Sword of Light failed. When her sword was bound, she used elbows and knees. Rather than ending with the Sword God Style alone, she connected every movement she had learned in real combat.
Today, she had used all of it.
Eugene had moved far more than he had during their first spar.
That was the result Ghislaine had gained, but she did not know whether the gap between them had narrowed.
"Again," Eris said.
Ghislaine stopped thinking and watched her stance.
This time, Eris's foot and waist moved first.
Her wooden sword followed upward.
It was much better than before.
"How was that?"
"A little similar."
Eris's face brightened.
"Then if I keep going, can I cut the sky too?"
"I do not know."
"Why not?"
"Eugene is the only one who has done it."
Holding her wooden sword, Eris looked up at the sky. The clouds had already returned to their original form.
"You can't do it either, Ghislaine?"
"I cannot."
Eris turned to her in surprise. It was rare for Ghislaine to admit first that she could not do something.
"What about the Sword God?"
"I have never seen him use such a sword."
"Then is Eugene stronger than the Sword God?"
Ghislaine thought for a moment.
"I would not know without fighting him."
"But you said the Sword God is faster at close range."
"The faster one does not always win."
Eris seemed not to understand, but she did not ask further. She raised her wooden sword again.
She wanted to catch Eugene.
That desire was clear.
Whenever Eris found a strong opponent, she wore those eyes. She had done so when she first met Ghislaine, and for a while when Rudeus displayed great magic.
But this was not wholly the same.
In front of Eugene, Eris chose her words more carefully than usual.
She did not throw her wooden sword. Even after failing, she corrected her stance while Eugene watched. She wanted him to acknowledge her.
She was not like that with Rudeus.
Before Rudeus, she got angry when she was wrong, collapsed over her desk when sleepy, and ended class first when hungry. She did not hide her embarrassing sides from him.
Yet when someone beat Rudeus, she became angrier than if she herself had been struck.
Ghislaine did not understand people's hearts well.
By looking at feet and hands, she could predict the next movement of a sword to some degree. Human feelings were not so simple.
Still, she knew one thing.
When Eris looked at Eugene, she looked only ahead.
When she was with Rudeus, even if she walked several steps ahead, she looked back.
"Lady Eris."
Rudeus's voice came from the entrance to the training ground. He held a towel in one hand and a water flask in the other.
"Dinner is ready."
Eris lowered her sword.
"I'm not done yet."
"The sun has set."
"Just once more."
"You said that once already."
Rudeus looked over Eris's hands and feet. Her palms were red from gripping the sword for so long, and sweat had gathered on her brow.
"If you continue, you will not be able to hold a sword tomorrow."
"I can hold one."
"Show me your hands first."
"No."
As Rudeus approached, Eris stepped back. It was a movement she had not made before Eugene.
"I only intend to apply medicine."
"I can do it myself."
"Then at least drink some water."
He offered the flask. Eris resisted for a moment, then took it.
After drinking, she snatched the towel as well.
"I'm doing it tomorrow morning too."
"Arithmetic comes first."
"No."
"You still have today's problem left."
"Tomorrow, swordsmanship comes first."
"Do not change the schedule as you please."
Eris threw her wooden sword to Ghislaine, who caught it in one hand. Then Eris seized Rudeus's sleeve and began dragging him from the training ground.
"Ghislaine will scold me," Rudeus said.
"Ghislaine will say it's fine."
Both of them looked back at Ghislaine at once.
She did not answer.
Rudeus sighed.
"Then if you finish the arithmetic problems first, I will increase your sword training time."
"By how much?"
"Thirty minutes."
"An hour."
"Forty minutes."
"An hour."
"Fifty minutes."
"Fine."
Eris accepted immediately.
Rudeus wore the expression of someone who believed he had won. To Ghislaine, it looked as though Eris had gotten exactly what she wanted.
Still arguing, the two went into the manor. Eris did not release Rudeus's sleeve until the end.
Ghislaine looked down at the wooden sword in her hand, the one Eris had used moments ago while imitating Eugene's sword.
She returned it to the weapon rack and followed them inside.
Hilda's Side
"Eugene needs to remain in Roa."
Sauros said it before dinner had even begun.
Hilda set down the wine bottle she had been pouring. Philip was not surprised; as if he had expected this, he slowly spread his napkin over his lap.
"Under what authority?" Philip asked.
"We'll make the authority!"
Sauros made no attempt to lower his voice.
Fortunately, Eris and Rudeus had not yet come to the dining room, and Eugene was in his guest room organizing Roa's records. Only the family and Alphonse remained.
"He can train the knight order, or serve as Eris's guard. With strength like that, even granting him a title would not be a waste."
"You would entrust a knight order to a ten-year-old child?"
"If he has the strength, what does age matter?"
"A knight order does more than swing swords."
"Then he can be Eris's sparring partner."
Sauros struck the table with his palm. Glasses and plates shook.
"Ghislaine said fighting that boy made her stronger. Eris needs an opponent like him too."
"Eugene will not accept."
"Then offer him terms. Give him whatever he wants, money or land."
Philip smiled. It was a polite smile, but there was no amusement in his eyes.
"What if there is nothing he wants?"
Sauros's eyebrow twitched.
"There is no person without desires."
"Do you remember what Eugene asked for today?"
"To open the archives for him."
"That was all."
Philip did not lift his wineglass.
"Considering what we saw at the training ground, the boy could have demanded far more. We would have found it difficult to refuse gold, magic items, or the Boreas Greyrat family's patronage. Yet he asked only for permission to read and copy old records."
"Those records were what he wanted."
"He received what he needed, not a reason to bind himself to us."
Sauros frowned.
"Then make him family."
Hilda had expected those words. Philip seemed to have done the same, lifting only one eyebrow slightly.
"You mean to marry him to Eris?"
"Would they not suit?"
Sauros was entirely sincere.
Eugene's appearance, strength, and Greyrat blood. From the Boreas family's perspective, there was nothing undesirable about the match.
Even if Paul Greyrat had relinquished Notos's inheritance and lived in the borderlands, the bloodline itself had not vanished. Taking Eugene as a son-in-law would give them a card to use in their relationship with Notos as well.
More than anything, Sauros liked strong people. That reason might have outweighed his political calculations.
Philip did not answer at once.
Hilda looked out the window. Eris and Ghislaine were moving in the training ground. Rudeus had come out as well. The three had been arguing over something, and were now returning to the manor together.
Eris was holding Rudeus's sleeve.
"If Eris wants it, it would not be a bad thing," Philip said. "But Eugene's wishes are another matter."
"Are you saying Eris is lacking?"
Sauros's voice dropped.
"That is not what I mean."
"Then what?"
"Father, do you know what Eugene needs?"
Sauros did not reply.
"Do you know what Eris can give him?"
Listening to Philip, Hilda recalled the expression Eris had worn while watching Eugene.
As Eugene dodged the wooden sword in the training ground, Eris had barely breathed. When the clouds split, she had looked to the sky before anyone else. Though it was not an attack directed at a person, her cheeks had reddened, and she immediately begged him to teach her.
It was rare for Eris to show such intense interest in anyone.
She had been captivated by strength when she first met Ghislaine. For a time, she had also followed Rudeus around after he showed her chantless magic.
But the gaze she directed at Eugene was stronger still.
Had she met him first, Eris might have said that she loved Eugene.
He was strong and beautiful, unblinking even before Sauros. He was someone even Ghislaine could not catch, yet he looked at her and remembered her name.
For twelve-year-old Eris, that alone might have been enough.
But Hilda could not picture the two of them together for long.
Eris would chase Eugene.
She would watch his retreating back, run faster, and cry out for him to look at her.
Would Eugene wait for Eris?
It was not that Hilda believed he would abandon her and go on.
If Eris fell behind, he would wait. If she were hurt, he would protect her. If she lacked something, he would show her a way to obtain it.
Yet even in that image, Eugene stood alone.
Hilda could not imagine a moment when Eugene absolutely needed Eris.
Rudeus was different.
When he first came to the manor, Hilda had not liked him. She disliked from the outset that he was Paul's son and carried Notos blood. His face was too composed, and he watched adults' expressions unlike a child. She had thought he would not endure long as Eris's tutor.
On the first day, her expectation seemed correct. Eris hit Rudeus, and Rudeus ran away.
Even afterward, disturbances never ceased. Chairs broke in the lesson room, arithmetic slates flew, and the etiquette instructor became angry at both Eris and Rudeus.
Then the kidnapping incident occurred.
When Hilda learned that the planned play-acting had become a real abduction, she had wanted to kill Philip.
But Rudeus returned. He brought Eris back, covered in blood.
From that day, Eris changed.
She did not begin obeying every word Rudeus said. She still got angry often and tried to skip lessons. But she did not throw Rudeus out of the manor.
She began to read. She learned to calculate money. Though not chantless magic, she learned basic spells. At banquets, she greeted people, and even when she refused to dance, she at least did not destroy the room.
Rudeus had not made Eris completely docile. Without crushing the force within her, he had turned it in another direction.
Hilda acknowledged that much.
After Eris's tenth birthday, the two had even made a promise for the future.
Eris had not explained it in detail. Only that after five years had passed and Rudeus's work was over, they would speak again then.
Sauros had laughed loudly, and Philip had begun calculating.
Hilda had looked only at Eris's face. She had been embarrassed, but happy.
Rudeus had many weaknesses compared to Eris. He could no longer defeat her with a sword. He was unfamiliar with noble etiquette, and sometimes he overcalculated and ruined matters. Though afraid of Eris's temper, he made needless remarks and got hit.
That was why there was room for Eris.
She could take up a sword in front of him, drag Rudeus along, angrily pull him to his feet when he was frightened, and ask him about what she did not know.
The parts each lacked were visible.
Eugene's weaknesses were not yet visible.
Hilda did not believe Eugene was perfect. If anything, he was strangely clumsy when it came to being with people.
But she did not know whether that clumsiness was the sort Eris could fill. Eugene seemed not even to know how to rely on someone else.
"What does Eris think?" Sauros asked.
Hilda turned from the window.
"It is true that she is strongly drawn to Eugene."
Sauros smiled in satisfaction.
"Then that settles it!"
"Listen to the end," Hilda cut in. "Eris wanting Eugene and being able to live beside him are different matters."
"People learn to accommodate one another as they live together."
"If Eris must accommodate him alone, it will not last."
"Then make Eugene accommodate Eris!"
"And who would make him?"
Sauros's mouth shut.
Philip raised his glass and took a sip.
"We cannot assume we can order him about," he said.
"As long as he is in my domain—"
"You saw what that child did with a wooden sword today."
Philip did not raise his voice.
"Neither walls nor knight orders can restrain Eugene. The name of family is no different unless he accepts it himself."
Sauros glared down at the table.
"Then do you mean we should simply let him go?"
"I mean we should not try to keep him by force."
"What if another family takes him?"
"That family will face the same problem."
Philip smiled.
"It would be better to give him good memories of Roa, so that he returns of his own will when he needs to."
Hilda agreed.
Making Eugene a member of the Boreas family would be difficult. But Rudeus had already become part of this household.
Though he was meant to leave when his employment contract ended, he had naturally entered their meals, their lesson room, and Eris's days.
The difference did not come from strength or bloodline. It came from the time they had spent together.
Eris's voice sounded outside the door.
"You said an hour!"
"We agreed on fifty minutes."
"I said fine, so that makes it an hour."
"That sort of calculation will not work in arithmetic lessons."
"I'm right!"
The door opened. Eris entered the dining room holding Rudeus's sleeve. Her hair was disheveled from wiping away sweat, and her palms were red.
"Why is no one eating?"
"We were waiting for you," Hilda answered.
Eris looked over the empty seats.
"Where's Eugene?"
"He is looking over documents in his guest room. He said he would come shortly."
Eris looked once at Eugene's place, then immediately pulled out the chair beside Rudeus.
As he freed his sleeve, Rudeus said, "You need to wash your hands first."
"I know."
"And apply medicine."
"Later."
"Do not complain if your hands hurt during dinner."
"They don't hurt."
Even as she spoke, Eris hid her hands behind her back.
Rudeus sighed and took out a jar of medicine. He seemed to have brought it with him.
Eris said she did not want it, but she did not leave her seat.
While Rudeus applied medicine to her reddened palms, Eris's eyes repeatedly went to Eugene's empty chair. Still, she never pulled her hands away.
Hilda watched them silently.
Eris's gaze kept returning to Eugene's empty seat, brightening every time. It would not be an emotion that faded easily.
Yet while medicine was applied to her palms, she left her hands in Rudeus's care without pulling away even once.
Lilia's Side
After Eugene left for Roa, the first thing to change at the table was the amount of soup.
Zenith Greyrat took out the usual large pot, looked into it for a while, then replaced it with a smaller one.
Eugene ate more in one meal than an adult man. At first, it had seemed strange for a child's body to eat that much, but now everyone knew how many times Eugene's plate would be emptied.
Today, that portion was not needed.
That did not mean Zenith prepared fewer ingredients. She salted the leftover meat, and separately made bread dough to bake on the day Eugene returned. Though she said they could use it the next day if he was late, she set the bowl in the warmest place in the kitchen.
"He'll be back tomorrow, right?" Zenith asked.
Lilia did not stop peeling potatoes.
"He said before leaving that it might take about two days."
"So tomorrow."
"If there are many records, he may be delayed another day."
"You don't have to be so exact."
Zenith gave a quiet sigh. It was the reaction she made when she did not want to admit she was worried.
It was not the first time Eugene had gone into the forest alone or set out on a long journey. Nothing around the village had ever harmed him. Indeed, it was hard even to imagine what might hurt Eugene.
Yet whenever he was away, Zenith counted the meal times and looked out the window whenever the sun set.
Knowing he was strong and not having to wait for him were different things.
Lilia put the peeled potatoes in water.
In the sitting room, Paul was reading the same letter for the third time.
It was a letter from Sauros.
The handwriting was so oversized that Lilia could read several lines from the kitchen.
He split the sky.
He defeated Ghislaine again.
Eris declared that she would definitely fight him again.
The first time he read it, Paul laughed loudly. The second, he asked what sword Eugene had used. The third, with no one there to answer, he wondered aloud how the wooden sword had endured.
"At that point, the wooden sword should have burst first."
Paul held the letter to the light, as if another message might be written on its reverse.
"Could Lord Sauros have exaggerated?" Sylphiette asked from where she sat reading by the window.
Recently, after helping at her own home in the mornings, Sylphiette had come here to read books Eugene or Rudeus had used. Sometimes she taught Norn to read, and sometimes answered Aisha's questions.
"When that old man exaggerates, he gives fewer details," Paul said. "If he was excited, he would've written that a mountain split apart. Since he called it a hill, Eugene must have really only cut a hill."
"Most people can't cut a hill either."
"Exactly. I should've seen it myself."
Paul folded the letter with a disappointed look.
"And the fight with Ghislaine, too."
"Dad would've lost," Norn said.
She had been lying on the floor drawing.
Paul's eyebrows moved.
"Who told you that?"
"Big sister is stronger."
"Did Eugene say that?"
Norn tilted her head.
"Big sister wins."
She seemed not to understand what he meant. Paul searched for a rebuttal, then gave up.
"Maybe for now."
"Now and later too," Aisha added.
Lilia looked at her daughter. Aisha was folding pieces of cloth on the table, selecting a dry cloth to wipe Eugene's travel bag when he returned.
"Who said that?" Lilia asked.
"I thought so myself."
"You must not speak so rudely to Paul."
"Even if it is true?"
"Especially then, you must say it carefully."
Aisha looked at Paul for a moment.
"I'm sorry."
There was almost no apology in her expression. Paul appeared to know it, for he only waved a hand.
"Fine. I'll put off defeating Eugene until later."
"Can you?" Norn asked again.
"I'll become able to."
"When?"
"Much later."
Norn looked unconvinced.
Sylphiette set down her book and looked toward the letter.
"Rudy must have seen it too."
"Probably."
"What do you think he said?"
"He probably asked whether he could do it too."
Paul laughed.
Lilia did not think so. Rudeus would first have checked whether it was magic. He would ask what force Eugene had used, and perhaps spend some time calculating the distance between himself and Eugene.
Eugene did not make such comparisons for long. If he needed a power, he learned it. If he did not, he had no interest in it.
The two boys born on the same day differed in that way too.
"When will my brother return?" Aisha asked.
"Not Eugene. I mean Rudeus."
"There is still time before his contract ends," Lilia answered.
"How much time?"
"Several years."
"I know it is years. Exactly how many?"
Aisha wore the expression of someone waiting for a number.
Before Lilia could answer, Sylphiette spoke.
"He left when he was five, so if it is according to the original promise, after he turns ten..."
She counted on her fingers, then stopped.
Rudeus was already ten.
It had not been long since a letter arrived saying his birthday had passed. Zenith had risen before dawn to prepare a present, while Lilia wrapped the box in several layers of cloth so it would not smell of food.
Sylphiette had added a small charm.
Eugene had carried that box to Roa.
"There isn't much time left now," Sylphiette said.
It sounded as though she were speaking to herself.
Aisha resumed folding cloth.
"Will he use the same room when he comes home?"
"That is the plan."
"Isn't the bed too small?"
"We will replace it after seeing how much he has grown."
"What about the wardrobe?"
"Aisha."
Lilia said her name, meaning that there were too many questions.
Aisha closed her mouth, but her eyes drifted toward the stairs leading to Rudeus's room.
They did not clean Rudeus's room every day. Opening an unused room too often only let in more dust. Once a week, they opened the window, aired the bedding, and wiped the desk and shelves.
Eugene did not enter that room as he pleased. Even if he needed a book, he asked Lilia or Zenith first. He seemed to believe that Rudeus's belongings had to remain untouched until Rudeus returned.
Paul went in occasionally. Each time he emerged looking as though nothing had happened, but the positions of the books changed a little.
Zenith checked the pillows and blankets. Sylphiette sat by the window reading letters. Norn and Aisha looked around as though it were a room waiting for its owner to return.
Even while Rudeus was away, that room remained Rudeus's.
Eugene's room was different.
He did not leave home often, but it was arranged so that he could take only what he needed and depart at any time. Books and tools were divided by purpose, his clothing was kept to only the necessary amount, and there were almost no decorations.
Recently, however, it had changed little by little.
A stone doll Norn made sat on his desk. Cloth Aisha had organized was in a drawer. A slip stating the return date was tucked into a book Sylphiette had lent him. A thick coat Zenith had forced him to hang up occupied one side of the wardrobe.
The Eugene of the past might have classified them as objects of unknown purpose.
Now, he remembered who had left each thing and exactly where it had been placed.
Norn suddenly stood.
"Is she here?"
Everyone turned toward the entrance. Outside, wagon wheels could be heard. But they passed the house and faded down another road.
Norn sat down again.
"No."
"Will Eugene come by carriage?" Aisha asked.
"If he has much luggage, he will."
"I will open the door."
"When he arrives."
Aisha checked the entrance once, then returned to folding cloth.
Stirring the soup, Zenith smiled.
"The two of you will be like this all evening."
"You have checked the window four times as well," Lilia said.
"That was because of the wind."
"The wind is blowing from the opposite side."
Zenith fell silent. Paul laughed loudly.
This time Zenith tapped the edge of the pot with her spoon.
"You stop reading that letter. The paper will wear out."
"Our son split the sky. I'm allowed to read it a few times."
"It says clouds."
"Same thing."
"Eugene would say they are different," Sylphiette said.
"That boy always gets particular about things like that."
Paul folded the letter and placed it inside his clothes. He did not throw it away or leave it on the desk.
Watching him, Lilia picked up another potato.
Everyone prepared things Eugene would say he did not need. They saved food, listened for carriages, and planned how to divide the luggage he would bring.
Even someone who needed no help needed a place to return to.
At least, that was what this household believed.
When dinner was ready, Lilia brought out plates as usual.
Paul's. Zenith's. Norn's. Aisha's. Sylphiette's.
After setting out her own, her hand reached toward the shelf one more time.
Eugene's plate.
It was a plate that would not be used today.
Lilia held it for a moment, then did not put it back. She placed it at the empty seat.
Zenith saw it and said nothing.
"Big sister's?" Norn asked.
"Yes."
"Will she come today?"
"If she is late, she will come tomorrow."
Norn placed a drawing beside Eugene's plate. A long-haired person and two small people were holding hands.
"It will get dirty," Aisha said, trying to move it.
Norn pressed it down with both hands.
"Big sister has to see it."
Lilia brought a clean cloth and placed it beneath the paper.
"Only until dinner is over."
Norn nodded.
Outside, darkness fell.
Eugene had not yet returned.
Still, they did not clear his plate from the table.
Eris's Side
Eugene had been in the archives since morning.
As soon as she woke, Eris went to his guest room. After being told it was empty, she descended to the basement.
A guard stood before the archive door.
"Lady Eris."
"Move."
"Eugene is conducting research."
"I know."
"You may not enter."
Eris glared at him. The guard stiffened his face and held his ground.
Normally, she would have shoved him aside and gone in. But when she considered that Eugene might have asked not to be disturbed, her hand stopped.
"When is he coming out?"
"I do not know."
"Ask him."
"Lord Philip instructed us not to interrupt his investigation."
"Who did?"
"Lord Philip."
Eris clicked her tongue. If it was her father's order, she could not hit the guard. More precisely, hitting him would make things much more troublesome later.
She glared once more at the archive door and turned away.
Rudeus was waiting in the corridor, a book in one hand.
"Did you find him?"
"They won't let me in."
"He is investigating."
"He had time when he fought me."
"That was time you forced him to make, Lady Eris."
"Eugene said he'd do it."
"He said he had no reason to run, not that he wanted to fight first."
Eris passed him.
"I'm not taking lessons."
"Today is language class."
"No."
"You have nothing else to do until Eugene comes out."
"I'll practice swordsmanship."
"Yesterday, you nearly rubbed the skin off your palms."
Eris hid her hands behind her back. The pain had lessened thanks to the medicine, but she did not want to admit Rudeus had been right.
"They're healed."
"Show me."
"No."
"Then no swordsmanship either."
Eris turned around.
"Who are you to decide?"
"Your tutor."
"Did I hire you?"
"Lord Philip hired me."
"Then I'll tell Dad to fire you."
"Please do."
Rudeus opened his book. He wore the face of someone who did not believe he would truly be dismissed.
Eris became even angrier.
Rudeus was different from when he first came to Roa. Before, whenever Eris merely raised a fist, he retreated first. He chose his words to avoid being hit and looked for ways to escape.
He still disliked being hit. But now, he could distinguish between Eris truly intending to strike him and merely being angry. When she was genuinely furious, he kept his distance. When she only threatened him with words, he pretended not to hear.
That irritated her.
It would not work on Eugene.
Eugene would already be gone before Eris could strike him. Perhaps he would catch her wrist instead.
At that thought, she remembered him pushing aside her wooden sword with two fingers yesterday. The sword tip had certainly been close enough to touch his sleeve.
Yet it had not reached him.
Eris clenched her teeth.
"Were you smiling?" Rudeus asked.
"I wasn't."
"The corner of your mouth went up."
"Shut up."
"Were you thinking about Eugene?"
Eris's fist flew first. Rudeus covered his head with the book.
Thud.
"That hurts!"
"That's what you get for saying pointless things!"
"Did I hit the mark?" Rudeus asked from behind the book.
Eris did not answer.
It would be strange to say yes. She did not want to say no, either.
It was true that she had been thinking about Eugene. She had thought about him constantly since yesterday.
The sword that split the clouds. The wooden sword at Ghislaine's throat. The feet she could not touch, no matter how she attacked.
If she learned the sword, could she become like that too? Could she reach Eugene someday? Would he call her strong this time?
Those thoughts made the inside of her chest hot.
It had been similar when she first saw Ghislaine. She wanted to grow strong. She wanted to learn from her, and someday defeat her.
But it was a little different from how she felt looking at Ghislaine.
Eugene's face came to mind. White hair and golden eyes. Though younger than Eris, he showed no intimidation among adults and did not flinch even at Sauros's shouting.
No matter how angry Eris became, Eugene did not get angry. It did not feel as though he ignored her. It felt as though he had already calculated that she would become angry.
She did not like that, but at the same time, she wanted to see him again.
"Lady Eris?"
Rudeus lowered the book.
"Does something really hurt?"
"Nothing hurts."
"Your face is red."
"It is not!"
When Eris raised her fist again, Rudeus properly stepped back this time.
"Understood. You are perfectly healthy."
"You're really annoying."
"I hear that often."
He held out the book again.
"Let's read just one page until Eugene comes out."
"No."
"Then will you keep waiting in front of the archives?"
"Yes."
"It may take hours."
"Then I'll wait."
Rudeus watched Eris for a moment. She could not tell what he was thinking.
"Do you like him that much?"
This time, her fist did not move.
Eris looked down the stairs leading to the archives.
"He's strong."
"He is."
"And pretty."
Only after the words left her did she realize what she had said.
Eris shut her mouth. Rudeus did too.
The silence stretched.
"What?" Eris asked first.
"I didn't say anything."
"Your expression is strange."
"This is simply how I look."
"You don't resemble Eugene at all."
"I heard that yesterday too."
The corner of Rudeus's mouth lowered slightly.
For an instant, Eris thought she had said something wrong. She did not feel like apologizing, so she searched for something else to say.
"You're..."
Rudeus waited.
"Your magic is strong too."
"Thank you."
His response came too quickly. Eris grew more annoyed.
"Don't be happy about it."
"But you complimented me."
"You're weaker than Eugene."
"I know."
Rudeus did not seem very hurt. If someone told Eris another person was stronger, she would have become angry and immediately picked up a sword to find out.
"Doesn't it bother you?"
"It is not a gap I can close merely by being frustrated."
"So you'll give up?"
"No."
Rudeus tucked his book beneath his arm.
"Eugene is far stronger at fighting with swords at close range. I would have difficulty defeating him in the same way."
"So?"
"I find another way."
Rudeus said it casually.
"I can use magic from afar, alter the ground, or run away."
"Cowardly."
"As long as I survive."
Eris snorted. It was such a Rudeus-like answer.
Eugene would win even if he raised a sword head-on. Rudeus would think of anything to win. Eris did not know which was better.
Eugene was stronger. Eugene was also the one she could not take her eyes off.
But when she imagined Rudeus saying he would run, she immediately pictured herself blocking the way before him.
Rudeus would use magic from behind, and she would swing her sword in front. If there were many enemies, they would press their backs together. If Rudeus made a mistake, she could help him. If she was hurt, Rudeus would treat her.
Such scenes came easily to her. They had already done similar things many times while training together.
She tried imagining a scene with Eugene too.
Eugene stood ahead. Eris followed behind. Even if she ran faster and briefly closed the distance, Eugene moved ahead again.
Sometimes Eugene stopped and showed her how. After that, he walked alone again.
She could not picture herself standing in front of Eugene. Nor could she picture him entrusting his back to her, or leaning on her shoulder when hurt or tired.
That did not seem like Eugene.
Her chest felt a little tight.
"What's wrong?" Rudeus asked.
"What?"
"You suddenly look angry."
"I'm thinking."
"Lady Eris is?"
Eris raised her fist. Rudeus smiled and dodged.
"A joke."
"You'll only come to your senses after getting hit."
"Are you done thinking?"
"I don't know."
She truly did not know.
When she saw Eugene, her heart beat faster. She wanted to fight him again, and she felt good when he said her name. If Eugene acknowledged her, she felt as though she could do anything.
If that was what liking someone meant, then perhaps she did like him.
But when she imagined Rudeus applying medicine to another girl, anger surged through her at once.
She tried imagining the same with Eugene. What came first was not anger, but the long distance between Eugene and herself.
Eris's head began to hurt.
With a sword, you only had to swing it. With an enemy, you only had to cut them down. Why was liking someone so complicated?
The archive door opened.
Eris stopped thinking and looked down the stairs.
Eugene was coming up with a bag full of documents. The guard locked the door behind him.
Eris ran to him at once.
"Are you finished?"
"The portions I needed to confirm today are finished."
"Then let's fight."
"We did yesterday."
"I can do better today."
"Your hands are injured."
Eris hid her hands behind her back.
"They aren't."
Eugene looked not at her face, but first at where she had hidden her hands.
"The skin is on the verge of tearing."
"How do you know?"
"The way you clench your hands has changed."
Eris opened her fist. Her palm pulled slightly.
"I can still do it."
"I would not recommend it today."
"Tomorrow?"
"I leave Roa tomorrow morning."
Eris's mouth closed.
She had known. Eugene had come to investigate the records, and once he had done so, he would return to Buena Village. It had been decided from the beginning.
But hearing it directly displeased her.
"Why?"
"I have completed my purpose."
"You can stay longer."
"There are things to confirm in Buena Village."
"Can't you do them here?"
"I need to examine the entire Fittoa Region."
There was no hesitation in Eugene's answer. Eris tried to say more, then closed her mouth.
He did not seem like someone who would stay if she held him back. If she asked Sauros, he might command Eugene to remain. But she had seen yesterday that even Sauros could do nothing if Eugene refused.
"Will you come again?" Eris asked.
"If necessary, I will."
"Not that."
"What are you asking?"
"Will you come fight me again?"
Eugene looked over Eris's hands and feet for a moment, as though checking what had changed since yesterday.
"If you become stronger than you are now, I will assess you again."
Eris's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Promise."
"On the condition that you become stronger."
"I will."
"Then I will assess you again."
Eris was satisfied. Eugene had not directly said he would return, but if she grew stronger, there would be a reason for them to meet again.
That was enough.
From beside her, Rudeus asked, "How much stronger does she need to become?"
"Stronger than she currently is."
"Then wouldn't getting a little stronger each day count?"
"I mean a change significant enough to be worth comparing."
"That standard is too vague..."
Eris struck Rudeus's side with her elbow.
"Stop saying pointless things."
"Conditions need to be precise."
"I'll handle it."
"You'll get angry later if Eugene says you're still not strong enough."
"I won't."
Rudeus and Eugene looked at Eris at the same time.
"What?"
Rudeus looked away first. Eugene remained as he was.
"I might get angry," Eris admitted. "But I'll become stronger anyway."
"Understood."
Eugene ended the conversation there. He began walking toward the guest room, then stopped.
"Rudeus."
"Yeah?"
"After I organize the documents, there is something I need to discuss with you."
Rudeus's expression changed.
"Is it because of the mana changes?"
"Yes."
"Is it dangerous?"
"I cannot judge that yet."
Eugene repeated the same answer. He did not claim to know what he did not know.
When Rudeus began worrying, he imagined every possible situation. Eugene spoke only of what he had confirmed.
When they were together, Rudeus often asked questions while Eugene cut away the unnecessary ones. Eris found their conversations difficult to follow, but at times like this, she could feel a little that they were brothers.
"Can I come too?" Rudeus asked.
"It concerns the Fittoa Region, so I will explain it."
"Me too," Eris said.
"Lady Eris is involved as well."
"Then we're going together."
Eris walked toward the guest room first.
"What about class?" Rudeus asked behind her.
"It's over."
"It never began."
"Eugene's matter is more important."
"That is true, but..."
Rudeus looked down at his book, then followed in the end.
Eris walked half a step ahead of them. Without looking back, she could hear their footsteps.
Eugene's were quiet and even. Rudeus's made little sounds with every step because of his book and medicine jar.
Both of them were following her.
On the morning Eugene left Roa, there were few clouds. No trace remained in the sky of where it had split the day before.
Luggage was loaded before the carriage. Most of it consisted of copied records and maps. A box held wine and meat sent by Sauros.
Eugene had said he did not need them, but Sauros had not listened.
"Stay longer next time!" Sauros shouted.
"If possible, I will."
"Then make it possible!"
Eugene did not answer.
Philip handed him a sealed document.
"If further records arrive, I will organize them and send them to you."
"Thank you."
"If you judge the anomaly dangerous, notify us first."
"I will."
Hilda inspected Eugene's collar once. There was not a speck of dust on it.
"Give Zenith my regards."
"I will."
Ghislaine spoke briefly.
"Next time, I will be stronger."
"I will assess it."
Until the end, Eris said nothing.
She had already decided what to say. When she became stronger, they would fight again. Eugene had said he would assess her.
Yet when the carriage door opened, it felt as though she should say something else.
"Eugene."
Eugene turned.
"Why are you calling me?"
"...Next time, I'll reach you."
"Is that so?"
"I mean it."
"I will look forward to it."
Eugene did not smile. Still, his eyes seemed to soften just a little.
Eris did not miss that expression. Her heart began racing again.
Eugene boarded the carriage. The door closed. The carriage began to move.
Eris remained there until it passed through the main gate.
She could still have run after it and knocked on the door. She could have told him not to go. She could have said she would go with him.
But even if she opened her mouth, she did not think she could continue after the first words.
Eugene had things he needed to do where he was going. If Eris followed him, what could she do?
If she only said she wanted to stay beside him, Eugene would ask why. Eris did not think she could answer.
The carriage became small at the end of the road. Through the open window, white hair appeared for a moment, then vanished.
Eris continued staring at the same place for a long while.
"Lady Eris."
Rudeus called from behind.
Eris did not turn around.
"What?"
"It is lesson time."
"Today too?"
"Every day."
"Eugene left."
"Eugene leaving has nothing to do with lessons."
Eris turned around. Rudeus was holding an arithmetic slate. The problem they had not finished yesterday was still written on it.
One hundred and thirty-seven sacks of wheat. Eight wagons. One sack remaining.
Eris's face crumpled.
"No."
"If you want to reach Eugene, training only your feet and waist will not be enough."
"What does arithmetic have to do with swords?"
"You need to calculate distance."
Rudeus tapped the slate.
"How far your opponent will move, how many steps it will take to catch them, how much stamina remains."
"Ghislaine doesn't make calculations like that."
"She does them in her head."
"Liar."
"Ask her yourself."
Eris looked at Ghislaine. Without answering, Ghislaine looked away.
It was betrayal.
"Just one problem," Rudeus said.
"If I solve it, I practice swordsmanship?"
"Yes."
"An hour?"
"Fifty minutes."
"An hour."
"Even what we agreed to yesterday was fifty minutes."
"Today is different."
Eris approached Rudeus. When she tried to snatch the arithmetic slate, he raised it over his head. Their height difference was not great, so she could have grabbed it quickly.
Instead, Eris seized Rudeus's sleeve.
"Come."
"Where?"
"The lesson room."
Eris walked into the manor first. Rudeus followed, his sleeve caught in her hand.
"Does that mean you will solve only one problem?"
"I'll decide after I see it."
"That is not what we agreed."
"Then don't let me drag you along if you don't like it."
"You are already dragging me."
Eris did not answer.
The road beyond the main gate could no longer be seen.
She still had regrets. She wanted to see Eugene longer. When they met again, she would be stronger than she was now. Perhaps next time her wooden sword would touch his sleeve. Someday, they might look in the same direction and stand side by side.
But not now.
Eris walked ahead. Several steps behind, Rudeus's footsteps followed.
Without realizing it, Eris slowed a little.
Before long, Rudeus caught up and walked beside her.
His sleeve was still held in Eris's hand.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register