Chapter 47
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Chapter 47
* * *
That night, she dreamed a long and vivid dream.
"You never wanted to do such things."
Yurien de Harden Kirie whispered as he pressed the Demonic Sword against her throat, his body pinning hers beneath him. His voice was soft, never loud, utterly quiet—the very words she had wanted to scream at all those people she had cut down, at all those who wailed and cursed before her. The words she had longed to cry out but could never voice.
'I never wanted to do such things either.'
In that moment when he transformed her silent scream into language, he became an indelible mark upon her soul—a scar that would never fade.
"She is fighting."
"Against the Demonic Sword. Against her own will."
"I will give her a chance."
He perceived her resistance—something she believed no one could ever know. He recognized that she had not yet surrendered. And he gave her a chance. A chance that would cost him dearly.
Beyond the iron door, a pair of brilliant blue eyes watches over her. He waits for her—she who has slain everyone dear to her with her own hands, she who has lost all those who might have waited for her. He comes to her again and again, through the turning of seasons, through the rising and setting of suns, even as her condition remains unchanged. He comes faithfully to the demon who wrought massacre, to the cell where no one else visits, where even the guards dare not approach, where meals are merely passed through a double door.
Six months chained in a narrow cell in the Underground Prison. Fighting alone, she has only one visitor. The only person who waits, hoping for her victory. The only person who supports her. There is no one else. She endured by thinking of him, gathering all the words she wished to say once she overcame the Demonic Sword and could see him again.
'Why did you give me a chance?'
'Thank you.'
'Thank you for waiting. Thank you for watching over me.'
'I wanted to show you that your choice was right.'
'I will win. So please don't leave. Keep watching over me. Without you, there is no one....'
'I could only win because you were there.'
'My name is Echinacea Loaz. My hair is black now, but originally it was pink. My parents named me after the color of Echinacea flowers. I know your name. Yurien. I wanted so badly to call it.'
'Do you know how desperately I wanted to smile at you with a body that moves by my own will?'
'I want to show you a smiling face. Not the visage of a wailing beast. That isn't the real me. Look, this is who I am. What do you think? I hope I look beautiful to you.'
'I want to meet you. Do you want to meet me too? Is that why you're waiting?'
She endured by drawing strength from those words. She survived by imagining the day she would tell him these things directly. Through those lonely, agonizing, hollow hours.
Within that time, the mark he left upon her life transformed into a single emotion. It took root, sprouted, and ripened.
The flower had already been blooming since then.
* * *
Echinacea Loaz recovered completely after one more day of illness. The next day happened to be the first club meeting of Wisdom.
During this time, no news had come regarding Yurien de Harden Kirie's engagement. The commander of the Changtian Knights remained silent, and the Diasant Princess was quietly staying in a guest room at the Knight Order headquarters. Only rumors that an engagement might take place had spread throughout Agenka.
Echinacea Loaz and Alice Winterbell made their way to the 6th Training Ground where Wisdom's club meeting would be held. Alice walked beside her with a look of mild concern. The dress of pale sky blue trimmed with white lace appeared bright and cheerful, but the expression on Echinacea Loaz's face was troubled and dark.
"Echinacea."
"...."
"Echinacea?"
"Oh, yes? Did you call me?"
"Do you still have a fever?"
"No, I'm completely fine, as you can see."
"You've seemed dazed all day yesterday and today."
More precisely, ever since Nicole Sizton's visit. Alice observed her carefully. Echinacea Loaz smiled and shook her head.
"It's nothing. I just have something on my mind."
"What troubles you? Is there anything I can help with?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine. It's a matter that involves personal feelings and family issues mixed together."
It was a family matter on a rather large scale and emotions quite complex, but it wasn't a lie. Alice seemed to have lingering questions, but she wasn't rude enough to pry into someone else's family affairs. She simply nodded in understanding.
"Sometimes, merely speaking to someone about something can make it feel much better. If you ever need that kind of help, please tell me anytime."
An upright face, an upright tone of voice. I looked up at Alice walking beside me. One corner of my turbulent heart grew warm like stew. I recalled Nicole asking if Alice was my friend. On impulse, I linked my arm through hers.
"Echinacea? Why so suddenly...?"
"Just because. Do you hate it?"
"...No."
"Let's hurry then. Senior Fatima must be waiting."
We arrived at the 6th Training Ground with our arms linked. The 6th Training Ground was a training facility located a short distance from the Female Dormitory—a medium-sized clearing bordered by tall evergreens with lush foliage instead of a fence.
Benches sat beneath the evergreens. Each bench was packed with cadets. Those who couldn't claim a bench sat or leaned in the shade of the trees. Some cadets had even brought mats to sit on.
"Oh, you're here."
"You came! So Fatima's club really did accept you!"
"The lady."
"She came with the second-ranked one."
"They're roommates, aren't they?"
As Alice and I approached, murmurs rippled through the crowd. All eyes turned toward us at once. Since entering the Military Academy, I had grown accustomed to concentrated gazes, but today's attention was distinctly different from before. Admiration and jealousy were intertwined.
"She survived the Nodule..."
"She must have been lucky. Probably Baraha did most of it..."
"Didn't you see her in the freshman ranking tournament? She was impressive."
"During the monster subjugation, she..."
"They say all geniuses are eccentric."
Hushed whispers continued to follow me. My keen hearing picked up nearly everything, which was embarrassing. While there were many jealous remarks, the fact that I had demonstrated my abilities meant the vicious rumors had noticeably diminished.
"Welcome, Alice, Echinacea!"
Fatima, who had arrived earlier, greeted us. Alice lowered her voice and asked her.
"Senior, why have so many cadets gathered here?"
"Well... some are just spectators, but look over there."
Fatima laughed awkwardly and pointed to one side. Papers were stacked on one of the benches. They were club membership applications. Alice's expression turned bewildered.
"Are all of those membership applications?"
"Since word got out that you two joined our club, suddenly more cadets became interested. Many of the cadets here have already submitted applications. We can't accept everyone, so, well, that's why I have a favor to ask."
Fatima shrugged her shoulders and grinned.
"Before we spar, let's discuss together how to select the new club members!"
Just as Alice and I were about to respond to Fatima's proposal, a group of cadets approached the training ground with a harsh voice saying "Move." The commotion was so loud that all eyes—both the cadets' and theirs—immediately turned in that direction.
Five or so large cadets shoved their way through the crowd of cadets and entered the training ground. I recognized the cadet standing at the front of the group. It was Bread, who had spouted nonsense at me before. Bread walked straight toward us in the center of the training ground, but instead of looking at me, he glared at Fatima.
"Hey, Fatima."
"What is it, Senior Bread?"
"I heard a very unpleasant rumor. Is it true that you're coaxing club members from other clubs and poaching them?"
"No?"
Fatima's dark eyes widened in surprise. Bread scoffed and picked up the stack of applications lying on the bench. Fatima frowned and warned him.
"Senior, looking at another club's membership applications is..."
"Shut up."
He flipped through the stack of papers with rough, aggressive motions before shoving them toward Fatima. Then he waved them threateningly in front of her face.
"Look at this, just look. You see these names written here and pretend you don't know? With such obvious evidence right in front of you? Women are all the same. You think others won't notice your schemes, but you're just stupid."
As he spoke, Bread's eyes darted toward me before returning to Fatima. Noticing this, I barely managed to suppress the corners of my mouth from twisting into a smile. Now that I thought about it, he'd complained before too—about how I wore revealing dresses while pretending not to understand his implications.
'He really does judge everything by his own standards. I suppose people only see what they want to see.'
Meanwhile, Fatima accepted the application form thrust before her face. After confirming the name on the first page, she looked up.
"I'm not sure who you're referring to, senior."
"Right here—Michael von Frang Almari, Cadet. Michael was supposed to join our Noblesse, so why is there an application form here? Why are you poaching a new member who was meant for another club?"
Bread tapped the application form Fatima was holding, baring his teeth. Fatima blinked and responded with apparent confusion.
"Michael isn't currently affiliated with any club, is he? That application form was written and submitted directly by Michael himself. Is there a problem with that?"
"There's a big problem, actually. Are you really asking because you don't understand?"
"Yes, I don't understand."
Fatima, even smaller than me, tilted her head innocently like a naive child before Bread's glaring eyes that looked ready to strike. Bread glanced around at the other cadets before sighing dramatically.
"Fatima Toya. There are certain courtesies that must be observed between clubs."
"What courtesy did I violate?"
"I already told you—don't you understand how rude it is to accept an application from a cadet who was supposed to join another club?"
"Did Michael submit an application to the Noblesse club? Or did he make some verbal promise to join them?"
At Fatima's question, Bread's words caught in his throat. Neither was true. Noblesse had simply unilaterally decided to recruit Michael, the Giosa Owner's younger brother. With nothing to say, Bread's face began turning red and purple.
"Hey, how dare you talk back to your senior like this?"
"Which club a cadet submits an application to is the cadet's freedom, isn't it? And senior, even if someone were already affiliated with a club, members are free to leave and transfer clubs, aren't they?"
"This is exactly why we shouldn't have authorized club creation for uncivilized barbarians. Common sense doesn't work with them. Don't you agree?"
Bread muttered irritably and turned to look at his own club members who had come with him. They burst into laughter in agreement.
Fatima Toya, with her dark complexion and small frame, was from the western nomadic peoples. The nomads, living in tribal units and wandering the grasslands, maintained only loose confederations rather than forming rigid nation-states like other countries on the continent. Because of this, they frequently faced rude prejudices—being called barbarians and uncivilized.
My eyes narrowed sharply. But before either Fatima or I could say anything, an angry voice cut in quickly.
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