This is Romance Fantasy (2)
Yohaiden mansion's drawing room.
“Why did you call me? You said Zeke wasn’t even here yet….”
Iriel said listlessly.
“The Instructor will be here. Wait. I called you because I have something to tell you.”
She narrowed her eyes and looked at Iriel.
‘She looks like she’s in a pretty bad state right now. Yeah, it’d be good to tell her now.’
With an elegant gesture, Selena brought the teacup in front of her to her lips and took a sip.
“……Is there anything else left to say between us……?”
“Don’t you want to protect the Instructor?”
“…….”
‘That’s why you should’ve brought Zeke here!’
For a moment, Iriel felt a surge of anger inside her, but she decided to listen to what Selena had to say.
“First of all, I’m already mentally exhausted from arguing with you. I don't want to waste any more energy. So I’ll get straight to the point.”
“……Fine. I’m curious about what you have to say, too.”
“I will protect the Instructor.”
Selena said with a determined face.
“So, hold a banquet at the Eustia mansion. Then, I’ll go there with the Instructor and announce that he saved my life.”
“What!?”
Iriel’s eyes widened.
Selena decided to take a direct approach.
A banquet at the Eustia mansion.
A place the Princess of Yohaiden would never visit ordinarily.
To announce to high society that Zeke is a benefactor of Yohaiden.
This would directly pressure Eustia.
[I know Zeke is one of your people. However, I accepted him as my benefactor despite knowing that.]
Furthermore, those who attend Eustia’s banquet are pro-Eustia noble families and neutral families.
If Zeke and Selena’s relationship is publicly acknowledged in front of them,
It would be even more difficult for Eustia to reveal that he is a spy.
It was truly a political scheme.
However, from Iriel's perspective, she couldn’t just accept her words as they were.
“Wait, what do you mean savior all of a sudden, and why……. At our mansion…….”
“The sooner, the better.”
“Why, why do I have to do that!”
“That’s the only way to stop Eustia from directly getting rid of the Instructor. It hasn’t been revealed that he used to be one of Eustia’s people yet. The order of events is important.”
Iriel clenched her jaw.
“Then what about me?”
What Selena was saying was no different from using her as a pawn and taking Zeke away.
“You want me to just go to a monastery, or have an unwanted engagement!?”
“That doesn’t make sense. Weren’t you going to end up like that anyway whether you hold a banquet or not? It’s better to save someone while you’re at it, isn’t it?”
Selena crossed her arms and glared at Iriel.
Honestly, from Selena’s point of view, it would be easier if Iriel just left the academy.
However…….
‘Right……. This is as far as I should push her. If she refuses to the very end, the plan will fall apart from the start.’
“Do you want to continue attending Ramielli Academy?”
“…….”
“Fine, I’ll help you with that too……. It’s not out of pity. It’s just that things will get messy if you resist.”
Selena let out a deep sigh.
“To do that, I need to know what kind of relationship you have with the Instructor.”
Although Selena was thinking of helping her, she didn’t want to do it without any benefit.
That's why she asked for Zeke and Iriel’s past as compensation.
However, Iriel also didn’t immediately accept her words.
“……Then, tell me what you meant earlier about Zeke being your savior.”
“Okay.”
It was a rumor that would spread through high society anyway, so it wouldn’t be a problem to tell Iriel a little early.
Selena nodded.
Iriel looked at the steam rising from the teacup in front of her and opened her mouth.
“So……. Zeke was in Eustia’s dungeon……”
And so, from her mouth flowed the memories of her past with Zeke.
A relationship that had continued since they were very young.
Because of their difference in status, he had always been respectful to Iriel.
However, despite the difference in status, Zeke had always been the closest person to her.
He was the only boy her age in the Eustia family.
And the only one among the strict adults who would put up with her childish behavior.
The times she secretly knocked on his door after being scolded by her father and aunt.
The times Zeke comforted her when she cried.
The times she forcibly woke him up from his rest and dragged him around when her father wasn’t around.
The time she learned swordsmanship from him.
The times they gnawed on hard bread together.
And even the story of how his eyes widened when she shared the bread she usually ate for the first time.
Like that, trivial but warm memories, accumulated over a long time, flowed from her lips one by one.
Their memories made even Selena’s heart flutter,
and she could feel a much closer emotional connection than expected.
‘Childhood friends? That’s cheating!’
Selena’s face hardened.
‘Don’t tell me……. When the Instructor……. Recovers his memories……. He’s going to go back to her……?’
Suddenly, an image of Zeke, with his memories restored, bidding farewell with a sad expression, flashed through Selena’s mind.
A faint jealousy welled up within her.
Originally, Selena had planned to meet with Iriel to confirm how much she wanted to protect the Instructor, and then share the fact that he had amnesia.
She thought that if the Princess of Eustia cooperated in protecting him,
she could use her as a political pawn.
However, as she listened to Iriel’s story, her heart gradually began to lean in the opposite direction.
‘……Honestly, I haven’t even gotten permission from the Instructor, and wouldn’t it be morally wrong of me to talk about his amnesia without his consent?’
Rationalization began to form in Selena’s mind at a terrifying speed.
‘And if this woman gets close to the Instructor while bringing up past memories, it could trigger the pain he suffered at the hands of the female general.’
Tap. Tap. Her fingers nervously tapped on the table.
‘He’s trying to forget his painful past and live a new life! It’s not right to bring back bad memories like the Eustia dungeon, right? Eustia is too much. How could they give a person only hard bread and water, and make them live in such a harsh environment!’
Iriel, talking about her memories with Zeke, with her lips slightly upturned, looked very happy.
She seemed to have completely forgotten that the woman in front of her was the Princess of Eustia, who had been viciously tormenting her all this time.
‘How unpleasant!!!’
As expected, this woman is dangerous. I need to get her away from Zeke’s side.
Selena glared at Iriel, forgetting that she was biting her lip so hard it was about to bleed.
“So……. You used your family crest to……. Bring Zeke to……. Ramielli Academy.”
And with that, Iriel’s story came to an end.
“Ah, I see. I’ve heard enough. Then I’ll be on my way.”
Selena spat out in a stiff tone and rose from her seat.
“Wait!”
Iriel shot to her feet and grabbed Selena’s wrist.
“What is it?”
“You said you’d help me keep attending Ramielli! And what about the savior thing! You have to tell me about that too!”
“……I, ah, right……”
That’s when it happened.
Ailey burst open the door without even knocking.
“Lady Selena! Zeke Clayman has returned! He’s on his way here now!”
“The Instructor is here!!?”
“Zeke is here!!?”
Iriel and Selena shouted at the same time.
* * *
Zeke, hearing that Iriel and Selena were together, was flustered as he headed towards the drawing room.
“Instructor!”
“Zeke!”
As soon as the two women saw him, they both hugged him and burst into tears.
Then, they suddenly pulled away, lowered their heads, and avoided eye contact.
“Ah, my makeup is all ruined from crying……”
“Ah, because of the flower garden earlier, I was reminded of the old days……”
They mumbled something, but their words overlapped, making it difficult to understand.
“Hmm, have you calmed down?”
“Well……. Instructor, could you give us just 30 minutes?”
“M-me too……”
Hmm, he didn’t know what was going on, but Zeke nodded.
30 minutes later, when he went back to the drawing room, the two women were sitting there, looking much more glamorous than before.
Or rather, Selena looked a little more radiant, perhaps because she had a home advantage, as Zeke could tell.
Iriel, noticing this, glared at Selena.
Selena turned her head away with a prim expression.
“I see you two were quite worried.”
“I……. I believed in you, Instructor……. But I was anxious……”
“Zeke, what happened? Did you not encounter the Eustia Assassination Squad?”
Zeke shook his head.
“No, I met them. The Assassination Captain’s swordsmanship was quite good.”
At his words, Iriel’s eyes widened.
‘Right, I should be nice to Iriel now. I did give Eustia some bait, after all. If I’m cold to her like before, they might get suspicious.’
He thought that, but then the karma he had accumulated until now flashed through his mind.
- Get lost, Iriel Eustia.
- Smack!
- I’ll say the same thing I did last time. Sigh. Get lost. Iriel Eustia.
- Whack!
Besides that, he could only remember being cold to Iriel or giving her half-hearted responses.
‘Uh, well. It seems like I’ve already gone too far? What do I do? How do I treat her well now?’
A good adult should be able to properly apologize when mending a relationship.
Zeke decided to apologize to her first.
“Iriel……”
“…..”
“I’m…… I’m…… sorry for hitting you before.”
As if apologizing was an incredibly awkward act, the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth properly.
‘You crazy bitch, you were in the wrong first!’
Anyway, as Zeke somehow managed to apologize, Iriel covered her mouth with her hand.
“A-as expected……. I knew I wasn’t mistaken……. Zeke, you do……”
“And I also…… ap-apologize for telling you to get lost. At that time, I may have been a little harsh because of the situation.”
‘Is that how a person should live? Huh!?’
Ah, come to think of it, that wasn’t because of this body, it was my own will.
Tears welled up in Iriel’s eyes.
Zeke frowned.
‘Why does she keep crying? Was this body in a secret relationship with her in the past or something?’
Since things had come to this,
Zeke realized this was his chance to ask Iriel directly.
“Iriel.”
“Sob. Y-yes……. Z-Zeke……”
“I have something I’m curious about……”
Just then, Selena cut in.
“I-Instructor!!”
Zeke turned his head to look at Selena.
“J-just a moment.”
“Hmm?”
“Iriel, your makeup is all ruined.”
At those words, Iriel seemed flustered and hurriedly covered her face with both hands.
“Oh, right, one of my maids, Ailey, is really good at makeup. I’ll go get my makeup fixed.”
Iriel nodded and quickly walked out of the drawing room.
Whew.
Selena sighed.
She didn’t know what the Instructor was about to say,
but he must have been about to ask something about his relationship with Iriel.
Having already heard their story, Selena didn’t want Zeke to hear it.
‘He’s already having a hard time because of his trauma! What if he remembers those painful memories again!’
Of course, fantastic rationalization was a given.
The man in front of her, with his usual composed demeanor.
His gaze, as always, was calm and subdued.
In front of him, Selena felt herself shrinking.
“Selena.”
“Y-yes!”
“You seem to have gotten close to Iriel. I’m a man, so I don’t pay much attention to these things.”
“…..”
His words pricked at Selena’s conscience.
‘No, that’s not it!!’
That sliver of conscience, in the end, made her speak.
“Well……. Instructor.”
“Yes.”
“……Would you want to go back to the past if you could?”
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