Protagonist Drift? (4)
Selena woke up to a sudden, earsplitting scream.
She hurriedly threw on her dressing gown and ran out into the hallway.
"What was that!?"
The butler, apparently startled by the same sound, was catching his breath as he rushed towards her.
"That scream just now, where did it come from?" Selena asked.
"That… I believe it came from Sir Zeke Clayman's room," the butler replied.
"What? The Instructor's room!?" Selena’s eyes widened.
'Eustia's assassins!'
Had they already made their move? This was too soon. Far too soon. A surprise attack at a time like this, when they were completely unprepared…
'Did they attack Yohaiden?'
Was Zeke that important of a target? Or did they simply not care about a place like Yohaiden?
Selena’s heart pounded with anxiety.
"I have to go!"
"Absolutely not! We must wait for the guards to handle it. Lady Selena, you must remain here!" The butler tried to stop Selena.
Just then, Shuri, the maid assigned to Iriel, came running towards them, her face pale with fear.
"Lady Selena! Lady Eustia is gone!"
"What!? What about Iriel!?"
Zeke Clayman and Iriel Eustia.
If something had happened to both of them, it had to be Eustia’s doing. A sense of dread washed over Selena as she realized the gravity of the situation.
"I'm going to the Instructor's room first. Butler, gather the guards and follow me immediately.”
“Lady Selena! It's too dangerous!"
"Move."
The butler stood his ground, blocking her path.
"I said move, Butler. I am Selena Yohaiden. I have a responsibility for what happens in this house, especially if it concerns Lady Eustia."
Selena's blue eyes pierced the butler, a heavy pressure emanating from her gaze. The butler gasped, feeling the weight of her words. It was like looking at the Duke of Yohaiden in his younger days.
'When did she grow up so much…'
He wanted to follow her, but someone had to inform the guards and take command.
He hesitated, torn between ensuring Selena’s safety and summoning the guards.
"I'll go with you, Lady Selena."
“No, you can’t. Bringing the guards is the butler's responsibility. He needs to do his job."
Selena’s voice left no room for argument.
Her gaze fell on the maid beside her.
“But I can’t let you go alone. Shuri, you go with Lady Selena. If she tries to do anything dangerous, stop her, even if you have to put yourself in harm’s way, understand?”
“Yes!”
And so, Selena, accompanied by Shuri, rushed towards Zeke's room.
*
BAM!
'What the…?'
Selena flung open Zeke's door, her breath catching in her throat at the sight before her.
She had raced here, expecting an attack by Eustia, but what in the world was this?
In a way, this was even more shocking than an assassination attempt.
Iriel, clad only in her undergarments, was clinging to Zeke’s neck, her eyes burning with an intensity Selena had never witnessed before.
Zeke, on the other hand, looked at her with a mixture of concern and something else… something Selena couldn’t quite place.
Selena felt her heart pounding in her chest, her mind turning blank.
'Why…? Why, why, why?'
Could it be that Zeke had regained his memories?
"……Instructor?" she choked out.
As if on cue, both Iriel and Zeke turned their heads towards her.
"S-Selena?"
"……Selena."
They both spoke her name at the same time, their voices a strange mix of surprise and something else entirely.
Selena’s mind struggled to catch up, to make sense of the impossible scene unfolding in front of her.
'Right now.'
'In my house.'
'The Instructor.'
'And Iriel.'
'Alone together.'
'In the middle of the night.'
*Crack*
Selena felt her hand clench into a fist.
Her voice was low and dangerous, a stark contrast to the turmoil raging inside her.
"What… is the meaning of this…?"
"I-It's not what it looks like!"
Iriel sputtered, but Selena barely registered her words.
Her eyes were fixed on Zeke Clayman.
He simply stared back at her, his face unreadable.
"Why… why aren't you saying anything…?"
To Selena, his silence spoke volumes.
It was as if he was confirming her worst fears, telling her that he had regained his memories and chosen Iriel.
Betrayal.
It was the one thing Selena was most sensitive to, the ultimate wound that cut the deepest.
'He betrayed me. The Instructor betrayed me. He betrayed me. He chose her over me.
I lost. I lost to her. He betrayed me. He said he wouldn't forget me, that it was all thanks to me…'
The light faded from Selena's eyes.
*Woosh—*
Wind began to swirl around her feet, her silver hair whipping around her as if caught in a gale.
Her dormant talent, the power that lay dormant within her, was awakening.
*Fwoooosh!*
An overwhelming surge of mana erupted from her body, radiating outwards like a shockwave.
Zeke watched her, a wry smile spreading across his face.
‘Wow, that was fast.’
It had only been a few days, barely a week, since he had first assessed Selena’s mana road.
True, he had interfered, nudging her mana awake, making it easier for her to access.
He had taught her how to sense and feel the flow of mana through meditation.
But for her to awaken it so quickly, to the point where she could manifest it outside of her body… this was beyond his expectations.
The reason he hadn't immediately explained the situation was because he had sensed her mana stirring, reacting to her turbulent emotions.
'Looks like she's pretty angry that we were playing around without her. But, if this is how quickly she improves when she’s enraged… maybe provoking her anger from time to time wouldn’t be such a bad training method…’
Of course, Zeke’s obliviousness to the true nature of her anger didn’t help matters.
He was already considering making this a regular part of her training regimen.
He was completely unaware of the storm brewing within her.
"Z-Zeke! What are you just standing there for? She's gone mad!"
Iriel cried, still clinging to him.
"Mad?"
"Look at her eyes!"
'Hmm, are her eyes really that unusual?' he thought, tilting his head.
From a dark fantasy perspective, her eyes were pretty standard.
She was actually showing remarkable restraint by not attacking them outright.
He could practically see the gears turning in her head as she struggled to maintain control.
'I guess getting upset and drawing your sword isn't that strange when you've been left out of something important. I mean, I’ve met a certain Saintess who tried to kill me for less.’
Still, it wouldn't do for her to keep expelling mana like this.
She hadn't even learned the 'Reception stage' of accepting external mana yet, and here she was, skipping ahead a whole step.
Zeke gently disentangled himself from Iriel and took a step towards Selena.
"……Selena."
"……."
"Mana isn't just about releasing it. It needs to circulate."
"……."
But his words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Selena’s body trembled with barely suppressed rage.
“I suppose there’s no helping it. Let’s move on to the next lesson.” Zeke held out a hand towards her.
“Come at me. Just like you did before.”
* * *
*Crash!*
*Bang!*
*KABOOM!!*
‘What… what in the world is going on? Why are Lady Selena and Sir Zeke…?’
Shuri, who had followed Selena, had fallen behind, unable to keep up with the young princess’s furious pace.
She arrived at the scene, panting heavily, only to be greeted by a sight that defied explanation.
Her eyes darted around, finally landing on Iriel, who was huddled on the ground, still clad only in her undergarments.
The butler and the guards would be here any minute.
She couldn’t allow the Princess of Eustia to be subjected to their stares.
Ignoring the furniture that was being smashed to pieces around them, Shuri scurried over to Iriel.
"My lady," she whispered urgently.
“Wh- Huh? Shuri…?”
“It’s Shuri,” the maid said gently.
“Here, cover yourself with this.”
She quickly grabbed a nearby tablecloth and draped it over Iriel, effectively concealing her from view. The table had been a rather large one, and the tablecloth was more than enough to cover her completely.
"Th-Thank you," Iriel stammered, her face flushed crimson.
“Don’t mention it. But listen, the butler and the guards will be here any minute… they’re going to wonder what happened…”
Iriel’s face fell.
‘How can I possibly tell them that I snuck into Zeke’s room in the middle of the night? And that I wasn’t wearing any clothes!’
Her discarded slip lay between Zeke and Selena, a stark reminder of her impulsive actions.
She was the Princess of Eustia.
She had let the atmosphere of the moment get to her, but surely she was above making such a spectacle of herself, especially here, in the lion’s den of Yohaiden.
‘What am I going to do? What am I going to say?’
She racked her brains, desperately searching for a plausible explanation.
“What’s going on here?! Who dares intrude upon Yohaiden?!”
The doors burst open, and the butler rushed in, followed by a contingent of heavily armed guards.
They froze, their eyes widening in disbelief at the scene before them.
*KABOOM!!*
*Crash!*
*Splinter!*
Selena Yohaiden was raining blows upon Zeke Clayman.
Zeke, for his part, seemed to be taking her attacks with an almost casual ease.
But despite his relaxed demeanor, the force behind each blow was undeniable.
Furniture shattered, tapestries were ripped from the walls, and the very air crackled with energy.
The guards watched in stunned silence, unable to comprehend what they were witnessing.
Why was Selena Yohaiden attacking Zeke Clayman?
And how had the delicate youngest daughter of Yohaiden acquired such terrifying power?
The captain of the guard turned to the butler, his face a mask of confusion.
“Butler! What in the world is going on here?! You said it was an attack by Eustia!”
“I-I don’t know! Why?! Lady Selena! Sir Zeke!!!”
The butler’s cries fell on deaf ears.
The two combatants were too engrossed in their exchange, their movements too swift and brutal for him to intervene.
It was then that he noticed Iriel, huddled beneath the tablecloth.
“Lady Iriel Eustia. Perhaps you could enlighten us as to what transpired here?” he asked, his voice laced with thinly veiled anger.
“T-Training!”
Iriel blurted out, her eyes squeezed shut.
“……?”
The guards, the butler, even Shuri, stared at her with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.
“It-It’s true! This is how we train at Ramielli Academy!” she insisted.
“Y-You’re telling me… that *this*… is merely training…?”
The butler sputtered, gesturing at the wreckage around them.
“Y-Yes! In fact, I was just sparring with Zeke when… when my clothes accidentally ripped off! So we had to stop for a moment,” she explained, her voice gaining confidence with every word.
“But… we heard a scream…” the butler pointed out.
“Oh, that? That was me! I screamed when my clothes ripped!” she replied, her expression completely serious.
It was a surprisingly plausible explanation.
However, the expensive furniture was still being smashed to pieces right before their very eyes.
Could they really pass this off as mere training?
The butler let out a dry chuckle, torn between amusement and exasperation.
“And Selena, it seems, saw me receiving private lessons from Zeke and got upset that she was left out. Normally, we only spar like this in the training grounds,” Iriel added, improvising wildly.
The guards and the butler turned back to the fight, their eyes glued to the spectacle unfolding before them.
It was true that Zeke wasn’t actively attacking Selena.
He was merely deflecting her blows, guiding her movements, occasionally offering words of instruction.
“Selena, your fist wasn’t properly aligned with your next move when you retracted it.”
“Selena, every movement is part of a flow. You need to anticipate your opponent’s next move based on their defense.”
“Are you circulating your mana? You should feel something leaving your body. But don’t just release it completely. Imagine it as a fluid, elastic substance, something that can always return to you.”
The guards, in particular, were mesmerized.
“Captain… is Lady Selena… stronger than us…?” one of them whispered, his voice filled with awe.
“What in the world do they teach at that academy…?” another muttered.
“Lady Selena hasn’t even been there that long, has she…?”
“Heavens above… to think that those young ladies… are capable of such… such martial prowess…”
It was true that Selena’s punches and kicks lacked the finesse and precision of a trained martial artist.
But even so, the sheer force behind each blow was undeniable.
One direct hit, and even the most seasoned warrior would be left nursing a grievous wound.
“Perhaps… we could ask… Instructor Clayman… for some pointers…”
“Don’t be ridiculous! We can’t possibly ask a distinguished guest to waste his time teaching the likes of us!” the captain barked, even as a thrill of excitement shot through him.
He, too, was a warrior at heart.
The sight of Selena, a delicate young lady, wielding such power filled him with a strange mix of awe and envy.
Iriel, too, was stunned by Selena’s display.
‘Am I really… outmatched by this girl…?’
She had initially been confident in her own abilities, but Selena’s raw power had shaken her to her core.
Then, she recalled Zeke’s words, the challenge in his voice, and a fierce determination ignited within her.
*Huff—*
*Huff—*
*Huff—*
Selena’s breath grew ragged as fatigue began to set in.
She hadn’t yet learned to use mana to enhance her physical abilities, and her body, unaccustomed to such exertion, was nearing its limit.
“Tired?”
Zeke asked, his voice calm and steady.
“……Yes,” she gasped, her chest heaving.
“You did well.
You’re even starting to grasp the concept of circulation.”
“…….”
Selena’s lips twitched into a small smile.
The anger that had consumed her, the heat that had burned through her veins, had subsided, replaced by a weary satisfaction.
As her mind cleared, she finally began to piece together the events that had led to this point.
Why Iriel had been in Zeke’s room, clad only in her undergarments.
Why she had been clinging to him with such desperation.
'Right, her mana road was hurting. But still, couldn’t she have at least told me she was going to see him? And Instructor, you could have given me a heads-up! I wouldn’t have gotten the wrong idea…’
There was a twinge of annoyance, a flicker of jealousy, but it was quickly overshadowed by the sheer exhilaration of the lesson.
She had felt the power coursing through her, the raw potential that lay dormant within her.
Zeke’s words, his guidance, had awakened something deep within her soul.
'This is my power. I can become a knight.’
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And you are telling me that her soul is the purest he has ever seen? Starting to really hate her for all her antics and jealousy
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