Chapter 50: The Power to protect my stuff – 1

In the early dawn, I stood frozen in front of Vivian’s room for a long while.

Around the door, the maids looked up at me, puzzled, with a faint tension on their faces.

It was likely due to Vivian’s order for them not to approach me.

Receiving their stares, I stayed frozen for a moment before I finally knocked on Vivian’s door.

-Thud. Thud.

No answer came.

Even so, I knew she was awake.

Without waiting for a response, I opened the door.

-Creak.

As expected, Vivian was up.

She was dressed properly, not in her sleepwear from the previous night.

Her hair, perhaps freshly washed, had a sheen to it, and her skin appeared smooth and clear.

Even her once dirtied feet, from stepping in mud, were now clean.

“…You were up, so why didn’t you answer?”

Vivian didn’t respond to my question.

An unmistakable awkwardness settled on her face.

She couldn’t meet my eyes, her nose wrinkling slightly in discomfort.

She seemed almost frightened.

Seeing her expression made me regret yesterday’s events even more.

I hadn’t been able to sleep from the guilt, lying awake until dawn and coming here just to see her.

The longer I hesitated, the deeper the awkwardness between us would grow.

Vivian spoke to me in a challenging tone.

“…Who told you… you could just appear like this?”

“There’s no reason to hide anymore. I’ve already met with the Dubois lady.”

“…Not with Asha though–”

“Do you think that would change anything?”

Silence followed.

I didn’t look at Vivian, and she didn’t look at me either.

After the heat of yesterday had cooled, it was hard to find the same intensity now.

This awkwardness felt strangely painful.

It felt as though everything we’d built up was crumbling down.

Not that what we’d built was filled with positive memories, but the bond we’d shared felt as if it was now gone.

Steeling myself, I took a step toward Vivian.

-Thud.

“…Vivi…”

-Thwack!

Vivian took a step back from me.

I stopped walking and looked at her.

“…Ugh!”

Vivian glanced at me, her cheeks flushing, then wrinkling her face in frustration as she averted her gaze.

She seemed to not understand her own reaction.

Like a cornered animal, she forced herself to muster anger.

“Why… Why did you come here?!”

“…When have I ever needed a reason to come find you?”

“Well… today…”

She was right.

Today was different.

It wasn’t possible to pretend that what happened yesterday hadn’t happened.

I hesitated, then steeled myself.

I had come to apologize for what happened yesterday.

If I didn’t, Vivian would keep avoiding me.

I didn’t want that.

I clenched my fist gently.

It felt awkward, having never apologized to her before, but I knew it was necessary.

She hated me, finding my desires disgusting.

I had taken those two things and used them to hurt her.

“About yesterday…”

As I opened my mouth to speak, my gaze landed on her neck.

On her pale neck, which I had thought I’d only bitten lightly, there was a faint blue bruise.

A trace of me, left like footprints in fresh snow on her perfect skin.

Seeing it stirred something intense within me.

More than guilt, a strange thrill rose up again.

But I forced myself to focus and said.

“…I’m sorry for yesterday.”

Vivian’s face filled with confusion at my apology.

“…Huh? For what?”

“What?”

She blinked repeatedly, tilting her head slightly in puzzlement.

“…Sorry for what… Oh.”

Vivian seemed to realize the meaning of my apology belatedly, her expression stiffening as she understood.

Her reaction confused me.

Hadn’t it hurt her?

While we both stayed in that shared confusion, someone knocked on Vivian’s door once more.

-Knock, knock.

“Lady Vivian, it’s Asha Dubois.”

A cautious and apologetic voice.

Disliking the silence that had settled between us, I stepped forward and opened the door.

Asha and Lani stood at the doorway.

Judging by Lani’s swollen eyes, she had probably told Asha everything out of worry.

Asha’s expression wasn’t bright either.

She looked startled to see me.

“K…Kailo Alan.”

I tilted my head in acknowledgment and then looked at Vivian.

“…Ah.”

Vivian seemed to snap out of her thoughts as she looked at Lani’s face, with a look that said.

“Oh, you’re here too.”

The impact I’d had on her must have been intense, given that she’d forgotten about her outburst at Lani.

Asha turned away from me and bowed deeply to Vivian.

In a calm and composed manner, she said.

“On behalf of the Dubois family, I apologize to Lady Vivian Rondor. I understand that Lani’s… foolishness must have been a great insult to the Rondor family.”

“I ask that you forgive my foolish younger sister just this once. This will never happen again.”

Asha demonstrated her resolve by avoiding any further glance my way, signaling her desire to completely distance herself from me.

Lani started tearing up again.

Sighing, I didn’t feel at ease.

I could understand Vivian’s feelings, and I knew that Lani’s actions were offensive.

But from my perspective, Lani was one of the few people who had shown interest in me.

Yes, she’d been a nuisance, but that didn’t mean I’d wanted to see her like this.

With my excitement from earlier cooled, I hoped Vivian would make the right decision, though I wasn’t really in a position to expect anything.

Silently, I looked at Vivian.

Vivian finally looked back at me.

With an unsettled expression, she looked back and forth between Lani and me.

Vivian reached up and rubbed her neck, then approached the Dubois girls, still covering the bruise I’d left on her neck as she walked.

It was an awkward motion, but Vivian seemed determined not to reveal the mark.

I closed my eyes tightly once more.

I shouldn’t keep doing this, but somehow, seeing Vivian flustered was oddly satisfying.

Asha lifted her head slightly, preparing to face Vivian as she approached.

“Don’t raise your head.”

But Vivian’s command stopped her in her tracks.

I understood that, in part, it was Vivian’s way of hiding her neck.

Confused and frightened, Asha and Lani obeyed her words, keeping their heads lowered, awaiting her response.

Silence fell over the room.

In that lengthy silence, Vivian let out a deep sigh.

Her embarrassment and confusion faded, replaced by a faint aura of a cold ruler.

With that expression, she looked at me.

I also met her red gaze.

I took in the sight of Vivian standing tall in my view, while Lani remained bowed.

Vivian’s expression seemed to convey a message to me.

If you get involved with others, things like this will keep happening.

Whoever you take an interest in, I’ll trample them.

If you don’t want to see them humiliated, behave yourself.

But Vivian’s concerns were meaningless.

I had no such intentions.

Vivian rubbed the faint bruise on her neck, then looked at the Dubois sisters.

She spoke.

“Lani Dubois.”

“…Yes, Lady Vivian.”

“I trust you fully understand my resentment toward Kailo Alan.”

“Yes, yes… I, I understand, Lady Vivian.”

Vivian gave a small nod, her expression softening slightly as she said.

“…I’ll overlook it this time.”

Asha and Lani looked up in surprise.

They quickly lowered their heads again under Vivian’s cold gaze.

“I don’t believe our friendship will end over this alone. I’d like to think of this as a single mistake and move on.”

Asha offered her thanks.

“Lady Vivian, thank you very–”

“But.”

Vivian cut her off.

The Dubois sisters tensed instantly.

“…However, in return, there is something you must do for me.”

“Just say the word.”

Vivian spoke in a calm, unchanging voice.

“I, who haven’t even stepped into high society, am worried that problems like this will keep happening. It frustrates me to think that other foolish young ladies who don’t know about my relationship with Kailo Alan might start showing interest in him.”

I looked at Vivian.

Her face was entirely sincere.

It seemed she truly disliked seeing me get along well with anyone else.

I couldn’t blame anyone but myself.

When our relationship was much more awkward, it was me who provoked her by saying she could torment me as much as she wanted.

And Vivian had taken me up on that, tormenting me in her own way.

I had thought, mistakenly, that we’d grown closer over time through various events, but it seemed she still wanted to cause me pain.

Vivian continued.

“I understand. Young ladies might take an interest in him on a whim. He’s the eldest son of a prominent family, my prisoner, and a knight who hunted a dragon at the age of fifteen, after all.”

After throwing out this line, which was hard to distinguish as either a compliment or mockery, her expression grew even colder as she glared at them.

“…But he remains my enemy. I still hate the Alan family, who took everything from me.”

Lani shivered.

The fear she felt reached all the way over to me.

Vivian, while absorbing the sight of Lani’s fear, continued.

Her past self wouldn’t have been able to do this.

But the fifteen-year-old Vivian was different from the thirteen-year-old one, with a newfound hardness in her.

“Young ladies of the Dubois family, I have a favor to ask.”

Asha responded with determination.

“Please, tell us.”

“Every time you meet other young ladies, spread the word of my hatred for Kailo Alan. Make sure no one shows him any goodwill…so that no one…”

By now, Vivian was looking up at me.

A mix of complex emotions filled her gaze.

“Make sure today’s incident never happens again. Not even a single person…”

Contrary to my expectation that her gaze would only reveal hatred and anger based on her recent words…

…there was something else sticky, something unidentifiable, in her eyes.

“…Understood?”

Vivian didn’t look away from me as she asked the young ladies of the Dubois family.

“Yes.”

Asha answered firmly.

Lani didn’t respond.

Vivian wasn’t one to let that slide.

“…Lani. Your answer?”

Lani nodded, trembling.

“Y-Yes, yes.”

“Could you explain how you’ll do it?”

As if to ensure it was all clear, Vivian broke apart Lani’s affection for me, piece by piece.

“I-I will… I’ll let the other young ladies know…about Lady Vivian’s hatred for Kailo Alan.”

Only then did Vivian’s expression reveal satisfaction.

I simply let out a quiet sigh.

Asha lowered her gaze but then raised her head slightly.

She made a suggestion.

“…Lady Vivian. We should now take our leave and return home.”

“It’s still raining, though.”

“…We wouldn’t want to impose any longer than this.”

“Leaving like this…won’t it make things awkward the next time we meet?”

Asha shook her head.

“We are only grateful that Lady Vivian has forgiven our rudeness. I’m certain that the next time we meet, the atmosphere will be much better. Lady Vivian has shown such generosity toward us, but we also understand that she needs time to digest her anger toward us.”

“…And dinner?”

“We will leave without it.”

Vivian chewed over those words and nodded.

“Very well, then.”

Asha bowed deeply once more.

Then, she began to step backward as she made her exit.

Lani, following Asha’s lead, bowed deeply again before retreating.

At the last moment, Lani lifted her head to glance at me.

Her gaze was filled with regret.

“…Ha.”

Vivian, noticing that look, let out a cold laugh.

A deep displeasure settled on Vivian’s face.

Startled, Lani quickly looked away from me, bowed to Vivian again, and fled.

I shut the door, suppressing the complex feelings within me.

Only Vivian and I remained in the space, and silence grew between us.

Vivian walked over to her desk with a casual step.

Maybe after talking with the Dubois young ladies, she had lowered some of her resistance toward me, returning somewhat to her previous demeanor.

“…Was that really necessary?”

Lacking anything else to say, I asked.

Vivian replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Would you have done anything differently?”

“Think about it. Let’s say you have the son of the man who killed your parents and brothers as your prisoner. And every other day, this guy keeps acting up in the castle… Could you just let that slide?”

“Others understanding my warnings only benefits us both, doesn’t it?”

I couldn’t deny there was some truth in what she was saying.

In the end, with nothing else to say, I scratched my head.

If I thought about it, everything I’d done to protect her was simply for my own satisfaction.

I couldn’t ask for anything from her now.

She had even warned me to stop protecting her if it displeased her.

In the end, I said.

“Fine, I get it.”

The apology had been made, and the atmosphere had eased, so I thought I’d finally be able to return to my room.

Or maybe I’d get some bandages for Vivian.

“Where are you going?”

That was, until Vivian stopped me.

“…Why?”

I asked, and she answered.

“The Dubois ladies are leaving.”

“…So?”

Vivian snorted lightly and replied.

“We should go eat.”

Her suggestion was so out of the blue that it left me stunned.

In this kind of atmosphere?

After saying she hated me that much?

But Vivian seemed to have already made up her mind.

It was as if she felt relieved after speaking that way to the Dubois ladies, a faint smile appearing on her face.

“I’ll just put a bandage around my neck, so get ready, Kailo.”

She said,

“…It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”