Ch.109Secret Conversation (1)

*

“Please forgive Sylvia.”

“…”

At my earnest request, with my head bowed, Alice seemed flustered and could only open and close her mouth without saying anything.

I didn’t miss the opportunity and continued to plead with a desperate voice, driving the point home to the hesitating Alice.

I told her that I understood why she disliked Sylvia after what she had been through, but that I had many things I wanted to hear and say after not seeing her for so long, and that if we didn’t return to the lakeside quickly, my body would gradually deteriorate due to the dense magical energy surrounding us.

When I slightly raised my head to gauge Alice’s reaction, who had been keeping her lips tightly sealed without answering, she sighed with a disgruntled expression and slowly nodded.

“Thank you.”

“…I’m only tolerating this for Ash’s sake.”

“Yes.”

I bowed deeply once more to express my gratitude for her concession.

Of course, her face still showed clear dissatisfaction, but what mattered was that I had somehow managed to persuade her.

I decided to find significance in the fact that I had at least stopped the immediate conflict.

After giving Alice a slight smile, I slowly turned to Sylvia and said:

“Now, let’s go back to the cabin together. Both Sylvia and Alice.”

“Huh?”

Sylvia seemed very surprised by my suggestion.

She stepped closer to me and said:

“No! That place is for me and Ash…!”

“Sylvia.”

I firmly cut off her protest.

Perhaps unfamiliar with my uncharacteristically stern attitude, she gaped at me.

I slowly raised my wrist in front of her eyes and gently waved it.

The wound from her sharp blade remained clearly visible on my wrist.

Sylvia’s eyes wavered greatly.

“…Do you have anything to say?”

“Ash… are you, are you angry?”

“…”

“…Uh, ah…”

In truth, I wasn’t that angry, but to subdue the rampaging Sylvia, I needed to stimulate her sense of guilt. So I pulled down the corners of my mouth and put on what I thought was a serious expression.

I felt a bit guilty seeing Sylvia’s anxious, trembling expression, but considering what Alice had been through, showing anger seemed like the faster way to resolve the conflict between them.

I deliberately maintained my stern expression and slowly opened my mouth.

“Did you know that Alice is Maria’s childhood friend?”

“…”

“Sylvia. Answer me.”

“Y-yes.”

“Then, didn’t you think that Alice might also be close to me?”

“…”

“…Sylvia.”

“I knew that…”

Alice was watching me interrogate Sylvia with an incredulous look.

Well, it must have seemed absurd—the legendary warrior who had been crushing her just moments ago was now completely subdued by her friend’s younger brother.

I would have found it ridiculous too.

It was strange to begin with.

Why was she, who clearly possessed far greater strength than me and who had knocked me unconscious and restrained me just this morning, now so helpless before me?

Usually when we were intimate, Sylvia seemed to enjoy when I was forceful and pushed her strongly—was this somehow an extension of that?

The sight of her looking down at the ground and scraping the sand with her toes while being scolded by me created an atmosphere similar to watching a fierce beast being tamed by a human.

Finding her behavior honestly a bit cute, I forcibly suppressed the laughter threatening to escape and continued:

“Then shouldn’t you have told me about it?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Why did you do it?”

“…”

“I asked why you did it.”

“That’s…”

Sylvia looked at me with bewildered eyes.

Her face turned bright red.

Being scolded in front of Alice seemed to stimulate her sense of shame.

When I snapped my fingers to urge her to answer, she hung her head low and trembled.

“…Because she’s your fiancée.”

“What?”

“Because she’s your fiancée… Ash, that woman, Alice was engaged to you… so…”

Good heavens.

I dropped my jaw in shock at Sylvia’s unexpected answer.

Alice clicked her tongue in exasperation.

Fiancée… come to think of it, there had been such talk.

The Count had proudly mentioned engagement plans while praising my hard work under him.

Though it had progressed somewhat verbally, Alice hadn’t returned from the academy at that time, and soon after, news of Maria’s death arrived, causing the matter to fizzle out.

Honestly, even when I recognized Alice earlier, the fact that there had been engagement talk between us hadn’t even crossed my mind—it was something I had gradually forgotten.

Because I had someone else I wanted to marry.

But it was absurd that Sylvia, of all people, had done this behind my back because Alice was supposedly my fiancée.

Until just now, I had only been pretending to be angry, but at this moment, I genuinely felt a surge of irritation.

Even after all I had said, after all I had shown her.

Why did Sylvia still…

“Sylvia.”

“Yes…?”

“Did I… really, ha…”

I tried to argue something, but the words just circled in my mouth.

Honestly, if I let them out, they would only be accusations or expressions of disappointment toward Sylvia, so I deliberately swallowed the words that had risen to my throat and closed my mouth.

I shook my head slowly and turned around, saying:

“…Let’s go back. I’m hungry after not eating anything all day. Alice, you come too.”

“But—”

“…”

“Okay… I understand.”

With Sylvia finally yielding, I silently picked up her sword that had fallen to the ground.

“Whoa!”

“Ash? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no… it’s nothing.”

Sylvia’s sword was much heavier than I had expected.

When I tried to pick it up normally, it wouldn’t lift at all, causing me to cry out involuntarily.

“Ugh.”

I pressed my lips together and slowly lifted the sword with both hands.

Fortunately, it wasn’t so heavy that I couldn’t lift it with effort, but I couldn’t balance it properly, causing the blade tip to wobble wildly.

Though I wasn’t a swordsman, I had held swords before, but Sylvia’s sword seemed several times heavier than a regular one.

Come to think of it, Sylvia had once mentioned that her sword was a special commission made much heavier than normal.

Though it looked like an ordinary longsword, its weight was more comparable to a thick greatsword.

“Ash, give it here, let me carry it.”

“N-no…”

Sylvia approached me to take the sword after realizing I was struggling, but I shook my head in refusal.

We had only just managed to stop the fight with Pia’s help, but the resentment between Alice and Sylvia hadn’t been resolved yet.

There was still tension in the air, and a fight could break out again at any moment if I wasn’t present.

Of course, both of them would be far stronger than ordinary soldiers even barehanded, but fighting without weapons would cause less damage than with this deadly weapon in either Sylvia’s or Alice’s hands. So I slowly and barely managed to rest the heavy sword on my shoulder as I walked forward.

My shoulder ached as if it might fall off with each step that made the sword bounce slightly.

To think she could swing this around with one hand.

As always, I knew it, but I was reminded once again of what a monstrous human Sylvia was.

I gritted my teeth and slowly walked toward the lakeside, leading the way for the two of them.

Sylvia and Alice followed slowly behind me.

*

In the deep night, where both the sky and tree shadows were pitch black and indistinguishable.

Having fainted and woken up, with no moon visible in the sky, I couldn’t gauge what time it was, but I could certainly tell it wasn’t an appropriate mealtime.

However, I had been starving all day, and so had Sylvia.

Moreover, Alice had been starving for weeks while enduring Sylvia’s cruel torture.

Was it because we were hungry, or because I had insisted with a firm attitude?

No one objected to my suggestion to eat quickly.

Sylvia went to catch fish, and Alice went to gather firewood, so alone in the cabin, I spoke softly:

“Pia.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I called, Pia appeared, stretching on the floor.

Perhaps because I was caught between two people with suffocating tension between them, seeing Pia innocently rolling around on the floor made me laugh involuntarily.

“Thanks for earlier.”

“It was Ash’s magic, wasn’t it?”

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Pia made a “hmph” sound, then sat up, crossed her arms, and raised her chin.

“Ahem, well, you’re welcome.”

“Haha.”

“By the way, Ash.”

Pia pointed to a corner of the room while looking at me.

“That… Alice? Before that woman comes back, shouldn’t we clean that up?”

“Hm?”

I followed Pia’s finger with my gaze.

There lay a bent, broken blade.

It was the blade that had restrained my wrist.

“Ah.”

I nodded.

Certainly, if Alice saw something like that, she would pick another fight with Sylvia, and the already suffocating atmosphere would become even more unbearable.

I looked at Pia with slight admiration.

Pia looked back at me as if to say, “What are you waiting for? Clean it up quickly.”

It was somewhat surprising how Pia, despite looking like a child, understood the surrounding situation so intelligently.

Well, it might be natural since this little one is a spirit after all.

Pia only shows herself when I call, but that doesn’t mean she’s away from my side when invisible.

Pia, my guardian spirit, is basically always by my side…

Wait a minute.

Then even when Sylvia and I were intimate…

“What are you doing?”

Avoiding Pia’s innocent, staring gaze, I slowly cleaned up the broken blade.

Embarrassed by the strange thoughts that had crossed my mind, I tried to change the subject:

“Um… what do you think, Pia?”

“About what?”

“About Sylvia and Alice.”

“They’re scary.”

“…Me too.”

Pia laughed foolishly with a “hehe.”

Melting at Pia’s adorable antics, I smiled and said:

“Not their impression, but how do you think they’re getting along?”

“Um… badly?”

I burst out laughing at her simple and clear answer.

“Haha, that’s right. That’s why I insisted on eating together, even if it’s forced.”

“…?”

Pia tilted her head, not understanding.

I explained kindly:

“Usually, just sitting together and having a meal can build some rapport, and once your stomach is full, you tend not to have as many negative thoughts.”

Pia perked up her ears curiously and asked:

“Hmm… is that how it works for Ash?”

“That’s how it works for all humans.”

“…Hmm.”

Pia frowned briefly in thought, then shook her head and said:

“No way.”

“Huh?”

“Those two will never become friends.”

Pia spoke with a determination uncharacteristic of a child.

Just as I was about to ask her why she thought so,

The cabin door flung open, and Pia instantly vanished.

“Ash, who are you talking to by yourself?”

“Ah…”

It was Alice, carrying firewood in her arms.

.