Ch.195Ill Fate (2)

I waited outside for about 5 minutes. While the awkward situation continued, the door slowly opened.

On the other side, Adelia was cautiously peeking her face out. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, perhaps embarrassed by what had just happened.

“Um… do we really have to talk in my quarters?”

“It’s something rather important…”

“…I’m all sweaty and probably smell bad?”

“That’s fine.”

When I said it was fine, Adelia chewed her lip hesitantly before slowly opening the door. Then I saw her changed appearance.

I wondered how she’d managed, but she had wrapped herself in a blanket like a cocoon. It seems she felt too uncomfortable to put clothes on because of the sweat, but taking a shower would take too long, so this was her best solution.

I felt somewhat bewildered seeing this but entered anyway. Adelia shuffled inside with small steps.

It was refreshing to see her being shy, completely opposite to her usually energetic personality.

“…Don’t you smell something strange? I opened the window already, but…”

After entering, Adelia asked cautiously. I immediately sniffed the air upon hearing her question.

Honestly, there wasn’t any particular smell, just the vibrant fragrance typical of women. Given her personality, she probably doesn’t use perfume much, so it must be her sweat.

Rose scent. Yes, it’s a rose scent.

Sometimes when she played pranks on me, I noticed that same rose scent—it seemed to be her natural body fragrance.

“I don’t smell anything bad? You didn’t just spray perfume because I was coming, did you?”

“…You know I don’t use perfume.”

“Really? That’s interesting. I only smell something nice.”

“… …”

At my compliment, Adelia’s ears turned bright red, and she buried her face in the blanket wrapped around her body. It was a reaction mixing embarrassment and shame.

Though a funny moment had occurred, my purpose for coming here was deeply connected to her. Adelia seemed to realize this belatedly as she mumbled something before lifting her face from the blanket.

Her face was still red as if she had a fever.

“S-so why did you come? I don’t understand what’s so important that we need to talk in my quarters.”

“Well…”

Before answering immediately, I looked around Adelia’s quarters. I had seen it briefly when we came to the academy together, but I’d never been inside.

It was smaller than the rooms for academy students and not particularly well-equipped, but it served its purpose adequately.

Various exercise equipment was scattered here and there. She must have been using them until just now.

According to my father, Adelia not only had talent but also worked incredibly hard. Perhaps it was the influence of her unfortunate family environment during childhood.

For a moment, I wondered if I should tell her about Hyria, but it was something she absolutely needed to know, for her own sake.

“…Sister Adel.”

“Yes.”

“This is about something closely related to you. Especially your family.”

“… …”

Adelia flinched noticeably when I mentioned her family, the source of her misfortune. Fear settled in her large sky-blue eyes.

“…What? My family?”

“Yes.”

“W-why suddenly? D-did someone come?”

Her voice trembled, proving how deeply the trauma was embedded in her mind. During the exhibition, she had frozen up completely upon meeting them, so this reaction was expected.

Adelia, who was always confident and energetic, looked like a small, fragile animal to me now. Her quivering voice, pupils, and cold sweat running for a different reason.

I looked at her with sympathetic eyes before mentioning Hyria, whom I had just met.

“Princess Hyria… you know her, right? I heard she transferred as an assistant instructor for the martial arts department. I just happened to meet her on my way here.”

“H-Hyria? W-why…”

“Rumors say it’s for relations with the Empire of Minerva. Since our territory was revealed as Xenon’s birthplace during the exhibition, they must have felt pressured in various ways.”

Technically, it’s my fault. I ran my mouth to develop the Mayshall territory into a cultural city.

So I need to help Adelia maintain some semblance of normal life. The moment Hyria discovers Adelia is here, the situation will become uncontrollably complicated.

The best solution would be to send Adelia back to the mansion. As seen at the exhibition, just meeting her family causes her to freeze up and show extreme anxiety symptoms.

Moreover, having her family deny their relationship right in front of her must have caused tremendous psychological shock. My judgment is that she cannot possibly live a normal life here.

“Sister Adel.”

“… …”

“I know how much you fear your family. So it would be better if you returned to the mansion…”

“N-no. I-I’m fine.”

Adelia spoke hastily, perhaps realizing I was trying to send her back to the mansion. However, her voice was already trembling uncontrollably.

Anyone could see that anxiety symptoms had already set in. I looked at her with a complicated expression and spoke quietly.

“Your voice is trembling. Are you really okay?”

“Y-yes. I’m fi… ne.”

Now she couldn’t even meet my gaze, and her sky-blue eyes were shaking violently. Even her lips were trembling.

I know why she doesn’t want to go back to the mansion despite showing these symptoms. It must be because of me.

She became a guard knight and came to the academy to be with me, even if just a little. A woman in unrequited love is so poignant.

“…Sister.”

“I-I’m fine, really! You don’t need to worry.”

“Sigh…”

I sighed at Adelia who kept repeating the same thing. She seemed to have no intention of returning to the mansion.

Persuasion only works on those who will listen, and it’s meaningless when someone is this stubborn.

That leaves only one option: helping her resolve her trauma enough to enable normal living…

‘But that’s not as easy as it sounds…’

I’m not a psychologist, and trauma is extremely difficult to resolve. Trauma causes the body to react before the mind can even think.

Just as someone who has experienced a major explosion might be startled by fireworks, Adelia is sensitive to the keyword “family.”

If I were a priest who believed in Mora, I might be able to help a little, but it’s difficult. I only know how to receive divine power, not how to use it.

‘There is one way, but…’

That method would require our relationship to progress much further and would need consent from those around us. It’s such a crude method that I’m embarrassed to even mention it.

What remains is to provide enough stability to cover the trauma. For Adelia, that stability comes from her best friend Nicole or me, her unrequited love.

After much deliberation, I decided to take it step by step. First, about Hyria.

“…Alright. But Sister Adel.”

“Y-yes…”

“Can you tell me about Princess Hyria?”

“H-Hyria?”

When I asked her to tell me about Hyria, Adelia’s sky-blue eyes widened. Her expression asked why I would ask such a question.

I need to understand the relationship between Adelia and Hyria to help somehow. Judging from Hyria’s seemingly unpleasant demeanor, she probably dislikes Adelia one-sidedly.

Moreover, Adelia’s anxiety symptoms just now. Just seeing that gives me a rough idea of how cruelly Hyria must have treated her.

“Yes. I’m curious what kind of person she is. If she’s not a good person, I’d rather not associate with her. Since she’s an assistant instructor, I can just avoid the training grounds.”

“…She’s not that bad.”

Oh my. Such a naive response already. I almost let out a hollow laugh at Adelia’s timid answer.

Given her personality, Adelia is the type to laugh off bullying. Moreover, they were family, so she probably forced herself to smile through it.

She likely treated her family well. Even Hyria’s younger sister, Lara, immediately approached Adelia with a bright smile when she saw her.

Of course, Hyria immediately stopped her. I looked at Adelia with complicated feelings and spoke quietly.

“Let’s put aside whether she’s good or bad. What’s important is what that princess did to you.”

Hearing my firm words, Adelia seemed to sense something and raised her head to look at me. With her body completely wrapped in a blanket, she looked somewhat cute.

After staring at my face for a while, she lowered her eyes and carefully brought up the past. Her distinctively husky voice resonated clearly in my ears.

“…She used to follow my words well. She would train alongside me when I practiced swordsmanship, bouncing around saying she wanted to be like me someday.”

Huh? Surprisingly, the past doesn’t sound bad?

Just as I thought that, the true nature was revealed.

“But was it from when she was 14? She started envying and being jealous of me. She even shouted at me, asking why a bastard like me had such skills…”

“… …”

“I was shocked and tried to comfort her, but she just pushed me away and cursed at me. We naturally grew apart. Later, her skills improved, and I kept losing to her.”

After hearing Adelia’s lament, I could be certain. Princess Hyria was simply a rotten woman from the start.

Moreover, she only spoke in such euphemistic terms; the reality must have been much more horrific. Such severe trauma doesn’t develop from minor incidents.

I looked at the now-depressed Adelia with pitiful eyes when a thought suddenly occurred to me. She just mentioned that she had sparred with Hyria and kept losing.

Unlike Adelia, Hyria, being a legitimate royal, would have received more attention and support. Especially for martial arts, which cannot be self-taught without a master’s guidance. The skill difference was inevitable.

But what if Hyria used that skill difference to assault Adelia under the pretext of sparring? What if she used this as an excuse to say things that no human should say?

This isn’t an impossible scenario; rather, it’s quite common in this world.

“Sister Adel.”

“Yes?”

“Can you take off the blanket for a moment?”

“W-what?”

“There’s something I need to check. It’ll just take a moment.”

Adelia’s face turned bright red at my sudden request. However, after seeing my serious expression, she hesitated before complying.

*Rustle*

As she lowered the blanket like shedding skin, Adelia’s healthy, fit body was fully revealed. Lean muscles were firmly in place, testifying to her years of effort.

After being momentarily captivated by her physique, I slowly examined her body. I couldn’t look carefully earlier due to the circumstances, but now I had a clear objective.

First, her arms and abdomen. Like a proper knight who trained outdoors often, her skin wasn’t pale but moderately tanned.

However, there were particularly noticeable areas: parts where severe bruises had formed and faded. Not just on her arms, but also on her abdomen and thighs.

These were scar-like bruises. Especially contusions should heal cleanly with proper treatment, but the fact that they left scars means…

‘…This is just assault.’

It’s one of two things. Either Hyria beat Adelia severely under the pretext of sparring, or she didn’t allow her to receive treatment. Perhaps both.

Leaving such wounds on someone’s body would naturally deepen trauma. Even in my previous life, one could see how much pain victims of school violence carried throughout their lives.

Additionally, Adelia would have endured verbal abuse for being a bastard since childhood. It’s only because Adelia has such a kind nature; otherwise, she might have committed suicide or even murdered her family long ago.

I looked at the small scars scattered here and there with sympathetic eyes before raising my head.

Perhaps Adelia noticed what I had seen. Trying hard to appear unbothered, she smiled broadly, showing her gums.

“They’re old wounds from the past. They don’t bother me at all now.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

Seeing Adelia forcing herself to smile to reassure me made my heart ache even more. I watched as she subtly tried to cover her scars with the blanket, then slowly extended my hand.

And gently grasped her hand that was holding the blanket. When I took her hand, Adelia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Sister. Do you remember what I said at the exhibition?”

“Uh? W-what did you say?”

“That your confident smile is the most beautiful. You don’t have to force yourself to smile.”

Adelia looked dumbfounded at my words. I smiled gently while caressing her hand.

Symbolizing all her hardships and struggles, Adelia’s hand was covered with hard calluses.

“As you asked, I won’t send you back to the mansion. But if things get really bad, tell me anytime. Okay?”

“… …”

“And I want you to know this. I’m always on your side. If anything is difficult, just tell me. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

What wouldn’t I do for a woman who likes me? Although I might not be able to return her feelings, doing this much makes me feel better.

Some might call it self-satisfaction. So what? I want to do it.

Above all, the Teres royal family would never imagine that Adelia, whom they insulted, looked down upon, and assaulted for being a bastard, is actually Xenon’s guard knight.

This alone is enough to spite them. And then Adelia will have to make a choice.

I will prevent her from choosing to return to her family—no, to the Teres royal family. More precisely, I’ll make her heart lean toward this side.

“I’m planning to exercise this weekend. Would you like to join me? I could use your help.”

At my kind request, something she would never hear from her family, Adelia blinked her eyes, clear as the blue sky.

Then, showing the confident smile I had mentioned, she answered energetically.

“Sure. But I won’t go easy on you even if it gets tough, okay?”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

I hope this helps Adelia escape from her trauma, even if just a little.

Time passed quickly, and the weekend approached.

“You…”

“… …”

“Why are you here?”

The ill-fated encounter came sooner than expected.