Ch.50Shining Knight (8)

Several days had passed, but the tense atmosphere with Asena seemed to be gradually settling in.

I had no intention of apologizing to her first, and Asena didn’t come to apologize to me either.

Though Kirsy and I had reconciled, she hadn’t shown herself much since meeting Ewin. Occasionally when we crossed paths, she would try to hug me, but I had told her to refrain during working hours. After all, I couldn’t keep hugging my sister while being responsible for Daisy’s protection.

If someone asked whether this atmosphere with Asena was uncomfortable, it was, but not uncomfortable enough for me to step up and make changes.

Honestly, at this point, I think it’s a battle of pride. Both of us probably want to reconcile in the end, but neither wants to be the first to reach out.

Meanwhile, there had been some changes in Asena.

Perhaps knowing she was in the wrong but not wanting to apologize to me, she kept doing things to catch my attention. It seemed like she was trying to get me to speak to her first.

Behind her stern expression, she showed a melancholy that only I could recognize. Especially when she knew I was watching her, she would look even more exhausted.

To be honest, I think it’s working on me quite well. Seeing her struggle like that makes me feel sorry for her and pity her. No matter how dignified she appears to others as the head of the Praester Family, to me, she’s just my younger sister Asena.

At the same time, I wondered if she could just approach me first if she was having such a hard time. If our strained relationship was so painful and difficult for her, she could just come and apologize.

But since she showed no signs of doing that, I found myself being stubborn too.

Actually, it might not be stubbornness. I don’t think I’m the one being stubborn. I still believe I did nothing wrong.

Today, Daisy finished her Student Council work and tidied up her desk. The moment for both of us to leave the council room was approaching.

Daisy said goodbye to everyone. I just stood behind her like a knight. Meanwhile, I rolled my eyes to look at Judy and Asena.

Judy nodded slightly to greet me.

Asena… was also looking at me.

It was different from usual. Normally, she would pretend not to care about me, keeping her eyes fixed on documents.

It felt like we were making eye contact after a long time. Her eyes made me feel many emotions, but I turned away.

Her eyes were seeking salvation, but I had no help to offer. She needed to approach me first. This time, I didn’t waver.

And so, I followed Daisy as she left.

.

.

.

As we walked along the path after leaving the building, Daisy asked me.

“Are you okay?”

“About what?”

“…With Asena. It seems like your fight has been going on for quite a while.”

“It’s uncomfortable, but… it would be strange if I were the one to apologize.”

“….I suppose that’s true.”

Having witnessed the entire fight, Daisy seemed concerned about the tension between Asena and me. I felt sorry for making her worry about such matters.

Daisy glanced at me as we walked. She seemed to have something she wanted to say.

“….Do you have something to tell me?”

“Ah… well…”

At my question, she stopped in her tracks and carefully said to me.

“……Asena seems to be having a hard time lately.”

“……”

“Since we’re in the same department, I have many chances to see her… and she seems to be getting darker. People around her are becoming more cautious of her mood. I… thought I should tell you.”

“….I see. Thank you.”

“Ah…! Of course, I’m not suggesting you should reconcile! I know how much pain the twins have caused you… If you’ve come to hate them, that’s fine too… But you once told me that you get along well when others aren’t around. That you’re close when family matters don’t interfere. So… that’s why I’m telling you this.”

“..Yes. I understand what you mean. Thank you.”

Daisy looked at me, and seemingly judging that her opinion had been sufficiently conveyed, she nodded and continued walking. She didn’t bring up the topic again.

I could feel that Daisy was truly kind-hearted. Despite having suffered at the hands of Asena and Kirsy, she still showed some concern for the twins. The description “foolishly kind” suited her perfectly.

Perhaps she wasn’t affected by the twins’ aggression at all. With her strong heart, she might just lightly brush off things that would upset others.

“……?”

As I was thinking about this while walking, I sensed something strange. Without showing any reaction, I slowly scanned the surroundings from left to right.

To others, it would have seemed like an ordinary day.

Various students from different families were laughing as they headed to their next classes, and the academy workers were focused on their tasks.

But there was something that kept bothering my sharpened senses.

Maybe I was overthinking. Perhaps I was just showing off as a knight. I might be tensing up alone, imagining threats that didn’t exist.

But once I recognized this feeling, it wouldn’t leave me and continued to linger.

Today, the gazes of the academy workers seemed to have some intention behind them, and their frequency seemed to have increased.

It was a subtle difference that others might not have noticed.

“….Hmm.”

This growing uneasiness began to consume my thoughts. After all, the novel I had been transported into was set in medieval times. Without precise security procedures, there were many vulnerabilities in entering this vast academy grounds.

If someone approached with malicious intent, we wouldn’t know until we were attacked.

Even the numerous guards would be useless against a precise ambush.

In the novel, many characters had been attacked by sudden assailants. It wasn’t common, but it did happen.

A prime example was Kyle Vensrak, the informant who had followed Kirsy.

He had been ambushed and kidnapped within the academy by soldiers of the Praester Family. If even a key figure could disappear like that, it was no wonder my nerves were on edge.

Before entering this world, I had found such attack methods absurdly simple. But now that I was here, I began to understand why such ambushes succeeded. The grounds were vast, and it became extremely dark at night.

There were few witnesses, and tracking was even more difficult.

In the end, while the idea of such reckless actions seemed incomprehensible, I realized firsthand that ambushes could easily succeed if someone was determined. It was simply a characteristic of this era.

Of course, after the Kyle Vensrak incident, high nobles began to employ bodyguards, causing some commotion in the academy, but in the current state of balance between all families, such incidents weren’t occurring.

That’s why these gazes felt even more peculiar. I kept wondering if it was just my imagination.

In this era of peace, who would target Daisy…?

At the same time, there were names that came to mind.

Inevitably, the twins crossed my thoughts.

Even though I didn’t want to think that way, there was no one else.

Their recent malicious behavior, the days we had to fight with Daisy involved, and the fact that in the novel, the Praester Family was the only one to attempt ambushes against nobles—perhaps it was a natural suspicion.

But it was just suspicion. I didn’t want to believe it. I refused to believe it. It didn’t make sense. What could Daisy have done wrong to warrant preparations for an attack?

Nothing could be more absurd.

Yet, why did I keep wondering if it might be them? The fact that the twins were originally villains in the story fueled my inner anxiety.

I continued to follow Daisy without showing any signs of concern.

On the path we were walking, I could see a worker in the distance watering the garden. He was happily whistling.

Seeing us approach from afar, he gave a small greeting, then crouched down again to tend to the garden.

Daisy, oblivious, glanced at the garden once, gave a small smile, and continued on her way.

I too pretended to know nothing and kept walking.

And as we passed by the worker, I rolled my eyes to glance at him from the corner of my vision.

“…..”

The crouching worker’s eyes met mine. He too, without moving his head, had rolled his eyes to the extreme to look at me.

A subtle chill ran up my arm.

His whistling broke as he let out a flustered cough instead.

“…Ahem..! *cough*…! Ah, I’m sorry. You’re just so impressive that I couldn’t help but look…”

He offered what seemed to me like an excuse.

Daisy turned to me and asked.

“Is something wrong?”

“….No. Let’s go.”

I waved my hand to ensure Daisy wouldn’t worry.

Daisy looked at me, nodded, and continued walking.

“……”

Of course, I couldn’t determine anything from this alone. As he said, he might have genuinely just wanted to look at me.

But my vigilance was increasing.

I prayed that the situation I was suspecting wasn’t real.

I hoped from the bottom of my heart that the twins weren’t making a move.