Ch.57Shining Knight (15)

I woke up from a long sleep. The pain in my body that I had momentarily forgotten returned. As I slowly opened my eyes, I could see the sunset through the window.

My throat felt dry.

“….Water..”

At my mindless mumble, a glass of water appeared right in front of me.

Following the hand that offered it, I saw Asena and Kirsy.

Kirsy brought the glass to my lips with worried eyes.

She tilted the glass slowly at a gentle pace. I drank the water without complaint.

After moistening my throat, I felt like I could survive.

Kirsy promptly removed the glass and asked.

“…Brother, how are you feeling..?”

She looked like she might cry at any moment. Yet even with that expression, she told me with slight joy in her face.

“The doctor said earlier… that your progress looks good. Said you’ve passed the critical point.. there doesn’t seem to be any internal bleeding… and the bleeding has stopped well.”

I smiled at her.

“I told you I’d be fine.”

But at my words, Kirsy burst out as if choked up. It was amusing to see her smile slightly then immediately look like she might cry again.

“How is this fine..! I really… feel like I’m going crazy…”

Kirsy and I faced each other as we talked. Asena was hidden behind Kirsy. But as if Asena had the same thought, she came around the bed and stood beside me.

“…Brother… do you want more poppy extract?”

Unlike Kirsy, Asena seemed to have calmed down somewhat, asking without showing much emotion.

I shook my head.

“..I’m fine. I want to stay awake for a while.”

“The pain?”

“I can bear it.”

In truth, since waking up and the pain relief wearing off, I’d been experiencing constant burning pain.

But as I told Asena, I wanted to stay awake for now. Enough to endure this pain. For some reason, I disliked how days kept passing without my knowledge. It was an indescribable feeling.

I looked back and forth between Asena and Kirsy.

Both looked quite gaunt. Their fatigue was evident without words.

“…Have you two been sleeping at all?”

“…..”

“…..”

“…How long have you been awake?”

Kirsy lowered herself, kneeling beside the bed to look at me. Her face suddenly came very close.

Almost whispering, she said to me.

“…Since you got hurt.”

“….You’ve been awake since midnight yesterday until now?”

I calculated the time. I was injured around midnight, then in the morning I sent Shallon away, took the extract, and now woke up in the evening… that means they’ve been awake for nearly a full day.

Asena also knelt down and looked at me from the opposite side.

“…Since the day before yesterday, brother.”

“What?”

“Since we sent Shallon away yesterday morning… you haven’t woken up since yesterday morning until now, brother..”

So they had been awake for two days. Weren’t they exhausted?

Not knowing what to say, I ended up making a joke.

“…No wonder I was thirsty. Next time I should drink plenty of water before sleeping.”

“…This isn’t the time for jokes.”

“……”

But I quickly accepted that a day more than I expected had passed.

The dream had been long, and though the stitched area was painful, I was enduring it.

Come to think of it, when I was first injured and stitched up, I couldn’t bear it without screaming. Compared to then, this was a tolerable level.

Since the joke didn’t land, I licked my lips and said to the twins.

“…..Then both of you go rest. The doctor said I’ll be fine, right?”

But Kirsy shook her head without even looking at me. She didn’t even consider it. I wondered why they were sticking around like this when there was nothing to do if I fell asleep again.

Yet at the same time, I was touched that they were so worried about me.

“…Asena. You rest first.”

When Kirsy shook her head in resistance, I spoke to Asena, but she just stared at me intently without reacting. As if she hadn’t heard me.

“…What’s the use of both of you being here like this? If you’re really worried, only one needs to watch.”

“….Kirsy. Go rest first. I’ll watch over brother.”

“….You rest, sister. I want to stay.”

“…..”

This was an endless cycle. I wanted to sigh but held back since taking a deep breath would intensify the pain.

As I was contemplating, Asena called me.

“…Brother.”

I gently turned my head and mainly moved my eyes to look at her.

The firm demeanor she had just shown to Kirsy had disappeared, and she was opening and closing her mouth. With downcast eyes, she seemed to be hesitating about something.

I looked at her and asked.

“….Do you have something to say?”

“……Brother…I’m sorry.”

“….We already made up. What’s this about?”

“….No…not that. This time too.”

“….This incident?”

I glanced at my physical condition. Wondering if there was something I didn’t know, I frowned slightly as I looked at her.

Asena spoke to me with a still cautious expression.

“…….Ewin and Daisy. I… showed interest first.”

“….Ah.”

“….I told Shallon not to do anything…. but when you think about it… I spoke first…”

I gazed at her steadily. I didn’t give any answer at first.

She couldn’t meet my eyes, which made me feel sorry for her, so I quietly waited.

Asena, uncertain about my reaction, gradually shifted her gaze upward until our eyes finally met.

I said.

“It’s okay.”

“…..Huh?”

“In the end, you told her not to do anything, right?”

“……Yes.”

“Of course…. I was curious why you were concerned about Ewin and Daisy, but well….”

“…..”

I watched Asena quietly, then spoke to her in a gentle tone.

“….Asena. Do you know why I got hurt?”

“…..Fighting with Shallon’s subordinates..”

“So, do you know why I fought?”

“……Because of… surveillance…”

“I didn’t fight because they were monitoring Ewin and Daisy.”

“….Huh?”

“You might feel sorry about that part. I… understand. Even though you said do nothing, you might have given a pretext. But, the result of my condition wasn’t because of that.”

“…….”

“About the surveillance issue, I originally tried to resolve it verbally, and I succeeded. When I told them not to hang around me… they understood. They agreed and decided to withdraw all their subordinates planted in the Academy. That matter ended there.”

“……”

“But then, I heard children’s voices. A girl crying…. When I hear that, even if I don’t want to, I’m reminded of you two when you were young. How could I just walk away?”

“…Brother, then..”

“Even if you had ordered surveillance. Well, I might have been angry… but things wouldn’t have come to this. In the end, I ended up like this because, as I keep saying, that organization extended its reach to children. Why do you think I forgave Shallon’s other crimes? Because I knew you were somewhat involved… I let it go. With a bigger problem arising, how could that matter?”

“…..”

Asena listened to my words and looked up at me. Then she naturally and slowly scanned my entire body. After briefly relaxing, her face crumpled again as she looked at my body.

“…..Still..brother…I’m still sorry..”

“……”

Personally, I didn’t want to blame Asena. Of course, I understand why she’s acting this way. She must feel some responsibility. Although I ordered her not to do anything, considering her high social position, she should also think about the subordinates who might waver beneath her.

If there was any fault of hers, perhaps it was conveying her inner thoughts to her subordinate. She just needs to learn from this.

“…What have I… really done…”

With Shallon gone, Asena was blaming herself as the remaining culprit. Wondering how to resolve this, I smiled.

When I smiled, Asena stopped self-blaming and looked up at me.

“Now, give me a kiss.”

I tilted my head slightly and offered her my cheek.

“…..”

“I’ll forgive you with this. We haven’t done this recently, have we? Because we were fighting.”

“…….”

“Do it lightly. My body still hurts.”

Asena was stunned by my request, but gradually her face relaxed. Whether she found it absurd or amusing, she burst into laughter mixed with tears, then raised herself up.

My younger sister, who should have been the duchess of the Praester Family and a villainess.

She wiped her tears and kissed my cheek.

“Okay. That’s enou….”

I was about to tell her that was enough, but Asena wouldn’t leave my cheek. With her lips pressed against my cheek, she stayed attached for a long time.

In that state, I made eye contact with Kirsy.

I gave her a subtle look, but Kirsy mouthed ‘…me too.’

After Asena finally pulled away, I had to receive a kiss from Kirsy as well.

****

While eating porridge served by Kirsy, I received a report from Asena about what happened while I was asleep.

Judy was busy finishing up matters with me, and Daisy was greatly shocked by my condition.

From what I heard, she was blaming herself, saying I got hurt like this trying to remove her monitors.

There was no reason for her to feel that way.

I felt more sorry for giving her another burden to carry.

News about me was heating up the Academy, she said. Of course, without the story about Shallon.

In other words, only the story of me rescuing children was spreading.

Even just that was enough to cause controversy.

No matter that I was adopted, I was the eldest son of the Praester Family. I was already at the center of rumors, and I had won the championship in the jousting tournament… there was no way news about me wouldn’t spread.

According to Kirsy, who added to Asena’s explanation, I had become some kind of hero.

“…..Hero?”

“…..You saved the children.”

Kirsy answered.

With a sudden thought, I wanted to scratch my head, but since I couldn’t, I moved my lips around instead.

A hero. I hadn’t thought of that.

“…Since when did the nobles at the Academy care about commoner children..?”

Asena answered.

“It’s more because it was you who saved them… The eldest son of the Praester Family hovering between life and death after saving commoner children… of course they want to treat you as a hero, right?”

“…Ah. That’s the reason? Not my actions themselves… but because of who I am?”

“….To some extent. Of course, what you did was also amazing.”

Then Kirsy frowned again in displeasure. She whined in a petulant tone.

“…Brother..just between us….let this be the last time you risk your life to save commoner children… You’re the most important to me..”

“Thanks for saying that.”

“I’m not just saying it… next time please… okay? A high noble like you saving commoners-“

“…I’m from a commoner background too, you know?”

“Ah.”

Kirsy quickly cleared her throat, then pushed porridge into my mouth. Her intention to shut me up was so obvious it made me laugh.

Anyway, I was thinking that there was nothing bad about rumors spreading. After all, it raised my reputation.

If only the wounds on my body healed without issues, this matter could be concluded as is.

I had reconciled with the twins like before… and removed the knife from Asena’s hand. Isn’t it all good?

As I finished my thoughts and was half-listening to Asena’s words, her final statement caught me off guard.

“….Huh? What did you say, Asena?”

I asked her, thinking I might have misheard. But she repeated exactly what I thought I had misheard.

“…Grandmother Riana is coming.”

“…Grandmother?”

“With you injured like this… wouldn’t she come?”