Ch.84Countdown (3)

“Start!”

At Lord Hoslow’s command, I swung my wooden sword after a long time. My opponent was a large man standing before me.

With my nerves on edge, I blocked his attacks.

Along with the practice, I set one more personal goal.

Not to be pushed back.

Imagining someone behind me that I needed to protect, I crossed swords with my peer.

Just as sweat was about to trickle down, when his gaze was fixed on my wooden sword raised above my head, I tripped him and pushed his upper body with my shoulder.

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, he fell, and ultimately felt my sword against his neck.

“…I lost.”

“Your skills have improved a lot while I was away.”

Offering him a brief compliment, I look around. Not just us, but matches were being decided everywhere.

Taking this opportunity, I roll my eyes searching for Judy.

But Judy, like me, had subdued her opponent and was taking a break. Not a good moment to look at her.

Lord Hoslow’s command continued.

“Now! Change opponents!”

After greeting the man I had dueled with, I wandered around looking for my next opponent.

Everyone avoided eye contact with me at first. Of course, I know it’s because my skills are superior… but I wished those aspiring to be knights would show more courage. Forcing someone who’s avoiding me to duel leaves a bitter aftertaste.

And then, someone stops in front of me.

Silver hair and a height similar to mine. A body full of vitality. A bear paw emblem on her shoulder.

…..It was Judy, who had been avoiding me so diligently.

She still wouldn’t meet my eyes.

Instead, she tightly gripped the wooden sword in her hand.

“…Judy.”

I called out to her standing before me, but Judy refused to answer until the end.

She wouldn’t even meet my eyes. Instead, emotions were transmitted through the wooden sword she held.

Lord Hoslow once said that knights converse with their swords.

Perhaps because I hadn’t yet become a proper knight, it was difficult to fully grasp what she was trying to tell me and the emotions she wanted to convey.

Only that she had a grievance with me. And that she wanted to duel with me now.

That much was certain.

I finally sighed and gripped my sword.

“Begin!”

Lord Hoslow’s voice echoed across the training ground, and just before we moved simultaneously, in that fleeting moment, our eyes met for the first time.

I felt my resolve weaken momentarily.

Judy charged forward, kicking off the ground, and swung her sword as smoothly as flowing water.

-CLANG!!

I easily blocked her attack, but standing firm wasn’t as easy.

A heavy weight was transmitted through the sword. As if representing her resentment, it was rough and crude.

“……”

Suddenly, I began to grasp, albeit clumsily, what it meant that knights converse with their swords.

Perhaps because we were in combat.

Judy’s expression was more vivid at this closer distance, but she had hardened her face as if she were Asena.

Only her actions conveyed what she wanted to say.

Unlike her original style of elegant swordsmanship that freely traversed the distance of sword strikes, Judy continuously delved into my space.

She approached me without retreating an inch.

And so, I gradually began to step back.

I, who had been swinging my sword imagining someone standing behind me, was now being pushed back by Judy.

Of course, part of the reason was that I felt sorry for Judy and couldn’t display my full skills.

There’s no reason for me to feel sorry, but it doesn’t work out as I’d like.

In the end, it was because of family circumstances that we couldn’t continue… but I’m also the one who knows the family circumstances deeply.

The thought of having to leave her alone in the Ice Family, which she was struggling with, weighed heavily on my heart as if it were my responsibility.

At that moment, Judy thrust her wooden sword towards my heavy heart.

Barely deflecting her sword, I finally open my mouth.

I felt I needed to calm her down as she was putting too much emotion into her sword.

“…Judy..!”

I just call her name without any following words.

A ripple passed across her face. But only for a moment. Again, she swung her sword roughly.

Her next attack came quite sharply, and finally, I, who had only been blocking, touched her body for the first time.

Deflecting her sword that was thrusting too deeply, I pushed her shoulder hard with my free hand to disrupt her balance.

Seeing Judy frown at the moment of impact pained my heart again.

Yet she didn’t stop.

As I took a defensive stance to block Judy’s sword swinging once more, she hesitated midway. Simultaneously, she changed the trajectory in the opposite direction and attacked an unguarded spot.

Her wooden sword struck my arm crudely.

If it had been a real sword, my arm would have been severed, ending it here.

Judy, having landed a hit on me, finally spoke.

“…Do I…!”

It was from then that her firmly hardened face began to contort.

“..Do you know how hard I’ve been working…?!”

For some reason, her words pierced deep into my heart. More sharply than her sword.

“…..You must have worked day and night for that skill too…!”

Through that one hit, she seemed to want to let me know that we had endured the same level of pain.

As she said, I had worked so hard to build this skill that I would fall into sleep as if fainting every day. She, who was on par with me, must have endured as much pain as I had.

No, perhaps even more. After all, she’s two years younger than me.

She spoke as she swung her sword.

I was pushed back continuously from the moment she opened her mouth.

“Being humiliated by Lady Nera…! Becoming the outcast of the family…! Thinking that someday I would be useful too…! Reminding myself that this is the life of an illegitimate daughter, so it can’t be helped..! That’s how I honed my sword..!”

-CLANG!

She swings her sword from top to bottom, as if striking down.

Simultaneously, our swords entered a power struggle.

Judy’s face came closer to mine.

“…I…! I…! could endure it all…!”

Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“…I never knew a life that wasn’t solitary to begin with…!”

“…Judy..”

“But then you appeared…! Approaching with a smiling face despite being from a hostile family…! In the same situation as me… sharing the same pain as me..!”

Tears began to flow from her eyes.

Seeing her tears, I unconsciously lost strength in my body.

My legs gave way and I sat down on the ground.

Judy, who continued to charge, fell on top of me.

She dropped her wooden sword, knelt on top of me, and grabbed my collar.

“I told you I didn’t want to get close…! If this was going to happen… you should have listened to me….”

Her tears flowed down and fell onto my face. The vigor in her voice gradually died down.

“Why did you become my support… why did you become a shade where I could rest…”

“…..”

“Why did you make me laugh by teasing me… why did you lighten my burden by playing pranks on me… making me receive people’s cheers…”

“…..”

“Why did you say it was okay to marry someone as shabby as me, making me hope… why did you make me imagine a happy future..”

She no longer hid her crying expression.

Large teardrops fell from her sorrowfully contorted eyes.

As if the oppression she had endured for years in the Ice Family had finally burst into tears, she cried so sorrowfully, her entire body shaking.

“…I’m sor-“

Just as I was about to apologize, she cut off my words.

“-I don’t need apologies.”

And she sent me a flashing gaze through her tears. Her diminishing spirit suddenly flared up as if it had met oil.

“Is saying sorry enough? Can you just leave after saying something without fixing anything…!”

“……”

I couldn’t find words to respond to her.

As I lowered my gaze, unable to lift my head, her sobbing voice reached me.

“………Take responsibility.”

“…..What?”

“Take responsibility…! You bad-“

As if she was getting frustrated while speaking, she gritted her teeth, shook me, and then suddenly pulled me strongly.

Her face immediately came close to mine.

Judy turned her head.

“Mmph..!”

And the soft sensation felt on my lips.

Judy’s lips, wet with tears, tasted salty.

After roughly stealing my lips, she pushed me away and shouted in front of everyone:

“Hah..! Take responsibility!! You jerk!!”

I was dumbfounded. Judy had taken my first kiss.

Her action made my mind go blank, and all the guilt I had felt until now vanished.

“…….”

Only a hollow laugh escaped.

“…..Huh.”

****

The Academy suddenly became noisy.

Kirsy could feel that atmosphere.

She was having a short conversation with Asena after class ended.

During that time, as if some big incident had occurred, several noble ladies were startled, uttering phrases like “Really?” or “Eek!” and then glancing at them.

Kirsy tried to figure out the cause of all this.

Yet, she didn’t want to make a fuss by asking first, so she just waited for someone to approach.

Sure enough, “Mary Bones,” with whom she maintained some level of friendship, approached.

“Ki…Kirsy…! Did you hear that?”

“….What is it?”

Though she asked nonchalantly, Kirsy’s heart was beating faster.

Even without hearing it, she could tell it wasn’t good news.

“Ca..Caden…!”

“What happened to my brother?”

Asena quickly responded to the mention of Caden. Her cold eyes pressured Mary Bones.

All eyes turned to the twins.

They were the siblings of Caden Praester, the center of the rumor, and all the political science students were watching the twins’ reactions.

Mary Bones momentarily flinched under the gaze, but under the pressure from the twins, she hurriedly spilled the rumor.

“Caden…! I..I mean, Judy from the Ice Family… during class, she knocked Caden down and stole his lips… they say…”

“……”

“……”

The twins froze on the spot. It was as if time had frozen.

-Crunch!

And after what seemed like an eternity of chilling time, Asena’s mask immediately shattered, and her brow furrowed terrifyingly. Her breath immediately became rough, and her fist was tightly clenched. Even in front of everyone, she simply couldn’t maintain her composure.

The political science students all witnessed Asena’s mask breaking for the first time in that moment. Some swallowed their breath, some averted their gaze. Some wondered why Asena was so angry.

Asena couldn’t believe her ears.

Someone had knocked down her brother, her treasure, and stolen his lips. Her blood boiled so much that she could hear her heartbeat.

This was the first time she had encountered something so absurd. Who dared to touch his body?

Judy Ice. She hadn’t expected her, whom she had tried not to think about after the engagement was broken off, to act this way. Hundreds of cruel plans she didn’t even know she had exploded in her head.

Kirsy left her seat as soon as she heard the news. She disappeared from the classroom in an instant.

Someone approached Mary Bones, who had delivered the news and was at a loss.

-Tap.

A delicate hand was placed on her shoulder.

“…Da..Daisy…”

Mary Bones shrank back once more.

Daisy, with her smile erased, asked:

“….Would you tell me the story again?”

****

When Kirsy arrived at the knight department’s training ground, the afternoon class was already in progress.

She quickly rolled her eyes to find her brother.

“Brother!!”

Kirsy calls out to him energetically.

Though her voice was drowned out by the groans and shouts of the training people, Caden somehow heard her voice and turned his head.

And after apologizing to the person he was training with, he quickly runs to her.

“Kirsy…! Why are you here instead of attending class..”

For some reason, his calm appearance fueled the fire in her heart even more. She grabbed Caden as he approached her and turned her eyes back to the training ground to interrogate him.

“….Where is she?”

Unlike how easily she had found Caden, Judy was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is she..!”

“Who?”

She looked fiercely at Caden, who was once again playing dumb.

Caden finally sighs.

“……Why are you looking for her?”

“Is that what you should be saying right now? Your lips-“

“-They’re my lips, not yours.”

Kirsy’s mind was vehemently opposing his words.

No. His lips are not his. They’re hers. They should have been hers. She wished they were hers.

Hadn’t she already claimed them?

But she couldn’t say that out loud.

Her chest felt so tight, unable to hide the anger turning her inside out, yet having nothing to say.

“Did you run all the way here just for that? Skipping class?”

“Just for that…? Your lips were stolen and that’s ‘just for that’?”

“It’s my business. You shouldn’t skip class to rush over here.”

“…..Then, would you react the same way if some strange man stole my lips?”

“Kirsy, that’s different…!”

“How is it different? You said stolen lips are ‘just for that’! If it’s not such a big deal, I’ll give my lips to any man over there.”

Kirsy pointed to an unknown knight who was training.

She had no intention of giving even her hand to anyone other than Caden. It was just a statement to pressure him.

And it worked effectively.

“Hah…alright. I’m sorry. But… what can we do about something that’s already happened? Even if you come to me and get angry, there’s nothing we can do.”

“No? This is all your fault. It’s your fault for keeping Judy by your side. Promise me now. That you won’t keep that woman by your side.”

At that moment, Caden grabbed both of Kirsy’s shoulders.

“…Kirsy. Calm down.”

“Do I look calm right now!”

Kirsy made a gesture of twisting her body to shake off his touch.

“You need to calm down…! What are you saying, telling me not to meet her anymore?”

“A sexual harasser who forcibly stole lips…..”

Kirsy’s voice trailed off as she tried to continue.

The first reason was that her conscience began to prick her.

If a sexual harasser is someone who forcibly steals lips… then she would be one too.

Moreover, unlike Judy, who was his former fiancée, she was his sister.

In terms of perversion, she was worse.

So her words wouldn’t continue.

She frowned, only showing cat whisker-like marks around her nose, unable to say more.

“….?”

Caden expressed puzzlement, but thinking it was an opportunity, he began to smooth things over.

“..Well, this issue… I’ll handle it myself. Okay, I understand that you’re angry. Thank you for being angry for me. But really, I’m fine. So go back for now. You need to attend class. You promised to attend classes well after our last walk.”

As Caden gently patted her back to comfort her, Kirsy slowly turned her body.

He continues to speak.

“I need to attend class too. See, everyone is training hard. If I miss more, it’ll be troublesome for me too. And… please talk to Asena for me. I can somehow predict that she’ll be angry like you..”

But none of his words reached Kirsy’s ears.

Her chest felt so tight with unexpressed resentment that she thought she might go crazy.

In that tightness, her body instinctively reacted.

As if searching for a way to survive. As if looking for a way to relieve this stress.

Her gaze was fixed only on his lips.

The lips that were stolen for the first time by a woman other than her sister.

The lips she became addicted to after tasting just once.