The Tiresome Old Grudge Heads Towards Its End

“From tomorrow, I’ll do shooting practice, and since running was lacking earlier, I should add physical training too. Hmm… I wonder if three times a week would be appropriate?”

“Erika, aren’t you tired?”

“No! I can easily handle this much.”

I looked at Erika, who was constantly writing down points for improvement in a notebook she had gotten from somewhere. She had been sparring throughout our stay in Sevirpol, and even on the truck returning to the military academy, she showed no signs of fatigue.

No, is she just holding back her sleepiness?

“Anyway, from tomorrow…”

Yawn─

“Erika, are you sleeping?”

“Uh… no! I just closed my eyes for a moment.”

If I took my eyes off her for a moment, her head would droop and the hand holding the notebook would go limp.

Anyone could see she was exhausted.

I wonder how much motivation she received.

We spent nearly half a day in the sparring arena. She repeatedly asked Lina for matches without being discouraged by continuous defeats, and according to Lina, this continued even after I left to assist Serty’s research.

Vroom, bump─!

Despite the intense shaking, Lina was sleeping soundly. Usually, she would be too motion sick to sleep in a car, but she was deeply in dreamland, which said it all.

It’s admirable that instead of falling into despair, she acknowledges her shortcomings and uses them as motivation.

Although this was the effect I had hoped for when planning the schedule, it yielded results beyond my imagination.

An ordinary cadet would have been discouraged and fallen into despair, unable to overcome the huge wall of ‘talent’ even after a month.

They would have rationalized their defeat, saying that tree was too high to climb after seeing Lina, born with imperial blood and possessing unparalleled abilities.

“Snore, yawn…”

However, this blue-haired girl was frail yet stronger than anyone. Like her palms covered in calluses, unlike her delicate wrists.

“Driver, do you perhaps have a blanket?”

“Ah, yes, we do.”

I picked up the soft notebook that was about to fall and put it in Erika’s pocket. I supported her head, which was bobbing up and down, with my knee, and wrapped her thighs with a warm fur blanket.

On this late night with moonlight illuminating the dark wilderness, I cared for Erika with the best consideration possible until the vehicle reached Astrakhan.

Screech!

“We’ve arrived.”

How much time had passed like that? The truck that had been driving down the only road finally stopped at the main gate of the military academy.

“Yawn─. Have we arrived?”

“Yes. Erika, wake up too.”

“Mmm… what? I fell asleep?”

I got out of the car with Erika, following Lina who had disembarked on her own.

“Ugh…”

The ride comfort doesn’t get better no matter how many times I experience it

My tailbone was sore from how much the seat bounced. If someone were to ask what the most uncomfortable thing in this world is, I would confidently answer without hesitation that it’s the cars without any shock absorption system.

“We’ve arrived earlier than expected.”

As we reached the square, Gartel was, of course, the first to welcome us.

“Here, this is a gift for you from the Director.”

Instead of answering, I handed him an envelope we brought from Sevirpol.

“What kind of gift… oh?”

It was wine, grape wine to be precise.

“Hmm… Tell him I’m grateful.”

Gartel examined the contents with an indifferent expression at first, but in less than a moment, his expression changed and he carefully took the envelope.

It was a kind of token of appreciation from the Director.

As someone who had encountered various alcohols as part of social interactions, I can say after checking the label that it was an expensive wine that ordinary people could only dream of.

In fact, the Sevirpol expedition education was close to a false program created at Serty’s request, so this gift was likely given as compensation.

Where something goes, something comes back, right? While it might be strictly regulated by law in modern times, it was a prevalent principle in this world.

“Ah, and this is a gift from me.”

“Cheesecake?”

“You could call it a specialty of the Sevirpol Research Institute. As your disciple, I had to get it for you since you seem to like sweet foods, Instructor.”

“Hahaha! Yes, thank you. Erika and Lina, you’ve worked hard too.”

“Yes, Instructor.”

“Yes!”

The night was deep.

It was an eerie level of emptiness due to the curfew already declared in this late night.

If we had only taken the truck, it would have taken more than a day, but thanks to the Research Director’s consideration, we moved most of the distance by luxury car, making this time possible. Fortunately, it wasn’t the next morning.

“Yena, I’m going first! I have something to do!”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

As soon as the instructor disappeared, Erika quickly packed up and left.

Seeing her hurriedly moving with a fountain pen and notebook in each hand, I could roughly guess what she was rushing to do in the dormitory.

Her stamina is impressive.

“Well then, I’ll be going too.”

Similarly, Lina and I had to prepare for tomorrow’s classes, so we couldn’t afford to linger in the square any longer. She stared blankly at the back of Erika’s head as she left first, then soon bowed deeply.

“How was it? The sparring. I heard you repeated it for hours.”

But it should be fine to chat a little.

I hadn’t properly heard about the martial discussion that unfolded between Erika and Lina yet. Although I had observed enough as a spectator, I was curious about the participants’ evaluations.

“……”

Lina stopped her foot that was about to leave the ground. She chewed her lips for a moment while meeting my eyes, and finally let out a short sigh.

“I’ve never seen someone so persistent in my life. Even with disheveled hair, even with scraped and bleeding knees, she kept requesting more sparring.”

“…I see.”

“It’s a compliment, not criticism. I became envious of you.”

Tap, rattle─

“She was a child who never lost the spark in her eyes even while continuously challenging. Moreover, to think that such a reliable girl relies on none other than you, Yena.”

She smiled faintly on her expressionless face as if reminiscing about something, but then, as if recalling an unpleasant memory, she bit her lip and kicked a small pebble that was nearby.

“I’m truly envious. It’s not just empty words. If I had someone who trusted me and treated me as a human being, like Erika has with you, wouldn’t many things, truly many things have changed? Not someone like Wolf, who has lost his humanity.”

-If so, I might not have become such a lowly being, enjoying freedom only after becoming an undutiful child.

-Lina muttered that to herself. She forcibly curled up the corners of her mouth to avoid showing an unsightly appearance of bursting into tears in front of Yena.

“But it’s too late to regret now. In the end, it’s the result of my own lack of virtue, having wasted my life without recognizing the true relationships.”

“Lina.”

“…Ahem! I’ve talked too much. Erika has changed unrecognizably since the beginning of the semester. She says it would have been an impossible achievement without you, so I look forward to what surprises she will present to me in the future.”

Perhaps the moonlit sky shining beautifully amplified her sensibility.

What started as a simple impression transformed into a desperate cry by the end. She looked very pitiful, trying to force a smile even as her voice trembled at the end.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

Click, click!

Lina left the square hurriedly, unable to show her face.

It was regrettable.

As someone who knew the circumstances better than anyone, I understood her behavior all the more.

Even if she had broken free from the constraints by cutting ties with the family that had oppressed her, how could she only savor happiness? She must have had to bury the memories built with her family since childhood in her heart.

But still, this reaction doesn’t seem justified by just that reason.

…Could she have received a reply?

Given that she had sent a letter containing crucial news such as the notification of severance, the imperial family wouldn’t have remained silent, so a reply must have come. If the content of that reply was something that constricted Lina, then it would make sense.

“I need to check.”

It’s such an old conflict. I was now willing to even take scissors to cut this tiresome string of ill fate myself.

Even if I have to meet Helena.

Is it true that wishes come true if you earnestly desire them? What a cruel twist of fate. It had only been three days since I made that resolution last night, but I encountered her.

“Is this the first time since Sevirpol?”

Who?

“It’s been a while.”

“……”

Her, Lina’s one and only companion.

If there’s a sole point of contact between Lina and the imperial family, wouldn’t it be her head maid? Coming to an agreement with Helena would be the primary solution.

Rustle!

I glared at the silent head maid while taking a big bite out of a croissant.

“I said we’d meet someday when the time comes, and it seems today is that day.”

In contrast to the overall lively atmosphere of the cafe, I shrugged nonchalantly while rinsing my mouth with coffee at the table where we sat facing each other, with a chill in the air.

“Isn’t that right, Helena?”