Chapter 22: Why are you coming out from here? Part 3

Lilian had come to the café for a very simple reason.

She just liked the drinks there.

There was no other reason for her to be facing someone she had fought against long ago—fiercely and desperately.

Really, there had been no calculations or expectations involved.

She had simply wanted a delicious drink.

However.

“Is it okay for an outsider to wander around the academy like this? Or do you just enjoy making people uneasy?”

“Hah? Look who’s talking…!”

Now that the irritatingly grating voice had reached Lilian’s ears, ignoring it or stepping back was no longer an option.

Because of the dragon before her, even the teacup filled with sweet black tea had shattered into pieces.

Technically speaking, that was entirely due to Lilian being startled. But she didn’t care about such trivial details.

A slender hand reached into the air.

At almost the exact same moment, a divine staff, glowing faintly, appeared in her grasp.

“Hmm, are you trying to threaten me now?”

Orphion smirked as he gazed at the long staff pointed in his direction.

He knew that whatever Lilian was about to do was nothing more than pure bravado.

“I can do more than just threaten. What are you doing in Primus?”

“And what obligation do I have to tell you, Princess?”

“Ensuring the safety of my people is my duty as a member of the imperial family. If I determine you’re a threat, I’ll fight you anyti—”

Just as the atmosphere was about to turn dangerously hostile—

Swish.

Tap.

“…Godfather.”

Letter slowly reached out and grasped Orphion’s wrist, shaking her head slightly.

Both Orphion and Lilian instinctively turned their gazes toward her.

“Princess, you should stop as well. There are too many eyes watching.”

With a quiet sigh, Letter’s voice carried a hint of exasperation.

Orphion let out a small chuckle.

Lilian, on the other hand, looked at Letter with wide eyes filled with recognition.

“You… You’re the one from the café last time…”

She trailed off as she recognized Letter’s face from their previous encounter.

And then she noticed it—the pristine white robe adorned with the sigil of the ancient dragon.

As Lilian’s gaze wavered, Letter momentarily lifted her head to meet Orphion’s eyes.

Then, releasing the grip on his wrist, she took a step forward.

Step.

“I am Letter Yurt, newly appointed to Primus. I apologize for the late introduction.”

Lifting the hem of her robe slightly, she bent her knees in a flawless noble’s greeting—just as the Yurt family’s tutor had once taught her.

Seeing the young girl who had once been known for kicking Karian’s shins now standing before her as an academy professor left Lilian speechless.

And understandably so.

Lilian had already heard about Letter Yurt from her sister, Irina.

‘The professor said to be under the protection of the ancient dragon…’

Lilian’s gaze flickered toward Orphion for just a brief moment before settling back on Letter.

She slowly looked her over from head to toe.

White hair.

Weighty, knowing eyes.

An inexplicably familiar presence.

‘…No way.’

Except for her young appearance, the girl bore an uncanny resemblance to the person Lilian had been searching for all this time.

But most of all, the way she had gently grasped Orphion’s wrist and called him “godfather”…

‘His daughter? No, that can’t be right. He wasn’t even wearing a ring. Could it be that the reason he never gave in no matter how much I tried to recruit him was because he was already married? Or… an illegitimate child? No, no way.’

‘He’s not the type to do something like that. But if they weren’t related by blood, they wouldn’t look this similar… A distant relative, maybe? No, that’s not it. My master clearly said he grew up in an orphanage…’

A tangled web of possibilities began to form in Lilian’s mind, each one leading to another.

Letter tilted her head slightly, puzzled by Lilian’s repeated hesitations—opening her mouth to say something, then stopping, again and again.

Regardless, there was no benefit in keeping Lilian and Orphion in the same place any longer.

“Then, I’ll take my leave, Princess. I’ll have the staff take care of the broken teacup.”

Handing Orphion the latte macchiato he had ordered, Letter turned and walked away.

Almost simultaneously, a deep yet solemn voice resurfaced in Lilian’s memory.

『…Seek out the one who hears the news first. At the end of that path, the reunion you have long awaited will come to pass.』

The divine revelation had told her to seek out the first to receive the ‘newest news’—which had been Irina, who had learned of the attack on the train.

In other words, it had told her to go to Primus.

The divine being, who knew the past, present, and future, had personally declared that Lilian’s long-awaited reunion would take place in Primus.

There had only ever been one reunion Lilian had yearned for.

‘But that was what the old Lilian had longed for.’

‘Who the new Lilian truly needed to meet… remained a mystery.’

“Wait a second!”

“?”

Letter, who had been walking a few steps ahead, stopped in her tracks.

If, by any chance—no, even if it was the slimmest possibility—this meeting with Letter was the one the divine being had foretold…

“Spare me a moment. Just for a little while.”

She couldn’t let her go.

Not when this young girl, who so resembled the one she missed, might be the key to reuniting with them.

“I have something to ask you.”

Lilian reached out.

Just as her hand was about to grasp Letter’s—

Tap.

An impassive hand lightly swatted hers away.

“I have prior commitments. My apologies, Princess.”

Orphion’s gaze, colder than ever, lingered on her for just a moment before he led the young girl away, disappearing into the distance.

As expected, Lilian’s hands trembled in frustration.

Her jaw clenched on its own.

“That damned lizard…!”

Anger boiled from deep within her chest.

But she had no time to dwell on it—because the imperial knights, having heard of her encounter with the dragon, were already rushing toward her.

“Y-Your Highness! Are you alright?”

“…Tch.”

Lilian finally loosened her grip on the divine staff and spoke.

She ordered them to find out everything about Letter Yurt, the new professor at Primus.

She also commanded them to have Dean Ainel send over every piece of information on Letter Yurt in written form.

“I need to know what she had for breakfast this morning.”

“…Understood, Your Highness.”

Just because the ancient dragon was by her side didn’t mean Lilian had any intention of giving up.

She was determined to uncover, by any means necessary, why the dragon was paying such close attention to Letter—enough to personally spend his time and effort on her.

***

“I’ll make sure she knows exactly who she’s angered.”

“You fool. She was right in front of you, and you still didn’t recognize her.”

“…You didn’t recognize her at first either.”

“That’s completely different.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say…”

Lilian sighed at Orphion’s typical self-centered reasoning.

Despite being an old geezer who had lived for over a thousand years, here he was, smugly laughing after winning a battle of wits against someone who hadn’t even lived fifty.

“If you were in my shoes, you’d see how ridiculous you look.”

“Is that something I need to know?”

“Such a shame. You’re missing out on all the fun.”

Instinctively rubbing her forehead, Lilian let out another sigh before putting an end to the pointless conversation.

Whether she liked it or not, Orphion had come to the academy to discuss countermeasures regarding the students.

“Seeing how blind you were even with her standing right in front of you, do we really need countermeasures?”

“You wouldn’t understand, watching from the sidelines. The one living it is the one who feels like they’re suffocating.”

“Sorry, but I’ve never felt suffocated a day in my life. Can’t say I understand the feeling at all.”

“…Hah.”

‘At this point, Lilian couldn’t help but have a reasonable suspicion—was discussing countermeasures really just an excuse? Had he come here just to piss her off?’

And yet, for now, this damned lizard was her only lead.

“You said you were looking for answers on your own. Find anything?”

She clung to a sliver of hope, asking if he had discovered a way to return her to normal.

His answer, as expected, was largely negative.

“The Wanderer doesn’t even know its true identity. The ‘Quack’ said he’d never heard of a case like yours. And the ‘Saint’…”

“…Let me guess. She told you to bring me to her.”

“Bingo. She said she’d like to keep you preserved for about ten years.”

“Hah… Does she think I’m some kind of doll?”

The conclusion was simple.

Neither Orphion nor Lilian had found even a single clue on how to restore her condition.

“…I won’t be stuck like this forever, will I?”

“You look fine to me. What’s there to complain about?”

“You don’t seriously think I look happy—… Never mind.”

And with that, both of them gave up trying to understand each other.

Being fundamentally different beings, their perspectives and values were irreconcilable.

Instead, they decided to discuss matters where some compromise was possible.

For example, how to prepare for the inevitable disaster Karian was bound to cause.

“I have no idea what that guy is scheming.”

“Overall, he’s probably similar to the princess. The details will be different, of course.”

Orphion muttered something to himself, as if recalling an amusing memory.

“He seemed to be having a lot of fun.”

That tone…

That expression…

He was definitely hiding something from her.

“You’re telling me Karian was ‘having fun’?”

“…That was a slip of the tongue. Forget it.”

『Caligo.』 『Hielo.』 『…Llier.』

Rustle.

『It’s been a while, Asher. What brings you here this time?』

“Just stay put for a bit.”

Even if that ‘bit’ turned out to be a very long time.

Lilian said this while glancing at Orphion’s startled expression, adding a thinly veiled threat.

“If you don’t want to talk now, you’ll just have to spill later.”

Then, with narrowed eyes—

“When exactly did you meet Karian?”