episode_0088

Chapter 89 – Crossed Paths

Ten minutes into the conversation, after Ruan had heard all the major misunderstandings and truths, he made one demand.

“Promise me you won’t do anything like this again.”

“…If you’re satisfied with that.”

“I’m done with this. What about you two?”

As the choice fell to her, Alisa, who had been subtly observing the situation, crossed her arms and nodded.

“Well… I’m satisfied with this much. While she was the cause, she didn’t directly spread rumors about me.”

Alisa was now feeling sorry for Skadia.

Although she didn’t know the full story, it was clear that Skadia hadn’t intentionally spread rumors linking her and Ruan.

Slapping her hard enough to make both her cheeks sting was more than enough.

“Deborah, what about you?”

“Ah! I, I’m fine too! After all, there weren’t any rumors that caused me major problems.”

“Is that so? Then the situation is resolved.”

Ruan, having gathered the opinions of his companions, came to a conclusion and stared at Skadia.

His eyes were filled with complex emotions.

Anger and resentment for spreading troublesome rumors, and pity and sympathy for her who was still trapped in the past.

All of it drove Skadia mad.

‘Don’t look at me with those eyes.’

Even if everyone else in the world mocked her and looked at her with pity, Ruan, at least, shouldn’t.

She wanted to pour out her malice and express her true feelings immediately, but her coldly frozen heart wouldn’t allow it.

She merely clenched her fists tightly, suppressing her ill feelings.

As she bowed her head deeply, Ruan, understanding that she didn’t want to engage further, rose from the sofa.

“Let’s go, everyone.”

“U-Uh, okay!”

“Haa… What about the rest of the rumors then?”

Each of them muttered something as they followed Ruan out of the reception room.

Until then, Skadia merely sat silently, staring down at the table.

She picked up a photograph.

“I should have acted more cautiously.”

She had been certain that Ruan would never find out, and that in such a situation, he wouldn’t even think of relying on anyone, nor would he be able to.

She never imagined the Princess would personally intervene.

Without her knowing, Ruan and Isis’s relationship had noticeably improved.

“In the end, I couldn’t save her.”

By her failure, Deborah would ultimately be betrayed by Ruan and fall into despair.

Just thinking of the pain Deborah would feel seemed to trigger an old, deep scar etched in her own heart.

Crack!

Cracks spread across the thick ice encasing her heart, aggravating the wound.

Skadia clutched her chest.

“It’s fine. I’m not bothered at all.”

As she repeated it to herself as if brainwashing, the throbbing slowly subsided.

But the reopened wound caused a searing pain with every heartbeat, forcing the memories of that day back.

It seemed it would take time for the cracks to completely disappear.

‘Ruan…’

Her heart unsealed the memories it had kept hidden.

*

“Ruan!”

“Skadia!”

After the incident on the snowy mountain, the two, meeting after a long time, happily embraced each other.

“How have you been?”

“Good! How about you, Ruan?”

“I’ve been learning swordsmanship lately! I’m going to get stronger and protect my sister and Skadia!”

Ruan smiled brightly and turned his head to look at Isis, who had come to greet him alongside Skadia.

His eyes were filled with affection and longing.

“Swordsmanship?”

“Last time, I couldn’t do anything, right? So I’m going to train! Oh, speaking of which, Sis. I’m stuck on the third form right now—”

After answering Skadia, Ruan, as if suddenly remembering, began pouring out questions about swordsmanship to Isis.

The conversation they were having was of a kind that Skadia, a magician, couldn’t understand.

Isis, who had been answering, glanced at her watch and calmed Ruan down.

“Ruan, let’s go to the dining room first. You can talk on the way. Okay?”

“Okay, Sis! Skadia. Let’s go! The chef said he’d prepared delicious food.”

“…I’m looking forward to it.”

The three moved to the dining room.

Ruan’s mouth didn’t stop on the way. He kept bringing up swordsmanship. His enthusiasm for growth pushed even his affection for Skadia aside.

Isis, for Ruan’s development, sincerely engaged in the discussion.

That didn’t change even after they arrived at the dining room.

In the end, Skadia was sidelined, only listening to a conversation she couldn’t understand.

‘I should learn about swordsmanship too.’

Even if she didn’t physically move, if she accumulated knowledge, she could answer Ruan’s questions.

Instead of settling for being sidelined and sulking, Skadia decided to adapt and move forward.

After one visit passed, two months went by, and Skadia, armed with knowledge, visited the Friuli household once again.

“Sis! About the fifth form of swordsmanship. It seems like the center of gravity doesn’t shift well when I swing the sword, do you happen to know why?”

“Ah. That is…”

“I know!”

The moment Isis was about to answer the question, Skadia seized the opportunity and cut in.

Ruan tilted his head.

“Really?”

“Yes! It’s written in the ‘Intermediate Basic Swordsmanship’ authored by Marquis Rubiet—”

Skadia, using her brilliant mind, provided the optimal answer based on what was written in the swordsmanship manual.

It was on such a high-level that Ruan couldn’t understand it, and only Isis let out an exclamation close to astonishment.

“Skadia. You’re truly amazing! Did you study swordsmanship in just two months?”

“Yes. Ruan said he was learning swordsmanship, so I wanted to help.”

“Is that so? Ruan has found a good fiancée. How much do you know?”

“I’m currently reading ‘Advanced Basic Swordsmanship’.”

“Already? You’re a genius not just in magic, but in swordsmanship too?”

Isis smiled contentedly and patted Skadia’s back.

No matter how smart, she was still a child. Encouraged by the praise, Skadia boasted all her knowledge, trying to impress Isis.

The knowledge she had accumulated to speak with Ruan was being used elsewhere.

Afterwards, when the meal was finished and they were alone, Skadia asked excitedly.

“Ruan. What should we do now?”

“…I’m going to train.”

“Train? Again? Let’s play together today, okay?”

Skadia, uncharacteristically, acted cute.

It wasn’t easy to stick to his will in the face of her cuteness.

Ruan, who had been subtly downcast, eventually gave in to her charm.

“Ah, okay. But know that I have to train tomorrow.”

“Okay! Let’s go!”

Such days repeated themselves.

And when half a year had passed, an incident occurred.

Skadia, who had visited the Friuli mansion as usual, felt bored watching Ruan diligently swinging his sword.

She had already thoroughly read most of the swordsmanship manuals and had no more to read, nor did she want to learn magic here of all places.

In the end, all she could do was watch Ruan, and it was impossible for watching him swing his sword in the same posture all the time to be interesting.

Skadia, who had been yawning slightly, suddenly pointed out Ruan’s posture.

“Ruan. You need to angle your foot a bit more there.”

“…Like this?”

“That’s too much. Just about 15 degrees. No, that’s not it! Stay still.”

Skadia, who had been giving advice, seeing that he still didn’t quite get it, personally corrected his posture.

She chuckled and said.

“Looks like Ruan can’t do anything without me, huh?”

“…What?”

“If I hadn’t told you, you would have been lost here for a long time, wouldn’t you? Aren’t you grateful? Hmm?”

Skadia merely wanted praise.

While she said it hoping for praise, to Ruan, who felt he had been making no significant progress for half a year, it came across with a different meaning.

Skadia, who not only learned magic but also possessed outstanding talent in swordsmanship.

Ruan secretly harbored a deep sense of inferiority towards her.

“I don’t need your help.”

“…Huh? W-What did you say?”

“I said I don’t need your help. You’re a distraction, so go somewhere else. I can’t concentrate on my swordsmanship because of you.”

“……”

Skadia’s eyes glazed over for a moment.

She was flustered by a reaction completely different from what she had imagined, then quickly grew angry, snorting through her nose.

“Hmph! I’m a distraction? Then go ahead and try it by yourself! Just you try asking for help! I’m leaving!”

She stomped away, turning her back.

Then, thinking it would be fine by now, she turned her head, but seeing Ruan engrossed in his swordsmanship as if nothing had happened, she pouted.

“You really don’t know anything!”

‘I’ll never teach him swordsmanship until he apologizes first!’

With that resolve, Skadia left the training room and wandered the mansion alone.

That was the beginning of the rift.

When several more months had passed after that, Skadia was met with an empty main entrance.

“What? Where’s Ruan? And Sis Isis?”

They always greeted her together, but for some reason, there was no one around.

Could it be because of their last fight?

“No way. Not for something so trivial…”

Even if Ruan was truly sulking so hard he might do something like this, a mature Isis wouldn’t possibly shun her in such a way.

Skadia, deep in thought, led her escort knight into the mansion and began searching for Ruan.

And she found Ruan and Isis on the terrace in the garden.

Just then, Isis rose from her chair, as if about to leave.

“Ruan, I’ll get going now.”

“Huh? Why? Stay a little longer. Stay with me.”

Ruan was being clingy.

Impatience, anxiety, and a deep reliance were clearly evident in him.

“Father called for me. I’m sorry.”

Isis looked down at Ruan and frowned, troubled.

Then she suddenly looked at her watch and changed the subject.

“Wait a minute. Speaking of which, Ruan, didn’t you say Skadia was coming today? Is the timing alright? She should be arriving around now?”

Skadia’s arrival time was always fixed.

Since it was natural for her to arrive at 9 AM unless something special happened, Isis’s question was valid.

Ruan awkwardly lied.

“I-It’s fine! She said she’d be late today. So you can stay a bit longer. Please, Sis.”

“Really…? Then just for ten minutes?”

“Yes! I love you, Sis!”

In the end, Isis couldn’t resist her younger brother’s clinginess and sat back down on the chair.

The gentle conversation between the affectionate siblings quietly resonated.

Skadia, who had been secretly hiding and watching until then, slowly turned her back and left the terrace.

After returning to her carriage, she was only greeted by Ruan a full 30 minutes later.

“S-Skadia, I’m sorry. Something urgent came up.”

“Was it that important?”

“Yes! Please understand.”

Ruan, who effortlessly spouted lies.

He wasn’t the Ruan she knew.

It was as if she was seeing a stranger.

But Skadia, already disappointed in him, chose not to point it out.

The bigger problem came next.

Swish! Swish!

Skadia, who was watching Ruan’s swordsmanship training as always, found herself unconsciously asking.

“Ruan. How long do you plan on learning swordsmanship?”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘how long’?”

“You’ve been stuck in the same spot for months now. Wouldn’t it be better to learn something else? Why don’t you learn magic from me instead?”

From the moment she saw him prioritizing time with Isis over time with her, Skadia considered one possibility.

That Ruan loved Isis more than he loved her.

That’s why Skadia wanted to put distance between them, no matter what.

But the words that impulsively came out of her jealousy and disappointment only sparked resistance.

“I have talent! I’m getting better little by little!”

“That’s a lie. You know it too. You have no talent. At this rate, you’ll never get stronger, even if a lifetime passes.”

Skadia’s words were thorns.

The sharp thorns pierced the skin, tore through muscle, and wounded him deeply.

“So you’re saying I should learn magic?”

“Yes. Magic is superior to swordsmanship. Besides, I’m a genius. Even if you don’t have talent, I can teach you so you can do it.”

The conviction that she herself could make it happen.

That firm belief caused Ruan’s inferiority complex to explode.

“Magic is superior to swordsmanship? Then why didn’t you just find a fiancée who was good at magic?”

“Why is the conversation going there? I just didn’t like seeing you waste your time!”

“Even so, I don’t want to. I won’t learn magic.”

“Why? I’m telling you swordsmanship is meaningless!”

When Skadia, frustrated by his pointless stubbornness, asked, Ruan gave an answer that made her mind go blank.

“…I promised Sis.”

“S-Sis?”

“Yes. I’m going to protect Sis. I have to get stronger for that.”

Ruan averted his gaze, as if that was the end of the conversation.

“Ahaha…”

Skadia let out a hollow laugh.

No matter what she did, it was Isis; no matter what he did, it was Isis.

The situation, where everything revolved around Isis, felt like a nightmare.

‘Isis. Isis. Isis.’

That damn Isis.

Fed up with the name, Skadia finally unleashed the emotions she had buried deep within.

“Stop talking about Isis!!”

A piercing high-pitched scream echoed loudly within the training hall.

Ruan, who had just been about to resume training, stopped his movements in shock.

“You like Isis that much? Then why didn’t you just get engaged to Isis? Huh? Why did you get engaged to me instead of just living with Isis your whole life like that!”

“…Skadia?”

“I don’t need you anymore either. Go ahead and waste your life like that forever!!”

Skadia, having poured out all her emotions, huffed and puffed, then turned her back and stormed out of the training hall.

Her escort knight immediately followed her.

“Young Lady. Are you leaving already?”

“…Yes. Let’s go back.”

Skadia, having simply answered the escort knight’s question, immediately got back into her carriage.

Three months after her fight with Ruan, her mother, Countess Lukina Maryland, passed away.