episode_0138

After washing my body in the large public bath, I changed into my new clean school uniform, took the letter with me, and went outside.

It was the time when the sun had just begun to tilt slightly towards the west. If nothing special happens, Priscilla will be stuck in her lab.

I quietly touched the inside pocket of my school uniform that contained the letter, then let out a long breath and walked towards Priscilla’s lab.

Priscilla’s lab was unusually located on the top floor of the academy’s main building, so to get to her lab, you had to go into the academy.

The academy was basically open to all students regardless of whether it was weekdays or weekends, so there was no problem going to Priscilla’s lab.

No, let me correct that a bit. The route itself is no problem at all.

“… … .”

Because another unexpected problem arose… … .

I blinked at the male student I met at the main entrance to the academy.

I just bumped into him while passing by, but the person I ran into was the problem.

A man who looks like he is wearing a snake’s face instead of his own, with narrowed eyes and a twirling smile that makes it difficult to tell whether his eyes are open or closed. and… … .

“Hello.”

A man with dark blue hair like the sea, who looks exactly like Mia’s mother.

Because it was Cromwell, the leader of the rebels.

“Yes, hello.”

Why did you suddenly greet me? Putting aside my small doubts, I lightly accepted the greeting he gave me. As I greeted him, his smile grew even brighter.

“If you don’t have anything to say to me, I’ll just pass by.”

I said that and tried to pass him, but he slowly moved to the side and blocked my path.

This happened not once, but three times in a row, and I realized that he definitely had something to do with me.

If he had something to do, he would definitely have said it out loud, but when I see him blocking me like this, it seems like he’s trying to upset my noble pride and make me lose my composure. It’s really shady.

“Oops, sorry. As I was moving to pass by, our steps happened to overlap.”

dog sound. When he saw me walking, he followed suit and calmly said that our steps coincided with each other.

Well, okay. With his face covered like that, he must have been able to avoid the royal family, other guards, and students from finding out that he was the leader of the rebel army right before the rebellion.

Seeing Cromwell talking with a grin, I covered my mouth with the back of my hand and smiled brightly.

“Oh, I see. I guess it’s because I met people who were very considerate. But I have urgent business to attend to, so I guess I’ll just have to go. Next time, we don’t want our steps to overlap, so I’ll pass on the right.”

I said that and tried to pass to the right, but he blocked my path again.

“It’s fate that we met like this, can we talk for a moment?”

He got on my nerves by not following even the most basic things, such as manners and rudeness.

If it were any other noble, I would have lashed out a long time ago or lost my temper and made a personal or physical attack, but I smiled brightly.

You’ve been through too much, kid.

“As I said before, I have urgent business with Professor Priscilla. I hope we can talk about it next time.”

“It only takes a moment, but how can it not work?”

“It seems like it’s quite urgent. I see you trying to talk like this even while blocking my way. I’m telling you this just in case, but I already own someone. If it’s like a confession, I’ll reject it in advance.”

“Well, that’s a shame. I heard that something bad happened recently and they became estranged, but I can’t believe the rumors either.”

“Oh my, estrangement and engagement are completely different stories. Hehe, you’re a commoner so you don’t seem to know much about this.”

“Haha. sorry. Because I am a commoner, I cannot learn the trivial manners of nobles.”

Cromwell and I looked at each other and laughed. From a distance, it may seem like a very warm atmosphere, but in reality, they are scraping each other’s nerves with sharp blades.

Of course, in my case, the nerve cords were so thick, and in Cromwell’s case, the nerve cords were so strong that they could not even be scratched except for the disgust of family, so nothing happened.

“Now, slowly… … . Can I know why you’re holding me back like this?”

Well, that’s what I said, but I can roughly guess the reason. Most of the time this man takes action, it is related to his family.

Let’s see… … . okay. I went to see my family for the weekend, and they weren’t there every day. As I searched for their whereabouts, I came across a being – Is it the same story?

No, it took too long to realize that. I recruited Mia at the beginning of the semester. Now, half of the first semester is over. Even if I could only go out of the academy on the weekends, even if I had to wander through the back alleys of the kingdom alone without any help from others, too much time had passed.

That could mean that he didn’t know that his sister and mother had disappeared in the back alley.

It may be speculation, but Cromwell already had a gang of his own, and when Cromwell’s gang, who controlled the back alley, realized that his parents had disappeared, they knew that there would be an uproar if this fact was discovered by him, and they wondered where the parents had gone and who they were. The fact that he hid that fact until he was confirmed to have been taken away――

stop.

A thought comes to mind. Trying to infer what happened before just by looking at the situation in which he came to visit me will only clutter my mind.

I stopped thinking and looked at Cromwell, who was looking straight at me. He just looked at me without saying anything and didn’t show any reaction.

“It may be random, but I have a really nice nose.”

“… … ?”

“The reason I was able to survive in those crowded back alleys is because of this nose.”

“Yes. So?”

“My story is not over yet. My nose is good enough to distinguish between dangerous and non-dangerous things. I don’t really know why this happened. Maybe my body developed on its own to survive in the back alleys. Anyway, my nose is great. So much so that it can be said to be close to an animal. There is something my nose is best at, do you know what it is?”

Line by line, why are the words so long? … . It’s completely outside of my interests, and I don’t even know what it’s talking about.

“No, the story about your nose is beyond my interest.”

“Distinguishing human scent.”

You rotten bastard, you don’t even listen to what people say.

What on earth are you trying to say with your mouth moving like that? Are you trying to tell me that I smell dangerous?

Ha, I don’t want one more troublesome thing like the Crown Prince to increase, but… … . For the crown prince, this is already over, and for this guy, it will be resolved on its own over time――

‘No, wait a minute. Distinguishing between human scents?’

I had a vague idea of what the man was trying to say, and at the same time, he opened his eyes.

The bright blue eyes, as if they were made of paint, were filled with only sticky obsession, without an ounce of light.

Then he looked straight at me and opened his mouth.

“Why do you smell like your mother?”

“… … .”

At that moment, I had the mixed feeling that the hair on my head stood up, a chill ran down my spine, my mind flew far away, and my vision became blurry.

That sentiment could be expressed in just one word.

“You… … . I feel very bad… … .”

I felt really bad. No, this is not a story about what the experience of the previous episode was like or what the man was like. I just didn’t want to deal with each other as humans.

No, yes. Distinguishing people by smell. You can do it. I know what that man wants to say. I guess they don’t understand that I smell like my mother.

But that and this were completely separate issues.

Should I say that I feel physiological repulsion? In my life, I don’t tend to show my overt displeasure, but this was so unbearable that the words came out unconsciously.

When I was openly disgusted, the other person covered his face with one hand and sighed. Who wants to sigh now, but he is the one who sighs… … ?

“Sorry. I seem to have lost my mind a little.”

“Ah… … . yes… … .”

“As I said before, I have a good nose. More than usual. But you smell like my mother. That’s so strange.”

Yeah, you could have just said that from the beginning.

I swallowed the words welling up to my chin and sighed inwardly.