Episode 26
From the moment the severed blade flew towards Lucia, it felt as if time had stopped for Herwin.
The surrounding scenery gradually slowed down, and everything neared a standstill. Simultaneously, the fiercely flying blade also halted in mid-air.
Herwin, despite experiencing a bizarre phenomenon, didn't recognize it, focusing solely on Lucia.
Before his mind could even register that she was in danger, his body moved first.
When he came to his senses, he was already blocking Lucia.
It was a stroke of luck. If Lucia had been hit by the flying blade, she might have—.
He didn't want to imagine the aftermath. It was a terrible thing he didn't even want to imagine.
He was truly relieved to see the blue eyes looking at him, full of vivid life.
Just as Herwin was feeling relieved, Lucia fainted, and a sense of unease crept back in.
"Lucia!"
He felt like he was going crazy. He couldn't calm his heart, feeling as if he might lose his mind.
The thought of saving Lucia filled his head.
Herwin quickly picked her up and ran swiftly to the infirmary.
All the students in the training ground stared blankly at Herwin's retreating figure.
"…Did anyone see Duke Peneus move?"
"I didn't."
"He disappeared after I blinked once, you know?"
"…What? He's a swordsman, but he can also use magic?"
"Besides, I'm sure I saw Aura."
"Yeah, it bloomed from his whole body. I heard you can only do that when you reach the Master level…"
"Could it really have been Aura? That's impossible! Duke Peneus is only 16 years old!"
"Wow, two Aura awakeners in the first year already."
While the people around were talking about Herwin's strange behavior and Aura awakening, Brian, who had been spacing out, suddenly snapped to his senses.
"This isn't the time for this! Let's hurry and follow him!"
"Brian! Let's go together!"
Brian hurriedly chased after Herwin, followed by Ethan.
"W-Wait! I'm going too!"
Arista, the cause of all this, also dropped her sword with a pale face and ran.
Seeing her friends following Herwin, Christine quickly packed her things. She was trying to move as quickly as possible, but Bianca was standing there blankly.
"…No way."
"Bianca! What are you doing! We need to go check on her too!"
Christine shook Bianca's shoulder for a moment, but then she sensed something was wrong with her. However, checking on Lucia's condition was the priority.
Christine hesitated for a moment, but eventually left first.
Bianca, left alone, stared at the place where Lucia and Herwin had been just a moment ago.
She clenched her teeth as she stood there blankly.
* * *
Lucia, lying on the pure white bed, groaned.
"…Umm."
Her closed eyelids fluttered, revealing clear blue eyes.
"Lucia…!"
Through her blurry vision, she saw a familiar face twisted in pain.
"…Herwin?"
"Are you feeling a little better?"
Lucia felt awkward as Herwin's face relaxed slightly and he let out a sigh of relief.
Just this morning, she and Herwin had been awkward and cold to each other, but now he was acting more friendly than before they had fought, which made her wonder.
Before she could even think about why he had suddenly changed his attitude, Lucia saw a familiar yet unfamiliar scene.
"The infirmary? Why am I in the infirmary…"
"Don't you remember what happened?"
"What happened? No, more than that, why am I here…"
Lucia, who was dazedly raising her upper body, suddenly remembered what had happened right before she collapsed.
She thought she was going to die for sure, but Herwin had appeared and saved her.
And—
'Did I faint?'
Lucia's cheeks flushed. She was so ashamed that she had fainted from fear, not from being hit by a sword or even getting hurt.
"Why? Are you sick somewhere? I'll call the nurse right now…"
"Ah, no. I'm okay. Nothing hurts. More than that, how long have I been out?"
"Three hours."
"I see, only three hours… What? Three hours?!"
Lucia, who thought it would only be an hour at most, was startled.
"I don't know! I missed class! I have to go to class right now…"
Before Lucia could get out of bed, Herwin grabbed her shoulder and laid her back down.
"I told the professor, so it's okay."
"B-But…"
"…You almost died today. Is class more important than that right now?"
Lucia stopped moving only after Herwin distorted his face.
Herwin, who had raised his voice, changed his words after seeing Lucia's dazed expression.
"No, I mean. You don't have to worry about that. Please, just rest."
"…Okay, I understand."
"…Haa, I didn't mean to get angry, so don't make that face."
Herwin carefully tucked Lucia's fallen hair behind her ear. Lucia's face, who had been scolded once, was sullen.
"Wait a minute… But class isn't over yet, is it?"
Lucia, who had been sullen, realized something and turned her head.
"Why are you here? Aren't you going to class?"
"It's okay to miss class once or twice."
"What? How can you say that? It'll affect your grades."
"Who do you think I missed it for…!"
Herwin couldn't finish his sentence. He stared into her clear blue eyes and then shut his mouth.
"…Anyway, I'll take care of it, so don't worry about it."
A subtle silence fell again.
She could understand him being angry earlier because she was worried about attendance as soon as she woke up, but she didn't know why he was angry now.
It was as if he was staying because he was worried about her.
Just as she was about to ask if her guess was correct, Lucia shut her mouth at Herwin's sulky expression.
'What if I'm wrong?'
She thought she would be very disappointed if she got her hopes up for nothing.
Creak-
The sound of the door opening and the noisy sounds mixed into the infirmary. Lucia perked up her ears at the familiar voices.
Soon, the partition was pushed to one side.
"Lucia!"
"Guys."
"Oh my god, you're awake. Does anything hurt?"
"Do you know how worried we were when you fainted?"
Brian, Ethan, and Christine all looked at Lucia's condition with a lot of worry.
Lucia burst into laughter at their concern. In the middle of her friends, she saw a light blonde hair.
It was Arista. When she met Lucia's eyes, Arista immediately bowed deeply.
"I'm so sorry! You were in danger because of me…!"
Lucia blinked, not knowing why she was apologizing.
However, she roughly grasped the situation by looking at the surrounding atmosphere and Arista's pale face.
'Did this happen because of Arista?'
It happened so quickly that she didn't know who had caused the accident.
Arista bowed deeply and closed her eyes tightly, sincerely apologizing.
Lucia looked at her silently for a moment and then showed a light smile.
"I'm not hurt, so it's okay. You didn't do it on purpose."
Arista raised her head sharply at Lucia's casual forgiveness.
"But…!"
"I don't know exactly what happened, but you didn't do it on purpose, right? If you did, you wouldn't have come to apologize to me. Right?"
Arista bit her lower lip and nodded.
"Then it's okay."
Emotion, guilt, and several other emotions floated on Arista's face.
"I-I'm really sorry… I thought you were going to die, and I…"
"Huh? D-Don't cry! I'm really okay, you know?"
Lucia tried to smile and said she was okay, but Arista, who was already overwhelmed with emotion, shed big tears.
Lucia, who didn't think she would cry, was flustered. After fidgeting for a moment, Lucia awkwardly patted Arista's hand.
Arista, deeply moved by Lucia's forgiveness, grabbed Lucia's hand tightly as if a knight was swearing allegiance to her master.
"I'll be good to you for the rest of my life! Tell me anything I can do!"
It was a bit burdensome, but she could see her efforts to resolve the awkward relationship. So Lucia decided to accept Arista willingly.
"Okay, good."
Arista's face brightened up. Seeing her happy, Lucia felt a bitter taste in her mouth.
'What am I doing to Arista…'
She was blinded by jealousy and tried to make things difficult for her. In fact, she should have been the one apologizing, not her.
'I'm sorry.'
Words she couldn't bring herself to say lingered in her mouth.
Just as Arista vowed to be good to Lucia for the rest of her life, Lucia also vowed to atone for her.
Herwin, who was looking at Lucia's detached face, turned his head.
"Where's Bianca? Didn't she come with you?"
"Huh? Ah, she said she had some urgent business in the middle and went somewhere. She'll be here soon."
"I see…"
Herwin frowned at Ethan's answer.
Bang-!
"Where's my sister!"
A familiar voice was heard along with the sound of the door being opened loudly.
"What's going on?"
"Did his sister get hurt or something?"
Among the flustered friends, Lucia wiped her dry face.
"…I'm doomed."
"Lucia!"
A man who was looking around found Lucia and strode towards her.
"W-Who is he?"
"He looks like Lucia, but…"
The friends who were seeing Lucas for the first time were flustered and overwhelmed by his fierce momentum, and they unknowingly stepped back.
"Which damn son of a bitch made my sister like this!"
"Anyone would think your sister died."
"Which one is it! Come out right now! Is it you? Did you make my sister like this?"
Ares was with Lucas. When Lucas pointed at Ethan and Brian, the two were horrified and quickly shook their heads.
Lucia was so embarrassed by her brother's rampage that the infirmary was about to collapse.
"Be quiet! We're not the only ones here!"
In the end, Lucia, who couldn't stand it, covered Lucas's mouth.
"My sister! Are you hurt anywhere? If you're sick, I'm…!"
"If I'm sick, what? I'm not hurt at all."
She was grateful for her friends' concern, but she was annoyed by her family's concern.
In particular, she was exhausted because she knew how much Lucas cherished her.
Lucas lit up his eyes and made sure that Lucia's hair, fingers, and toes were safe before he was relieved.
