Chapter 16
They were now close enough to touch with an outstretched arm. Her blood vessels felt like they were about to burst. He grasped her frozen wrist.
"Hmph."
It wasn't a rough or violent movement. Rather, it was slow and deliberate. But she was so surprised that she made a strange noise, barely suppressing a scream. She almost struck out and retaliated.
Yuriene held her hand and examined it. Of all things, it was her right hand. Beneath the silk glove she wore was the mark of the Demon Sword. The color drained from Eki's face.
Fortunately, he didn't try to remove the glove. He wasn't the type to commit such rudeness. The fact that he had suddenly grabbed her hand was already extremely unusual for him.
Yuriene's eyes traced her hand, and he lightly brushed her palm with his thumb. The texture was smooth, without a hint of callus. Her hand was small and soft.
In contrast to his delicate appearance, Yuriene's hand was large and rough. A knight's hand. Eki shuddered. Even the insignificant contact through the glove gave her goosebumps. It wasn't just because the mark of the Demon Sword was hidden beneath it.
He stared down at her hand for a while. His lowered silver eyelashes were long. He whispered,
"Your hand is not one that enjoys the sword."
Eki could no longer bear it and twisted her wrist to break free from him. Yuriene didn't hold her back. His blue eyes gazed at her.
"I ask again. Why do you want to become a knight?"
She closed her mouth. Why did she want to become a knight? What should she say? She had prepared for quite a few situations while coming to Ajenka, but she had never anticipated this one.
If she was discovered, he would hate her. If she wasn't discovered, he wouldn't care. If he had no memory, there would be even less reason to get involved.
That's all she had thought. She had never imagined that Yuriene would remember her from the anniversary banquet and ask why she wanted to become a knight.
Eki looked up at him with completely confused eyes. Yuriene was watching her, waiting for an answer.
His quietly gazing eyes were familiar. Her dizzy mind calmed down like those eyes. In her erased past, she remembered his eyes waiting for her victory beyond the iron gate. She didn't want to build lies against him.
She slowly opened her mouth.
"Because I want to be happy."
"..."
"It may sound strange... but I'm serious."
She expected him to ask how becoming a knight was connected to happiness, or what the story was. But Yuriene didn't ask. He simply didn't take his eyes off her as he replied.
"I see, so that's it."
She was afraid to ask if he really understood. The topic itself was burdensome for her. Eki changed the subject.
"What brings you here?"
"You should be the one answering that. What brings you here on your first day of enrollment?"
To check on the perfectly fine fountain. To see with her own eyes if the fact that she had killed him had been completely erased. There was no way she could answer that. She made up a rough excuse.
"...I was just taking a walk and ended up here."
At her words, Yuriene smiled slightly. He was someone who smiled easily. She had never known. The expressions she had seen on his face were either expressionless, compassionate, serene... or like that last time, an indescribable expression.
Eki blankly watched his smile. He was even more handsome when he smiled. Unlike his stiff tone, he replied in a soft voice.
"I'm here for the same reason as you."
"You came for a walk?"
"...Yes."
It was too coincidental. A walk to this place of all places. To the place where she had died before the regression, on the night he had appointed the woman who killed him as his Squire. Was it really just a walk? Was it true that he had no memory?
Even if doubts arose, there was no way to confirm them. It was too dangerous to probe carelessly. Eki quietly looked up at him and said,
"I heard you appointed me as your Squire."
Squire. One who follows a knight. A knight's companion. One who assists the knight by his side, and protects him even on the front lines of battle. A direct disciple who receives experience and skills from the knight.
If she officially became a Squire after the probationary period, she would accompany him on all his missions. She would be responsible for his rest and his back. It wasn't something to entrust to just anyone. At least, he wouldn't entrust his back to someone who had killed him.
Then he really didn't remember. Unless he had some other purpose for appointing her. Could he have some kind of purpose?
"Why did you appoint me as your Squire?"
"You..."
Yuriene stopped speaking. No, he swallowed his words. His smile disappeared, and his deeply sunken gaze reached her. After a long silence, he asked,
"Military Cadet Ekinesia. May I request a duel?"
"A duel?"
"I wish to cross swords with you."
A duel out of the blue. Moreover, it was a cautious and almost pleading tone. He could have just given an order, or rather, considering the reality of the esteemed captain of the royal guard and the new Military Cadet, it would have been normal for Eki to beg him for just one duel.
"I, I..."
Eki unknowingly stepped back. She absolutely did not want to cross swords with him. Yuriene was the strongest knight and the most outstanding Giosa Owner she knew. She wasn't confident that she could face him without revealing her true skills. However, it was also difficult to openly refuse in a situation where she should be overjoyed.
"Not now, but anytime, whenever you are ready."
He added calmly when he saw her flustered. As he said that, he took off his hood. His loosely tied silver hair flowed down, revealing his face completely under the streetlights. Bathed in the soft light, he looked as if he were wearing a halo.
"Why I made you my Squire... I will answer after we cross swords."
He approached and draped his cloak over Eki. Her dress was thin and designed to expose her shoulders, suitable for a spring outing. The dark blue hooded cloak fell over those shoulders. He lightly fastened the cloak.
"The night is cool, so keep your walk short, Military Cadet Ekinesia."
The hand that fastened the cloak's string slowly retreated. Yuriene turned around.
As he walked with his conspicuous silver hair exposed, people who recognized the captain of the royal guard stepped aside and bowed. He acknowledged their greetings with a slight nod and walked away.
Eki stood motionless until he was no longer visible.
[What is that guy thinking? That Rangiosa bastard, he's picked a really weird owner.]
She finally came to her senses at the Demon Sword's muttering. She clutched Yuriene's cloak that covered her shoulders. Her fingertips trembled.
Did he know about the erased past? Why did he remember her from the anniversary banquet, what was the reason for appointing her as his Squire, why was he asking her for a duel, what on earth was he thinking right now?
She couldn't know anything. The only thing she could know at this moment was one thing.
The warmth of the cloak that wrapped around her shoulders.
The warmth, which she had neither expected nor anticipated, flowed down from her shoulders and spread into her heart. However, the meaning of the warmth, like everything else, was unknowable.
* * *
That night, Ekinesia didn't have a nightmare. Instead, she had a strange dream.
In the dream, she was in the dungeon of Ajenka Castle. A familiar scene. The very prison she had been confined in. Her limbs were shackled, but she didn't struggle. Her body was her own, not the Demon Sword's.
Blinding light seeped through the gap in the double-locked iron door. She blankly stared at the light when she heard footsteps beyond the door. He was coming. For some reason, she immediately knew that it was Yuriene.
Eki rose to her feet. The moment she stood up, the shackles that bound her wrists and ankles crumbled away. Her limbs felt light. Her staggering steps grew faster as she approached the iron door.
She opened the door. A silver-haired man was looking at her, silhouetted against the light. His face was not visible because of the backlight. She looked up at him and smiled brightly. With a radiant smile on her face, she said to him,
"Thank you for waiting for me."
The dream ended there. Ekinesia opened her eyes silently. Even after opening her eyes, she stared at the ceiling for a long time. It wasn't a nightmare, but it was a bitter dream. She let out a long sigh and got up.
The Military Academy, which had no classes, was all about autonomy except for the performance of temporary Squire duties. There was no need to get up early in the morning. However, her roommate, Alice, was already awake.
Alice had taken a shower and was wearing a thin shirt and pants on her damp body. Her expression hardened when she found Ekinesia sitting on the bed.
Alice had been in the room when Eki returned last night. She had seen Eki wearing a large cloak that was definitely for men.
A roommate who went out late at night on the first day of enrollment and returned wearing a man's cloak. Alice had held back the words that were about to burst out, thinking of a duel.
It was the same now. Alice's gaze passed over the lace-trimmed pajamas and reached Eki's hand. She was wearing a white glove on that hand. Not a glove for knights or training, but a thin glove for women. A glove even when sleeping.
"..."
Alice had a lot to say, but she held it in and turned away. Then, she stumbled as if she had tripped over something at her feet, and stopped. Her brow furrowed.
"I decided not to interfere, but this..."
Alice threw it onto Eki's bed. It was the letter of appointment. She must have forgotten about it, leaving it unfolded after looking at it yesterday. She wiped the moisture running down her chin with the back of her hand and snapped fiercely.
"Did you leave it unfolded like this to show off? We all know that you became the captain of the royal guard's Squire, even if you don't do that."
Alice picked up her Military Cadet jacket and sword without waiting for an answer and left the room. She must have been annoyed, so she might slam the door shut, but surprisingly, she didn't do that.
