Field Training (3)
Lobelia’s sudden meltdown actually had a reasonably logical explanation.
She was Ariel’s dearest friend.
Naturally, she had spent countless hours listening to Ariel chatter away beside her. She distinctly remembered the way Ariel’s cheeks flushed pink as she recounted what Yohan had said to her, how remarkable he was, weaving heavily embellished romantic tales with a bashful, starry-eyed smile.
Fresh, innocent first love.
Lobelia used to smile whenever that exact phrase sprang to mind at the sight of her friend. In her mind’s eye, the blossoming romance between Yohan and Ariel had been painted as a soft, picturesque scene straight out of a watercolor fairy tale.
And then, a stray phrase had dropped into her head like a live shell.
“Are we having an affair right now?”
That single question blew the delicate watercolor painting in Lobelia’s mind to smithereens.
The wholesome children’s bedtime story curdled into a dark, sordid tragedy in the span of a heartbeat.
The pure, pastel-hued scene dissolved into something murky, scandalous, and drenched in depravity.
Wait a second. If she said ‘right now’... then what were they before?
Unfortunately, Lobelia was so profoundly rattled that she began reading far too much into that single, careless sentence.
Yohan’s uncharacteristic reluctance to go through with marrying Ariel.
A mysterious girl forced to conceal her true identity.
Oh, merciful heavens...
What on earth have I done?
Lobelia spiraled into sheer, unadulterated panic.
The one who had orchestrated this marriage and sealed it into an official engagement was none other than herself. She was one of the primary architects behind this messy, adulterous scandal.
It was a sight I had never witnessed before in my life.
Lobelia stood there with her arms crossed, attempting to maintain an aura of aristocratic dignity, but a bead of nervous sweat was trickling down her temple and her face was dyed bright crimson.
Just what in the world was she imagining?
What kind of wild, deranged scenarios had to be playing out in her head for her to look like that? I couldn’t even begin to fathom it.
“I have no idea what you’re picturing, Your Highness, but I swear on my life it’s not what you think! This girl is Safe Clown—the vigilante who helped me during Eden’s terror attack at the beginning of the semester! Do you understand me now?”
“Her identity and your infidelity are two entirely separate matters! How can you stand there looking so utterly shameless?!”
“Because it’s not an affair!”
“How do you expect me to believe such a brazen lie?!”
“Why hasn’t it crossed your mind that she might be the one lying to you?!”
“Does that look like the face of someone who is lying?!”
“Oh, for the love of...!”
I barely managed to swallow the stream of curses clawing at my throat.
Yuna’s poker face and acting chops were sharp enough to hoodwink an imperial princess without breaking a sweat. She wasn’t giving a brazen, gloating smirk or blushing coquettishly to provoke her; she merely scratched her cheek with an awkward, bashful grin. That modest, bashful expression lent an agonizing amount of credibility to her words.
She was truly a terrifying menace.
“A-Anyway! Settle this sordid business among yourselves!”
“...It really isn’t an affair, but I must say, I’m genuinely shocked by your verdict, Your Highness.”
“Shocked by what?!”
“Well, I fully expected you to lecture me mercilessly and demand that I sever all ties with her on the spot.”
“I would like nothing more, but... having heard the words ‘right now,’ it is difficult for me to pass judgment.”
“Ah.”
Now that she mentioned it, Yuna had explicitly asked, ‘Are we having an affair right now?’
Phrased that way, it made it sound as though we had been an ordinary couple all along, only to be suddenly thrust into the role of illicit secret lovers.
Lobelia had clearly gotten the timeline completely backwards. She was convinced that I was already dating Yuna when the imperial family swooped in and shackled me to an unwanted political engagement.
“If that’s what you think, doesn't that mean part of the blame rests on Your Highness’s shoulders?”
“...”
“I mean, let me reiterate, there is no affair whatsoever. But since Your Highness is so thoroughly convinced there is, I have to ask: doesn’t the responsibility for creating this mess lie partly with you?”
“How could I have known you were in such circumstances...? How was I supposed to imagine that you, a loner without a single friend to your name, would actually have a girlfriend...?”
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, dwindling to a meek, pathetic mumble.
It was a shrunken, intimidated posture completely unrecognizable from the imperious and unshakeable Princess Lobelia.
“Aargh! In any case, I know nothing! I saw nothing, and I heard nothing!”
“...”
Cutting herself off mid-sentence, Lobelia erupted in a burst of sheer mortification, spun on her heel, and marched briskly into the depths of the forest all by herself.
Should I go after her or let her be?
“The Third Princess is way more fun than I thought, isn’t she?”
“Yuna, you really have some nerve teasing an imperial princess like that.”
“I just tossed it out there as a joke! I had no idea she’d lose her mind like that.”
“And fanning the flames after you saw her reaction?”
“Oh, that? That was purely because it was hilarious. Hey, who told her to be so easy to tease?!”
“...Your dessert privileges are hereby revoked for the foreseeable future.”
“What?!”
Yuna’s eyes went round with theatrical shock, but then she casually shrugged.
“Whatever. I’ll just buy them with my own money. I’ve got plenty of cash.”
“...”
This little brat...?
Not a shred of remorse. No, wait—if she had plenty of money this whole time, does that mean she’s been shamelessly mooching off me day in and day out?
What an utterly ruthless demon.
“Well, looks like Her Highness is going to gather the leaves on her own, so should we head back?”
“...Fine.”
Watching Yuna grin mischievously, I decided against chasing after Lobelia. Going after her now, while her head was practically venting steam, would only agitate her further.
When Yuna and I emerged from the forest, we spotted the Hereticus siblings and Dietrich soaking their bare feet in the cool mountain creek.
Those scoundrels had signed up for this practical training under the guise of an observational tour, and here they were, doing nothing but loafing around.
Helena was an ailing child, so she got a pass.
Cult... well, his public persona was that of a blind man, so that was understandable too.
Dietrich, however. You have no excuse.
“Ah! Senior, you’re back! Has Her Highness not returned yet?”
“Dietrich, you really are...”
“Oh, since you two were running late, I caught some fish from the stream! And I’ve already laid out the tent frames so we can pitch them the second you returned. Weren’t you two heading out to gather broad leaves for the bedding, though?”
“Uh, yeah. Her Highness will be bringing those. I had some... well... personal matters to handle, so I came back first.”
“Understood!”
Taking a closer look, it turned out no one had worked harder than he had.
The woven net in his hands was wriggling with a bountiful catch, and the tent poles, pegs, and canvas were arranged in meticulous rows according to the exact order of assembly. Granted, an outdoor tent didn’t have an overwhelming number of parts, but still...
“Whoa, why’d you catch so many? We could eat off this for three whole days.”
“Aw, come on, Senior! How could we eat nothing but fish for three days straight? Tomorrow, we’ll head into the woods to forage for edible berries and wild mushrooms.”
“Right...”
“Ah, Seniors, you should go dip your feet in the creek and rest! I’ll gut and clean the fish myself. I’m actually quite good at it.”
Radiant, peerless virtue.
I made a silent vow never to scold this boy again.
“The kid’s sharp and hardworking, isn’t he?”
“Shouldn’t you be feeling at least a tiny prick of your conscience, Yuna?”
“Huh? Why me?”
The moment the question left her mouth, Yuna tipped her backpack over, dumping an avalanche of wild berries, edible roots, and mountain greens onto the grass.
Ah. So you were actually foraging while tailing us through the trees!
Right, of course. In the end, I was the only useless freeloader here.
“...You should take a rest too.”
“Puhihi! Don’t mind if I do!”
And so, we splashed around in the creek until Lobelia finally reappeared from the tree line, dragging an enormous burlap sack stuffed to bursting with leaves.
By the time dusk settled over the campsite, no special instructions had arrived from the faculty.
In fact, other than a curt announcement telling everyone to be asleep by ten o’clock, the instructors hadn’t given a single directive.
Given total freedom, the Cradle students completely slipped their leashes.
That’s right: it was hunting season.
It seemed these battle-crazed bastards couldn’t unwind without seeing something bleed out. It was terrifying to watch.
Looking at the ecstatic grins on the students’ faces as they paraded in and out of the forest in small packs, dragging back butchered carcasses of ferocious beasts and monsters, I finally grasped the true intention behind this field trip.
“We really just came out here on a vacation, didn't we?”
“Are you only realizing that now, Yohan?”
“Looks like you’ve finally cooled off, Your Highness. It’s a relief to see you back to your usual self.”
“Ahem! Do not speak of that.”
Lobelia cleared her throat with an exaggerated cough and hastily steered the conversation away. Well, fair enough. It must have been humiliating for her.
“The Chancellor is determined to make this practical exercise an unqualified success. After all, the recent incidents have been quite disgraceful, haven’t they? She wished to provide a peaceful outdoor environment so that the students’ warped worldviews might begin to heal, even if only by a fraction.”
I’ve said it before, but Olga Hermod was fundamentally a good-natured woman. Her taking up the post of Chancellor at the Cradle had been an act of personal sacrifice meant to shield young students from the horrors of the world.
“Her intentions may have been noble, but I don't think it’s working out the way she hoped.”
I pointed toward a cluster of students emerging from the tree line, drenched from head to toe in monster blood and cackling like maniacs. At this rate, I was starting to feel genuine pity for the local wildlife.
“Is that so? Still, I suppose hunting beasts in the wild is far preferable to murdering fellow human beings.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
“What delightful conversation might the two of you be sharing?”
Just as Lobelia and I were watching the students’ bizarre antics, Cult strolled over.
Having spent the entire day tending to Helena, he had kept his sinister nature completely under wraps, acting the part of a perfectly ordinary, devoted elder brother.
“What brings you over here?”
“I simply couldn’t bear to let such a rare gathering go to waste.”
“Haha. Spoken like a true cultist—dressing up sheer nonsense in flowery prose.”
“Must it be labeled nonsense, Your Highness? They were merely ordinary words of greeting.”
The two of them locked horns in a tense battle of wills right out of the gate. Ugh, why do they always have to do this with me stuck right in the middle? If you two have something to say, talk to each other! Why drag me into your crossfire?
“In that case, Cult, allow me to ask you something. What do you intend to do with Helena? From what I observed today, I find your behavior rather difficult to comprehend.”
“She is simply my family. Even if it weren't me, don’t other noble houses do the exact same thing? Concealing the filthy, shameful deeds passed down through generations, I mean.”
“That sounds rather prejudiced. Not all nobles conduct themselves in such a manner.”
“True, but there are far more than enough historical precedents to warrant the prejudice.”
With that casual remark, Cult dropped down onto the log right beside me.
“What is it you truly want? What on earth goes through your head to make you continue perpetrating these insane atrocities?”
Evidently settling in for an ideological confrontation, Lobelia sat down on my other side.
So I stood up.
They clearly intended to use me as a human buffer while they traded verbal daggers, and I was not about to be caught in the blast radius.
“Sit, Yohan. Act natural.”
“...”
Before I could take a step, a firm hand grabbed my collar and hauled me right back down onto the wood. Life was miserable.
“Did I not tell you before? The reason I continue this ‘insanity’ is to remake this world from scratch.”
“Are you claiming that to be the will of God?”
“How unexpected, hearing an infidel invoke the name of God. But to answer your question: no, it is not. This is entirely the conclusion I reached through my own eyes and judgment.”
“Then why...!”
“Haha! Did watching me with Helena today soften your heart? Are you beginning to think I’m no different from any other human being?”
To say Cult had lived solely for Helena’s sake throughout the day would hardly be an exaggeration. There had been no deceit in his actions. He genuinely worried for her, and he genuinely loved her.
Seeing him cherish his family had forced Lobelia to view Cult not merely as a monstrous enemy, but as a complex, three-dimensional person. It was as simple as that.
“Helena suffered from an incurable disease. Though she is cured now, it proved impossible to completely erase the lingering aftereffects.”
Cult glanced subtly over his shoulder.
Helena was fast asleep inside the tent. She had enthusiastically tried to help pitch the camp earlier, only to exhaust her frail stamina and collapse into deep slumber almost immediately. Beside her, Dietrich stood guard with quiet, practiced vigilance.
“It was an illness she was cursed with from the moment she drew breath. Tell me, Your Highness: was that child guilty of any sin?”
“What point are you trying to make?”
“Why was she the only one forced to endure such agony? Why did Helena have to be different from everyone else? And taking that thought further... what does it truly mean to be ‘different’?”
“...”
“This is what I believe: difference is the ultimate root of all greed. Humans willingly stain their hands with blood to seize what they lack, and to hoard what only they possess. Envy, lusting after what belongs to others, cursing one’s own wretched lot in life—every bit of it happens solely because we are different.”
Cult, a Prophet who had been hunted and persecuted from the very moment of his birth simply for being born what he was, seemed to sneer at the foundational architecture of the world.
“That is simply how this world works, so there is nothing surprising about it. But I believe it should never have been accepted as natural.”
“And so you intend to tear the world apart?”
“To be precise, this is merely preparation to restart Genesis. Armed with everything I have witnessed and endured, I intend to stand before God and declare that His creation is fundamentally flawed.”
“That is an excessively extreme conclusion.”
“What does it matter if it is extreme? I possess both the power and the capability to execute it. Therefore, I shall simply labor to build the utopia I believe in.”
Cult offered a serene, gentle smile.
That tranquil expression was far more chilling than any bloodthirsty snarl.
“I will erase deficiency from this world. For the seed of all greed stems from being different from others.”
“...”
“If I do that... if that day comes... then that child will never again have to endure a solitary agony that no one else shares. And countless people will no longer have to die wretched deaths amidst the cruel absurdities of this world.”
Cult smiled.
Like an innocent child clutching a pure, untainted dream, he beamed with absolute devotion as he envisioned his paradise.
While Cult was speaking with Lobelia, Helena stirred from her slumber inside the dim tent.
“Yaaawn...”
“Ah, Helena. Are you awake? Are you all right?”
“Yes...”
“Does it hurt anywhere?”
“I’m okay. Don’t worry, Brother Dietrich.”
“If you say so, then that’s a relief...”
Helena rubbed her sleepy eyes with her knuckles and glanced around the enclosure. Dietrich was the only one beside her; the others were nowhere to be seen.
“Ah, Cult went over to express his gratitude to the Princess.”
“Did he? Ah—!”
Helena tried to push herself up, but suddenly gasped, clutching her chest as she crumpled back onto the blankets.
“Hehe... I’m really okay. It was just a little twinge, that’s all.”
“...I hear you, Helena. But you promised not to push yourself, remember? That was the condition for coming on this field trip.”
“I know.”
Helena offered a sweet, bashful smile, while Dietrich scratched the back of his head in helpless worry. Looking at the frail, sickly girl, Dietrich murmured softly:
“The world really isn’t fair. Why do you have to go through so much pain?”
“Do you think so? But I think... the world is even more wonderful precisely because it’s unfair.”
“Huh...?”
“Because when things are unfair, we can share what we have with each other. And we can feel the warmth and joy of doing so. Just like how my brother healed me. And just like how I can be my brother’s eyes.”
“Helena...”
“It might sound a little selfish of me, but I’ve always felt fortunate. Because I was frail, I was able to meet my brother. And because my brother isn’t whole, I can hold his hand, be his eyes, and walk beside him.”
“I see...”
“Yes. That’s why I think this world is truly beautiful. It’s made in a way that allows us to feel each other’s warmth.”
“Haha. Hearing you talk like that, it feels like you’re far more grown-up than I am.”
Dietrich gently patted Helena’s white hair with a soft, affectionate smile.
Despite being trapped in such a cruel, punishing reality, Helena had never grown bitter. She had never poured out venomous curses against the heavens. Some might dismiss it as childish ignorance, claiming she simply didn’t understand the cruelty of the world yet. Others might argue that she had never truly tasted insurmountable despair.
Yet Dietrich believed that Helena’s untainted purity was living proof that this broken world was still worth living in.
“Would you like to go see Cult?”
“Yes, Brother Dietrich! Please take me to him!”
“Alright. Here, take my hand. Let’s walk together.”
Gently clasping Helena’s tiny hand in his own, Dietrich matched his stride to hers and stepped out into the twilight.