Close Your Eyes and Cover Your Ears
"Ghk!"
Struck by an attack from a presence he had never even imagined, the assailant's grip went slack. Baepsae, however, did not let up. It drove the assault on with savage fury.
"Let go, you shitbird! You letting go or not, you bastard?"
For all its adorable looks, it spat the words out rough and pecked at the assailant's other eye. This was no mindless flurry. It struck the same spot again and again, and in that repetition a vicious, relentless temper showed itself plain.
At last the assailant released the hand clamped around Laniakea's throat, and she did not waste the opening.
"Lucy! Lu—khh—Lucyyyyy!"
She called with everything she had, her voice ragged and hoarse. From far off came the crash of a door being kicked in, and with it the pound of feet racing down the corridor.
The moment she screamed, the assailant cursed and swung. A flashing blade carved a lethal arc through the air.
"Laniakea!"
Baepsae fluttered to her in a rush and threw itself in front of the sword. In the instant she thought the blade would strike the little spirit—whoosh! A violent wind tore through the room.
Porcelain tumbled from the display cabinet and shattered against the floor with a sharp, ringing crash. The curtains at the window billowed wide and swallowed the intruder, and in that same moment the door burst open.
"Laniakea!"
"Highness!"
What?
She had been certain she would hear Lucy. Instead there were two voices.
The one who called her Highness could only be Lucy. Then who was it that had called her by name?
Before Laniakea could answer her own question, the ones who had entered were already moving. Lucy planted herself in front of her at once and dropped into a fighting stance toward the assailant.
And the other person who had come in with her...
"Your Highness?"
The one who had seized the assailant, his face twisted, was unmistakably Hyperion.
"Ghk!"
He caught the man by the throat with a single hand and hauled him up off the floor.
When she had faced the assailant only moments before, she had thought him solidly built. Now, dangling and thrashing with his neck in that grip, he looked strangely small—nothing like the figure in her memory. It was Hyperion's frame that did it, overwhelming even as he held the man aloft.
Laniakea was just drawing a breath of relief, the thought that she had survived loosening in her chest, when a cute voice shrieked overhead.
"What the hell? That bastard's my meal! You gonna let go or not?"
Every eye in the room snapped toward Baepsae.
Perhaps that was why the hand loosened, just a fraction. Through the choking gasps, the assailant's mutter reached them.
"That's... a spirit...!"
"Damn right! This body is the Wind Spirit summoned by Laniakea! Eyes down, you little shit!"
The cute voice, which possessed not a shred of dignity, went right on spewing filth. At Baepsae's words, Laniakea shut her eyes.
…I'm finished.
For three years she had hidden the fact that she could summon spirits in this place, and now it was out.
How astonishing the truth was needed no explanation. Lucy's face and Hyperion's said it plainly—astonishment, written across both of them. And well they might be astonished. Everyone knew it was impossible to call a spirit beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Priatra.
And yet she had called one. Worse, Baepsae had kindly announced, with its own mouth, exactly who had done the summoning.
If this became known, what then?
Every cruel scene she had imagined long ago, on the road to the Empire, flickered through Laniakea's mind. Not one of those imaginings ended well. The one thing she knew for certain was that the future she wanted would never come.
"Hurry... hurry and report..."
At the assailant's mutter, the color drained from Laniakea's face until it was bloodless. If these hostile people—people who had already tried to kill her—learned of this?
Next time they might not try to kill her. They might try to take her. And after she was taken...
She tried to stay calm, but her body shook of its own accord. First she had to stop that man's mouth. And after that? How was she to keep this hidden from everyone else for the rest of her life? And what was she supposed to say to Lucy and Hyperion...
Then Hyperion, who had been watching her, spoke.
It was a calm, low voice, wholly unsuited to the moment—and for that very reason, it reached her with perfect clarity.
Laniakea did not ask why. She simply did as he said. If she did not, she felt certain she would have to look upon something truly horrific.
The moment she obeyed, Lucy, as if that alone were not enough, covered Laniakea's ears with both hands.
Even sealed away so tightly, she thought she heard it—faint, and far. A crack. Something breaking.
A long while later, when Laniakea opened her eyes, the assailant hung limp in Hyperion's grip. She did not need to ask. The man was no longer of this world.
As if determined she should not see the corpse, Hyperion blocked it with his own body and spoke to Lucy.
"Take Her Highness to my palace."
Laniakea sat with a blanket over her shoulders, shaking hard.
Who? Why would anyone try to kill me?
She had been brought to the annex wing of the Main Palace, where Hyperion was staying, but calm would not come. She was still trembling too badly even to hold a teacup.
When Laniakea could not settle, Lucy's face went helpless, and she leaned in to whisper.
"Lupin tribe. Secret. Guard."
Lucy seemed to think Laniakea was afraid of her because of the spirit.
"Mm... I trust you, Lucy."
Lupin or not, it would have been the same.
Just then someone knocked and asked whether they might come in.
Lucy opened the door on edge, and a huge man—bigger even than Hyperion—stepped inside.
"Greetings. My name is Signo. I am His Highness Hyperion's administrative officer."
"Administrative officer...?"
He had a brutal face and a body that looked as though he could swing every weapon in the world and no one would think it strange. She had naturally assumed he was Hyperion's adjutant, charged with his protection—and he was an administrative officer? Posts like that usually belonged to gaunt men with bruised shadows under their eyes, worn out by overwork and too little sleep.
Signo seemed to catch the puzzlement on Laniakea's face, and on Lucy's. He scratched his head with an awkward laugh.
"Contrary to how I look, I'm frail. And swords... heavens, how does a person even swing one of those? Numbers, though—I'm rather good with those, so His Highness Hyperion was kind enough to take me in."
Frail. He looked as if he could fell an ox with his bare fist.
"And this young lady—is she the maid of Her Highness's bedchamber?"
"No, Lucy is..."
"Me. Warrior of the Lupin. Duel. Challenge."
The words bedchamber maid had clearly not sat well. Lucy bristled and glared at him. It was rare for her to produce anything so close to a proper sentence, and the moment she rolled up her sleeves, Signo dropped to his knees with a bang loud enough to ring.
"I misspoke. Please spare my life."
At the speed of the apology, Lucy stared at him as if she could not quite believe it, then straightened her sleeves again.
"Know your place. Excellent."
Watching, Laniakea's face eased a little.
"You do apologize quickly."
"I have already heard of the Lupin tribe's reputation. I knew a Lupin warrior was stationed at the Imperial Palace, but I did not realize it was this person. Please forgive the rudeness."
"Ahem. Hm."
Pleased by Signo's courteous manner, Lucy gave a little shrug. Because of the way she looked, plenty of people refused to believe she was a Lupin warrior no matter what she said. That he had apologized and bowed his head so quickly seemed to have pleased her a great deal.
It was the first time Lucy had made herself understood with someone else all at once, and for a moment Laniakea was able to forget the assailant entirely.
Having groveled thoroughly before Lucy, Signo rose with a glum face and turned to Laniakea.
"The man who attacked Your Highness has been dealt with—quietly, and cleanly. From what I can tell, he took pains not to expose his identity, but between the weapons he carried, the manner of attack His Highness observed, and the rest, we obtained more information than expected. His Highness says we should be able to find who sent him before long. And..."
At that and, Laniakea swallowed drily.
Did Hyperion tell this man about the spirit?
"His Highness recommended that you remain here for the time being, rather than at the Annex Palace. He asked me to tell you he will see to the arrangements as quickly as possible, so that you may stay in comfort."
At Signo's words, Laniakea quietly let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, he did not seem to have spoken to his officer about the spirit.
"I understand. But might His Highness Hyperion be very busy? I would like to see him myself, and thank him..."
"Pardon? You would be all right meeting His Highness?"
"Of course... I would?"
"It's only that I thought it might be difficult for you to face him, after seeing him in such an unfortunate light."
"Ah..."
From what Signo said, Laniakea understood why Hyperion had sent him. He had killed a man before her eyes, and he must have assumed she would be afraid of him.
When her thoughts reached that far, she realized something else. She truly was not troubled by the fact that he had killed someone.
"If Your Highness is willing, His Highness will come himself and explain."
Signo said it with a look that all but begged her to agree. The moment Laniakea nodded, he left the room as if he had wings.
A short while later, hurried footsteps announced Hyperion. He took in Laniakea—her trembling stilled now—and ordered Signo and Lucy to wait outside.
On any other day Lucy would have dug in her heels and insisted on staying. Instead she gave Hyperion a deep bow and went out.
Laniakea's eyes went wide. Never before had Lucy trusted someone else enough to leave her side.
While she was still caught in that surprise, the door closed.
Alone with her, Hyperion came to stand before her—and suddenly bowed his head.