Don't Go Too Far
"You're not going to summon them?"
"That's right."
Nina lifted herself a little and looked at Adrian.
"It seems fairly certain the Bright Iron is there, so it ought to make good leverage in a negotiation. Finding it will take time, though..."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Nina sprawled across his lap again. "Well. Leave it with you, Young Master, and there's nothing to worry about."
Adrian wound one of her twin braids around his fingers and his wrist. When she turned, the smooth hair slipped free.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
He answered with a perfectly blank face. Nina gathered her hair in both hands, smoothed it down, and spoke as if she were offering sensible advice.
"You can't go alone."
"I know that much. I'll take Louis and some soldiers. While I'm there, I want to find the Bright Iron too."
"Sir Louis, me, and the soldiers should be plenty."
"Did I say your name just now?"
"You're planning to leave me behind?"
"Yes."
"What? Leave your Nina behind? Don't be ridiculous."
Nina shot upright, and Adrian said, "You have something tomorrow."
"What do I have tomorrow? I don't have anything!"
"Tomorrow is the day we select the Black Knights."
"Ugh, we could put it off a day..."
"Some of them have been waiting since a week ago."
"They can manage that much patience..."
"Armed men wandering about are making the people below the castle uneasy."
"Even so, for you to go alone..."
"I won't be alone."
"Leaving only me."
"I'm leaving Jin with you too."
At each answer that came back, Nina pouted. She flopped face-down on the sofa, pretending to cry.
"I only ever think of you, Young Master, and all you think about is leaving me behind. You don't care about someone like me at all, do you?"
She blurted the rest out in a sullen rush. "The truth is, you find me a nuisance, don't you? You're trying to send me far away, aren't you? That was mean. Really mean."
Adrian went perfectly still. Nina kept her face buried in the sofa.
He reached out, brushed her cheek, then slid his hand lower and lifted her chin. Something in the air had turned dangerous, so Nina squeezed her eyes shut and refused to open them.
"Nina La Del."
The voice that called her was unexpectedly sweet, and warm. That was how she knew she had made a serious mistake.
"I don't care?"
Nina cracked her eyes open, but her gaze stayed fixed on a stubborn diagonal somewhere below him.
"Shall I show you just how much I care?"
She tried to ease her head back. Adrian didn't let go.
"No..."
When she answered in a small voice, he whispered, "Look at me when you say it."
"That's..."
Certain that meeting his eyes would be a little frightening, Nina kept her gaze pinned elsewhere.
"Why? Weren't you trying to watch me lose my mind?"
Her eyes snapped to him.
"There. Now you're looking."
He let her go and lightly stroked her hair. For a moment Nina lost every word she had. She stammered, then managed, "Adrian."
"What?"
"...Never mind."
She let out a long sigh and shook her head.
Adrian's pink eyes rested quietly on her. Unlike Nina's golden ones, which danced like sunlight glittering across a lake, his were as still as almond blossoms holding the moonlight in the dead of night.
Nina met that gaze, then looked away and rose.
"I'll go."
"All right."
When she had left, Adrian sighed and got to his feet. For an instant something had surged up in him, and now he wondered if he had gone too far.
But Nina was different from everyone else. Words like those burned in him at once. A remark that would have meant nothing from any other mouth caught like a thorn the moment it left hers, and he could not shake it free.
Bang!
The door flew open with a crash. He turned on reflex, and Nina, who had come running like a flash of light, seized both his shoulders.
"Ugh—"
The force of his turn collided with the force holding him still, and a groan slipped out of him before he could stop it. Of course, Nina's strength was terrifying. He never actually managed to turn.
"Adrian."
She pressed her forehead to his back. "I know you care about me. A great deal. I know you even worry about caring too much, because that would make things uncomfortable."
"...Nina."
"You're precious to me too, so I care just as much. I was teasing, but I'm sorry I said it like that."
There are words you must not say, precisely because you are close. And there are words you must say, precisely because you are close.
The tension left Adrian's shoulders. He tried to look back, but Nina would not let him go.
"I know."
Nina lifted her head. One last time she hugged him tight from behind, then let go.
"Then I'll be going, Young Master."
At the bright voice, Adrian turned. Nina flashed him a grin and left the room.
He watched the door she had gone through, then dropped his gaze to the chessboard.
"If you call me, I'll come running even if it turns the whole world against me."
He knew.
But—
Don't go too far.
Jin combed his hair back. He wanted it sleek and close against his head, but the wire-stiff strands refused to do as they were told.
"Damn it. Seriously."
The rough curse burst out of him. Muttering, he fought to pin his hair into something presentable. When he swept it back with a damp comb, it held well enough. In the Imperial Capital, he had heard, people used something called hair oil. Maybe he ought to buy some of that.
He was checking himself in the mirror from every angle when the door opened.
"Jin! Jin!"
"Could you knock before you open the door?"
Jin sighed at her, and Nina quietly shut the door again.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Nina opened the door with a foolish grin, a long coat in one hand.
The Black Knights' uniforms were all black cloth worked with silver thread. The captain's, however, was trimmed in gold, so anyone could tell at a glance who held the post. Nina held that long coat up.
"I don't know where this goes."
Jin looked at the narrow triangular piece of cloth in her hand and sighed. "It buttons on behind the collar. You use it when you stand the collar up."
"Oh."
"Give it here."
He held out his hand, and Nina quickly passed him the coat. His fingers worked fast, fastening the button.
"You wearing it, or just throwing it over your shoulders?"
"I've already got the jacket on, so over the shoulders today, I guess."
Jin crooked a finger for her to come closer. Nina laughed and turned her back to him at once.
He fixed the coat to the shoulders of her jacket, undid the waist strap and tucked it into a coat pocket, then spun her around and straightened the jacket as well.
"Good. All done."
"Do I look like a captain?"
"You do."
Jin snorted a laugh, looked her up and down, then squinted hard. "Seriously. You think it's fine to tie your boots that sloppily?"
"I left in a hurry..."
When Nina quietly looked away, Jin heaved a deliberately loud sigh, scooped her up, and set her on a tall stool. Then he undid her laces and tied them tight again.
Nina looked at his hair, tamed for once. She wanted to stroke the red strands, but she didn't dare ruin a style he had finally managed.
"All tied."
"Thanks, Jin."
When she answered so meekly, Jin laughed.
"You're only well-behaved at times like this."
He looked up at her. The steady stare made her self-conscious.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing. Our Nina's all grown up."