The Young Lady and I (2)
Eclipse stuffed her tiny mouth full of food. “R-really, I never imagined I’d be able to eat something like this… Thank you so much, my lady…”
‘To make that kind of ecstatic face over something so simple…’
She was the only character in the original game who could be chosen as either male or female. So if a man had acted like that, I would have called it gluttonous. But in this world, Eclipse existed as the female protagonist.
I had always played as a female character. Could it be that my play history had been reflected here? Well, it wasn’t impossible.
‘…In that case, I’ll treat Eclipse as a girl. Instead of calling her gluttonous, let’s just say she’s a bit sloppy in an adorable way.’
At the entrance ceremony, I had no choice but to be strict. We had both decided to set aside the minor grudges from the days when I used to knock her on the head whenever she fell short of the standard.
Anyway, the young lady seemed to think she finally had a place to spend money after a long time. Without hesitation, she gladly bought everything Eclipse wanted to eat. As expected of the Grand Ducal House—the scale of their spending was on another level.
“Eclipse, you should hold the teacup with only your thumb and index finger. It looks prettier if you don’t use your whole mouth.”
“Ah, is that so…! As expected of the Grand Duke’s daughter. You’re so knowledgeable. I-I had no idea…”
She even gently taught her basic etiquette. In noble society, such behavior might cause a scandal, but since Eclipse was a commoner, it was only natural she didn’t know. The young lady spoke to her with the utmost gentleness, as if speaking to a younger sister—no, more like a daughter.
What incredible “maman” energy.
“It’s noble etiquette, so it would have been stranger if she tried to hide it. What a cute child…”
“Y-yes?! Thank you…”
But honestly, this kind of distance between them didn’t sit well with me.
Could it be that while I was gone… Eclipse had become the young lady’s favorite doll? Why was she using the word “child” for Eclipse—the term she had only ever used for me?
Why, exactly?
“…H-hiiik!!”
Suddenly, Eclipse looked at my face and flinched in shock. Fortunately, she didn’t spill her tea, but her reaction was dramatic enough to make me wonder what was so surprising.
“…Is there a bug on me, Eclipse?”
But instead of her, the young lady answered with a small laugh.
“Yohan. It seems your expression was quite frightening.”
“What are you suddenly talking about? It’s the same as usual.”
“After watching you for years, do you really think I wouldn’t recognize when you’re sulking?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t sulking.”
In truth, the young lady’s guess was correct. Deep down, I had worked hard and returned, only to find I couldn’t monopolize her time. It was a little—very slightly—disappointing. But to think it had shown on my face.
‘It looks like I still have a long way to go.’
Feeling such petty jealousy.
…But if I were to be completely honest.
From a distance, the sight of the young lady taking care of Eclipse was rather pleasant to watch. What I wanted was for her to live a happy life. That was the only thing.
So for me, it was a good thing that the young lady had gained a friend other than myself, wasn’t it? It was far better than the way things had been in the training grounds earlier, where no one would get involved with her and no one would approach her.
With that, I folded away my slightly sour feelings.
“…Eclipse.”
“Y-yes, Sir Yohan!!!”
“Thank you for approaching the young lady first.”
Even if my mouth was twisted, I had to speak the truth. Among those truths was praise for the effort she had made, regardless of how burdensome it might feel to her.
Apparently she hadn’t expected me to compliment her. Eclipse’s eyes gradually widened, sparkling, and she spoke with excitement.
“N-not at all…! This was all for the sake of training with the sword!!! But I couldn’t help but be moved by the warm heart the young lady shows, and I ended up developing a human fondness for her!!!”
Her tone had gotten quite stiff now. Just what kind of person did Eclipse think I was inside her head?
“You’re really strict with your classmate.”
Eclipse only scratched her cheek lightly in response.
“W-well… Sir Yohan is the top student of the 65th class, the distinguished knight and practitioner of the distinguished Lady Karalin, a cool wanderer, and an upright… Hup.”
…Wait. Something strange just slipped in there.
But the young lady, unaware of the full context, simply gave a generous smile at Eclipse’s attitude.
At the same time, however, one question began to rise within me.
‘…Now that I think about it, was there a route in the original game where Eclipse clung to Lady Karalin like this?’
In my memory, there had been no such thing. Normally, Eclipse would gather a few students around her and start various activities with what was commonly called the “Eclipse Neighborhood Watch Patrol.” But the Eclipse I had seen here rarely got close to other characters.
‘Looking at it now, it seems like this is the first time she’s cozying up to us…’
If so, then the first connection the protagonist had built was clearly with Karalin.
But in the original story, Lady Karalin at this point would have been completely broken. She was a character lost in depression and paranoia, always bowing her head in the cathedral. So it had been impossible to even speak to her. Naturally, becoming friends with Karalin or unlocking her individual route had been impossible…
That was why players had always shared reactions like “Please add a Grand Duke’s Daughter route,” or “Is there no way to save her?”
When I thought about it carefully, there was only one reason things had turned out this way.
‘It’s all because of me.’
If I hadn’t been here, the young lady would have been destroyed just like in the original story, and Eclipse would never have dared to approach her.
On the surface, it was a truly good thing… but if that was the case, was it really okay for Eclipse to stay like this?
‘…If she gets involved with us, strange rumors will definitely spread that she’s siding with the Northerners.’
It seemed Eclipse had noticed my suspicious gaze. She shoved the rest of her dessert into her mouth and spoke up energetically.
“B-by the way… both of you…”
“Hm?”
“Um, would it be all right if I visited you often from now on…?”
It seemed Lady Karalin was thinking something similar to me. When our complicated feelings pierced her eyes, Eclipse shook her head vigorously and strongly denied it.
“Ah, it’s not for any other purpose! This is purely my sincere goodwill…!”
‘No. Go play with the other kids. If you get buried with us Northerners, you’ll never be able to gather a party to save the world.’
I was about to firmly express my strong refusal, but the young lady—who I thought was on my side—drew the line before I could.
“No. If you become close with me and Yohan, others may not like it, Eclipse.”
Lady Karalin had directly spoken the proposition that all of us had deliberately avoided because it was uncomfortable for everyone!
“…G-Grand Duke’s daughter! Anything but that!”
But Eclipse did not back down. I knew she wasn’t the type to retreat just because of such words, but I hadn’t expected her to charge in so openly.
“…Hm?”
When the young lady looked puzzled, Eclipse declared confidently.
“At least the lady I’ve seen is this kind and beautiful…! You’re someone far too noble for someone like me to even speak to, yet you accept my childish behavior so well…”
She fidgeted with her fingers.
“And Sir Yohan is a bit—no, quite—scary… but at least I know he’s not a bad person…”
Oh, is that so.
“You’re still scared of me. I’m sorry about what happened before.”
“No, no! We can’t go off on a tangent! That’s not the important part!!”
Eclipse waved her hands and took a deep breath. What she said next was something with surprisingly firm conviction.
“What I mean is, at least the two of you that I’ve seen are good people… Just because someone is a Northerner, or has a past worth teasing, it doesn’t mean people who dislike them are right. Those people are the bad ones.”
With a solemn resolve, she continued.
“I’d rather be hated by everyone than become friends with people like that!! If nothing else, I believe I’m right about this one thing.”
“Oh ho, so that’s what you think.”
When I looked at her with interest, Eclipse trembled. She seemed embarrassed now that she had said it out loud.
“U-uwahhh…!! I said it—!!”
“What do you think about this, my lady?”
“…Ufufu, she really is a kind and good child.”
The young lady gazed at Eclipse with eyes dripping with honey. But even so, what couldn’t be done couldn’t be done. She clearly drew the boundary between them.
“Thank you for saying that, but our affairs must remain our own.”
“Hng…”
“However, I will always remember that heart of yours.”
Eclipse’s face brightened noticeably, but then she asked,
“Th-thank you, my lady…!! Then, would it be okay if I sparred with Sir Yohan again sometime…?”
“Haa…”
“I won’t. It was presumptuous of me. I apologize.”
When I let out a sigh, she seemed to concede at least one step. It was a peaceful afternoon tea time.
After the tea time with Eclipse ended, the young lady and I walked back to the dormitory. She walked ahead of me with her hands clasped behind her back, not showing her face. I followed her graceful, dignified steps like a shadow trailing behind.
While reporting on recent events, I said,
“…And so, Rorschach has gained a new ability. With this, it should be enough to neutralize everything we need to be wary of.”
The young lady greatly praised my hard work.
“You’ve worked hard. And you even resolved poor Cryan’s matter so well… Incredible.”
But suddenly, the emotion I had felt back then resurfaced. You know, that moment when my heart had weakened in front of Cryan? I had found a photograph instead of a conch shell—could I really show her something like that? If the young lady had gone through the same thing, would I have been able to show it to her so dryly…?
‘Probably not. I absolutely couldn’t have.’
That was why I wanted to tell her about this feeling.
“While handling all those things, I suddenly thought of you deeply, my lady. I missed you terribly.”
At my rather clichéd words, she stopped walking for a moment.
“……Ugh.”
She seemed about to turn around but stopped… and continued walking while looking up at the sky.
‘…What is it?’
Did I say something wrong?
“You thought of me?”
“Yes. I am always thinking of you.”
“…Hmm. What kind of thoughts, specifically?”
Why was she asking something so embarrassing instead of just listening…? She wasn’t usually like this.
I was flustered, but I continued with what I had intended to say.
“If you had been in that situation, I would have naturally stepped forward to help you. That is what I thought.”
“Ah, so that’s what you meant…”
Hmm. She sounded somewhat disappointed… It was a conversation where I couldn’t quite read her intentions. Maybe it was just my imagination, but the young lady continued speaking as if disappointed.
“For you to think that way… Really, it feels like I owe you far too much.”
‘…That’s not true.’
To her words, what I had to bring out was, of course, denial. The order of things had been reversed. It wasn’t that I was making her owe me. I was the one repaying a debt.
“No. This is the meaning of my existence. It was decided the day you picked me up, my lady.”
“……I see. So it’s loyalty—”
With that, the young lady simply continued walking in silence. But that quiet did not last long. As if she had something to reveal, she spoke to me in a solemn voice.
“While you were working hard in the Bruised City, I thought about you a lot too.”
“Really? What kind of thoughts?”
“Thoughts about how I could be of the greatest help to you in dealing with Vankaite…”
Could it be that she had come up with some excellent scheme? If so, it was worth considering. The young lady’s schemes had never once been in vain.
“Your very existence is already a glorious help, but…”
Still, I added some flowery words here. Hoping she would at least recognize a fraction of my feelings.
“Hehe… You fool…”
The young lady, who seemed slightly cheered up, laughed. But the next words that fell made my heart sink.
“I was thinking of erasing the memories of the strategy meeting we had regarding the forest training.”
“…Pardon?”
Wait. What did that mean?
“We’re so alike it’s almost the same. As you know, I’m not very good at acting.”
“…My lady?”
“So I thought—if we erase the memory of us sharing that strategy, my reactions would become genuine for the cautious Vankaite.”
There was no room for hesitation. Without realizing it, I grabbed the young lady’s clasped hands and pulled her back.
“Y-Yohan?”
My hand was trembling slightly.
“The hand holding mine right now… is yours, right?”
“You must not, my lady.”
Perhaps this was the complete reverse of that day when she had said she would die in front of me and stroked my head. But this could not be allowed. For the exact same reason she had given back then…
Because I could clearly see what would happen if she did that, my heart would not permit it.
Damn it.