Grant Me a Wish
The academy accepted commoners if they had enough talent, but most of the students came from noble families.
As a result, it wasn’t unusual for noble children who couldn’t stand dorm life to build private villas on the academy grounds.
Little by little, those villas formed a district of their own, and people came to call the place Royal Road.
And now.
In the garden of the most extravagant villa on Royal Road, a girl asked her knight, “How did it go?”
“The duel has been set for tomorrow night.”
“What?”
Princess Rosalyn Everhart frowned as if she’d just heard something ridiculous.
“What kind of duel happens at night?”
“The other side asked for that time, so I accepted.”
“Do you not think about me at all? If I stay up late, my skin will be ruined!”
“Then sleep well. I’m told the other young lady won’t be attending the duel either.”
“What kind of nonsense is that now?”
At Hate’s answer, Rosalyn looked less bewildered than genuinely offended by the stupidity of it all.
Wasn’t she the one who cared for that blind butler so much?
Wasn’t that why she’d gone in person and bowed her head?
And yet she herself wasn’t going to show up for a duel that would decide that butler’s life?
By Rosalyn’s standards, it was utterly incomprehensible.
“I don’t understand.”
“Then shall I cancel it? Night duels are a pain for me too, to be honest.”
“No. Proceed.”
She could forgive plenty of things, but not that butler bastard.
“How dare he call me a, a—”
“A sow.”
“Y-Yes! Exactly! How could I ever forgive someone who called me that!”
Rosalyn’s face heated up again at the memory.
The more she thought about it, the more insulting it became.
Watching her, Hate said in a flat voice, “He’s a poor guy who can’t even see. Couldn’t you let it slide once?”
“You just don’t want to duel, do you?”
“……”
Apparently struck in the weak spot, Hate avoided Rosalyn’s gaze and only whistled.
Seeing that, Rosalyn couldn’t shake the thought, This is my escort knight?
If she were honest with herself, she would have loved to replace him with another knight, but she couldn’t.
Hate’s skill was the real thing.
Finding a knight who could replace him would not be easy.
Rosalyn left Hate to his pointless distractions, sipped her tea, and waited for tomorrow night to come.
She imagined the butler who had insulted her pleading for his life with tears streaming down his face.
Heh.
Just thinking about it made her laugh.
***
“Achoo!”
Was somebody talking behind my back?
I couldn’t stop sneezing.
Do I have a cold?
I touched my forehead just to be safe, but it didn’t feel hot at all.
Guess I was imagining things.
Honestly, that was a relief.
Tomorrow was the duel. Catching a cold right now would be a real disaster.
Haa…
I hadn’t gone to training today.
That was Derick’s call, telling me to conserve my condition for tomorrow’s duel.
Come to think of it, the past few days had been nothing but brutal training.
I could afford to rest a little.
So I was taking it easy in my room when I opened my status window to sort through everything I’d gained so far.
[Evasion (A+)] [Tea Party (C)] [Cooking (D)] [Swordsmanship (E)] [Mana (E)] [Core (2-Star)]
Thanks to the elixir Bella had given me, my proficiency had risen quickly, and my skills were growing at a ridiculous pace.
Basic Swordsmanship had finally dropped the “basic” and grown into Swordsmanship, and Core had also advanced to 2-star.
It was a shame that Mana hadn’t improved, but considering how much I’d grown in such a short time, it was nothing short of a miracle.
There was no way I would have come this far on my own.
“I can’t lose.”
I’d gotten this far because everyone had helped me.
If I lost after receiving that much support, I wouldn’t have the face to look any of them in the eye.
That was when I made up my mind.
Thud. Thud.
Someone knocked on my door.
The presence outside was Bella.
“Bella? What is it?”
“The young lady is calling for you.”
Medeia?
“I’ll be right there.”
I followed Bella outside.
She didn’t say a word as we walked down the corridor.
Before long, we arrived at the garden, where the faint scent of flowers drifted through the air.
Medeia was waiting there for me.
“I’ll be taking my leave now. Please, go see the young lady.”
Bella bowed quietly and withdrew, as naturally as if this were not her place to stand.
Medeia, who was looking at me from the center of the garden, said irritably, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming over? Do you plan to keep me waiting?”
At her urging, I hurried over to her.
“You’re late.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d call for me all of a sudden.”
“I didn’t say that to hear an apology.”
Medeia sat at the table in the middle of the garden and looked at me.
She kept looking.
As if she were trying to carve my figure into her memory.
…
…
An awkward silence passed between us.
It was Medeia who broke it first.
“Are you just going to stand there blankly? Pour me some tea.”
“Of course.”
With practiced motions, I poured hot water into the cup and let the leaves steep.
The tea brewed by my Tea Party (C) skill tasted every bit as good as anything a master could make.
But Medeia’s expression remained stiff as she drank.
“Is it not to your liking?”
“No.”
Having said that, Medeia kept drinking her tea.
Even so, her gaze never left me.
“Kael.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Take off the blindfold.”
Why did she suddenly want me to do that?
I didn’t understand, but if Medeia wanted it, taking off my blindfold wasn’t difficult.
Slither…
At her command, I loosened the blindfold I almost never removed.
Then Medeia rose from her seat and came toward me.
Closer. Very close.
Before I knew it, her face was near enough that it seemed to touch mine.
In that breathless distance, Medeia whispered, “Beautiful.”
“Pardon?”
“I said your eyes are beautiful.”
“...Is that so?”
“Yes. So beautiful it’s almost enviable. If I’m being honest, I’d like to dig your eyes out and swap them with mine.”
What a gruesome joke.
…
Was it a joke?
For a second, a chill ran down my spine.
“I’m joking.”
“Right.”
“Probably?”
“……”
“Pfft.”
Medeia burst out laughing.
“Ahahaha!”
She laughed loud and hard.
I had no idea what was so funny, honestly.
I waited for her laughter to subside.
“Ahaha…”
Finally, Medeia’s laughter softened.
She was still standing right in front of me.
Then she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“M-My lady!”
“Shh.”
Her voice struck directly at my ear.
“Stay still. Kael. That’s an order.”
…
So I remained there, trapped in Medeia’s embrace, for a long time.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
I could hear her heartbeat, irregular and restless.
Haah, haah…
Her breath brushed past my ear.
For a growing boy, that kind of stimulation was a little too intense to handle.
“M-My lady. You should let go now…”
Grip!
Instead of answering, Medeia held me even tighter.
“No. Just a little longer, like this.”
In the end, I didn’t get free until she was fully satisfied.
“Are you satisfied now?”
At my question, Medeia shook her head.
“Not enough. I need more.”
…
Before I knew it, I’d taken a step back.
At the sight of that, Medeia’s brows twitched, but I couldn’t help it.
If I wasn’t careful, I might cross the line first.
“Kael.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Tomorrow, then. The duel.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you set it for night? You knew I couldn’t go.”
“Because if I want to win, it has to be at night.”
When night came, my sight would return.
At the same time, my sixth sense would also awaken.
If I was going to beat Hate, I needed to use every card I had, so the duel had been set for night naturally.
Medeia crossed her arms tightly around herself and said, “I’m scared.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“That when I wake up, you’ll be dead, Kael.”
“I won’t die.”
“That doesn’t reassure me.”
“Hmm… then how about this?”
“What?”
“If I come back alive, grant me one wish.”
“A wish?”
“Yes. If my lady agrees to grant my wish, I’ll come back alive just so I can make it come true.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Medeia gave a small, humorless laugh.
Just one wish.
And yet that was enough.
“What kind of wish are you going to ask for?”
“If I tell you now, it won’t be fun.”
“It’s not going to be something weird, is it?”
“What if it is?”
…
Had I gotten too cocky?
Medeia looked at me without saying a word.
Then, with a faint snort of laughter, she said, “I don’t care. I’ll grant it. Whatever it is… but come back alive. If you don’t, I’ll curse you.”
“That’s a little scary.”
“Then don’t die, Kael.”
With that, Medeia left the garden.
Left alone, I stood there until the scent of flowers had completely faded.