Trash
“Lord Leo…? Wh-what’s going on?”
Constant harassment from Leo and the other noble cadets had long since trained Aine to speak with careful respect. Unlike the girl she had been at the start of first year, she was already thoroughly cowed.
“What’s going on? Why do you keep opposing me?” Leo’s voice was pure threat.
Not long ago he had put forward the motion to expel Louis Wallenstein from the party. Veronica, Esther, Elin, and Felice had all voted in favor. Only Aine had dug in her heels and refused to the end.
“The heir of House Epsilt is giving an order, and a creature like you dares refuse? A commoner—an orphan with no parents, no less?”
If any of the others had opposed him, Leo would have been irritated, but he could have at least understood it. He would have forced his will through regardless, of course. But a lowborn orphan like Aine daring to stand against him—that truly rankled. It was, in its way, a thoroughly ordinary mindset for a high noble of the Empire.
Even under his pressure, Aine held her ground.
“Hmph. You think that’ll scare m—kyaah!”
Slap.
Leo struck her across the face without hesitation the moment she bared her teeth at him—something she never did. Still Aine showed no sign of breaking. Because the person at stake was not just anyone. It was Louis Wallenstein.
Louis Wallenstein, heir of the traitorous Wallenstein family, pointed at and despised by everyone. Aine, a parentless commoner who had barely scraped into the academy. Both of them were outcasts among the other cadets. It was only natural they had grown close from the first semester onward. Kindred spirits, perhaps. Louis and Aine had become the closest of friends.
Especially Louis. Every time Leo tormented her—every time packs of noble brats tried the same—he had stood in their way. Aine had found that fearless stance dazzling. In the end, as long as Louis was around, the other students left her alone. Watching him defy a duke’s heir for her sake, it was only natural she had fallen for him.
Of course she never let it show. At the academy their circumstances were similar enough for friendship, yet Louis was still the heir of a count’s house. She would remain a commoner orphan even after graduation. There were commoners who graduated with brilliant records and made names for themselves, but coldly assessed, Aine possessed no such talent. Afraid that revealing her feelings might destroy even the friendship they had, she stayed simply a close friend.
Time passed. She learned her older sister was ill. Outside of class she worked constantly; the hours she spent with Louis dwindled to almost nothing. Again and again she considered telling him about her sister’s condition, considered asking for even a little help. But the moment she asked to borrow money, she felt their relationship would shatter. Besides, Louis had no money either. He was always joking that he was broke, and their fellow party members Leo and Veronica regularly called him a beggar. The gossip Aine overheard confirmed that House Wallenstein had well and truly fallen. The sum required for treatment at the Church was, to her, an astronomical fortune. She had no idea what a noble’s household finances looked like or how large that sum would seem to them, so she could not bring herself to ask.
More than anything, Louis’s personality had changed lately. Around her he still tried to act like his old self, yet somehow he had grown far sharper and more negative. The fault lay with Felice, Veronica, and the rest of the party, of course—and with Aine herself, whose work had reduced their time together until things no longer felt the same. They still cared for each other, but it was into that fragile distance that Leo had dropped the expulsion motion.
Aine had naturally opposed it. And so today Leo had come looking for her.
Even after the slap she had no intention of yielding. But Leo Epsilt was the heir of a ducal house. There were any number of ways to settle the matter without dirtying his own hands. He clicked his tongue in irritation, pulled a pouch from his coat, and tossed it onto the floor.
“Wh-what is this?”
“Tch… Vote to expel that Louis bastard and it’s yours. More money than a filthy orphan like you could ever imagine.”
The words were pure humiliation; she wanted nothing more than to snap back that he could keep his jokes. But at that exact moment her sister’s face rose before her eyes. Glaring at Leo, Aine carefully opened the pouch—and nearly dropped it.
With this much… Sister could get treatment.
And to get it, she would have to betray Louis.
I can’t do that…
Her eyes darted as she searched for a way out.
“Just a little time to think—”
What if she simply told Louis everything? Then maybe—
Leo cut her off.
“Decide right now. Do you intend to waste any more of my time?” He added, almost casually, “Refuse, and things get annoying—but I’ll manage. I’ll pull some strings upstairs and have you expelled.”
Aine began to tremble. Whether it was empty threat or real possibility, she had no way of knowing. In the end only one answer was possible in that place. She nodded.
Afterward she had no idea how to face Louis. Especially since unavoidable circumstances had already begun to put distance between them. His temper had grown fouler; her work kept them from walking together the way they used to. While she was still only fretting, the matter exploded. If Louis had confronted her, she would have told him the whole truth and begged forgiveness somehow. He never did.
The day he was expelled from the party, the sad look he gave her finally made her understand.
What have I done?
From that day on she hovered around him constantly. She needed to apologize. She simply could not find the words. Even though it had been for her sister’s sake, how was she supposed to say she had taken money to betray him? The deed could not be undone; an apology now would sound like nothing but an excuse. And if he heard the reason, would he come to despise her? Those fears kept her circling him without ever managing to say she was sorry. If only he would get angry first—then she would pour out everything. While she dithered like that, summer vacation arrived.
Right. Sister’s treatment comes first.
The cathedral in the capital was enormous.
“Wow…”
“Wow…”
The sisters breathed the same awed word. Then Ria coughed up blood again, and Aine hurried her inside.
High Priest Will Harding of the Church was on his way to treat a patient who had come to the temple. A high priest’s personal treatment cost a fortune—far beyond what any commoner could dream of. At first the patient’s clothing had made him suspicious. Then he saw the guardian beside her.
“Please, Holy Father!”
The academy uniform she wore settled his doubts. A cadet of Helon Academy as guardian made the payment believable. The girl in the uniform handed over the exact sum. So Will did what he always did: he poured his full concentration into the healing magic, exactly as he would for any other patient.
“May the blessing of Goddess Aria be upon you.”
Holy light flared across Ria’s body. Tears welled in Aine’s eyes at the thought that her sister would finally be well. At last the light faded. Will wiped his brow and began,
“It is finished. The Goddess—”
He never finished the sentence. He stared at Ria in disbelief. Her complexion was still deathly pale.
“Wh… what?”
A vacant sound escaped Will’s lips. Ria coughed again.
“Cough—!”
Blood sprayed. Aine’s face went blank with shock.
“S-Sister?”
“Impossible…” Will muttered.
He had healed men with severed legs, people whose entrails were spilling out, patients whose entire bodies were rotting from disease. So why—?
“H-Holy Father! What’s happening?!” Aine clung to him. Will had no answer. The surrounding priests and nuns began to murmur uneasily.
“What in the world…”
Then a deep voice cut through the noise.
“What is this commotion?”
Everyone turned. An older high priest, clearly senior to Will, stood there—and with him, the Saintess. Esther Kalt.
“Ah, Your Reverence.”
One of the priests hurried over and explained everything that had just occurred. The senior high priest’s eyes narrowed. This was bad. A single treatment from a high priest commanded an enormous fee. If word spread that it had no effect, the consequences would be severe.
“H-Holy Father? Something must have gone wrong, right?” Aine’s voice shook. That money—every last coin she had received for betraying Louis. It could not be useless.
The elderly high priest answered coldly.
“The treatment was completed properly. Leave now.”
“Holy Father…” Will Harding opened his mouth, certain this was wrong, but the older man cut him off.
“Ah. Occasionally the healing fails to take hold in those whose faith in the Goddess is shallow… or in atheists.”
A blatant lie. But he had already checked Ria’s clothing. These people would never be able to press the matter.
“N-No! Please!” Aine dropped to her knees and begged the priests who moved to drag them out. It did no good. In desperation she turned to Esther. They had been party members, after all.
“Lady Esther, please…”
If her sister was not healed here, there was no hope left. Tears streamed down Aine’s face as she pleaded. But Esther had just heard the priest’s words about shallow faith. Looking down on the two of them with pure contempt, she said,
“Trash. You don’t even believe in the Goddess, yet you wanted healing? Throw them out at once.”
In the end the sisters were forcibly dragged outside. Aine stared blankly at the firmly shut doors of the cathedral.
“…Cough.”
A cough rose in her own throat. She covered her mouth on reflex. When she opened her hand, a faint smear of blood stained her palm. She wiped it carelessly on her clothes and looked at her sister. Ria must have been hoping too. Tear tracks marked her face as well. Without a word Ria simply pulled Aine into her arms. The two sisters held each other and wept in silence.