Chapter 111
While Zigmund Hyde wiped the spit from his face with the back of his hand, I kicked him in the gut and broke free from his grip on my collar. My forehead, where it had touched his, felt like bugs crawling over it, so I scrubbed it furiously with my arm.
Just think of it as stepping in something filthy.
I couldn't understand why Zigmund insisted on being a son of a bitch to me, but it didn't matter—I had no intention of dealing with him anymore. That was when I moved to end this ridiculous standoff.
Screeech.
The door to the Hide & Ceek information guild creaked open. For a split second, I thought it might be El, but it wasn't his aura, so I furrowed my brow.
I didn't see that face when I was waiting outside.
That meant he'd entered the guild before El and I arrived. I glanced casually at the man who stepped out, then frowned deeply.
......Tina Kypress?
It was the first thought that hit me when I saw the middle-aged man. Pale lavender hair fading to gray, drooping black eyes. He looked older than Tina, but his face unmistakably resembled hers.
......Disgusting.
There was something about the man's aura that grated on my nerves. Even though his looks weren't bad at all. My already foul mood plummeted to rock bottom as I tried to brush past him and enter the guild.
Chin.
The man, who had been staring in shock at the street torn up from my fight with Zigmund, suddenly grabbed my arm roughly. A surge of impulse to snap his hand nearly overwhelmed me, but I barely suppressed it. As the commoner mercenary Mir, injuring a noble would always put me in the wrong.
I sighed inwardly.
"What is it?"
"You're the mercenary Mir, aren't you?"
His smooth voice grated unpleasantly in my ears. Holding back the urge to radiate killing intent, I turned to face him. Maybe because I hadn't fully reined in my post-battle bloodlust, the man flinched when our eyes met.
"That's me. What do you want?"
"Ah, I've wanted to see your face for a while now."
A chilling smile bloomed on the man's lips.
"You're the bold one who turned down our family's scouting offer five times, aren't you?"
Five times?
I narrowed my eyes. There had been organizations hounding me obsessively since I became a Sword Master, but few had sent scouting requests as many as five times. Hiring a Sword Master required an astronomical salary, and only nobles could afford that. Nobles were proud; few persisted after rejection.
......No way.
A strong suspicion about the man's identity suddenly clicked into place. As I stared at him coldly, he twisted his lips.
"I've been remiss in introducing myself. I'm Paulo Kypress, Viscount of the Kypress Viscountcy."
Paulo Kypress. Tina Kypress's older brother.
How did he appear in the original story?
My head throbbed; I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again. In the original, the Kypress Viscountcy was a one-dimensional villainous faction opposing Diego, so they weren't described in much detail.
He doesn't like me, that's for sure.
I could tell just from Paulo's gaze. He'd started off mocking me for rejecting their scouts anyway. I sighed inwardly.
I don't know the original Paulo Kypress, but I know the rumors about the current one.
He was infamous in high society. I swallowed the nausea rising from his lecherous stare.
"It's a shame...... If you'd joined our family, I might've played with you once or twice."
Paulo Kypress was notorious as high society's playboy, preying on anyone weaker—man, woman, young, or old.
How is my luck this rotten?
Zigmund and now Paulo. Misfortune didn't get much worse. His hand slid down my arm, and I wanted to kick him in the gut and bolt, but I restrained myself and lightly brushed it off.
"I'm grateful for the Kypress Viscountcy's interest, but I have my reasons for not joining any organization, so I had no choice but to decline. I'll be going now."
"Who said you could?"
His hand blocked me again as I tried to enter the building. He'd gripped so hard a normal person would've bruised. I tamped down the fury from his filthy, licking gaze.
"I just want to look at you a bit longer."
Should I kill him?
Maybe because my head was still heated from Zigmund, a violent thought popped up first. As I calculated how long it'd take to punch Paulo's face and run, a voice from behind stopped me.
"Viscount. That's enough."
A seductive baritone rang in my ears. Paulo's face drained of color at the voice. I grimaced at the familiar tone and turned around.
Zigmund. It was him.
He'd wiped the saliva and dirt cleanly from his face and was approaching us. That pristine look pissed me off. At least the bruises and cuts I'd given him marred his pretty-boy face—a small comfort.
Zigmund glanced at me, then smiled at Paulo. A smile like a winter gale that made hairs stand on end curved his lips. Strangely, Zigmund's aura boiled with what seemed like rage.
"We should go now. It's getting late."
Zigmund's attitude toward Paulo was odd. At a glance, he seemed like Paulo's subordinate, but Paulo's tense eyes and Zigmund's icy demeanor toward a superior piqued my instincts.
"Y-yeah. Time to go."
Paulo stammered and hastily released my arm. Fear flickered in his eyes. I narrowed mine and glanced between them.
"You two...... what's your relationship?"
Unable to hold back my curiosity, I asked Paulo. He glanced warily at Zigmund before answering heavily.
"This is...... my guard knight."
Guard knight? That bastard?
I shot Zigmund a glare, and he widened his eyes when they met mine. My mood soured further; I turned away.
That guy's not the type to serve under anyone...... Zigmund was born to dominate. I knew he wasn't the sort to work for someone.
But...... I can't contradict him here.
No evidence, no grounds to argue. I nodded for now.
"Wh-what about you two?"
Paulo asked, looking between Zigmund and me. I scowled, about to say we were nothing, but Zigmund beat me to it.
"We're very close. Probably one of a kind to each other."
This crazy bastard.
I ground my teeth and turned to Zigmund. He grinned provocatively at me.
Losing my temper here would mean defeat.
I inhaled deeply. Clenching my fist to the breaking point, I met his gaze with a chilling smile of my own.
"That's right. A very special relationship."
He was certainly special to me. The only one who could enrage me this much, before or after.
Zigmund blinked slowly at my response. An inscrutable look toward me. Then a formal smile surfaced on his face.
"......It was nice seeing an old friend after so long, but you should head in now. We'll be going."
"Ah, y-yeah."
Paulo scurried to Zigmund's side. No matter how I looked, they didn't seem like lord and guard knight.
"Mir."
A soft voice called me. I didn't turn.
"We'll meet again."
Those last shaking words lingered as their footsteps faded. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying it wouldn't happen.
I had no confidence I wouldn't waver if I saw Zigmund again.
"Mir! Sorry I'm so late. Really sorry. The talk dragged on longer than I thought. I should've told you to come in and sit......"
El emerged from the building shortly after Zigmund and Paulo left. His expression hardened the moment he saw me. His silver eyes glinted under the moonlight.
"......Who did this to you?"
Of course he asked. I couldn't look fine. Even with barriers up, the dirt road where Zigmund and I fought looked bombed out, and my appearance was a mess besides.
A low voice scraped like claws on the deep sea. I saw feet approaching. I ducked my head lower.
I couldn't answer. My voice would crack pitifully.
Whoosh.
Long arms crushed me in an embrace. No time to point out that my dirt-caked clothes were soiling his. Those desperate arms, the thick lily scent numbing my senses, the broad warm chest—they all made me want to cry.
It felt like solace for an utterly exhausting day.
"Tell me. What made you suffer?"
"......It's nothing."
I could only answer like that to El, who asked in a voice I'd softened as much as my ragged throat allowed. Even feeling his aura turn vicious, I couldn't correct myself. It really was nothing. Just some old feeling that had wandered off. I despised my weakness for shaking over something that should've been nothing.
"......I want to crush everything that hurts you."
A strange aura emanated from El. Killing intent so fierce it startled even me. Hearing El—who'd always been angelic to me—speak so roughly for the first time made my body tremble slightly.
"But that would...... just make you suffer more."
His sigh brimmed with worry for me. Tears fell before I could stop them. Blood-red drops trailed down El's shoulder.
I'd thought I was okay, that I'd overcome it all. But touching the wound I'd believed healed made blood surge up again. As if it had never been fine, not even once.
I had to admit it. I was weak. Still unhealed. Tormented by nightmares. I needed arms to lean on.
I—
"......Shh. You don't have to tell me everything. No—you don't have to say anything at all."
El stopped my stammering attempt. He pulled me tighter. I buried my face in his shoulder and sobbed quietly.
"I can't eliminate what makes you cry, but I can comfort you while you do."
El whispered softly, slipping a large hand under my hood to stroke my hair. I was too busy choking back sobs to reply.
"I'm always here. For you alone. I'll be your shoulder to lean on, forever. So......
"......don't cry alone. Come to me. My warmth is always yours. Yours alone, permitted only to you."
His tender coaxing tickled my tear ducts like a feather. I didn't want to cry, wanted to seem strong, but tears fell like blood from an open scar. The gaping wound ached.
"It's okay. I'm right here with you."
Yet El healed my wounds slowly, without even using holy power. Every word from his lips cradled me gently. The boy I'd saved in my youth had grown and was now comforting me.
"It's fine to cry. I'll make sure no one sees."