Chapter 46: The First Letter (46)
Chapter 46: The First Letter (46)
Pale moonlight seeped through the cracks in the window. The soft orange light flickered as if tickled, casting dancing shadows against the walls.
A woman who resembled the sun sat against that ethereal backdrop. With brilliant golden hair and red eyes reminiscent of rubies, her beauty shone even in the blurring hours of the night.
Her allure was of a quality better described as sensual. Looking as though she would never lose her presence anywhere, she sipped fragrant wine with a mysterious smile.
Even the movement of her throat as she swallowed the wine was beautiful. There were only two people in the room, a man and a woman drinking together; under normal circumstances, one could assume what was to follow.
However, the woman was the only one projecting such a suggestive atmosphere.
My eyes were fixed on her, frozen. My mind was a mess.
What did I just hear?
I had my suspicions. If it hadn't been for an inexplicable certainty that this might be the case, I wouldn't have even brought it up. It was an act that crossed the successor of the Yurdina family. Naturally, I needed that much resolve before making a judgment.
Even so, I couldn't easily open my mouth for a while. My throat was parched, but the only wine glass available was the one the woman had offered.
So, I chose to endure the thirst. A cracked voice escaped my throat.
"Just... why...?"
"Is there a reason I shouldn't have?"
Senior Delphine looked at me with an enigmatic smile. Her nonchalant attitude flustered me even more.
Didn't you say it was a pity?
To Seria, the memories involving her mother—and the nightmare-like memory of that one day—were like a thorn embedded long ago. Even if she thought she had forgotten, even if she thought she had grown calloused and no longer felt the pain, a frost-like agony would suddenly strike her out of the blue.
No matter if she was her half-sister, Delphine had no right. Poking at someone else's most painful wound was something that simply shouldn't be done.
Thus, I arrived at a very basic question. My eyes darkened slightly.
"Yes, there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn't. No, they're more than plenty; they're overflowing."
At my heavy voice, Senior Delphine let out a short laugh and turned her gaze toward the window.
Her eyes sparkled, reflecting the dim night view. As if the conversation we were having was worth less than the scenery, she spoke in a languid voice.
"Is it necessary?"
"...Pardon?"
Unable to grasp the intent behind that brief question, I let my confusion show. Senior Delphine's blood-red eyes turned back toward me.
"Those reasons. I'm asking if they're necessary."
"Of course they're necess—!"
"No, they aren't."
Cutting off my outburst, Senior Delphine slowly stood up. She drained the remaining wine in her glass and set it down with a sharp clack.
The rustle of her gown, her art-like physique, and the sweet scent of wine tickled the tip of my nose. My head spun.
Leaning slightly against the table in a seductive pose, she said to me, "Hand Axe Young Master, generally speaking, when we ask if something is 'necessary'... we are asking whether it is useful for achieving victory or not."
"...Then digging into the matter of Seria's mother helps you achieve victory?"
At my words, spat out through gritted teeth, Senior Delphine wore a faint smile. No answer came, but that was an answer in itself.
After admiring my fierce gaze for a moment, she straightened her body from the desk. She walked toward the window with graceful steps.
Her front was reflected dimly in the clean glass. Even there, her face was perfectly serene.
"The successors of the Yurdina family have entered the Academy since a very long time ago. It's the same for any of the Empire's Five Great Noble Families. And our family has a tradition."
"Instigating the bullying of your half-sister?"
Even at my sharp mockery, Senior Delphine's relaxed expression did not crumble. She rested her hand on the window frame.
Naturally, her upper body leaned forward, and from my position glaring at her back, her lower body became emphasized.
Her slender legs, the smooth curve of her hips, and the tantalizing silhouette of her buttocks revealed through the thin gown.
There could be no better sight to bewitch a man. However, I did not turn my eyes away, nor did I clear my throat.
I simply glared at her fiercely, my brow furrowed. Judging my reaction in her own way, Senior Delphine glanced back and chuckled.
Whether it was because she found me pathetic or cute.
Either way, it was clear she didn't find me particularly threatening. Senior Delphine nonchalantly brought up a topic.
"The Hunting Festival."
"...What?"
I hadn't expected to hear that word again, and I immediately frowned. But Senior Delphine continued in a low voice, as if stating a very obvious fact.
"Winning the Hunting Festival. That is the Yurdina tradition."
"Then you can just go ahead and do it."
"Yes, I will. But making sure my poor sister doesn't dream futile dreams is also a part of an older sister's role, isn't it?"
I kept my mouth shut. Only then did I begin to understand her thoughts a little.
Seria considered this year's Hunting Festival her last chance. This was the result of several complex factors.
The fact that Senior Delphine was a fourth-year, the gap between the legitimate heir and the lowborn, and the Yurdina family tradition.
Seria wanted to prove herself that much. That she was a proud member of the Yurdina family, a useful human being. That she didn't want to be afraid anymore.
But once Senior Delphine found out about this, she would have wanted to reduce the variables as much as possible.
Since she seemed obsessed with victory, she would have wanted to eliminate even the slightest possibility.
After a moment of thought, biting my lip, I asked Senior Delphine, "So you even touched upon the matter of Seria's mother for that?"
"No, that part is a misunderstanding. I only wanted to create an atmosphere where it would be difficult for Seria to gather capable teammates. But somehow, the story started circulating like that."
With that, Senior Delphine turned her back to the window again. She sat lightly on the windowsill, looking down at me with a faint smile.
I didn't like that. A heated voice scraped past my vocal cords.
"Then you should have stopped it, even if it was late...!"
However, even at my threatening tone, the composure never left Senior Delphine's face. She even burst into laughter.
"Pfft, ahahaha! Me?"
Senior Delphine pointed at herself with her index finger, then shook her head.
She looked at me as if she couldn't understand.
"Why?"
"Because of how much Seria suffered...!"
"...Hand Axe Young Master."
With a sigh, Senior Delphine stood up again. She walked slowly and grabbed the wine bottle. Then came the sound of liquid pouring.
The glass filled up. She spoke to me in a somewhat cold voice.
"Seria is a member of the Yurdina family. She isn't so weak that she would break over something like that."
At those words, I bolted upright. Blatant hostility gathered in my eyes. Despite this, Senior Delphine simply sipped her wine with leisurely movements.
A look that said, What are you going to do about it?
I felt like I had seen that look somewhere recently, I thought, even as my blood boiled.
"Do you even know how severe the bullying was back then? Do you know how much Seria was pushed to her mental limit...!"
"Then that's just because Seria is weak."
She looked indifferent, as if she were giving a perfectly obvious answer. I was momentarily stunned.
"The North is a barren land. The winters are long and the springs are short... It's land unsuitable for sowing, so if we don't import food from the prosperous East, many of our people would starve to death."
"...What does that have to do with Seria?"
At my voice, which still carried a hint of resentment, Senior Delphine smiled slightly as if telling me to calm down. Her leisurely story continued.
"To survive in such a North, the Yurdina family chose a strictly pragmatic path. We used any means and methods, and sometimes obsessed over achieving our goals to the point of ruthlessness. The history of blood and iron we've built is carved as scars upon the Yurdina flagpole."
"So, a weak human who collapses from just that isn't needed in the Yurdina family?"
Snap. Senior Delphine flicked her fingers. It meant I was correct.
Of course, those words did nothing to soothe my boiling insides. I was still glaring at Senior Delphine with a fierce gaze. But Senior Delphine merely filled her glass with wine once more.
"Think of it as my own expression of affection. I also felt a sense of pride when Seria was recognized as a member of the Yurdina family. Always lowering her gaze whenever she saw me, seeing me off with a trembling voice... Hehe, she's a cute sister."
The conversations I had shared with Seria flashed through my mind.
She admired her half-sister while also fearing her. Ever since that night she heard that chilling warning that she might be kicked out if she was useless.
And Senior Delphine, as the successor of the Yurdina family, would have built up her victories while receiving all sorts of support. On the other hand, Seria had to go through harsh training until she was recognized as a member of the Yurdina.
There was no way Seria could beat Senior Delphine. The environments they stood in were different from the start. Even if Seria had more brilliant talent, it wouldn't have been enough to bridge the gap in time and money.
If by some chance Seria had tried to get ahead of Senior Delphine, the Yurdina family would have cut off their support for Seria instead. That is the world of the high nobility.
It is excessively harsh to Seria, and excessively warm to Senior Delphine. That's why Seria could never even meet Senior Delphine's eyes properly.
My voice sank even deeper.
"...Living like that, have you built up your victories well?"
"Of course. I have never lost once. 'Undefeated' is the proof that I am more suitable than anyone else as the successor of the Yurdina family."
"Trying to recruit me was an extension of that, then."
"Hmm," Senior Delphine hummed, looking at me intently as if telling me to go on. It was a captivating gaze, but with heat and cold swirling in my chest, I felt nothing.
"A guy who looks useful suddenly appeared around Seria. He's good enough to be a teammate for the Hunting Festival."
"And also, that 'Little Villain' wouldn't be able to act up any further if you were there."
Kindly, Senior Delphine supplemented the missing parts of my answer. I had no choice but to let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
"...But why did you reveal the truth to me?"
That was the final question I had reached.
Why did she tell me the truth? She could have feigned ignorance, or used it as leverage to fuel my guilt and establish a friendly relationship.
That would have been a better strategy. Yet, Senior Delphine chose the difficult path.
Telling me the truth—it seemed fairly clear that it would distance our relationship.
Perhaps that was why I was even more flustered when I first heard her words.
Upon hearing my question, Senior Delphine closed her eyes and tapped her lips as if it were a problem she herself couldn't quite figure out.
Her deliberation didn't last long. With a faint smile, Senior Delphine said to me, "I wonder? As I said, courage deserves a reward..."
With those words, Senior Delphine's halted movements resumed.
As always, she slowly approached me with the rustle of her gown. Her snow-white neck, and a sweet scent that felt like it would make me lose my senses.
And the fragrant, hot warmth of the wine reached me. Before I knew it, she was right in front of my eyes.
The body of a seductive woman was right there, but my eyes glared unwaveringly into Senior Delphine's red eyes. As if she liked that, Senior Delphine brought her face close to mine with an alluring smile.
The next moment, her voice tickled my ear.
"...It's not like anything will change just because one person like you knows, right?"
That was the limit. Instinctively, my hand went to my waist. And just as I gripped the handle of the hand axe hanging from my belt—
As if by magic, Senior Delphine's body moved away from me. Even though she wasn't someone who wouldn't know where my hand was, she simply filled her glass with wine again.
She cast a glance at me. There was only one intent behind it.
A look that said: If you're going to draw it, go ahead.
My hand gripping the hand axe trembled, but I soon relaxed my strength. I had no choice.
This was Senior Delphine's private space, and my opponent was unarmed. Even if I couldn't guarantee victory against her, my justification was too weak.
It was a situation that could escalate into a much more serious problem beyond Academy regulations. So, I couldn't bring myself to draw the hand axe.
Senior Delphine let out a smirk as if she had expected as much and raised her glass. Then, with a tilt of her head, she pointed to the glass that was still full of wine.
It was the glass she had been drinking from and had offered to me. Had she said it symbolized a ritual of comradeship in the North?
I stared at Senior Delphine without a word. With a relaxed smile, she said to me, "...Well? How about one last drink? It's quite an expensive wine."
That was the end.
The hand axe was drawn like a bolt of lightning. It was a moment no one could have predicted; perhaps even Senior Delphine hadn't noticed.
There was no change in her expression.
And the moment the axe blade tore through the instant—
BOOM.
The hand axe struck down like a flash of light.