Wandering Malice (1)
What caught Reika's eye was a slight, small-framed figure hemmed in by a cluster of men.
Black-haired, delicate-featured, and seemingly a woman, the person stood among men far larger than themselves—and the atmosphere surrounding them felt distinctly off.
Don't tell me… thugs?
Reika found herself recalling the moment she had first met Swen.
Back then, too, a bunch of strange men had suddenly started talking to her, leaving her flustered—until Swen and Irene appeared and came to her rescue.
The feeling that had taken root in that instant—I want to become a cool woman like Irene—still slept quietly in a corner of her mind even now.
Should I help? I think I could…
She wouldn't even need magic. Fetching the city patrol guards would be enough to settle it.
Using magic would only draw unwanted eyes, so calling the guards was the safer choice.
Right. Better to go get someone than step in myself and make things worse—
Just as she was about to act on that thought—
"Well then, I'll go in first."
…!
The black-haired woman's voice reached her, and Reika instinctively ducked behind a wall.
Just barely, fragments of their conversation drifted to her ears.
"Right. Jennis, never forget you've got one foot in this now. You know what you have to do if you want what you're after, don't you?"
"…I know."
…Is that really a woman?
Hearing the voice made her uncertain.
It was somewhat androgynous… if she had to choose, closer to a man's.
"Then go on in."
"Yes."
Footsteps sounded—
Fortunately, the men disappeared in the opposite direction, not toward her.
Phew…
Reika let out a long breath.
From the looks of it, this wasn't the kind of harassment she had once suffered. They seemed to know each other.
I almost made a complete fool of myself by sticking my nose in…
If she had gone and dragged the guards over only to find they were acquaintances, the awkwardness would have been unbearable.
But… it really did feel a little strange, didn't it…?
The expression on that slight figure—whether man or woman, she still wasn't sure—had looked quite troubled.
She didn't know what the situation was… but there was no need to meddle.
Right. If I stick my nose in for no reason, I might end up causing trouble for Irene…
In the past, the servants of House Nighthart had protected her. Now, the one protecting her was none other than Irene.
She didn't want to make things difficult for someone who treated her so kindly, even though they were essentially strangers aside from their connection through Swen.
I'll just go home.
The sun would set soon enough.
She ought to tidy up the lodgings before Irene returned.
Sika was away on an external assignment, and Irene—now deputy commander—was always busy, staying late to assist Serpina before coming back.
Since Irene devoted herself to her duties even after finishing her work, Reika honestly wanted to handle the miscellaneous chores in her place.
Irene is busy, so this is where I need to step up…!
After scrubbing the recent incident from her mind, Reika set off toward the lodgings.
——That day.
The day after Serpina had caught me intervening to save her life, and the day she had stolen the chastity of my lips—
I continued to pass the time in a daze, doing nothing at all.
"But I have no intention of giving you up. Those who carry the blood of Aingart never abandon what they have once decided to possess. Whether that be this continent… or you, Swen—a human being."
"I will say it once more. A person of House Aingart never lets go of what they have yearned for and desperately desired. And—"
…Haa.
Even now, the sensation of her lips remained far too vivid.
The yuzu flavor that had filled my mouth, the pleasant softness of her tongue, the dazed look in her eyes as she gazed at me with a deep, soft moan…
Just recalling the scene made my heart pound so hard that I couldn't even pretend the experience had been terrible.
I thought of those golden eyes that had fixed on me as if she meant to devour me whole.
How on earth had things come to this?
Looking back, Serpina had felt different from any other lord from the very first meeting.
From the start—she was the golden-haired woman who had appeared in the dreams I sometimes had after possessing this body.
I hadn't dreamed of her again since meeting her in person, so I couldn't cross-check, but I was still certain she was that Serpina.
And more than that.
I felt an unnatural sense of intimacy toward her.
Even during that first kiss—yes, I had been flustered at first, but I had definitely…
Felt something like a peaceful sense of relief.
That kiss, steeped in the scent of yuzu, had been an intensely fascinating experience for me.
As if I had finally arrived somewhere I was meant to be.
Putting it into words was difficult… but in short, the pull she seemed to feel toward me was something I was beginning to feel toward her as well, however faintly.
Of course, I had no intention of changing lords now—
But this subtle emotion, one I had never felt toward Lin, toward Yuuri, or even toward my first lord, Luna, had become a whirlpool inside me, shaking the person I was to the core.
"If we were to mix your talent with the noble blood of Aingart… would you not be curious what might be born? Fufufu…♥"
Come to think of it, she said that as well.
The hidden meaning behind those words wasn't hard to find.
In other words… she wanted my child. Even I could pick up on that much.
Could that be considered a proposal?
But everything about this was far too sudden. And it wasn't without its problems, either.
I had always believed that the first person I would marry was Irene.
"Um…"
Of course, talking about marriage might be jumping the gun, but what happened if you rejected a lord's proposal?
Surely not execution?
Serpina had a tendency to go to extremes, so the thought honestly frightened me a little.
True, after meeting her in person she had proven surprisingly cool-headed and rational in her judgments… but locking me in a dungeon at our first meeting had been entirely her own will, hadn't it?
And she had also told me that if she could not have me, she would destroy me. Coming from Serpina of all people, that was not something I could simply brush off.
"…Um, Swen…?"
So what was I supposed to do?
Propose to Irene right away?
On this continent a man could take four wives, so if it came to that, I might not need to risk rejecting Serpina's proposal at all.
No—there was still the question of whether that even counted as a formal proposal, and more importantly, whether it was even possible to take a nation's sovereign, the direct bloodline of an imperial house, as a secondary wife—
"Swen!"
"…Ah?"
Sitting at the table in the lodgings, staring blankly into space, I looked up to find Ioline watching me with a worried expression.
"A-are you all right? You looked completely out of it."
Damn.
I had been so deep in thought I hadn't even registered her speaking to me.
"No… it's nothing. Just something personal."
"Is that so? Well, that's a relief, then."
"What is it?"
"Well…"
Ioline hesitated for a moment, then finally got to the point.
"I received a letter from my brother. He says he'll be back tomorrow."
"Ah, is that so?"
"Yes."
I nodded as I looked at her.
"Understood. You've put up with a lot of inconvenience. Thank you for your hard work."
"Not at all. I was the one who insisted, and besides… if it hadn't been you, Swen, no one would have gone this far for me."
With that, Ioline bowed at a full ninety degrees.
"Thank you truly. On the name of House Al Kaski, I will never forget this debt."
"Don't worry about it. I'm not the type to keep score over things like that."
"But… once I return, at least let me compensate you with money—"
"No, no. I draw a state salary. I have plenty of money."
In truth I did keep score when it mattered, but there didn't seem to be anything useful I could extract from House Al Kaski, so I might as well play the generous benefactor here.
Besides, once Jennis returned, my next task would be investigating him behind the scenes. Accepting Ioline's gratitude under those circumstances would prick my conscience as well.
"…I see."
Ioline said that, then smiled at me.
When she smiled, the difference from her brother was unmistakable—she looked far more girlish.
"You're a kind person, Swen. Thank you."
…
Once again I found myself wondering why I had no information on the Al Kaski siblings.
Hoping, as much as possible, that it would turn out to be nothing serious.
Our acquaintance had been brief, but to me Jennis had not been a villain—and neither was the young woman standing before me.
"I've imposed on you terribly all this time. Please take care of yourself, Swen."
"You take care as well, Ioline."
I offered a light farewell, then turned my thoughts to how I would act once Jennis returned.
Should I tail him?
Or set up a situation where he would simply spill everything?
If he really was plotting something like treason, he wouldn't talk willingly—so that approach might be dangerous… With thoughts like those running through my head, I parted ways with Ioline.
And the next day.
For some reason, Jennis never showed himself.
I spent the night alone in the lodgings, once again turning over what I would do when he arrived.
Then another day passed—
"…?"
"Um…"
As the sun was beginning to sink, the person who appeared at the lodgings was not Jennis, but Ioline.
Having spent several days with each of them, I was starting to notice the subtle differences between the twins.
"Ioline? What brings you here? Where's Jennis?"
"Swen. Has my brother Jennis come here even once?"
"No."
I had spent all of yesterday and today waiting for him in the lodgings with nothing else to do, so I could say with certainty that no one had come.
"Well…"
Ioline looked thoroughly troubled as she spoke.
"It seems… I've lost all contact with my brother."