And Once Again (2)
The Royal Medical Center looked nothing like what most people imagined when they thought of a hospital. There were no urgent patients rushing in and out, nor the heavy atmosphere that usually clung to the dying breaths of the elderly.
“Professor, shouldn’t we start closing up soon?”
The head nurse glanced at Professor Matilda Weaving with a hint of urgency. Though thirty minutes remained until closing time, there were neither patients currently under their care nor any expected to arrive. Professor Weaving did not rush. She understood all too well the staff’s desire to leave as quickly as possible to spend time with friends, lovers, or family.
“...Fine. Tell everyone to prepare to head out.”
She had never felt this kind of boredom back when she worked as a medical officer. Professor Weaving let out a quiet sigh that no one else could hear. After getting entangled with the Benning family, pressure had come down on the Academy. There had been nothing she or Pierre could do. All they could do was resign before things grew even more complicated. Their departure from the Academy had not neatly resolved everything. Pierre, in particular, had suffered far more than she had.
“Damn it all.”
Professor Weaving habitually reached for her pipe. The surroundings buzzed with the clamor of people preparing to leave. She rubbed at the dark shadows beneath her eyes with irritation, then slipped off her coat and draped it over her arm. That was when the noise of departure suddenly ceased.
“Huh?”
“Ah...”
Confused and disappointed sighs overlapped in the air. Professor Weaving, who had been about to gather her things, put her coat back on and sank into her chair.
“Should we... close the doors?”
“No, leave them open.”
The head nurse gave a small bow and left the room to attend to the patient. At that moment, the patient’s appearance caught Professor Weaving’s eye. Hair that had been cut drastically short. Yet anyone who knew her would recognize that platinum blonde in an instant. A small, doll-like face of exquisite beauty. Professor Weaving could not help but drop the pipe she had been holding.
...Why is that child here?
“Where exactly are you feeling unwell?”
The nurse’s voice drifted faintly from beyond the door. Professor Weaving’s gaze remained fixed on Theodora. She was limping, for some reason.
“Is Professor Weaving here, by any chance?”
The nurses were exchanging glances. Their eyes kept flicking toward Professor Weaving’s examination room. Theodora could hardly miss those looks, and her own gaze naturally followed toward Matilda Weaving. Their eyes met in midair.
Professor Weaving rose from her chair, pretending as if nothing were amiss. To anyone watching, her movements would have looked unbearably awkward.
“...Theodora.”
Professor Weaving opened the door and called out to her. Up close, Theodora’s expression was far from good. Wondering what might have happened, Professor Weaving approached her with a heavy heart.
“Medical Officer.”
Theodora answered in the same voice she had used three years ago. It sounded cold, yet it carried a great many emotions buried beneath the surface. Professor Weaving did not know why Theodora had come looking for her, but a series of events flashed through her mind, making her chest tighten with guilt.
When Matilda Weaving remained silent, Theodora spoke first.
“May I ask you to examine me?”
She gestured toward her leg. Professor Weaving’s eyes followed Theodora’s hand to the broken limb.
“Let’s go into the examination room first.”
Professor Weaving gently took Theodora by the wrist and led her inside. Theodora offered no resistance and obediently followed her into the room.
“It’s been a long time, Theodora. Did you suddenly feel nostalgic? And how did you manage to injure your leg again?”
Theodora gave an awkward smile.
“Being a knight means getting hurt from time to time.”
Professor Weaving’s brows furrowed slightly at the reply.
“Why don’t you sit over there? Stretch your leg out.”
She pointed to the simple bed in the corner of the examination room. Once Theodora was seated, Professor Weaving gathered mana into her hands and began the examination as naturally as she always had.
“...It looks like it was quite badly broken.”
Professor Weaving let out a low groan. Even calling it “badly broken” was an understatement. The bone had been twisted and nearly shattered into pieces. It was fortunate it had not broken into countless fragments.
“Just what did you do to break it this badly?”
Theodora gave a bitter smile.
“I fell from quite a high place.”
“Did you jump off a cliff or something?”
Professor Weaving grumbled as she withdrew her hand from Theodora’s leg.
“The recovery is going well. Either the initial treatment was excellent, or a skilled mage or healer took care of it?”
Theodora nodded silently. Light gathered in Professor Weaving’s hands once more. This time it carried a faint green glow.
“If I treat it a bit more, it should be fully healed within three days. There’s no need for outpatient visits. I’ll just infuse some mana to help you find a sense of stability.”
Professor Weaving carefully stroked the injured area. Theodora felt the faint pain radiating from the broken bone gradually subside. Of course, this was not the only reason she had come to the medical center.
Theodora decided to open her tightly closed mouth.
“Medical Officer.”
“I’m not a medical officer anymore. You can just call me Professor Weaving... Though considering my position, I suppose I should be calling you Lady Benning...”
Professor Weaving spoke with a faint, bitter smile. Theodora struggled to lift the corners of her own mouth in response.
“...Then, Professor.”
“Yes, Theodora.”
“Why did you resign?”
At those words, Professor Weaving froze. Theodora’s eyes sank even deeper. Professor Weaving lifted her head and looked at Theodora for a moment. As if trying to read something from her shadowed expression, her eyes carefully scanned Theodora’s face. Finally, she spoke.
“You didn’t know.”
Theodora frowned slightly at the remark. You didn’t know. It sounded as if she had expected Theodora to already be aware. It must be related to her family.
“...What happened? You and Instructor Pierre... why did both of you...”
“It was pressure.”
A short answer, but Theodora could easily imagine what must have occurred.
“My father... No,” Theodora corrected herself. “What exactly did Count Leon Benning do?”
But the reply that came was completely different from what Theodora had expected.
“...It was three years ago.”
The former medical officer let out a sigh as she spoke.
“Even I don’t know what the Count was hoping for.”
Professor Weaving’s attitude was firm. Theodora’s expression darkened. There was no choice but to ask directly.
“Does it have anything to do with the injury Maxim Apparte suffered?”
“Just what is it you want to know?”
Professor Weaving reacted as if the question had struck a nerve. A look of bewilderment spread across her face at the irritable response that had slipped out unintentionally.
“...I’m sorry, Theodora. I know you met with Maxim, but... there’s nothing I can tell you.”
Yet that very reaction from Professor Weaving gave Theodora certainty.
“...So it really was related to Maxim.”
“I’m not certain.”
The professor was dodging the question. Theodora could not bring herself to press further against that stubborn demeanor.
“Do you know where Instructor Pierre went?”
“That man...”
Professor Weaving started to answer but hesitated. She bit her lower lip, her face twisting with self-reproach.
“Theodora, are you trying to look into what happened back then on your own?”
Theodora nodded at the question.
“Yes. Without telling anyone...”
Professor Weaving’s brow furrowed, then smoothed again. It meant the Benning family had continued to keep Theodora in the dark. She looked into those storm-cloud eyes.
“Instructor Pierre,” Theodora looked at Professor Weaving with eyes that held a trace of hope.
“He had to endure the Benning family’s surveillance for quite a long time.”
“For what reason...”
Theodora began to ask but stopped. As if the words had caught in her throat, she struggled to push away the thought that had suddenly surfaced. Professor Weaving turned her eyes away and scanned the surroundings, as if trying to detect any presence. Theodora watched her quietly. Those two eyes were trembling with a certain kind of fear.
“Professor?”
Professor Weaving stood up and closed the door to the examination room. When she turned back, her expression openly revealed the anxiety she could not hide. Her lower lip had turned deathly pale from being bitten so hard.
“...Just as you said. Things started to go wrong after that child, Maxim, was carried into the infirmary.”
“You mean during the final exams...”
“Not the final exams. That injury wasn’t life-threatening, was it?”
Bewilderment flashed across Theodora’s face at the denial.
“...Pardon?”
“After the final exams, Maxim collapsed and was carried in on Instructor Pierre’s back.”
Maxim... collapsed? As a story she had never heard before began to emerge, Theodora’s confusion became visibly apparent.
“He collapsed...? Why on earth...?”
“We couldn’t properly examine him. I do remember his training uniform top was soaked through with all the blood he vomited.”
Theodora’s hand clenched the bedsheet tightly.
“Blood...”
“It looked like he had suffered internal injuries. Usually, that kind of hematemesis can only be explained by internal damage caused by mana. At the time, I thought he had simply pushed himself too hard in training... That is, until Count Benning suddenly showed up at the infirmary.”
Theodora’s eyes shook.
“Father... Count Benning came to the Academy...?”
“He sent me and Instructor Pierre out, saying he wanted to speak with Maxim alone.”
Watching Theodora’s eyes grow coldly frozen, Professor Weaving let out a sigh. The breath she exhaled was unbearably heavy.
“What happened? What exactly happened?”
“I... I don’t know. He needed rest, but the Count’s attitude was far too firm.”
Theodora could not help but picture Maxim’s face. The vivid red stream of blood flowing down along his jaw. She could recall with painful clarity the metallic scent when Maxim had been cut in the dungeon.
“What else could we do? We were only instructors, and the one who came was a Count. Instructor Pierre protested strongly, but in the end we had to step aside.”
“What happened inside...”
Theodora asked in a desperate voice. She rose and grabbed Professor Weaving’s hand, but the professor only averted her eyes slightly and gave no answer.
“I was outside the infirmary, so I don’t know exactly what happened. And the sudden recommendation to resign came after you two had graduated.”
Professor Weaving wrapped her arms around herself.
“After the recommendation came... and after I resigned together with Instructor Pierre, the Magic Tower professors suddenly approached me, asking if I would work with them.”
A slight tremor had crept into the professor’s voice.
“I refused. As for what happened to Instructor Pierre... only he himself would know.”
Professor Weaving gently pushed away Theodora’s hand, which was still holding hers. Theodora had no choice but to let go weakly as she was pushed aside. At last, the professor gave the answer to the question Theodora had been asking.
“Instructor Pierre is not in the Royal Capital.”
As if she could no longer endure it, Professor Weaving confessed.
“Whether his heart had changed or not, he quit being a knight entirely. He said he would switch careers to become an adventurer rather than a wanderer.”
Theodora listened quietly. Professor Weaving picked up her pipe.
“Try visiting the adventurers’ guild in the Royal Capital. He might be there around this time.”
Theodora did not reply. She simply gave a small bow, then stood up. Inside her head, all kinds of chaos swirled—the true nature of every situation that had surrounded her.
“I’m sorry, Theodora.”
Professor Weaving murmured the words toward Theodora’s retreating, staggering figure. Theodora shook her head slightly.
“No.”
When Theodora turned around, all color had completely drained from her face. Professor Weaving let out a regretful sigh at the sight.
“Theodora, wouldn’t it be better to just pretend you don’t know?”
Even though she knew Theodora would not listen, the professor made the suggestion one last time.
“There are still things I need to know.”
“Whatever those things are, if Count Benning didn’t tell you, doesn’t that mean they’re things you shouldn’t know?”
Professor Weaving’s voice grew fainter toward the end. As if she were trying to avoid speaking about Count Benning.
“...Benning...”
Theodora murmured softly. Benning. Her father. Just what had he done? And how deeply had she herself been involved in it?
“...I think it has nothing to do with me right now.”
“Theodora.”
Professor Weaving caught Theodora by the wrist. But this time, Theodora gently took that hand and pushed it away.
“I’m fine.”
With those words, Theodora opened the door. The old hinges of the examination room creaked.
“...In truth, I may have blamed you a little.”
Theodora’s footsteps, which had been heading out, came to an abrupt halt. When she turned, she saw Professor Weaving smiling sadly at the corners of her mouth.
“Even though it wasn’t your fault.”
“...Thank you for saying so.”
The door closed. Like a wild animal walking into a trap, Theodora limped out of the medical center, step by painful step.
The carriage rattled to a stop as if mirroring Theodora’s uneasy heart. Despite its grand signboard, the Royal Capital Adventurers’ Guild was located at the entrance of an alley where flickering lanterns cast ominous shadows.
“...Are you truly thinking of going in there?”
The coachman kept glancing around nervously. The back alleys of the Royal Capital at night emanated a gloom that sent chills down one’s spine.
“Go back first. I don’t know how long it will take.”
Theodora stepped down from the carriage without blinking. The coachman could only stare, mouth agape and hands waving stiffly in the air, as her figure disappeared into the darkness.
“...She’s got guts, that young lady.”
The coachman clicked his tongue and turned the carriage around. Indeed, the carriage stood out far too much in this back alley. If it stayed any longer, there was no telling what the local thugs might do.
Theodora narrowed her eyes as she looked at the adventurers’ guild sign. The adventurers passing by glanced at her attire and deliberately kept their distance. Their muttered words reached her ears.
“A knight.”
“Looks pretty strong.”
“What business does she have at the guild...”
Dim light leaked through the window in the door at the building’s entrance. Theodora stood beside the door and watched the adventurers coming and going. Every single one of them bore some kind of injury. Someone with a bandage around their head, another with a large scar on their cheek, yet another with a broken arm. Theodora pressed her lips tightly together and stepped through the opening and closing door.
The commotion inside the guild died down the instant Theodora appeared.
“...A knight?”
“Judging by the outfit, she seems like someone important.”
“Anyone know which knight order she’s from?”
Theodora calmly assessed the gazes directed at her. Wariness. Distrust. Adventurers who had been beaten down by the world did not offer friendly looks; instead, their reactions leaned closer to suspicion. Theodora walked over to the guild’s reception desk. The receptionist, who had been handling paperwork, glanced up at her, then set down his pen and met her eyes as she drew closer.
“How may I help you?”
The receptionist smiled with his eyes. Theodora sat down in front of the counter.
“Judging by your attire, you seem to be from a knight order. Do you have a request you’d like to entrust to us, or...”
The receptionist tilted his head slightly as he asked.
“No. I’m looking for an adventurer.”
Noticing Theodora’s hesitant expression, the receptionist asked again in a low voice.
“Is there a criminal... or someone on a wanted list among the adventurers?”
“That would have been the case before, but not now.”
Looking at Theodora, the receptionist narrowed his eyes, unable to contain his curiosity.
“...Perhaps the royal palace... has someone they need taken care of...”
“...No.”
Well, if that were the case, she wouldn’t have come wearing knight’s attire, the receptionist muttered to himself.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Pierre Fabien.”
The moment Theodora spoke the bald instructor’s name, the receptionist’s face stiffened at once.
“...Why that person...”
“He is active in this guild, correct?”
The receptionist remained silent for a long time, watching Theodora’s expression. She let out a small sigh at his reaction.
“Could you tell me where he is right now?”
“That is...”
The receptionist’s words were cut off midway. A group of adventurers had begun approaching the counter. At the front, a one-eyed adventurer spoke roughly.
“I don’t know which damn knight order you’re from, but why the hell are you looking for that guy?”
Theodora reined in her aura. Her nerves, sharpened to their limit, bristled at the hostility she felt.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
The one-eyed adventurer snorted.
“Ha, what am I doing?”
His hand moved toward the hilt of the short sword at his waist. Theodora’s eyes grew icy cold. Irritated by her completely unchanged attitude, the adventurer drew his blade.
“Don’t try anything funny. How many people do you think have come to this guild claiming to be from a knight order or the palace, looking for our big brother?”
“If you would just listen until the end...”
Bang!
The adventurer’s sword slammed into the reception desk. The sound of the rotting wood being gouged by the blade grated unpleasantly.
“Get the hell out of the guild. Unless you want to see something even worse.”
Theodora glanced at the short sword embedded barely a handspan away from her. It was typical of an adventurer’s weapon. Dried blood crusted along the blade, and the edge was chipped and dull in several places.
“If you tell him I’m his former student, he’ll understand.”
The adventurer gripped the hilt even tighter. The wood paneling split as the short sword dug deeper into the desk.
“So what?”
“Please remove that. I don’t want to complicate things further. If you simply tell Adventurer Pierre Fabien that, this can be resolved easily.”
Theodora warned him quietly. The one-eyed adventurer let out a hollow laugh.
“Who do you think you are, my superior?”
“If you came from a knight order, you should know how to read the room.”
At Theodora’s sarcasm, veins bulged at the one-eyed adventurer’s temple.
“Then at least reveal your identity. Did you think we’d just say ‘yes, understood’ to someone whose name and affiliation we don’t even know?”
Theodora let out a long sigh. There had been no point in deliberately coming while openly displaying that she was a knight.
“I am from the Raven Knight Order.”
“The Raven Knight Order?”
The one-eyed adventurer frowned.
“If it’s the Raven Knight Order, then...”
At that moment, another adventurer cut in, interrupting the one-eyed man. He was an older adventurer with deep wrinkles etched across his forehead, and he seemed to carry the weight of experience. His presence was calm. He had an entirely different atmosphere from the boiling-hot adventurers around him.
“Isn’t that the knight order commanded by the daughter of the Benning family?”
“What? The Benning daughter?”
The older adventurer shrugged.
“I happened to meet some knights recently, so I found out...”
Bang!
The one-eyed adventurer slammed his palm on the table. Theodora looked at him with cold eyes.
“Then we can’t just let her go...”
“Wait...”
The older adventurer tried to stop the one-eyed man, whose face had suddenly twisted. But the one-eyed adventurer’s hand was faster than his words.
“Let’s start with a slap, you bitch.”
His hand cut through the air. Theodora glanced at the slowly flying palm and let out a boiling sigh inside.
Crunch.
“...!”
The atmosphere in the guild grew even heavier. The moment they saw the one-eyed adventurer’s wrist caught, the adventurers’ hands all moved toward their weapons.
“You... fuck...!”
The one-eyed adventurer struggled. Theodora did not move an inch. She held him as easily as if she were gripping a dry branch, her posture completely relaxed.
“Let go, damn it!”
The one-eyed adventurer thrashed hideously.
“You... son of a bitch...!”
Theodora did not listen any further. She yanked his arm.
“Aaaargh!”
With the sound of something snapping, the one-eyed adventurer flew over the counter. At the same time, the adventurers drew their weapons. The sharp ring of metal filled the air from all directions, threatening Theodora.
Threatening her.
Theodora glanced at the short sword still embedded in the table. The older adventurer, who had been following her gaze, swallowed dryly.
“Sir Benning... No matter how tremendous your martial prowess may be, we cannot hand Pierre over to someone from the Benning family.”
Theodora let out a deep sigh.
“I only need you to listen to me once. Please let me meet Pierre Fabien.”
Even at this moment, Maxim’s face hovered before Theodora’s eyes. It was as if thick fog blocked the way. She pressed her throbbing temples with her fingers.
“If it were something that could end so easily, Pierre would not be with us now. Even if you brought the entire Benning family, our answer as adventurers will not change.”
Crack.
The wood of the counter Theodora was gripping crumbled.
“Please step back. We also do not wish for this to escalate any further...”
“Ha.”
Fragments of the floorboards flew up. A fierce surge of mana instantly crushed the guild with overwhelming pressure.
“Ugh?!”
“What the hell is this...!”
The adventurers each let out cries of shock. The spine-chilling pressure radiating from Theodora’s body and the space around her pinned them in place as if nailed to the floor. They could neither swing their raised weapons nor pull them back. The weeping knight was not here. Because she knew that if she could not obtain an answer in this place, she would not even be able to shed those tears.
“What kind of mana is...!”
Theodora took a step forward in that state. Weapons rattled and clattered as hands and feet trembled. When her gaze turned toward the source of the noise, an adventurer had no choice but to drop his weapon with a clatter.
“So that’s how it is! Don’t leave your positions, everyone!”
Whether they had nothing left to lose, they refused to yield. Their attitude suggested they would not care even if they were captured and dragged away right then. Only the older adventurer fidgeted anxiously, looking toward the others.
“Pierre has probably already been informed. What you want will not happen.”
An adventurer said, turning toward Theodora.
“Pierre will not come here.”
Yet Theodora’s expression showed no sign of dismay. Instead, she simply let out a sigh that sounded almost relieved.
“That’s good to hear.”
“Bullshit...!”
At that moment, the guild’s front door burst open. The heads of the adventurers guarding the entrance all snapped around at once.
“...Pierre?”
A dumbfounded sound escaped the older adventurer’s mouth. Pierre Fabien glanced around once, then scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh.
“Damn it.”
At Pierre’s reaction, the surrounding adventurers glared fiercely at Theodora. Pierre looked at them and twisted his face into a frightening scowl.
“Just do me one favor.”
“Please speak.”
The bald instructor lowered his head deeply.
“These guys don’t know anything. They’re just making a fuss trying to protect me.”
“I’m aware of that much.”
“...Please, for my sake, let it go just this once.”
Theodora slowly nodded.
“And... retract that murderous aura, will you?”
When the hostile mana that had filled the air dissipated, Pierre Fabien clicked his tongue.
“Yeah... Thank you, Theodora.”
At Pierre’s words, the adventurers reacted with confusion.
“Pierre, what the hell is going on?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing my ass! Can’t you see the counter’s all smashed?”
“Shut your mouth.”
Pierre waved his hand dismissively. The adventurers grumbled for a moment. Unconcealable tension lingered on Pierre’s face. Theodora observed him. His once burly physique had slimmed considerably. The smooth, hairless face was gone, replaced by a thick, gray-streaked beard. Whether the change came from life as an adventurer or some other factor, she could not tell.
“So it really is you, Theodora.”
Pierre still carried a wary air. Yet even after speaking, he did not wait for a reply. He rubbed his forehead and shook his head.
“No, I’m sorry.”
“Instructor.”
Pierre picked up one of the chairs that had been knocked over during Theodora’s display of power and sat down heavily. The adventurers began sneaking glances at him. Pierre brushed off their gazes with a sidelong look.
“What are you all doing? Don’t you have work?”
“But... Mr. Anton...”
“That one-eyed bastard went off on his own and ended up like that. What do you want me to do about it? If he’s not dead, just drag him to a corner of the guild. I’ll clean up the mess later.”
Pierre claimed a seat in the corner and gestured to the chair across from him.
“Sit down, Theodora.”
Theodora walked over to the opposite chair and sat as he instructed. The deep shadows on Pierre’s face made him look many times older than his actual age. The adventurers hovered around, seemingly intent on watching what would happen. It was closer to simple curiosity than wariness.
“They won’t leave just because I tell them to. Don’t mind them. I’ll apologize on their behalf.”
“...Are they close friends of yours?”
“Close? Hardly.”
Pierre gave Theodora a slight nod, then turned to the adventurers with a furrowed brow as if annoyed. He shook his head at the adventurers who were slowly retreating.
“I’ve always had a habit of sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. After helping adventurers in trouble a few times, I ended up getting tangled up with them like this. Thanks to that, I haven’t been bored since retiring.”
Pierre wore a nostalgic, almost longing expression as he recalled the past.
“...You have good comrades.”
At Theodora’s words, Pierre let out a small chuckle.
“Call it meddlesome interference. Sometimes I wonder if this is the karma for sticking my nose in their business first.”
Footsteps gradually receded. The adventurers began carrying the fallen one-eyed man past the counter.
“You look a bit haggard.”
“It’s nothing to call haggard.”
Pierre’s eyes changed.
“How did you find your way here?”
“Professor Weaving, so...”
“You heard it from the medical officer, I see.”
Theodora nodded. Pierre looked at her face with narrowed eyes.
“You look more haggard than I do.”
He leaned back heavily in his chair.
“Even a genius like you finds knighthood difficult, huh?”
“The people who say the work is easy aren’t geniuses. They’re just the ones who aren’t doing the job properly.”
Pierre let out a short laugh.
“Yeah, that’s right. You’re doing it properly.”
Theodora could not smile.
“...So, what is it? If you came all the way here on purpose, it can’t be anything ordinary.”
“I would like you to tell me a story.”
“...”
While Pierre hesitated to answer, Theodora took out a small pouch from her bosom and placed it on the table. Through the slightly loosened knot, gold coins glittered. Pierre’s face showed surprise at the unexpected amount.
“Hey.”
“I believe this is sufficient payment for listening to the story.”
Pierre pushed the pouch away with a hollow laugh.
“I don’t need it. How could I accept something like this just for telling one story?”
“I have no intention of taking it back.”
Looking troubled, Pierre stared at the pouch before slowly pulling it toward himself. At its unexpectedly heavy weight, his eyebrows twitched once more. His thick hand swept down over his rough beard. He seemed to be pondering where to begin. Pierre took a deep breath and composed himself.
“How much did you hear from Professor Matilda Weaving?”
“That the two of you were pressured into resigning together for certain reasons, and that the Benning family’s interference was deeply involved in the series of events surrounding that resignation—about that much.”
At Theodora’s concise summary, Pierre nodded.
“You also heard that we were nursing the severely injured Maxim when we encountered Count Benning...”
“Yes. I am aware.”
“Did the professor say anything more?”
“What else happened there?”
Pierre let out a sigh.
“For now, let me hear your questions. What do you want to know?”
“Maxim.”
Theodora spoke immediately.
“What happened to Maxim at that time, and what happened to you and Professor Weaving as well.”
The sound of a chair being righted behind the counter rang out.
“Hah...”
Pierre looked up at the ceiling and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
“It was when Count Benning came to see Maxim that I realized a curse had been placed on him.”
Theodora’s expression froze coldly. Her clenched fist dug into her palm with a faint crunch.
“So you already knew that a curse had been placed on Maxim.”
“...”
At that time, while the Count was in the infirmary, Medical Officer Matilda Weaving had pulled Pierre Fabien out of the escort knight’s line of sight.
What is this about all of a sudden?
It’s a curse.
Pierre remembered that Matilda Weaving’s eyes had been trembling with fear at the time.
And a particularly nasty one at that.
What do you mean...
Matilda Weaving had placed a finger to her lips.
You’re saying Maxim collapsed in that state because of a curse?
I don’t know exactly what kind of curse it is, but the condition of the scar I glimpsed during the examination...
The condition of the scar. Theodora could not even begin to guess what words would come next. No, she did not want to guess. Yet the worst possible assumptions kept digging into her mind. A scar. The scar that should have remained after he was cut by the living armor’s sword during the final exams and she had treated him. Just what had been done to her guardian? Or else... or else.
“I may be ignorant when it comes to magic, but I could understand at least this much.”
And then he recalled the story Matilda Weaving had told him.
“She said that a curse lacking emotion is the most dangerous kind.”
“...Emotion...”
Theodora was in turmoil. Pierre, who had been carefully watching her expression, continued.
“I only examined it briefly, but it seemed to be a curse with no apparent origin or reason. There was no malice that should have been present in a curse.”
Theodora looked at Pierre as if urging him to explain further.
“...That part bothered me.”
Rain began to fall outside little by little. The weather had been clear until morning, but it seemed the sky was particularly fickle today.
“I started investigating on my own.”
“...Investigating?”
Pierre shrugged, adding that it had been a foolish thing to do. Though he had said it as a joke, Theodora, the one hearing it, did not smile. Instead, her eyes grew even darker as she stared down at the table.
“I thought the Magic Tower must have been plotting something, since it was clearly related to the wound he received during the final exams.”
“...Would the Magic Tower have had any reason to do so?”
At Theodora’s words, Pierre clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“I thought there was no way the Magic Tower would bother with something so troublesome... But when I went back into the dungeon, my thoughts changed.”
The dungeon had been unnaturally clean. As if nothing had ever happened, every trace had been erased. And what that erasure told them was both brazen and terrifying.
“It meant they didn’t give a damn whether we found it suspicious or suspected them. It meant they didn’t even need to care. And it was also a warning not to bother with any further investigation.”
Of course, Pierre had no intention of meekly accepting that warning and abandoning his investigation.
“I asked around through acquaintances working at the Magic Tower and ran all over the place in person. There was no real gain... but before long, pressure to resign started coming in.”
Pierre rolled up the sleeve of his forearm. The arm of the former knight turned adventurer was covered in countless scars. Cuts and stab wounds had healed into marks that remained like brands.
“If they thought I would stop my investigation because of that, they were mistaken.”
Pierre shrugged.
“It was dangerous. They tried to ambush me several times. I don’t know if it was the Magic Tower or the Benning family, but I think it was the Benning side.”
“Did you remain in the Royal Capital the whole time?”
“Even if I left the capital, their reach would still extend. It would only increase the chance that my family and I would die meaningless deaths.”
Pierre’s fingers tapped the pouch of gold coins somewhat irritably.
“...I’m sorry.”
Watching Theodora bow her head to him, Pierre felt a twinge of guilt.
“I’m sorry. I had no reason to get angry at you.”
When Theodora’s darkened mood showed no sign of lifting, Pierre decided to continue his explanation.
“The Magic Tower maintained an extremely close relationship with the Benning family. Anyone interested in the political situation of the Royal Capital would probably know, but their connection was far deeper than most realized. You know that, don’t you?”
Pierre spoke to Theodora as if talking about someone else. It sounded like he was testing her, but Theodora simply nodded slowly without any particular reaction.
“I knew they interacted frequently. However, my father... Count Benning never taught me the core matters of the family.”
“...I see.”
Pierre’s eyes narrowed. As if he were thinking about something. Then he looked up at Theodora. What filled his eyes was nothing but pity and compassion.
“...I’m not sure if you can truly handle the rest of this story.”
“Even if I cannot handle it, I must hear it.”
Theodora spoke through gritted teeth. If she returned to No Man’s Land without gaining anything here, her sin would remain unatoned, and the misunderstanding would forever linger in both Maxim’s and her own heart.
“During your final exams, it was the Benning family who provided the Magic Tower with the dungeon’s blueprint.”
Pierre continued speaking with his eyes closed and head tilted back, as if he did not want to see Theodora’s expression at all.
“It was also the Benning family’s influence that placed you and Maxim last in the dungeon entry order, and it was the Benning family that altered the dungeon’s structure the moment you entered.”
Fog. The fog of confusion that shook Theodora’s mind. The dungeon guardian had been overwhelmingly powerful, far beyond what knight cadets could handle. Even though her mind told her to accept it as fact, her mouth instinctively tried to deny the words.
“...That can’t be...”
But Pierre’s words did not stop.
“And what the Magic Tower was asked to do was not limited to the dungeon design.”
No.
If she heard the next words from Pierre, Theodora felt something irreversible would happen to her.
Don’t say it.
I have to know.
A quarrel broke out inside Theodora’s head. The noisy clamor of the adventurers’ guild dug into that quarrel and muddled her thoughts. It was strange. The noise should have filled her head so completely that no sound could reach her ears, yet Pierre’s words pierced through the din with unnatural clarity and reached her.
“A potion imbued with a curse.”
Blood trickled down from Theodora’s clenched fist.
“...You can guess the intended target without me saying it.”