Give Her to Me
Gawin ground his teeth where no one could hear.
A moment later he felt the gazes pouring in from every side. Expectation, suspicion, unease, faith, hope—each emotion flickered across the faces of those watching. He had to speak, and he had to speak now. With the ease of long practice he drew on the mask of the divine messenger, settling his features into a delicate blend of pity and duty.
"For the moment... it is difficult."
"What? Wh-why do you say so?"
"Ancient magic, too, is founded on mana. It cannot be worked alone. It requires a magic circle prepared in advance, and the cooperation of mages and sorcerers to chant the spell."
He offered the excuse with perfect calm. For now there was nothing to be done but contain the crisis and get past it. Those who recalled the barrier-restoration rite on the Day of Guardianship nodded and let out heavy sighs. Just as Gawin said, it had been conducted in much the same way then.
But... isn't this different from restoring the vast barrier that covers the whole empire?
This isn't even on the scale of a village. It's only a matter of stopping a single rampage...
And of course a few among them harbored doubts. Most, however, yielded before the name of House Cardel and shut their mouths.
A mage of House Exepsion, who had been studying the situation through narrowed eyes, spoke with care.
"I can be of help. If my lord permits, of course..."
He turned cautiously toward Ludville. Ludville answered in a few words, his face so indifferent the matter seemed not even to interest him.
"I allow it."
"Ah. Yes. Then..."
"No."
Gawin cut in first. Wearing a look of the deepest regret, he severed the mage's words at once.
"Ancient magic demands countless magical circuits and the most precise attunement of mana. Collaborate rashly with a mage unused to the work, and we may only make matters worse."
"...Is that so?"
"Yes. Forgive me, but the best course now is to take Veloa back to the house at once. The main estate is fully equipped with both the tools and the people to handle ancient magic."
On the surface it sounded reasonable. In truth it was closer to flight. Unable to reveal, here and now, the real reason Veloa had run wild, Gawin had decided to take her away and buy himself time. This was his chance to escape.
He was just about to lift her into his arms when her body shuddered. Blood seeped from the corners of her eyes. The fine vessels had burst. Uncontrolled mana raged inside her, crushing organs and veins without mercy.
"Veloa!"
"...B-Brother... save me..."
"This is bad. We must hurry!"
Gawin clutched her desperately and shouted to the mages.
"Open a magic portal to the Imperial Capital at once!"
"But we must investigate the cause of the young lady's mana rampage..."
"If a second rampage comes, this child will be beyond saving! She could be left with a permanent disability—or she might lose her life for good. There is no time. Only if we return now can I save her!"
His cry was urgent, and some of them wavered. Odelli, watching the scene, was cold.
...He never had any means of suppressing the rampage in the first place.
Gawin was only running. He had no way to stabilize Veloa, and he did not care whether she lived or died.
Odelli looked at him with contempt, and then, for the first time, she spoke.
"Is that truly so?"
She tilted her head and asked, her voice feigning sorrow.
"Is ancient magic really impossible without a magic circle, and without mages and sorcerers?"
He gave no answer.
"Even if you cannot stabilize her all at once, can you not loosen the tangled flow of her mana, even a little, Brother?"
"Odelli..."
She was simply staring, as if to take the measure of his reaction, and the sight sent a rage through him so fierce his head reeled and the world swam before his eyes. How dare she. How dare a mere Purifier...
So this was her intention from the start. Since when has she known?
He looked down at Veloa convulsing in his arms. There was not even worry in his gaze. What filled it instead was scorn, thick with disappointment.
...Stupid girl.
If they had been seen through from the beginning, then every scrap of the blame belonged to Veloa. To bring him a scheme riddled with holes and dare to call it a plan. And of all people, the only collaborator he could rely on had to be this. The shame of it was past enduring.
Revolting.
Gawin answered in a voice that trembled. The tremor came from rage, but to anyone watching it would seem born of worry and grief.
"Is this the time for word games? Miss the moment, and your sister may truly be in danger. Please—just let us go."
"I can't."
"You can't...? Don't tell me you actually want something to happen to your sister."
At once he set about slandering her. That she had been jealous of her sister ever since they were children, and he had never imagined she would sink so low. That however much she hated her sister for surpassing her, she must not do this. Filth that was not worth hearing.
Odelli smiled at Gawin, who was still trying to work his tricks to the very end—warmly, gently, as if to reassure him. She was copying, to the letter, the way he played the savior.
"Of course not. I only meant that I cannot leave my sister unattended until we return to House Cardel."
"...What?"
"I think I can purify her."
He said nothing.
Hearing the wedding guests begin to murmur, Odelli reached toward Veloa.
"I was only a little puzzled that you—descendant of the dragon, and divine messenger—could not do what I can."
The corner of Gawin's mouth twitched as if in spasm. On instinct he clutched Veloa tighter, as if to hide her from Odelli, as if to protect her.
"Odelli, this is no time for games. We don't even have the leisure to wait for a portal. We have to return to the house at once—!"
He tried to paint her as a child who cracked jokes without grasping how grave things were. It was wasted effort. Odelli's hand had already closed around Veloa's, limp where it hung toward the floor.
And then—
Along their joined hands, a ripple of golden light welled and sank into Veloa's body, carrying a gentle warmth, like the first sunlight falling over a forest that had stood all winter full of cold.