Stumbling Block
"Whew!"
After days of forced marches, Hayes finally felt the weight settling into her body. Escorting the Crown Prince, the most nerve-wracking stretch was always the travel itself.
From the imperial palace to the train station, from the station into the city of Carrington, and from there into the Academy grounds—every nerve had been strained in preparation for any mishap that might arise, and even Hayes, whose stamina was usually called steel, felt the fatigue catching up with her.
Still, they had arrived at the Academy without incident, and her heart felt considerably lighter. Of course, she would have to keep her guard up here too, but with the grounds being a confined space, a moment of respite like this was at least possible.
"It's autumn—why is it still so hot here?"
She had barely resisted the urge to strip down for a while now. The moment she was alone, Hayes threw off the Full Moon Knight Order uniform that every knight dreamed of earning, and only after undoing a couple of buttons on her shirt did she finally breathe easily.
"Hamilton's practically on the brink of winter already, but this place is a different world. The scenery's lovely even at night."
Once the Crown Prince's official schedule had ended, the place she sought was the Water Garden. The tranquil lake, shimmering as it caught the moonlight, was truly a beautiful sight.
"If only a nice strong breeze would come along."
Muttering to herself, she swept her long hair up and tied it high.
"Um……"
Just then, sensing movement behind her, someone appeared before her.
"Hello."
"Hm? Well, if it isn't Lanasa."
There had been so many footsteps passing nearby that she'd assumed the girl, like her, had come to admire the Water Garden. Glad for the unexpected visitor, Hayes rose from the stone bench where she'd been sitting.
"Oh! You remember me?"
Color bloomed across Lanasa's face, as though she were overjoyed simply to have her name spoken.
"Of course I do. How could I forget someone as pretty as you?"
Lanasa was the sweet young lady who had fallen for her at the Crown Prince's birthday party after watching her spar, and who had even asked for her autograph. Lanasa's words—that she wanted to become a splendid knight just like Hayes—meant something to Hayes herself as well.
No one had ever told her before that they wished to become like her. Most people named Duke Randert or some famous male knight when they spoke of their dreams; nowhere, ever, had Hayes been the one mentioned.
"When I heard that you'd been called up to escort Crown Prince Lindemann, Lady Hayes, I couldn't have been happier. I so wanted to see you again."
"I thought of you from time to time as well."
"……Really?"
"Of course! You're going to become an even finer knight than I am."
Hayes meant it. Despite her youth, Lanasa had already achieved a great deal. Talent, yes, but also the drive to pursue it—she had more than earned the right to become a knight.
"Thank you—just for saying that!"
Overjoyed, Lanasa bowed deeply to her. Any other student at the Academy who witnessed it would have rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
After all, this was the girl who had worn the nickname Ice Goddess since the very first day of her first semester.
The living symbol of an expressionless face had gone red to the ears, genuinely flustered.
"So, ask me. You came because there's something you want to know, didn't you?"
"Yes, well, that's true…… but I truly did want to see you again. You're the knight I admire most, Lady Hayes."
"Because I'm a woman?"
"……Yes. I wanted to know how you joined the Full Moon Knight Order in a woman's body."
"So you want to join the Full Moon Knights too, then?"
A nod.
Unable to bring herself to answer aloud, Lanasa only moved her head.
"May I ask why?"
"……Because I want to show someone."
"Show whom?"
"……My father."
"Your father—do you mean Viscount Bostridge?"
Hayes had asked only an ordinary question. Yet somehow, Lanasa faltered, unable to give an answer. When Hayes tilted her head at this, Lanasa blurted it out.
"No. My birth father."
Birth father?
If Lanasa had a birth father, that meant Viscount Bostridge was not her real father at all. Did that make her a child the Viscountess had brought into the house from outside?
Hayes was considerably taken aback, but she forced herself to look at Lanasa calmly.
The image of the Viscount and his wife from the royal party floated to mind. They bore so little resemblance to Lanasa that it had struck her as odd.
She'd let it pass at the time without a second thought, but looking back, the girl clearly carried some great story of her own. And since it was bound to be an ugly one, Hayes couldn't bring herself to pry further.
Truth be told, secrets of birth were hardly unusual among noble houses. Scandals were ever-present, and illegitimate children were born among them now and then.
"The Full Moon Knights are what every knight dreams of. I want to enter that place in style and show the man who denies my very existence what I'm made of."
"……This is only our second meeting. Why would you pour all this out to me?"
Hayes asked as gently as she could, so as not to wound her.
"I don't rightly know myself. Honestly, I've never told anyone any of this before."
That figured. It wasn't the kind of story easily shared, even with the closest of friends.
"I think it's just that I want to become like you, Lady Hayes. I want to be able to show the people who look down on me that I'm every bit their equal—that's the feeling that drives me."
Call it a thirst for vengeance.
Hating someone could be a powerful motivation at first. But as one kept building skill and gaining insight, such things eventually became utterly useless.
What mattered then was the battle with oneself, and nothing else.
But no matter how she explained that to the girl before her now, Lanasa would never understand it. Better, perhaps, to let her refine herself with that hatred for a while yet.
"How many hours a day do you train, Lady Hayes?"
"Let's see…… every hour that isn't spent eating or sleeping?"
"Th-that's real? You still train that much?"
"I'm rather a practice fiend, you see."
"Rather nothing—you're a monstrous one."
At the voice that cut in without warning, Lanasa flinched in alarm, while Hayes calmly faced the newcomer as if she'd known all along.
"About time you showed up."
"It's been a while, hasn't it? You've been well?"
"Same as ever. You're looking much better, Senior Ian. The homeland must agree with you."
The uninvited guest in the dead of night was Ian. As of today, Duke Randert had ordered him to join the Crown Prince's personal guard as well.
"It seems you have a visitor, so I'll take my leave now."
"Go on, then, Lanasa. If more questions come to you, come find me anytime. I'll be staying here for a while."
"Thank you, Lady Hayes!"
Lanasa greeted both Hayes and Ian and quickly slipped away. She seemed oddly flustered, somehow different from the girl Ian knew, and he found it a little curious.
"That one seems quite taken with you."
"I suppose it's because we're both women."
"She reminds me of you when you were young, actually."
"You see it too, Senior Ian?"
Warmth seeped into Hayes's eyes as she watched Lanasa's retreating figure.
"A talented girl. And from what I hear, she works incredibly hard, too. She'll go far someday."
"You sound as if you're planning to recruit her?"
"Wouldn't be out of the question. For all my humble looks, I do happen to hold Duke Randert's full confidence, you know."
"You'll have to add Young Master Bayul to that list now."
"When you put it that way, it suddenly sounds like I've risen to some tremendous position. I hope that's not just my imagination."
"As the one who monopolizes the trust of Duke Randert and Young Master Bayul both, there is something you must know."
Hayes's tone abruptly turned grave. There was, in fact, something she needed to tell Ian, but with no chance to be alone together until now, it had gone unsaid.
"What is it, that you lower your voice like that?"
An uneasy feeling crept over Ian in turn.
"It concerns Barachel's situation."
"Why? What about him?"
"He's dead."
"……Emperor Barachel is dead?"
This was the man who had come home alive and whole even after his limbs had been severed. Why would such a man suddenly be dead?
"Did he catch some complication?"
"……They say he took his own life."
"……!"
Ian couldn't help but be shaken. Granted, Barachel was the former emperor of a defeated nation—but he was also the man once hailed as the King of Mercenaries, who had reigned as the continent's conqueror. That such a man would commit suicide was simply beyond belief.
"And the Royan Emperor's side is keeping his death under strictest seal. They've even postponed the funeral."
That was the part that demanded their attention.
Why?
Was some other scheme lurking behind it?
"This is going to be a headache."
"The Duke has ordered that Young Master Bayul not be told."
"That's for the best."
It was news that could do no one any good. With the festival just around the corner, hearing such a thing would only leave the young master unsettled. This was his first festival since entering the Academy, and Ian's earnest wish was for him to enjoy it to his heart's content, without a care in the world.
"And what are you two doing out here? Hatching some secret plot, are we?"
Ian and Hayes had just finished their talk of Barachel and were trading pleasantries and laughing when a figure approached them in relaxed, casual dress—it was Crown Prince Lindemann, walking toward them.
"We were catching up on old times. My name is Ian, Your Highness."
"I know. You're Bayul's personal knight, aren't you?"
"Yes."
He had seen the Prince from a distance a number of times, but this was their first conversation.
"Forgive the interruption, but might I borrow Lady Hayes for a moment?"
"……Pardon? I'm afraid I don't follow."
"There's something I urgently need to ask Lady Hayes."
He had something to say to Hayes?
Hayes was nothing more than an assigned escort knight. As Ian's brow creased with suspicion, the Crown Prince soothed him with his characteristically gentle smile.
"I'm not planning to eat her, so there's no need for that look. I simply wish to hear her answers to my questions."
What on earth was that supposed to mean?
Ian looked to Hayes for an explanation, but for some reason, she couldn't meet his eyes. Unless he was badly mistaken, she looked quite thoroughly flustered.
Hayes… flustered?
He had known her for years. He could say with certainty that he had never once seen her like this.
"Shall we go, Lady Hayes?"
Leaving Ian behind, brimming with questions, the Crown Prince and Hayes slowly drifted away from him.