Morning Encounter with Elga
Is this the main story…?
"Could we talk for a moment?"
"Right now?"
"Yes. Right now. Why? Do you have some urgent business, or a prior engagement?"
"It's nothing like that. It's just that right now I…"
He had been running like a madman, so his entire body was drenched in sweat. It wasn't as though he reeked of anything truly foul, but sweat was still waste. Standing face-to-face with someone while soaked through like this was a serious breach of manners. Even if the other person claimed not to mind, he himself felt a little embarrassed.
"What's wrong, Kyle?"
Even as she spoke, Elga more or less grasped Kyle's situation. The man standing before her was dripping with sweat after a bout of intense exercise moments earlier. Was he worried that the sight might disgust her?
"Is it because of your condition?"
"Yes. I was thinking of going to wash up first."
A sweat-soaked person could certainly make others uncomfortable. Yet that discomfort—or the lack of it—depended entirely on who had done the sweating. If the person were someone close, you would praise the effort that produced the sweat. If they were an enemy, you would wrinkle your nose in distaste.
In that sense, Kyle's appearance provoked no discomfort at all. On the contrary, the sight of him training so hard even on a restful weekend was rather pleasing to the eye.
"It's fine. I'm not the least bit bothered, so don't worry."
"Are you truly sure…?"
"Besides, I may not have time later."
When Elga put it that way, Kyle decided there was no further point in dodging. Improving relations with Litorio was something he absolutely had to do. The rest of the John Nassen family might not care, but he himself had to manage it. Only then could he avoid pointless friction—and even keep Litorio as a solid backing. A good relationship with Elga would clearly work in his favor.
Walking side by side with her, Kyle stole a glance at her face. A flush of red had lingered there a moment ago, but it was gone now. Had she been exercising as well? Our young lady really was diligent.
"Kyle. You said you went to the Holy Order yesterday."
"Yes. I did."
"For the child of a noble house to receive an invitation from the Saintess is an extremely rare occurrence. And on top of that, you even met a cardinal, didn't you? I heard everything from the Saintess."
"Ah…"
Meeting the cardinal hadn't been any particular secret, so the Saintess had apparently just mentioned it. In that case, there was a high chance Elga already knew everything that had happened during his visit to the Holy Order.
"Would you tell me what you talked about?"
What is this? She must already know everything. Did she somehow miss it? Yet reading her expression, she seemed to be asking while already knowing the answer. Kyle hesitated only a brief moment over how to reply.
"Nothing of real importance. I simply received some kind words from the priests, and in return I offered them a bit of advice for their sake. That was all. Beyond that, we only talked about the Academy."
"…I see."
Elga said it while staring straight into Kyle's face. He wondered why she was looking at him like that—then something suddenly occurred to him. Come to think of it, he hadn't mentioned the comment he had tossed out almost in passing.
"…And, well. Actually, I did talk about you a little, Lady Elga."
Elga had heard that Kyle rose before dawn and began training first thing in the morning. So she had gone to bed earlier than usual and risen as early as she possibly could. Then she had prepared an outfit that was neither too flashy nor too plain.
It was still so early that even Leto had yet to wake and begin his duties. At that hour Elga quietly left her room and stepped outside. The sun, only just risen, was warming the chilled earth once more. The air was a little cool, yet a refreshing vitality filled her lungs. So this is what early morning looks like, she thought, quickening her pace.
Just as she began to worry that she might have taken too long washing and preparing—
She spotted Kyle walking ahead of her.
"Kyle John Nassen."
As she called his name, Elga fretted and fretted again. She had come to meet him this early, but what was she supposed to say? Should she thank him for mentioning her at the Holy Order? No—that would be far too transparent. Yet claiming they had merely run into each other by chance on the way somewhere else made even less sense.
"Good morning, Lady Elga."
Whether he could read her thoughts or not, Kyle approached and offered a light greeting. Looking at him now, he seemed not to care much about her at all. And yet at the Holy Order he had spoken of her, and spoken nothing but praise. "A truly fine person," he had said—and thanks to that, they had been able to convey their apology to Litorio. According to the Saintess, those were the very words Kyle had used with the cardinal.
She had once worried that he might be trying to ally himself with the Holy Order instead of Litorio. In truth, he had been elevating her in front of them the entire time. It felt like receiving an unexpected gift.
Until now she had kept herself hidden, diminished, tightly wrapped away—and the people around her had always told her she must do exactly that. Kyle, on the contrary, seemed to be drawing that self of hers out into the open.
"…Yes. It is a good morning."
She returned the greeting while carefully concealing the flutter in her chest. Perhaps he would say he had something to tell her. She waited, but in the end Elga was the one who spoke first.
"Could we talk for a moment?"
At her words Kyle looked briefly awkward. But when she insisted it was fine, he finally nodded and began to walk with her.
After that Elga casually asked about the previous day's events. More precisely, she wanted to hear the part where he had stepped forward with her in mind. Strangely, though, Kyle avoided only that part. Was he embarrassed? Or did he consider it nothing special? She found that hard to believe—after all, he had said those things in front of a cardinal. He could not possibly have spoken so thoughtlessly, Elga was certain.
"…And, well."
At last Kyle brought up the very part she had been waiting for. He had spoken about her to the cardinal, and of course it had been in a positive light. He said it as though it were nothing at all.
You're someone I just can't figure out…
She knew he did not look at her with any particular romantic interest. From the very beginning their connection had not been born of attraction of the heart, but of thoroughly practical reasons. It was advantageous. There was nothing to lose. That was why they had begun to associate. No one in the world would find such a beginning especially moving. Even if she herself did not mind, Kyle almost certainly would.
That was why, even while feeling jealous of Tisha and uneasy about the Saintess, she had never tried to leverage her position as the Grand Duke's daughter to force anything. Partly because flaunting such status inside the Academy would have been improper—but more than that, she feared that if she truly did so, Kyle might push her away for good.
The same went for this visit to the Holy Order. She had known the cardinal might propose that he convert and join them. Whether he realized it or not, he had forged a connection with the Holy Order in a single stroke. She had been about to demand what that meant for their arrangement—only to discover that he had instead declared his good relationship with her to the Holy Order itself.
If you keep doing this, I'll only want more, Kyle.
She had tried so hard to tell herself that this was as far as it went—that he was merely a contractual partner to help her reach the Grand Duke's seat. She had tried to endure the feelings she held for him. But when he kept teasing them like this, that foolish heart of hers began to waver.
"…Even on the weekend you're working so hard from first light."
Elga deliberately changed the subject. She wanted to shake off this fluttering sensation, even if only for a moment. Otherwise she feared she would end up forming wicked plans—deciding that she absolutely had to make this man hers.
"It's just what I always do. Nothing special."
"You look far too earnest for it to be 'nothing special.'"
Looking at him like this, the sweat-soaked appearance was not so bad after all. No—rather, it struck her as quite splendid and manly. A man who constantly honed himself and never showed a soft side, yet who quietly thought of others and looked after them. Who could dislike someone like that? Thinking of it that way, she could roughly understand why Tisha had been so wary of her.
"A reply came from my family. They accept the John Nassen apology—and at the same time, Litorio wishes to offer another apology of its own."
In truth she herself had pressed hard to obtain even that much, but she did not add the detail. No matter how much she urged, if her father—the head of the Grand Ducal house—had not permitted it, there would have been no talk of accepting an apology or offering one in return. She may have set things in motion, but the final decision always rested with the Grand Duke. So Elga had no desire to parade her own small contribution as if it were something to boast about.
"That's truly good news."
From Kyle's perspective the smile meant he no longer needed to watch Litorio's mood—that he could finally breathe a little easier. To Elga, however, it simply looked like joy that the apology had been accepted.
"And."
She had left out one fact, so Elga immediately added it.
"He also said that if the opportunity arises, he would like to meet you once."
"Pardon? What kind of meeting…?"
"What kind do you think? He asked me to tell you that if time allows he will arrange a gathering, and to please let him know a suitable moment. My father—the Grand Duke of Litorio—said that, Kyle."
One mountain after another, as the saying went. Having crossed the Holy Order, it seemed he now faced the Grand Ducal house.