Tofu Pilgrimage - 2
My arms were starting to go numb. Even my legs, which had been sealed firmly in place for some time now, had begun to twitch little by little.
My body kept sending me clear distress signals, but there was nothing I could do about them. This situation, too, was simply my own karma.
"Um…"
Still, just in case, I carefully opened my mouth—
"No."
"…Yes."
At Margeta's firm refusal I shut it again at once. I hadn't even finished speaking.
"I won't let you go until club time."
With that, Margeta hugged me even tighter, as if already sulking at the thought that I might try to escape.
It wasn't anyone else doing this—it was Margeta. What choice did I have? Even if my body felt a little stiff and sore, I would gladly go along with it.
So she lets me go for club time, huh.
She was being considerate even in the middle of all this. Truly, she was far more than a failure like me—fresh out of prison—deserved.
Putting that gratitude into the arms wrapped around her, I tightened my hold; she nuzzled her face against my chest as if perfectly satisfied.
This is a little embarrassing…
I turned my gaze aside out of sheer awkwardness.
It wasn't because of the hug itself. We'd done this more than once or twice; there was nothing left to feel shy about at this point.
It was the posture. The posture was far too ambiguous.
Thank goodness no one else is coming.
I looked down at Margeta, who still had her face buried in my chest.
She wasn't simply being held. She was sitting on my lap, both her legs locking my lower body in place, faces turned toward each other.
Maybe I was just being overly sensitive, but wasn't this a little strange? Anyone who walked in would get the wrong idea.
Doesn't matter.
No one could come here without Margeta's permission in the first place, so it would be fine.
Yes—no problem at all. If I shoved her away just because I felt a little embarrassed, I wouldn't even deserve to be called human. Not after what I'd seen earlier.
"Karl! A-are you really all right? You're not hurt anywhere, are you? Meals—did you eat properly?"
The moment I was released I had gone straight to the vice-president's office, skipping even the principal, to keep my promise that I would find her first. The instant I stepped inside, Margeta had flung aside the documents she was handling and thrown herself at me.
With only a slight exaggeration, she had checked me from head to toe with her own hands. Her touch had been so urgent and aching that I couldn't bring myself to pull away.
"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong."
"Th-thank goodness… hnnk… thank goodness…"
Only after I had told her I was all right several times over had Margeta been able to calm down.
"Hic… huuuh… hwaaaah!"
Or rather, it hadn't been calming down at all.
Beyond mere sniffling, Margeta had burst into full, noisy tears and patted my chest with her fists again and again. From her point of view she was probably hitting me, but no matter how I looked at it, it was only patting.
It didn't hurt. But if it had been a mental attack rather than a physical one, it had struck my heart perfectly.
"Y-you're so cruel! You said you'd never get locked up again! You said you'd never make me worry again!"
"I'm sorry…"
I couldn't lift my head under the flood of sorrow Margeta had been holding back for five whole days.
Yes, I had said that. To comfort her when she was fretting over my suspension, I had promised there would never be another incident like this.
Of course it had been a promise I couldn't keep. At that point I had only one more disciplinary report standing between me and actual confinement. "Never again" my foot—I could have been locked up the very next day and it wouldn't have been strange.
But what kind of lunatic would look at someone grieving over a suspension and say, "Well, next time it might be confinement~"? Only the Second Prince could pull something like that.
"Sit down. Right now."
"Ah, yes."
Then Margeta, eyes flashing sharply, had given the short command.
She had clearly been trying to look intimidating in her own way, but honestly she had been nothing but cute. With her reddened eyes and little sniffs, any sense of pressure simply melted away. I couldn't say that to her face, of course.
Anyway, I had sat on the sofa as ordered, and Margeta had settled onto my lap, wrapped her arms around my back, and…
"I'm never letting go. Today, Karl is mine."
She had declared it like a formal challenge, as if telling me to brace myself.
Not countering with "Haven't I always been Mar's?" had been the last scrap of conscience left to a guilty man.
If this is enough to soothe her heart…
I carefully stroked Margeta's hair. Even if she claimed me for the entire five days rather than just today, the least I could do was go along with it.
At the very least, I would stay like this until the front of my shirt dried.
I couldn't lift my face from Karl's chest.
How embarrassing…
The moment I saw him, my mind had simply gone blank. Once I confirmed there was nothing wrong with him, relief and resentment had crashed over me at the same time.
…And so, unlike usual, I had completely failed to keep my dignity. What if he thought I was an undignified lady and came to dislike me?
But it was already too late. I had bawled my eyes out in front of Karl, and I had even assaulted a man who had just been released. If this incident had disappointed him, I would have nothing to say in my defense.
Even so—even so—this was the moment my future husband had returned from prison.
How was I supposed to hold it in?
Karl kept saying it had only been five days, but I couldn't accept that at all. Did the length of time even matter right now?
Those five days had felt like hell, more agonizing than any other period I could remember. I would gladly have gone into the prison myself if it meant I could pull him out.
Even now, the thought of Karl locked inside that cell kept bringing fresh tears to my eyes.
I shouldn't be like this…
Out of sheer embarrassment I burrowed deeper into his chest. And because my face was buried there, I could feel his clothes growing wet with my tears, every single drop of them.
Yet Karl held me without a single word of complaint. He stroked my hair as if to say everything was all right.
It's so warm.
I wish we could stay like this forever.
I'll forgive him.
I hated that he had broken his promise and gotten locked up, and I hated even more that it hadn't been mere suspension but actual confinement—but still, the one who must have suffered the most was Karl himself.
I'll let it slide just this once. Yes. Only this once. Really.
"Um, Mar?"
"Absolutely not."
While I was savoring the warmth that soothed my heart, Karl spoke up again.
Certain he was about to ask to be released once more, I refused him at once. Not a chance. I could forgive him, but only after he had properly comforted me. We were nowhere near that point yet.
But Karl gave a small, awkward laugh and continued gently.
"Do you happen to have time this weekend?"
At those words I almost lifted my head, then hurriedly pressed it back down. I hadn't seen a mirror, but my face right now had to be a mess. I could never show him a face like that.
When I stayed silent, Karl chuckled softly again and stroked my hair with even more tenderness.
"This weekend, a banquet will be held at His Grace the Duke of Victory's residence to celebrate Her Highness the Crown Princess's birthday."
I had heard about it only recently, so I nodded without thinking. Father had invited me to go with him, but with Karl locked away I had been too distraught, and student council work had been busy, so I had declined…
"I received an invitation from His Grace as well, but I don't have a partner, do I? Going alone feels far too half-hearted, so I've been hesitating."
The moment I heard that far, my heart began to pound madly.
Weekend. Banquet. Partner. If anyone failed to notice what he was saying after all that, they were neither a noble nor even a person.
Partner.
Just the word made my chest race on its own. Karl's partner. A banquet attended at Karl's side.
And it wasn't just any banquet—it was Her Highness the Crown Princess's birthday banquet. Every person of note would be gathering there. Calling it a smaller version of the New Year's Audience would hardly be an exaggeration.
To attend such a place proudly as Karl's partner?
It's perfect.
The corners of my mouth twitched. Simply by attending, I could display our relationship to high society. The day after the banquet ended, the entire Empire—no, the whole continent—would know.
"Do you remember the exposition? Back then I said that if Mar was willing, I would like to be your partner…"
I remembered. It had been the monumental day I claimed Karl's first dance.
And I was moved. He had said it only in passing, yet he had remembered it properly.
"Will you be my partner?"
"I will!"
I lifted my head on pure instinct and immediately regretted it.
I had stayed still precisely because I didn't want to show my face, yet like an idiot I had already forgotten.
"Thank you, Mar."
But seeing Karl smile as if nothing at all were wrong put me at ease.
From the moment I asked her to be my partner, I could feel Margeta's mood rising sharply.
Eyes that had been brimming only with tears now sparkled with laughter, and she finally revealed the face she had been hiding against my chest.
If you laugh right after crying…
I hurriedly shook my head to drive out the extremely rude thought that had just crossed my mind. Of course she was pretty when she laughed after crying. Of course.
Silently offering Margeta a small apology, I quickened my steps. Our conversation had run longer than expected, and I was already a little late for club time.
On the very first day back…
What kind of torture was this—crowning a return from absence with lateness? Was there any worse torture in the world?
Still, by moving as fast as I could I managed to reach the club room soon enough.
"Brother!"
"Sorry, I'm a little late."
Skipping the knock and opening the door at once, I was met by Luise, who had been pacing the club room and now came running straight at me.
"Th-thank goodness. I was worried you might still be down in the basement…!"
I could only give a bitter smile at the way Luise let out a sigh of relief. It was true—if the man scheduled for release didn't show up, that was a perfectly natural thing to wonder.
I patted her shoulder a few times to reassure her, then looked around. The other members were approaching.
I was quietly grateful to these kids. I had been half-afraid they would all come swarming in under the pretext of visiting me, but luckily only Luise and Erich had actually come.
What kind of spectacle would I have put on if they had all shown up?
For starters, the jailer would have bitten his tongue in pure despair.
"Advisor, are you all right?"
Ryutis, the first to come forward, carefully asked after me. Unlike usual, his face was full of solemn gravity.
It felt strange coming from the same guy who had pulled that novel form of teabagging known as the tofu cake during my suspension. I understood why, though.
Even to him it must have looked pretty bad.
When a friend gets a tonsillectomy, you eat fried chicken right in front of him and gift him shooting-star ice cream—because teasing at that level is still acceptable.
But if he gets into a serious traffic accident and can't move his body, you simply can't bring yourself to joke. Roughly the same principle.
"I'm fine."
Still, the thought that this one at least knew where to draw the line as a sensible person made me oddly proud.
Yes—our club members really were good kids at heart.
"Nothing this time? I was kind of looking forward to it."
Buoyed by the rising sense of satisfaction, I tossed out a managerial joke, and Ryutis gave an awkward smile.
Sorry. This is the symbol of unfunniness—classic middle-manager humo—
"We prepared one."
?
What the hell.
Why would you prepare another one?