Pounce on Me, Escort Knight! - 5
The moment Paul said he liked Lucy, Lucia buried herself against his chest and started crying all over again.
This time, of course, they were tears of joy—and Paul stroked her hair properly, the way she needed.
The story he told her while he did it went something like this:
If Lucia ever found herself a lover, Teo insisted he would have to meet the person himself and give his approval. But Lucia would soon be living far away for a while, and Teo would have no way of checking. So he entrusted Paul, her escort knight, with a charge: make sure his daughter did not take a lover.
When Paul asked, "And if that someone were me?" Teo answered, "...I'll consider that after she graduates."
So Paul made a plan to confess on Lucia's graduation day. Then they came to Peltwin, and Lucia started throwing herself at him in earnest. He had a vague sense even then that the feeling was mutual. But her father had still not given permission for her to date. Paul could not refuse an order from his master—or a request from his future father-in-law.
He'd been enduring it all, determined to wait until graduation, when Lucia confessed her feelings first.
That was the gist of it.
"...It's a holiday, so I should stop by the main house. It's been a while since I saw Dad."
"There won't be enough travel time."
"During the week of the full moon, we're allowed to take the whole week off at our own discretion. I only ever take the day itself because I'm a model student—but this time, I think I'll stretch it out a little."
Lucia's eyes narrowed. For a second, Paul thought he felt a faint murderous intent.
...Teo is going to be in for a world of trouble from his daughter, he thought.
"Let's sleep, Paul. First thing tomorrow morning, we're going home."
"...How am I supposed to stop you?"
Lucia got up at once, hauled Paul to his feet, and shoved him by the back into his room.
Mid-shove, he muttered, "What happened to the girl who was crying a minute ago?" Lucia pretended not to hear.
...Tonight I'll just cast a little Sleep Magic. No following her into her dreams.
Lucia wore an outfit similar to the one from the slime incident. Paul, as always, made do with his coat. Paul briefly wondered whether she owned several sets of the same clothes.
She also had a bag slung over her shoulder. From the look of it, the contents were jewelry.
Deciding a horse would get them to their destination fastest, they rented one. At her request, Paul took the reins, and Lucia rode behind him. She wrapped her arms around him for balance while he focused on the road. Every time the horse jostled hard, she clung tighter—and every time, Paul's concentration faltered just a little, though never enough to matter.
"My lady, we've arrived."
"You're always so fast. Thank you, Paul. Always."
"You're too kind."
Lucia dismounted carefully. Judging by the way she moved, she had a headache. She pressed her temple for a moment, then retrieved the bag from the horse.
Paul stayed mounted. He told her he would take the horse to the stables and that she should go on ahead into the mansion. Lucia waved him off, and the moment he was out of sight, she bolted straight into the mansion gardens.
"Oh—Lucy?"
"Unnie! I'm home!"
The second she opened the gate into the garden, Lucia came face-to-face with a woman sipping tea at a garden table.
Black hair, a black dress that suited it perfectly. From the cut and fabric, it looked like casual wear rather than formal attire. Anyone who wasn't a servant here had to be a young lady of House Evermore—and Lucia had just called her unnie, so that settled it.
Lucia took the seat across from her, and the two of them fell into conversation.
"You're dressed like an adventurer. What brings you here?"
"The holiday and the full moon lined up, right? That got me a pretty long break, so I thought I'd stop by the main house."
"You've gotten so thoughtful while I wasn't looking. Where's Paul?"
"We came on horseback, so he's probably at the stables."
"A horse!? Why the rush?"
"An adventurer's dream is a horse. The chance came up, so I wanted to try riding one."
At that, the woman briefly pressed her fingers to her forehead. Then, with a sigh, she muttered, "You do realize you're still an Evermore," but Lucia waved it off with an awkward laugh.
"Ah, right—unnie, I brought this for you."
Lucia pulled a small necklace from her bag. It was pretty, but mana flowed through it; this was no ordinary piece of jewelry.
"Something about helping mana circulation? Anyway, it's a necklace that helps with fatigue recovery. They said it combines dwarf and elf craftsmanship. I thought you'd like one too."
"My goodness—thank you."
She accepted the necklace and put it on at once, then murmured a soft note of admiration at the effect and thanked Lucia again.
Lucia neatened the bag on her shoulder and exchanged a quick goodbye. The woman smiled and waved; Lucia started to rise from her seat.
Then the woman spoke.
"So. Is there anything I can help with?"
"With what?"
"You came because of Paul, didn't you? I just got a lovely gift, so I figured I'd lend a hand."
Lucia had been about to leave. The words stopped her. She hesitated for only a heartbeat.
"No, I'm fine. My odds aren't so bad that I need your help. If it looks hopeless, I'll come ask for something small then."
"Alright. Do your best, our Lucy."
I'd expected a whole exchange of "How did you know?" but the conversation just... moved on. It was a little uncanny. She must always have been this sharp.
With that, the two women waved each other off, and Lucia went into the main house.
I was about to follow her in when Paul appeared, and I paused.
He opened the front gate, crossed the courtyard, and cut naturally through the garden toward the mansion. He didn't seem to have noticed Lucia's sister at all.
"Paul! Over here!"
"...?"
Lucia's sister called out loudly, stopping him just as he was about to go inside. Only then did Paul register her presence; he dipped his head in a short bow. She beckoned him over and set out another teacup.
She hadn't prepared a cup for Lucia—but she did for Paul. She clearly meant to keep him a while.
"It's been a long time, First Young Lady."
"Mm. It has."
Paul sat across from her without fuss. An escort knight ought to stay on good terms with the whole household, I supposed.
She handed him a cup of tea and asked him much the same things she'd asked Lucia. Most of his answers were similar—but the awkward questions he sidestepped with, "My lady asked to come, so I don't know the details myself."
Every time he did, the corner of her mouth ticked up a little. Ah. So that's an awkward question, her expression said.
"Alright. I've asked the escort knight everything I needed to. Now it's time to question Lucy's boyfriend. How about we drop the formal speech? I hate being the only one stuck as 'First Young Lady'—and Lucy isn't 'Youngest Young Lady' to you, is she?"
"I... right. You did say to drop it. There's only one lady I serve. I'm sorry, but my form of address for her is almost never going to change."
"Oh my. How romantic."
Wow, that's a little embarrassing. I glanced at Paul, but the man himself was calmly drinking his tea.
"Lucy's already gone inside, Rose?"
"That bag of hers was pretty. Next time she visits, get me one too."
"I'll take that to mean you ran into each other. Well—Lucy will be fine on her own."
Rose. That had to be her name. Or a nickname, the way Lucy was—but it was the only name I had for her, so Rose it would be.
"So you really came on horseback?"
"We didn't particularly need to wait for anything, and for two people, a horse was the fastest option."
Rose laughed out loud, then asked him again if he was serious.
"Well... she seemed to have this fantasy about horses, so I just took the chance to let her ride one."
"What a matching couple. A horseback date! While we're at it—how far have you and Lucy gotten?"
"Hugs, I guess? Lucy's pretty weak in the mornings."
"All vampires are. Still, only hugs is a surprise. Where did you confess?"
"We're not dating yet."
"What?"
Rose had been talking while looking toward the windows. Her eyes snapped wide and fixed on Paul.
"You're living with a cute, beautiful girl who throws herself at you, and you're still not dating? Weren't you here to get permission to marry?"
Rose's face was pure bafflement. She waved a hand at empty air, as if she couldn't even find the words.
"We sort of got our wires crossed. What am I supposed to do when Teo dotes on his daughter that much?"
"Why are we suddenly talking about Father... Wait. Did that man say something to you?"
"'Until she graduates, make sure Lucy doesn't take a lover.' Including me."
Rose pressed a hand to her forehead. The gesture was so much like Lucia's that it was a little uncanny.
"So... simply put, Lucy came to get Dad's permission to date. Is that it?"
"Exactly."
"...I give up. Fine—future tense. Where are you going to confess?"
"Tomorrow at dawn. I'm going to take her to the place we first met and confess there."
"Alright. I'll be watching in secret, so if you feel eyes on you, assume it's me. And don't confess the way our older brother did, okay?"
Rose added, "In that case, I should go to sleep now." Come to think of it, it was a little strange for a vampire to be up at this hour.
"Rose, one more thing. Lucy doesn't have a fixed marriage partner or anything, does she?"
"Nope. Our older brother already married into the allied family, so both Lucy and I are free on that front. And since Lucy's the youngest, even if some sudden marriage became necessary, I'd be the one taking her place. I really should sleep early. My room's in the same place as always—wake me before you go confess."
Rose delivered this and started to stand—then sat right back down when the mansion door flew open with a violent bang and Lucia came charging out.
"Paul!! I got permission!!"
Paul was on his feet in an instant, bracing for the Lucia streaking straight at him. She didn't hesitate. She threw herself into his arms—no, "flew" would be the better word. Paul caught her lightly out of the air and set her back on her feet.
He scolded her not to do that, it was dangerous, but Lucia paid him no mind and barreled on with what she'd come to say.
"The dating ban—he said you're the exception! He gave permission! So right now—"
"One moment, my lady. I'd like the confession to come from me."
"Okay!"
Lucia scrambled free of his arms at once and stood demurely in front of him, as if preparing to receive a confession. I figured the confession would be tomorrow—
—except Paul suddenly took her hand.
"I like you, Lucy. Will you go out with me?"
"Of course!"
The words were barely out before Lucia was back in his arms.
Paul's unexpected confession left both Rose and me briefly stunned. Holding Lucia, Paul glanced at Rose and let out a quiet snort of laughter.
You said the confession was tomorrow!
Rose's mouth moved soundlessly. Lucia had her back to Rose, so Paul must have figured she couldn't read the lips.
Just as quietly, Paul mouthed back:
Right. We did say the confession would be tomorrow.
You just confessed...!
Paul smiled faintly at Rose—who looked equal parts annoyed and speechless—then drew something from inside his coat.
A neat square object with rounded corners. A case of some kind; press a little and it would split open to show what was inside.
Tomorrow is the proposal. Proposals don't count as confessions, do they?
You lunatic.
The second Rose saw the ring case, she huffed a disbelieving laugh of pure admiration—and once she read the rest of his lips, she started clapping.
Paul slipped the case back into his coat, pressed a finger to his lips in a hush, and then, as always, stroked Lucia's hair.
Looks like Lucia's going to have a lot to tell me tonight, I thought.