The Evil Woman's Father -1-
With hollow eyes, Yuria wandered the streets. A lot had happened since that day. The student council had held a disciplinary committee. Despite the student council president's warnings, Mikhail, Ruin, and Yuria had gone to the dungeon anyway, and they were punished for it.
Amid heated arguments between Ruin, who claimed the student council's punishment was unfair, and the exploded Princess Shartia, Mikhail and Yuria humbly accepted their penalties. Shartia had said to us:
"You were told it was plenty dangerous, and we even warned you not to go—why the hell did you charge off on your own?" She was furious enough to hurl the documents at us.
"You nearly died. If the knights had been even a little later, you'd all be dead. Are you insane, going there with just the three of you? You're student council officers—did you ignore the warnings just because? Do I look like a joke to you? Do my words mean nothing?"
"Fine, I get that Ruin's always been a loose cannon. The guy's got no brain anyway."
"What?"
"Shut your trap before I sew it shut."
"Fuck this shit. My mood's already in the toilet..."
"I said shut it. One more peep out of that mouth, and it won't be suspension—it'll be expulsion."
"..."
Shartia, dark circles heavy under her eyes, glared downward and turned to Yuria.
"Haa... And you, Mikhail and Yuria. Aren't you better than this? You've always been so diligent, and Yuria, you haven't even set foot in a dungeon since your first year... Haa... Seriously..."
"...I'm sorry."
"Anyway. All three of you are suspended."
"Why the hell are we suspended? We didn't do anything wrong...!"
"Shut it! Ending it at suspension is mercy enough."
Yuria received a one-month suspension. For an ordinary student, it wouldn't have ended there—they'd even considered expulsion, but the faculty and Shartia's recommendation scaled it down, since kicking out top students who were the faces of their departments would hurt the Imperial Academy.
And then, the student council president mentioned that several letters presumed to be from heretics had been found in Hans's room. They'd set up a containment net for a non-lethal capture without getting too close, but we ruined it. She spat out her resentment before adding one last irritated remark.
"If that bastard causes any casualties because of this, it's on you. You could try shoving the blame, but... it's true, so don't whine."
"If you feel wronged, you should've listened."
"Haa..." Yuria wandered the Capital streets, lost in tangled thoughts. It wasn't that she was aimlessly roaming like a lost child just because of the suspension. She'd braced herself for this the moment she stepped into the dungeon to find the missing Hans.
But...
Trash.
The events the Blue Window had shown kept replaying in her mind, making it impossible to stay cooped up in her room. She'd tossed and turned for nights, and even the dagger her father gave her as an entrance gift to the academy sat buried in her dorm drawer, untouched. Just looking at it made her hands shake and her breath ragged.
The realization that what she'd been so sure of had been her horrific mistake left Yuria steeped in a gloom she couldn't shake. She wanted to apologize right away, but... she didn't have the courage to face Ricardo as she was now. She'd hurled cruel words at him, hadn't thanked him for saving her from the heretic in the last dungeon, and now adding an apology for this one... She wouldn't know what expression to make.
I'm shameless.
Apologizing now wouldn't change anything. The damage was done. Forcing things in their fractured relationship might just make it worse.
Yuria hesitated. She hadn't forgiven Ricardo. She wasn't sure if she even had the right, but she hadn't forgiven what he'd done. What happened at the academy lingered as deep resentment.
And Ricardo would...
"It's fine. Let's get out of here."
...surely smile and say it was okay. That's why Yuria couldn't bring herself to apologize easily. What she'd done to him couldn't be wiped away with a simple sorry. She wanted his hate, at least. Even hatred like "Only now you remember?" would ease her heart a little.
The chilling sound of that blade piercing Ricardo still echoed in her ears. Yuria wore a melancholic expression and let out a sigh.
"I don't know..."
What to do first. Where to start fixing things. For Yuria, who had no experience with this, there was no clear answer. Helping people, being the one bullied—it wasn't pleasant to suddenly feel like the perpetrator.
As she walked the streets in low spirits...
Murmur murmur.
...she stopped at a crowd of people gathered in one spot. Seeing the dense throng, Yuria hurried over, thinking,
A fight?
If this many people gathered, it was probably a famous imperial circus troupe, dancers, or a brawl to gawk at. Unable to just pass by despite her gloom—especially if someone was hurt—Yuria pushed through the crowd. But her small stature made it hard to see the center.
I can't see...!
Yuria asked a tall man nearby.
"Um... why is everyone gathered like this?"
"Hm? Oh... something amazing, y'know."
"Something amazing?"
"A wheeled chair carrying a person."
"A wheeled chair?"
Yuria thought to herself, They're making this big fuss over a chair with wheels? She got that it was a rare sight, but this many people? She couldn't fathom it.
The tall man stroked his long beard and exclaimed in awe.
"Not just any chair... it rolls on its own! Carrying two people at that speed... Whew, gets the blood pumping."
The man next to him nodded, fist clenched with youthful fervor bubbling over.
"A cart for people, but that fast? Seems dangerous."
His tone was worried, but his eyes burned with desire.
"Maybe I should ask for a ride..."
The grown man muttered with eyes full of longing.
Curiosity piqued, Yuria shoved through the crowd and finally broke through to see what everyone stared at. She couldn't hide her shock.
Vroom vroom vroom!
Hieeek!!!!
It was a real moving chair. Red-bodied, roaring with a loud vroom, zipping down the street at high speed. And the person riding it—Yuria couldn't hide her trembling gaze.
"Uwahahaha!!! Uwahahaha!!"
"Miss! I said no speeding!"
"Ricardo didn't tell me the kilometers."
"30—no, 20!"
"20?"
Hearing the man standing on the footrest below the backrest, the woman slammed the brakes. The chair screeched to a halt, and the man's body launched into the air.
"Huh?"
"Eek...! Ricardo's flying!"
"The miss launched him."
Landing amid the crowd, the man flipped in midair, touched down gracefully, and dusted his hands.
"Nice landing."
The onlookers burst into applause.
"Awesome!"
"You with the circus, bro?"
"Uwah~~!"
The man bowed with an embarrassed grin.
"Thank you. Not circus—I'm a butler."
As he glanced around and headed back to the stopped chair...
"Huh?"
...Yuria locked eyes with him. He brightened and said,
"Yuria, right?"
It was sooner than she'd thought. As flustered Yuria stammered...
...the woman abandoned in the middle of the road began scolding to summon Ricardo.
"Ricardo! Hurry up. The chocolate shop'll close."
"It's not even 10 yet, miss."
"What if it sells out?"
"Then we'll be bummed."
"...Eek!"
Ricardo grinned and approached her, straightening his clothes and walking slowly. Watching him, Yuria's eyes trembled.
"How'd you end up here..."
"Ah."
Ricardo turned to the woman in the chair. Helmet on, face hidden, but the voice gave away Olivia. Seeing his fidgeting master shy under the stares, he whispered softly,
"Well... circumstances."
"Pardon?"
"The miss drives clumsily. The mansion... anyway! We came to the capital after a long time. To celebrate the family head's birthday and all."
Ricardo smiled his usual calm smile.
"How've you been, Yuria?"
"I..."
Words failed her. Lips quivering, unsure what to say, Yuria wrung out,
"F-Fine... yeah."
"Glad to hear it."
"Um... and you, Ricardo?"
"Me?"
Olivia's irritation echoed from the street again.
"Ricardo!"
He started walking away.
"Yeah. Doing great."
Ricardo looked happy.
*
On the way to the capital's chocolate shop after seeing Yuria off, the miss in the wheelchair turned her head.
"You seem in a good mood, Ricardo."
"Yeah. Feels like she's finally growing up."
"Growing?"
"Height-wise."
"I know."
Ricardo knew about Hans. That they wouldn't die. And that this incident would make them grow.
He'd known with the possessor's benevolent heart.
"Gonna live off playing and eating now."
"You've always done that."
"..."
Ricardo pressed down on Olivia's helmet.
"Hieeek!!! I'll turn into a dwarf!"