Chapter 73
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 73
Translation: godsn
It was guilt.
He removed his hood.
"As for why I took you as my squire... I'll answer that after we share swords."
He draped his hooded cloak over her trembling shoulders. Unable to comfort or reassure her, he could only part the cloak's folds for her.
"The night grows chilly, so let's keep this walk short, Cadet Echinacea."
He didn't want to leave. He wanted to talk longer. But she probably didn't wish for that. The longer they stood facing each other, the more it might bring back unpleasant memories. With great effort, Yurien peeled his lingering hand away from her and turned his back immediately.
[Are you planning to keep pretending you don't know?]
As he distanced himself from her, Langiosa quietly questioned. Yurien gritted his teeth invisibly.
"If she doesn't want it, how can I resurrect what she's chosen to erase?"
[Well, it is rude to uncover secrets others wish to hide. But continuing to feign ignorance would be deceiving her.]
"...I'll watch over her for now."
Yurien rubbed his face with trembling hands.
Yurien's temporary squires rotated among the officer cadets based on their rankings—a system shared by most knights who didn't have permanent squires. Other knights occasionally called upon cadets they got along with, felt comfortable around, or simply liked as temporary squires, but Yurien had never done so. He treated everyone the same, indifferent to whether they were replaced or not. Until today.
Typically, temporary squires would visit their assigned knight early in the morning to receive the day's schedule. Unless given special instructions the previous day, they were expected to wait outside the knight's door around the time they'd wake up.
"I've taken on the responsibility of providing preliminary squire training for Cadet Echinacea. Therefore, starting today, Cadet Thomas, who's next in line, will serve as the Captain's temporary squire."
Waking up first thing in the morning to face Ian Pelletro wasn't exactly pleasant. And on top of that, hearing such a report.
Yurien looked down at Ian Pelletro, who wore a composed smile. Through True Sight, the man's sinister, seething black malice was unmistakable. Who exactly did he think he was going to train?
Yurien understood Ian's tendencies quite well. He was likely consumed with jealousy—if not outright murderous intent—toward Echinacea Roaz, who had been appointed as a squire on her very first day. He'd acted the same toward Baraha, and with a freshman like her, it would only be worse.
'There's no way she'd suffer harm from someone like him.'
Still, the mere thought of him lurking near her was unbearable. So Yurien issued a flat command.
"Delegate the preliminary squire training to another cadet. You will perform your temporary squire duties as scheduled."
"...Excuse me?"
"Don't make me repeat my orders."
"Ah, understood... Then, may I briefly step away? I need to find a replacement cadet and introduce them to Cadet Echinacea."
"You have one hour."
Yurien glanced at his watch. Flustered, Ian hastily saluted and rushed off. Yurien had no intention of giving him more time. Even with extra time, that bastard wouldn't assign her a proper cadet.
A cadet to provide her with preliminary squire training... Yurien pondered if there was anyone suitable. Having never paid much attention to the officer cadets, no one came to mind immediately. Staring blankly at the documents, he wrestled with the problem.
"Captain, is there truly a need to increase the subjugation scale this much?"
Baron Tilius entered the captain's office with a stack of documents, his face a picture of surprise. The moment Yurien saw him, the perfect cadet came to mind.
"Baron, where is your squire right now?"
"Baraha should be in morning training. Why do you ask?"
"Have him halt his training and come to the academy for a while."
"Pardon? Why so suddenly...?"
"Echinacea Roaz, the cadet, is to begin her squire preliminary training today. Go check if it's being conducted properly. If it's not going smoothly, it might be better to have Baraha take over her training entirely."
Baron's expression twisted in bewilderment. First the unusual squire appointment, and now meddling in preliminary training? This wasn't anything difficult—any senior cadet could handle it, so why assign Baraha, a full-fledged squire? Was this really the Captain he knew?
Seeing his expression, Yurien added as if making an excuse:
"It's not an order. Just something to consider."
"...Understood. I'll deliver the message to Baraha and return."
Baron replied awkwardly before leaving the Captain's office.
That evening, Yurien received a report that Baraha Islaf had been assigned as Echinacea Roaz's squire training instructor.
"Hey, I heard you assigned Baraha to your squire?"
Dietrich tossed a grape into his mouth and teased. Yurien didn't even look up, continuing to flip through documents. With less than a month left before the expanded monster subjugation, urgent matters piled up. As he reviewed the supply budget for the subjugation squad, Dietrich's muttering reached his ears.
"Surprising. Well, the squire appointment itself was unexpected, but still. Aren't you jealous?"
"Jealous?"
Yurien lifted his head. Dietrich, lounging against the sofa, merely turned his neck to look at him.
"Honestly, I thought you'd fallen for her at first sight. Why else would you appoint her as squire out of the blue? But seeing you assign Baraha, I guess you really meant what you said—you were purely! captivated by her talent. You stone-hearted bastard. Is there anything that excites you besides swords?"
When appointing Echinacea Roaz as squire, Yurien had claimed it was due to her talent—that he'd recognized her potential at a glance. Among those who knew him, this explanation made far more sense than him falling for someone at first sight, so most accepted it easily.
Only Dietrich, his closest friend, found it suspicious due to an odd hunch. But apart from the squire appointment, Yurien's daily life remained unchanged. He didn't summon her or seek her out separately. For someone supposedly smitten, he was remarkably indifferent.
Still, hearing he'd intervened in her preliminary training made Dietrich wonder—but then he'd called for Baraha. Maybe it was just about pairing a talented squire with a capable senior. Perhaps his hunch had been wrong after all.
"Is there some meaning to assigning Baraha?"
Yurien looked genuinely puzzled. Dietrich had no choice but to concede that the man had truly appointed her as squire purely for her talent. His intuition must have been off this time. He muttered dejectedly:
"Wow, you really don't get it. You truly weren't interested. Damn, sorry for underestimating your pure swordsmanship obsession."
Yurien frowned and closed the document. He'd steered Baraha into becoming her instructor because the squire was both capable and kind-hearted. There was also the intention to block any schemes Ian Pelletro might attempt regarding her training.
Not visiting her even once in the six days since meeting her at the fountain had been for her sake. The memory of her trembling, slender shoulders made it impossible to face her. Since they'd inevitably cross paths frequently once she became an official squire, he endured keeping her at arm's length.
But asking if he wasn't jealous? It was such an unexpected question that he needed to hear the reasoning. As Yurien straightened up to listen properly, Dietrich turned fully toward him.
"Well, usually men don't deliberately create opportunities for the women they like to grow close to other men. Especially when that other man is a decent fellow."
"So you're saying that by assigning Baraha as her instructor, I'm giving her an opportunity to get close to a decent man?"
"Exactly. It sounds ridiculous when you put it into words like this, but..."
"...Is Baraha Islaf a decent man?"
"Decent? He's practically perfect. Young, handsome, well-built, exceptional swordsmanship—being a squire practically guarantees his future, and his personality's great too. You have no idea how popular he is among the women, do you?"
Counting off each point on his fingers, Dietrich added with a grimace:
"Then again, maybe you wouldn't know. You've always been popular yourself, so it probably seems normal to you. Damn lucky bastard."
"......"
That wasn't it at all. To Yurien, Baraha was simply the vice-captain's squire and a promising cadet, regardless of gender. The idea of Baraha Islaf and Echinacea Roaz having any romantic potential had never even crossed his mind.
Between a man and a woman. The phrase felt utterly foreign. She was an unmarried woman. She could fall in love. She could marry someone. Only now realizing this, Yurien's expression went blank. Seeing his face, Dietrich clicked his tongue.
"Anyway, judging by your reaction, you weren't even considering that angle. My mistake—should've known a sword-obsessed lunatic wouldn't understand love."
Shrugging, Dietrich tossed the remaining grapes into his mouth in one go. His words came out muffled by the mouthful of fruit:
"Personally, I'd prefer if all decent men near the woman I like dropped dead. To be brutally honest, I'd rather there were no men at all—just married ones, no, actually no men whatsoever. Even women getting too close would make me uneasy."
"That sounds... mildly unhinged."
"They say love is essentially a form of mental illness anyway."
"That's quite the exaggeration."
"You'll understand when you experience it, kid. Speaking of which, this mentally ill man is off to see Teresa."
Chuckling, Dietrich left the captain's office. Yurien sat blankly, turning over the words left in his wake.
'How... do I actually feel about her?'
She was special. So extraordinarily special that no one could replace her in his world. Someone like her shouldn't exist. Couldn't possibly exist. And yet he wanted to approach her. Wanted to be closer. This unbearable desire directed at her.
Mixed with that desire was guilt. Profound, unconfessed guilt. Fear too. Like everything he'd ever coveted since childhood—shattered or stolen away. Like his treasured bird struck dead by an arrow. The terror that wanting her might destroy her. It already had once. And she had been the one to restore what was broken.
These tangled emotions ran too deep and thick to define. Having never loved before, he couldn't tell if this was love.
Yurien closed the documents and stood, heading out of the captain's office.
Though he hadn't visited, he'd kept informed about Echinacea Roaz's training. Within the Blue Sky, informants served as the Knight Commander's eyes and ears, and through them he received daily reports about the cadet destined to become his squire. The reports barely stayed within official bounds by virtue of her being a prospective squire.
According to today's report, she should be learning horse grooming techniques. Which meant she'd be at the stables right now.
[Huh? Where are you going all of a sudden?]
The Holy Sword's slightly flustered voice went unanswered. Yurien strode directly toward the stables. His heightened senses detected two people inside before he arrived. Murmured conversation reached his ears.
"Senior Baraha, do you just brush the mane directly?"
"No, first you need to finger-comb the tangles out. Otherwise it'll break. Here, let me show you."