Let's Never See Each Other Again
Riel glared at Alan with a frigid expression. Alan stared back at her blankly, unable to process what he had just heard.
I said it...!
For all the ice in her face, Riel was inwardly stunned by the words that had come out of her own mouth. Until now, whenever she stood before Alan, it was as if something clamped her lips shut. She couldn't speak a word. She couldn't even move properly, as though something had seized her entire body. But today, at last, she had spoken her true feelings exactly as they were. The realization washed over her in a rush of exhilaration, like years of pent-up bitterness finally clearing all at once.
Alan, meanwhile, stood frozen with his mouth hanging open. And well he might. He had never in his wildest dreams imagined hearing such harsh words from a girl—least of all from Riel.
He eventually arrived at a single conclusion.
I must have misheard.
"Riel? I think I misheard you..."
"Are your ears clogged? I told you not to talk to me. You make my skin crawl."
"......"
He hadn't misheard. Alan's face went deathly pale as he spoke in a rush.
"R-Riel, did I do something to make you angry?"
"......"
The corner of Riel's icy eyes twitched.
"Riel..."
"Didn't hear me tell you not to use my name so casually either, huh? That's three times now."
"B-but..."
Alan's mind was in chaos. Why was Riel acting like this? He had known her for nearly ten years, but this side of her was something he had almost never seen. No—come to think of it, lately Riel had been nothing but a stranger.
"R-Riel... you're not the kind of girl who'd say things like that..."
"What would you know?"
Alan floundered under the sharp retort. Iris watched the scene in silence, while the girls who usually trailed after him stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Ordinarily they might have taken his side and said something to Riel, but they were so cowed by her presence that not a word came out of them.
"You... well, you're shy and reserved, and you don't talk much, but you're kind, so you'd never say something like..."
"Hahaha!"
Unexpectedly, it was Iris who reacted. Hearing him, she burst into loud laughter.
"Shy? Quiet? I only just introduced myself to her, but she doesn't seem like that kind of girl at all."
Of course, Iris had no idea that Riel had once genuinely appeared that way. Her words only deepened Alan's confusion.
Riel pressed on.
"Anyway, please just don't talk to me. I can't stand people like you."
"I don't understand. You've never said anything like this before."
"Do I have to spell it out? After all those hints, you should've taken them and backed off."
"W-what do you mean..."
"The reason I never said it out loud until now is because your behavior was so absurd I couldn't even find the words."
In truth, it wasn't that Riel had chosen not to speak. She had been unable to—her words inexplicably dying in her throat whenever she stood before him. But she had no intention of giving him unnecessary information, so she settled for a convenient lie. It was a rather strained lie, admittedly.
"When someone ignores you and glares at you, shouldn't you at least figure out they don't like you?"
"You've always been like that... I thought you were just embarrassed. That it wasn't how you really felt..."
"What...?"
For a moment, Riel was so flabbergasted she lost her words entirely. Until now, because she couldn't speak and could barely even move in his presence, she had used every means available to her—ignoring him, avoiding him, glaring at him—trying to communicate even through the smallest of actions. But Alan had paid none of it any mind. He had approached her anyway, rambling about how he would protect her and other such nonsense, until Riel had even begun to wonder if her expressions simply weren't getting through.
She had never once imagined that the message had gotten through—and that he had simply twisted its meaning to suit himself.
"...I genuinely cannot believe this."
"R-Riel..."
"I've wanted to say this for a long time. I have never once given you permission to use my name."
"What...?"
Alan's face went from ashen to nearly white. And no wonder. Riel's words and manner fit every criterion of the "arrogant noble" that he had arbitrarily decided to despise. His mind was sliding from confusion into outright chaos.
"From now on, I'd appreciate it if you didn't use my name and didn't speak to me at all."
"......"
"That's all. If at all possible, let's never see each other again."
With that, Riel spun on her heel and strode away. Watching her go, Iris left Alan with a single remark—"Keep it quiet in the training hall from now on"—and followed after her. Alan could do nothing but stare blankly at Riel's retreating back.
After finishing a set of my training routine, I wiped the sweat with a nearby towel and took a drink of water. I'd faced monsters recently enough, but fighting people was something I hadn't done in a long time, so I'd put together a training menu that incorporated plenty of visualization drills.
I'll probably need some sparring soon, too...
As I thought that, I remembered I'd already arranged to spar with Senior Iris in the near future. Right. Perfect timing, then.
I turned around—and Riel was nowhere to be seen. She'd definitely been sitting right over there when I started practicing. I headed toward the benches to look for her, and that's when I heard her voice.
"Kyou!"
She threw herself into my arms.
"Whoa—"
The sudden hug caught me so off guard that a dumb sound escaped my mouth.
"R-Riel? What's going on all of a sudden?"
"I... I finally said it! I told him everything, honestly!"
"What are you talking about...? More importantly, I'm dripping with sweat—I probably stink..."
I tried to pull away in embarrassment, but she held on tight and wouldn't let go. Then I noticed she was trembling slightly. I gave up trying to extract myself and looked around. Behind us, Senior Iris was watching with a smile.
"Senior...? What on earth happened?"
"Ahaha... just leave her be. I don't really know myself, but it seems like she accomplished something in her own way."
"???"
I had no idea. I had no idea, but the faint tremor in Riel's body worried me, so I gently put my arms around her in return.
"I was... a little scared, but... I did it properly."
"R-right... you did really well."
I still didn't know what she'd accomplished, but I praised her for it anyway.
...I should probably ask her about this later.
Alan had been staring blankly at Riel's retreating back. As he kept watching, he saw her suddenly break into a run. The man she was running toward was wearing training clothes unlike usual, but Alan knew that black-haired figure with the black-rimmed glasses well enough.
Kyou Ventus.
"......"
Riel said something as she ran to him and threw her arms around him. Kyou Ventus looked briefly startled, then wrapped his arms around her in return.
...He couldn't bear to watch any longer.
"Alan...?"
"Um, are you okay?"
The voices of the girls worrying over him snapped Alan back to himself for a moment. He forced a smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Even they could tell the smile on his face was forced. But they had nothing they could say to him. A brief silence hung in the air, and it wasn't until Alan said they should leave and started gathering his things that they finally departed the training hall.
I was surprised. I never thought Riel would actually manage to show Alan her true feelings.
And I missed a development that hilarious?!
...That was a rather frivolous thought. What I felt more strongly was pride. She'd been getting brighter lately, and she'd finally done it. That was my reaction after hearing her story in full, in the secret room of the Great Library.
"So, do you think Alan actually got the message?"
"Honestly, I don't know. He's not exactly someone you can have a normal conversation with to begin with."
"That's true."
"And just looking at his face made me so angry I couldn't even look at him properly."
"I... see."
Well, considering what Riel had been through, it was only natural she'd hate him.
"Congratulations, Lady Riel."
Phyllis offered Riel her sincere congratulations. Then again, Phyllis herself had suffered considerably because of Alan.
"Anyway, I definitely feel more confident now! If he tries to talk to me again, I'll just punch him!"
Riel clenched her fists and started shadowboxing as she said it.
...Hmm. Even throwing punches with those tiny hands, making whoosh-whoosh sounds with her mouth, she just looked adorable.
That's not the point.
"Still, given everything that guy's done so far, there's no telling what kind of stunt he might pull."
"You think so...?"
"Hmm..."
Looking at Alan's behavioral patterns so far, he had a tendency not to understand things even when they were spelled out for him, then make his own delusional judgments and act on those instead. Even though Riel had told him directly this time, there was no predicting what kind of distortion might take place inside that head of his, or how he'd act as a result.
"For now, stick with me as much as possible inside the academy, and otherwise... Phyllis, could you stay by her side?"
"Will you be all right, sir?"
Phyllis was, first and foremost, my personal maid. Which meant that if she was attached to Riel, I'd have a harder time getting support myself.
"It's fine. I can take care of myself well enough."
"For someone who can take care of himself, you didn't seem able to dress properly when I stepped out, sir."
"...I'll probably be fine."
It's not that I can't dress myself. Phyllis is just really good at dressing me.
Anyway. That's the story.
Having suffered a shocking experience at the training hall, Alan sat in his room, lost in thought.
Had the person he'd met really been Riel? That much was certain. The idea that he wouldn't recognize her was absurd. Then what had that behavior of hers meant?
"I told you not to talk to me. You make my skin crawl."
"When someone ignores you and glares at you, shouldn't you at least figure out they don't like you?"
Was that, as she'd said, how she truly felt? It was true that Riel had often ignored him or glared at him. Then did that mean she really...
That's impossible! Riel and I have been together for ten years...
Alan shook his head violently, refusing to accept it. That's right. It couldn't be. That wasn't how Riel really felt.
...But.
"Do you really think a mere commoner like you has any right to call me by name so casually?"
Those words of hers lingered in his mind. The arrogant nobles he so despised, looking down on people from their high stations... behavior just like Kyou Ventus's. For Riel to say something like that... it was too much of a shock.
As he sat there brooding, the image of Riel throwing herself into Kyou's arms—and of Kyou Ventus comforting her—flashed through his mind.
"Ah..."
In that instant, a hypothesis formed in Alan's mind. A characteristically self-serving hypothesis, of course.
"I see... you're the one who made her like that. Kyou Ventus..."
A hollow laugh escaped Alan's lips.