Chapter 209 - Her Conclusion
"........"
Dozens of minutes after the brief commotion in the training hall had ended, Frey lay on the bed in Isolet's room.
"Hey, Sis..."
"Don't call me Sis."
Of course, this wasn't something Frey had asked for.
"I'm fine, really..."
"Rest is essential after training."
Despite the silent protests from Irina and Lulu, Isolet had insisted.
"Especially for a frail thing like you. If I don't make you take this much rest, it could strain your body."
"Hey, if it's that bad, maybe I shouldn't train at all..."
"If you don't train, you can't get stronger. Do you plan to stay a weakling forever?"
"Sigh."
Frey, who had quietly shut his mouth at Isolet's words, let out a sigh and pulled the blanket over himself.
"Hm."
Isolet, who had dragged a chair up to the bedside to watch over him, unconsciously reached out a hand toward him—but then...
"Grrr~!"
"Chirp! Chirp!"
"Meow..."
In that instant, the animals stationed in every corner of the room began barking and meowing in unison.
"Hah... hah..."
"Ugh..."
The next moment, the red dog that Irina had introduced as her pet leaped onto the bed and burrowed into Frey's blankets.
".........""
A brief silence followed.
"The animals sure love you."
Isolet, witnessing this rare sight she rarely saw, spoke up amid the cold stares directed at her from around the room.
"Y-Yeah... Wait, I never brought a dog here, so why..."
"Hah... hah..."
She frowned as the red dog wriggled under Frey's blankets, then said,
"Hasn't that dog been neutered yet?"
"I wanted to, but Irina said no."
"...I see."
As Isolet unwittingly shot a cold glare at the dog, it flattened its ears and put on a frightened expression.
"...What am I even thinking."
After some time passed, Isolet slapped her own cheek hard and shook her head, then rose from her seat and headed to the corner of the room.
"Hm."
She opened the refrigeration magic tool in the corner.
"Pfft."
When Frey saw it filled with beer cans, he covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.
"What? It's got total old maid vibes. No one to drink with at night, so you sip alone?"
"......"
"Poor thing. I could join you..."
Frey teased with a grin, but he soon trailed off and fell silent.
"Uh, um..."
He had caught sight of Isolet's eyes, which had darkened again into that crushing gloom from before, reminding him that his ploy had failed once more.
"S-Sorry..."
Frey averted his gaze and mumbled an apology. Seeing him like that, Isolet unconsciously swallowed hard.
The sight of him—bold and cheeky just moments ago, now lying weakly in her bed—stirred something deep and dark within her.
She hadn't noticed it when her eyes had glazed over earlier, but no matter what, she couldn't harbor such feelings for her first disciple.
For some reason, these past few days, just thinking of Frey made her body burn unbearably hot. She was in a state where she had to forcibly draw a psychological line, or who knew what she might do.
In other words, the reminder that he was her "first disciple" was Isolet's last line of defense.
Calm down...
Clenching her eyes shut and taking deep breaths, Isolet reached into the deepest, coldest part of the magic tool and pulled something out.
"Huh..."
Frey's eyes widened at the sight.
"It's been ages since I've seen that."
Isolet had retrieved the ice cream they always shared after training when they were kids.
"But why do you still have that...?"
As Frey questioned her while she carried over the large tub, Isolet answered in a low voice.
"A-a reward."
"A reward?"
"From now on, whenever you complete training successfully... I'll give you a reward."
She said that, but Isolet's true intent was different.
If she kept seeing the Frey before her as a man, she wouldn't be able to control herself. To fix him firmly as her first disciple, she planned to repeat the actions from back when he was her disciple—to suppress her dark desires.
"...Nom."
But that resolve crumbled to pieces the moment Frey scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and ate it.
His wide-eyed, munching expression overlapped with the pure Frey from their past—sitting side by side on the mansion bench after training, gleaming white amid the empire's darkness and evil.
"Ugh..."
That innocent image branched into twisted visions in Isolet's mind.
Frey rolling on the ground. Frey defeated by her swordsmanship, collapsing with a humiliated expression. Frey calling her name with teary eyes.
And then, pinning that Frey down by force, crushing him beneath her.
Staining his white fear with her own color...
"Slap!"
"Whoa?!"
Isolet struck her own cheek hard.
"...Must be a mosquito."
"It's winter now..."
"......"
Her face flushed at the lame excuse. She jammed a spoon into the ice cream tub Frey was holding.
"...Nom."
For a while, the only sounds in her room were the clink of spoons scooping ice cream and the munching.
"Mmm."
The ice cream was as sweet and delicious as ever.
But Isolet could no longer feel the innocent joy from back then.
As kids, she'd think about the day's training results, or at most find Frey's munching cute.
Now, all she saw was the ice cream, slick and messy from his spoon and saliva.
Am I...
Blushing unwittingly as she scooped another bite, Isolet suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head.
...such a lewd woman?
She began seriously reflecting on herself.
On how her body heated up even now, watching Frey's bewildered expression.
On how her strict "education" of Frey might have been...
When she beat him as kids, she'd always pin him down and smirk with a "victory declaration."
Was that a hidden kink she alone hadn't realized?
"Hey, Sis."
"Don't call me Sis..."
Now, just hearing "Sis" from him made her tremble.
As I said before... I'm a failure as a knight, a teacher, a mentor, and a noble lady.
Unable to stop Frey from calling her Sis, Isolet hung her head dejectedly, chewing her lip.
If this continues, I'll just be a lewd woman who can't control her desires. A whore, nothing more.
She reached that conclusion and fell silent.
"Sis? What's wrong?"
"........"
Time passed like that.
. . . . .
"...Nom."
Isolet lifted her head after a long while, scooped a bite of the now-melted ice cream "drink," and her eyes suddenly gleamed.
"Frey."
She spoke to him in a low voice as he lay in bed.
"Frey, why don't you live here?"
"Huh?"
As Frey tilted his head, Isolet averted her gaze slightly and added,
"Become part of my family."
At those words, Frey's face twisted in disbelief.
"What... are you talking about?"
Isolet stared at him steadily, then took his hand and began speaking calmly.
"I can't explain in detail, but the imperial family and the Church are plotting something. If things continue like this, you'll be ruined in a few months—your life in danger."
"I already knew... Uh. I-I see."
"This isn't a joke. No matter how much I train you, you won't last a few months. You'll definitely fall or die."
Her words were grounded in fact.
Recently, the imperial family and Church had asked her to join the "hero party." Thanks to her skill and status, she'd learned quite a bit about it.
And among those facts was that the hero party viewed Frey—not the Demon King—as an equal threat.
The imperial family and Church kept pressing her for sensitive info on Frey.
"Hm..."
"But if you become my family... I can protect you."
Her eyes burned with a strange fervor as she made the proposal.
"You've foolishly signed oaths already, but the Bywalk family still has room for oaths limited to family members."
Smiling triumphantly as if she'd found a breakthrough, Isolet gently stroked the dazed Frey's hair.
"You know it already. The attacks on you have begun. The empire's media is piling on. Your mansion will be raided soon, investigators summoning you—not far off."
She bowed her head to Frey on the bed, whispering with a terrifying expression.
"What do you say, Frey?"
Staring at him intently, she couldn't help but curl her lips when she saw his fearful gaze.
Yes, this is... to protect my first disciple. And a punishment for myself, who failed to educate him.
She murmured inwardly.
...So, it can't be helped. This isn't personal desire at all.
After much deliberation, her conclusion was to make Frey family.
His fall as her first disciple was her fault as his master. She'd tried to kill him sincerely multiple times but couldn't bring herself to.
She couldn't even attack, let alone kill. If she couldn't punish and reform him, she'd take responsibility herself. Simple logic.
"Frey? Answer me."
Her final line of defense—that she couldn't harbor indecent thoughts for her "first disciple"—crumbled pathetically under self-justification.
"What will you do."
Swallowing dryly.
"I'll take responsibility."
Urging a response from the frail-looking Frey, she recalled.
Come to think of it, the first time Frey came to me... it was about the engagement talks.
Closing her eyes tightly, she remembered their first meeting.
The child who barely reached her waist, tilting his head: "Are we getting married?"
The talks had fallen through for various reasons.
But perhaps... this was fate.
From the start, she was destined to be bound to Frey...
"...So, you're saying you'll adopt me?"
"Huh?"
Isolet snapped out of her delusion—Frey blushing and surrendering to her—startled by his words.
"You're talking about adopting me, right?"
At Frey's remark, sweating profusely for some reason, Isolet felt like she'd been struck by a hammer.
...Why didn't I think of that?
There was another way to become family: adoption.
Yet she'd naturally assumed...
"That won't happen."
As she sat lost in thought, Frey said firmly.
"I don't want to be your son, Sis."
With that, he hurriedly got out of bed and headed to the door with the animals.
"It was fun today, Sis."
- Click...!
Just like that, Frey left the room in a flash.
"........."
Silence lingered for a moment.
"I-In that case... no choice, huh?"
In the quiet, Isolet's eyes glazed over.
"Should I just lock him in the mansion? If he goes out like that... he'll become public enemy number one..."
She muttered lowly.
"A-As his master, I have to take responsibility. Teach him occasionally. Feed him... B-Better than prison or death..."
Biting her lip as she said that, Isolet...
"Hiiik."
Suddenly chilled, reached for the nearby drawer.
- Slide...
She pulled out a photo of a sickly-looking boy, then quietly crawled into the bed where Frey had lain moments ago.
"N-No. First... I need to calm down..."
Overwhelmed by the lingering warmth and scent on the sheets, she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Haa..."
Soon, rough breaths echoed through her room.