The Pure White Knight (6)
Ru and Lia locked eyes. They had both resolved to spend the day as ordinary people, but the moment a blade found its way into their hands, every resolve and every plan scattered like foam on the tide.
That was simply the world they had lived in. A world of betrayal and intrigue, where daggers flew not only from enemies and monsters, but sometimes from the very breast of an ally. Women like them could not bear the sight of a weapon in another’s hand—no matter the form it took.
Even if it was only a cake knife.
“I’ll take it, Miss Lia.”
“I’m fine, Miss Louis.”
“I told you to call me Ru.”
As the argument stretched on, personal feeling began to color every word. Ru twisted her lips for the briefest instant, then recovered and offered a gentle smile.
“I don’t mean to dismiss you, Miss Lia, but it’s still a blade. Let the adults handle things like this.”
“I’m not as young as you seem to think.”
“That may be true, but I’m clearly the elder here, aren’t I? So perhaps you ought to listen to me.”
“Ha.”
“I wish you’d listen to your unnie the same way you listen to your big brother. You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”
Impatience had pulled the same tone from her that she used when visiting the kingdom’s orphanages. Back then, the White Knight’s renown alone had been enough to win the children over. This time, it only needled her opponent’s temper.
“And if I do, will you give me a present? There’s only one gift I want right now. For you to stop wasting my time and disappear.”
“I’m sorry for interrupting your private time with Oppa. But I want to talk with Mister Claus too.”
“Oppa, is it. Fine. Now that you understand how rude you’re being, why don’t you just leave?”
“You two must be quite close. Are you blood siblings, by any chance?”
“You’re prying. Excessively.”
Lia sensed a stubborn tenacity in Ru’s manner that went far past the ordinary. Ru, in turn, felt clear hostility in Lia’s tone. Even as they circled each other with wariness, the knife still lay in the middle of the table.
“You seem very curious about us, Miss Louis.”
“Well, I only want to get to know the people I’ve just met. And I’ve heard Mister Claus is someone important in this city.”
“Is that so. But my brother doesn’t particularly care for clingy women like you.”
“Then does he prefer somewhat ill-mannered children like you, Miss Lia?”
“…”
Ru had endured as much as she could. Lia, too, had heard enough. Both of them had decided long ago exactly how to treat the other.
Then the clerk’s timid voice lit the final fuse.
“Excuse me, customers… if you don’t take it soon, you’ll be holding up the next people…”
In the same instant, both their hands shot toward the knife. It happened faster than any ordinary person could follow; the clerk’s eyes never even registered the motion.
“…”
“…!”
Lia’s fingers reached it first. Even the White Knight could not match the Black Lady’s speed. Long experience and instinct painted a vivid picture in Ru’s mind: the next second, that blade would be buried in her throat.
The moment she judged so, Ru changed course and seized the knife not by the handle but by the edge. With only two fingers she snapped the blade cleanly in half.
“…Oh my. It seems the knife was defective. Shall we ask them to replace it?”
“…We should.”
Lia gave a slight nod toward Ru, who was trying to close the scene with perfect naturalness. At the same moment, she let the broken handle drop into her other hand, out of Ru’s sight.
Could a blade that had lost its edge no longer serve as a dagger? Not for Lia. Even a rounded spoon would have been more than enough to carve human flesh.
This time even Ru failed to sense the killing intent. But just as the broken knife was about to drive into her side, a beastlike instinct moved her hand of its own accord.
“Wait…!”
“…Ugh.”
Ru seized her wrist without understanding why. It was a stroke of pure luck, yet Lia showed no fluster at all; she silently let the knife slip into her pocket. All that remained in Ru’s line of sight was an empty palm.
“What is it? All of a sudden.”
“…”
Of course, that did nothing to erase the hostility she had felt. Ru was certain Lia had tried something underhanded, and Lia made no particular effort to hide the fact.
Because she was beginning to feel sure of the woman’s identity. The obsession with Claus, the mention of coming from the capital, the aristocratic polish in every gesture.
So she really is someone the kingdom sent. Maybe she’s even here to take Claus back. On any other day she would have seized her for interrogation, but right now she simply wanted the woman out of her sight. She was about to move her hands when someone suddenly enveloped her from behind.
“Wait. Just a second.”
“What—”
“I was wondering what was taking so long.”
“…Ugh.”
In a heartbeat both her arms were pinned. Warmth settled over her shoulders at the same time. It was a sensation she had never known; only then did Lia look up.
Claus met her eyes with an expression of pure inconvenience. Then, in the most carefree voice imaginable, he asked:
“What. What’s going on this time.”
“…”
“You two weren’t fighting, were you?”
It was the same tone Ru used—treating her like a child. Yet strangely, it did not feel unpleasant. Perhaps because no one had ever held her like this even once.
In that moment Lia felt something like security. Without thinking, she let the tension drain from her body and leaned into him.
“Looks like we’d better just head home. Sorry, Ru. I think we need to leave first.”
“What?”
“Please understand. She’s a little awkward around people.”
“Ah… yes.”
“Sorry. We’ll be going, then.”
Even as he spoke, Claus was offering Ru a polite farewell. By now he should have realized she was someone the kingdom had sent, yet he seemed to be refusing her rather firmly.
And “home.” Had he just called the organization’s hideout “home” of his own accord?
“…”
A thin smile touched Lia’s lips. Like a cat that had claimed a favored person’s lap, she spoke with an expression full of quiet superiority.
“I’ll be going, Miss Louis. You’re welcome to the cake.”
“…Yes. Thank you. See you next time.”
“I don’t know if there will be a next time. Like Oppa, I’m not particularly fond of clingy people.”
Lia pulled Claus’s arm more tightly around herself. Then, in a voice low enough that only Ru could hear, she whispered:
“I told you. He doesn’t care much for women like you.”
“…”
“Next time, why don’t you try seducing him with that frail little body of yours?”
It was an unnecessary remark. Yet somehow she had wanted to add it. Fortunately Claus seemed not to have heard; he kept bowing to Ru and the surrounding customers as he led the way out of the shop.
And Lia never left the circle of his arms by so much as an inch. The harbor wind was still cold, and she wanted to savor this warmth a little longer.
I can’t tell if she’s in a good mood or a bad one.
I thought as much while staring at the back of Lia’s head nestled against my chest. She hadn’t said a single word the entire way home, so I had no idea what she was feeling. At the same time, I was a little afraid that speaking up now would only earn me a scolding.
Maybe I shouldn’t have hugged her from behind after all. But the atmosphere had looked so bad that I’d had no choice but to act on the spur of the moment. There might have been a better way, but my crisis-management skills only go so far. What can you do?
I wondered if I should let go of her even now. The moment I tried to ease my arms free, Lia suddenly wrapped her fingers around my wrist.
“My eyes are getting heavy.”
“Huh?”
“If you’re going to escort me, why not see it through to the end?”
With that she closed her eyes completely and leaned her full weight against me. The shorter distance between us wasn’t bad, but this felt a little too close.
“Lia.”
“…”
“…Mm.”
Maybe she was just tired. After all, she had spent every day cooped up in the house and then walked around all day; it made sense for exhaustion to catch up with her. I wasn’t free of mental fatigue myself, and my own eyelids were starting to feel heavy.
But the world had no intention of letting us rest. As we drew near the house, the mansion’s only maid came running toward us barefoot, urgency written all over her face.
“You’ve returned, Master. Mister Claus.”
“Yeah. Something wrong? You don’t look so good.”
“Ah, well, it isn’t exactly bad news… but it isn’t good news either…”
“What is it?”
“Could you take a look at this first?”
Hesitantly, she held out a strange metal object adorned with pure white feathers. It looked vaguely familiar, as though I might remember if I thought hard enough, but I suddenly felt too lazy and simply shook my head.
“No idea. It’s not mine, anyway.”
“I found it on the mountain, Mister Claus. A merchant I’d never seen before in the shopping district said he’d picked it up by chance… It looked a bit like a helmet crest, so I brought it back.”
“A helmet crest?”
“Yes. We only found a fragment, so I can’t be certain yet, but I believe that’s what it is. It didn’t seem like an ordinary object, so I was going to show it to Master first, but…”
At that point the maid glanced at Lia, but Lia’s eyes remained firmly shut. Apparently today’s Lia was off duty for good.
“…Anyway, if it really did come off a helmet, shouldn’t we investigate a little? None of our members use equipment like this.”
“Hmm. That so.”
“Of course it could belong to the city guard. Or it might not be a helmet crest at all… or maybe some merchant dropped it… or…”
“…”
“Or there might be a knight who’s infiltrated the city… or it might be nothing at all… or…”
“…Ugh.”
Listening to the nervous maid ramble on only made the fatigue settle deeper into my bones. If I had my way I would ignore everything and collapse onto a bed.
Besides, from where I stood it didn’t look like anything special. I figured we could just deal with it casually, so that was exactly what I did.
“It’s probably nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“I-is that so?”
“Yeah. I’m going upstairs to rest. I’ll take Lia with me.”
“Then what should I do with this, Mister Claus?”
The maid asked for my decision to the very end. I thought for a moment, then answered according to basic common sense.
“Just leave it in the square. If the owner shows up, they’ll take it themselves.”
“Word has come that a crest from the White Knight’s helm was discovered in Beimesher.”
“Ah, good heavens.”
“And they have proudly displayed it in the very center of the square, I am told. Cruel bastards.”
“…Ah…”
The grim news from Beimesher dyed the Round Table in despair. Some clutched their heads, some covered their mouths, and one even shed tears in a most unknightly fashion.
It was that unbelievable, that bitter a report. Even when someone tried to speak of hope, their lips still trembled.
“Only the crest was found? Nothing else—no other equipment, or a… head… or the like?”
“Only that, for now. Nothing else.”
“Then there is still a chance she lives, is there not? No body has been found…”
“Of course she lives. Do not speak such blasphemy. As if the White Knight would fall to the likes of them.”
“…”
“…Forgive me. I lost my temper.”
It was an unbecoming display from an aging knight, yet no one called him on it. Instead they voiced agreement and continued the hopeful speculation.
“I also believe the odds of her survival remain high. This is the White Knight who infiltrated even without informing us. She would not be captured so easily.”
“But if she has died—”
“Then they would have hung up the corpse itself. She is not dead, so they could only display a mere crest. It is nothing but a ruse to deceive us.”
“That possibility cannot be denied. They mean to throw the citizenry into chaos by openly announcing the White Knight’s death.”
“Or they hope the White Knight will be forced to reveal herself upon seeing it.”
At those words every Knight of the Round Table twisted their lips. Ever since that second-in-command of the Black Lady’s had appeared, the enemy’s movements had grown sharper still.
“I hear that second-in-command even taunted them, saying, ‘If the owner appears, take it.’ Insolent thief…”
“He is that clever. And bold. Not a scheme an ordinary man would conceive.”
“But if the White Knight truly is dead… if that is why he hung the fragment—”
“You have been saying that since earlier. How many times must I tell you it is not so.”
“I am asking what we will do if she truly is dead. She may even have been taken alive. The Black Lady’s power grows by the day. We can guarantee nothing.”
Fear crept into the young knight’s voice. As the discussion continued, he suddenly wore a cold smile.
“Perhaps this is a warning aimed at us. That they are already seizing control of the kingdom. That we should accept the truth before it is too late.”
“Compose yourself.”
“It feels as though they are rebuking our incompetence. In the end, neither we nor the White Knight have ever once captured the Black Lady. We only learned of her existence after she chose to show herself. I am beginning to feel something like respect. That man is more—”
“I said compose yourself!”
“…”
Only after another knight barked at him did he finally close his mouth. In the chilled atmosphere that followed, someone recovered their wits and spoke calmly.
“Their deception seems to be working. Even we are beginning to waver. How many people know of this matter?”
“Only us, for now. Few know the White Knight’s crest in such detail. But the moment anyone notices, the rumor will spread like wildfire.”
“We must recover it as quickly as possible. And we must also ascertain the White Knight’s whereabouts. For the sake of secrecy, one of us will have to go.”
“Then… who should go?”
At the question, every knight fell silent. Not one volunteered, and a heavy air hung over the table for a long while.
Then the young knight who had smiled coldly earlier raised his hand. Mocking the silence of the others, he spoke.
“How amusing. You all pretend to be strong and composed, yet in the end you are all trembling and clinging to the White Knight.”
“…”
“I will go.”
“I will seize that second-in-command and hang him from the city gates.”