If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them (2)
"Thank you so much, Sir Knight. Thank you truly!"
"That's enough with the thanks. Just head on inside, everyone. I didn't really do much."
"We will never forget what you did for us. If you ever happen to stop by our shop next time..."
"Enough, enough. I'm going in for real now. I'm closing the door."
"Thank you so much, Sir Knight!"
...
"Haaah..."
A little over a month had already slipped by since I arrived in the Capital.
Once again I returned to the mansion buried under a barrage of gifts. Fruit, ribbons, sweets—when I dumped everything from both arms, a whole new mountain of boxes rose in a hallway already packed with presents.
No matter how you looked at it, this was more than an old father and his single daughter could ever handle. I had donated to the orphanage several times already, but every time I did, even more tokens of gratitude poured in. At this point the sense of accomplishment had long since given way to pure guilt.
"I ended up bringing way too much home again, Ru. Sorry."
"No. It's fine. Every piece of it carries the citizens' hearts... More importantly, would you mind taking this wreath off me?"
"Ah—right."
I mumbled a half-hearted apology while peeling off the decorations some child had draped over the "pretty big sister." Ru, who had been tagging along with me and somehow gained unexpected fame of her own, came home looking like a Christmas tree more often than not.
She was obviously annoyed, yet she never seemed to truly hate it. Only after I had removed every last wreath and necklace did she open her mouth with an awkward look.
"Mm. You worked hard again today, Claus. This isn't what I brought you here for."
"I spend all day cooped up inside anyway, so getting out and about is nice. Bonus that I get free snacks while I'm at it."
"Then I'm glad. By the way, that self-defense item you handed the bullied child at the end—it was legal, correct?"
"Huh? Ah, well... it's not exactly illegal... right?"
"...Mm."
They use them all the time in Beimesher, though. I kept my voice casual while discreetly watching Ru's reaction. Her attitude had softened a little through everything we had been through, but she was still every inch the strict noble lady.
This time, however, it seemed she had only pointed it out out of habit. After all, even the biggest stickler for rules couldn't just leave a child who had been tormented for a whole year alone.
"I only wanted to tell you that you did well. If you hadn't done it that way, you never could have helped that child."
"There were other ways, of course. I'm just not the type whose brain works that fast."
"No. If it had been me, I wouldn't have been able to do anything. Even if an idea had come to me, the rules would have stopped me cold."
"Unlike you, Ru, I'm a bad guy."
"Th-that wasn't what I meant at all! I was simply..."
I teased her lightly and she immediately flustered, waving her hands in a panic. Only after I let out a playful little snicker did she finally settle down.
"Haa. Another joke. I truly can never read your intentions."
"It's all I ever learned growing up. That damn old man treated life itself like a joke."
"Is that so. Personally, I rather like it. I shouldn't say this as a knight, but you truly can do so many things."
"...Mm."
"Your skills are outstanding, your knowledge is broad. You excel at whatever you turn your hand to. I suspect you're the sort of person who is loved no matter where you go."
"Ahem."
"If only I had met you a little earlier... there would have been so much more we could have done. Sometimes I find myself thinking that."
Praise poured out of her without a shred of pretense, carried by those pure eyes. Coming from anyone else it would have been fine, but hearing it from the whitest soul in the entire kingdom only made it heavier. It felt like grinding dirty boots across eyes that had never known evil.
And whenever I met that gaze, it wasn't my chest that tightened—it was my wrist. I knew that wasn't a figure of speech, so I spoke up at once.
"More importantly, Ru. I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
"We're inside the mansion now. Could you maybe let go of my hand?"
"Ah!"
Only then did she hurriedly release my wrist. She stared at the reddened skin and launched into absurd fretting.
"It isn't broken, is it? Or does it hurt so much you can't move it?"
"What...? Of course not. How could a bone break just from Ru holding it?"
"Just from... you say? You really are..."
"It's fine. You don't have to keep apologizing like that. Like you said, I'm a criminal, so maybe I deserve it."
"Th-that is..."
"That was a joke. You're supposed to laugh."
Only after I relaxed my expression did a faint smile finally return to Ru's lips. If Lia sometimes showed a mature side that didn't match her cute appearance, Ru was the opposite—she would occasionally reveal this childlike cuteness.
The thought made me remember something I had completely forgotten.
"Oh right, Ru. I had something for you."
"What is it?"
"Here."
I pulled the bouquet I had hidden among the gift pile and held it out. Ru accepted it with a startled, slightly awkward look.
"What... is this?"
"I bought it when we stopped by the flower shop earlier. It was pure white—reminded me of you."
"You bought it... because of me?"
"Consider it payment for looking the other way on certain things. It's a token of gratitude, Ru."
Of course the real purpose was more like a bribe, but still. Master had always said that if you ever wronged a woman, you should distract her with gifts. If I kept earning her goodwill like this, the day I could go home would come that much sooner.
Fortunately it seemed to work; Ru couldn't take her eyes off the flowers for a long while. Only after I cleared my throat to hurry her along did she finally look up.
"Ahem. Shall we head to the room now?"
"Ah, yes."
"You lead the way, Ru. I'll follow behind like always..."
"...No. Go on ahead and rest a little first today."
"Huh?"
I put on a deliberately exaggerated look of surprise. Ever since I had come to this mansion she had never left my side for a single moment.
Except when I was bathing. And even then she waited right outside the door, so it was basically nonstop surveillance. Suddenly offering free time was genuinely startling.
"You're really letting me go first?"
"Yes. I have a few things to sort out. I'll follow in an hour... no, thirty minutes. Rest quietly by yourself until then."
"I'm really going first?"
"I told you to."
Her voice was softer than I had ever heard it. Adding a gentle smile, Ru lightly stroked my arm.
"I trust you that much."
Third floor of the mansion. A small room next to her father's study.
It was a room she had used only in childhood, when she still couldn't reach the bookshelves, yet Ru came here whenever her heart felt restless. Sitting on the little bed and staring up at the star-studded ceiling somehow always calmed her.
Fortunately it worked today as well. As she sat without purpose and quietly gazed into empty space, the bouquet in her hands released a soft fragrance.
"Mm."
They were beautiful flowers. Beautiful enough that a smile rose on her face every time she looked at them. Once she found a matching vase and arranged them, they seemed even more radiant.
That was simply the nature of flowers. Their scent itself changed depending on where they were placed and whose arms held them. Once, this bouquet too had probably been nothing more than nameless weeds.
Just like that man.
"Why only now..."
How cruel fate could be. She had finally met the talent who could fill her own shortcomings, and it was only now. Unlike the rigid White Knight, he knew how to compromise and how to be loved.
And his martial power was nearly equal to her own.
"...He said my grip didn't even faze him."
Claus had spoken as if it were nothing, but that was impossible. Even the Black Lady had only overwhelmed him with speed; he was the only human in the kingdom who had ever withstood her full strength.
If he had been a knight, he would almost certainly have been treated as the hero second only to the White Knight. Considering his overall abilities, he might have been rated even higher.
In other words, he was currently the only person who could replace her.
"A second... White Knight."
Speaking aloud a concept no one had ever imagined left a strange feeling in her chest. It was the exact same sensation that had risen every time citizens mistook Claus for the White Knight.
It was not displeasure. It was anticipation. Those who stand at the very peak do not look higher; they wonder when they will finally be allowed to step down.
And she, who had been the strongest from the moment of her birth, had carried the word "retirement" in her heart for far too long. Never once had the title "the kingdom's only hope" felt anything less than crushing.
If only that man could succeed her...
"But..."
The daydream crashed against the wall of reality. No matter how capable Claus was, he remained the Black Lady's closest confidant. Even now she had no way of knowing what schemes he might be harboring while trapped in the Capital.
And yet... why couldn't she simply end the fantasy?
Perhaps because, over these past weeks, she had seen the kindness hidden in his heart.
"If it hadn't been genuine, he never could have gone that far."
He had clearly enjoyed himself. He laughed with the children and never turned away anyone's request for help. Despite being born so strong, he still knew how to empathize with and pity the weak.
There was no explanation except innate goodness. That was why, even knowing the danger, she had allowed him to meet people. She had hoped that if he kept doing so, he might one day turn toward the light.
Ru sincerely believed that pulling him free of the Black Lady's grasp was not impossible. Someone that kind would surely walk the path of justice in the end. She never doubted it.
Besides, among all the people with such warm hands, she had never met a single villain.
"They really are beautiful flowers."
...
"...Ahem."
Was it because she had never received flowers from a man before? The bribe he had brought turned out far more effective than expected. Even while trying to suppress the feeling, Ru's fingers drifted of their own accord toward the petals.
Then a knock sounded from outside the door, and she nearly scattered the carefully received bouquet all over the floor.
"My lady? Are you in there?"
"Ah—yes. I'm here. What is it?"
"You have visitors."
"Who?"
"The Knights of the Round Table, my lady."
"Understood. I'll be right there."
People from the Round Table. Come to think of it, she had neglected them for far too long. From their perspective it was certainly time for a visit.
At least her new armor had been finished recently. Ru rose from her seat with that thought. But the servant's business was not yet finished.
"However, my lady...? I'm terribly sorry, but I believe I may have made a small mistake..."
"It's fine. Everyone makes mistakes. May I ask what it was?"
"Well, I assumed you would be in your usual room as always, so I stopped there first to inform you. But when I was told I could come in... I had grown so used to that voice that I carelessly opened the door without thinking..."
"That can happen. Hardly a real mistake. Still, that man's presence is confidential, so please be careful."
"But the guests were right behind me at that exact moment... and so they... saw him..."
"...What?"
In that instant Ru was so startled she threw the door open. The waiting servant looked just as pale as she did.
"I-I originally told them to wait in the drawing room, but they kept insisting it was urgent and..."
"So they saw him? That man?"
"Saw him? They walked straight into the room... I tried to stop them but they wouldn't listen..."
"Where is he now? Where are the knights?"
"Th-that is..."
When the servant stammered, Ru already felt her heart plummet. The moment she heard the answer she was already sprinting down the corridor.
"Until the moment I came to find you, they were still in the hallway with him. The head butler is escorting them, but... will everything be all right, my lady?"