Remember That, at Least
Bariya's eyes deepened to a rich, molten gold.
In the same instant a thick pheromone poured from her whole body. Sweet flowers tangled with the bitter green of grass, and the scent hit Baden so hard he shot to his feet.
"Bariya!"
It was the first time he had ever raised his voice at her. Worry and agitation lived in both his tone and his face, and Bariya smiled.
"When I leave, I'll be sure to tell the three of you first. I haven't broken the terms of the contract."
"Please, Bariya!"
Sabrina clamped a hand over her nose and tried to rush her, but she was already too late.
"Ah!"
Dizziness won. She dropped back into her chair with a heavy thud, and Baden and Shirca fared no better. Their eyes wavered wildly as their minds grew dim. Sleep was closing in. Bariya was forcing them under with an Authority none of them could name.
"Don't do this, little one. Please. The Mariners—you can't go to the Mariners……."
Shirca seized the edge of the dining table, fighting with everything he had to stay awake. The table only cracked beneath his grip. It did nothing to clear his head.
Was it always this strong?
An Authority that had put Tyreen to sleep in a single breath, and had even calmed Sabrina's madness. Facing it properly for the first time, a sigh escaped him before he could stop it.
"Don't worry, Shirca. I'm not going to the Mariners. They killed my mother. I'll never join hands with them. Not in this lifetime."
"Th-this won't change anything, Bariya. Even if you leave us, the Mariners will—ugh—drag our name through the mud!"
Sabrina pressed a hand to her forehead and shouted. She flooded her own body with pheromone, straining to resist, but Bariya's Authority unraveled her with laughable ease. Even the Authority they called monstrous—Sabrina's own—was helpless before it.
"It's all right. None of you need to worry."
Bariya smiled, bright and gentle. Faced with that resolute expression, the three of them despaired. They could not stop the child. So long as they could not overcome her Authority, no one could.
The little one saved us.
And the Caliphs had failed to save Bariya.
"……At least eat. Eat something before you go."
If they could not stop her, then at least this one thing.
"Don't go hungry. Please. Don't worry about us—just have dinner before you leave."
Since arriving at the dining hall, Bariya hadn't touched a bite.
"If you're going to run, you at least need something in your stomach. Please."
At Shirca's desperate plea, Bariya blinked. She had been ready to take their blame, and all they could do was worry over whether she ate.
"……I'm sorry."
Her pheromone grew stronger still, strong enough to blanket not just the dining hall but the entire estate. Bariya's eyes burned an even more brilliant gold. And just before their consciousness vanished completely, the three of them saw it—two or three white stripes and black stripes forming in her soft, wheat-colored hair. The very same pattern that had been etched across her forehead when she took her beastkin form.
"If you ever need help, come back anytime."
With those last words, Baden, Sabrina, and Shirca slumped in their chairs and fell completely asleep.
Bariya rose and carefully settled each of them so they wouldn't be uncomfortable.
"You're all too kind."
That people this good should be dragged through the mud because of her—she could never bear it. She stood silent for a moment, hesitating, then sat back down and began to eat the meal that had been laid out for her. It was the most delicious food she had ever tasted in her life.
"……Ugh."
Tears fell. Her throat closed, but she drank water as she went and finished every last bite. It was Shirca's final request. She couldn't refuse even this.
"……Thank you for the meal."
When the dishes were empty, Bariya climbed down from her chair and stood before the door. She looked back one last time at the three of them, asleep.
"Thank you."
They wouldn't hear it. Even so, she bowed her head and meant it. She wiped the tears soaking her cheeks with a small, determined swipe and slipped out of the dining hall.
The estate was silent. The pheromone Bariya was deliberately pouring out, laden with her Authority, held the whole mansion in its grip. By now everyone but her would be asleep.
Using this much power is a little hard.
The heat wasn't rising the way it had when she purged the poison from the Mariner raiders, but she was still slightly dizzy. She didn't know when the next problem would strike. She needed to leave quickly.
"Ah."
Back in the bedroom, Bariya found White flattened against the floor, struggling.
Kiiing.
"White. My pheromone's on you, so you haven't fallen asleep yet."
The scent that had naturally rubbed off while they lived together was acting as a shield, but only for a little while. Soon White would sleep too. Bariya got up, shed her clothes, and put on a plain white dress. It was closer to an unadorned nightgown than anything else, and still incomparably softer than anything she had worn while living among the Mariners. Even a single dress like this held the Caliphs' affection.
"One of these should be all right."
She could hardly go around with nothing on. Ready at last, Bariya headed for the balcony.
Krrrng.
White caught the hem of her skirt in her teeth and tugged.
"Stopping me won't do any good. I have to go, White."
Kiiing.
White shook her head from side to side, then lay down beside Bariya. The posture was an invitation. Get on.
"……You want to see me off?"
White nodded carefully and nudged Bariya toward her back. Bariya hesitated, but when tears welled in White's eyes, she climbed on at last.
"Only as far as the main gate."
Krrng. Krrrng.
"……All right. Let's go down to the foot of the mountain."
At Bariya's permission White sprang up, leapt clean over the balcony, and landed lightly on the ground. Then she broke into a run. She was incomparably faster than Bariya could ever have been on her own.
Bariya said nothing. She only turned her head and watched the Caliph Estate shrink rapidly behind them. Would a day ever come when she could return here? Once the Mariners were gone, couldn't she be good friends with the Caliphs again? By then there would be nothing left to worry about and nothing left to hide. They could be real friends.
I'm greedy.
She was leaving them, and still hoping to be their friend.
White crossed the grounds to the main gate in a flash and, within an hour, reached the foot of the mountain where the Caliph Estate stood. Alone, Bariya would have taken several times as long.
"Thank you, White."
White set her down before the forest ended and rubbed a cheek against her. She didn't insist on going any farther, as if she understood Bariya's heart perfectly.
"I was so happy because of you."
Bariya threw her arms tight around White's neck. Night after night, White had let her sleep warm and snug. When they ran together, her chest had felt wide open, clear as the sky. She would never forget a single thing that had happened among the Caliphs.
"Goodbye, White."
Bariya pressed one last kiss to White's forehead and turned away. She ran, feet pattering over the ground, then glanced back on a sudden impulse. White was still sitting in that same spot, watching her go. Something surged hot in her chest. Because of the Mariners, she was driving a blade into the hearts of people this good.
I won't let them get away with it.
She would never forgive the Mariners. Not for the rest of her life. Bariya bit down hard on her lip, turned again, and started to run. It was time to be alone once more.
Darius Mariner was staying at a hotel in Caliph territory. The tigers' distinctive scent disgusted him, but if he thought of tomorrow, he could endure it.
"Do you really think those Caliph bastards will hand that thing over?"
The aide who had come with him asked, worried. Darius took a sip of wine red as blood and snorted.
"That thing hid an Authority on top of being my blood. However stupid the Caliphs are, they won't keep something that deceived them."
Sabrina Caliph hated hyenas that much. By now the girl might already have been thrown out.
"You've stationed knights near the estate, I assume?"
"Yes. Right in front of the mansion the watch is too tight, so that was difficult, but I've placed ten men at the mountain entrance that leads up to it. The moment that thing shows itself, word will come."
Satisfied, Darius drank his wine. He didn't doubt for a moment that this glass would become his victory toast.
"Huh?"
Just then the aide staggered.
"What is it?"
"I-I'm sorry. Suddenly I'm dizzy……. Ah—ahh……."
The aide grabbed desperately at the wall, but he couldn't hold and collapsed in a heap. Darius shot to his feet.
"Is there no one outside!"
He raised his voice, but there was no answer at all. Knights were supposed to be guarding the door. Darius's face went grave.
"What in the world……. A flower scent?"
A familiar fragrance brushed the tip of his nose. A thick floral scent, heavy with honey. This was—
Claire Bell's pheromone!
With Claire dead, the only one who still carried this scent was Bariya.
"Bariya Mariner! Where are you hiding! Come out before me this instant!"
"Yeah. I showed up."
Bariya kicked the door in and burst through. She stepped over the knights sprawled in the corridor and walked into the room.