Misconception of Love!
A Misconception of Love! “Ah, I’ll believe you,” I answered without hesitation. Elena narrowed her eyes at my words, studying me as if trying to decide whether I was joking or serious.
“Really?”
“The problem isn’t that I don’t believe you. It’s that I do.”
“Uh… umm…”
Elena lowered her head slightly and looked down. The way she fidgeted with her fingers and mumbled, so at odds with her earlier composure, was almost cute. Which was a problem. A very serious problem. I was in no position to be finding the person in front of me adorable.
“Lady Maria… do I really seem that much like a villain?”
“Let’s review your actions, shall we? Yesterday you clearly assaulted me, challenged me to a duel, and orchestrated an entire scheme to pin the blame on me as the wicked young lady tormenting you. Correct?”
“Yes… That’s right. Because whether you liked it or not, it would force you to stay conscious of me…”
“And during this afternoon’s sparring, a blade that had no business being drawn suddenly flew straight at you instead of simply falling. Erica’s sword never even came close, yet only my blade struck you.”
“That was incredibly fortunate.”
“You know perfectly well you can’t call it an accident.”
“No, I meant it was fortunate because you looked at me in that moment. I wanted to see it. What expression you would make if I smiled at you. And yes. I can do at least that much.”
Wearing her black leather gloves, Elena reached out and pulled the water cup from the vanity beside the bed toward herself through the air. The cup flew straight into her hand. My body shuddered violently at the sight.
“You’re asking if you seem like a villain? Are you joking? Give me even one reason why I shouldn’t see you as one. And… even if none of those incidents had happened, this is still my room. My bedroom. I can’t tell if I’m being assassinated or robbed, but I’ve definitely been subjected to sexual assault.”
“I’m sorry, Lady Maria, but… I had to confirm it.”
“Confirm what?”
“Whether you love me.”
Elena grabbed my hand with both of hers as she spoke. I tried to pull away, but her grip was terrifyingly strong. Thankfully I was in my pajamas and wasn’t wearing gloves. When she saw me trying to cast magic with my free hand, Elena shoved me down onto the bed and climbed on top of me again.
“Answer me. Do you love me?”
“What do I even know about you…”
“You probably don’t know me, Lady Maria. But I know you far better than you realize. That’s why I understand. It is your destiny to fall in love with me. There is no other reason. It’s simply fate. You will love me. You will fear me. You will be wary of me. Because that is the correct way to love, isn’t it?”
“I think you’re seriously misunderstanding something.”
“But if love… if love must be something special compared to ordinary affection, then there needs to be something that makes it special. I saw it in your expression, Lady Maria. The fear, the wariness, and beneath them, the faint captivation you couldn’t help but feel toward me.”
“I’ve never heard anything like…”
That was when it happened. The door that had been silent suddenly burst open with a bang, then slammed shut. Heavy footsteps approached, and someone entered my room. It was my maid, Zophy Polinbaroque, neatly dressed in her uniform and holding a lantern in one hand.
Zophy thrust the lantern forward into the dark room and shouted.
“My lady! Are you all right? I definitely saw her heading this way. Surely she didn’t get inside the room…”
At first Zophy couldn’t locate us and simply called my name, but the lantern soon illuminated the bed. She discovered Elena pinning me down.
Zophy gasped sharply.
“Step away from her, Elena Kerru. Get off that bed right now!”
“Zophy, be careful! She can use magic even while wearing gloves!”
I twisted my wrist as far as I could, gripping Elena’s hand tightly to disrupt her spellcasting, and shouted. Even in that restricted position, I barely managed to activate the sealing magic I’d used that morning.
Elena smiled softly as she watched my sealing circle settle over her gloved hand.
“We’re completely connected now, aren’t we?”
“Don’t even try it!”
Zophy, however, was in a difficult spot. She couldn’t risk removing her gloves when she didn’t know what Elena might do next. There was nowhere to set the lantern except the floor, but doing so would plunge Elena into shadow for a critical moment. In the end, Zophy gave up on magic. She drew her father’s pistol from inside her uniform coat and aimed it at us.
Elena’s eyes widened.
“A gun? Are you certain that’s wise? Seven meters. Indoors. Quite dark. One hand is bound, making a proper shooting stance impossible. Even a skilled marksman couldn’t be certain of avoiding the count’s daughter’s lord and hitting only me in this situation.”
“Ah, so you weren’t at the shooting range this afternoon.”
Zophy’s hand trembled slightly as she held the pistol, which made me a little nervous, but I wasn’t overly worried. A shooter capable of hitting targets at two hundred and fifty meters with a pistol wouldn’t accidentally shoot me at seven meters just because her hand was shaking… right?
…Right?
“Take your hands off the lady and step back, Kerru. If you don’t, I will fire! The door and windows are all closed, so even if a gunshot rings out, no one will come to help you. I’m dead serious!”
Zophy wasn’t bluffing. My room and Erica’s were located in a completely isolated section of the dormitory building. The academy had deemed it improper to house the Letiaponk family—with its territory equivalent to an entire nation—and the imperial Valtmark family next to ordinary noble daughters. In a normal room, a pistol shot would carry through the walls, but in this corridor that we occupied entirely alone, a single gunshot could easily be dismissed as insignificant noise.
“But it’s your lady who’s holding my hand and refusing to let go.”
Elena lifted our bound hands, still connected by my sealing magic, to show Zophy.
“Of course, I can break it like this.”
When Elena clenched her fist, my pink sealing circle shattered like glass with a crystalline sound. At the exact same moment, Zophy pulled the trigger.
The gunshot cracked through the room. Thick gunpowder smoke filled the air. A single iron ball slammed into the shoulder of the special student who had attacked me. Blood sprayed from Elena’s shoulder, splattering across my face in heavy drops.
Zophy dropped the pistol and charged the bed. Elena clutched her wound and fled toward the window. Just before Zophy could ram her with a shoulder tackle, Elena slipped behind the curtains, threw the window open, and leaped out.
Throughout the entire escape, Elena didn’t utter a single scream or groan. The fact that she showed no sign of pain despite being shot at close range terrified me even more.
Zophy had no intention of pursuing her through the window. She lifted the curtain just enough to check outside, then closed the window and secured the latch firmly.
“My lady!”
The first thing Zophy did after securing the window was rush to me and pull me into a tight embrace. I had been sitting frozen, blood still on my face, but the moment I was in her arms I realized I hadn’t been calm at all. The terror I had desperately suppressed to survive the moment came flooding out along with the warmth of my maid’s body.
My coldly stiff limbs began to shake uncontrollably. The mental shock I had pushed down came crashing back over me. I buried my face in Zophy’s chest, trembling violently as I swallowed my tears.
“I was scared,” I confessed honestly.
“I was so scared, Zophy. I was scared. I just opened my eyes and… she was on top of me… she was…”
“It’s all right, my lady. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I should have rushed here the moment I saw her in the corridor. I never imagined she would be skilled enough to unlock the dormitory door… I’m so sorry. But it’s okay now. You’re safe, my lady…”
Zophy held my face tightly against her chest and gently stroked my hair from crown to tips.
“Zophy will stay with you tonight. And if you wish, I’ll protect you every night for the rest of the semester. This academy doesn’t seem safe for you, my lady. Perhaps… this entire world isn’t safe for you either.”