Whispers Through the Jewel
Lefonya blinked awake, her long eyelashes fluttering like delicate wings. Seeing how dark the room was, it appeared to be the dead of night.
I'm really back at the estate.
The comforting warmth wrapping around her body assured her that escaping the orphanage had not merely been a dream.
...Actually, it's hot.
Lefonya pushed herself up. Unlike sleeping curled into a ball on a freezing stone floor, resting on a plush, feather-soft bed seemed to have washed away all her lingering exhaustion in an instant. Through the lingering fog of sleep, her hazy eyes drifted forward and caught sight of the blazing hearth.
Did they light that with the intention of burning the entire bedroom down?
She pulled her gaze away from the roaring fire and looked down at herself. The ragged clothes that not even a convict would have worn were gone, replaced by the soft indoor lounge wear she usually wore to bed. Catching sight of the neat bandages wrapped around her fingertips, she realized the duchy doctor must have already come and gone.
"Wait... my jewel!"
Lefonya's eyes went wide. She had tucked the green gem securely into her pocket before passing out! After hearing Habelian's tearful apology and his promise that they were returning to the Craitan estate, the sheer relief had overwhelmed her, and she had collapsed into sleep.
I was supposed to let Rudeum know that everything worked out.
Frantically scanning her surroundings, she let out a breath of relief. Rather than being carelessly discarded, the green gem sat safely atop the bedside table.
"Whew."
She clutched the communication jewel tightly in both hands.
If it hadn't been for Rudeum, I would've been beaten black and blue, locked in that windowless solitary cell again tonight.
Perching on the edge of the tall bed, Lefonya swung her short legs back and forth.
He said the activation word was his name, right?
Knowing what it was made saying it feel oddly embarrassing, but she gathered her courage anyway.
"...Rudeum."
Gripping the green gem, she whispered the command word. He had explained that their voices would bridge the distance and their coordinates would sync, so this would let him know she had returned safely to the duchy estate.
Now, what's going to happen to the retainers who shipped me off to the orphanage?
Adopted or not, Lefonya had been recognized by the imperial family, and Duke Craitan had formally presented her in society as his daughter. To dare lay a hand on her was an act of rank treason. They would surely be condemned for their disloyalty and face severe punishment. Of course, since Habelian had been complicit, they might not face immediate execution, but...
The one who swapped the carriage and switched the orphanage behind Habelian's back...
Remembering the muffled voice she had overheard outside the carriage that day, Lefonya rolled the green gem between her fingers.
That bastard has to be dealt with once and for all.
Anyone reckless enough to defy Habelian's direct orders and attempt to eliminate her outright, regardless of the consequences, was bound to cause trouble again later.
...Still, I never expected Habelian to cry like that.
The memory surfaced unbidden: Duke Craitan and Felens going stark white with shock, and Habelian breaking down in tears.
If I'd known it would shatter them so deeply, I wouldn't have had them summoned.
Lefonya lowered her eyes. She hadn't anticipated that they would superimpose the tragedy of their lost, biological daughter over her disappearance. Had she realized it beforehand, she never would have dragged those painful ghosts back to the surface. She knew all too well the lingering agony they lived with after losing both the late Duchess Craitan and their real daughter. All Lefonya had wanted was to secure her own safety so nothing like this could ever happen again; she had never intended to scrape open their deepest trauma.
Why do they care about me to that extent, anyway?
She crossed her arms and tilted her head, her little feet continuing to kick in the air.
The Duke of Craitan had adopted her out of a sense of lingering debt, an attempt to lay his missing daughter's memory to rest, and treated her like his own flesh and blood.
"Otherwise, him adopting me the very second he saw my face doesn't make any sense."
And what about Felens? Felens had lived crushed beneath the guilt of failing to protect his family, to the point of deferring his graduation from the Imperial Academy. But by stepping up as her personal escort, he had found a way to fulfill that unkept oath—to protect his family—and had begun shedding his guilt.
"Right. Ever since he offered to be my guard, he stopped treating me like a fraud and his whole attitude softened. That part's certain."
Then what about Habelian?
"...I understand he couldn't let go of his sister, but dumping a five-year-old adoptee in an orphanage warrants serious remorse. That was completely villainous."
If he hadn't felt guilty after that, he wouldn't even be human.
Lefonya gave an emphatic nod.
She understood that each of them saw reflections of the missing daughter in her, but...
"...If they act like this, it makes it feel like they see me as real family."
Her uncertain whisper sounded terribly small in the quiet expanse of the dark bedroom.
Real family.
Lefonya snapped out of her reverie with a start and shook her head vigorously.
"It hasn't even been a single day since I was thrown away at an orphanage and brought back. Get a grip, Lefonya!"
If she lowered her guard and believed they were her real family, what would happen when the disownment finally came? What if she were abandoned in an orphanage again, only this time, nobody came to get her? Her brow furrowed as she recalled the agonizing days of her past life, weeping alone as she stared at the heavy, bolted door of an abusive orphanage that never once opened for her.
Right at that moment—
"Rudeum."
"Gah!"
The green gem suddenly flared with light, and Rudeum's low, velvety voice brushed against her ear. It sounded so startlingly close, as if his lips were hovering right beside her cheek.
Lefonya squeaked and hitched her shoulders toward her ears. Half-convinced that he had materialized into the room, she spun around in a panic, but the bedchamber remained entirely empty.
She stared down at the gem in her palm. The magical coordinates pointing to Rudeum's location flickered into existence upon its surface before fading away.
...Is t-this how it sounds?!
Because she had only ever been on the sending end, she had no idea the voice came through as an intimate whisper right in the recipient's ear. A sudden memory of the capital boutique clerk flashed through her mind—how the man had mentioned that engaged couples were particularly fond of these stones.
So that's what he meant!
Horror dawned on Lefonya as she remembered every single time she had clutched the jewel and called out to Rudeum. Had he been hearing her voice like this every single time?
"No way! That's insane!"
She scrambled to her feet on the mattress, her face burning. If someone had warned her, she never would have touched the thing!
"Is it even legal to sell something like this to a child?!"
She fumed at the memory of that slick boutique clerk, who had seemed ready to sell the entire shop out from under his owner if someone offered enough gold coin.
"Rudeum. Heh."
Right on cue, as if he could see her mortified reaction with his own two eyes, a quiet, teasing chuckle trickled through the jewel. The amused laughter tickled right against the shell of her ear.
"Aaaah!"
Lefonya tossed the green gem onto the duvet and vigorously brushed off her hands, rubbing frantically at both ears as if trying to shake out a clinging dandelion seed.
I am never using this again! Never!
Determined to hide it where she couldn't even see it, she slid open the bedside drawer and snatched the jewel off the blanket. But just as she was about to shove it inside, she froze.
He was definitely mocking me just now.
She refused to take that lying down. Lefonya was someone who repaid every slight tenfold. Gripping the green gem tightly, she glanced around the empty room, filled her lungs with as much air as her small chest could hold, and brought the stone straight to her mouth.
"RYU-!!! DE!!! UM-!!!!!!"
She screamed into the jewel with all the aggrieved fury she could muster, then slammed it into the drawer and shut it tight. A scream like that, delivered without warning right into someone's ear, would surely leave their head ringing.
Take that for scaring me!
The coordinates would confirm she was safely inside the estate, so he wouldn't mistake it for an emergency. Satisfied with her retribution, Lefonya beamed at the wooden drawer with a triumphant grin.
"RYU-!!! DE!!! UM-!!!!!!"
Rudeum burst into laughter as the ear-splitting shriek blasted through the connection. Hearing how utterly scandalized she sounded, it was obvious she had only just figured out how the audio reached the other side.
"Lefonya."
He murmured her name, resting a hand against the green gem hanging from his neck. Since her name wasn't the activation trigger, his voice wouldn't carry over to her. Setting the command word to his own name had truly been a stroke of genius. Not only did it let him know whenever she was thinking of him, but had he set it to hers, his own voice would have bombarded her constantly every time he said her name.
"You... you little brat."
At the ragged, raspy voice calling out to him, Rudeum turned his head.
Before him stood two assassins, barely clinging to life. Had he been able to summon a spirit, this encounter would have concluded long ago. But calling forth a Dark Spirit inflicted an immense toll upon his body, rendering him incapable of summoning other spirits for roughly a week. What was worse, other spirits refused to answer his call while the lingering taint of the Dark Spirit's presence still coated him.
It was a spirit shackled by severe restrictions, one he made a rule never to summon. Yet back then, he had possessed no choice. Lefonya's survival outweighed his own well-being by leagues.
Once to locate where she had been taken, and a second time to bring her a sandwich and healing ointment. Having summoned it twice in rapid succession, he would be unable to call upon any spirit arts for nearly half a month.
"I had an important call come in," Rudeum replied serenely, flicking the blood from his blade. "...Shall we continue?"
He could handle foes of this caliber with his sword alone, but without spirit arts to bolster him, physical limitations made taking a few scrapes unavoidable. Fine cuts scored across his arms and torso.
The metallic clash of steel and the grim thuds of dying men echoed through the darkness.
"Hah."
When the dust settled, only Rudeum remained on his feet, as always. Sweeping back his hair with the hand that gripped his sword, he curled his fingers around the glowing green gem once more.
"Lefonya."
The word was soft, never meant to reach her ears.
"You have to survive."
Tilting his head back, Rudeum stared up into the empty, fathomless expanse of the night sky.
"Because if you die, this entire world will burn to ash in an apocalypse of ruin."
So live. No matter what it takes, no matter whose sacrifice you must stand upon—you must survive.