Escape (9)

The weekend arrived.

If anything was different from usual, it was the sound of a carriage rolling in just past noon.

I was walking back to the annex with Rineta after lunch when the carriage came to a halt in front of the building.

"The Heir Apparent is here."

Rineta murmured beside me. Her voice carried the slight edge of fear that Levina always seemed to draw from her.

The carriage door opened and Levina stepped out first. A young man followed, his movements oddly hesitant. Kyle.

"Kyle oppa!" Rineta's voice rose with a flash of delight, but she immediately glanced at me and fell silent.

Levina took in the two of us—me still barefoot—and her brow creased for barely a moment before she let out a short sigh, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as if she had already dismissed the matter.

"I'm too busy to chat right now. I'll be in the study. Come find me if you need anything. Oh, and I'll be staying for dinner, so plan accordingly."

She accepted a stack of documents from the head butler and strode inside. Her footsteps faded down the corridor.

That left me, Rineta, and Kyle standing in the rear courtyard. An awkward silence settled around us, threaded through with the sound of the wind.

"The drawing room. Follow me."

I spoke first. Kyle gave a stiff nod. His expression was rigid.

On the short walk down the hallway, I asked him a question as casually as I'd comment on the weather.

"I heard you and Rineta know each other."

"Ah, yeah. A bit of an age gap, but our village is small. We grew up close."

His answer was clipped. He kept his eyes fixed on the old woodgrain of the floor rather than on my back.

"Were we ever on casual speaking terms?"

I didn't mean much by it. The thought had simply crossed my mind.

"We're both commoners now, aren't we?"

Kyle shot back lightly. There was a barb in his voice. I exhaled and let it go. I wasn't in the mood for a verbal sparring match.

Once we entered the drawing room, Rineta moved with practiced familiarity. She took three teacups from the cabinet, hesitated, and put one back. She filled the kettle, retrieved black tea leaves from the shelf, and set the tea ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and a few simple refreshments on the table before taking her place quietly behind me. Her presence at my back felt like a small patch of warmth.

I lifted my cup and drank.

Kyle looked like he didn't know what to do with a room like this. That was almost funny—someone who'd surely never missed a high-society gathering or a garden tea party.

"So. You wanted to see me?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Kyle met my eyes. Wariness flickered in his gaze.

"I came to hear your angle straight from you."

"What?"

That was far too vague.

"Rineta."

An edge crept into his voice.

"Oppa, what kind of way is that to speak to the Young Master?"

Rineta whispered from behind me. Her voice quavered. She probably hadn't expected Kyle to come at me with this attitude. It occurred to me she'd never mentioned that their relationship was strained. Though it was less that I had damaged it and more that one side had decided to hate me outright.

Kyle blinked at Rineta, momentarily bewildered, then let out a hollow laugh.

"'What kind of way'?"

"Do you even realize you've been picking a fight with him since the moment you walked in? You haven't even said you were glad to see me again, and you're already sniping at the Young Master."

Rineta's voice rose little by little. I stayed silent, then patted her shoulder lightly.

"It's fine, Rineta. Leave it."

She flinched at my touch but quickly settled.

Kyle's glare turned frosty as he watched us.

"A man who'd have every reason to hold a grudge against me gets expelled from his family. And by sheer coincidence, the annex he ends up in is right near the village I grew up in. And by another sheer coincidence, he takes on the girl I've been closest to as his maid. That's some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠truly impressive luck."

"What can I do? Levina assigned her. Honestly, that's just your ego talking."

I shrugged.

"Then you should have asked for someone else."

"Why would I? She's good at her job."

Kyle's expression hardened further. He paused as if searching for words, then shifted tack.

"And on top of that, Sera has completely shut herself in her room..."

I set my teacup down. The nickname Sera scraped at my ears.

"Don't call her Sera. I'm fairly certain I told you last time... no, that's not right." I stopped. Memories from a previous cycle had tangled themselves into the present. My head spun for a second.

"It started right after she met with you. Serepina hasn't come out of her room since."

Kyle's tone turned sharp, almost interrogatory.

"Instead of trusting her fiancé, she gets swayed by everyone around her and spends all her time running around with a commoner like you. How am I supposed to know what goes on in the head of a woman that fickle?"

He was practically rising from his seat in anger.

"As if Sera were some possession of yours..."

"Kyle. I'm well aware you grew up without proper education, but if you keep behaving like that, get out of my house."

My voice stayed quiet. I lifted the cup and took another sip. It wasn't particularly good, but it was better than flower petal tea. I set the cup down. The sound of porcelain meeting its saucer seemed unusually loud.

"...Your house?"

"The expulsion from the family is just for appearances. Otherwise I wouldn't be living this comfortably."

I lied without missing a beat. A faint crack appeared in Kyle's composure.

"Whatever I do, it's always going to look despicable to you."

I reached back and took Rineta's wrist gently, drawing her to my side. She looked startled but didn't pull away. Instead, a touch of color rose in her cheeks as she leaned against me. Her small frame pressed against my arm.

"Learning nothing but how to fight, I suppose it's hard for you to grasp the idea of showing even a minimum of respect. No matter how great you think you are, no matter how brilliant you are at the Academy, no matter how many people surround you—this is Edelgard land."

Kyle's face went rigid. His eyes locked onto the point where Rineta and I touched. Undisguised contempt filled his gaze.

I guided Rineta onto the sofa beside me. She didn't seem to know what to do with herself, but she settled quietly next to me, leaning in closer as if by habit—a familiar reflex born from all the times we'd sat side by side somewhere. There was no other meaning to it. At least, not for me.

I ran my fingers lightly through her hair.

"It seems you came because you were worried about Rineta, but it's not what you're imagining."

"How am I supposed to believe you?"

I brushed Rineta's cheek and rested my hand on her shoulder.

"It's not that. Yet."

My voice was calm. Kyle's eyes turned dangerous, as if he might lunge at me. Just in case he drew the blade at his hip, I touched the gemstone on the ring Levina had given me.

"I can't leave Rineta beside trash like you. Take your hand off her. Right now."

"What, you plan to take her away?"

"If I have to, I will."

"And the means to do it... I suppose you finally have those now. Ask Rineta first. If she wants to drop everything and go with you, I owe her a generous severance package."

I looked at Rineta beside me. She was clenching her hands on her knees, biting her lip. Kyle's gaze shifted to her as well. His voice softened noticeably.

"Rineta, come here. Don't stay next to a bastard like him. You always said you wanted to visit the capital. A room... I can arrange one easily if I talk to my master."

Rineta didn't move. She kept her head down and said nothing. The silence settled heavily. Only the faint sound of wind rattling the window could be heard.

An anxious flicker crossed Kyle's face. He seemed to expect her to step over to his side at any moment.

"Rineta."

Kyle called her name again.

At last, Rineta lifted her head. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Her eyes were rimmed red, but no tears fell. She looked straight at Kyle. Her voice trembled, but her words were clear.

"Oppa, does living in the capital change everyone like that?"

"Rineta, what are you... did that bastard do something to you?"

"He hasn't done anything. The Young Master isn't that kind of person."

Rineta's voice climbed a little higher. She rose abruptly from the sofa, and the warmth at my side vanished.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being so cruel to him?"

"I'm not being cruel, I'm telling the truth! If you've been working here, you must have heard what kind of person he is!"

Kyle raised his voice too. Whatever calm the conversation had possessed was gone.

"What I've heard and what I've seen with my own eyes are different."

Rineta spoke low, like someone gently reproaching a child.

"Oppa, you never have time to stop by the village, so maybe you don't know, but everyone there likes the Young Master. He's calm, he's handsome, and even though he's from a high family, he doesn't act arrogant—he even eats the rough country food and says it's good."

Kyle opened his mouth to respond, then bit his lip and stayed silent.

"It's the same for me. Even when he wakes up drenched in cold sweat, screaming in the middle of the night, even when he stares blankly out the window and doesn't answer when I call him... I've still never met anyone as gentle and steady as the Young Master."

Rineta kept going.

"And you used to be like that too. The Kyle I knew—no matter what—wasn't someone who would just unload on someone without even trying to understand."

"..."

"Does going to the capital, or to the Academy, really change people that much? If so, then I'd rather just stay here with the Young Master."

Kyle couldn't find a single word. He just stared at Rineta, his face a mask of shock.