Waking from the Dream (4)
Asena was drowning in a state of utter helplessness. In her heart, she wanted to flip the entire world upside down, seize Caiden, and drag him back to their territory. There was nothing left to learn at the Academy, and she had already met everyone she needed to meet. There was no compelling reason to remain here any longer.
Asena understood her own social position perfectly. She was someone who had no need to step forward herself. It was the weak who dressed themselves up, formed cliques, and struggled to build connections. Asena Freister had no such need.
But there was one person in front of whom she became weak. Caiden Freister. In front of him, Asena would dress herself up, strive to create bonds, and even commit foolish acts. Her emotions kept seizing and shaking her, preventing her from thinking clearly. As a result, reason—that she must stay calm in this situation—and the urge to explode in rage were now locked in a fierce tug-of-war.
She could not believe the current situation. Had all of this been created by her own mistakes?
…She was beginning to regret it. She wished there wasn’t a single woman who desired him. She had simply hoped others would stop seeing her and Caiden as siblings.
When summarized in writing, those two goals seemed so simple. Yet because of them, he was drifting away.
“......”
Caiden slowly began to lower himself onto one knee. Then, the hand that had only ever touched them reached out and took Daisy’s hand. Asena unconsciously clenched her fist. It even began to tremble. Watching Caiden swear loyalty to another woman was something she could not endure.
And when Caiden pressed his lips to the back of Daisy’s hand, Asena simply closed her eyes.
Just endure it for a little while. she thought. Until I come up with a plan… just a little longer.
“Sister.”
Kirsi spoke to Asena as she walked down the hallway, her expression carefully hidden.
“...Why is that person behind us…?”
Kirsi frowned as she looked at Judy Ice. Having seen the woman every time they went to find Caiden, Kirsi’s hostility toward Judy was quite high.
Judy gave Kirsi a short bow, and Kirsi awkwardly returned the greeting.
“...It’s a knight escort training assignment from the Student Council. It will be like this for the next few weeks,” Asena said.
Kirsi had been openly showing her enmity toward Judy, but she reacted to the words Knight Department.
“...Huh? Knight Department… then what about Brother?”
Asena did not bother to answer. She did not want to. Saying out loud that he had become that Daisy’s knight instead of hers felt like admitting defeat. Moreover, she did not want to acknowledge that she herself was the cause of all this.
Kirsi’s curiosity did not last long. Her eyes, which had been fixed on Asena, suddenly shifted past her sister’s shoulder. Kirsi’s face began to turn deathly pale.
“.....Huh?”
“......”
“.....Sister… this isn’t true, right?”
“.....”
“.........Did Brother… really become Daisy Hextor’s knight?”
“......”
When Asena did not respond, Kirsi did not wait. She began striding straight toward Daisy, determined to find out what was happening with her own strength.
“Brother! Daisy—”
But before she could finish, Caiden stepped between Daisy and Kirsi, blocking her path.
“.........”
The action looked as if he were protecting Daisy from her. Kirsi was thrown into confusion.
“....Brother…”
And then she began to feel hurt. He could not protect her, yet he was protecting another woman. It was as if she had been tormenting Daisy. She had grown up always staring at his broad back. This was the first time that back had turned toward another woman.
Still, Kirsi swallowed her sense of injustice and asked him.
“....What is going on?”
“It’s for the escort training assignment.”
“.....Brother, shouldn’t you be Sister’s knight?”
In truth, if he could not be her knight, Kirsi had wanted him to be no one’s knight at all. But if it had to be someone, she could tolerate Asena. And that was only right. Caiden was a member of their family, and Asena was the head of the house. On the contrary, with Asena in the Student Council, she was more curious how Caiden had ended up as Daisy’s escort. Had he volunteered?
A suffocating frustration gripped Kirsi. And just as anger was about to rise from that frustration, Caiden spoke.
“Ah, Kirsi. I have something to tell you tonight.”
“....Huh?”
“After I escort Daisy to her dormitory, I’ll come find you. Wait for me.”
Kirsi hesitated for a moment at the tone of his voice, then came back to her senses.
“...Brother, don’t change the subject. What the hell is going on right now—”
-Tap.
A hand settled on Kirsi’s shoulder. It was Asena. With an expression Kirsi had never seen before, she warned her sister.
“.....Kirsi. For now… listen to Brother.”
“.....”
Kirsi could not understand a single thing about this absurd situation. But instinctively, she knew something had gone terribly wrong. That anxiety stopped her in her tracks.
“....Thank you for your hard work today,” Daisy said.
“...It’s nothing. It’s my job,” I replied, straightening my posture.
She stood in front of the dormitory door, looking at me. Occasionally, a few curious young ladies watched us, but I was growing somewhat used to it. This was my first time coming all the way inside the female dormitory. It would normally have been impossible, but it had been temporarily permitted under the pretext of training.
“...Then have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After the awkward air that had lingered between us while we looked at each other, Daisy offered her final greeting. But I still had something to say to her.
“...Ah, Lady Daisy?”
“....Please call me Daisy. It’s only training. You haven’t truly become my knight, have you?”
“...Then, Daisy… I’m sorry. You must have felt uncomfortable again today because of my family’s affairs.”
Daisy, who had been turning away, gave a small smile and looked directly at me.
“....It would be a lie to say I wasn’t uncomfortable at all. But, Sir Caiden.”
“Please call me Caiden.”
At my words, she smiled shyly.
“Then, Caiden. Don’t worry. I’m feeling more rewarded than uncomfortable right now.”
“.....Pardon?”
Rewarded? In what way was she feeling rewarded? I tried to understand her words, but I couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard I thought. And as if to help me, who was racking my brain like this, Daisy spoke.
“....Caiden. I feel sorry for you.”
“.....Pardon?”
“....Just because you were adopted, you receive hatred from the twins. Despite your outstanding abilities, you’re treated like a burden that must be hidden… and because of that, bad rumors about you are circulating. It’s not easy to watch.”
“.....”
“Because I respect capable people. I understand the years of endurance it takes to gain such ability.”
All I could do was smile awkwardly. The more I listened, the more I felt like I might choke up. It had been difficult being treated that way by the twins. I understood, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t painful. Yet the character I had loved most in the novel was acknowledging me. How could that not be moving?
“Winning the jousting tournament wasn’t a simple feat. You achieved victory by knocking everyone off their horses in a single bout.”
In fact, my lance had been shortened on top of that. Just as she said, I had shed blood and sweat for this skill.
“....Yet someone as remarkable as you—who worked so hard to be recognized by others—is being ignored by the twins… your younger siblings. Honestly, that’s what I couldn’t stand. That’s why I feel rewarded. If you stay by my side… at the very least, I won’t ignore you. And perhaps, while you’re with me, you might be able to avoid the twins’ contempt a little.”
“........”
Then, as if she had realized something, Daisy’s expression changed and she said to me,
“Ah…! To badmouth your siblings right in front of you… what am I doing… Of course, this is a secret from the twins, right?”
“...Haha… Don’t worry.”
Daisy placed her hand on my arm.
“...It must have been hard all this time, right?”
I bit my lip. I took a deep breath.
“....You’ve worked hard. Today as well.”
Daisy smiled once more. Yes, this was exactly why I had liked her. She was steadfast yet kind. I had liked that side of her even while reading, but now that this goodwill was directed at me, my heart moved even more.
“...Daisy.”
I called her name.
“Yes?”
“.....I swear once more. While I am responsible for your escort, I will devote my entire loyalty to you.”
Daisy smiled and turned around. Then, as she opened the dormitory door and stepped inside, she said softly,
“...I’ll trust you. Sleep well…?”
“Sleep well.”
Right after, I headed to the twins’ room. I didn’t run into Judy on the way. Since it was a dormitory, she had probably returned to her own room quickly. Strangely, my steps felt lighter. Whether it was because I had sorted out my feelings or because Daisy’s words had comforted me, I didn’t feel the sticky discomfort, fear, or frustration that had been so hard to endure. It felt as if a cool breeze had blown through my chest.
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the twins’ room. After taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.
-Knock knock.
Before I could even knock a third time, the door burst open. As expected, Kirsi had been standing right behind it the whole time. The moment she saw me, her eyes welled up with tears and she rushed toward me. Her momentum was so strong that I simply opened my arms. She clung to me and began to cry, tears falling freely.
“Brother…! I heard from Sister… hic… It’s not true…! Brother, I don’t hate you…!”
I walked inside with her still hanging on me.
“Stop!”
I ordered her to stop crying and lifted the thighs wrapped around my waist. Asena, whether she had been waiting or not, was once again watching me with a hardened face. My neck was becoming soaked with Kirsi’s tears.
“Come on, let go. It’s gross. My neck is getting all wet.”
“Hic…! Hup…!”
I looked at Asena.
“Asena, how much did you tell her?”
“....Just that. That you already know everything.”
“Mm.”
I stroked Kirsi’s back to calm her down.
“Alright, get down now. We can’t talk like this.”
Kirsi shook her head and clung to me, but this time I grabbed her under the arms and gently pushed her away. Under that strength, Kirsi had no choice but to let go. A long string of snot stretched from my neck.
“Ugh.”
Smiling faintly, I cleaned up her messy face and said to her,
“....Kirsi. Just like I told Asena… Brother is fine.”
“.....Huh?”
Even while crying, she looked up at me. Her tear-filled eyes sparkled.
“I understand. Yeah. I had forgotten. How strict the class system is in this world. And how symbolically important the Freister family is among the nobility.”
“...I was wrong too… I won’t do it again. This time I really promise…”
Kirsi sank to the floor and reached out with one hand to grab my sleeve. But I wasn’t finished. Asena seemed to have already guessed what I was about to say next; she began clenching her fists.
“So, here’s the thing. Brother is going to leave the family now.”
“................”
Kirsi’s tears stopped in an instant. She blinked rapidly as she stared at me. Her trembling pupils darted from my left cheek to my right, from my left eye to my right ear, repeating the motion. After blinking continuously, she finally spoke.
“.....Brother, did I hear wrong…”
“It might hurt to hear… but we should never have been family.”
Bitterly, I told her the truth. I bent my knees to meet her eyes. Her gaze was still wandering.
“Aigo… Your pretty face is going to be ruined.”
I wiped away her tears and gave her a small smile.