Principle Above All (4)
The Political Science Department classes were held in classrooms, but the Student Council room allowed joint entry. There were fewer prying eyes, and there was nowhere suitable to stand outside the Student Council room. As a result, the only ones left in the Student Council room were me, Judy, Asena, and Daisy. Lucil Hober, the Student Council President, remained as well. The other two male Student Council members had gone to handle external duties.
Lucil Hober sat at the center of the room, farthest from the door. Daisy was positioned to the right of the door, while Asena took the left. Judy and I stood behind the people we were guarding. From my vantage point, Asena was directly in front of me, so I could see her even if I didn't want to. She maintained a rigid expression as she examined the documents on her desk. Naturally, she didn't look pleased. She didn't even glance my way.
I, too, felt somewhat awkward staring at Asena, so my eyes kept meeting Judy's behind her. I gave a slight shrug of my shoulders, signaling, "What can we do?" Everyone in the room except Lucil Hober had witnessed the morning's confrontation, so no one spoke. The Student Council President, sensing the atmosphere, made no attempt to break the silence. It was a wise choice on her part.
Still, I had no desire to tiptoe around just because Asena was in a bad mood. She was the one at fault, and that hadn't changed. Even though I was speaking formally and acting childishly, I felt no guilt. It was starting to feel as if giving in to Asena's mood would mean losing. There was no reason for me to stay silent. I had something I wanted to say.
From behind Daisy, I noticed something on her desk. It was the flower I had given her during the jousting tournament. Time had passed, so it was only natural, but the flower had now withered. It looked so dried and twisted that it might crumble at the slightest touch.
"...You still haven't thrown the flower away?"
My curiosity cut through the silence. Judy and Lucil Hober looked at me, but Asena, perhaps out of pride, didn't turn my way.
"..."
Daisy glanced back at me briefly before looking down at the flower again.
"Ah, yes."
"It's completely withered."
"...Still. It has meaning. You gave it to me after winning the tournament. It's not something you see often... right?"
"I'm grateful you're treasuring it, but there's no need to go this far. It's not like I gave you a gift you couldn't throw away, is it?"
"You're right. It seems that way. I still don't feel like getting rid of it."
We both smiled at the same time. Just as our conversation began to lighten the mood in the Student Council room, Asena's sharp voice cut through.
"...Daisy. You're being noisy."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere turned icy in an instant. I looked at Asena. Even now, she wasn't looking at me. Her eyes remained fixed on the documents. I straightened my posture and faced her directly.
"Was I interrupting? My apologies, Duke Freister."
The sound of crumpling paper echoed. Asena's hand had clenched into a fist.
"......"
Only Asena's eyes rolled toward me. I didn't avert my gaze. But at the same time, I thought—truly, anyone else would have been intimidated by that look. She said nothing, only stared at me. Anger. Or perhaps hurt, piercing through. As if exasperated, she rolled her eyes and blinked a few times, let out a short huff, then returned to her documents. Her expression had grown even more severe.
Lucil Hober stared at me intently. I could roughly guess why she was looking at me. Lately, there had been many such reactions. Judy, Daisy... After arguing with Asena, everyone looked at me with a sense of awe. Each time I received such reactions, it felt like I was confirming Asena's status at the Academy.
Just then, a knock sounded.
—Knock, knock.
'Mail delivery. May I come in?'
"Come in."
At Lucil Hober's reply, the door opened, and a young man entered, bowing deeply at the waist. Then, still hunched, he quietly approached and handed Lucil Hober a stack of letters about a handspan thick. After delivering them, the mailman bowed again and quickly left.
The Student Council President sorted through the documents he had left, then spoke in surprise.
"Ah...! It's that time again. Asena, these are for you."
I looked at the Student Council President in confusion. She held up a thick envelope sealed with wax bearing a snake emblem. It was from our territory.
Before Asena could react, Judy moved first. She took the envelope from Lucil Hober. Running errands wasn't part of a knight's duties, but it would look odd for a knight to stand idly by when their liege was present... Even to me, Judy's action seemed wise.
Judy handed the envelope to Asena. Asena took out a letter opener from her desk and opened the envelope with practiced ease. In the end, I was curious too—I was a Freister, after all. Was it from Grandmother Liana? Judging by Lucil Hober's reaction, it seemed they received these regularly.
Several sheets of paper emerged from the envelope. Asena examined the letter with her usual displeased expression. Then she glanced at me once before gathering all the documents and heading back to Lucil Hober.
"...It's the same as always today. Grandmother says to discuss it with the Student Council members."
".....?"
When I kept showing my confusion from behind, Daisy whispered an explanation for my sake.
"...It's a list of criminals caught in the Freister territory. The former Duchess Freister sends it so we can discuss what punishment to give to those with extenuating circumstances. To gain experience."
"Ah... I see. Thank you for explaining."
Lucil Hober smiled and spoke to Asena.
"Please tell the Duchess how grateful we are for this opportunity."
"...I will."
Asena returned to her seat and sat down. Lucil Hober began reading through the documents.
"There are quite a few, but... the first one would be this person. Age thirty-four. A father of two children, apparently. Caught stealing bread... This is his third time. After being caught, he said, 'I tried to find work but couldn't. I was afraid my children would starve, so I committed the crime again. I'm truly sorry.' What will you do?"
Daisy glanced over her shoulder at me.
"...What will you do?"
"...Me too? I wonder if it's appropriate for me to butt in..."
Ultimately, this was a decision for those involved in politics. I didn't think it was my place to interfere.
"...The sentences have already been carried out anyway. The Duchess Freister only sends cases that are already concluded."
"Hmm... Is that so? Then, without any burden, I'd say... No matter the reason, he was caught committing the same crime multiple times. If we don't punish him properly, the victims will continue to live in fear... A four-year labor sentence would—"
While I was quietly whispering to Daisy, Asena's firm voice echoed through the room.
"Execution."
Everyone turned to stare at Asena in shock. My brow began to furrow. If she was doing this just because she was in a bad mood, constantly pouring cold water on things, it wasn't a good look. But Asena added an explanation.
"We've already given him multiple chances. No matter how much his children couldn't eat, that doesn't justify stealing someone else's food. What about the people who suffered because of him? They probably had children too. We have to consider them as well."
Lucil Hober spoke cautiously.
"...Still, execution seems a bit..."
"Execution. He is someone beyond redemption."
Immediately after, Asena looked at me. Meeting her gaze, I muttered to myself.
"...Redemption, huh."
Truly... a word that stirred many thoughts. Can people really not be redeemed? Asena didn't waver. I thought it might be excessive, but... then again, this wasn't my concern. It was just a discussion, so there was no need to get too invested. I shrugged at Daisy and closed my mouth.
But for every criminal that followed, Asena's only verdict was execution. Execution. Execution. Execution. Afterward, she would eloquently lay out her arguments, explaining point by point why it had to be execution, why there could be no leniency, leaving no room for rebuttal. Indeed, there was something chilling about it. She showed no sympathy, as if these weren't real people but fictional characters, treating them like emotionless dolls. Of course, she had her reasons, but the more I listened, the more it felt like this was Asena's way of expressing her dissatisfaction with me. Deliberately acting out to draw my attention. After all, back in the territory, it had been my role to scold them when they made wrong choices.
Sometimes, after saying "execution," she would look at me, and I thought that was proof too. Was she waiting for me to say something? Perhaps, like before, she was waiting for me to approach after all this was over. And maybe she imagined that through the scolding, we could resolve our previous conflicts. Or perhaps she was picturing me approaching and saying something like, "You seem to be in a really bad mood," and comforting her. After all, I had given in to her so many times.
"..."
But this time... I didn't want to do that unless something happened. I straightened my posture. No matter how many times Asena said "execution," I didn't react. The more she did so, the more often she shot glances my way.
****
After dropping Daisy off, I was heading back to the dormitory. Kirsi hadn't been seen all day. My own tangled feelings remained unresolved as well. I still intended to speak formally if Kirsi appeared. But on the other hand, it was true that I found it strange she hadn't shown up all day. It would be a lie to say I wasn't worried. But more than that, I felt a pang of regret that I couldn't show her how angry I was since she wasn't showing her face in the first place.
With Asena, I hadn't reacted no matter what she did all day. When I had to speak, I used formal speech. I acted like a complete stranger. When we finally parted, Asena had stopped as if waiting for me outside the classroom, but I asked Daisy to keep walking. I passed her by completely ignoring her. She shouldn't take me so lightly. Trying to suppress me with ridiculous nitpicking—I had no need to put up with it.
"...Haaam..."
Yawning, I arrived at the dormitory.
"Hyung-nim!"
Someone called out to me from afar. It was Eric Endra, the protagonist of the novel I had possessed.
"...Eric. Where have you been, coming back so late?"
"Ah. Haha. Just expanding my network a bit..."
"You're working hard too."
"I have to revive my family."
We chatted about trivial matters as we entered the dorm. Eric seemed to be steadily building his influence. I had my own affairs to attend to, so I wasn't paying much attention, but it felt strange to think the novel's plot was unfolding somewhere without me. Suddenly, I wondered if my meddling with the twins might have had a negative effect on Eric. After all, he was supposed to grow stronger by confronting the twins. But then again... there were many families whose downfall I had prevented. If anything, it was a good thing. I hadn't done anything wrong.
Sharing the day's events, we walked toward our room. He mostly asked about the twins. Kirsi hadn't even shown up for class, and Asena had seemed to be in a bad mood. I briefly explained that it was because the twins and I had fought. Before I knew it, we had reached the door. I placed my hand on the handle and inserted the key.
"....?"
But the lock was already undone.
"...Eric, did you forget to lock the door today?"
I had left the room early to start my guard duties, so Eric should have locked it.
"Huh? No, I did lock it."
"..."
We both felt uneasy at the same time. This had happened before. Someone had picked the lock and ransacked the room just to harass us. Anticipating what might happen next, I sighed and opened the door.
—Creak.
The room looked the same as always, greeting us.
"...Huh? Nothing's wrong."
"...Hmm... There's nothing worth stealing from me anyway."
"...Me neither."
"...Tsk... Ah, maybe I left the door unlocked? It was this morning, so I'm not sure..."
Eric scratched his head.
"Eh... Well. It's fine. As long as nothing happened."
I waved my hand dismissively.
"...You're right."
Eric seemed to relax a bit and let out a yawn.
"Whew... Hyung-nim. I'm tired today. I'll head in first."
"Yeah. Today was a long day for me too. Go rest."
"Good night."
As Eric took off his coat and went into his room, I headed to mine as well.
—Creak.
Thud.
After entering my room, I began removing my clothes one by one. Leaving only my pants and shirt, I took off my tie, coat, and all other accessories.
".....?"
Then, something caught my eye. The bed. It looked the same as usual, but... the blanket was strangely bulging. Feeling puzzled, I slowly approached the blanket. Had I left something behind? Carefully, I lifted the blanket.
"...Kirsi."
I couldn't believe my eyes. Kirsi, who hadn't been seen all day. The one I thought might be crying somewhere. With tear stains clearly visible, Kirsi was breathing quietly, asleep on my bed like an animal. How long had she been there? Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her scent rose as I lifted the blanket.