Chapter 402: Interlude: Gold and Silver (7)

0% To be honest, I was never particularly perceptive.

Of course, I wasn’t as hopelessly oblivious as the princess.

But, from a young age, most of my days had been consumed by swordsmanship training.

My social interactions were limited and I had no time to expand my circle for the sake of social skills.

Back then, the word ‘acquaintance’ would usually refer to either family or neighbors for me.

I had few true friends with whom I could share an equal bond.

Celine and Leto, at best, were the only ones who became my friends.

Given such an upbringing, it was only natural that my social skills wouldn’t stand out.

I still found it difficult to interact with the opposite sex even after enrolling in the academy and making many friends.

I struggled to read their emotions.

After all, Celine was the only woman I truly knew.

That didn’t mean I had no female friends, but none were as deeply connected to me as Celine or Leto.

I would, at most, exchange greetings in passing with a few friends, Emma included.

And the crisis I recently faced was not unrelated to this.

The number of women around me grew before I knew it and, amongst them were those who had become irreplaceably precious to me.

The Saintess, who had saved my life more than once.

Senior Elsie, who had confessed her feelings to me.

And even Senior Delphine, with whom I had spent several nights.

Beyond them, there were also Seria, the princess, Emma and Senior Neris–all of whom became invaluable comrades to me.

If there was one issue, it was that I often couldn’t understand their feelings.

Just like right now.

The heavy air carried a faint tremor. No discernible emotion could be found in those deep blue eyes.

It was like looking at an abyss.

They were not the bright blue eyes I remembered. They had instead taken on a murkier, more muddled hue.

Facing that somber depth, I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me.

My instincts once again rang an alarm.

I must not speak carelessly.

My once innocent and adorable junior was now spilling out her deep emotions through words.

“Did that bitch say that? That she did it for the family? For me?”

There wasn’t a single change in the girl’s expression.

At a glance, it almost seemed as if I were the strange one.

Here I was, breaking into a cold sweat while facing a junior whose face remained perfectly calm.

But anyone standing before Seria would have reacted the same way as I did.

Currently, her presence was overwhelming.

Every word she spoke dripped with murderous intent, oozing with menace.

A chilling air prickled against my skin.

Even someone as dense as me could tell–

Seria was furious.

Very, very furious.

“That bitch really believes that, doesn’t she? Never mind the excuse about the family–but she did it for me…?”

Pfff-fft.

As if she found it amusing, Seria’s lips curled into a cruel arc.

It was a momentary grin.

And when even that disappeared, the expression left on her face was nothing short of terrifying.

So much so that even I flinched.

Gnash. Gnash. The sound of her grinding teeth accompanied her seething words that filled my ear.

“Don’t make me laugh. She took everything from me… Every single thing I held dear! And now, she says it was for my sake? That bitch… she’s not my sister. It would have been better if she just died. No–better if she killed me instead…!”

Seria’s pupils trembled, her unfocused gaze seeming to reflect her mounting anxiety..

No longer able to endure, she raised her thumb to her lips.

And just as she was about to bite down into it–

I instinctively shot forward and grabbed her wrist.

“Stop!”

At my sudden intervention, her eyes widened in surprise.

As if she hadn’t expected me to stop her.

Or perhaps–she simply didn’t understand why she was being stopped.

Suppressing the anxiety creeping up my spine, I forced myself to speak.

“Seria, I think you’re getting a little too worked up… Let’s calm down first.”

“No, Senior Ian.”

Seria’s voice was eerily composed as she replied.

Even her gaze was so solemn that I nearly loosened my grip on her wrist for a brief moment.

“I’m more rational now than I’ve ever been. Here, look.”

With a sharp thud, Seria pressed her free hand against the table and pushed herself up.

With each deliberate step she took, the distance between us closed.

Since I was holding onto her wrist, she had no choice but to walk around the table, slowly drawing closer.

Before long, I was staring directly into her eyes.

There was no focus in them.

Like a monochrome painting, her pupils held nothing but deep, raw emotion whose source I couldn’t even begin to fathom.

“I’m right here, perfectly still, aren’t I?”

“……?”

Before I could even ask what she meant–

“Isn’t it strange? Everything was taken from me… everything! Even the one thing I begged to keep! And yet, here I am, perfectly still. I’m neither picking up a sword to kill nor barking like a mad dog, trying to take it all back… am I?!”

“Seria, wait. Just–wait a second….”

The sheer force of her fury left me dizzy.

I could no longer follow the flow of the conversation. That’s why I, half-desperate, asked,

“Honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about right now. So… what exactly did Senior Delphine take from you?”

Seria, however, did not give me the answer I wanted.

Instead, she tightly pressed her lips together and just stared at me in silence.

That too, for a long time.

It wasn’t until I was about to break the awkward tension by saying something–

That she finally spoke in a hushed voice.

“Senior Ian.”

“Yeah?”

Suddenly, those lifeless eyes surged forward, stopping just inches from mine.

I slightly flinched but deliberately refused to avert my eyes.

Her beauty remained devoid of warmth even up close.

My mind unconsciously wandered to Senior Delphine.

She, too, was beautiful, but the nature of their beauty was fundamentally different.

If Delphine was the sun, then Seria was the moon.

Even her pale and delicate eyelashes reflected that contrast.

There was an eerie chill surrounding her, and yet–Seria was still Seria.

For a brief moment, I was mesmerized by her beauty.

Before I knew it, her eyelashes were so close they felt as though they might brush against my retina.

I could even feel the sweetness of her breath.

“Not long ago, I heard a man’s voice coming from my sister’s bedroom.”

And then–lightning struck.

A stark electric current ran down my spine.

My entire body froze on the spot–I couldn’t even breathe.

Did she… see?

The passionate time I spent in Senior Delphine’s chamber just two nights ago…

It was such an unthinkable situation that I couldn’t even muster a response.

What was I even supposed to say in a moment like this?

I felt like a lover who was caught in the act of cheating.

Even though, technically, I hadn’t done anything wrong.

But Seria didn’t care, merely continuing her interrogation in a hushed voice.

“That night… Where were you, Senior?”

“Hmm? If I remember correctly, I went to bed early…”

“And how exactly do you know what time that was?”

Damn it.

Realizing I was caught in a blatant lie, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Her gaze narrowed even further.

There was no use in trying to talk my way out of it.

She already knew.

And I had no way to deny it.

A heavy silence settled between us.

I refused to meet her gaze, stubbornly withholding a response, until Seria, who had been silently staring at me, finally let out a deep sigh.

Pressing her fingers against her temple as if nursing a headache, she muttered,

“You really screwed up, Senior. Of all things, you chose to drink with just the two of you… and worse, with that lust-crazed bitch, no less.”

Isn’t calling her a ‘Bitch’ too excessive?

I wanted to object, but I only grumbled internally in the end.

Seria still didn’t look the least bit pleased.

Her piercing blue eyes gleamed with unmistakable hostility.

“But I get it. You’re a man in your prime, after all.”

“U-Uh, yeah?”

I had no choice but to pin my hopes on Seria’s unexpected generosity.

Though, come to think of it, this was pretty unfair.

As she had said, I was a man in my prime.

Spending a night with an attractive woman wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Besides, it wasn’t as if Seria and I had any sort of romantic connection, either.

I’d have no excuse if it were the Saintess or Senior Elsie interrogating me, but–

A sudden thought crossed my mind.

Maybe Seria was going too far.

Shouldn’t I correct her behavior as her Senior?

Of course, that thought didn’t last long.

“You’re only human after all. If a woman–especially one with looks like hers–seduced you, resisting must have been difficult. And you’d been drinking, too… So, I suppose it was just an unavoidable accident, wasn’t it?”

“W-Well, yeah… I guess you could put it that way.”

“So, anyone would have been fine, right?”

Her following question sent a strange sense of unease that crept up my spine.

Up until now, I had simply nodded along under the weight of Seria’s sharp demeanor.

But something about the way the conversation was unfolding felt… off.

What did she mean, ‘anyone would have been fine’?

I frowned slightly and asked back.

“What do you mean, ‘anyone would have been fine’…?”

“ANYONE WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE, RIGHT!!”

She grabbed my arm tightly, her eyes blazing like blue flames as she spoke.

“That’s right. It didn’t matter who. You were drunk, and as long as there was someone to satisfy your desires… anyone would have done. It didn’t have to be my sister. Yes, that’s right, even me…”

“Seria, please, calm dow–ugh?!”

I reached out, trying to grab Seria’s shoulders before it was too late.

But she was faster.

Pressing firmly, her fingertip dug into my chest. The sheer force of her advance forced me to stumble backward.

“That’s how it was, wasn’t it?! That vile woman couldn’t have been unaware. That’s why she stole you from me–using whatever cowardly tricks she could!”

“I’ll say it again, Seria. You’re getting way too worked–”

“Please hold me.”

With a sharp thud, I was driven back against the wall–that was when I heard her request.

I could only furrow my brows even deeper.

A hug–sure, that was something I could give as much as she wanted.

But I knew that wasn’t what she was asking for.

Even someone as dense as me wasn’t that much of an idiot.

Trapped with nowhere to retreat, I felt her body press up against mine. I could feel the soft contours of her body.

And yet, all I could do was let out a deep sigh.

Seria wasn’t in her right mind right now.

And when someone isn’t thinking clearly, they shouldn’t be making decisions like this.

“Anyone would have been fine, right?! S-So that means I…!”

“Seria, you’re not thinking clearly.”

At my faint but firm reprimand, Seria clenched her teeth.

Her voice grew harsher, her tone more desperate.

At this point, there was only one way to respond.

“No, I am thinking clearly! More than ever–!”

And then–thud–my hatchet struck her chin.

Not the blade, of course.

It was the blunt side, but even so, the sheer force of the metal chunk shooting forward like a bolt of lightning was overwhelming.

Even a swordsman of superhuman skill wouldn’t be able to stay standing.

Especially if it was a surprise attack.

Seria’s eyes went wide as her body was sent flying through the air.

The flames that had been burning in her blue eyes instantly died out. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

With a thud, she collapsed, unable to get back up, merely trembling in small spasms before her eyelids slowly shut.

She blacked out.

Only then, finally freed, did I run a hand through my hair in frustration.

With a sharp smack, I struck the flat of the hatchet against my palm.

“…Seriously. I told you to get a grip.”

They say that, from ancient times, there has always been just one cure for those who’ve lost their senses.