Chapter 78 - Chapter 77: A Secret Just for the Two of Us
Walking side by side with Cleiria down the main street of District 2.
I was surprised when Cleiria suddenly appeared, but the cause of it all was me.
I had only followed the Marquis's orders, but since the conversation was over, I couldn't just say, "Alright, see you tomorrow," and part ways.
I have to somehow persuade that old man, the Marquis.
Just thinking about facing the Marquis makes my stomach ache.
But now that I know what Cleiria feels, I had no intention of throwing out, "You handle it on your end, Marquis family."
Glancing sideways at Cleiria walking next to me, she was walking with a beaming smile.
Perhaps she felt relieved that she could become friends with me.
I hope things can be settled so easily... but...
I have met the Marquis Leventein only once, and he was quite the stubborn old man.
Or rather, he was simply scary.
Horatio and Yaroibarov also have scary appearances, but as a whole impression considering their atmosphere, the Marquis Leventein is superior.
I wanted to add to the Seven Mysteries of the World how such a cute girl like Cleiria could be born from that old man, the Marquis.
Is his mother a beauty? There's no terrifying secret like they aren't related by blood, right?
Thinking too deeply might touch upon the forbidden secrets of the Marquis family.
I decided not to think about unnecessary things.
"Cleiria."
"Yes, Mika-sama! ...Ah."
When I called out to Cleiria next to me, she replied happily.
But perhaps it had become a habit, she added "-sama" and blushed.
"I'm sorry... I couldn't help it."
"It's fine. Don't do it again, okay?"
Mika felt warm seeing such a cute gesture.
But we couldn't just enjoy this heartwarming moment.
If we are to become friends, there are things I would be in trouble if I wasn't protected.
"...When you couldn't talk with me, what kind of feelings did you have?"
Even I thought, "I'm asking something terrible," but still, I asked Cleiria.
Hearing this from Mika, Cleiria's expression darkened, and she hesitated to speak.
"...It was very sad... and painful."
"Mm."
Mika nodded at Cleiria's answer.
"...But, if I only talk with Cleiria, then I will make my other friends feel that same feeling."
When Mika said that, Cleiria's expression turned to surprise before his eyes.
Of course, Cleiria hadn't thought that far.
The slight sense of exclusion when you can't fit well into conversations with friends.
Everyone has had some experience like that.
But Cleiria, who had no friends until now, had no such experience.
That is why she always becomes self-centered, thinking only of "me, me."
If Cleiria were to live only as a daughter of the Marquis family, that would be fine.
Everyone around her would adjust to Cleiria, and it would be accepted as a matter of course.
But if I am to become friends with Cleiria, I cannot accept that.
"I think Cleiria needs more friends."
"More... friends...?"
Cleiria looked bewildered.
"I'll introduce you to my friends tomorrow. Although, since they are just the kids who were always around your seat, you should know their faces. Everyone graduated from the Magic Academy in the Leventein Marquisate. If you could have attended, they would have been the ones you could have become friends with."
When Mika said that, Cleiria stopped in her tracks with a surprised expression.
Children she could have surely become friends with if she could have attended the Magic Academy two years ago.
She was a little late, but she can still become friends now.
It was late, but not too late.
When Mika smiled at her, large tears began to spill down Cleiria's cheeks.
"...W-Will I... will I be able to become friends? With the children of the Magic Academy in the Leventein Domain...?"
The children of the Magic Academy in the Leventein Marquisate, whom Cleiria had dreamed of becoming friends with, whom she had always wanted to be friends with.
Told that she could become friends with those children, Cleiria's emotions overflowed again.
Adults passing by, worried about Cleiria who had stopped and started crying, called out, "What's wrong?" "Are you okay?" but Mika replied with a bitter smile.
And thus, Mika was left wondering, "What should I do?" as he struggled to calm Cleiria down.
After Cleiria finally calmed down, we walked towards the First Wall again.
When Mika decided to become friends with Cleiria, he stopped using honorifics.
Mika's honorifics were "fake honorifics" to begin with, and if we were truly to become friends, it would be impossible to treat each other with honorifics.
He had already committed the unthinkable act of calling the Marquis's daughter by her name.
So, don't make a fuss over one or two words now!
"But, how did you get out of the mansion? There are escort knights, and security knights, right? And the First Wall has checkpoints too."
Mika casually asked Cleiria about something he had been wondering.
Cleiria frowned slightly, looked around nervously, and then beckoned Mika over.
Then, she whispered into Mika's ear in a low voice.
"There is a secret passage in the mansion. My father taught me about it the other day. You can pass through the First Wall normally if you have proof of the Leventein Marquis family, you know?"
......
Did I just casually say something terrible?
A secret passage...?
Isn't that supposed to be something you shouldn't make public?
Mika felt cold sweat dripping down his face.
A secret passage of the Marquis family.
It wouldn't be strange if it existed, but isn't it bad enough just for its existence to be known?
"Cleiria. Did you tell anyone else about that...?"
"No. There is no way I would tell anyone. It's a secret."
Cleiria whispered the details of the passage to Mika.
Apparently, there was a small mansion under a different name near the Leventein Marquis family's main residence, and it led to a hidden room there.
I had learned more about a secret I shouldn't have known...
"That's something you shouldn't tell anyone, right?"
"Of course. So please don't tell anyone, Mika-sama... Ah, I said it again."
Calling me "-sama" doesn't matter!
You're saying something even worse!
"You shouldn't have told me that!"
"Will Mika tell anyone?"
"I won't!"
I'm scared, how could I talk about this to anyone!
"Will you misuse it?"
"I won't!"
"Then it's fine. You must not tell anyone that I told you, okay?"
Smiling that it's a secret just for the two of us, Cleiria walked down the main street with light steps.
...... Cleiria's trust is too heavy...
Mika felt his stomach cramping painfully.
He never thought he would suffer from stress gastritis at this age.
Arriving at the First Wall, we walked steadily along the wall.
There was a large gate where it met the South Main Street, and a checkpoint was being held there.
Cleiria showed some kind of badge to the security knights.
When she said I was being invited as a guest to the mansion, they let me pass without a second thought.
The security at the checkpoint is too leaky.
Is this okay for the capital's defense?
It seems they even let Cleiria pass when she tried to go out alone, and I feel uneasy about the security level.
Well, since many commoners who work in government offices come and go, perhaps this level of checkpoint in District 1 is unavoidable.
"Here we are, Mika."
Cleiria walked down the main street of District 1.
Ahead of Cleiria, the silhouette of the city wall and the Royal Castle floated faintly in the night darkness.
The distance was quite far.
But the lights within District 1 made its huge form stand out slightly.
I never thought I would see it this soon...
I thought about flying to take a look, but I didn't even need to do that to see it.
It was dark and far, so I couldn't see anything clearly, but even just seeing the Royal Castle is something an ordinary commoner could never do.
Cleiria walked a bit further down the main street and turned right.
Then, she continued walking steadily in a cheerful mood.
The surroundings were filled with large mansions.
At the entrance of every mansion, security knights stood, watching Mika and the others with suspicious expressions.
Well, if children were walking around alone at this time, anyone would find it suspicious. Still, the fact that they didn't challenge us suggests they only care if it involves their own master's affairs, right?
Mika himself was already confirmed to be breaking curfew.
He lightly considered how to make an excuse.
Well, I guess I'll just have to manage somehow.
Since the dormitory entrance will be locked, it won't be easy to bluff.
But, well, it should work out somehow.
As Mika and the others walked side by side, Cleiria pointed to a mansion a little ahead.
"That is the Leventein Marquis family's villa. It seems they hadn't used it much until now, except when my father came to the capital. It's quite a comfortable house to live in."
Far from being "quite comfortable," to Mika, it looked like a grand mansion that would make his eyes pop out.
It might be smaller than the mansion in the Marquisate, but it was larger than the surrounding mansions.
As expected of a Marquis's residence.
Seeing the mansion, Mika finally remembered that facing the Marquis was right around the corner.
Mika, who was nervous, wasn't good at this kind of thing.
Just imagining the Marquis's angry face made his heart pound.
"...Forgive me for asking, but is the Marquis-sama at home?"
Mika asked Cleiria timidly.
Perhaps due to nervousness, his tone became unnecessarily polite.
But Cleiria looked bewildered.
"My father? My father is in the Leventein Domain, you know?"
"Hm?"
Huh?
Did he return to the domain recently?
Even so, Sarbengeal is eight days away by cart.
It takes several days even by horse or ordinary carriage.
"Mika has met my father once before, right? I suppose you wanted to greet him, but I'm sorry. My father returned to Sarbengeal around the middle of last month. I think he will come here again around the end of summer or the beginning of autumn."
What is going on?
Had the Marquis, concerned about Cleiria's attitude towards Mika, instructed her to keep her distance?
Could it be that he had already instructed the escort knights beforehand?
Feeling a sense of crisis towards Mika, who had wiped out the bandits in the kidnapping incident, telling them, "Keep a minimum relationship with Mika Noisheim."
Noticing Mika stop and ponder, Cleiria came back.
"What's wrong, Mika?"
Cleiria peered into Mika's face.
"Cleiria..."
"Yes, what is it?"
If the instructions given to the knights were not aimed specifically at Mika, but rather to exclude anyone trying to get close to Cleiria, it would be bad to reveal this to Cleiria now.
But I just couldn't shake off the feeling that something didn't add up.
Certainly, Cleiria's attitude towards Mika had been excessive.
If the Marquis knew that, he would understand why he would instruct her to keep her distance.
But that Marquis is not in the capital.
Then what was this "Marquis's instruction"?
What did Virone say back then?
'I have already advised Lady Cleiria many times...'
'...It is the intention of the Marquis family.'
'Naturally, His Excellency is also aware of this.'
That's right.
Virone said it was something the Marquis also knew.
But that Marquis is in Sarbengeal.
Knowing Mika's attitude, advising Cleiria many times, and instructing her to keep her distance... considering the round trip to Sarbengeal, that would be time-wise impossible.
It wasn't that he had instructed the knights beforehand either.
He said he instructed her to keep her distance after knowing the current situation.
This is strange.
The story is falling apart.
What is going on...?
When Mika began to have clear doubts about the Marquis's instruction, the Leventein Marquis's mansion began to get noisy.
"Oh my, it seems we were found out for sneaking out."
Cleiria took Mika's hand and started walking towards the mansion's gate.
As they got closer to the gate, they could see knights in a panic.
One of those knights noticed Cleiria and rushed over frantically, followed by the other knights.
"Lady Cleiria!"
"Why!?"
"Where have you been!?"
The knights who rushed over reached for their swords and glared at Mika.
"You! Stay away from Lady Cleiria!"
"Was it you who deceived Lady Cleiria!?"
They radiated killing intent and thrust it at Mika.
The knights didn't draw their swords because Cleiria was right next to Mika, and Mika didn't react at all.
"Stop it. Mika is my precious friend. Touching him is unacceptable."
Cleiria sharply told those knights and, without caring, walked through the knights towards the mansion gate.
The knights were confused, but since they couldn't obstruct Cleiria, they cleared the path.
Passing through the gate and entering the garden, more than ten knights had jumped out of the mansion.
It seems the knights at the gate had reported finding Cleiria.
"Lady Cleiria! Where have you been!"
Among them, a knight in splendid armor who seemed to be the captain knelt before Cleiria.
"I just went to meet a friend."
"A friend, you say...?"
The captain knight looked as if he didn't understand.
Of course he would.
He couldn't find Cleiria, who he thought was in her room, and when he frantically searched, he brought back a strange child.
"Besides, it is troubling to go out without telling anyone and without an escort... Considering what happened before."
The captain chose his words as if squeezing them out with difficulty.
"Before" naturally referred to the kidnapping incident.
...Normally speaking, isn't this captain a target for disciplinary action? If he was the person in charge of the mansion's security, he should be demoted.
Cleiria had gone out successfully, and he hadn't noticed for a while.
I don't know if he knew about that secret passage or not, but that wouldn't be an excuse anyway.
I feel sorry for him, and that he had bad luck.
Mika looked at the captain with a sympathetic eye and noticed a female knight with pink hair standing out among the other knights.
Mika let go of Cleiria's hand and walked straight towards the female knight.
"Mika, what is wrong?"
Ignoring Cleiria's call, Mika stared straight at the female knight, Virone, and stood before her.
"What is going on?"
And he threw out just one sentence.
The female knight glared back at Mika, not losing to him, or rather, even more strongly.
But Virone did not try to answer, only glaring at Mika.
"The story you told me the other day seems to have parts that are not true. Can you explain?"
"...Story? What exactly are you talking about, Mika? ...Virone?"
Seeing Mika's unusual atmosphere, Cleiria asked anxiously.
Mika and Virone glared at each other as if trying to pierce the other with their eyes.
"Virone, do you know this boy? And what exactly are you talking about?"
The captain stood by Virone and called out, but even that Virone ignored.
She only glared at Mika.
"Mika is my friend from the Academy. Everyone knows the boy who saved me a year ago, right?"
"Oh, that boy from back then! Speaking of which, I was told they were in the same class at the Academy..."
With Cleiria's explanation, the captain understood a little.
However, that information alone was not enough to explain the current situation.
"Why don't you say something?"
Mika asked Virone again, but Virone still did not answer.
"There is something suspicious about the 'instruction from the Marquis' you told me. Can you explain?"
When Mika said that, Cleiria, the captain, and all the knights around them turned suspicious faces.
"An instruction from His Excellency... to this boy? What is this?"
"Mika? What instruction from your father? What exactly was instructed?"
Hearing "instruction from the Marquis Leventein," the knights around began to clamor, "His Excellency?", "Instruction?", "To that boy?"
"This morning last week, on Water Day, he told me this. 'Keep your distance from Cleiria. It's the Marquis's instruction.'"
"What!?"
When Mika said it resentfully, the captain was speechless.
The knights around suddenly started making noise.
"Such an instruction, from His Excellency?"
"Would he say such a thing?"
"No, more importantly! When did he give such an instruction!?"
At that moment, Mika's sleeve was pulled weakly.
Mika turned around, and the one pulling his sleeve was Cleiria.
Cleiria looked at Mika with a shocked expression.
"...Is that... true? Mika-sama, did you really...?"
"............I'm sorry..."
If it was the Marquis's instruction, Mika could not disobey.
But even so, the fact that Mika tried to keep his distance from Cleiria was true.
Mika could only apologize to Cleiria.
Whether that instruction was a lie or the truth, Mika had hurt Cleiria regardless.
"Now, explain. When! Where! Did you receive an instruction from the Marquis in Sarbengeal!"
Mika had been tormented so much for such a fake 'instruction'.
The image of Cleiria collapsing in tears floated in his mind, and Mika exploded with emotion.
"Answer me, Virone!!!"
Mika threw all the emotions swirling within himself.
At that moment, Virone, who had been biting her teeth and enduring something until then, also exploded.
"You are dangerous!!!"
Virone threw back the same amount of emotion, or even more, that Mika had thrown.
"Why don't you understand that! Why doesn't anyone understand!"
She shook her hair wildly and glared at Mika as if to cut down the "demon" in front of her.
"Our mission is to protect Lady Cleiria! So why are you leaving such a dangerous person unattended!"
To protect Lady Cleiria, the boy named Mika was an existence that absolutely could not be kept by her side.
Virone tried to eliminate Mika with all her strength and spirit.
She bet her life to deny Mika.
The knights around, including the captain, were all stunned.
Mika had never been denied his very existence so thoroughly before.
Under Virone's pressure, Mika's soul froze.
"...So... you pretended to be my father's name to... Mika-sama...?"
In an abnormal atmosphere where no one could move, only one person opened their mouth.
Cleiria, wrapped in a solemn air, stepped straight before Virone.
"If you do such a thing, you should know what happens later... You know that, right, Viene?"
Cleiria deliberately called Virone by her nickname.
It was a signal just for the two of them, only used when Cleiria wanted to act spoiled towards Virone in private.
Cleiria shed tears quietly and called out to the knight she had trusted the most, who had been by her side since childhood.
"Lady Cleiria..."
Virone, seeing Cleiria like that, hung her head as if the explosion of emotions until then was a lie.
Then, she knelt before Cleiria and gave her final advice.
"Please, Lady Cleiria... Please listen to this Virone's last wish."
She begged, betting her life for the only master she could no longer serve.
"This boy is not allowed, Lady Cleiria. Please... please...!"
She bowed her head to the ground, begging.
Virone's wish was just one.
She wanted Cleiria to live happily.
That was all.
And for that reason, the boy named Mika was too dangerous.
The sight she saw back then still wouldn't leave her mind.
She had knocked down eight children and stood there with cold eyes that held no emotion.
Even against children who could no longer move, she said, "It was just a fight," and "It's not over yet."
It wasn't a matter of who was stronger or weaker in fighting.
She had sensed it.
A monster —.
Virone had even considered killing Mika herself to eliminate him.
But doing so would soil the name of the Leventein Marquis family, who had been kind to her.
No matter how much of a monster was inside, on the surface, he was just a child.
Whatever the reason, if a serving knight laid hands on a child, it would cause trouble.
Therefore, she devised an unfamiliar plan and tried to eliminate him using a roundabout method.
Seeing Virone hanging her head, Cleiria shook her head.
"It's a pity, Virone. I have always been grateful for your loyalty. And yet..."
She choked up there.
"...Take her away. My father will deliver the verdict."
Confused by Cleiria's order, the knights tried to lift Virone up.
No matter how much it was for Lady Cleiria's sake, impersonating the Marquis's name was unforgivable.
It was a heavy crime, a heavy crime. Almost nothing but beheading was possible.
If nobles' names were used freely, the foundation of the nation would crumble.
Even Virone, a knight, must know that.
Virone did not seem to intend to resist and obediently followed the knights.
And Cleiria continued to watch Virone's retreating figure with an expression that seemed to endure pain.