Chapter 40

The bright sunlight poured down at noon.

A girl with twin tails strolled out of the academy hospital, stretching to her heart’s content.

“Ugh! Finally, no more lying around like a lazy log!”

“You were waiting for just two days, and it was that boring?”

As I asked while following her discharge procedures, Rusika shot me a mischievous grin.

“Seriously, it was so annoying with you right there next to me!”

“I guess you’re fully recovered!”

Seeing Rusika back to her usual self by looking much more stable, I realized she was both physically and mentally doing better.

“Well, losing that duel and being pitied was a teensy bit upsetting, though~”

With her arms crossed behind her head, Rusika stated while heading outside the hospital.

“It’s just good to be out now, anyway!”

I walked alongside her with a bitter smile.

Contrary to the doctor’s concern that she needed at least three days of rest, Rusika recovered completely in just two days and was ready to go home.

Thanks to the healing magic secretly cast by Tirisia before she left.

Once Rusika’s metabolism kicked into high gear, the doctor only realized the existence of magic after her rapid recovery.

“What the hell, giving her medicine and doing magic? Damn brat.”

Rusika still wore an expression that showed she had no fondness for the unsolicited kindness from Tirisia.

Honestly, watching Tirisia flatten Rusika like that was enough for me to think she was completely different from the Tirisia I knew.

But seeing Tirisia care for Rusika and cast recovery magic on her gave me mixed feelings.

“Pretending to be nice now is completely pointless…”

I muttered, and Rusika shook her cherry blossom-colored twin tails.

“Hmph! Either way, that’s it—we’re done! Go stay locked up in your house forever!”

“From Rusika’s perspective, that’s totally understandable. The real issue is whether Bruerd’s family will really keep Tirisia locked up…”

“Ugh, I don’t even want to think about that. Anyway, I won’t be seeing her face at the academy again!”

“Well, that’s true…”

Her expulsion was confirmed, but how her family would handle her was still an unknown area.

From merely an honor standpoint, the incident certainly warranted her expulsion from the family.

Yet considering her extraordinary talent and how much her family has loved and protected her, it was a tough call.

Tirisia had never shown such immoral behavior in her entire life.

Being someone who could be seen as a model noblewoman, following the rules of decency, she had taken her first serious misstep, so perhaps her doting parents might let it slide this once.

After all, a first-time offender in court can sometimes get leniency.

Of course, whether Tirisia would bow her head at home after showing no remorse outside remained uncertain.

Anyway, since they said she would be under house arrest, she would definitely need to stay cooped up at home for a while.

Considering the paparazzi and external opinions, they would keep strict watch until the uproar settled down, meaning I would definitely not see Tirisia’s face again anytime soon.

Naturally, I had no intention of visiting her either. There was no reason to.

The important thing was that there would be no chance to have any conversation with Tirisia or to clear up any misunderstandings that might exist between us.

And that wasn’t just my problem; it would also impact the entire academy.

The falsehood Tirisia spat out during the disciplinary committee would eventually turn into truth among the students.

Just like I told Rusika, no matter how much I insisted it wasn’t Tirisia’s true feelings, it would probably be rejected unless I presented evidence.

The image of the illustrious Bruerd aristocrat, who had forcibly suppressed Kerg and deceived commoner men for years to satisfy her distorted desires, would circulate among students.

That was something unavoidable now.

It was a natural progression for the situation to expand this far; I didn’t have much to do with it anyway.

In fact, it didn’t matter to the academy students whether Tirisia or Kerg was the instigator.

What truly piqued their interest was simply that commoner Erto was betrayed by his girlfriend.

Thinking about living in an academy where that perception would hang over me already gave me a headache, but I resolved to act confidently.

At least I now had people who believed in me and supported me.

Including the girl who, just now, had cleared up misunderstandings and offered me a sincere apology, the one walking right next to me.

“…What are you staring at? Pervert. Hehe.”

Rusika, with her usual playful smile, gazed at me.

I smiled and ruffled her hair.

“No, it’s just…I feel reassured having you by my side.”

“…Eep.”

If it were like before, she would have teased me about being pathetic, but now Rusika reacted differently.

Her cheeks reddened shyly as she avoided my gaze.

“W-well…suddenly, what’s with that?”

“Um…I feel like that’s something I should say first. Are you still hurting anywhere?”

“Hmph! It’s fine.”

Rusika brushed my hand off her head and stepped ahead, speaking into the air.

“More importantly…what I said the day before yesterday…!”

“Yeah.”

The tips of Rusika’s ears were bright red, only her back turned to me.

It was definitely a conversation worth mentioning.

On that day, Rusika had completely opened up her feelings.

“I-I’m not expecting an answer right away!”

She stopped walking and shouted, mustering all her courage.

“Uh…”

“Right now, Erto has no room to care about anyone else. Am I wrong?”

“…”

Rusika stood there, her hands behind her back, tapping the ground with her toes.

“You were the one most hurt by being betrayed by Tirisia… So, I think it’s inconsiderate of me to ask you to deal with my feelings right now.”

“Yeah…I see.”

I readily agreed with her. It was the truth.

While I knew I had to give her a response to Rusika’s feelings, I felt too overwhelmed to think it through right now.

If I could delay that a bit longer, I could give Rusika the proper answer without being rushed.

“So…for now, you don’t have to answer. Once Erto finds peace in his heart…I hope you’ll tell me how you feel about me then.”

“Okay, got it. Rusika.”

I nodded at the pink back of her head that was puffing up like steam.

“But!”

Suddenly, she spun around and shouted at me with determination.

“You have to tell me before graduation! Got it?!”

Graduation, huh? That means we still have over a year left.

Seeing Rusika give me such a generous deadline made her suddenly seem adorable, so I burst out laughing and nodded.

“Haha…Of course. It won’t even take that long.”

“Ugh…what’s with that relaxed expression? It annoys me! You pathetic Erto!”

With that, she playfully whacked my chest with her fluffy fists.

“Heh, heh…”

Just a little while ago, I could have never imagined this day would come.

I never thought Rusika would directly see Tirisia’s shortcomings with her own eyes.

Before they dredged up the memory of anyone who was there, I thought no one would ever believe me if I spoke of the truth.

Yet, it actually happened.

I… or rather, it was the memory of Haidiera that resided within me that finally made Rusika understand me.

And now she stood beside me.

I felt as though a tight knot had loosened, a thread that was once tangled was starting to come undone.

Of course, there were still heaps of issues left to untangle.

“Let’s go, to the academy.”

I patted Rusika’s back and stepped forward.

“Yeah, Erto.”

Rusika smiled and followed me.

Alright, now it’s time to dive into the next storm.

*

I spent the morning waiting for Rusika’s release, and as I headed toward the dormitory for my afternoon classes, I noticed something familiar on my personal desk.

“…Not again.”

It was a letter sealed with wax and the crest of a noble family, looking quite antique.

I furrowed my brow and peeled off the wax to open the letter.

“Of course, they wouldn’t just stay quiet.”

This was from someone who played the leading role in such a big incident.

Honestly, it was impressive they hadn’t caused a scene until now.

Now I guess it was time to sort things out and take action, huh?

Puzzled, I opened the letter, revealing a neat, short sentence written in elegant handwriting.

[Let’s meet in the garden after school.]

“…”

After staring at the words for a moment, I, whoosh!

tore the letter and tossed it into the trash can.

Seldienne Elconja.

You really aren’t in a position to be calling for me right now.

What face do you even have to give out orders?