C179: Wolves and Crows (2)
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Everyone's eyes widened at the words, "It's been a long time," and they looked at Rudger and Freuden in turn.
They were asking with their eyes if they knew each other and it was the same with Rene who brought Freuden.
'Huh? Did they know each other?'
Originally, Rene was going to visit the hospital alone but Erendir said he would go with her and on top of that Freuden, who did not fit in with others, said he would also go.
Looking at Freuden's attitude of talking to Rudger, it didn't seem like they had met for the first time. She thought they've known each other for a long time.….
At that time, Rudger said in a clueless tone.
"I don't understand what you're saying. This is the first time we've met."
"I see. I must have misunderstood something."
Freuden responded gently to Rudger's, who clearly drew a line.
If a stranger saw it, it was a reaction that seemed to be mistaken because he really saw the wrong person.
Then Erendir stepped up and said.
"I came to see Mr. Rudger and Ms. Selina because they said you were hurt. Here's your present."
Erendir said so and pushed Rene back.
Rene, who suddenly stepped forward, blushed with embarrassment.
"Mr. Rudger. Here you are."
"Oh, yes, thank you."
Rudger, who received the basket, left it next to the fruit basket Flora gave him.
Flora, who was watching the scene, was annoyed for no reason.
'What? You just said you'd take it and didn't say thank you.'
Was he discriminating against people? But beyond that, the presence of Freudian and Erendir further distracted her.
Erendir, 3rd princess, likes to meddle, so she can appear here.
'That Freuden guy. What the hell is he thinking by coming here?'
Basically, Freuden is a man who never moves unless he has a clear goal. The steps of the Grand nobility should be heavy enough to match its weight.
Flora agrees with that, but the place now is not where Freuden would come by any stretch of the imagination.
'There must be something. Something I don't know.'
When Flora thought about it, the students gathered in the hospital room greeted each other lightly.
"Oh, nice to meet you. I've seen you in class, but it's your first time we're talking, right? My name is Erendir."
"Yes! My name is Aidan! Nice to meet you, senior!"
"Senior?"
Erendir's expression quickly loosened, as she didn't know she would be called senior by anyone other than Rene.
Erendir and Aidan's party became so easily acquainted. To be exact, Erendir's attitude of approaching them in a friendly manner was a problem because she was wary of the word "senior."
'What is this? I don't feel any dignity. Is she pretending to be close on purpose?'
Leo, who belonged to the Liberation Army, was initially wary of Erendir, but based on her loose attitude, he decided that it was unnecessary.
In fact, it is safe to say that the Third Princess doesn't have any power because it's all held by her sister the First Princess. Even so, Erendir had the blood of the imperial family.
She looks like a person who can't make friends.'
It was a surprisingly accurate decision, but Leo dismissed his idea, thinking, "Is that possible?"
'………More than that I can't believe that the imperial princess and the children of two of the three great dukes are gathered in one of these hospital rooms.'
Leo's eyes naturally turned toward Aidan.
'And the unique user of anti-magic.'
Next was Iona.
'The daughter of a great lineage of the Suins.'
Well, Tracy's just a talented kid.
She would have been angry if she had heard the overly brief evaluation herself.
'And even me, an agent of the Liberation Army who hid his identity?'
What a strange combination, Leo thought. Still, in terms of his status alone, the Third Princess is the highest…….
"Oh my! You can call me "noona" more comfortably instead of "senior".
"Hold on a second! Don't get too close to Aidan!"
Seeing Tracy was trying to stop Erendir from approaching the naïve Aidan, Leo felt like an idiot for being nervous.
* * *
The short but noisy visit ended and Selina, who sent the students away, smiled as if she had enjoyed it.
"Hehe. It's been a noisy day."
"Thanks to you, I…"
"Well, for that matter, Mr. Rudger didn't really kick the students out, did he? They were even children who came to see Mr. Rudger this time."
"That's…"
"Teacher Rudger is also popular with students."
Popular? Rudger didn't think he was that much. The popular one should be Selina since her bed was full of get well gifts.
"But I think it's all over now……."
"I came to see you."
The door rattled open and Merylda came in.
Rudger, who tried to speak, had no choice but to sigh at Merylda.
"What is it? Sighing at people."
"No, it's just that I suddenly feel tired."
"Are you not fully rested yet? You can rest more."
"That's all right. I'm going to get some fresh air."
When Rudger left the hospital room, Merylda, who was left alone, looked back at Selina with sparkling eyes.
"So Selina."
"Yes?
"How was it? Huh? Talk to me. You two were together."
"Well, that's…I…."
Selina broke out in a cold sweat at Merylda gaze, like a predator trying to eat her prey.
* * *
Rudger left the building and walked moderately nearby. In addition, Selina and Merylda seemed to have something to talk about, so he left them alone.
In addition, Rudger also had an appointment.
While walking with that thought, he found someone blocking his way and stopped.
"You are…"
Rudger's eyes shone sharply as he recognized his opponent.
"Freuden Ulburg."
Freuden, who had his name called, did not give any answer and just stared at Rudger with an expressionless face.
"Were you waiting for me to come out?"
"I have something to do personally."
"I'm sorry, but I have nothing to say to you. Go back."
Despite the order, Freuden did not budge and Rudger frowned.
"What are you trying to do?"
"Do you really not know me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Even if you're talking nonsense, you should consider the other person."
Rudger passed by Freuden's side as if he didn't have to listen anymore. If they couldn't communicate he would just leave but Freuden spoke.
"You hid your identity and became a teacher, to appear in front of her again."
"……."
Rudger stopped walking while Freuden turned to look at Rudger and stared at him with a stern look.
"What on earth were you thinking by coming here?"
"Sigh."
A sigh that came out of Rudger's mouth and Freudian eyebrows wriggled at the action.
Rudger turned his head and looked at Freuden with half-opened eyes.
"I thought you were a kid who didn't know anything, did you remember?"
Then he raised his lips and made a sneer at Freuden.
"Ulburg Puppy."
* * *
"So what happened?"
At Merylda's persistent question, Selina couldn't win in the end and had no choice but to confess everything. That she fainted in the flames, and that Rudger jumped directly into the fire to save her.
"Oh, my God. It's so romantic!"
She liked this kind of story so Merylda didn't hide her interest.
"……Merylda, you're not worried about my injury, are you?"
"No way. Of course I was worried. But looking at the current situation, I didn't need to ask."
"……Really?"
"Of course. I was more curious than that."
"What are you so curious about?"
"What happened with Mr. Rudger?"
Selina was flustered and stuttered at the unexpected question while Merylda smiled playfully at the sight.
"There was, right? You can't say it because you're flustered."
"It's not like that!"
"What do you mean? There was something. You just have to be honest with me."
"Not yet……!"
Selina, who shouted in anger, finally realized her mistake and covered her mouth with her hands but it was too late.
"Really? Not yet?"
"……Teacher Merylda is so clever."
"Selina is too naive."
"That's not true. I'm not naive!"
"A person who is not really naive doesn't even talk like that."
"……."
Selina had nothing to refute, so she just patted the bed with her fist.
"So, what happened?"
"……I don't know."
"What's wrong with you? Of course I'm asking you how far you've gone with Mr. Rudger."
"It's not like that."
"You can't fool my eyes. When Mr. Rudger left just a while ago, you looked at him with a disappointed gaze."
Selina's face turned red like autumn leaves at Merylda's sharp point and Merylda laughed while thinking 'She is still naive'. Of course if she said it out loud Selina would be mad and wouldn't speak for a while.
"Selina, it's a long-awaited opportunity for the two of you, so try your best."
"Honestly…… I don't know. I've never done this before."
Selina, whose cheeks flushed red, said hesitantly, as if she had the warmth of a warm spring.
"Teacher Rudger is an amazing person. Smart, cool, strong and very popular with students but I can only handle spirits and I always act like a fool."
It was the anxiety in Selina's heart.
She said that she doesn't fit with someone like Rudger instead she was closer to looking up to him. He's such a great person that he wouldn't even notice someone like her.
"I don't deserve him."
"What qualifications?"
Merylda lightly dismissed Selina's concerns.
"Selina, you're too insecure. I'm sure there's a long line of guys who like you."
"What? That can't be true."
"Ugh. Have you ever seen such an innocent girl? This is how it feels to put a child on the water."
"I'm not a child!"
"And who are you with, what qualifications do you need? It's weird and wrong to argue about that."
"That's…."
"Anyway, there's only one piece of advice I can give you. Just bump into each other naturally, just like usual. Wouldn't that work?"
"What do you mean, I'm usually……."
For Selina, Merylda's advice was not well received.
Esmeralda, who used to be her real self, was gone.
"And if you're really struggling, why don't you ask for advice?"
"Advice……Oh!"
Selina grabbed Merylda's hands as if she had an idea.
"Then, Merylda! Help me!"
"What?"
Merylda was embarrassed because she didn't know Selina would suddenly be so active.
"Merylda must know how to win a man's heart!"
"Me, me? Huh? Why do you think so?"
"Teacher Merylda is the master of dating!"
"Huh? The master of dating? Me?"
"According to what I heard you are the queen of society!"
Merylda was speechless at her words.
'No, but it's somewhat…It's like I'm showing off……'
At first, she didn't want to look cheap, so she pretended to be a little strong. But that behavior came back like a boomerang.
'In the first place, I don't know a man's heart!'
Although she was now showing off her gorgeous, mature appearance in the past, Merylda had a typical image of an outsider, wearing large glasses that covered her entire face and her bangs.
She has never held a man's hand properly, and the number of people she has dated is zero.
The reason why she specialized in her curse magic is because she cursed while watching couples playing together.
How much effort did she put into making a love potion that didn't even exist for the person she had a crush on secretly?
She still sometimes thinks that she wanted to die when she remembers the memory of that day.
'Can I really give dating advice?'
She wanted to decline Selina's request.
'But… How can I refuse if she looks at me with such expectations?'
Selina's eager gaze with glistening eyes was something hard to refuse and in the end, Merylda was forced to raise the white flag.
"Huh, hmm. Yes, I see. Let me help you."
"Wow! Really? That is very thoughtful of you teacher Merylda!"
"What do you mean by that?"
Merylda, who saw Selina's true love, broke out in a cold sweat inside.
There was no turning back now.
* * *
There was a chilly air between Rudger and Freuden.
"I don't know how long it's been. Has it been about 10 years?"
"It was almost 12 years ago in terms of the number of years."
"Was it 12 years ago? You were a total kid at that time."
"At that time, you were much younger than now, too."
"But now you look like an aristocrat. You've grown up pretty well."
"Stop talking nonsense."
Freuden snarled Rudger.
"More than that, you didn't answer the question I just asked. Why are you here?"
"Is there any reason why I shouldn't come here?"
"A man like you……You have a reason to come here? And in the first place your name wasn't Rudger Chelici."
"You're talking as if you know me well."
The wind swept through between the two and Freuden clenched his fist.
"How did you approach her?"
"……I don't know what you're talking about."
"You thought I didn't know you handed her a magic book and helped her? Do you want to atone for it now?"
"……."
The word atonement weighed heavily on Rudger's chest but Freuden continued.
"The enemy who killed her mother with his hands."