Chapter 125: At the Academy (7)
Neighs of horses rang out long and loud from all directions.
I walked slowly, heading toward a small training ground.
It didn’t take long before I spotted Cecilia.
“Hmm…”
She stood in front of a brown-furred horse, looking quite troubled.
She had tried several times to mount it, but the horse kept twisting away from her, as if to avoid her.
Prrr.
Even compared to the other horses, this one was relatively small, and it let out a low snort.
Each time Cecilia approached, it anxiously shook its head and stepped back again and again.
An employee standing nearby tried to help her, but it wasn’t enough to calm the horse’s nerves.
“Whoa, calm down. Calm down, boy! You’re usually so gentle—what’s gotten into you today?”
The staff member holding the reins was flustered, struggling to calm the horse down.
Watching the horse carefully, Cecilia tried to sneak closer again but ended up stopping in her tracks as if nailed in place.
Seeing that, I looked at the horse’s head.
Its ears were laid almost flat, pressed far back.
That meant it was extremely agitated.
In such a state, it was best not to get any closer.
And of course, both of them knew that well.
“I’m sorry, but I think we’ll need to try with a different one. He’s usually very gentle, but he must be in a bad mood today for some reason.”
“…Alright. Please go ahead.”
Eventually, the staff member carefully calmed the agitated horse and led it back to the stable.
Cecilia stood there blankly, watching with a complicated expression as the horse instantly calmed down the moment it was away from her.
“Oh.”
Maybe she sensed someone watching her.
She suddenly turned her head—and our eyes met.
“…?”
For a moment, her expression looked as if she had seen a ghost.
But when I sheepishly raised my hand in greeting, her face instantly turned red.
“L-Lian?”
It was the first time I’d ever seen her react so intensely.
She even stammered, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“W-When? Since when… No, why are you even here…?”
“Just now.”
I deliberately smiled casually.
“I didn’t mean to spy on you. It just looked like you were very focused, so I couldn’t find the right moment to say hello.”
“Ah.”
She let out a small sigh like a quiet exhale.
Then she sighed again and again, murmuring in a voice steeped in embarrassment.
“I wanted to keep it a secret…”
I carefully approached her.
Just like the horse earlier, I half-expected her to avoid me, but fortunately, she didn’t.
“Were you practicing horseback riding?”
“…Yes.”
She gave a small nod.
And then, as if it were no big deal, she mumbled in a forced, nonchalant tone.
“Just, um. I… suddenly wanted to try riding a horse.”
She suddenly wanted to try horseback riding.
If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t have been anything unusual to say.
But if the person saying it was Cecilia, the meaning changed entirely.
To be honest, I had never imagined I’d hear the words ‘I wanted to try horseback riding’ come from her mouth.
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
With no better reply coming to mind, I could only answer like that.
Cecilia simply smiled faintly.
“Just… um, how should I put this…”
Although the training ground echoed with the sound of hooves and neighs, it was quiet around just the two of us.
After a brief silence, she quietly spoke.
“I wanted something to change.”
She muttered as she watched another student riding a horse.
“I wanted to change. Even just a little—enough to show that I’ve become different from who I used to be.”
She let out a small chuckle.
“Would you ask me who?”
“To whom did you want to show that change?”
“To Lian.”
Cecilia spoke softly, almost as if she were singing.
“And to my sister, whom I’ll be meeting soon, and to the rest of my family, and everyone else who knows me. I’m not really sure why, but I just felt like I had to.”
So… it turned out that the thing she decided to do was horseback riding. That felt a little strange.
She gave a bitter smile.
“Um, my thoughts are all tangled… Maybe I’m just bad with words, but I find it hard to explain clearly.”
She let out a small sigh.
“I wish I had even half your way with words, Lian.”
“Me? I don’t think I’ve ever been told I’m good with words.”
Trying to lighten the mood, I replied with a smile, and she murmured seriously,
“But everything you say always resonates deeply with me.”
“…”
I quickly shut my mouth.
I felt like if I said anything, I’d just end up clearing my throat awkwardly.
“…But Lian, what brings you all the way out here?”
Right before the atmosphere could get any weirder, Cecilia asked me.
I casually shifted the box in my arms so it was more visible to her.
“I came to deliver this.”
When I opened the box, Cecilia’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
She looked at me once and then reached into the box.
In her hand was her perfectly restored rapier.
“This is…”
“It’s not just the exterior that’s been restored, so you don’t have to worry.”
At my suggestion to check it out, she gripped the hilt tightly.
Woom.
The rapier began to let out a soft hum as if resonating with its owner.
Soon, a small whirlwind began to swirl around us.
She murmured in wonder,
“It’s true. Even someone as unskilled as me can handle this easily again—there’s really no difference from how it used to be.”
“That’s a relief.”
“The hilt was only for support originally… No, actually, it even feels easier to use than before…”
After muttering to herself for a while, Cecilia looked at me quietly.
“…Lian.”
“Yes, Cecilia?”
“Who fixed this?”
I avoided her gaze slightly as I answered.
“Airos.”
“…?”
“You know, the one we met in the Forest of Secrets back then…”
“…!”
Her face showed clear surprise before shifting into a scolding expression.
As if to say, ‘What were you thinking, going to meet him after barely surviving that day?’
“There was nothing to worry about. Professor Windy May led all the negotiations and discussions…”
“Even the professor was there?”
She muttered in a chilly voice.
I shut my mouth.
“Sometimes, I wonder.”
She looked down at the rapier in her hand as if she resented it for some reason.
“Lian is so honest and steadfast that I think it wouldn’t hurt to be a little more cunning.”
She thinks I’m… steadfast?
This was another thing I was hearing for the first time.
Cecilia looked completely serious—she truly meant it.
"…There really wasn't any trouble, right?"
When I nodded, she placed the rapier back into the box.
Then, receiving it from me, she let out a quiet sigh.
Worry and relief were mingled in her gaze.
"Then I'm glad."
"Ah, and one more thing. Airos gave me something to pass on as an apology."
To steer the conversation elsewhere, I quickly took out a necklace from inside my coat.
Cecilia tilted her head as she looked at it.
"A necklace?"
"Yes. He said it should be adequate compensation. The professor didn’t say otherwise, so I suppose he was right."
"Hmm."
Yet for some reason, Cecilia didn’t seem impressed.
As she calmly examined the necklace, she suddenly blinked.
"…Um, would it be alright if I asked a small favor?"
"Yes, please go ahead."
"If it’s okay… could you put it on me?"
"…Pardon?"
Before I could even respond, she hurriedly continued.
"As you can see, my hands aren’t exactly free. And it’s such a precious item—I’d hate to just stuff it in my pocket and risk losing it…"
As I hesitated, caught off guard by her unexpected request, she lowered her gaze slightly and murmured.
"Was that too much to ask…? Sorry. I always end up making selfish requests to you without thinking."
"…No, it’s fine."
Cecilia dipped her head slightly.
Then, she turned around and showed me her back.
I cautiously began to place the necklace around her neck.
As my fingertips brushed her skin, she flinched slightly, and a momentary silence passed.
A strange tension filled the air—but it truly only lasted a moment.
Her breathing, slightly stiff at first, soon relaxed, and I finished clasping the necklace without a hitch.
"It’s done."
"Thank you."
When Cecilia turned her head, her expression was calm as ever.
"…So, what will you do now, Lian?"
"I was thinking of stopping by to visit Yuran and Senior Lancia. I wanted to check on them and hand over the necklace as well."
"I see."
Cecilia nodded.
As she did, the necklace around her neck swayed gently.
"I’ll stay and practice a bit more."
"Alright, then… good luck."
At my encouragement, she smiled.
"Yes, I will."
As I looked at her, I smiled faintly too.
‘…I was going to ask about the Brand as well.’
But somehow, today didn’t seem like the right time.
Besides, I had already answered several questions while speaking with Taranis earlier…
‘I’ll ask her next time.’
I left the training ground at once.
"…"
Cecilia stood there until Lian disappeared from view.
Once he was completely out of sight, she quietly murmured a name.
Her voice was incomparably colder than when she had spoken with him.
"Taranis."
At her call, the Serpent of Flame tore through the air and appeared.
Looking at it, she asked,
"Why do you smell like him?"
— ……
Though Taranis had tried to conceal its presence, she hadn’t missed the faint trace it left behind.
Pleased by her growth, Taranis answered quietly.
— I spoke with him about many things.
"What things?"
— Just that. Many things.
Cecilia shot it a sidelong glance.
A glare colder than anything she’d ever given Lian.
"Speak."
— I wanted to know what he meant to you.
— He knew our names, and he had a bond with you stronger than anyone else. It was something I had to confirm.
Another head appeared, flicking its tongue.
Cecilia continued to stare, urging him to keep talking.
— At first, I wondered if he could be your shield.
No one takes a blow for a shield just because it's in danger.
And a shield that’s been pierced and worn out should rightly be replaced with a new one.
Taranis didn’t voice that part aloud.
But Cecilia had no trouble reading his true thoughts.
"…If one of us has to be the shield," she said, still without changing expression, but her voice burned with fury anyone could hear,
"then it’s me, not Lian."
Taranis didn’t answer.
It merely flicked its tongue again.
— I didn’t mean to test you, Cecilia.
— Truly, we… were only worried about what lies ahead.
"I see."
Cecilia pressed on, demanding,
"Then, after ignoring my warning, and meeting Lian behind my back, what conclusion did you reach?"
— That he must remain by your side.
— Yes. For your sake as well.
Taranis flicked its tongue again.
Its gaze turned to the back of her hand.
Where the Brand was engraved.
— That mark… that power upon you must be mastered properly.
A power she had never spoken of to Lian.
The power granted by her Brand.
— Dominion.
— To handle it properly, both you and that man must be protected.
— And this is not merely my opinion.
As soon as it finished speaking, three more spirits appeared around them.
They had not yet fully formed, but their will and intent radiated clearly.
— Haurvatar.
— Ameretat.
— Kshatarina.
Whispering the names of the other Spirit Kings besides itself, Taranis spoke as if reaffirming it.
— This is the will of all of us.
Everything… for you, our contractor—Cecilia.
Despite Taranis's words, Cecilia simply stared at them coldly.
"…"
Her gaze slowly lowered to her hand.
There, engraved into her skin, was the Brand— the bond, the link, between her and Lian.