Chapter 135: Dragon's Blood (1)
“Nice to meet you.”
A deep, resonant voice rang out.
I lifted my gaze.
The man standing before me wore his silver hair neatly slicked back, a hearty smile playing on his lips.
A face marked with the passage of time,
A strong, well-built frame that looked as though it had weathered countless hardships,
And a pristine knight’s uniform adorned with old yet meticulously maintained medals.
He was the kind of man whose identity was immediately evident at a glance.
However, it wasn’t just intuition—something deeper was stirring my wariness.
He was too unusual to be simply a retired knight.
There was a faint, foreign aura wafting from his body.
An unease I had grown accustomed to.
It was the presence of a Brand.
Sensing it, I instinctively tensed, a habit ingrained in me over the years.
“I’m Marius Anguster.”
He introduced himself and casually extended his hand.
“I’m also the honorary commander of the Declaum Knights. Pleased to meet you, young friend.”
A bearer of a Brand.
The aura I felt from him was more similar to Rahma than to Cecilia.
In other words, it was the kind of ominous presence that put one on edge.
My guard naturally rose, but refusing a greeting in a situation like this didn’t seem appropriate.
I did my best to suppress the feeling and courteously took his handshake.
“I’m Lian Gwendil.”
The moment our hands met, I felt the Brand’s aura even more strongly.
But I wasn’t the only one who sensed something.
“Hmm.”
Still holding my hand, Anguster gazed intently at my face.
It was the look of someone who was either reuniting with someone long lost or trying to confirm something.
“Your eyes are very clear.”
It was a simple statement, yet it sounded oddly significant.
It seemed to carry more weight than mere pleasantries.
But soon, as if brushing it off, he laughed heartily and gave my hand a firm shake.
“Don’t look at me so suspiciously. I may look like this, but I’ve been officially invited to this Departure Festival, you know. Wahahaha!”
Watching him burst into laughter, Professor Shagas spoke, as if to explain.
“As he said, he’s one of the guests invited to this Departure Festival. As you know, Gwendil, many renowned figures are gathered for this event.”
“Yes, I’m well aware.”
I nodded, deep in thought.
Declaum Knights.
I was slow to react because of the Brand’s aura, but the Declaum Knights were once a prestigious and elite order known throughout history.
…Though now, their banners and emblems—once their pride—had long been lost to time and their fall from grace.
“In truth, there’s still quite some time before it officially starts, but I was so eager to meet the elder that I came early.”
Saying so, he leaned in with a joking tone.
“You might think an old retiree has too much time on his hands—but I’d be hurt if you really thought that. Wahahahaha!”
“Of course not. I’m simply glad to meet you.”
“As am I!”
With another burst of hearty laughter, he shook my hand several more times with excessive vigor.
By the time the aggressive handshake—enough to make my shoulder sore—was over, Professor Shagas turned to me and asked,
“So, you said you came because of Yuran?”
“Yes. As I mentioned earlier, I was just on my way back after finishing up some matters.”
“Would you mind telling me what those matters were?”
“Ah… some are things you already know about, and others involve learning the language of Garusol.”
Professor Shagas chuckled in satisfaction.
“Sounds like you’re learning a lot from Yuran.”
“Something like that.”
“And she’s also learning a lot from you. I hope that mutually beneficial relationship continues for a long time.”
I bowed politely.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Mm, take care.”
Professor Shagas murmured gently.
“I do enjoy talking with you, but since we have a guest, I think we’ll have to continue this another time. Let’s meet again when the opportunity arises.”
“Yes, and I’ll be looking forward to another cup of your delicious tea.”
“Ha ha, you flatterer!”
Professor Shagas laughed with delight.
As I stepped aside, he gestured for Anguster to move along as well.
“……”
But Anguster stood there, staring at my face.
When I met his gaze, he belatedly seemed to realize and waved his hand apologetically.
“Ah, pardon me. Just an old habit.”
He shrugged.
Yet he continued to stare at my face.
It was almost blatantly rude.
“Reading faces is a hobby of mine.”
“You’re something else.”
More flustered than I was, Professor Shagas quickly tried to stop him.
“You’ll make Gwendil uncomfortable.”
“Haha, my apologies.”
Yet Anguster kept nodding, seemingly impressed.
“My, my… you’ve got the look of someone who’s going to suffer a lot when young.”
Though it could easily be taken as terribly rude, he merely stroked his chin in admiration.
“You’re probably already going through all sorts of hardship. If you didn’t have people helping you, you’d have collapsed already… But you’ve got good connections. Really, you’re lucky with people. That’ll help you endure.”
The fallen commander of the knight order, Anguster, nodded a few more times.
“You truly have many good connections, many good ones…”
He muttered with a voice tinged with emptiness.
“…I used to have that too.”
In that moment, I sensed deep regret in the expression of the former knight commander.
And beyond the regret, I caught a fleeting hint of some other emotion, wrapped in a blanket of sorrow.
It passed too quickly to discern exactly what it was—I could only guess.
“Heh, this is why they say old men should just die off.”
He gave a bitter chuckle and shifted the mood.
Professor Shagas coughed lightly from the side, cutting off the conversation.
“Yes, Gwendil is a very diligent and courteous student. Quite unlike most young people these days. It’s only natural that good people would gather around such a young man.”
He added gently, but with a hint of warning.
“Still, if you suddenly act like that, even someone like Gwendil would be flustered. Now, step back a little.”
At that, Anguster let out a hearty laugh as he looked at Professor Shagas.
Even so, he didn’t forget to take a couple of steps back from Lian, just as he was told.
“See? Just as I said. The moment the elder likes me, doesn’t it prove that I’m surrounded by good people?”
“…Enough of that, let’s be off now. It’s been a while since we’ve met—we should catch up.”
Then, as if something came to mind, Professor Shagas muttered,
“Actually, now that I think about it, alcohol would be better than tea for catching up.”
Anguster raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Alcohol? Out of nowhere? What wind is blowing today for you to be the one suggesting we drink?”
“I can drink. I just don’t usually indulge.”
Professor Shagas tapped his cane against the ground with a tak.
“No point standing around. Let’s head out. I know a good place—my treat.”
“Heh, well I’ll be. Getting treated by the elder himself.”
Then, as if remembering something, Professor Shagas glanced at the luggage in his hand.
“I need to put these away first…”
And naturally, his gaze shifted to Lian.
“Sorry to ask this, Gwendil. Could I trouble you to drop these off for me?”
It was an unexpected request, but Lian nodded right away.
Professor Shagas was not the kind of person to make such a request without a reason.
There had to be something behind it.
“Here you go.”
As I approached, Professor Shagas handed over the luggage and whispered in a low voice,
“…Tell Yuran not to come to the professor’s office for a while. And to pack her things and leave.”
I immediately understood the reason.
Declaum Knights.
The place where their banner had fallen—was Garusol.
Just before they were completely annihilated, the few survivors had managed to escape thanks to Professor Shagas, but they could never return.
And Yuran was from Garusol.
“……”
Professor Shagas clearly had no intention of letting them meet.
He must have felt something unsettling during the conversation earlier—more than what I had sensed.
“Let’s get going then.”
“What? You’re not even going to give me a tour of your office?”
“You can do that later when I return.”
And with that, the two of them walked back the way they came, continuing their conversation.
After watching them for a while, I too retraced my steps and headed back to the professor’s office.
“…What are you doing?”
“Uh… hiding?”
When I returned, Yuran was wrapping a cloth tightly around her face like a mask.
At my incredulous question, she fiddled with the cloth awkwardly and mumbled,
“I was going to say… I caught a cold…”
“That just draws more attention. I think you’d be better off wearing a hat instead.”
“Mm.”
Yuran quietly lowered her hand and nodded.
“So, why did you come back?”
“Well…”
After I relayed Professor Shagas’ message, Yuran didn’t ask for further explanation.
“…I see.”
She simply nodded in acknowledgment.
She said she would stay in the staff dormitory for a while to monitor her condition.
“Will you be alright on your own?”
“Mm, well…”
Just as she was about to say she’d be fine, Yuran pulled something from her coat and handed it to me.
A charm.
“…If anything happens, use this to contact me.”
Then she began packing her few belongings.
When I asked if I should accompany her to the dorm just in case, Yuran gently declined.
Instead, she said that we should talk again later about what had happened today.
“…Lian Gwendil.”
Right before we parted ways outside the Professors’ Wing, Yuran suddenly spoke.
“Sorry for doubting you. And thank you… very much.”
She gave a sheepish smile.
“I just felt like I had to say it again.”
“Yuran.”
“Mm?”
I stopped her before she could leave.
There were things I had to tell her before it was too late.
About the dragon’s blood flowing through her veins—something she hadn’t yet realized.
I had a feeling it might soon become desperately necessary.
Cecilia had recently been piling up frustration.
She didn’t know exactly why, but a few of the older spirits around her had already figured it out.
Lian Gwendil.
It was because she hadn’t been spending much time with him lately.
— This is your chance.
Realizing that he was currently not far, in the park, the Owl nodded with determination.
— Leave a strong impression on Lady Cecilia. I can do this…
The Owl immediately began naturally guiding her toward the park.
It didn’t forget to create a fuss about how something good was surely going to happen.
Coincidentally, Cecilia had also been wanting to shake off her gloomy mood, so she decided to go along for a walk to lift her spirits.
“Ah.”
And as soon as she spotted Lian in the park, her eyes sparkled.
The Owl, seeing this, smiled triumphantly to itself.
With this, the position of trusted aide is secured!
But it didn’t take long before the Owl’s face turned pale with dread.
“…Actually, I’m half-blooded.”
Sitting beside Lian, whispering, was a black-haired woman.
It was Yuran.
“……”
Cecilia stood silently in place, her lips tightly sealed.
…What is this.
Seeing the two of them together wasn’t a big deal.
She already knew they were learning Garusol’s language together, or that they were practicing a special technique under Professor Windy May’s instruction.
What unsettled her was that Lian was telling Yuran a secret even she didn’t know.
That sight stirred in her a feeling she couldn’t quite describe.
A feeling she had never experienced before.
And one she never wanted to feel again.