Chapter 168: Departure Festival (6)
From Lian’s perspective, it was a completely unexpected face.
“……”
“……”
Jeil Enbarso.
An Elf who had occasionally been grouped with him during classes and exchanged brief greetings in passing.
In other words, their relationship amounted to little more than knowing each other’s face and name.
“……”
The Elf’s characteristically inscrutable eyes were fixed on Lian.
Though Lian had encountered Elves a few times before, Jeil’s eyes in particular held an especially enigmatic glint, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.
Click.
Amaruah, perched on Lian’s shoulder, suddenly clicked her beak as if uncomfortable.
“……Do you have something to say to me?”
At Lian’s question, Jeil Enbarso slightly turned his head.
He had been silently watching Amaruah, but then he quietly opened his mouth to reply.
“If I startled you, I apologize. I offer you my apologies.”
His voice was as low and composed as always.
Lian took a breath before answering.
“Were you looking for Professor Windy May?”
“Yes.”
“Then I suggest you come back later. She’s not here right now. I’m not sure when she’ll return.”
“I thought she was conversing with you.”
“She left right after we finished talking.”
“I see.”
He gave a small nod, as if in acknowledgment.
Showing no intention to press further, he once again glanced at Amaruah on Lian’s shoulder, then looked back at Lian.
Since he was standing squarely in the entrance, Lian had been waiting for him to move aside. Yet as the Elf continued to silently stare at him, Lian looked at him in mild puzzlement.
“……So, will you let me pass now?”
“At first, I did come to see Professor Windy May,”
Jeil Enbarso murmured.
“But now I have something to discuss with you.”
“……With me?”
“Yes. If you don’t mind, would you spare me a moment?”
“……”
Lian fell silent at his words.
“Did you overhear our conversation?”
“Unintentionally.”
Jeil Enbarso admitted plainly.
“Though Professor Windy May did block sound, Elven ears are very sensitive to both sound and vibration. So, though I didn’t mean to, I ended up overhearing a bit of your conversation.”
“……”
Only then did Lian slightly relax his posture and look at him.
It seemed he hadn’t come just to exchange greetings.
“So what is it you want to say to me?”
“Before we get into the main discussion,”
Seeing that Lian appeared willing to talk, Jeil Enbarso suddenly took a few steps back.
Then he slowly raised one hand and pointed toward himself, as if to make a declaration.
“There’s something I must make clear first.”
“What is it?”
“That is…”
Jeil Enbarso opened his mouth.
And then…
Cecilia and Allen stood at a slight distance, waiting for Lian.
They kept a vague, ambiguous distance—neither too close nor too far.
As if an invisible wall stood between them, they occupied the same space yet gave each other no glances or even a hint of attention.
In fact, not a single word had passed between them.
“……”
“……”
And so the two remained—each silently absorbed in their own thoughts.
Though they shared the same space, from beginning to now, there had been no interaction, no gestures of interest.
If there was one thing they had in common, it was that they were both waiting for Lian.
And that was about it.
That said, it wasn’t as if they were avoiding or uncomfortable with each other.
They simply had nothing to say.
Neither of them had the kind of personality to initiate a friendly conversation in the first place.
“……”
“……”
Giving Lian and his brother space to talk comfortably was, to them, a natural courtesy.
Given that both had rather complex and hard-to-define relationships with their own siblings, it wasn’t hard for them to understand his feelings.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
They both needed time to organize their own thoughts.
‘……He’s late.’
Had something happened again?
Cecilia quietly sighed inwardly.
To her, the name “Lian Gwendil” held two meanings.
The first was the name of the person who had saved her, someone with whom she wanted to build a sincere relationship.
The second was the name of someone who was always at the center of incidents and trouble.
Cecilia simply wanted to talk casually with Lian like other students, to laugh together and enjoy life at the Academy.
But at some point, “Lian Gwendil” and “incident” had become nearly synonymous.
Things involving him always veered in unexpected directions and frequently escalated into dangerous situations.
Hadn’t she, too, been tangled up in them several times?
That’s why she was uneasy.
What if he had once again gotten involved in something dangerous?
Just a few days ago, there had been that incident in the underground waterways.
What she had heard from her sister, Selendis, about the incident had been enough to make her heart sink.
‘If I could just keep a spirit by his side…….’
Cecilia immediately shook her head.
The thought that had briefly surfaced for a moment…
No, in truth, it was a thought that had surfaced more than once in the past.
And each time, she had shaken her head with all her might.
‘…No.’
That would clearly be crossing the line.
It would be like surveilling him… no, it would be surveillance in itself.
Above all, if Lian were to catch her doing so, there would be no room for excuses.
‘If that happened…’
Just imagine it.
Lian Gwendil, looking at her with eyes full of disappointment—no, as if in contempt.
His mouth opening to utter a single sentence.
—“So this is the kind of person you are? I’m truly disappointed.”
“Hhhhk…”
Just imagining him like that made Cecilia unintentionally let out a groan and swallow a gasp.
A chill settled deep in her chest, and her knees felt weak.
At that moment, Allen glanced over for the first time, but Cecilia didn’t notice at all.
The shock had been too great.
“Whew, hoo…”
She struggled to take a deep breath and barely managed to calm herself.
Spying on him secretly… it really wasn’t something she should do.
In the past, she’d tried subtly gathering information from spirits here and there, but even that… maybe it was best to stop.
‘Yeah…’
What she could do was simply stay by his side, watching over him so he wouldn’t end up in danger. That was the conclusion she came to.
So for this Departure Festival, she would stick close to him.
This was, after all, for his own protection.
Having reaffirmed that, Cecilia solidified her resolve once again.
“……”
While Cecilia was lost in thought, Allen too scanned his surroundings with a complicated expression.
His mind was filled with thoughts of his half-brother Kyren Amiel, and of their father, Count Amiel.
‘……’
After that day, Allen had believed Kyren Amiel had shaken off all delusions.
He’d become a disciple of Deiare, found a way to deal with the voices that haunted him, and even managed to resolve much of the tension between them.
He hadn’t lost anything—instead, he had gained something precious and invaluable.
…At least, that’s what Allen had thought.
‘…Brother.’
Yes.
Kyren Amiel’s wounds had fully healed.
Which was why Allen had assumed he was doing better.
But for some reason, even after recovering, Kyren began to fall into a lingering weakness, and eventually he became unconscious—now, only barely breathing.
The bigger problem was that no one knew why his condition had worsened.
Count Amiel, who happened to be in the capital for the Departure Festival, had personally sought out renowned mages and priests, even spent a fortune acquiring expensive elixirs from alchemists—yet none of it had worked.
In that desperate situation, Allen had suddenly thought of Lian.
Looking back on everything they’d been through, there was something undeniably special about Lian.
From the very first time they met, really.
Even just in front of Allen’s eyes, Lian had created countless moments that could only be described as miraculous.
Maybe—just maybe—Lian could…
Maybe he could find a way to save Kyren Amiel.
That tiny sliver of hope had taken root in Allen’s heart.
‘…But.’
Kyren’s condition had been kept a strict secret within the family.
Count Amiel had even summoned Allen privately to say, “I don’t think you would, but don’t go around running your mouth needlessly,” firmly ordering his silence.
There was no way an outsider like Lian would know what was happening.
Which meant Allen would have to explain everything to him personally and ask for help.
But when it came down to it, he just couldn’t bring himself to say it.
‘Haa…’
Lian had already saved his life multiple times.
The debt Allen owed him was staggering.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that even a lifetime might not be enough to repay it.
And yet now—again—he was going to ask for help based on vague hope?
Wasn’t that just far too shameless?
‘…Still.’
He had to try saying something.
Allen told himself this over and over.
Even if he had to shamelessly grovel, he would cling to Lian.
Even if it cost him his life, he’d repay his debt—so please, just help him.
That was the desperate mindset with which he’d come to see Lian, but once he saw him face-to-face, he found himself completely unable to say a word, as if his mouth had been glued shut.
“Haa…”
In the end, all that came out was a sigh so heavy it could split the earth.
This time, it was Cecilia who glanced at him, but it seemed Allen didn’t notice at all.
“……”
“……”
The two of them simply waited for Lian, each caught in their own thoughts.
How much time passed like that?
“Ah.”
“Mm.”
They both turned their heads almost at the same time.
Someone familiar was approaching from the distance.
Lian Gwendil—it was him.
But he wasn’t alone.
Walking beside him, as if accompanying him, was an Elf.
‘That person is…’
Cecilia narrowed her eyes slightly and focused on the Elf.
Jeil Enbarso.
The Elf who had suspiciously lingered around Lian, asking all sorts of questions as if conducting an investigation.
Though his activity had lessened recently, suspicions once raised were not easily dispelled.
“……”
Meanwhile, Allen’s gaze wasn’t on the Elf, but rather on the black bird fluttering around near Lian.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he got the strange feeling that the bird was watching them.
Just then, the bird made eye contact with him.
It turned its head sharply, as if displeased, and flew far away.
Allen watched the bird’s retreating figure with a strange look in his eyes.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Lian offered a sheepish smile.
“I finished talking with my brother quickly, but something urgent came up, so I had to go see Professor Windy May for a moment. That’s why I’m late.”
He paused for a moment and glanced at the Elf beside him.
He looked like he was unsure how to start.
“And, um. This person is…”
At that moment, Jeil Enbarso, who had been standing beside him, stepped forward.
Still expressionless, he looked back and forth between Cecilia and Allen as he spoke.
“Just in case, let me introduce myself again.”
The Elf took a slow breath, then opened his mouth once more.
“I am Jeil Enbarso.”
“Yes. We know.”
“Yes, we’re aware.”
Cecilia and Allen replied in turn.
Jeil Enbarso continued quietly.
“And in truth, that is a false name.”
He paused.
“My real name is Valenjeisho.”
At that moment, both of them flinched.
What he’d just said was the name of a member of the Wolpen Knights—one known as the Fairy King.
“Pleased to meet you.”
Revealing himself to be Valenjeisho, he continued to look at them with an unreadable, expressionless face.