CHapter 182: The Gap (7)
Somehow left alone, Lian and Allen silently looked around their surroundings.
“…….”
“…….”
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
Sigh.
Allen quietly let out a sigh, careful not to let Lian seated next to him hear it.
How had things escalated to this point?
After Yuran's shocking statement, the first to leave were Behad and Mercedes, using the flimsy excuse of suddenly having urgent business.
Behad seemed like he still wanted to talk more, but Mercedes had practically clamped his mouth shut and dragged him away.
Looking back now, maybe that was the smart move……
Perhaps Mercedes had quickly caught on to what was about to unfold.
In fact, when Yuran and Cecilia said they had something to talk about in private and left together, Allen felt as though a heavy weight had settled on his chest.
Before he knew it, only he and Lian were left alone in a corner of the wide plaza.
Just moments ago, the area had been bustling with noise, but now the crowd had receded like the ebbing tide, leaving things quiet.
“…….”
Allen subtly glanced at Lian's face.
How to describe what he saw…
It was like someone who had just been swept away by a massive storm—completely dazed.
Gone was his usual composure; his eyes trembled anxiously, and his mouth hung slightly open as if searching for something to say.
His mind was probably tangled with thoughts like a knotted skein of yarn.
……Somehow, I did end up alone with him just as I’d wanted.
Allen sighed inwardly once again.
In a way, this was the perfect chance—just what he'd hoped for—to speak alone with Lian.
But in this situation, to suddenly bring up that Kyren had been acting strange and ask him to check on him… Allen didn’t have the nerve to say something like that.
“……About Miss Yuran.”
Eventually, Allen opened his mouth, hoping to lighten the mood by bringing up what had just happened.
“I already knew she was a bold and straightforward person, but today… she’s even more incredible than I thought.”
“Truly……”
Lian slowly nodded in agreement.
He still looked like a man drowning in the swamp of confusion.
“I hope the two of them can finish their conversation without any trouble.”
Allen muttered quietly, almost to himself.
“After all, Miss Cecilia has feelings for you, doesn’t she? I mean, it’s not like either of them are thoughtless people, so there shouldn’t be any big issues……”
Lian froze.
“……Huh?”
He turned to Allen with an expression of disbelief.
As if he couldn’t quite process what he had just heard.
“……What did you just say?”
“That they’ll probably be fine without any problems—”
“No, before that. Before.”
Lian hastily cut him off.
His eyes were filled with the kind of bewilderment one only showed upon encountering something truly unexpected.
“Who has feelings for who?”
Allen replied.
“Miss Cecilia.”
Then he looked at Lian.
“For you.”
With a hint of caution, he asked again.
“……Wait a second. Don’t tell me you really didn’t know?”
“…….”
Lian didn’t answer.
But the way his eyes trembled violently said everything.
Allen couldn’t help but mutter in disbelief.
“……Seriously? Come on. She was practically shouting it to the world with how obvious she was… How could anyone not notice?”
The subtle gestures and responses Cecilia showed while hovering around Lian were something anyone with even a shred of perception could have picked up on… no, honestly, anyone could have noticed.
Allen himself had realized it long ago.
“You…”
Lian opened his mouth, at a loss for words.
Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he blurted out in a choked voice.
“……You’re one to talk.”
“…….”
Allen went quiet for a moment.
Then, with a faint bitter smile, he replied softly.
“You mean Princess Mercedes?”
What?
Lian let out a startled gasp before he could stop himself.
He looked at Allen as if wondering how on earth he knew that.
But Allen just tilted his head, as if that was what didn’t make sense.
“I mean, you noticed that, but not Miss Cecilia…?”
Allen muttered incredulously, then lowered his voice even further.
“I honestly thought you were pretending not to notice, just like me, since your situation was complicated too.”
There was a note of resignation, tangled and conflicted, in Allen’s voice.
“In my case… even when I was being neglected, there were women who approached me with interest in subtle ways. Back then, I didn’t have the luxury to respond to such feelings, given my circumstances. Maybe that habit stuck with me… Even though I know it’s a bad habit, I still tend to act that way.”
There was a subtle confidence in Allen’s voice as he spoke.
He hadn’t said it out loud, but clearly, he knew just how attractive he was.
……Come to think of it.
During their time at the academy, Lian had occasionally noticed female students sneaking glances at Allen from a distance.
Each time, Allen would simply smile awkwardly and brush it off, acting like he didn’t notice—but maybe that was precisely because he had noticed, and had nipped it in the bud ahead of time.
“…….”
Thanks to that, Lian realized he was the real fool, grumbling about others being dense or frustrating.
The one who’d actually been clueless and frustrating was none other than himself.
“I mean, it’s just that…”
Lian started speaking, sounding like he was making an excuse.
“I didn’t really go outside much when I was in the territory. I hardly interacted with people my age… I guess I just never had that kind of experience, so I didn’t even imagine it.”
“Well, that makes sense. You’re a cleric, after all.”
“…….”
Although it hadn't even been a full year since he’d enrolled, Lian quietly kept his mouth shut.
He had at least that much awareness.
“Hmm……”
To others, his words might have sounded like a poor excuse, but Allen found himself accepting them nonetheless.
However, because Allen had a vague sense that Lian’s circumstances were just as—if not more—complicated than his own, he didn’t press further.
Digging into someone’s sensitive matters didn’t suit his temperament anyway, and more than that, Lian looked plenty confused as it was.
“…….”
“…….”
Another silence.
The two quietly looked out at the plaza.
“Allen.”
After a long pause, Lian quietly called his name.
“I’m telling you this just for now. Only you.”
“Yes.”
“To tell the truth, I’ve got something… something I can’t tell anyone right now. It’s a very complicated and important matter.”
“…….”
“And… until I resolve it……”
Lian stopped there and fell silent.
Even without hearing the rest, Allen could fully grasp what he meant.
“Hah.”
Lian let out a faint laugh.
“The truth is, I’ve been so focused on trying to solve that matter, I didn’t even think about anything—or anyone—around me.”
He spoke quietly.
“But now, something’s come up that makes me have to care about what’s around me… and even about what comes after.”
Saying that, Lian fell silent again.
Allen couldn’t tell exactly what he meant.
But one thing was clear: Lian was carrying a heavy burden.
“…….”
“…….”
Once more, silence fell over the two.
For now, that alone was enough.
---
---
“Cough, cough!”
Down in the underground sewer, where dust was thick in the air, Windy May let out a small cough.
“Why is there so much dust in here… even though it’s a sewer?”
She grumbled irritably, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
At her feet lay what had once been Anguster—now shattered beyond recognition.
“Sigh.”
Windy May no longer paid it the slightest bit of attention, instead turning her gaze elsewhere.
In her hand, she held a strange metallic strand that had just been embedded in Anguster’s chest.
It looked like a decoration made by twisting thin wires together, yet somehow carried the aura of a sinister magical artifact.
Or perhaps, it even resembled a weapon.
Its exact purpose was unknown, but the faint and eerie light seeping from its surface suggested something deeply unsettling.
I’ve never seen anything like this before…
The material was unusual, and the magical energy it emitted felt far from ordinary.
As she was just about to inspect it more closely, thinking it was no common object—
Step, step.
Footsteps echoed once again from the shadows.
They were subtly different from Anguster’s earlier ones—lighter, more controlled.
The person was making their presence known on purpose.
Windy May easily picked up on that.
“Tch.”
She clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Without a care, she nudged what had been Anguster with her foot.
Then, as if being sucked into thin air, the corpse instantly vanished.
At the same time, the metallic strand in her hand disappeared as well.
A new Watchman? Or maybe…
Windy May quickly gathered her magical energy, eyes narrowing sharply toward the direction of the sound.
That area, untouched by the lantern’s light, remained cloaked in deep shadow.
Then, a composed voice rose from the darkness.
“I come with no hostility. Please, remain calm.”
“Hmph.”
Windy May eased her gathered energy slightly and replied.
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t you show your face first? Just hearing your voice in the dark is a bit creepy, you know?”
Her tone was still that of a child—light and whimsical—but the warning in her words was unmistakable.
“…….”
The owner of the footsteps said nothing as they slowly stepped out from the darkness.
At last, under the light of the lantern, their figure came into full view.
Neatly kept blue hair, firmly closed lips, and unwavering eyes.
The one who had approached was none other than Lancia Jintia.
“Hmm?”
Windy May tilted her head in puzzlement.
If she remembered correctly, Lancia was supposed to be Lian’s senior by one year at the academy.
But the outfit she wore now wasn’t the standard academy uniform.
A Substitute.
She was wearing the attire of a Substitute, and she stood silently, gazing at Windy May.
“…Haa.”
This was going to get complicated.
Windy May simply let out a quiet sigh.