G6 returned to Kira without waiting for either man to answer.
The metallic scent of blood hung over the cliff road, and flies had begun gathering around the bodies. She mounted, settled her feet in the stirrups, and clicked her tongue. Kira stepped carefully over a fallen man before carrying her past Edmund and Lord Zen.
After twenty paces, she turned slightly in the saddle.
"I hear a river. We're stopping to clean up. Don't fall behind."
Edmund exchanged a glance with Lord Zen before returning to his horse. Neither had much to say. They mounted and followed her into the trees, leaving the bodies and abandoned weapons behind.
The sound of moving water grew clearer as they passed through a thin stretch of woodland. Beyond it, a clearing opened along the riverbank. Kira was already tethered to a low branch, drinking from the slow-moving current while G6 knelt several paces away and scrubbed the blood from her hands.
The men dismounted. Lord Zen remained near the horses for a moment, while Edmund approached the water's edge. He drew a steadying breath before speaking, but his voice still sounded tighter than he intended.
"Lady Reise."
G6 continued washing. Pale red swirls drifted from her wrists and disappeared into the current.
"Are you not afraid anymore?"
Edmund stopped beside her.
"P-pardon?"
She let her hands rest beneath the surface and looked at her reflection.
"I could smell the fear on you and Zero earlier."
The observation contained neither anger nor an obvious demand for an apology. Edmund looked down at her face, finding her eyes unobstructed by the sunglasses she had pocketed before the fight. There was something in their stillness he had not quite recognized inside the palace.
Is this how you looked earlier when you mercilessly killed those men? Edmund wondered.
His brow furrowed as shame complicated the answer he had intended to give.
"Lady Reise… I…"
"I understand."
G6 turned toward him.
"For a noble like me, to kill them so brutally… as if it were nothing. It is indeed terrifying."
For a moment, Edmund thought she might be acknowledging his difficulty. Then a small, cold smile appeared.
"For a wimp."
She turned back to the river and splashed water over her face. Edmund remained beside her, the insult lingering after she had apparently finished with it.
She is right. I cannot deny that I feared her, he thought.
For a moment, I stopped seeing the woman I had chosen to follow and saw only what she was doing to those men.
I forgot that she was fighting on our side.
She had ordered them to hold their positions. Edmund knew better than to mistake obeying that order for cowardice. What troubled him was the hesitation beneath his obedience—the instant in which his fear of her had eclipsed everything else he knew.
He looked from the current to her impassive profile.
"I was indeed afraid of you earlier, Lady Reise."
This time, his voice remained steady.
"For a moment, I forgot the woman I pledged my loyalty to and saw only… the brutality. And in that fear, I failed. I was too occupied with my own terror to even think of helping you."
Lord Zen had approached while they spoke. He stopped a few paces behind Edmund, listening without interrupting.
"Ah."
G6 shifted onto the stones and sand beside the water, drew up her knees, and rested her arms across them. Her attention settled on the trees along the opposite bank.
"Tell me, Edmund," she said. "After all that, will you still be loyal to me?"
"Yes," he answered immediately.
"Blindly?"
"No."
The firmness of his reply drew her gaze back toward him.
"I decided to stop trying to figure you out long ago, my lady. But I know one thing for certain… you do not harm the innocent. And I have witnessed the… sharp-edged kindness you show to the weak."
He thought of Lilia and Tina, of the protection G6 offered without being asked and the occasions when she had stood for him. Pete came to mind as well, together with the ruined bread and the gold coin that replaced it.
Her methods were often cruel enough to make their purpose difficult to recognize. Edmund had nevertheless seen something beyond cruelty in those moments. To him, the coin had offered the boy more than a meal, just as her refusal to let others dismiss Lilia had meant more than acquiring another servant.
"Kindness, huh?"
G6 stood and brushed the sand from her trousers.
"You don't know who you're pledging your loyalty to, Edmund. What you've seen so far is just the surface."
She took the sunglasses from her pocket, put them on, and walked toward Kira.
Just the surface, Edmund thought.
The warning gave him no reason to dismiss what he had seen, but neither did it offer the reassurance he might once have wanted. He watched her reach the horse before answering.
"I am prepared."
His voice carried clearly across the short distance.
"I promise you, this is the last time I will falter, Lady Reise. I trust you, with all I have to offer, and with my life."
G6 gave no acknowledgment. She was already stroking Kira's neck.
Lord Zen stepped beside Edmund, keeping his voice low.
"Edmund. We both hesitated earlier."
The older man turned toward him.
"I will not ask anything of her. I will wait and observe before passing judgment. But I am not pledging my loyalty to anyone. I am here to repay a debt to the Queen."
Edmund regarded him with a small, weary smile.
"There is no need to worry about such things. I do not expect you to pledge loyalty to my lady, Lord Zen. She would not be interested in it even if you did."
The smile faded before he continued.
"However, this is a bold statement for a mere butler, but know this: the moment you betray her, I will not think twice."
Lord Zen held his gaze. The man who had approached G6 struggling to speak now delivered the warning without hesitation.
"It seems you have fully gathered your resolve," Lord Zen said at last. "I will remember that."
He looked toward G6, who had moved from stroking Kira to checking his saddle.
"You are serving a master who is ridiculously unpredictable."
"That is precisely what makes her dangerous," Edmund replied quietly. "And I am willing to walk into the storm with my unpredictable master."
Lord Zen offered no promise of his own. For now, they understood where each stood.
「ROYAL COLLEGIUM — G6'S OFFICE」
Tina sat at her desk surrounded by Omnia's inventory records, Sanctum's potion sales, and the Bastion's financial ledgers for recruit housing. Her pen moved steadily across the documents, and nothing in her composed expression revealed how thoroughly she resented the growing piles.
I swear, even if my lady gave me a whole annual salary upfront, it would be useless, Tina thought.
Why? Why in the world would the young masters route this here?
And why would His Highness assign the recruits' finances to this office?
Do they not realize I am just a servant?
My boss does not even bother taking care of this when she is here.
She turned a page and reached for the next ledger.
Tsk. You cannot fool me, Lady Reise. I know you are up to something.
But at this rate, I am going to die of paperwork before I ever see my first paycheck, she thought.
Her gaze briefly moved toward the couch.
And why is Lord Keith here?
It is bothersome.
He is just using my lady's room to slack off, too, Tina thought, allowing herself a weary shake of the head.
Lord Keith lay beneath a couch blanket, sleeping with the complete lack of concern she would have preferred to see applied to his duties.
Lilia, at least, was occupied. She sat on the floor beside the low center table, practicing her writing with a complex herbology text open among her papers. Progress through the book required concentration, but she persisted, following the advice G6 had given her.
"Sharpen your mind whenever your hands are idle."
Tina returned to her ledger. For a little while, the only sounds in the office were the movement of paper and the scratch of their pens.
Then the door burst open.
"You useless lazy wet bed!"
Lady Brenda strode toward the couch, seized the blanket, and pulled it off Lord Keith. Before he could protest, she bundled it together and threw it into his face.
He groaned and dragged it aside.
"What the—? Get a life, you vile woman."
Lord Keith turned his back to her, apparently hoping the gesture would end the conversation. Lady Brenda moved closer.
"You have obligations! Why do you keep leaving Miss Eliza with Earl? He was supposed to be training me and Zen!"
"Listen, Miss Eliza has already made considerable progress with her healing spells. And I am not in the mood."
He sat up reluctantly and scratched his head.
"What? Listen to me carefully, you fool. Whether you are in the mood or not, Her Majesty personally assigned you to instruct Miss Eliza. She is hoarding all of Earl's attention!"
Lord Keith's irritation eased as he examined her expression.
"Aren't you simply being possessive? Besides, Zen is not even here. You are acting like a jealous girlfriend."
"How dare you imply something so improper?"
Lady Brenda folded her arms.
"Earl cannot focus on teaching me because Miss Eliza never ceases her questions. You know how he is. He cannot ignore a charge personally placed under his care by both Their Majesties."
Lord Keith opened his mouth, but she leaned toward him before he could speak.
"And besides, I WILL TATTLE TO PRINCE DIO!"
"H-hey!"
That threat brought him fully awake.
"You know that cold-hearted man will lecture me endlessly. And… he is rather out of sorts himself at the moment."
"Why is that?"
Some of Lady Brenda's anger gave way to curiosity. Lord Keith noticed immediately, and a wicked grin spread across his face.
"Well, he went to Her Majesty's residence at first light to inform her he was moving into the main building. But guess what?"
"What?"
"Aunt forbade it!"
He laughed, looking considerably happier than he had when she entered.
"She said Duke Worthon would disapprove because their engagement has not been formally announced. So he is furious. He cannot fathom being barred while Zen has a suite there."
"Serves him right!"
Lady Brenda joined his laughter.
"I suppose Lady Reise said nothing to stop him. She must have known when she proposed the idea that Her Majesty would never allow it."
The possibility delighted her. Lord Keith appeared equally pleased to imagine his cousin receiving permission from Reise only to have the Queen refuse it.
Lilia looked from one noble to the other, her pen suspended above the page. Tina had already returned to her work. Their lady's absence had apparently done nothing to discourage these people from bringing their arguments into her office.
Lord Keith's laughter weakened when his gaze strayed toward the open doorway.
"Is it just me, or did it suddenly become quite chilly in here?"
He reached for the blanket. Lady Brenda followed his glance, and her amusement disappeared.
"You're right."
"Perhaps it is because you are idling here rather than attending to your duties."
Prince Dio stood at the entrance with his arms crossed. Neither noble had noticed his arrival, and the look he gave them suggested he had heard enough.
Tina and Lilia immediately rose.
"Greetings, Your Highness," they said together, bowing before returning hastily to their work.
"Oh… D-Dio. I mean, Your Highness…"
Lord Keith stood, leaving the blanket behind.
"It does not follow that because the owner of this office is away, you may act as you please here," Prince Dio said.
"I am here to retrieve this fool! I was not running away from my duties!"
Lady Brenda's sharp response drew his attention toward her.
"Duties?"
Prince Dio straightened away from the doorframe.
"The recruitment drive has ended. You have no immediate duties here. What remains is to address what you lack—and by that, I mean resuming your training properly."
"Hey, we are aware of that! Do not grow so cranky with us!" Lord Keith protested.
"T-that is quite right!" Lady Brenda added.
Prince Dio waited without answering. Under his stare, their brief alliance proved less durable than either appeared to hope.
Lady Brenda conceded first, stalking past him with an annoyed huff. Lord Keith followed, his expression making it clear that leaving the couch had not improved his opinion of the afternoon.
Before closing the door behind them, Prince Dio glanced toward G6's empty desk. His gaze rested there for a moment, then he withdrew into the corridor.
The latch clicked softly.
Tina lowered her eyes to the unfinished accounts, while Lilia returned to the sentence she had been copying before Lady Brenda arrived.
「SERTIZ MANOR」
"My lord, why do you insist upon bringing this matter up again?"
Viscount Telesco watched the man seated behind the massive desk. Marquess Sertiz's grim expression offered little encouragement, and the silence before his answer only increased the Viscount's unease.
"Have you not heard the recent intelligence from our men outside the Capital?"
"And what intelligence is that, my lord?"
"There are regions where the teleportation devices are not functioning."
Marquess Sertiz's lips tightened.
"The Royal Family and those damned Pillars have shown no interest in the possibility of that child's survival for fourteen years. But if these irregularities continue, they will grasp at that small rope."
"You refer to the missing young master?"
Perspiration gathered along Viscount Telesco's brow.
"Although no body was ever found, was it not generally accepted that he perished in the fire that reduced this manor to ashes?"
"Simply instruct the men to locate the Head Maid who disappeared before the accident!"
The sharpness of the command silenced the Viscount.
"If that child is indeed alive, we must gain possession of him before any of the Pillars can. And we must utterly silence that bitch who ran away. If word of her existence were to spread, you know precisely what those in the Upper House Court would do."
Viscount Telesco said nothing. Across the desk, the Marquess continued watching him until the order had settled beyond any possibility of misunderstanding.
Only then did Marquess Sertiz turn toward the old family crest hanging on the wall.
"And I would be most gratified if my one and only nephew were alive."
A slow, malevolent grin spread across his face.
—To Be Continued…—