Chapter 17
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“I liked your guiding, Ensign. I’m going to entrust you with my guiding for the foreseeable future.”
“Then when should I come by?”
“Every day after lunch.”
“Every day?”
Samuel’s eyebrows shot up.
Was that really so surprising? Adrien tilted her head in curiosity.
“You know I’m not talking about imprinting every day.”
“…Of course I know.”
Samuel’s ears blushed bright red, but Adrien pretended not to notice.
“I’ll have a simple contact guiding for about an hour each day.”
“Understood.”
“Finish your meal first.”
“Yes.”
Adrien watched with satisfaction as Samuel took a big bite of his omelet.
* * *
“Adrien! Are you feeling alright?”
“Linton.”
The beautiful blond man entered the office, his eyebrows drooping but his expression clearly glad to see her. He seemed eager to reach out and hold her hand—but he didn’t, knowing she’d refuse.
“You must have had a hard time coming all this way because of me.”
“You’re the one who worked hard! I’ll guide you soon. Are you feeling alright now?”
“You don’t have to today.”
“…Huh?”
Instead of replying, Adrien slipped her hand into her collar and pulled out something: a guiding necklace glowing pale green with a reddish tint.
“Today it’s quite stable.”
“…Who gave it to you?”
In the past seven years, Adrien’s necklace had only once turned greenish. This was the second time.
Linton forced a smile.
“Who allowed that kind of guiding, Addie?”
“Did I ever give you permission for that name?”
Linton’s fist clenched quietly beneath the desk.
“…Adrien. Aren’t you going to tell me?”
“I did it because I thought I might go berserk waiting.”
“So how far did it go?”
“If I tell you how far, what will you ask next?”
Linton bit his lip, unable to hold back the darkening of his face this time. Even as his expression broke down, he remained beautiful and tragic.
Adrien just quietly looked up at him, her cold gaze unwavering.
“Sorry to call you over and say this, Linton. But now you can return to the south.”
“No, I won’t go back, Adrien.”
“What?”
Taking a step back, Linton saluted Adrien.
“This is a report. Captain Linton Vionne, assigned to the Imperial Lesadian Special Unit, Capital Security Guard.”
“…Did you beg for this?”
“Whatever you think, it’s already decided by higher-ups.”
“Don’t mix your personal feelings with official matters. I won’t do the same.”
Adrien crossed her arms and sighed softly. Then, she gave Linton a brief salute in return. Only then did he lower his arm.
“Welcome to the unit, Captain Linton Vionne.”
“Looking forward to working with you, Commander Adrien.”
“Just so you know, if you mess with the guide who’s guiding me…”
“That won’t happen.”
Linton smiled brightly, as if the slight grievance he once felt had vanished. Adrien quietly observed him.
He must have already heard about her imprint. No doubt it bruised his pride deeply.
Being from a prestigious guide family and proud as he was, knowing how much he wanted to imprint with her, it was natural he’d worry about Samuel.
Still, even Adrien couldn’t say harsh words to a man who’d rushed here all night because of her.
“…Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t.”
Linton was a kind and smart man. For now, Adrien chose to hold onto that small hope.
* * *
“What on earth happened, Samuel?”
The moment Samuel appeared in the dining hall for dinner, people swarmed around him. Peter quickly grabbed the seat beside Samuel, set down his tray, and patted Samuel’s back.
“He just got lucky.”
“Wow, seriously, man. Wow.”
“I knew you’d get lucky. With that face, you can chew through any level.”
Peter and Lieutenant Michelle chimed in with comments. Samuel shamelessly chewed his cheese, not changing a single expression.
The famous relationship between espers and guides was often the talk of the unit.
Though for survival, contact guiding meant close skin contact. Rumors spread even faster when guiding happened at the workplace.
That led to plenty of talk about which famous espers had a revolving door of guides, or what kinds of contact guiding they preferred.
“But our commander was never rumored to do such things.”
Adrien’s indifference toward guides was well-known. She was said to have never received deep contact guiding at work—Samuel Norah was a rare exception.
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