Chapter 96
Watching the unfortunate man with growing concern, Kiara found herself genuinely amazed that his head still appeared to be in one piece. Raelin, however, looked distinctly unhappy that Kiara’s sympathy seemed to be directed toward him.
“W-Well, imagine how frightened I was! A great big, dark-looking man suddenly barging in like that!”
Oh.
Kiara stared blankly at the flustered Raelyn. After a brief pause, she looked back at the unfortunate man with renewed concern and spoke cautiously.
“O-Of course, he isn’t exactly small… but compared to…”
“And besides, he was plastered right outside your door, Lady Kiara, looking for an opportunity to force his way in!”
“I most certainly was not! When did I ever do that?!”
The man sprang to his feet before Raelin had even finished her accusation.
Goodness… He’s perfectly fine after taking a blow like that.
Kiara looked at him with open amazement.
Come to think of it, Duncan had been much the same. Perhaps every knight of the Golden Lion Order was extraordinary in one way or another. Some wielded absurdly oversized swords, while others apparently had absurdly hard heads.
‘…Wait. That was his head, wasn’t it?’
Only then did Kiara take a proper look at him. Shoulder-length silver hair. Blue eyes. Neat, refined features that gave him the air of a scholar rather than a soldier.
Suddenly, a name surfaced in her memory.
“…Maeve?”
“Ah! My apologies. You must be the Witch, correct?”
The man, who had been rubbing the back of his head with a scowl only moments earlier, immediately straightened himself and offered a respectful bow.
“My name is Maeve Teagan, battlemage of the First Order of the Golden Lion Knights, the personal knightly order of the Emperor of Bretnach. I offer my respects to the Red Witch.”
“Ah… y-yes. I’m… Kiara.”
Kiara smiled awkwardly as she introduced herself.
He had politely stated not only his name but his rank and affiliation before greeting her. With his softly shimmering silver hair, blue eyes, and refined features, he was undeniably handsome. Yet there was an almost military precision to every movement he made.
For the first time, Ael’s old remark—that Maeve looked “like a girl”—made a little sense. Even so, delicate seemed a more fitting description than feminine.
‘More like… a scholar. Or an engineer?’
Even the angle of his bow was impeccably precise. For some reason, Kiara found herself wanting to hold a protractor against his bent back.
How many degrees is that? Forty-five? As she entertained the absurd thought, Raelin suddenly burst in again.
“A battlemage? A mage? Honestly! What’s become of the Empire’s knightly orders? They actually let a swindler like him run around calling himself a knight?”
She spoke as though Maeve were nothing more than a con artist. Maeve, however, seemed long accustomed to such reactions. Ignoring the jab entirely, he simply turned back to Kiara with an easy smile.
“Please don’t look at me so suspiciously. It’s an official position, I assure you.”
He paused, the corners of his mouth twitching.
“Of course, in this blasted—… ahem. Pardon me. The people of Altnebra have never been particularly fond of magic, nor are they inclined to trust mages…”
Maeve coughed loudly enough to cover himself, but Kiara, standing right in front of him, had heard it perfectly. This blasted Altnebra.
The reason he’d seemed so unfazed by Raelin’s constant criticism was becoming clear. He had probably grown thoroughly fed up with the country already.
“What a peculiar place. People here believe wholeheartedly in ancient legends and fairies, yet they refuse to believe in mages…”
“That’s because you mages are all frauds!”
Raelin cut in once again. This time, even Maeve appeared to reach the end of his patience. Abandoning the indifference he’d maintained until now, he fixed her with a sharp look.
“A military mage may be attached to the Order, but I’m carrying out official government duties. I’m a mage from the Ministry of Magic assigned to the Golden Lion Order. If you continue insulting me like this, you could be held accountable under the Imperial Civil Service Conduct Act.”
The moment he began talking about laws and penalties, Raelin’s shoulders visibly shrank.
Kiara, meanwhile, blinked in surprise. The man had seemed gentle and scholarly at first glance, yet when he spoke in that firm, clipped tone, there was no mistaking the authority behind it.
So he really is a knight after all.
Then, taking a closer look, she noticed the enormous lump swelling on his forehead.
“…Ah.”
With a bump that size, anyone would be irritable. The thought seemed perfectly reasonable to Kiara, and she gave a small nod to herself.
Apparently satisfied that he’d finally silenced Raelin, Maeve turned back to Kiara with a courteous smile.
“In any case, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kiara. I’ll be seeing you quite often from now on, so please feel free to call me simply ‘Maeve.'”
“…Quite often?”
Kiara regarded him with open suspicion. Sensing her reaction, Raelin immediately cut in.
“There! See? I knew he had ulterior motives! Lady Kiara, someone as beautiful as you must always be on guard against men like him!”
“Please don’t make such reckless accusations against an Imperial officer!”
Maeve raised his voice again. This time, however, he looked less angry than alarmed. His eyes widened as he hurriedly tried to explain himself.
“Blast it… You have no idea how frightening the Red Lion is. In any case, it was the Red Lion’s—no, the Captain’s—orders.”
“Ael’s?”
Kiara’s interest was instantly piqued. Maeve cleared his throat before speaking once more in his usual courteous tone.
“Beginning today, I’ve been assigned to escort you whenever you visit the library.”
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.