Chapter 52
Zion had wanted to pretend he’d forgotten Lea’s request and refuse Derek’s plea, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Her words still echoed in his ears: that she had no one she could trust in the palace.
“…As the Commander of the Second Order of the Imperial Guard, I’ll make an exception and bring you into the palace this once.”
At Zion’s permission, Derek lifted his bowed head with a brightened expression. But as soon as their eyes met, he once again read Zion’s thoughts.
{ It’s agonizing, having to share the lady’s guiding. }
“…So Sir Zion has received her guiding too.”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t read my thoughts at will. Can’t you control your ability?”
“Control it?”
Seeing the look of genuine confusion on Derek’s face, Zion understood why Lea had asked him to help. There was nothing more dangerous than a completely inexperienced Esper.
“You even know what type I am?”
“…A physical-type, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. Then, do you think I was always able to lift a teacup so smoothly like this?”
“Ah…”
Derek immediately understood what Zion was trying to say. Then maybe, if he worked at it, he too could eventually block out others’ thoughts when he didn’t want to hear them.
Even now, Derek could still hear the thoughts of everyone in the marquisate except for Zion. Thanks to Lea’s guiding, he could finally endure it comfortably, but until then, it had been excruciating.
Sometimes, other people’s thoughts resonated so strongly that he couldn’t tell whether they were truly someone else’s—or his own.
He thought of how peaceful it had been with Lea. Even before she gave him guiding, he couldn’t sense any thoughts from her. It felt like he was just a normal person.
If he could return to that…
“Could you teach me how to control my ability?”
When Derek looked up with clear intent to learn, Zion felt a strange desire to take up the challenge. It wasn’t often one got to teach an Esper from scratch.
“From the looks of it, you don’t need guiding right away. If you can learn to control your ability first, then I’ll take you to Lady Haisley.”
“What? But didn’t you just promise—”
“Lady Haisley said this specifically: that I should help you. She never said to bring you into the palace.”
“…That’s…”
“So if you want to see Lady Haisley, show me your effort first.”
“…Understood.”
“I found this book on short notice, but I think it will be useful.”
Zion handed Derek a book on mental-type Espers. Derek read the title aloud under his breath.
[The Origin of Mental-Type Espers]
“Yes, it seems you are one of the rare mental-types. It may be best to keep it a secret for now.”
“Yes, you’re right, Sir Zion.”
Thinking of his father and half-brother, Derek carefully tucked the book inside his coat. But Zion didn’t stop there. He also pulled out a small pouch from inside his jacket and tossed it toward Derek.
Derek caught it reflexively, surprised. Zion smiled faintly.
“Your reflexes aren’t bad. You should train in swordsmanship too. They say a sound mind comes from a sound body, after all.”
The pouch Zion tossed was full of gold coins. Derek stared at him in shock. Rising from his seat with his usual unbothered air, Zion smirked at Derek’s expression.
“I’ll come back in a week to check your progress. Oh, and if anyone asks why I came, tell them this: I was scouting for a gatekeeper knight.”
“…A gatekeeper knight?”
“Lady Haisley needs a personal escort. She doesn’t seem to trust the palace guards, so we need to at least create the appearance.”
“…Yes! Understood.”
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Thank you.”
Even after Zion left the parlor, Derek couldn’t bring himself to stand. For the first time in his life, he felt hope.
He could finally imagine a future.
His heart pounded so hard he could barely calm down. Placing a hand over his chest, Derek thought of Lea.
His life had started to change from the moment he met her.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.