Chapter 34
. Just a Little Longer Together (7)
“You!”
Panting heavily after catching his breath, Illias finally straightened his back and wiped the sweat from his face. His pitch-black eyes were burning like flames.
Fernciana, not knowing what was going on, felt guilty for no reason and flinched. At that moment, Illias seized her by both cheeks.
“You damn brat!”
“W-what!? Did something happen!?”
“Happen? Happen?? The problem is you!”
“Uwaaah! Ouch! That hurts! It hurts, it hurts!”
Illias mercilessly pinched her cheeks, letting go only when Fernciana was just about to start kicking him.
She cupped her sore cheeks with teary eyes, looking up at him. Illias flicked her forehead with a sharp snap.
“They say you threw an apple at Duniha Duha’s head.”
“Owww! I don’t know who that is! I didn’t do it!”
“This wanted poster—doesn’t it look like you?”
Fernciana, who had been rolling up her sleeves to get revenge for her abused cheeks and forehead, fell silent the moment she saw the poster. She bit her lip. Illias had thrust it at her—it was a ragged, sauce-stained poster.
It was the very one she had seen before, depicting a vaguely drawn boy with navy-blue hair—the one that made her back away in fright at the inn.
“Ah, well… now I remember what happened.”
“What happened?”
“I almost bumped into someone on the street… but that was both our faults! Then that guy picked a fight with me with some cocky remark, so in the heat of the moment… But still, is that worth putting up wanted posters for?”
“So that’s why you couldn’t stay at the inn and ended up… sleeping outside like this?”
“Yeah, that’s what happened. But Illias—what about you? I was glad to see you just now, but that gladness has completely vanished!”
Fernciana rubbed her flushed cheeks with a tearful pout, glaring at him defiantly. Her attitude was so proud and haughty that Illias let out a helpless sigh.
“If you had nowhere to stay, you should’ve come to my office.”
“Huh? But I told you, I slept here. And I slept just fine.”
With her golden eyes rolling innocently, she had no idea what was going through his mind, speaking so lightly. Illias sighed again and even rubbed his face with both hands.
Fernciana pressed him for an answer.
“So what’s the matter then? Do you need help? A bodyguard? Protection?”
“No.”
Illias shook his head. Fernciana’s face fell noticeably. He stared at her in silence.
Why did he come? What was the matter?
How could she not realize, after he came running breathlessly all the way here? With her so oblivious, his desire to explain disappeared. He absolutely did not want to admit that it was because he was worried about her.
I thought you’d be fine! I knew it!
But here I am, running all the way like an idiot!
Grumbling inwardly, Illias racked his brain to come up with another excuse and diverted the subject.
“I… need a companion.”
“A companion?”
“There’s a party in a few days, and I have to attend with a partner. I need someone to go with me.”
“…A party? What kind of party? And… me?”
Fernciana pointed at herself. Illias pressed his dry lips together.
Her hair was cut haphazardly short, her frame was so thin and frail that there wasn’t a curve to be seen. By appearance alone, anyone would mistake her for a boy. Yet, to his eyes, she never looked like one.
“In disguise… dressed as a lady.”
“…Didn’t you make quite a name for yourself back in Fomilas? And you have no one else to ask?”
“Ahem. Invitations to parties like this can lead to misunderstandings. I have a great destiny ahead of me, no time for romance.”
Illias spoke sternly, as though issuing a warning. Fernciana narrowed her eyes, then toyed with her short hair between her fingers.
“I could help, but…”
“I’ll pay you.”
At the mention of payment, the girl laughed brightly. Illias caught himself staring for a moment before quickly snapping back to himself and beginning to gather her belongings.
“Eh? What are you doing?”
“My partner has to look dazzlingly beautiful, got it, brat? We need to clean you up.”
“B-but—”
“How can you do that while living outdoors!?”
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
When Illias had finished packing up her things, he straightened. Fernciana looked extremely uneasy. With a sigh, he handed her backpack back into her arms.
“The first floor of my office building is my place. It’s unfinished inside, but… better than sleeping outside. Stay there until the party.”
“O-oh, but wouldn’t that be too much of a bother for you?”
“A bother is—”
He almost said You’re already bothering me right now, but swallowed it back.
He wanted to tell her how her antics had forced him to scour the outskirts of the capital for days, how she’d been camping out to avoid a crazed noble hunting her down, how she hadn’t told him a single word of it and made him run ragged looking for her. But in the end, he saw no point. He brushed away the words hovering in his chest.
Fernciana smiled brightly and agreed to impose on him. Once her things were gathered, the hill where she’d stayed for days showed no trace of anyone’s presence.
“By the way, Illias, you’re amazing! How did you find me? You really are a great information broker! I admit it!”
“Hmph, great, my foot.”
The girl praised him with childlike honesty, but Illias only lifted his chin proudly, hiding the truth in his heart.
The truth—that he had not used his guild’s informants, fearing she’d run away if she learned strangers were looking for her, and instead searched personally with nothing but a map, painstakingly checking every possible campsite—was a secret he would carry to his grave.
Illias cleared his throat, looking a little embarrassed.
They had managed to sneak into the first floor of the building without drawing attention, but just as he had said, the space was completely empty. A couple of rooms, a bath, and a terrace—that was all.
“…There’s even less here than I remembered.”
Fernciana looked at him curiously. Illias coughed again and explained.
“I usually live upstairs on the second floor. So the first floor… I haven’t used it in a while.”
“You built this house but don’t live in it?”
“The plan was to, but work kept me busy…”
“This party must be important, huh?”
“Hm?”
Fernciana set her pack down in a corner by the window. Her voice echoed in the empty space.
“If you’re that busy, yet you still have to get a partner and go… it must be a really important party, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right… Ah!”
Nodding absentmindedly, Illias suddenly remembered something. He dashed upstairs, then hurried back down with a paper in his hand, breathing heavily.
“That person will be there!”
“That person?”
“Curtis Altessia!”
The list was filled with names, and Illias pointed at one. Written clearly in black ink: Curtis Altessia.
“You wanted to meet him, didn’t you?”
“Uh, y-yeah… but still, I’ll be there as your partner, right?”
Her expression asked if it was alright to approach him there. Illias grinned and ruffled her hair, leaving her short locks in disarray.
“He’s not easy to approach. You have to seize the chance when it comes. I’m telling you because it’s fine.”
“What are you going to be doing there?”
“Winning over patrons.”
“Patrons…”
Illias grinned, saying he needed a lot of connections. Fernciana studied his face for a moment, then nodded.
If she could meet Curtis Altessia, perhaps she could learn something. She couldn’t keep living with nothing but weak suppositions.
She drew a deep breath, taking in the bare room that would be her lodging until the day of the party.
Whether she managed to speak with Curtis Altessia or not—she would decide what to do next when the time came. Fernciana resolved herself firmly.
