"It seems you think I'd be afraid of your threats." The black-haired boy spoke softly, his smile fading. Without it, he seemed less approachable, his every movement full of aristocratic grace. Even with a dagger at his throat, his tone remained confident.
Fatenai had been taught countless times that a noble had to remain calm and composed, even in danger. Compared to this black-haired boy, she was still an unworthy noble.
"I'm sure you're afraid." Fatenai's ordinary brown eyes held a hint of challenge. She raised her chin slightly, and the dignity that had been absent from her for so long slowly returned.
The black-haired boy fell silent. They stared at each other wordlessly. Fatenai could see no hostility in his eyes, but neither was there any warmth. Their confrontation should have been charged with tension, yet somehow it felt meaningless. And in terms of presence, she felt she had already lost the upper hand. She wore rough clothes, her hair was a mess, and exhaustion showed in her eyes. The black-haired boy, by contrast, stood tall and carried himself with elegance.
"Miss, do you really not know what you're about to face?" the black-haired boy asked.
"If you think you can have your knights or mages kill me—whether they're knights or mages, I don't think anyone would be willing to abandon their loyalty." Fatenai stood her ground, her face stern. "Your life is in my hands. If you want to live, don't make me angry."
Fatenai looked calm, but inside she was extremely tense. If this boy was connected to those mages—Still, without clinging to wishful thinking, a boy appearing at such a coincidental time had to be connected to them somehow. That made everything far more uncertain. But aside from threatening him, she had no idea what else she could do.
She had to secure more leverage.
The two remained locked in a standoff for a long time. Then, suddenly, the black-haired boy stepped forward. Fatenai tilted her dagger in surprise, but it only grazed his collar. As he lunged forward, he knocked her onto the grass.
"What are you doing?!" Fatenai demanded. To her surprise, the sickly-looking boy was quite strong. They were so close that she could smell the herbal scent on him.
"As you wish," the black-haired boy said.
Fatenai froze. The black-haired boy had already stood up and was walking away. She should have scrambled to her feet and chased after him, but a voice stopped her. She didn't dare move.
"Mr. Ed." It was clearly the voice of the female mage who had tried to kill Fatenai. The mage had appeared without a sound, and Fatenai hadn't noticed her at all. "Please return to the castle soon. The clearing of Eisole Forest is still underway, and we wouldn't want you to come to any harm."
So he really was connected to those mages, and their relationship seemed complicated.
"Go ahead with your work," Ed said. "You don't need to concern yourself with me."
His tone was indifferent and distant. In truth, aside from that initially disarming conversation, the boy's "real" self had struck Fatenai as a little sharp-tongued.
But she found that sharpness much more comfortable than the smile she now realized had been false.
"Yes, sir." The female mage was clearly hired by Ed's family—or perhaps she had been trained by them herself. She treated him with the utmost respect, entirely unlike the way she had treated Fatenai.
The female mage walked off, her steps somewhat hurried. It seemed she hadn't found Fatenai. Suddenly, she stopped and said to Ed, "Oh, right, sir."
Hearing the female mage, Ed turned and gave her a look that said, "Go on."
"Have you seen a girl? She has platinum-blond hair," the female mage asked. "She escaped. If I'm not mistaken, she seems to be the girl Duke Wisdom has been searching for recently."
"A girl from the Duke Wisdom family..." Ed said.
Fatenai's heart sank. Hearing Ed say those words made her heart race—there was a faint hint of danger in his voice.
"Some people say she's an impostor. The Wisdom Family's eyes are blue-violet," the female mage added.
Fatenai was now certain Ed knew who she really was. Commoners couldn't deceive nobles; even the finest actor couldn't imitate a noble's true bearing.
What would he do? Now that he knew she was Miss Wisdom, would he tell the female mage she was hiding in the grass?
"I haven't seen her," Ed said without even pausing to think. "Go do your job."
"All right, sir. I'll get back to work at once." The female mage's pay must have been quite generous, because she remained deferential even after receiving that answer. Then she left.
Fatenai felt conflicted.
It was clear that the mage and Ed were on the same side, yet Ed had no intention of exposing her... Why?
"I've heard so much about you, Fatenai Wisdom." Ed walked over to the grassy patch where Fatenai was hiding, bowed slightly, and offered her his hand. "I am Ed Ansendil."
"The Ansendil Family?" Fatenai was more surprised that he knew her name. She feigned composure and placed her hand in his. His hand was very cold. After pulling her up, he gave a small bow, making it seem as though they had met at a ball.
"May I have this dance?" Ed asked, without answering her question.
Fatenai was stunned. The invitation seemed bizarre, but she had underestimated Ed. Unable to pull her hand free, she realized she had no choice but to take part in this rather ill-timed dance.
As the eldest daughter of the Wisdom Family, Fatenai had never failed a lesson. She nodded and immediately slipped into the role. Ballroom dancing wasn't difficult. Though this was a different world, the dance still tested a person's reflexes. Fatenai found that her partner seemed to know exactly what he was doing, so she had nothing to worry about and danced quite casually.
With such a trustworthy partner, Fatenai figured he wouldn't step on her hem—though today she was wearing trousers.
"Is the Ansendil Family the one from the Duchy of Ansendil?" Fatenai took two steps backward, matching Ed's movements.
Several hundred years ago, after the Holy War ended, the Kingdom of Luther had endured as a kingdom, but the continent's former empire had split apart. Some of its fiefs had been reclaimed by the Kingdom of Luther, while others had become independent states, such as the Duchy of Ansendil.
Still, it was hard to understand why this sickly young man from the Ansendil Family had appeared here.
One couldn't help but suspect that Ed's arrival meant the Duchy of Ansendil had designs on the Kingdom of Luther.
"That's right. It seems our reputation precedes us," Ed said.
"I'm even more surprised that you know my name." Fatenai hadn't officially joined the social season and knew little about the nobility beyond the Kingdom of Luther.
"Duke Wisdom is an admirable duke, so people also know about her cold-hearted, useless daughter who can't use Mana," Ed said.
Fatenai's hand slipped from Ed's. She spun once in place, then her hand returned to his.
They danced without music, yet somehow their movements fit together perfectly.
But their conversation was taking a strange turn, and Fatenai was struggling to keep up with him. Why had he suddenly insulted her?
"What do you think the reason is?" Ed said.
"'Brook of Pludar,'" Fatenai answered honestly.
She thought the song was warm and quiet—though heaven knew how she could hear a quiet mood in music.
"Then it really is a song for the weak," Ed said bluntly.
Fatenai suddenly felt that there was no way to have a proper conversation with this man. He was like an anthology: one page was a comedy written by a master of the genre, and the next, a tragic figure from the pen of a tragedian.
So her tone turned barbed. "Then what song is in your heart? 'Hymn of the Sea'?"
It was a song about an ambitious king who tried to conquer the sea, only to be eaten by a fish summoned by the sea god. It had once been banned from being sung in the Kingdom of Luther because of its biting satire.
But the tunes of those two songs were indeed quite similar.
"Why would a noblewoman who can't use Mana be in Eisole Forest?" Ed ignored Fatenai's taunt. "I heard you're engaged."
"And why would a sickly nobleman be in Eisole Forest?" Fatenai retorted. "But my name is Fatenai Frayton. I hope you won't get it wrong."
Their dance was nearly over. Fatenai was truly dancing to the rhythm of "Brook of Pludar." She was humming the song silently to herself, and just as she reached the final move, Ed suddenly stopped. With nothing to support her as she leaned forward, Fatenai nearly fell.
What was wrong with him?
Just as Fatenai felt her patience was about to run out, Ed suddenly asked, "Do you want to know where Wickel is?"
Fatenai's eyes lit up. Before she could answer, Ed had already extended his hand. The pale hand slowly pointed toward the forest. In a scene that seemed like a miracle, the wind became visible, gradually gathering in her line of sight until it formed a transparent horse with a strange sheen in the sunlight.
At the same time, Ed started coughing. He lowered his eyes slightly, as if he were used to it.
"Ed Ansendil," Fatenai said, looking at his frail appearance. "You're not as weak as you pretend to be. Don't try that act on me."
"Do I not look like a real invalid?" Ed said softly.
"At the very least, I've never seen a sick person control Mana so well." Fatenai knew how Mana flowed.
Ed glanced at Fatenai, but she couldn't read his true feelings.
"Take care of your own business first," Ed said. "I've suddenly had an urge to do a good deed, so I'm inviting you to witness your friend's... final journey."
Before you continue