Sixty-Fourth Chapter
A Circumstantial Ally
The hustle and bustle of the Institute, even the chirping of birds...didn’t register with her. Instead, only silence and endless unpleasant memories went through her mind.
She was sitting on a bed in the infirmary, her dazed stare cast down at the floor. Her mouth was slightly open, and from it came the sound of sighs from time to time. Her eyes were hollow like someone who was sleepwalking, and all she did was blink every few seconds like a broken machine.
Alice sat on a chair while Lilisha and Loki took care of her, searching for a simple first aid kit or some medicine, while Alus headed for Tesfia.
He lifted her up, using his hands under her arms, and put her down with her back towards him. Then he worked to strip off her clothing without asking permission first.
Loki and Lilisha stopped searching the shelves and their jaws dropped. Even Alice was shocked. However, since Tesfia was spacing out, she didn’t seem to notice what was happening.
Alus ignored them all, unhooking her bra and sliding it out of the way. With her skin exposed, he pressed his palm on her back. Converting his own mana into a wave, he poured it into her.
It was a method that healing Magicmasters used for those who’d been inflicted with mental trauma or who were under the effects of dark element magic. By pouring in mana at the same rhythm as the patient’s pulse, it was possible to improve the chaotic state of their mind and magic. It was recognized both as an effective way to treat the mind and to deliver pain relief, and was a common, albeit advanced, first aid technique on the battlefield.
Fortunately, Tesfia’s state seemed to be less affected than he’d thought, as her mana soon returned to its original rhythm. If his treatment had had no effect, a professional would’ve had to take a look at her, but the light in her eyes gradually returned.
She slowly and quietly came to. “Ugh...” The first thing she saw was a pair of pale hills...her own breasts covered by a single white sheet. As she looked down at them, her consciousness returned. “?#@!%&*!!!”
Her mind was still a blur, but she recognized what state she was in. Upon that realization, she hurriedly hid her breasts behind both arms. “Huh, what? Why am I naked?!”
“Don’t make a fuss, it’s annoying.”
When Tesfia turned to Alus, her expression was one of complete astonishment. Her shame reached its peak, with her face going red like lava was erupting. She’d been about to scream out loud but was just able to hold it in.
Aside from Ciel, everyone from the group was gathered here and not just Alus. Once she noticed that, she was able to calm down a little. “Huh? What...was I doing?” As she struggled to recall, she noticed that her bra hook was undone. And she couldn’t move her arms or there’d be a real accident, so somebody would have to hook it for her.
After some hesitation, she weakly whispered, “C-Can you hook the bra...” As soon as she squeezed that out, she curled up from shame. The soft curve of her back created a graceful line, making the sight even more sensational to anyone looking. But she wasn’t aware of it.
“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Alus reached out with his hand, but then a figure appeared in between them like a bolt of lightning.
“Please turn away, Sir Alus!”
He was dumbfounded by Loki’s menacing look, but obediently turned around.
“Thank you for the help, Loki,” Tesfia said.
“Make sure you tell me when something like that happens. Actually, you’re rather seductive right now, Ms. Tesfia. Also, your underwear is surprisingly cute.”
“Um, that doesn’t have anything to do with this, does it? You didn’t have to say that, did you?” Tesfia felt extra-sensitive due to her defenseless state, so Loki’s stare almost hurt.
“Your flesh swells as your underwear moves... Did you put on weight?”
“You’re kidding, right? You’re just saying that to harass me, aren’t you?”
Loki smiled as if affirming that, without any sign of apologizing. But in the end, the bra was put back on without any major incidents.
Tesfia grabbed her jacket, and once it was on, she finally felt some relief.
A few moments later... “So, are you going to explain?” Alus sharply said, perhaps to regain a sense of control and cover up his blunder. Even through her confusion, Tesfia turned and looked at him.
Loki appeared next to her and butted in. “Before that, I would like to say that the fact that you know how to put on and remove a woman’s underthings is equally important, Sir Alus. But we can leave that for later.”
As Tesfia wondered how to explain things, she realized she wanted something explained to her as well. “Um, before that, why was I naked in the first place?” After asking her simplistic question, she suddenly stopped. Even though she was the one who’d asked, she wasn’t sure she really wanted to hear the answer. Her inner conflict was reflected in her expression.
“That is because you were under something similar to hypnosis cast by that Aile guy. As part of the treatment, Sir Alus...ahem, needed to remove your clothes. Fortunately, it seems the hypnosis was undone,” Loki finished.
Figuring that answered any questions, Alus got back to the topic at hand. Frankly, he didn’t want to carry this on for too long. “So, who is he? I got caught up in all of this, so I’d at least like an explanation.”
Alice, with a bandage around her neck, leaned forward with great interest. “Fia, I’ll do anything I can to help. Is it true that you’re engaged? He, uh...also said that he could get you expelled if he wanted to.”
“Sorry. It’s a problem between our families. But what he said is absolutely ludicrous. Besides, the Fable and Womruina families are at odds with each other.” As far as Tesfia could remember, all of the problems should have been resolved. From the Fable family’s point of view, the engagement had been annulled long ago. “But maybe there’s some kind of misunderstanding...” she continued with a gloomy expression, grabbing hold of her bangs. Even if that was the case, though, she couldn’t help but wonder...why now?
“What are you going to do if he can do what he says he can?” Loki asked. Like Alus, she wasn’t well-versed in the problems of nobility.
It was Lilisha, who was standing at a distance from everyone, who answered. “If he has the documents then it would still be in effect, especially since it’s an arrangement between two of the three great noble families.” At some point, she’d begun speaking in a strangely friendly manner towards Tesfia. “Unfortunately, you’ll just have to get married. Going back on a promise in a one-sided manner isn’t going to work. Besides, the three great noble families are around to settle these kinds of disputes, so the Fable family trying to get out of it was never going to happen. Well, if it gets really complicated, there’s always the option of a discussion between the families.”
“So it’s up to a negotiation. At the very least, it’s hard to say at this stage,” Alus noted.
“But if the Womruinas have made a move, they must have a basis for it,” Lilisha added indifferently.
“Either way, we’ll need to speak with your mother to get the full details,” Alus said seriously, and Tesfia nodded. Depending on the outcome, it might even turn out to become a full-blown conflict between the Fables and the Womruinas... No, I guess that’s unlikely.
Alus denied the foreboding possibility that crossed his mind. Fortunately, regardless of the engagement being valid or invalid, it seemed Frose Fable’s intentions were clear. After all, she’d permitted her daughter to continue attending the Institute even if it had been the result of a bet between them. If Frose was on board with what Aile had said, then Tesfia would leave the Institute, meaning Frose’s actions would be contradicting themselves.
Besides, as someone who’d met with Frose several times, Alus knew she wasn’t the kind of woman who’d allow her daughter to marry someone like that. Of course, she could be mindful of protecting the family line above all else, but from what he could tell, she wasn’t the sort to disregard her daughter’s happiness. Nobody would choose that kind of approach. She had also been known as one of the Three Pillars, so she wouldn’t be that foolish.
“But there’s no time for that now. For starters, Fia, I want to hear what you want to do.” He honestly didn’t care how long Aile waited, but if he ignored him, things would certainly get more complicated.
“I want to stay here until I graduate and become a first-rate Magicmaster. No, I will,” Tesfia firmly stated.
“All right, then let’s push things that way,” Alus said.
Alice nodded and Loki also agreed. Lilisha said nothing, but she probably agreed as well.
“Then let me hurry up and get ready...” Tesfia rose from the bed, but Alus held out his hand to stop her.
“No, you stay out of it.”
“Why? It’s about my family, isn’t it?!” Tesfia stared at him.
“That’s the thing, you get emotional at a moment’s notice. Not to mention...I can’t read what Aile is after. It feels like he’s hiding something, and then there’s those strange techniques.”
“You mean that hypnotic technique,” Loki said.
“That’s right. It’s probably a sort of trap that takes advantage of your mental unrest. While we still don’t know what that is, it’ll just end up repeating what happened before. It’s a crude technique, but I wouldn’t want you collapsing again. In the worst case, he could manipulate you in whatever way he sees fit. Not being an actual manipulating spell, it’s particularly nasty.”
Tesfia was at a loss for words, when Alice pulled on her arm. “Let’s leave this to Al, Fia. Just thinking of you not being yourself after you meet with him scares me.”
“But...”
“Ms. Tesfia, Ms. Alice is right. And if your heart gets broken or your freedom gets removed, any negotiation will become incredibly disadvantageous for us. From what I can tell, you must be very careful of what you say in your position,” Loki said. “So leave it to us,” she said more gently, putting a hand on Tesfia’s shoulder.
“Oh, and Loki, you stay behind too. Make sure Alice and Fia rest up for a while.”
“But why?!” Loki was aghast, but ultimately was convinced by Alus to stay behind. He was keeping her with the two so that she could protect them.
“Instead, I’ll bring with me...”
“Hm, so you’ll choose me instead.” It was easy to guess by following the flow of the conversation, but Lilisha didn’t sound very amused.
Alus smirked. “You have a way with words. I’m thankful for your help with that incident. You glossed things over when my Institute life was threatened, and even came up with an excuse for when I was on a mission in Vanalis...although I think you could have chosen something other than a suspension.”
“I am honored that you remember.”
“There’s more. You’re nobility and calm and collected compared to Tesfia. You’re not related to this, so you can stay objective, and you know about their dirty tricks due to your work.”
“I see. But are you sure you can trust me? I might move favorably for Womruina instead.” Lilisha fearlessly smiled as her blonde hair fluttered.
“Oh, you won’t do that. You wouldn’t have come back if that was the case,” Alus said. “You’re Berwick’s subordinate and you were sent here by him. If you did side with them, that would make things easy to understand. But if I’m going to use force, I’d prefer to have an excuse. In fact, it might even be the easiest way since I wouldn’t have to think about anything. I’m not sure how loyal you are to Berwick, but I’m sure you’d still want to have some work for the foreseeable future.”
“Oh, how scary!”
“And I don’t know what Berwick’s thinking, but he wouldn’t go and upset me too much. It’s been a give and take relationship. So, what are you then? Are you worthy of Berwick’s trust, or does he see you as a useful asset in the future? I find it hard to believe you got hold of some of his weaknesses. At any rate, the superior has to take responsibility for whatever their subordinates do, so he wouldn’t send just anyone.”
“My, I was sure the Governor-General had you tied up...but it seems your roles are reversed in some aspects. Also, you’re being vague, but you do trust me because of my connection to the Governor-General, don’t you?”
“That’s not all, but tying someone down means being tied down yourself as well.” Having been put to use by Berwick so many times, Alus was a bit amused. If something really did happen, he could call in a big favor. That was how they could balance things out.
There was one more thing he’d noticed. Even Alus struggled to get a good read on Berwick, which meant that Lilisha herself might not know of his true intentions. If that was the case, it would be a wonderful miscalculation... He wouldn’t need to be overly cautious of Lilisha. If he conducted himself in the right way, he might even be able to use his observer for his own convenience. There was the question of how to bring her over to his side, but if handled well, it would be very valuable to his life in the Institute.
Whether Lilisha was aware of his schemes, she only shrugged in resignation and let out a sigh.
“If we cooperate, it might change how I see you,” Alus said.
“This goes beyond my observation mission, but oh well. Fine! I will accompany you. I’d also like to treat this as doing you a favor rather than as part of my job. And one more thing... Don’t think this means that our duel is off, crying little Fia!”
“S-Says you! But I don’t like owing you anything, so I’ll hold back a little for you in our duel!” Tesfia replied with what abuse she could muster, but didn’t get to say everything she wanted to.
That was because Alus bluntly cut her off. “Now that that’s decided, let’s get going.” He didn’t want their arguing to balloon out of control again.
Lilisha nodded, and followed after Alus. However, Tesfia didn’t miss the vague, meaningful smile on her face before the door closed.
Meanwhile, Lilisha was gazing at Alus’s back when she suddenly stopped and sighed. “Things have really taken a strange turn. But that’s Alus Reigin for you... I can’t read him at all. Then again, even if I could, he can just use force. It’s so unfair. It’s impressive that the Womruina name didn’t faze him, but they’re still one of the three great noble families,” she muttered. Besides, these types of nobles are good at attacking weak points, and even he should struggle with that. It looks like he’s thoroughly investigated Alus too. She wouldn’t have thought it’d be that easy for anyone to push their way into a quarrel between nobles with such insolence, even if it was the current ranked No. 1.
Then she recalled the face of that noble family’s son. She unconsciously furrowed her brow and spoke with disgust. “Still...Womruina’s second son is just as lowly as the rumors say.” She put her finger to her lip and thought. Well, now he knows I’m at the Institute too... Frankly, I don’t want to get involved, but I can help a little.
She didn’t have any plans to side with either of them. She would just stand at Alus’s side for the moment.
Lilisha decided on how to proceed without showing any hesitation. As she started walking again, her eyes met with Alus’s eyes. That’s the face of someone telling me to hurry up... Yes, yes, here’s your reliable ally.
She chuckled to herself and walked towards Alus at her own pace, as he waited for her with a sour look.
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