The men stopped moving, frozen. The one who’d raised his sword forgot to lower it, so he still held it there. One false move and the blade would swing right for her.
That’s how dangerous things were now.
“D-Do you have any idea what you’re doing…?” she shrieked, her voice cracking.
She felt as if the planet’s axis had tilted. She looked up and, seeing a pair of temperate eyes gazing back through the semicircular gap drilled into the helmet, her mind began to feel far away.
“La…dy Yuura…” someone muttered. Yura came to her senses as if someone had splashed her with cold water. Her eyes widened, shocked at having someone call her name out of the blue.
By Yuura, he means me, right?
She wondered as the three stared back at her.
“…Who are you? How do you know who I am…?”
The soldier lowered his blade in a panic.
They all fell back, seemingly inspecting Yura’s face.
“I’m afraid you’ve happened upon us at a most shameful moment,” the one closest to her finally said.
Yura was taken aback at his words. She didn’t want to look at him just then.
Compared to what she had just seen, his calm tone made it seem like he was trying to appease her. Maybe he really was a doll. A mechanical toy wrapped in iron. A switch that was flipped the wrong way could easily be flipped back.
“You aren’t injured, are you?” another joined in.
They quickly exchanged glances, as if coming to some sort of understanding. A strange feeling came over Yura and she stared at them.
“Might you have lost your way?”
“This is the northern wall. Only knights and servants use this corridor.”
“It is no place for you, m’lady.”
They continued prattling on. Like toys merely acting out their programmed movements. Talking the way a child acting out a performance with their toys would. They were like unskilled performers. Just rattling off a familiar routine.
“Please return to your room. I will show you the way, so please…”
One of them stepped forward and extended a hand, clearly establishing that this was as far as she went. A steel hand. That exquisite hand moved deftly, making a sound as it did.
Come on now, that hand seemed to beckon. I’m not a bad machine, see how I move? So come on.
The words “the skin of that filthy face” burbled up inside her. Something about it was familiar. It was like a radio that couldn’t find the right frequency. Every time she tried, these little iron dolls got in the way. That wouldn’t do. She couldn’t worry about them. That’s why she—
Yura turned back to the young man who was supposedly still behind her. At that moment, like a gambler afraid of losing his winnings, something cold grabbed her arm.
“Lady Yuura.”
Suddenly, the spell that bound her was released. Yura immediately shook that arm off.
“Don’t touch me!” she shouted.
The guards fell back with a start.
Something exploded within her, as if the spell keeping her docile had been broken. Her fear evaporated. Her blood began to boil. She remembered what Tomoko had said to her. It came to her mind and exploded throughout. Just like that.
Before she knew it, Yura was making demands. As loud as she possibly could.
“Go away!”
Her breath was ragged with rage. The guard tucked in his chin. He stared back at Yura in shock. He was surprised, but he didn’t move. He stared back at her, his heavy helmet eclipsing the true expression he wore. Who was this girl telling him to begone?
“Go! Hurry! Go over there! If you don’t—if you don’t…”
Yura couldn’t seem to figure out what to say. The right words wouldn’t come. But when she looked up, he asked, “If we don’t, what?” Hearing those words, she shouted back.
“If you don’t…I’ll call for Ashes!”
Her words sounded so childish. Surely there was no way she could carry out that threat. But at that moment, the men leaped up as if they’d been struck by lightning.
They stumbled back. One threw down his spear and ran off without picking it up. The other two followed his lead, running off at full speed.
The three of them left in a hurry, a clattering sound trailing behind them. When Yura turned back to the knight, she slapped him.
The loud slap echoed throughout the corridor. He stood stock-still. A shocked silence fell over them.
The astonished knight’s cheek quickly began to show the mark where she had slapped him. Yura drew closer, as if she were about to grab him by the lapels.
“And you! What do you have to say…!?” Yura shouted at the wide-eyed knight. She was breathing hard and couldn’t speak like she wanted to. She pounded his shoulder. “Do you have any idea what you just said…?”
His unfocused eyes slowly gazed back at her. Yura went limp, feeling like she was looking at a child who didn’t realize the gravity of a situation. Suddenly, the world before her grew blue and dim. That moment, her mind felt far away, and she staggered backward.
“Lady Yuura!”
She sat down. The second she did, it was like a balloon deflating, the way her skirt inflated, then collapsed around her. It was like she and the skirt withered together.
For a short time, she merely stared into space. When she finally came back around, she realized he’d taken a knee on the ground and caught her. His eyebrows were narrowed, but his eyes were wide.
“L-Lady Yuura?” he called, bewildered. Yura’s eyes slowly began to move, and she silently gazed into his face.
“…Are you all right?”
Yura stared at him blankly. Still seeming confused, he looked a bit guilty, waving a hand in front of her face. The hand seemed to move in slow motion before her unfocused eyes. Watching his hand, she slowly began to recover.
He continued waving it patiently. Seeing the red mark on his cheek finally brought Yura to her senses.
“I’m sorry for slapping you,” she reached out, offering an instinctual apology. But the second her finger brushed him, he frowned and pulled away. Like water pulled from the shore.
“I-I…”
She trembled. Her face became white once more. Was this the first time she had hit anyone? Her hand wavered in confusion, having lost its intended destination, and Yura clenched her fist to make it stop.
“I’m so sorry. We need to get some ice. Is there somewhere we can find s-some water?”
She was in a panic. He lowered his eyebrows, vexed, and stared at Yura. He opened his mouth to speak, then idly raised a hand. Yura shrank back. He looked surprised and stared back at her. Trembling, she looked up.
“…What is the matter?”
“Y-You’re not going to hit me back?”
He looked completely taken aback. His eyes widened.
“I-I just thought you were…going to hit me…”
“Huh?”
This time, he really was at a loss. His mouth agape, he stared at Yura like she were truly odd. The way one looks at a rare frog inside a tank…it made Yura feel small.
However, he finally looked away after staring at her for some time, then suddenly his face broke into a grin. Looking down, he began to laugh so hard, his shoulders quaked.
Whether it was he or Ashes, people kept laughing when they met her. She couldn’t help shouting indignantly.
“Wh-What’s so funny?”
At that moment, he looked up and grinned. It was a very restrained grin. He looked down, then seeming to pull himself together, peered into Yura’s eyes.
“No…I mean, thank you, Lady Yuura,” he said in such a quiet voice, it could have been a whisper.
Yura stared blankly at him. She hadn’t done anything to be thanked for.
On the contrary, she’d done something anyone would be within reason to yell at her for.
Looking up, their eyes met. His eyes were incredibly gentle. A deep, soft green.
“F-For what…?”
Stuttering, she looked down.
She didn’t notice. The second she looked away—that short second—a hint of the pain he’d been hiding flashed across his face. When she looked up again, he looked away.
Yura tilted her head.
“Hey, what did you thank me for?”
But he offered no reply. Looking down, the traces of a smile appeared on his face, and he slowly started to his feet.
“Now, please stand up and return to your room…” he said, changing the subject.
Something suddenly dawned on Yura, and she grabbed his arm as he stood, stopping him.
“Wait! Um…!”
He was shocked. Once Yura had his attention, she spoke.
“I want to go to the mirror chamber!”