Her ponytail streamed behind her in the wind. She felt Sierra clutching tightly at her waist from the seat behind, and with that reassurance, Milly pushed for even more speed.
There, got him!
The fleeing student was easier to track down than Milly expected. Keeping her eyes locked on the retreating figure, she murmured a spell under her breath. At just the right moment, she spoke the final word clearly.
“Vine.”
In an instant, the nearby plants sprouted long tendrils that lashed out and coiled around the student’s body. Bound fast, the figure froze, then sagged in defeat after a few ragged breaths. They must have realized there was no escape.
What a hassle.
Slowing her broom, Milly soothed Sierra with a pat on the back as they drew closer. That was when she noticed: The captured student wasn’t wearing the school uniform, but the same specialized flight wear Milly herself had on.
And Milly knew one thing for certain: only Class 1-C had flight training this period. Could it really be one of her classmates? Her expression darkened as she studied the bound figure’s face. And then her mouth fell open.
“Brima?”
Brima Bickel. The baron’s daughter whose hair ornament Milly had broken the other day, and a known associate of Angelina. Now, pale as a sheet, the very same girl sat trapped within the cage of vines.
“You’re the one who cut Sierra’s hair?” Milly asked, scarcely able to believe it.
Brima hesitated for a moment, then, with a resigned expression, gave a small nod.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Sierra said she was going home.”
A half hour or so later, Milly now sat in the infirmary, across from Brima. The two had been excused from flight training class.
Brima Bickel—the culprit who had used magic to cut Sierra’s hair—was perched on her chair, small and withdrawn. Her eyes darted constantly, betraying her agitation. This image of her was so far removed from the cruelty of her deed that Milly couldn’t reconcile the two. She crossed her legs and fixed Brima with a steady gaze. That alone made the girl’s shoulders jerk.
“Even after having her hair cut by force, she said she ‘didn’t want to make a fuss.’ I can’t decide if that’s admirable or just too forgiving for her own good.”
“...”
“She also said she’d have her hair tidied up by tomorrow. Apparently her mother’s a hairdresser. But how is she supposed to explain the sudden change in length? Her mother will certainly figure out she was bullied.”
Having seen Sierra’s terror firsthand, Milly couldn’t keep the sharpness from her tone. No doubt her anger showed on her face. Brima refused to meet her eyes and said nothing at all.
Eventually, the heavy silence became suffocating. Milly let out a quiet sigh. Even if Sierra said she was fine, she must have been shaken.
When Milly handed her over to the school physician, Sierra had smiled at her, saying, “I was wanting a change anyway.”
Even Milly, for all her lack of social experience, knew those words were only meant to spare her feelings. No one would be happy about having their hair cut against their will.
And yet Sierra smiled and said she was fine, for Milly’s sake.
Milly knew she’d asked the wrong thing. Faced with “Are you okay?” Sierra could only nod. Milly had coerced her into saying she was fine when she wasn’t. That’s why I have to question Brima here, in her place.
Sierra may have wanted to avoid making a scene, but that didn’t mean Brima’s reasons and methods could be buried. That would only have encouraged escalation. Besides, the thought of leaving it alone made Milly’s blood boil, even though, as an outsider, she probably shouldn’t get involved.
Still, I am meant to be the final boss.
If she truly wanted to become the villainous final boss, then when an ally was hurt, she should storm in and confront the perpetrator head-on.
With that justification in her heart, Milly propped her cheek on the armrest of the sofa and fixed Brima with a long, unwavering stare. The girl said nothing. It wasn’t the silence of fear; it was more the silence of someone who simply had no intention of speaking.
“So then, why did you cut Sierra’s hair?”
“...”
“You’ve no intention of answering?”
“...”
“At the very least, you could shake your head or something. That much would help.”
But Brima gave no sign of answering, nor even of shaking her head.
Only her body trembled in small jerks, and the contradiction made Milly narrow her eyes. Between this and the broken hair ornament incident, it was clear that Brima was terrified of her. And yet, she continued on, clinging to her silence.
Was it courage, or just sheer stubbornness?
Looking closer, Milly realized Brima was biting her lip hard as if to keep herself from letting a word slip. So hard, in fact, that blood was starting to bead there. That wasn’t the mark of ordinary resolve.
No, this isn’t about refusing to answer. It’s more like...
“There’s some reason you can’t answer, isn’t there?” When Milly voiced the possibility, Brima’s trembling only grew worse. So that was it. There was something she couldn’t tell Milly. “I see. Why is that? Something to do with your family’s survival? Or perhaps you have an accomplice, and speaking would drag them down with you?”
At that, Brima’s eyes wavered violently. Another hit.
As Milly continued to press further, Brima finally broke and cried out, “L-Lady Milly! P-please, stop!”
“Good. So you’re finally willing to talk. Now, which was it? Was I right about your family’s survival? Or was it the accomplice?”
“N-No, it’s not that, I...”
“Don’t tell me it’s both.”
“It’s not!” Brima’s cry rang through the infirmary, leaving the room in momentary silence. Gasping for breath, she trembled as she leaned forward in her chair. Her eyes, wide and desperate, looked almost pleading. In a voice heavy with despair, she went on, “I-I’m sorry, please forgive me, I-I’ll apologize!”
“Brima?”
“Just this once...I can’t. If I fail this event, then my house truly will...”
“Calm down, Brima. What do you mean by ‘event’?”
“Please, forgive me! I beg you! I-I have to make Lady Angelina that girl’s ‘best friend’!” Her voice broke off as ragged gasps filled the air. Milly immediately recognized the symptoms of hyperventilation, brought on by the extreme strain she’d been under.
Brima slowly collapsed to the floor. Milly rushed to her side, catching her as she wheezed. Her mind, however, was swirling with unanswered questions. What is she talking about? What ‘event’? And what does cutting Sierra’s hair have to do with making Angelina her best friend?
The scene in Class A, with Brima being yelled at by Angelina, was still fresh in Milly’s memory. But even so, she couldn’t yet connect that incident with what had just happened here, nor untangle the nature of their relationship.
Now that she knew Angelina also carried her memories from before the rewind, Milly couldn’t help but wonder if that too was somehow involved. The thought alone made her head spin.
Angelina, you’d better not be plotting something reckless.
For now, though, the only thing Milly could do was tend to Brima in her current, unstable state. Until the school physician returned from seeing Sierra off, Milly focused all her attention on soothing the sobbing girl.
For the next several dozen minutes, Brima kept whispering apologies—to whom, Milly couldn’t even guess—as the tears streamed ceaselessly down her face.