“Huff…huff…”
“Th-thank you for the lesson…”
As Colette and Albert gasped for air, their shoulders heaving, I smiled and calmly replied, “And thank you. It was very educational.”
Today’s training session had once again ended with neither of them landing a single blow on me. And Colette’s and Albert’s reactions to this were polar opposites: one was happy, the other was bitter.
As Colette supported her weight on her sword, she heaved a sigh and said, “Educational… Funny you should say that… I doubt that you could learn anything from us, given the clear gap in our abilities.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that at all.”
Behind Colette’s labored mutterings was a bitter sentiment: There’s nothing you could possibly learn from us.
But I really meant what I’d said to Colette—it wasn’t a sweet lie to console her.
“When you spar against a pair of opponents with a clear strategy in mind, there’s a lot you can learn. The areas of my body you both targeted must have been where you thought I would be most vulnerable. You gave me a great opportunity to be introspective.”
The pair were fast learners, but I was still far superior to them in skill. And yet sometimes our sparring matches would help me diagnose faults in myself I hadn’t noticed before.
“Hmm…I suppose you aren’t just saying that out of pity… All right! When you put it that way, that cheers me up a little.”
Colette, who caught her breath faster than Albert, jumped back into her battle stance with a cheerful shout. Even though she felt her own limitations, she didn’t despair for long. She was naturally gifted to begin with, but she was also the hardworking type. Her potential was terrifying.
“Phew…! Well, you have it easier than me, Princess Colette. I may be able to control my magic now, but I still can’t get in a good sword swing.”
Albert took a little longer to recover, but he sounded like he was enjoying himself. And that enjoyment came from the feeling of accomplishment at getting closer to his defined goals. In his own way, he was also the type who could improve with hard work.
“But, Prince Albert, you really have gotten better,” I insisted. “Though I think I was a little too intense today…”
“Yes, up until now, he could barely keep pace with me.”
“Ooh, you mean it? Hee-hee… Gee, thanks.”
Dammit, I envied these kids… They couldn’t help what they didn’t have, so they tried to succeed some other way. To somebody like me, who’d lived my life giving up on everyone and everything, it was a rather idealistic way of thinking.
As somebody who now had both magic and life experience, it made me think. Well…I guess it’s because of my past life that I was able to keep training without getting tired of it.
“Seriously, you both have made great strides in your training,” I said.
It was plenty obvious how eager they both were to keep going, but I really had gone a little too hard on them today. There wouldn’t be any point in continuing the session. When I suggested we end early, Colette and Albert both looked startled.
I get the feeling this has happened before…
“Is something the matter?” I asked.
“Er, no, Mylene… It’s just, you look so gentle and relaxed right now. Lovable, perhaps—”
“Please, don’t go there. I told you before,” I sighed.
And as I suspected, Colette started to get mushy on me. You might call her obsessed—like she was ready to seduce me the moment I showed weakness. Then again…I’d be lying if I said it felt bad to have an admirer.
But Melissa was watching. Disregarding how much the girl actually knew, I’d still rather keep that sort of thing private.
As I headed back to the bench to collect my things, right on cue, Melissa looked up at me without even so much as blinking.
“They really trust her… And the way she looks at them—she’s completely unlike that bitch.”
She mumbled something under her breath, but her low volume and my distance from the bench made me unable to hear it.
I hope she’s not under some strange misapprehension. Ugh, this is gonna get messy…
But just as I was about to heave a sigh, Melissa jumped up from the bench eagerly and called my name. “Mylene Petule.”
“Huh?” Her sudden move left me speechless. And I wasn’t the only one. Both Albert and Colette were tensely holding their breaths.
This was the first time in the past month that Melissa had addressed me directly.
With her head hanging, but her eyes looking up beseechingly at me, she said, “I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you… I have something to tell you. Would you come off campus with me?”
She was gazing directly into my eyes—another rarity.
I don’t know what the deciding factor was…but she finally changed her mind about me.
“Of course…I’d love to.”
When I smiled at Melissa, she changed nothing about her expression and heaved a tiny sigh of relief. I was missing a smile, but I sensed peace in her. Even though we barely spoke, I had learned a lot about her in the past month.
“Hum? We’re going somewhere? Then I suppose we should gather our things quickly.”
“If possible…I’d like Princess Colette and Prince Albert to…refrain…from joining us.”
Colette had assumed we would go together, just like we always did. But Melissa rejected the idea.
So that means I get to talk one-on-one with somebody who’s been terrified of me…
I clenched my fist, excited that I’d finally gotten my chance. I sent Colette an apologetic glance, meaning to tell her she should sit this one out, but before I could say anything, she nodded softly at me.
“Understood… I’ll get permission for you and Melissa to go off campus. Come, Prince Albert, we’re going back.”
“If we must, we must. Well, Miss Mylene, I shall return your practice sword for you. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
“I appreciate your consideration. Well, have a lovely evening, you two.”
After the pair were out of sight, I turned back to face Melissa. There was still a faint glimmer of hesitation in her eyes, but with it, there lay a firm sense of resolve.
“All right, then—where are we going? Is it something so sensitive we wouldn’t want anyone overhearing it?”
If we stayed here, we wouldn’t make any progress. And if we didn’t get back to the dorms by dinnertime, we’d starve.
“Yes… I have something to tell you that no one else can overhear. Follow me.”
Follow me, eh? It was an amusing turn of phrase, from somebody who’d spent the past month doing nothing but trail me.
I nodded in reply and politely followed Melissa as she walked.