Jubilia now understood why Keele had gone out of his way to tell her how it worked; it was so that he could make use of the opening born when she was forced to dodge Nagi’s arrows. She narrowly avoided Keele’s slash, and in the next instant, another arrow came flying in at her.
With the scales now tipped in her enemies’ favor, Jubilia’s demeanor changed. For some reason, she sheathed her sword, but the nearly tangible bloodlust radiating from her only grew. Upon seeing this, Keele grew giddy.
“Oh man, you’re gonna use it? I ain’t no noble.”
“You know what I’m about to do?”
“Not my first time fighting a vampire.”
“It can’t be... Are you a noble-killer? A member of Cobalt?!”
“So what if I am?”
Jubilia hesitated for a moment, then said, “Sorry, but I’ll be postponing this bout.”
The knight then turned and escaped deep into the forest. She was so fast that by the time Nagi noticed, she was already gone.
“Tch. You’d rather go pass on this intel, huh?” Keele spat as he sheathed his sword. “That’s some skill she’s got. Without a blood caliber, too. Things would’ve been bad for us if even one little thing had gone wrong.” In contrast to the gravity of his words, his lips twisted into a smile. “Next time, I’ll fucking kill ’er.”
Nagi was still in a daze. All he knew was that he had been saved.
“Thank you very much,” Saya said to Keele.
“Hmm, what a cutie. So, you’re Saya?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Keele, this guy’s older brother.”
“You’re brothers?”
“Oh, it’s weird for nobles, ain’t it? Siblings, that is.”
At Keele’s words, Nagi remembered their conversation with Jubilia earlier.
“Saya,” he said quietly, “are you a noble?”
Keele raised an eyebrow at this. “Ain’t it obvious? She look like a commoner to you?”
“I saved her because I thought she was.”
“Your eyes are rotten.”
Keele did have a point. The clothes Saya was wearing combined with the fact that she had been at the Garden clearly implied she was the daughter of nobility. So, why did Nagi think she was a commoner?
Right, if she’s a noble, then why was she hooked up to all those tubes?
“Do you hate nobles?” Saya asked him while he was trying to get his thoughts in order.
“Yeah,” Nagi replied automatically.
He regretted it immediately after, but Saya didn’t seem to pay it any mind. Her red eyes were serious.
“Why?” she pressed.
“Nobles... err, vampires steal from us commoners.”
“What do they steal?” Saya didn’t react to the slur.
“Life. They steal ours so they can live for ages in the lap of luxury while we die quickly without them.”
Saya looked appalled. “Is that so? Commoners die so that nobles can live a long time?” Her surprise appeared genuine, which left Nagi quite shocked himself.
“Are you kidding me? You didn’t know about all this even though you’re a noble?”
“I don’t know anything. I’ve always been in that place, after all. Hey, Nagi. I’m a noble... right?”
Her question left Nagi somewhat troubled. He hadn’t even realized this himself until just now.
“Aren’t you? That knight was treating you with so much respect. It’d be unthinkable for anyone but a noble.”
“I see. That means you hate me.” Her voice was tinged with loneliness.
“That’s not the case either,” Nagi said quickly.
“Why?”
Why? Uh, why is that? I think it’s because she’s like a child. Perhaps that was actually the case. If she truly had been trapped within the Garden all this time and therefore knew nothing, then she was no different from an infant. When he thought of it that way, bringing up his grievances with nobles and making her worry seemed rather pathetic.
“I didn’t know you were a noble. Even if you are, you’re still you.”
Saya broke out into a relieved smile. “Thank goodness. I don’t really know much about nobles, but I wouldn’t be able to bear it if you hated me.”
Nagi’s pulse quickened upon seeing her smile. His mind completely blanked out.
“Hey, let’s get moving,” Keele said, bringing Nagi back to reality. “It ain’t safe here. You probably get this, but Strano’s no good. You two’re comin’ with me.”
“Where to?” Nagi asked.
“Oh come on, why d’you gotta ask? A safe place. I’ve come up with a safe route and everything, so relax.”
Keele’s mockery got on Nagi’s nerves. His brother had always been like this. Just now, for instance, Nagi had been saved by him yet again. No matter what he did, he couldn’t live up to Keele. Regardless, that attitude of his that screamed “I’m definitely not wrong” was intolerable.
“Tell me where we’re going. Your intel on the Garden was wrong, you know?”
“Huh?”
“Most of it was right, but the all-important treasure wasn’t there.”
“Oh, that. I made that up. A little noble lady was there, so I figured there’d be at least one treasure. Ah well.” Keele showed no remorse and remained calm. “Well, maybe it wasn’t complete bullshit? I mean, look, you’ve got your treasure right there, don’tcha?”
Keele gestured with his chin.
“Me?” Saya asked.
“Those effin’ nobles are in a mad rush to get you back, so that makes you a treasure. There’s gotta be a way we can use that to our advantage.”
“Quit splitting hairs!” Nagi yelled.
“Don’t shout, man. We don’t know when the other ones’ll come after us.”
“You tell me about this safe place of yours right this instant!”
Keele sighed. “You’re the same spoiled brat as always, huh?”
Nagi flew into a rage. “A spoiled brat? I was almost killed because of you!”
He had only gone through so much peril because of Keele pressuring him to sneak into the Garden. Keele was being far too cold.
“I know. So what? You’re the one who decided to go, so hold yourself accountable. I’m surprised someone who spouts such naïve bullshit managed to get out of there alive. I thought you’d be nothing more than a decoy, but you really hit the jackpot.”
Nagi now knew that Keele had dared to send him to his near death on purpose.
A decoy? Don’t screw with me.
“Whatever, I’ll just tell you. You two are going to Cobalt.”