Chapter 4
THE next day Yuki woke up to eat a fancy breakfast alone in her room, after which she crawled back into the plush bed she was granted to doze off into a relaxed sleep. A while later, the servants woke her and dressed her with the same professionalism as the previous day. She was dressed in a slightly fancier dress this time.
“The dress is a present from Prince Luca,” is all that the head servant said before leaving with her emptied plates.
“This dress is more like a gown than a dress.”
The maids had dressed Yuki in a pale-pink dress with a long skirt and dangling sleeves. The dress would have looked better with high heels, but Yuki was most likely mistaken for the same age as her appearance as she was given red heelless shoes to wear instead.
I would normally never wear this kind of clothing, she thought spinning in front of the mirror. The door opened at the same time as someone knocked.
“Excuse me. Is Yuki here?” Ain violently shoved the door open. Yuki was startled to see Ain flustered.
“Ain?”
“Ah, Yuki, where is your luggage?” Ain asked in a rush when he spotted her standing in front of the mirror.
“Huh?”
“The items you brought with you.”
Luggage? Items? Yuki pondered for a moment before remembering.
“Now that I think about it, I tossed it away in the spring. All I have on me is the archery set you see over there.”
“This is all you have?” Ain briskly walked into the room and grabbed the black tubular case.
“That’s right,” Yuki nodded.
Ain walked over to Yuki and grabbed her arm. “They are having the send-off ceremony for Prince Luca, so we need to hurry.” At her look of confusion, he added, “You are coming with me.”
“H-Huh? Why?”
“I do not know why either. Prince Luca ordered me to bring you. He sure knows how to make people run around.”
Yuki had no idea what was going on, and was full of questions, but Ain merely muttered complaints to himself without telling her anything.
✦ ✦ ✦
YUKI stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the first-floor hall teeming with people donned in full plate armor, their helmets held ceremoniously in hand. She stared at the surreal scene in amazement, until she spotted a blond youth at the vanguard. He was the only one clad in a red and white cloak—it was Luca. Ain led her by the wrist to a landing in the stairs where if she went down another flight, she would be on the same floor as the armor-clad soldiers.
“Hi there. I see you came.”
Yuki turned at the familiar voice. Orga was sitting leisurely in a chair setup in the center of the landing.
“U-Um—” Yuki looked up at Ain to ask him what was going on, but he had let go of her wrist and was standing behind her.
“Stand straight,” he mouthed.
What the heck is going on!
Yuki did as she was told and stood straight, gazing at the sight in front of her. A veritable army of armor-clad soldiers filled the grand dome-like room. Servants moved around in the back, while a soft chatter was maintained throughout the room. Luca stood in front of a group of soldiers who seemed to be squad leaders—at least that’s what she thought after comparing their extra adornments with the other soldiers.
“So? What business do you have with this girl, Luca?”
Luca glanced briefly at Yuki before facing Orga.
“I was planning on taking her—Yuki—to Fol with me,” he said in a loud enough voice to cut through the soft chatter filling the hall.
“…I told you I would care for her and treat her appropriately, did I not? Do you have so little faith in me?”
“No, I trust you, Brother. However—” Luca stopped talking and faced Yuki.
He signaled with his eyes for her to come to the center of the landing.
What does he want?
The men behind Luca started to murmur. Yuki walked in front of Orga to the edge of the landing where the stairs descended from. Luca climbed the steps, halting just a few steps below where Yuki stood. He removed the sword from his waist and knelt in front of Yuki.
The murmur grew louder through the hall but didn’t reach Yuki’s ears. She was merely staring into those blue eyes, unsure of anything.
“Take this.” Luca pulled a gold token the size of Yuki’s fist from his pocket and handed it to her; it looked like an oversized coin. He whispered, “Hold it in your left hand.”
She took it into her left hand. Next, Luca bowed his head and declared, “I, Cendol Lucat Adolunde, swear that as long as there is still air in these lungs I will follow you and protect you until the end. I shall put my words of loyalty into action, by receiving this proof of our bond.”
“Huh?”
“Take the sword,” Luca said lifting his face. He held out the hilt of his sword to her. “Unsheathe the sword, and tap my shoulder with the flat side of the blade.”
“Huh? What?”
“Hurry up.”
Yuki unsheathed the sword and lightly tapped Luca’s left shoulder with the flat side of the blade. Following which, the gold token in her left hand started glowing. A violet light spread through the area.