Soft feathers brushed the back of her hand, and a wave of sensation washed over her and Yuri. For some reason, her throat was convulsing.
It’s so warm, like something I remember from long ago. It makes me want to cry…
She felt so peaceful, she wanted to stay there forever. But Peep let out a long breath and tucked its wing back by its side.
At first, she didn’t understand what had happened. She blinked and blinked, but the vision before her eyes did not change.
“…My scars…,” she whispered hoarsely.
Even the high priest had not been able to heal the burns her father had inflicted. Now they were gone without a trace. The pale back of her left hand was as smooth as her right. Still, she stared, unable to believe her eyes.
“So this is the skill of the phoenix.”
The man with the unruly curls approached curiously, speaking for the first time. He looked back and forth between Brigitte and Peep, nodding. She felt like his sharp gaze was piercing her.
“Brigitte Meidell, is this your—?”
A scream cut off his words.
“Aaaaah!”
Brigitte looked around in surprise. Joseph had gotten to his feet and was standing behind her, screaming in anguish. The magic breaker had broken the skin of his left arm.
“Ngh…guuuuuh!”
He doubled over, pressing the slightly bleeding wound. Brigitte stared, wide-eyed. A wind spirit and a fire spirit floated near him. The wind spirit, a fairy, was flapping her transparent wings as she observed Joseph sternly.
Unbelievable… Did she use wind magic to pierce Prince Joseph with the magic breaker?
Magic breakers were created so that humans could reject their spirits if they so chose. But humans weren’t the only ones with the right to choose their partners in magic. Spirits were known to occasionally tire of their contracted human and return to the spirit world. She had heard that in some cases, the spirits never returned, no matter how many times they were called.
But that must not have been good enough for Prince Joseph’s spirits…
As long as a person had a contracted spirit, their magic would be replenished for use. That must have been why the wind spirit pierced Joseph with the magic breaker.
“Why are you doing this to me?! I’m your contracted human! Hey! Do you hear me, you worthless excuse for a spirit?!”
As he cursed them, he writhed and grasped at the air. But no matter how frantically he waved his arms, he could not reach the spirits floating above him.
Considering everything he’d done, Brigitte felt this was well deserved. Still, it was hard to watch him scream as a growing crowd of students watched like he was some strange animal.
“Spirits have a right to be free, you see,” the man with the curly hair noted, nodding. He seemed quite satisfied with this outcome. “People should be more aware of just how much spirits love them.”
“I certainly should be,” Brigitte mumbled, without meaning to. What he said was right. He smiled.
She turned toward Peep. The phoenix cocked its head and returned her gaze.
You chose me.
At the same time…
I chose you.
She wanted to keep that realization inside her forever. If she didn’t, she feared she would succumb to the human tendency toward arrogance.
Aah…
As if to apologize for the cowardice of their contracted human, Joseph’s spirits turned toward Brigitte and bowed their heads. Then they vanished like phantoms, returning to the spirit world. They had severed their cursed tie to Joseph and regained their freedom.
They were wild spirits now, and they probably would never involve themselves with humans again. Or perhaps, if they found a human they liked, they would lend their power. As a future spiritologist, Brigitte could only hope the latter would be true.
No sooner were the spirits gone than Joseph said to her, “B-Brigitte, you won’t abandon me, will you?”
…What?
She stared at him as he swayed on his feet. He smiled, even now playing the role he had inhabited for so long. But his face was horribly distorted—whether from anger or loathing she could not tell. It was bizarre to see him smiling, too. He walked toward her, muttering in a voice that grated on her ears.
“Poor little Red Fairy. I’m your savior. You’ll never…”
Abruptly, Yuri dropped her hand. The next instant, he strode up to Joseph—and punched him in the face.
“Sir Yuri!” Brigitte screamed.
Other students cried out, too. Joseph was thrown backward and tumbled over the rubble. She squinted through the dust at him. His handsome cheek was a swollen and bruised maroon, and blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth. Being a royal, he had most likely never been hit before. He didn’t appear to understand what had happened.
“How much do you have to hurt Brigitte before you’re satisfied?” Yuri hissed in a voice filled with violent anger, tightening his fist again.
“You’re the one who hurt her!” Joseph cried pitifully.
Yuri froze for a second.
Joseph took the opportunity to sneer. “You’re the one who abandoned her, O brilliant genius. I think you know what you did. Who do you think rescued her after you left her in tears with nowhere to turn? It wasn’t you—it was me!”
“…Shut up.”
Brigitte sensed his anger swelling. Before he could lunge toward Joseph, she grabbed his arms from behind. She barely understood what Joseph was saying. Still, it would be wrong for Yuri to hit him.
“Sir Yuri, stop!”
“Why are you holding me back? He—! ”
“I don’t want you to hurt yourself!”
Yuri stopped moving for a second, while she lunged ahead.
“What would you gain ruining your beautiful hands over him?”
But he didn’t stop for long. Brigitte clung to his arms and dug in her heels, but he simply dragged her along as he stepped toward Joseph. As if he had to.
“Sir Yuri…”
She clenched her teeth. She knew he was furious for her sake. But that was exactly why she could not stand by and watch.
“Instead of hitting him, I wish you’d hold my hand forever!”
She screamed the words in a haze. She was desperate, but then she noticed that everyone was gaping at her…and a few seconds later, she realized what she’d said.
Yuri had frozen again, and she looked fearfully up at him. She thought he would be angry, but he was staring at her rather vacantly.
She was mortified, stiff as a statue. Still, thanks to her words, Yuri seemed to have regained his cool.
“…Fine.”
“…”
“Now let me go.”
“……”
“Brigitte?” he asked, his voice suddenly gentle.
“……Yes?” she answered, awkwardly releasing him. She didn’t realize that as she stood, Yuri was staring at her hands.
…What did I say? …Well, it’s not a lie! But why—why, why, why?!”
Still flustered, she heard several people approaching from behind. She turned around and saw the man with the curly mop of hair leading a man in his thirties or forties and an old man with a beard toward her.
Judging from their robes, they must be priests. But the hunched older man, who shuffled unsteadily forward, was grasping a scepter and wore a splendid robe embroidered with golden thread. He clearly was no ordinary priest. Brigitte shifted her gaze to the costly stole around his neck, which had a phoenix embroidered in gold and vermilion thread on the end.
Could he be the archbishop?
She’d never heard of the highest clergyman, who oversaw all the shrines, taking part in a school inspection. As she stared, dumbfounded, the younger man began crossly reprimanding the one with curly hair.
“What do you mean you didn’t protect His Highness the Prince? What else could you have been doing?”
“You mean something happened to the prince? But I didn’t see anything…,” the curly-haired man answered evasively.
In other words, he planned to overlook the fact that Yuri had punched Joseph. Surprisingly, he seemed to be on their side.
Finally, Brigitte realized that he must be the spiritologist.
“Or did you, most excellent Chief Priest entrusted with the oversight of magic breakers, see something I didn’t?” he went on suggestively.
The chief priest sucked in his breath. Even Brigitte could see he was shaken. His hands trembled as he grabbed the spiritologist by the lapels.
“You’re wrong! Prince Joseph took the magic breaker without asking! I didn’t… I don’t know anything…”
“You didn’t, did you?”
“…Aah…”
The chief priest sank to the ground. He must be another of Joseph’s accomplices. He looked vaguely familiar—but Brigitte was more interested in the archbishop.
“You didn’t see anything, either, did you, Archbishop? …Archbishop?”
“He can’t hear me,” the spiritologist muttered.
The archbishop’s sunken eyes were wet with tears as he gazed unblinkingly at Peep. Behind him, teachers were running toward them.