The next morning, 10 a.m., Theodora’s room.
Theodora stared at the mirror before her with an awkward expression.
The woman reflected in it felt unfamiliar.
When she let down the hair she had always tied low, her silver locks scattered beautifully.
When she wiped off her makeup, her sharp impression vanished, leaving only a pure, delicate face that suited a smile.
Last was her outfit.
Leaving the men’s uniform she always wore enshrined in the wardrobe, she put on a dress with a clean, innocent impression. She had wanted to wear the clothes she had worn when she first met Ashen, but unfortunately, they had become unwearable during her discipline training, so she had no choice but to give up on that.
‘Is this really all right?’
Theodora examined herself with anxious eyes.
Though she had another purpose in mind, this was the first date of her life—and perhaps the last—so she had done her best to dress up in her own way.
‘I don’t know if it suits me, though.’
Should she have asked someone for help after all?
The faces of Cecilia and Lena suddenly came to mind, but Theodora soon shook her head.
This was an opportunity she had created to meet Ashen alone.
She couldn’t ask them to help her with something like this.
‘There isn’t any time anyway.’
There were only thirty minutes left until the date, so it was time to leave the room.
“All right, let’s go.”
Encouraging herself like that, Theodora stepped out of her room.
**
10:25 a.m., the academy’s main gate.
When Theodora arrived at the meeting place, Ashen was already waiting there.
“Good morning, Miss Theodora.”
“Good morning.”
Theodora bowed in greeting, then looked over Ashen’s attire.
Unlike her, who had gone to some effort to dress up, Ashen was wearing his usual uniform.
It was as if he did not care in the slightest about going out with her, a member of the opposite sex.
Seeing that made her feel just a little disappointed.
Theodora shook her head briskly to drive away the thought that had surfaced for an instant.
Watching her, Ashen let out a small laugh.
“You must be disappointed with how I look.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“You don’t have to lie. It does seem like I came far too carelessly. Especially when you prepared so diligently, Miss Theodora.”
“No, not at all. I must look strange, dressing up in a way that doesn’t suit me.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Pardon?”
“If anything, I think it suits you better than usual, Miss Theodora.”
For a moment, Theodora could not say anything, and her face flushed red.
Ashen looked at her with gentle eyes, then soon asked,
“So, since you were the one who suggested a date first, I assume there’s somewhere you’d like to go? Would you guide me?”
“Are you asking a lady to escort you?”
“I’ve never learned a gentleman’s manners.”
Seeing Ashen shrug as though trying to ease her tension, Theodora gave a faint laugh and pointed toward the city’s clock tower.
“I want to go there.”
“The Astrum Clock Tower, is it? It is certainly famous as a date course. Is that why you chose it?”
“No. More than that, I want to go up there.”
“To the upper floor?”
“Yes. Somewhere people don’t come and go.”
Ashen was silent for a moment, as if thinking, then nodded.
“Understood. You want to talk.”
“Yes. Of course, I’d also like to enjoy the date on the way there.”
“Then I’ll do my best to meet your expectations.”
With a soft smile, Ashen held out his hand in front of her.
Theodora took it and began walking with him.
As if its reputation as a famous date course was true, all sorts of shops welcomed her along the way.
The first thing they encountered was a street stall selling snacks.
Curiosity appeared in Theodora’s eyes as she saw foods she had never seen before in her life.
Watching her, Ashen seemed to think of something amusing and smiled at her.
“Please wait a moment.”
A short while later, what Ashen brought back was a skewer Theodora had never seen before.
“What kind of skewer is this?”
“Chicken heart.”
“Heart? People eat that?”
Theodora looked slightly flustered.
To her, who had been taught by the Order that entrails were unclean, a heart skewer was utterly unfamiliar.
“It’s delicious. Try it and you’ll fall for it.”
“Mm… If you say so, Mr. Ashen, I’ll give it a try.”
After hesitating slightly, Theodora bit into one of the hearts. The salty flavor of the seasoning and the chewy texture greeted her.
“It’s good!”
“Right? I’ll buy it for you often from now on.”
With a smile, Ashen led her, who was busily eating the heart skewer, toward the next street.
After walking for about ten minutes, they found a clown performing tricks in a wide space.
Watching the clown perform the trick of spitting fire from his mouth, Theodora tilted her head.
“I don’t think he used mana. How did he do that?”
“He held oil or liquor in his mouth and spat it out. It would be rude to the clown to explain in detail, so let’s leave it at that.”
So he had done it by spitting out liquor.
Theodora watched the clown with shining eyes.
Ashen stopped and waited for Theodora until she was satisfied.
The place they reached next was a street filled with accessory shops.
Among them, the one that caught Theodora’s eye was an accessory shop run by a blind old man.
Unlike the other shops that sold all kinds of accessories, that place sold only silver brooches.
The vast majority were modeled after the symbols of the Order.
But there was just one brooch shaped like a tree, belonging to no Order at all.
“Is there something you’d like to buy?”
“No, rather than something I want to buy…”
I thought it would suit you.
To be honest, she didn’t know why that thought came to her.
In battle, the way he appeared was closer to a monster or a beast than a tree.
But when she was with him, it felt as though she were leaning against a tree with deep roots.
Ashen looked at her, lost in thought, for a moment, then immediately paid the owner and bought two brooches.
“As a commemoration of today, let’s each have one.”
Theodora tightly held the brooch he placed in her hand.
Though it should certainly have felt cold, a warmth seemed to travel through the brooch.
After that, the two passed through several more shops and gradually made their way toward their destination.
About an hour later, on the roof of the clock tower.
In the old space that not even tourists visited, Ashen and Theodora looked outside.
Beyond the clock hands, the academy and the city could be seen in miniature.
It was an exceedingly peaceful scene.
It felt so different from what was actually happening that it even gave her a sense of dissonance.
The two stood there for a while, silently gazing at the scenery.
The one who broke that silence first was Ashen.
“So, what was the reason you asked to see me separately?”
“You knew after all.”
“Miss Theodora isn’t the sort of person who would ask me on a date so abruptly. If it were the you I know, you would probably have spoken to me romantically in a place where it was just the two of us.”
“You think too highly of me. But you’re right. I came here because I wanted to talk with you.”
The moment she thought of opening her mouth, the effect of the restriction began to stir faintly.
No matter what she said, if even a slightly direct statement came out, the restriction would activate and erase her memories of today.
Unable to open her mouth, Theodora moved her lips soundlessly for some time.
Ashen did not hurry her.
He merely waited in silence.
At last, a story slowly flowed from Theodora’s lips.
“It’s a story about a hunting dog.”
“A hunting dog?”
“Yes. A hunting dog raised in a special place. From the time it was young, that hunting dog received all kinds of training from its master. And so, in its master’s eyes, it grew into the finest hunting dog.”
With a bitter smile, Theodora continued the story.
“Then one day, the master released the hunting dog into the forest to hunt wolves. The order was to find the wolves and lure them to a place where they would be easy to hunt. But when the hunting dog met the wolf pack, it hesitated. Because when it was with the wolves, it could forget that it was bound by a collar.”
“I see.”
“But one day, the master said there was no time left and ordered it to bring the wolf pack. If it didn’t bring them, the hunting dog would suffer something terrible. But the hunting dog didn’t want to betray the wolf pack.”
Theodora’s violet eyes turned toward Ashen.
In a voice that trembled slightly, she opened her mouth to him.
“What should that hunting dog do?”
Ashen stroked his chin as if lost in thought.
Just as he had done earlier, Theodora did not urge Ashen to answer.
A moment later, the answer that came from Ashen’s mouth was not what she had expected.
“That is not something I can decide.”
“Pardon?”
“The right to choose belongs wholly to the hunting dog. If I were to tell it what choice to make, then in the end, I would be no different from its master. I don’t want to become that.”
“I… see.”
A choice. Did something like the right to choose truly exist for her as well?
Theodora’s eyes trembled faintly.
To her, who had lived her entire life according to what had been decided for her, the very concept was unfamiliar.
“Of course, I’ve never betrayed anyone either, so I don’t know what the right answer is. That’s simply what I think.”
Ashen let out a small laugh as he looked at Theodora.
“Still, I think I can guarantee one thing.”
Meeting Theodora’s purple eyes, he smiled gently.
“Even if the hunting dog brings its master, the wolf pack will accept it back. Because in all that time, the hunting dog has become one of their pack.”
One of their pack…
The moment she heard that phrase, something surged up in her throat.
She was one of their pack? She, who had approached them to betray them?
And they would accept her back, someone like her?
She couldn’t believe it. But she wanted to.
Amid the flood of thoughts, Theodora could give no answer.
She merely lowered her head and looked down.
A small puddle formed beneath her, but Ashen did not point it out. He simply patted her on the shoulder.
**
Below the clock tower.
Cecilia and Lena were looking up at the clock tower while eating skewers they had bought from a stall.
“Is it really all right for us not to go up like this?”
“It’s fine. I can yield this much to Theodora.”
“For saying that, you look very disappointed.”
“Couldn’t you think of it as proof that my vessel is that large?”
“Yes, yes. I’m sure it is.”
The two looked at each other, laughed, and put the rest of the skewers in their mouths.
It was a seasoning they were tasting for the first time, but it wasn’t bad.
“So, Cecilia. How is the matter Ashen asked you about?”
“To be honest, it isn’t going well.”
As if the amount of skewer had been slightly lacking, Cecilia smacked her lips and frowned.
“I understand what kind of spell it is and how it’s cast. The problem is the dispelling method. Even the books in my family’s library don’t cover how to undo it.”
“Does that mean they never even considered a way to remove it?”
“Probably. Originally, this spell was only used on tamed monsters or rebellious slaves. I don’t know how they dug up something that was used only in ancient times, though.”
At Cecilia’s doubtful remark, Lena answered by shrugging her shoulders.
History and theology were outside her field of knowledge.
“So I asked Professor Eleonore and Professor Louise as well, but there hasn’t been any result yet. At this rate, I don’t know if we’ll be able to find it before the time comes.”
“Do your best. It’s a matter of protecting our friend.”
“Of course. I’m a woman who doesn’t give up.”
After finishing her words, Cecilia moved toward a nearby skewer shop.
At first she had said it was unbecoming of a noble, but it seemed to have suited her tastes after all.
‘Should I order one more too?’
Just as Lena rose from her seat like that.
Someone entered her field of vision.
‘That person is…?’
A shop located about a hundred meters away from the clock tower.
A man in a black robe was sipping tea.
That much was nothing special. Monks and alchemists often liked wearing black robes.
The problem was that this was not the first time she had seen him here.
‘He’s been following us since near the academy.’
And ever since Ashen and Theodora had entered the clock tower, he had been spending his time in that shop.
As if he were watching the two of them.
‘Is it a coincidence?’
Lena clenched and unclenched her hand once, sinking into thought.
She had more than enough grounds for suspicion, but no concrete proof yet.
In that state, approaching the other party carelessly would be a bad move.
“Cecilia.”
“Yes, would you like one too?”
“Thanks for that as well, but can you use magic to observe someone from a distance?”
“…I can. But what’s the matter?”
“Then can you use that magic on that man?”
Cecilia nodded and immediately began chanting a spell.
Mana began to gather.
No sooner had she confirmed it than the man in the black robe stiffened, left the café, and hurried away.
Lena immediately ran after him.
Had he undergone advanced training? The other party began to run so quickly that Lena could barely keep up.
‘At this rate, I’ll lose him.’
“Cecilia, tracking magic!”
“I know!”
No sooner had the answer reached her than Lena closed her eyes and sensed the flow of mana.
She felt the mana that had started from Cecilia cling to someone far away.
‘Catching up is impossible.’
Then she had no choice but to use a little trick.
‘If you’re innocent, I’ll apologize later.’
Instead of the bow she had left in her dorm room, she drew the throwing knife hidden in her clothes and hurled it.
Just in case, she had wrapped it in mana and made it dull, so the other party wouldn’t be badly hurt.
The moment Lena’s throwing knife, cutting through the air, was about to reach its target, a huge white flame flared up.
‘Holy fire!’
Seeing that, Lena rushed toward him, but the other party had already disappeared.
“Tch, did he get away?”
Looking at the small scrap of cloth left on the throwing knife, Lena clicked her tongue.
The holy fire the other party had used a moment ago was not at the level of an ordinary priest.
Judging by how conspicuous it had been even from a distance, he was at least squire-rank. Perhaps even a knight-rank priest.
There was no chance such a person had followed them by coincidence.
He was clearly a watcher.
Having made her judgment, Lena examined the scrap of cloth left on the throwing knife.
Beneath the hem of the black robe, she could see pure white fabric engraved with a pattern.
‘Which church was this again?’
As she was pondering that, Cecilia, who had arrived late after running after her, reached the spot.
“Did you catch him?”
“No, I lost him. Sorry. More importantly, do you know what this symbol is?”
“This is the symbol of the Church of Justice.”
The Church of Justice?
Until now, the ones moving with Theodora had been War and Light, so why was the Church of Justice appearing here?
Lena tried to continue her deduction, but there was a limit to what she could recall about the inner workings of the churches.
‘I’ll have to ask Ashen.’
The moment she reached that conclusion and focused back on reality, Cecilia was staring at the symbol of the Church of Justice, lost in deep thought.
“Light, War, Justice. At least three churches. In that case, among slave brands, this follows the method of the ancient republic. And they deliberately placed a watcher nearby despite the possibility of being discovered. In other words, if the conditions are met…”
After a brief murmur, Cecilia took out the notebook she carried and wrote down what she had thought of.
“Did you figure something out?”
“It’s not certain, but I’ve found a clue.”
Cecilia nodded at Lena’s words.
Her deep green eyes gleaming, she spoke in a confident voice.
“If my guess is correct, this restriction has a weakness.”