Side Story: Episode 2
Lijan flinched in surprise and raised her head. Then she froze, her breath catching.
A man standing askew in the doorway adjusted his trousers and looked down at her coldly.
He was a frightening man. If one looked closely, he clearly had delicate, refined, and handsome features, yet it was strange how an eerie sensation overcame that uncommon appearance first.
Lijan cast a sidelong glance at the dark room with its curtains drawn. Unlike the other room, brightly lit with its door open, the space where a man and woman had been shut away in darkness held an unusual humidity and temperature, but Lijan was still young and ignorant of such matters; though she sensed something strange, she could not pinpoint exactly what it was.
“Who sent you?”
Unable to grasp the intent behind the question, her answer came a little late.
“……Pardon?”
“I’m asking who ordered you to tail me. Father? Or Ezekiel, that bastard. Did he think I would let my guard down because they sent a little girl?”
The man clicked his tongue in annoyance.
None of what he said made any sense. Why on earth would family members tail one another? It couldn’t mean they sent someone to check on family because the house was so large…
Either way, she had an intuition that misspeaking before this man would bring unwelcome trouble to her parents or the lady who had sent her on the errand. Having grown up under parents who would even feign death where House Valdemera was concerned, she was keenly perceptive of such things. Lijan pressed her lips firmly shut.
The man narrowed his eyes.
“Do you know who I am?”
Somehow, it felt like she should insist she didn’t know. As the daughter of an employee who had occasionally overheard talk of the two young masters of House Valdemera, it wasn’t impossible to guess who the man before her was, but she had never been formally introduced, so technically whatever answer she gave wouldn’t be a lie.
Lijan quickly shook her head from side to side.
“Look at this brazen little wench. Trembling all over and still lying?”
The man pulled up the corner of his mouth in a sharp sneer.
“Why wouldn’t you know me, hm? Does it make sense to not know me in the middle of the Valdemera estate?”
He strode toward her. Though not yet a fully grown young man, his face still held a boyish air, but befitting the bloodline of the Valdemeras, renowned for their tall stature, he was larger than most adults. Moreover, Lijan had spent her time at the girls’ school among girls of similar height, so her line of sight was not very high.
With the tall, dangerous-looking man closing the distance with threatening momentum, the young Lijan couldn’t help but be frightened.
She was about to hold her breath and squeeze her eyes shut when, before she could, someone’s broad chest cut off the hostile man from her view.
“What do you think you’re doing to a child?”
“Get out of the way, Ezekiel.”
“Get up.”
A large hand supported Lijan. Relying on the strength guiding her, she barely managed to stand.
“Ah, thank y—”
About to offer her whispered thanks in a small voice, Lijan trailed off, her eyes widening.
It was him.
The one who had smiled lightly at her while she practiced her play and then closed the door without drawing attention.
So these two were brothers.
Lijan compared the two men. Standing side by side, she could tell all the better. They truly resembled each other, yet they were vastly different. Though their appearances made it obvious they shared the same parents, one had such delicate features that he looked almost androgynous, while this one was…
Intense.
In color, in line, in scent. And therefore, in presence itself.
From the moment he appeared, the atmosphere felt as though it had instantly shifted.
“Your timing is truly something, isn’t it?”
“It was too noisy for me to just pass by.”
“What’s with this girl?”
“As you can see, she’s just a child. Why?”
“I’m asking why she’s been hovering around me. Is she spying on me or what? It’s annoying.”
“It must be a coincidence.”
“A coincidence? Right at this hour, knowing exactly which room I’m in, knocking until the door opens?”
That was quite a stretch. Lijan herself had never expected that the heir of House Valdemera would be shut away with some woman in an empty guest room. Moreover, she genuinely couldn’t understand why the man was so furious. At the school dormitory, it was commonplace for anyone to come barging in, clicking the door open, if they had business. Lijan had never minded when someone suddenly entered to attend to their own affairs.
So this was simply spite. He thought her impertinent, the daughter of an employee interrupting her master’s time.
According to the laments of Lijan’s parents, Akenaus Valdemera had a difficult temperament and was frightening because his reactions were unpredictable. It was best not to draw attention, and if his eyes began to narrow, one must apologize unconditionally.
But the woman she had seen earlier had looked so distressed she seemed on the verge of tears… It didn’t seem like she had interrupted a pleasant moment…
“Calm down, will you?”
Fortunately, Lijan was safe now. The girl looked up at the broad back shielding her.
The voice of the man called Ezekiel was low and monotonous, yet it held power nonetheless.
“What are you so prickly about? What did you do in front of her? Is it a secret you can’t afford to let others see?”
At Ezekiel’s composed remark, the man clamped his mouth shut. Ezekiel let out a smirk at his older brother, whose displeasure was plain to see.
“Whatever it is, if it’s a secret you don’t want others to notice, you should be more careful in your conduct.”
“…Both of you, get lost. I’m tired and going to sleep.”
The man waved his hand in irritation. Just as she felt relieved that she could withdraw, an orange, glinting object in the corner of the dim room caught Lijan’s eye. It was the necklace she had been searching for.
“Ah, that… Excuse me for a moment.”
Uneasy about passing the entrance where the nasty man stood firmly blocking the way, Lijan unknowingly grabbed Ezekiel’s sleeve. Though she had heard how they addressed each other and knew this one was the younger brother, his towering height and broad frame made him seem even more strapping than his brother, and simply relying on him with her fingertips felt reassuring.
Rather than shaking Lijan off, Ezekiel readily allowed himself to be led along by the girl’s hesitant steps. Only when they reached the very front of the door did Lijan let go of his hem and dart inside to pick up the necklace.
“See? She’s just a child who came to find something she lost.”
Amber was a cheap gemstone that such a distinguished house wouldn’t even bother with. Moreover, the craftsmanship was crude and visibly clumsy, so even Akenaus couldn’t find fault with the origin of the necklace Lijan had found.
The door slammed shut.
Only then did Lijan let out a long breath she had been holding.
“…Thank you for helping me.”
When she bowed politely as she had been taught at school, the man abruptly asked,
“Your name?”
“Lijan. I’m Lijan.”
“Lijan? That’s a nice name. Anyway, Lijan, if you run into my brother again and find yourself in a tight spot, tell him you were running an errand for me.”
Having finished his business, the man strode away. Lijan listened to her pounding heartbeat and thought,
If anyone asks, I’ll say the eldest son of House Valdemera is utterly awful, and his younger brother is truly wonderful.
It was her childhood first love.
❖ ❖ ❖
Lijan hurriedly pushed an eight-year-old student under the dormitory bed and whispered.
“Stay here and don’t move a muscle. Even if you’re scared, you can’t make a sound. Cover your mouth tight with both hands and endure. Understand?”
The child, shoved under the bed in the uproar, opened her eyes wide in terror.
“Unni, what about the unnis…?”
“The unnis will all be fine, so don’t worry. Even if you hear noise outside, absolutely do not come out. Stay still, and I’ll come get you later. But if I don’t come for a whole day, wait until it’s completely quiet outside, check carefully that there are no strangers around, and then come out. Promise me.”
There was no time to check if the child had understood. Having finished her warning at rapid speed, Lijan ran into the next room and grabbed two children sitting alone on the bed. Even now, ominous noises from outside were drawing closer by the moment.
“Unni, soldiers are swarming into our school!”
It was a Sunday morning when the young new students were sleeping in at the dormitory, while only the slightly older students had gathered in empty classrooms to do homework. Two students who had said they were going up to the roof for some fresh air came running back pale as sheets.
While everyone was in a panic, Lijan ran straight to the dormitory, woke the children, and began hiding them in closets or under beds. Milena Girls’ School was located on the foothills of Sielsa, near the border, and Astrie was in the midst of a long war with Davis. Although she hadn’t yet grasped the exact situation, the children had to be protected as the highest priority.
Which side might those troops be?