[Episode 163] Recompense (7)
The knocking sound came again.
“Da-Damian, are you in there?”
Normally, Damian would have responded without much concern, but after hearing about the castle’s customs from Silveryn, Vivi’s voice now carried a strange weight. Was she aware of the scandalous rumors that the castle walls could bear and had come to visit anyway? Surely, she could not be ignorant of them.
Silveryn, upon hearing Vivi’s voice, gave Damian a look that seemed to pierce through him with its peculiarity.
It had been a while since he had been in such an awkward predicament.
With Silveryn in the room, there was no way Damian could open the door to Vivi. He didn’t even want to imagine what might happen if these two women came face to face inside his room.
Silveryn whispered in his ear.
“Ignore it.”
“…”
“Stay with your teacher.”
Even Damian had to admit… ignoring her seemed the best option under the current circumstances.
But Vivi wasn’t just going to walk away.
“I know you’re a light sleeper. Come out now. We have urgent matters to discuss, just the two of us.”
Silveryn, undeterred, whispered again to Damian.
“Ignore it.”
“Teacher… This is…”
“You don’t need to explain. If we show ourselves now, it’ll only lead to troublesome complications.”
Yes, being found in bed together would certainly be misinterpreted. They absolutely could not be seen.
Pressure from both women was suffocating Damian, his heart constricting, breath catching in his throat.
“Come out. I know you are awake.”
Vivi was not backing down.
Silveryn chuckled and said,
“My dear student, you’ve grown close to some unusual people.”
“Teacher… I think it might be best to persuade her to leave.”
“Fine. But wear this when you go out.”
She then pulled Damian’s neck towards her and pressed her lips firmly to his cheek.
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Without a mirror, Damian knew Silveryn’s lipstick mark must have transferred onto his skin.
He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them and rose from the bed, approaching the door. He cracked it open just enough to block the view inside with his body.
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Vivi’s voice was bright as she spoke.
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“As expected. I knew you would come out!”
“What brings you here?”
“I have something urgent to….”
Vivi’s words trailed off as she noticed the mark on Damian’s cheek. Her eyes widened in shock, her lips fluttering soundlessly.
After a few seconds of silence, she commanded,
“Let me see your face up close.”
“What?”
Vivi pulled out a handkerchief and, without waiting for permission, grabbed Damian’s clothes and pulled him towards her. She began to rub the mark on his cheek with the handkerchief.
“Sometimes you can be quite naive. It seems your teacher has expressed her fondness for you quite aggressively while asleep. Your relationship with her is special, so I can understand.”
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Damian was anxious that Vivi would try to look inside the room.
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“You don’t need to do this.”
“No, you’re to attend an important event tomorrow and meet the high-ranking officials and knights representing the Duchy. Such an unsophisticated appearance is only permissible until the dawn of today.”
“…”
“I am now accustomed to cleaning you up.”
“…”
“It won’t do. I’m going into your room. Are you going to leave me standing in the hallway all night?”
“Lady, I am also aware of the castle’s traditions. Wouldn’t stepping into a knight’s room in the middle of the night risk scandal?”
“That peculiar tradition has been carried out so frequently that everyone has grown tired of it. Hardly anyone believes or pays attention to the banners on the castle walls anymore. I’m going in. Move aside.”
Damian blocked her attempt to enter, standing firm.
“I don’t have the same solid footing as you, Lady. I must be cautious in my conduct. I’ve already encountered nobles who look down on me. Allow me to escort you to your quarters.”
She looked displeased, but conceded and took a step back.
Damian sneaked a glance at Silveryn, who had, at some point, seated herself on the edge of the bed, resting her chin on her hand and glaring at him with a fiery gaze. He had clearly ruffled Silveryn’s feathers. How was he going to smooth this over?
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Feeling the squeeze of pressure from both sides, Damian’s nerves were on edge.
However, his immediate priority was to see Vivi off.
He slipped out and quickly closed the door behind him, then said to Vivi,
“…Let’s go.”
“A midnight walk under the moon… it brings back memories of Barvisia.”
“…”
“Wait a moment. There’s still a vulgar mark on your face. Let me clean it off for you.”
***
They walked toward the annex building of the castle. The garden they tread through was illuminated by the cool moonlight and the gentle breeze.
“What is the reason for your visit?”
Vivi, with her hands neatly folded, kept pace with Damian and spoke up.
“We don’t have much time granted to us. You’re to return to the Eternia Bridge after the event tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Although it’s been a short time, it seems a sense of camaraderie has taken root in my heart from being with you.”
“Are you sad about it?”
Faced with such a direct question, Vivi hesitated for a moment but didn’t deny it.
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“…Yes. I am sad.”
Then there was silence for a while, only the sound of their steps on the grass audible.
“You won’t be away from Eternia forever, will you?”
“But due to this incident, I won’t be able to even approach the area for years. And for me, a few years is… an eternity.”
I see. To someone with only about ten years of life expectancy, those short years were indeed a significant constraint.
“There must be some way.”
“That’s why I came to secure a firm promise from you. With the way you are, you might just disappear like the wind once you’re done, and that makes me anxious.”
T h is w a s co p i e d f r o m k in g m tl. o r g
“Isn’t a visit during the holidays enough? What sort of promise do you need?”
“…Would you be able to visit the Duchy once a year? Precisely, my palace.”
“…”
Vivi spoke with a subdued voice, her head bowed, eyes on the ground.
“I will have to spend the rest of my life dealing with lustful old men and flatterers who want to exploit my power. There won’t be many more days ahead that I’ll live contentedly. You make me feel at ease. With you, I find honesty, trust, support, and protection. You’re the only one in this world for me. The times we tumbled through the marshes will forever be etched in my memory. Could you offer me a brief respite from my miserable life?”
Damian was momentarily speechless.
To him, the only person that mattered was Silveryn. Perhaps that role should have been filled by a family. The thought of being the only one Vivi could rely on cut deep into his heart.
Vivi hadn’t lived a happy life either. Inappropriately, Damian felt pity for Vivi’s life and a sense of kinship.
“…I promise. I will visit you every year, as long as you do not refuse.”
Vivi lifted her chin and looked up at him. Her face was alight with a joy he had never seen before.
“Good. I will hold you to your promise.”
She started to walk ahead, her steps lively, almost bouncing. It was rare to see Vivi so innocently joyful. Reflecting on her cold and authoritative demeanor during their first meeting… this was a remarkable change.
And to visit once a year… that shouldn’t be a problem. After all, Damian wasn’t someone like Silveryn, needed by the entire world.
***
After escorting Vivi, Damian returned to his room to find Silveryn gone.
He felt the tension drain away and flopped onto the bed. There, by the pillow, was a note from Silveryn.
[I’ll come again in the morning.]
She had seemed a bit unhappy; was she alright? The surprise visits from both women filled Damian’s mind with various thoughts.
As dawn’s light filled the room, Damian was roused by the knocking of a servant.
Without waiting for a response, several servants entered carrying a bathtub filled with water, a robe, and other garments, calling out to him.
“Damian, you must dress cleanly for the event.”
It was almost a command.
Then they presented a finely tailored black frock coat.
“The Archmage has finished preparing and is waiting for you in the courtyard.”
T hi s w as c o p i e d fro m k i n g m tl . o r g
“Is the teacher attending the event as well?”
“As far as we know, yes. The Archmage, along with many other distinguished individuals, will be present.”
They still hadn’t explained to Damian what exactly this event was for.
He hurried through his bath and dressed with the assistance of the servants. Though the frock coat was supposedly made to his measurements, it felt awkward and constricting. He couldn’t lift his arms or move his legs freely.
After getting ready, he headed down to the courtyard as Silveryn had instructed.
In the sunlit corridor, a woman with pale skin leaned against a pillar.
“My student.”
Silveryn gestured to him lightly as she spotted him. She was dressed in a black tube-top dress that exposed her shoulders and thighs, adorned as always in her glamorous attire. Around her neck hung the ruby necklace Damian had given her.
“Teacher.”
“You’ve dressed up nicely. Though you’re cuter in your usual clothes… seeing you like this isn’t bad once in a while.”
What did she mean by ‘cuter in usual clothes’?
“…You look beautiful, Teacher.”
“I know. I’ve been told since the day I was born.”
“…”
“Come here.”
Silveryn pulled Damian by the wrist, then hugged him abruptly. He went along passively, like a doll into her embrace. She tightened her arms around him, pressing close.
Then she proceeded to pepper his face with kisses, as she had done the night before.
In front of Silveryn, Damian still felt like a child.
A strange discomfort enveloped him. It was difficult to relax in a place where others might see them. Considering his age, he should be able to handle himself, but the northern traditions weighed on him; at his age, he would be on the battlefield.
“Teacher…”
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Silveryn’s lips were moving down his neck when she suddenly stopped. Then, as if noticing something amiss, she began to unfasten his shirt buttons.
“Teacher?”
“Stay still…”
She exposed his shoulder, revealing the bite mark left by Trisha.
Her eyes became more serious.
“My student, what is this?”
How she discovered what was hidden under his clothes, Damian couldn’t fathom. But now, how was he going to explain this?
“…It’s a bite from a beast.”