I’m back…to my boring…boring life…

The excitement of being my alter-ego that’d ride through the night with her trusty male sidekick beating down bad guys has been forcibly taken away from me.

My friends are doing their best to keep me cooped up in the castle. All of them have made the other guards painfully aware that I am not to leave.

It’s resulted in a few spats, mainly between myself and Remi.

People have seen us yelling in the hallways from time to time.

Alexander even had to pull us apart at one point to prevent us from going to blows.

Being locked in a prison all day for the benefit of others is starting to make me jaded. It’s not like I’ve done anything wrong. It is not even my own actions that are keeping me cooped up. The actions of this killer are.

I don’t like fighting with Remi. We have before, though not in this sense. Sparring is different. We were learning. We never raised our voices. In a sense, it was an act of friendship.

What we’re doing now is childish. I hate participating so willfully, but I cannot help myself. Even though I’m mentally an older, mature adult, I’ve regressed so much as a person that I can no longer claim the mental high ground in many situations.

In other words, I’m a brat. An intelligent brat, but still a brat.

The only “maturity” I have is realizing this. But since I recognize this and still act this way, I’m worse than a brat. I’m a selfish brat.

At the very least, I’m back to my old routine, though there have been some changes.

Eyes are always watching me. I’ve learned to pick up on the gazes of strangers from my time working with Gai in Water’s Bastion. They’re most likely people under Remi’s control in her unit. If not, the maids and soldiers around the castle have been given further orders to monitor my comings and goings from place to place within my own home.

It’s like some foreign entity is always breathing down my neck.

The only bright side is that Master Talbert, being another factor in my staying in the castle, for the time being, knew I needed reasons to stay. In light of that, our training has resumed on a more frequent basis, albeit under harsher restrictions and later in the day to break up the monotony.

A sword swings at my head.

I dodge it.

It was a strike that I could easily parry with swords.

But I have no swords to use.

“Why didn’t you try blocking it with your hands as I asked?” Master Talbert interrogates me as he resets his stance.

“I’m a little too nervous to try something I’m not sure will work,” I nervously reply.

“It’ll probably work.”

“Yeah, ‘probably’ is the word that’s throwing me off!”

I’m training my light cloak today. I know its defensive capabilities are good, but not to what degree. For example, thanks to my time with Gai, I know it’ll drive off glancing blows, meaning I can cut down on the kind of armor I wear and focus on maneuverability.

Still, Master Talbert wants me to go further. He wants me to try blocking full-on hits with my hands.

I’m too chicken-shit to try it out even though I’m curious, as it would change the type of attire I wear in combat forever. I mean, at that point, why even wear armor if I can block sword attacks with a fingertip?

The only problem is that I’m still a ways off from using my light and dark abilities in tandem. I can, but not without drawback. It’s still tiring even with all the practice I’ve done. There’s no real precedent for whether I will be able to use them effectively simultaneously, as Dyads are legends in similar ways to the Voiced, though not on the same scale. Regardless, trial and error have shown there’s a potential path for remedying that issue in the future.

“The castle healer can reattach limbs. What are you worried about?” says Master Talbert as if that’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“I don’t want anything cut off! Ever!” I shoot back with persistent anger.

“It might benefit you to know what that’s like,” Master Talbert tuts.

“Screw that!”

In a flash, while I’m retorting, Master Talbert lurches toward me with a diagonal slice. It’s meant to chop my shoulder in half.

There’s no time to dodge.

Shit, this is exactly what he wanted!

My light cloak floats throughout my body, illuminating the bones beneath my flesh.

I hold out my palm towards the blade, arching my body away from the strike. The only thing that’ll be severed is the top of my hand, not that it makes the situation any better.

This is going to hurt so bad; I know it…

The blade hits my fingers.

I grimace.

The blade bounces off, veering away.

None of the sharpness of the blade went through. Master Talbert spends every morning sharpening his blades until he can sever a floating hair on the end. I know; I’ve seen him do it multiple times.

So I’m invincible like this?

Another strike aims at me. It hits me square in the stomach.

It feels like a baseball bat swung at full speed.

I keel over, gasping. The air is sucked out of my lungs. My light cloak fades as I try my damndest to push back the vomit billowing in my throat.

“Don’t puke on my shoes again. It took forever to get the stains out last time,” grumbles Master Talbert.

I choke for a few minutes before looking up, my arms holding my guts. Spit sticks to the corners of my mouth. “My hand…is still…in one…piece!”

“Lucky you. I wasn’t holding back my strength either. That bodes well. Non-eaters won’t be able to hurt you with the cloak on.” My master smiles. He sits down cross-legged before me. “What did it feel like?”

“Being hit with a falling tree right to the guts,” I grunt.

“But only in the stomach, correct? You didn’t act the same way when it hit your hand. Trust me, I put the same amount of force into both hits.”

Oh.

That’s true, actually. Why is that?

“Yes,” I admit.

“That means your cloak is stronger in your hands than in your torso. I bet it’s strongest in general on your limbs as opposed to your mid-section on up. If I had to guess, it’s from a lack of control on your part. It could be because the dispersal of energy was awkward or you were more worried about losing your fingers than getting hit in the stomach, so you naturally strengthened one over the other. I’m not a light user, so I can’t help you in that regard,” concludes my Master. “At least you know now. There’s that. Now stop whining on the floor. We’re moving on to dark gift tricks.”

I cough but follow his directions.

“Why have you suddenly started teaching me how to use my gifts so deliberately?” I ask. “I mean, you’ve always given me tips in practice, but not like this. It’s like a direct defiance to my father’s wishes, you know?”

“If this makes you nervous, we can stop,” Master Talbert suddenly says after examining my face. “You’ve refined your abilities significantly since you began your outings with Mr. Regal. It makes sense given practical application leads to better growth than mere practice. All I want to do is refine the thoughts you’ve been having. Besides, your path is already set. Your father’s worries about the issue have likely dissipated. There should be no problem.”

“Is that so?” I reflect. Then I puff out my chest in pride. “I’ve been improving, huh?” For him, that’s as high a praise as I’ll ever earn.

“That’s what formal training does. You can play with your friends in the courtyard for many years but will never get the same type of knowledge that comes from someone who’s mastered a Divine Treat through real-life battles. Your friends are all gifted, but they’re at best a third of the way towards any mastery over their abilities.” He sighs. “You’re all so very young and I’m getting old. I’ll never see you all hit your truest potential. But at least with you, I can get you as close as possible to the monster I know you can be.”

“Old? Hardly,” I scoff at the man in his late thirties saying such a thing. And I ignore the “monster” comment. He’s always saying weird things like that.

Master Talbert’s eyes seem to soften. “Old for a warrior. I’ve lived with a sword in my hand since I was a young child and if I had my way, I’d die gripping it just the same. At my age, men start thinking about leadership roles, which I’m sadly in, or retirement. It’s not what I want to do. Training you always feels better. At least I’m molding someone into a force of nature. Then there’s war. There’s nothing quite like it.” As he talks, he flips his sword about in an intricate display. “My first combat kill was when I was only a few years younger than you. I lived on the border, and soldiers from Brosnock liked invading the towns along it from time to time. Our country did the same, of course. Brosnock became especially emboldened since that was the same decade their Voiced became known to the world.” Talbert grabs his blade. His eyes seem to darken. “My mother was a fine swordsman herself. More so than my father.” His knuckles turn white as he grips his blade. “I wasn’t able to avenge her when she died. Instead, I devoted my life to the craft that reminds me most of her.” His eyes stare into me. “That’s what it means to have conviction, Scarlet. Remember that. It’s why I decided to make you great. There’s a spark in you that needs to flourish, and I promise you, I’d die to make that happen.”

Ah.

I never knew any of that. He’s being very talkative today. This nonsense with the killer’s making everyone emotional it seems. I’m glad he has so much faith in me. I always thought he passively disliked me given how violent he’s always been in practice.

Beyond that, I must respectfully disagree with him.

I have no desire to die again. His words are that of a man who’s never experienced death himself. They’re foolish. I cannot out and say that, though. I’d have no basis I could say to explain my rationale without revealing my past.

I merely nod instead.

“Good.” Master Talbert nods back. “With any luck, I can get you closest enough to your full potential before you leave my tutelage in the next year. Now, dark gifts. What do you think they are? You have a thought process for their function, do you not?”

“To aid and assist,” I say. “Light gifts amplify and destroy while my dark gifts benefit my maneuverability.”

Master Talbert shakes. “Perhaps in your shoes, it may seem that way. If that were the case, dark gift users wouldn’t be rated as powerful as light users. Light gifts and dark gifts have overlapping abilities in some aspects. Defense is one of them, but it’s not as effective as your light cloak. A great dark gift user can make their powers coat their body in a flexible, light armor. However, your light cloak is more powerful, so that ability is pointless and not worth teaching. That’s beside the point. Think of them like this instead: dark gifts create.”

My eyebrows drop slightly. “Create?”

“Ponder that as we train. Any answer I give you will not lead to any real development. Fail, consider, adapt, try, and fail again until something sticks. That is the essence of true knowledge.”

“Okay.”

“Now, fight me using only your dark gifts.”

•

Dark tendrils wrap around my leg.

“Ah, shit,” I curse.

I’m lifted into the air and flung some distance away. My body hits the nearest wall. I gasp, collapse to the ground, and groan.

“Be more aware of your surroundings when fighting another person with gifts, Scarlet,” tuts Master Talbert. “You assume too much.”

I remain where I am on the ground. “That’s great. Hey, I’m going to lay here for a while if that’s okay,” I say from the floor.

“You did well, Scarlet.”

“What was that? A compliment? My heart might give out if you don’t stop. You’ve been waaaay too nice today,” I note to my master. My tongue slides uncomfortably over my lip.

“You’re stronger than when we first started. Nor did you give up as a child, even though I long expected you to.” Master Talbert pauses. “At this point, you’re probably the strongest woman I’ve ever met.”

“Have you met Remi, though?”

“If you were both willing and able to fight each other to the death, you’d prevail. Brutally so. You might even beat me if you intended to take my head.”

The words cause me to shiver. “I don’t think that’s true,” I whisper.

“You’ll never truly know who’s more powerful until both opponents are ready to die,” adds Master Talbert. “Unfortunately, there’s no good way to test strength amongst friends without the fear of someone dying. Having our healer makes going all out more plausible, but still, no one’s going to go for a decapitation when they might during a real fight. Those factors are important. Even so, if I had to pit you against most people in this castle, you’d likely prevail if you wished. Though I suppose we’ll never truly know.

“It’s better that way,” I half-agree.

“For your friendship? Probably.”

“Do you really think I could beat you?”

“That would be the dream,” admits Master Talbert.

“The dream?”

“I would love nothing more than to be beaten or killed by a warrior better than myself. It’s my calling in life,” says Master Talbert. “You may not feel the same way and that’s fine, but I cannot change my beliefs. This rusty existence in this town has been boring. As terrible as it might be to say, this killer has made life exciting again.”

“For you, maybe. I can’t do anything now because of him.”

“It’s for the best.”

“If you say so.”

I try to stand, but my body is soon wracked with pain. My limbs begin shaking. I feel dizzy suddenly.

“Is something wrong?” Master Talbert abruptly looks in my direction.

“Ow…” I place my hand behind my back and remove it to see a large amount of blood greasing my palm. “Oh?” I look up at the wall. A torch holder lies bent against the wall. Blood etches it. “Oh.”

Master Talbert at once stands and leaves the room. “I’ll go get Clyde.”

“Ah…” I look up at the ceiling, unable to move. “Hey, you’ve got about three minutes before I take a nap!” I respond truthfully as a sleepy sensation begins to overwhelm my brain.

•

“She’ll be fine,” says Clyde, our castle healer, as his hands press against my bareback.

I sit in a chair facing its back. My shirt is off, but with the back of the chair covering my chest, no one can see it. Not that I even care.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“You were a little too rough today, it seems,” notes Clyde. “If only this were the first time I’ve had to do this for you two.”

“And we appreciate you keeping these things between us,” acknowledges Master Talbert. “Scarlet’s tough. She’ll be fine, especially since you’re here.”

“You mean only because I’m here,” corrects Clyde. “If I weren’t, she’d have bled out and died. Try to be more careful in the future.” He shakes his head, seemingly defeated. “Look who I’m talking to. Never mind. As long as the head doesn’t come off, I should be able to heal anyone provided they don’t die before I start.”

“Your abilities are that powerful?” I ask as a warm light overcomes my wound, filling it with bliss remarkably close to that of morphine.

Why wasn’t this guy used for my birth instead of that stupid doctor in the coat? It would have made the whole thing easier if he could kill pain this well.

Oh, wait. He didn’t have his abilities then. He would have been, what, twenty? Clyde either just got his abilities or was studying. Knowledge of the human body makes the ability easier to control. Ah. That’s why. Forgot. Stupid me.

“Done.” The feeling of euphoria disappears from my back. Fingers rub the spot as if to confirm completion. “Feel any pain?” Clyde asks me.

I rotate my shoulders. “None. I’m good as new.”

“Great to hear, my lady,” says Clyde over my shoulder. “I shall take my leave then.” His feet begin to recede away. “Maybe call it a day today?” he says to both Master Talbert and me before exiting.

“Overly cautious brat,” Master Talbert mutters about a man roughly the same age as himself.

“Nope. I’m with him. One near-death experience is enough for today, and I’ve had two.”

“If that’s what you want. We’ll continue this again tomorrow morning,” Master Talbert relents.

I shove my shirt over my head. “I’ll see you then. Oh.” I stop before him as I walk past. “Thank you for telling me about yourself and your mom. I’m sorry that happened to you. It must have been hard to talk about it. I appreciate you sharing that with me. I don’t know much of your life, and you’ve been a big part of mine, so thank you.” I bow slightly. “Oh and thank you for not ratting me out to my father regarding the, um, nightly excursions,” I obscure. “You’re always helping me out. I appreciate it. Truly.”

Master Talbert seems slightly shocked by my words.

With that, I leave the room.

•

“You look tired,” says a voice.

I peer at the noise to see Alexander standing in the hallway with bundles of books and papers in his arms. He looks exhausted with a blank expression on his face.

“Talbert kicked my ass. Repeatedly,” I remark.

“So I see,” says Alexander. “That’s the most interesting thing going on with you, huh? House arrest’s got to be a bitch.”

“Fuck you.”

“Wow. Testy. Sorry,” says Alexander.

He isn’t mocking me. Or, at least, I can’t tell from his face. He seems rather emotionless.

As if realizing something, Alexander closes his eyes and shakes his head. When he reopens them, true warmth and empathy registers across his features.

I recoil.

“I’d pat your head, but I’d have to drop all this stuff and pick it back up again. Just know the sentiment’s there,” says Alexander with a bright smile.

I clench my jaw. “Are you sure you aren’t making fun of me?”

Alexander blinks. “Do you think I am?”

“You always do.”

“And that means I can’t offer you sympathy when you need it?”

“It seems like a joke when you try given who you are.”

“Oh, ouch.” Alexander flinches. His expression then becomes blank again. He stares at me then shrugs. “Fine then. You’re a big girl. You don’t need me to care anyway. You tend to fix things yourself in time. I’m not that worried.”

“I…thank you?”

“Any time.”

I clear my throat and place my weight on my back foot, crossing my arms over each other. “What are you up to? Looks boring.”

“He’s supposed to be carrying these to the Captain’s quarters,” says Nigel as he comes into view carrying books and papers as well.

“Quit your bitching. He’s just looking for work to clear his mind from all the recent bullshit, and we’re his bastards,” grumbles Alexander. “Tedious shit like this bores me.”

“And I love it,” says Nigel sarcastically.

“I don’t understand why I’m having to help.”

“Because I couldn’t carry this all on my own.”

“Come on.” I hold out my hands before Alexander and Nigel. “I’ll give you a hand.”

“You don’t have to,” says Nigel. “Alex does. It’s his job. Not you. It’ll make us look bad. We’re gift users. It’s not that these are heavy, just award. Besides—”

“Thanks for the help!” Alexander gleefully hands me some of his load.

I then stand before Nigel.

We have a stare-off for a couple of moments.

Sighing, Nigel gives me only a few of his items. “You’re so stubborn.”

“I realize that.”

“About certain things,” challenges Alexander. He walks away smirking. “Other times, you’re like a passive little lamb waiting for slaughter.”

“Ouch.” Frowning, I lightly step on the back of Alexander’s heel.

His foot slides out of his boot.

“Hey!” chirps Alexander, annoyed.

Nigel and I walk past him toward Captain Van Gallan’s quarters while he struggles to slide back on his boot without putting down what he’s carrying.

•

The three of us stand awkwardly outside of Van Gallan’s room. The door is shut. A problem, it seems.

“We’ll have to put all this shit down, and—”

I interrupt Nigel as a tendril come out of my back, hooks the door, and opens it.

“Tada!” I say with a knowing grin. “I am good for something.”

“And Gai says you won’t do it,” jokes Alexander as he passes me going into the room.

“I’ll trip you again.”

“Please don’t.”

I enter the room behind Alexander with Nigel stepping closely behind me.

It’s a large stone place, much smaller than Master Talbert’s area but significantly more personable. There are armor and weapons hung about like my master’s, but there is also art, furniture, color, and style. It isn’t basically just a gym with a bed in it.

Captain Van Gallan stands over his desk positioned elegantly in the middle of the room on top of a lovely gold and red carpet that adds an interesting contrast to the space.

This is one of the few times I’ve seen him out of armor and in simple clothes. Gods, he’s huge. Even without the armor, he looks like a giant muscle.

“We’re back with your materials,” says Nigel.

The Captain looks up. He was apparently too engrossed in his work to notice us come in. “Ah, good, good!” He does a double-take when he sees me. “Why is Lady Scarlet carrying things?”

“I offered to help,” I say quickly and truthfully.

“And you let her?” Van Gallan’s gaze bounces between Nigel and Alexander.

“She was following us, so we thought we might as well put her to work,” lies Alexander.

“And I offered,” I add again while walk forward until I’m just before Captain Van Gallan. “My life is kind of boring.”

“R-Right.” The Captain doesn’t know how to respond to me, so he merely accepts the premise. He nods. “Fine, place the items on the table behind me.”

We comply.

“What exactly are these for?” I ask as I neatly arrange a pile on the table. “Do they involve the killer?”

“Is that why you’re helping?” asks Captain Van Gallan in a neutral tone. “I’ve heard tales of you ‘exploits’ from Talbert. If they were, would you do something about it? Would you want to?”

Both Nigel and Alexander back away from me slowly.

“I’m curious since no one tells me anything,” I reply softly with an innocent smile hiding the subtle lie. “Will you?”

Alexander leans into Nigel. “You see, if I were that sassy to him, he’d make me run laps or something. Female noble privilege at its finest. And she still feels the need to bitch about everything,” whispers the tall blonde man.

“And you can go do that punishment right now,” says Captain Van Gallan as he turns to Alexander. He speaks in a tone reminiscent of when Nigel scolded cadets in front of me. I guess that’s where my friend learned it from. “Nigel, see to it.”

“Come on.” Nigel pats Alexander on the back and leads him away. “I’ll run it with you. I need the exercise.”

“Yeah, but I don’t,” complains Alexander as they exit the room.

I’m left alone with Captain Van Gallan.

Huh.

Has this ever happened before? I think this is both the first time I’ve been in his room and the first time I’ve ever been alone with him.

Heh…this is awkward.

It’s been silent for a few minutes now, and no one’s talking.

Should I have left, too?

“I think I’ll go to,” I say. With a slight bow, I hurry to exit the room.

A hand jolts in front of me, stopping my movements. “You didn’t answer the question.”

I turn to see Captain Van Gallan looming over me with neutral eyes. I can see his scars up close. They really do look like a knife was poked through one cheek then pushed out the other. They’re disturbing.

“S-Sure!” I say before gulping. “Sorry, sorry…um…I’m curious about it. But…I don’t want to go into any situation blind unless I have to. Especially if I could die.”

“Even though you’ve been restricted from you ‘activities?’” ponders Van Gallan. “You have no desire to prove yourself?”

“Well—”

“Sit.” Captain Van Gallan gestures to a small table with four chairs near the front of his room before his desk.

Soon, we’re sitting across from one another. Alone.

I twiddle my thumbs awkwardly.

“I never got the chance to train you, but my pupils have done a good job supplementing you in my place, as has Talbert. You’re lucky you and him have the same gifts,” says Captain Van Gallan, thankfully starting off the conversation for us.

“And I’m grateful to them. To you as well. If you had not done a good job training them, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am now.”

Captain Van Gallan leans back in his chair. “I’m glad to hear it. Talbert and I have worked tirelessly to peel back some of your father’s restrictions over the years. When he heard that you were being trained by Talbert and the others in secret, he went ballistic. Nearly put an order out to restrict them. Luckily, the only qualm he truly had was about you entering the armed forced, and Talbert and I agreed we would not allow that. On my part, begrudgingly,” complains the Captain. “Not having control over one of the only Dyads in this country has pissed me off to no end.”

“Control, sir?”

“Under my direct command,” says the Captain with a smile. “I’d have turned you into a monster by now, though it seems like Talbert’s done a good enough job on his own. As has your fiancé from what I can see.” He quickly examines me. “You move with much more fluidity and confidence than you used to. Congratulations.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“You’d probably be first in line for my job instead of Nigel if you’d been allowed to go down this route.”

“I disagree,” I say while shaking my head violently. “Nigel’s too powerful. I’ve never beaten him. He’s always one step ahead of me. His sword strokes are beautiful. And—”

“If you’d been practicing against him every day with regimented training and practical fights against criminals and Synborn, you’d be at his level or far past it,” corrects Captain Van Gallan after cutting me off. “Even with your current lifestyle, you’re at a competitive level where training with you is still worthwhile to your companions. Don’t kid yourself. You’re special.” He grows silent for a moment. “In more ways than one.”

“Awww, you’re gonna make me blush,” I say sarcastically to ease the awkwardness I’m suddenly feeling. Compliments make me uncomfortable.

“Have you encountered any Synborn during your excursions?” suddenly asks the Captain.

I blink rapidly. “N-No.”

Captain Van Gallan leans forward. “Good. Very good. They’re nasty stains on humanity. The fewer the better.” He gestures at the table of papers I’d brought in with my friends. “That’s what all that’s for. Prevention and information.”

“Of Synborn?”

“I’ve been going through and developing a history of encounters noted in the past before I was captain,” says Van Gallan. “Even during the Civil War, records were kept. Synborn attack all, rich and poor, enemy and friend. They’re indiscriminate in their violence, and can appear at any time in both large and small numbers of different varieties.” He stares into me with cold, distant eyes. “Be wary. Be vigilant. Be violent. No matter where they come from, if you ever see one, kill it immediately, Scarlet. This discomfort created by the mass murderer will end in time, but the Synborn will always persist. Remember that.”

I suddenly feel a shiver run down my spine.

“Do you not…take the killer seriously?” I wonder meekly.

Van Gallan continues to stare at me. “There are always others things to worry about no matter the crisis.” He gets up from the chair and walks across the room to his desk. He pulls a sheet of paper off and walks toward me. “One-hundred and thirty-six.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s how many people have died from Synborn attacks in Water’s Bastion in the past year. I’m proud of that number given is used to be in the thousands decades past, but we can always do more.” Van Gallan slides the condensed stats across the table before me. “That number’s not even considering our other territories. In totality, the regional death count is likely around one to two thousand citizens killed annually by the creatures. They are one of the leading causes of death nationally as well.”

“I-I see.”

I didn’t know that. We’re touted as the safest providence in the country in terms of Synborn-related deaths, and its still this bad. And I’m assuming these are the stats we can get definitive proof on. It’s not like we have cameras in this world or recorders. Everything is word-of-mouth and witness-based. The number could be double that, or even triple. It probably is. Based on Van Gallan’s expression, he knows that as well.

Gods, I always keep the fact there are actual monsters existing here in the back of my mind. I’ve never seen them, they’re rare in Water’s Bastion, and they sound absurd given my past life.

But they exist.

They don’t feel like they do because of my life.

But they do.

It’s absurd. And terrifying. They seem so unconnected from my life. They come up every now and again, but they still feel like a myth to me.

But they exist.

Slowly, I get up from my chair. “I understand that you’re passionate about this, and you should be…but you seem…personally invested,” I say carefully.

Captain Van Gallan’s face darkens.

“I’ve heard rumors that—”

“They’re true.”

My head tilts down. “I’m so sorry.”

It’s silent in the room for the longest time.

The Captain sighs. “The point of the story was not to depress you, myself, or make things uncomfortable. I’ve never gotten the opportunity to instill knowledge in you, so I wish to give you something seeing how you’ll be leaving us shortly with Mr. Regal.” He lightly pats my head. “If you focus on what’s right in front of you—” He stands from his chair as well, yet looms over me until we’re eye-level. “—you’ll miss the threat creeping up behind you.”

Once again, a shiver runs down my spine.

“W-Well, I’m going to go get some food,” I say, chuckling awkwardly as I back away from him and out of the room. “Talbert almost killed me in practice today, so I’m a bit hungry.”

“Ha! That bastard’s always been rough with people!” Captain Van Gallan’s face immediately softens as a smile stretches his lips. “Don’t let him push you around.”

“I won’t,” I reply while exiting the room.

Once alone, I let out a deep breath. “That was…awkward?”

“Was it?” speaks Nigel.

I recoil as I spot Nigel leaning against the wall by the door. “The hell?! I thought you were running?!”

“I decided against it,” says Nigel. He peeks back at Van Gallan’s door before walking away, gesturing for me to walk beside him at the same time.

I do.

“Did he give you his Synborn speech?” he asks.

“Is that normal?”

“Yes. He’s given it to everyone under his command since a good portion of our job is curbing and controlling them. Given your recent extracurricular activities, and since they were aided by your current fiancé, he probably felt you needed the lecture given you’ll likely do it all again once things are resolved.”

“…was he extremely creepy when he gave out his warning to you?”

“Hmmm…I don’t think so?”

“Ah, so just for me.” I nod then chuckle. “I realized in there that I’ve never been alone with him before.”

“Which is why I waited out here for you.”

“Oh ho?” I smile at Nigel and give him a knowing glance. “Worried about me, eh?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t really trust him then?” I place my hands behind my head as we walk. “I thought he was your beloved, trusted master.”

“He’s a good boss and leader, but when it comes to you, I’ll always worry.”

“Yet you didn’t do this for Gai when he was transferred into my room the first official night.”

“Yes I did.”

“…what?”

“I camped outside the entire time,” confirms Nigel with his expressionless face.

“W-Why?”

“I swore an oath to look after you. I aim to keep it. Besides, in many ways, you’re my first apprentice. I’ll always worry about you.” He pauses. “I don’t have any siblings, but I see you as a sister of sorts. No matter what, I’ll always take care of you.”

I stare at Nigel, shocked.

He glances back at me. “What?” he asks with a furrowed brow.

“I’m sorry. I just haven’t had a man our age say something nice like that without following it up with a comment about me screwing or blowing them,” I admit. “It’s kind of shocking.”

“Really?” Nigel’s expressionless face breaks into one of bewilderment.

“Gai and Alexander are the only men I’m close with besides you, and they talk more,” I say bluntly.

“R-Right. I apologize for them.”

“Oh, don’t feel the need. If they ever tried anything, I’d destroy them.” My right palm glows white while a black tendril wraps around my arm. “That’s a promise.”

At that, Nigel laughs. It’s a rare moment, so I bask in my accomplishment as we walk away.

My gaze briefly glances back at Van Gallan’s room as lingering curiosity fizzles away into the back of my mind.