Chapter 38

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Vivian thought about what she would do if she saw him in her dream. She didn’t want to drift off because she wasn’t quite sure if he was sleeping or not yet. All she could think about was his cold, emotionless expression the last time they talked.

However, fortunately or unfortunately, Vivian fell asleep and did not meet him in her dreams.

Maybe it was because she was lying in bed when the day started to dawn, or because she tossed and turned a little, the dawn had already passed and morning came.

“Lady, are you awake?”

Hamel opened the door and came in with water to wash her face. Vivian poured cold water over her face to wake her hazy mind. Her scruffy appearance improved a little, but sadly, her mind was still as complicated as a tangled thread.

As she slowly made her way into the dining room, Vivian looked at Roger, who was also unprepared for his premiere at the table. She tried to match his cold expression, until she remembered that she couldn’t sleep because of their intense argument last night.

If he tried to make eye contact with her, she didn’t notice, as she had already turned away. The knights who were eating were rolling their eyes at the cold atmosphere between the two of them.

After trying to catch Vivian’s attention a few more times, Roger sighed at her uncooperative attitude and gave up. However, his gaze never left her. Vivian deliberately ignored him.

As such an atmosphere continued all day, the knights quizzically looked between the two.

“My Lady, did you fight with the Captain?”

The next morning, Vivian, who was heading to the fortress wall, turned towards the voice directed at her. Her gaze fell on Tainy, who was wiping his sword while tanning his body in the sunlight. Vivian blinked her eyes, understanding his question belatedly.

“Fighting…”

“Hey, are you not gonna answer me? The atmosphere between you has been cold.”

Tainy smiled, his eyes still fixed on the sword. Vivian smirked at how well he had read her emotions. If even Tainy, who doesn’t care about other people, could recognize how she felt, did she show her inner feelings so clearly? Vivian took a deep breath and walked towards him.

“It wasn’t a fight, it was just… a difference of opinion.”

Tainy pulled out a chair next to him as if he had been waiting. Vivian sat there, dazed. Her mood was grey and black, even though the weather was sunny.

“I don’t know what your opinions were, but My Lady, please understand. Our Captain isn’t aware of a lot of things you know.”

“… How would I know that?”

“No? The two of you were pretty close, so I thought you knew each other.”

Vivian burst into laughter at his innocent gentleness. Tainy smiled as he glanced at her, then concentrated on polishing his sword again. As Vivian sat next to him and watched in silence, her conversation with Roger came to mind again.

“… Sir Orpheus said that if a crack appears in the future, just focus on investigating the rift.”

Tainy’s gaze fell on her once again at her quiet words.

“So I said no. What if one of the knights gets hurt? Sir Orpheus said that it was a matter for the Knights to take care of.”

“Hmm.”

“I understand why Sir Orpheus is conducting the crack investigation. But as we talked… I found out that he doesn’t see me as a colleague… I was just a little upset. So I think I reacted too sensitively.”

Vivian was hoping for his acknowledgement, knowingly and unknowingly. As Roger cherished and believed in the Knights, he would feel the same for her as well. However, she was shocked when she saw that was not the case.

Hell, if she thought about it, how long had it been since she met him?

This trivial quarrel was only caused by Vivian’s illusions shattering. She was sure he trusted her, so the sense of betrayal was great.

“I think the Captain is right.”

Tainy, who had not spoken for a while, slowly opened his mouth. Vivian’s gaze, which had been downcast, snapped to him at once.

“Our knights came to help Lady, not to shackle her ankles, right? However.

Above all, it seems that Lady doesn’t believe in us?”

Vivian hesitated at Tainy’s unexpected words. Putting down his polished sword, Tainy finally faced Vivian.

“Is it because you don’t trust that you need to help us avoid getting hurt?”

“No! I believe in you guys.”

“It sounds like that to me. If you don’t help, the Knights of Eckhart will surely be in danger.”

Vivian didn’t respond for a moment.

Maybe what he said was true. Vivian may have rationalized in her conscience that she couldn’t leave them in danger, but, in fact, she didn’t believe in them. When the incident occurred yesterday, she could not concentrate on the cracks because of her anxious mind that looked after them. Arrogant anxiety that if she didn’t help, they would surely get hurt.

“No matter how dastardly it may feel, our knights are worth using.”

Tainy smiled at her ferociously.

“So trust me. We will never do anything that will hold you back.”

Perhaps Roger felt the same way? Is that why he told her to focus on the cracks? Did Vivian overreact by saying he didn’t think of her as a colleague?

As she thought about it, her eyes darkened and she squeezed her eyes shut. If Roger was really upset at her distrust, then she didn’t know who the hell was to blame.

“Even if he pretends he’s not, our Captain has been watching you since yesterday. Lady, please talk to him.”

As Tainy laughed and spoke, Vivian got up. Thanks to her conversation with Tainy, the dark clouds in her heart began to disperse.

“Thank you, sir.”

Tainy tilted his head in response to the sudden greeting, and then smiled as if he understood. Leaving behind Tainy, Vivian abandoned her plans to go to the castle wall and headed towards the mansion.

As she entered the mansion, Vivian found a servant wiping vases by the window and asked if she knew where Roger was.

“He is in his room.”

Vivian headed straight to the second floor. The servants who remembered that she had left a while ago widened their eyes as she walked past. Vivian ignored their stares and made a beeline to Roger’s room.

When she got to the door, she was nervous. After calming her heart and knocking, a voice of consent was heard saying that it was okay to come inside.

Vivian opened the door and poked her head inside. Roger, who was leaning against the window, looking through the papers, realized that it was Vivian who had come to see him, and he looked surprised.

“May I come in?”

He said she could come in already, but Vivian asked one more time just in case. He put the documents in his hand on the table and answered straight away.

“Of course.”

Roger looked a bit confused. Yesterday, she had been avoiding him, but today she came to him with her own two feet.

As Vivian closed the door and sat down, there was a heavy, awkward atmosphere. Although he was often awkward around Vivian was with him, today he looked embarrassed. His appearance was shockingly different.

“What’s going on?”

For some reason, he spoke first. Vivian remembered what Tainy had said earlier.

‘Even if he pretends he’s not, our Captain has been watching you since yesterday. Lady, please talk to him.’

Had he really?

Vivian didn’t notice because she kept avoiding him. However, after hearing Tainy’s words, Vivian almost burst out of laughter for a moment. However, if she smiled here, the mood would sink even more seriously, so Vivian managed her expression cleared her throat.

“I pondered over your marvelous words.”

As soon as she opened her mouth, Roger’s body hardened. He was half surprised that Vivian brought up this topic first, and half nervous that he didn’t know what to say.

“To be honest, I still think I’m right. But I know that the Knights of Eckhart are capable, so I will trust your knights.”

“……”

“So… I will be focusing on the crack from now on.”

Roger’s eyes gradually widened. It was evident that he could not understand Vivian’s sudden change of heart.

“But, like I said before, I think my judgment was correct. So let me help the knights when, in my judgment, I think they are in absolute danger.”

Vivian’s light blue eyes turned towards him with determination. Roger, looking into those clear eyes, smiled, as if he had lost. At that smile, Vivian’s expression, which was worried about what would happen if he objected, quickly brightened.

“I apologize for being harsh yesterday.”

He stopped laughing and licked his lips.

“Oh, no. I am the one who should be sorry.”

After the warm apologies, silence fell again. It was the first time she had raised her voice since she met him, so his humility was stronger than usual. Vivian turned to look for a topic of discussion and skimmed a document on the table.

“Sir, what were you reading?”

As she asked with curiosity, Roger’s gaze followed hers to the table. “Oh,” he exclaimed briefly.

“I was going to tell you anyway. His Majesty the Emperor said he knew nothing about the locked room.”

Vivian frowned, remembering he said would write a letter to the emperor about the unopenable door. Roger opened his mouth first before she could think of what to say.

“So I’m going to bring a wizard I know here.”