Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Mia had such a huge amount of pure divine power in her body, she was often referred to as the reincarnation of the goddess. Sadly, however, she wasn’t capable of healing herself. So no scratching her own back, huh? Should I help her or not?

After a moment’s thought, I decided it would be better to help since we’d already run into each other anyway. I stood to gain nothing by antagonizing the female protagonist. I held my hand out to her reluctantly.

“Lady Mia!”

In a spectacular show of bad timing, Pilav ran into view at precisely that moment and I froze with my hand held out in the air. Wait a second. This makes it look like I pushed her down!

“L-Lord Pilav.”

Pilav scooped Mia up in his arms like she was a princess and glared at me so venomously that it was as though I had tried to rob her in front of him. “You’ve been quiet so I was wondering what nefariousness you were plotting. Of course, you’d do something like this as soon as you were out of sight!” he hollered at me.

My hands suddenly felt ice cold and my heart began to race. The ghost of Deborah’s physical response was stronger than usual, making it hard for me to even think.

Pilav scoffed when he saw that I was frozen, rooted to the spot. “Nothing to say? Good. There is no excuse for this behavior. I know you’re obsessed with me, but to think you would get Lady Mia alone and shove her to the ground! You’re such a coward.”

I expected the kind-hearted female protagonist to come to my defense at this point, but all she did was mutter Pilav’s name timidly a few times. Is she trying to stop him, or encourage him?

The irritation I felt thanks to her tactlessness shook me from my daze some. I pointed at Mia. “She tripped over a root all by herself. I was just trying to help her up. Your accusation offends me. You there, I’m telling the truth, right?”

“Yes...” Mia agreed, fluttering her eyelashes pitifully as her face paled a shade.

I couldn’t put my finger on why exactly, but her reaction made it seem like I was putting words in her mouth.

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Pilav asked. “Lady Mia, you don’t have to defend this woman because you’re scared of her.”

Ugh, there are no security cameras in this world, are there? Someone install some, damn it!

“Deborah. Do you really think I’m unaware you’ve been bullying any lady who has feelings for me? If you insist on lying, at least come up with a plausible story.”

Pilav exuded such a strong murderous intent that it was like he was facing up against an enemy soldier he intended to kill. I felt the force of his will pressing down on me until I was struggling to breathe. Not wanting him to see me vulnerable, however, I clenched my fists as hard as I could, refusing to give in.

“I’ll tell you for the second time now, I’m not lying. Or are you so stupid that I must repeat myself a hundred times over?”

My mocking words caused an angry vein to pop out in his temple. Glaring at him, I refused to back down.

“Deborah, do you really think I’ll let this go just because you insist you did nothing wrong? I’m the heir to the House of Montes, selected by both a fire and a water elemental spirit. I caught you red-handed and arguing only makes you look worse. Apologize to Lady Mia.”

His magic reached out, pressing down on me, and I felt like my knees were going to give. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stay on my feet.

“Apologize,” he demanded.

“Why should I apologize for something I haven’t done?”

“Right now!”

I refused to give in and, finally, the pressure suddenly lifted, a huge silhouette obscuring my vision.

“That’s enough.”

The sunlight filtering through the foliage overhead reflected in shining spots of gold on the man’s luxurious head of hair. I stared up at my savior, surprised and furrowing my brow slightly. Isidor Bisconti?

“I can’t believe you’d use your powers to try and force a lady. I had no idea you were capable of such bad manners.”

Isidor removed his gold-rimmed glasses, sliding them into his pocket. He tucked me behind his broad body, ensuring I was completely hidden from view. Shielded from the hostile energy coming off of Pilav, I was finally able to breathe easily again.

“Stay out of this, Isidor,” Pilav growled, sounding like an animal. I could hear his teeth grinding.

“You’ll wear away your teeth if you carry on like that. You should really give it a rest unless you’re fine with eating nothing but porridge in your later years.”

“Get out of my way while I’m still asking you nicely!” Pilav said.

“I’m not going to move even if you stop asking nicely.”

“Why are you interfering, you’re only making me even angrier. This doesn’t concern you.”

“No knight would ever just ignore a lady in distress, especially when a man is using his powers to force her into submission.”

Hearing Isidor speak of chivalry, the most valued virtue of any nobleman, Pilav hesitated. “How much did you see?”

“I’ve been here since you oh-so-subtly began bragging about how you were selected by both a fire and water elemental spirit.”

“Don’t get smart with me!”

“Why are you upset?” Isidor asked. “I thought you were trying to be funny.”

“You son of a...” Pilav, in a fit of rage, summoned his fire elemental spirit. Even though I was shielded from the worst of it behind Isidor, I could still feel the heat it gave off against my exposed skin.

“Well if you’re using your powers, I guess that means I won the verbal portion of this fight.” Isidor sounded relaxed as if he were merely out for a stroll, but the muscles in his back contracted like a beast that was about to pounce as he slowly reached for the sword at his waist.

It seemed likely that the situation was about to get violent, the tension so thick, I could have probably cut it with a knife.

“L-Lord Pilav, please...” Mia’s voice brought everything to an abrupt halt, however. She seemed to find the flames the elemental was giving off to be overwhelming—she started shaking Pilav by the arm.

He took a deep breath, visibly reeling in his temper. “This is absurd, you know that? Isidor, you’re acting as though Deborah is a lady worthy of protection. But what kind of lady bullies those weaker than her when no one is around to witness it? I am not leaving without an apology.”

Isidor shrugged. “Lady Mia doesn’t seem all that upset. I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss. You, with the pink hair. Did Lady Deborah do anything that warrants an apology?”

“N-no...”

“Good. At least you know your place.”

“What the hell did you just say?” Pilav shouted.

“If a lady from some nameless household were to try and force an apology out of a Seymour—a house which is of the same rank as my own—that would be arrogant in the extreme. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Mia blanched. Isidor, on the other hand, smiled in a way only the highest-ranking nobles had mastered, and tauntingly at that. He was reminding Pilav of our social positions to imply that it was purely ridiculous that he was demanding I apologize to Mia Binoche. That technique might be worth remembering.

Huh? Wait a second. I didn’t actually do anything to warrant apologizing though.

“Isidor!” Pilav screamed, the volume of his shriek hurting my ears.

The man in front of me didn’t budge. “Everyone knows my name is Isidor. No need to say it so loudly, hm? If you have nothing more to say, let’s go our separate ways. No need for any more of this useless quibbling. Aren’t you planning on tending to your lady’s knees any time soon?”

Isidor indicated Mia’s bloody dress with his chin, and Pilav’s expression twisted even further. Fuming angrily, he adjusted his grip on the girl who was still wrapped in his arms and turned away reluctantly. “Isidor, you’ll regret crossing me.”

“Hmm. It’s not as though we were friends before.”

“You’re a snake!”

“I prefer clever, or perhaps astute.”

Isidor continued with his playful banter, and Pilav roared, the sound calling to mind a dragon breathing fire. He kicked violently at the base of a nearby tree, as if unable to contain his rage, and stomped away.

“He’s got more energy than he knows what to do with,” Isidor commented easily, eying the battered tree trunk. He turned to me. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine...” Why wouldn’t I be? I was just stunned that things had been blown so out of proportion, that was all. It was almost as if I’d been the instigator of some kind of romantic quarrel when it was actually Pilav who’d burst in and put on a goddamned one-man show.

“You look pale.”

“My skin is always pale and clear, like white jade— Oh!” I spoke dismissively, but the moment I took a step forward, Deborah’s long, model legs betrayed me. I tottered like a newborn giraffe. It seemed Pilav’s attempt to force my knees to the ground had really done a number on me.

“You’re a very bad liar,” Isidor took hold of my arm, his grip enough that I didn’t end up crumpling into the dirt, at least. “I think you should go home and get some rest. I’ll help you to the carriage.”

His tone sounded different from the one he’d used when speaking to Pilav. It was no longer light and playful, but cold and heavy. It’s almost as if he’s angry… Was it because his features were just naturally cold unless he was smiling?

“Unless you plan on crawling to the carriage, please don’t be stubborn,” he said.

I hesitated for a moment, taken aback by his firm tone. Then I relaxed and leaned on his strong arm. To my great surprise, he supported me as cautiously as if I were made of glass.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked, looking up at his face, which resembled an elegant marble statue.

All the times I’d seen Isidor in passing he was always surrounded by a crowd. Surely he’d heard the rumors—why had he chosen to side with me just now?

“Let’s say I was feeling chivalrous,” he said. “You accused me of being meddlesome if you’ll recall.”