11. A bird that flew over the nest – 03
Sarah quickly grabbed Arya’s wrist, who was frowning at her, and said this to Cain.
“I’m going to have a little conversation with the girls, but I’d like to ask for your understanding. Little Duke.”
After saying that, Sarah, without hearing Cain’s answer, moved quickly to a lonely place in the clearing alone with Aria.
“Senior, then shall we have a conversation with the women?”
“…but why do you call me senpai?”
Despite Arya’s chilly voice, the smile on Sara’s mouth doesn’t break. In the first place, I had approached this way on the premise of being hated by this cute senior.
“Because now I have become a body that serves the Duke. And Aria-sama, long before I served the Little Duke, she was the one who served him closely. So, I just thought he might be a senior to me.”
The smile on Sarah’s lips turned into a bitter smile, albeit only slightly. Seeing her as if she thought her situation was self-deprecating, Arya just didn’t like the woman in front of her even more.
“…Still, don’t call me senpai. Because I hate it.”
Because, to a girl like me, the fact that a girl like you uses a title of honor and says something respectful in itself seems to express the composure you have. Even if Sernard’s last name disappeared and you became a mere commoner, the fact that you were once the daughter of a count and the fiancée of Cain would not disappear.
…And even for a short moment, having to share a lot with Cain, share the same view with him, and have to breathe in the same space as the woman who promised to share the future with him, Aria was annoyed. was only doing
For the same reason, Arya hated Bianca. I hated that too. Arya hated Bianca to the extent that if I were to list the reasons she hated Bianca del Castana, I could lightly recite a book’s length, but if I were to give a reason why I hated her the most, there was only one.
On that day when Arya and Bianca fought madly to kill each other, Bianca spat out these words to Arya as if she were bragging. She said that she and Cain had already made love, and that she had received a lot of love from him, without any hesitation.
Just like that, Bianca del Castana ended up becoming a partner for the future together with Cain, just for the reason that she mixed her body. In the future, Cain and Bianca will become a married couple who care for each other and live happily ever after with everyone’s blessings.
…okay. Except for Arya, who is in the position of having to look behind their happiness.
It was unfair. What was unfair was that the things Bianca boasted about Arya were things that a woman named Arya would never reach, and it broke her heart.
Arya was Cain’s exclusive maid. She was an exclusive lady-in-waiting who always followed Cain, was by his side, assisted him, and was of great help to him. Arya really liked the position of his exclusive maid. The fact that I could help a man named Cain, big or small, made me happy.
…But at the same time, the line that was allowed to her was just that.
Arya was also the exclusive magician of the Duchy of Estel. He wanted to use magic to change the providence of the world casually and become a sword that would exclude all obstacles to the master he served through magic. So that he can walk toward the future comfortably on his soft body.
…And that was the limit of what was allowed to her.
More at noblemtl com
More than that was never allowed to Arya.
Even if she is his exclusive maid, even if she conjures all kinds of great miracles at her fingertips, no matter how much she helps him, even if she becomes his sword and performs all sorts of vices-
Just one thing, standing side by side with him is unacceptable.
…Because between Cain and Arya, there is an absolute barrier of status that stems from the gap of a thousand years of history.
Cain was the heir to the Duke of Estelle, one of the four major dukes, while Aria was just a lowly, demeaning girl who had no way of knowing her name or origin.
Even though Duke Estelle cherishes her like his own daughter, the servants of the duchy adore her, and no matter how much Cain cherishes her-
What Arya really wants is out of hand. Standing side by side with him, walking the same path as him, and dreaming of the same future, she was not allowed. To that extent, the difference in status between Cain and Arya was hopeless.
For Cain, who will become one of the only four dukes of the Empire, the only women worthy of being next to him are Bianca del Castana and Iris El Devhard, who are also of noble blood.
So I was about to give up. However, even though he knew that it was an impossible dream, there was only himself who was following his footsteps without realizing it.
But now, the woman standing in front of Aria stabs her lungs deeply, as if she had read her heart.
“I can help, Arya. If it were me, I could be of help to you.”
“…What?”
“I mean, I can help you so that you can be a woman by the Duke’s side.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
What the hell is this woman talking about? I, who is insignificant compared to other women, is not a maid or a wizard, but is there a way to stand proudly next to him as a woman…?
“I heard that Bianca del Castana, a golden jade from the Marquis of Castana, is staying at the Duke of Estel recently. Is that really true?”
nod
To Sara’s question, Arya just nodded in silence. Anyway, it was useless to hide it anyway.
“Oh, and is the rumor that the imperial princess also recently stopped by the Estel duchy because of the little duchess is also really true?”
Again, Arya had no choice but to nod her head calmly. Arya was no different than a living witness who watched what the princess went through to save Cain.
“Bianca del Castana and the Imperial Princess. All of them are people with a high social status that can’t even be compared to Arya. If we keep going like this, the little duchess could really be taken away by those women. But, Arya has an advantage that those women don’t have, right?”
“…Advantages?”
Arya could find herself listening intently to Sarah’s enchanting whispers.
“Yes, good. Traditionally, the basics of strategy are to start by maximizing one’s strengths and minimizing one’s weaknesses. In order to attack an opponent, first draw a big picture, gain an advantage in a place where the opponent’s field of view is out of reach, and then turn the game around in an instant. A true first-class man finishes a hunt before the prey even notices it.”
Arya’s expression starts to change subtly as she hears those words.
“…So, what are my strengths?”
It’s a fact that I didn’t realize, but in Arya’s tone, much of the hostility toward Sarah had already disappeared. That much was proof that he was paying attention to Sarah’s words.
“It’s the street. Physical distance from the Duke.”
“Arya is so naive. If I were standing in Aria’s position, I might have gotten twice as close to the Duke than now.”
“Two, twice as many?”
How much would it be if the distance between Cain and himself were twice as close as now? Arya’s eyes start spinning. Even now, Cain loves her very much, even though he doesn’t care about stroking her hair. If you make me twice as cute as you are now, what the hell-
“In addition, I know a lot of information about the Duke. It’s because I’ve spent quite a long time with the Duke of Sox over the past few years. Bianca del Castana, high-class information that the princess will never know.”
This too was true. Cain, who was once completely enamored with Sarah, had a murky past in which he wrote about his various tastes in order to win her favor.
“I wish Aria well. This is really sincere.”
Aria just looked at her with an expression that she couldn’t understand.
“…what do you want? Since you will help me, are you trying to negotiate for the position of exclusive handmaid?”
At Aria’s questioning, Sara only shook her head.
“To be honest, I have no interest in things like exclusive ladies-in-waiting. I just said it.”
If I had to work for the Duke of Estelle, I just wanted to work in a place where I could see him at any time. Even by beating such a cute senior, I had no desire to take away that position.
The reason Sarah wanted to support Aria while watching her was really simple.
…just because it was pitiful. In the midst of sadness with no way to return, the woman who struggled to suppress her heart and was heartbroken by the unrequited love only thought that it was enough for her to be alone.
Even knowing full well that there was no meaning, knowing full well that the love would not come true. Even though you know very well that your efforts are likely to end up in vain.
It’s a hundred times better than living a life full of regrets, like her current self, so Sara wanted to be Arya’s one and only side.
…It would be a lie if there was not a single bit of pain in the subject of being saddened by love for him, in not completely abandoning lingering feelings, and acting as Aria’s old man by the moon. If you are so close, and there is no remnant of my sorrow for you, that too would be a lie.
However-
I’ve seen the same thing as you, and I have the experience of doing something together. It must be a support for a moment in the life I will live in the future.
…On the other hand, this woman never had a chance to be recognized as a woman by you, Cain, and probably never will.
To the cute senior in front of her who might be fighting a lonely battle alone, Sara just wanted to be a momentary spring.
…And also, there was a mischievous feeling that he didn’t want to easily hand over Cain to Princess Bianca del Castana. If his seniors were to participate in this dogfight in earnest, and their bloody battle would intensify day by day, Cain’s time as a single man might also be lengthened.
That would be Sarah’s little revenge for her love that has flowed away.
“…Aria, stop going now. Because it seems that the Duke is looking for you.”
Sending Aria away like that, Sarah looks at her from the back and smiles as if from the bottom of her heart this time.
Please, I hope that her participation in the war will not end with a single shower, but will be a wave that shakes the great country.
****
“Ka, Cain! Are you all right?”
Arya, who quietly approached Cain, realized how Cain’s details were and stopped crying.
Cain’s face as he looked at her was covered with cold sweat. The right arm that had just swung the sword had been completely shattered and was protruding unsightly through the skin, but even at this moment, blood was constantly leaking from his right arm.
…The reason why Cain foolishly kept his mouth shut until his arm reached this point was indeed simple. It was because, if Sarah found out that Cain had made her own arm to this extent for her sake, it was really burdensome what kind of face she would look at herself.
“…Cain-nim is really foolish. You didn’t have to get hurt, but you took yourself for no reason and came back with an injury.”
Arya looked at him with a sullen face, but soon realized that it was his choice, so she said nothing. I just sighed softly and silently cast a healing spell on his right arm.
ugh-
Although the healing efficiency was lower than the divine power used by the clergy, it boasted an effect that was no different from that of the clergy at the level of healing magic performed by magicians at the level of Arya. Shortly after Arya heals his right arm, his complexion quickly begins to calm down.
“…Kain-nim, aren’t you overdoing yourself lately?”
When fighting Bianca del Castana, he had the experience of burning his entire left body, but this time he even smashed his own right arm. Apparently, her master must have had a tendency to overdo his body.
“In addition, you even forcibly drew out life energy and used it as an aura, right? Cain. I’ve said it several times, but that’s a very ignorant way. Since the efficiency of converting vital energy into aura is extremely low, if you exert more than a certain amount of power, it is like Cain’s lifespan is reduced exponentially.”
As she said that, Aria bit her lips tightly without realizing it. She had to watch as the lifespan of her master decreased in real time, but it never felt good. However, since Cain had given an order not to step out, he had no choice but to follow it.
“Cain-nim tends not to take care of his body too much because of other people, no, other women. Whenever I see Cain-sama like that, I really…”
And seeing Aria like that, Cain lost a bitter smile. It’s not that I didn’t like myself either.
“…That’s what worries me. Thank you, Aria.”
Saying that, Cain gently placed his hand on Arya’s head.
“But it’s okay. If it’s a problem with your right arm, I don’t have anything to say even if you nag me like this, but it’s okay if you don’t mind the fact that I switched life skills into auras.”
Cain’s words were not simply words to comfort Arya. In his opinion, the remaining lifespan was really just an insignificant problem. Because, if you think about the lifespan you have left, it’s clear that at most a few months’ worth of lifespan will not be visible.
‘Isn’t it? Kyrie?’