By Zephyria 
“You said you’d reconciled.”
That was the first thing he said. Yes, Walter had shamelessly told me he had already reconciled not long ago. I looked at the child as if to scold him.
His long hair, falling below Walter’s shoulders, glinted out of season, scattering fine golden light, which was even more bewildering.
The child, who had been hesitating, looked down at the untouched glass of juice and replied. The strength he’d used to tear open a grown man’s collar was gone, his voice completely drained of energy.
“…I thought I had, but it didn’t work out…”
“And so you kidnapped someone?”
“…I had to see his face to live…”
Is he truly insane?
What followed was not much different from what Shayden had told me.
However, Walter said that from his perspective, it was clear Calypse truly loved him. The problem was that Calypse was an excessively rational man, so even if he desired something, he wouldn’t covet it or try to grasp it.
Seeing the slight tremor at the end of his voice, I felt a pang of pity again, despite myself. I sighed and tilted the teapot, refilling my teacup.
Walter, watching me, grumbled that I was talking about a fourteen-year-old as if he were… I scolded him, saying one shouldn’t say things aloud that one wouldn’t say to someone’s face, and he quickly became compliant, continuing his next point.
“…I know that my brother is trying to push me away for my future. I know that, but why do I have to go to the Imperial Palace? Yes, the Imperial Knights are cool, they pay well, and there’s a steady pension after retirement… I know, I know.”
“…”
“I won’t be able to see my brother often. His work hours aren’t fixed, and he can’t go out during special missions. I just want to stay here as long as possible and volunteer as an Inspector of the Aristocratic Yearbook Department.”
When I asked for an explanation of the inspector’s job, Walter, claiming he’d researched it diligently, rambled on.
He explained that in the Department of Noble Lineage Management, there were people like Wilton Roberts who tracked individuals directly, but there was also a separate department that examined corpses after an incident to find traces of accidents.
He went on to explain that due to low pay and the perception of the job as dirty work involving many dead bodies, it was always short-staffed, making it a position a graduate of Shierun Academy’s Swordsmanship Department could secure immediately.
He was confident that if he worked under Professor Calypse, he could stay by his side constantly and would primarily handle tasks related to the academy.
“I… Honestly, I thought my brother would like me too. If we could be together longer, forever, anything would be fine. But he absolutely refused, saying he’d break up with me if I volunteered as an inspector.”
“…”
“Even though I can’t imagine living even a moment apart from my brother.”
Could someone be this immature?
I suppressed the urge to sigh. The sweet, fragrant scent of quince tea helped me.
The child’s eyes shimmered, reflecting the moon.
“It’s… honestly difficult when my brother keeps saying we should break up so easily. If we barely see each other once a year, I feel like he’ll cut me off quickly. I can’t bear the anxiety.”
“…And so?”
“I found out that my brother had been intercepting and discarding my applications for the inspector position since two years ago. Since I was about to be dragged to the Yuil Mountains right after graduation, I applied for a leave of absence, thinking it was my last chance.”
“…”
“That’s when my brother started avoiding me.”
“Then that day…?”
“I knew all his routes within the academy. I couldn’t catch him during the break, but once the semester started, I could… He acted so sweetly that day, I thought we’d reconciled.”
He had torn the throat of the person he claimed had acted sweetly. I still couldn’t understand.
“After that, he suddenly started avoiding me again, only appearing in crowded places… It was driving me crazy. So, I decided I couldn’t let it go…”
“You kidnapped him today?”
“…Yes.”
I drew the character for ‘patience’ three times in my mind.
“Why on earth did you wear a mask? And what is that bizarre sack?”
“…Since my brother is a professor, I thought it would be difficult if his identity was revealed…”
“Someone who knows that would do this?!”
The meat pie on the table jumped at the force of my slam. Walter flushed in surprise. I couldn’t contain my anger. I understood the child’s intentions, but it was beyond what I could comprehend.
“You need to know you did wrong! How can you hold your head high, unashamed before the heavens!”
“Ah, no.”
“I understand why Professor Calypse is avoiding you, Senior. You are a martial artist, and he is not. How can you call it true love when you constantly resort to force and tantrums like this!”
“Junior, that’s…”
“How can you wear human skin and constantly curse, grab, and bite throats like that? Professor Calypse can barely walk, sob.”
Walter, who had been flustered, covered my mouth with his hand. He was too fast for me to dodge. He really must be a Supreme Master.
When I grabbed his wrist and pushed him away, he let go readily, and I let out a deep sigh. My insides were burning, so I snatched Walter’s drink and downed it in one gulp. Drinking the ice-cold beverage cooled my insides a bit.
Scolding this child wasn’t my responsibility. Having heard his side, I now felt I needed to hear the adult’s perspective.
Walter’s face turned even redder as I clicked my tongue in displeasure.
“…In any case, it’s clearly not a time for students to be out and about, so let’s go back.”
“…Yes.”
“This must never happen again.”
“…Uh-huh…”
As Walter paid the bill, I asked about the room charge. He said he’d paid it in advance because he’d intended to go through with his plan that day.
Hearing that, I was aghast and scolded him again. He pleaded that he wouldn’t do it again, so I let him off the hook.
And so, the next day.
Calypse, who had finished his class unusually early, summoned me under the pretense of a meeting.
It felt wrong to cut into class time for other students, but I thought it best for both of us to quickly resolve this awkward situation, so I readily agreed.
It was my first time entering Calypse’s professor’s office. As expected, it was a space packed with books, maps, and documents, fitting his disposition.
In that room, filled with the scent of paper, Calypse and I sat across the desk. After a long silence, Calypse finally spoke, as if squeezing the words out.
“…How much did you hear?”
“Is it true that you are breaking up with Walter Orgen?”
“What?”
For the first time, I saw Calypse’s usually dry eyes open so fiercely. I asked again.
“I asked if you intend to completely cut off Orgen Senior.”
“…I don’t know what you heard or how you heard it, Young Master Ernhardt.”
“If that’s the case, I will help you.”
The professor’s mouth, about to say something, snapped shut as if glued. No matter how pathetic he had appeared, he was a professor and an adult. I shouldn’t treat him like Walter. Knowing this, I tried not to sigh.
I sat up straight, looking at Professor Calypse with a steady gaze.
The professor opened and closed his mouth several times, then bit his lip. His voice, when he finally responded, was rougher than usual.
“…How?”
“However it may be. Wouldn’t it be better than the method you’re currently using?”
Professor Calypse’s fingertips aimlessly fumbled among the documents. I hadn’t come to see him flustered. I had never intervened in someone else’s romantic struggles.
However, I had often acted as a mediator in conflict situations. Usually, these were disputes over property or land, but I didn’t think this was significantly different.
“Even I, who doesn’t know him well, can clearly see that Senior Walter Orgen is so anxious that he’s resorting to bizarre actions like yesterday. However, since you’ve always indulged him whenever he acted like this, I suppose he feels entitled to act this way.”
“…”
“The Walter Orgen I know is not such an inconsiderate man. There must be a reason why he’s harboring resentment and acting wrongly.”
“…So, you’re saying I’m the cause?”
“Yes.”
This was the conclusion I’d reached after much deliberation last night.
“If you intend to accept him, your priority should be to reassure him of his anxieties. If you don’t, you must not yield to his force. If you find it too awkward to handle this yourself, Professor, I will help.”
“…Why are you going this far, Young Master Ernhardt?”
“Because you seem to need help, Professor.”
“…What…”
His complexion flushed. I briefly glanced at the faded burn mark on his neck.
“I want to ask if you accepted him because you wanted to, or because you succumbed to his force.”
“If it’s the former?”
“Then I would ask you to stop tormenting an innocent child.”
“Tormenting?”
I opened my eyes wide.
“Isn’t it? Threatening him by using his feelings as leverage when you have no intention of breaking up, isn’t that torment? It doesn’t look good to manipulate a child who is already impatient with infatuation.”
“Young Master Ernhardt.”
“It is right for you to consider this none of your business. However, I also hold Senior Walter Orgen in high regard. I… I cannot stand by and watch him cry.”
Professor Calypse’s face turned pale with anger.
Perhaps it was because he looked like that that Walter had acted so boldly, thinking it would be alright to do something strange. Calypse crumpled the documents on his desk, clutching them in his hand, his face turning a deathly blue with a sinister glint in his eyes.
Is he jealous of me?
It wasn’t even funny. However, I didn’t correct the misunderstanding. I wasn’t someone who would yield to such an angry gaze.
“All endings and beginnings must be clear to avoid misunderstandings, Professor.”