FSW Chapter 20

Qualifications

Since it was sparring among apprentices rather than formal knights, it seemed there hadn't been much commotion. And yet 'he' would have participated this time too! Even yesterday he'd said nothing about the matches. She already knew he tended to be quiet and rarely spoke about himself, but learning the news belatedly through someone else left her feeling a bit hurt.

"Since today was the last day, he should be able to return starting tomorrow."

"If today was the final match, Sir Russell must have participated too."

She didn't need to deduce that he would have remained as one of the final two. The reason he'd rested today was probably because of that match.

"Yes, the earlier matches were held in the morning, so I saw his sparring for the first time today—his swordsmanship was worth watching. Though it was quite different from conventional swordsmanship, that made it all the more interesting."

Unlike the other knights who were hostile toward his swordsmanship, this was a favorable assessment. Hilton, who had eccentric tendencies when it came to swordsmanship, seemed to have been purely impressed by the skill. Besides, the raw swordsmanship was intriguing.

"Sir Russell won, didn't he."

"You're certain."

"Well, he's my instructor."

At Nishina's confidence, Hilton made a dubious expression before eventually nodding. As expected. Even though she wasn't the one who'd won first place, she felt strangely proud. This was the sort of thing worth bragging to her about. If it were Nishina, she would have gone around the entire neighborhood boasting.

But she could bet her lemon tea—already finished, but anyway—that he wouldn't open his mouth about it.

"He wasn't hurt, was he?"

When Nishina hardened her face and asked that, Hilton shook his head.

"The skill gap was so great he didn't have a chance to get hurt."

'Then that's fortunate, but.'

The good news was excellent kindling for her depleted motivation. Humming a tune, Nishina continued writing her letters. She planned to finish quickly and go ask the pâtissier for celebratory sweets. However, contrary to Nishina's improved mood, Hilton's face—watching her intently—grew all the more serious.

Suddenly asking about that boy's news, worrying if he was hurt, rushing to the training grounds in a fluster last time, could it be...

"Your Highness, perhaps..."

"Yes?"

Though the bright-eyed Nishina gazed at him, Hilton was lost in a world of his own.

"No, that can't be."

"...Sir Hilton?"

"That absolutely must not happen."

Hilton, having questioned and answered himself, clenched his fist and shook his head resolutely. She didn't know what he was thinking, but his expression was extremely determined.

"Are the cream puffs I requested ready?"

"Yes, Your Highness. We just need to package them now."

Setting down the tray heaped with beautifully puffed cream puffs, the pâtissier answered. Perhaps he'd poured his heart into making them—his eyes looking down at the puffs were proud. Yesterday, after consulting with the pâtissier and Ellis, they'd decided the congratulatory sweets would be cream puffs filled generously with diplomat cream.

She'd thought about stepping in again to convey her congratulatory feelings, but the pâtissier had strongly discouraged it, saying it was a difficult dessert for beginners, so she'd only made the request before leaving. Looking at the excellent results, it seemed like a stroke of luck that she hadn't interfered. If she'd picked up the spatula, she definitely wouldn't have achieved results of this caliber.

The pâtissier, who'd grown haggard overnight—perhaps having stayed up late to create this masterpiece—offered her a puff.

"Would you like to try one?"

She bit into the special cream puff he handed her. Crunch. Inside the crispy shell, sweet cream melted in her mouth. Ooh. A sound of admiration escaped Nishina spontaneously. His desserts were always top-notch, but this was among the most exceptional.

"It's wonderful!"

Only at Nishina's positive reaction could the pâtissier exhale a sigh of relief. Though he overflowed with pride in his skills, it was a different matter when the one evaluating was the most noble person in the empire.

Through numerous collaborations, the pâtissier knew that Nishina's dessert standards had been leveled upward. Delivering amazement with each assignment was difficult even for him as a craftsman. But it seemed last night's efforts hadn't been in vain. His shoulders rose immediately at Nishina's delighted expression.

Perhaps energized by the praise, the pâtissier soon brought another creation. Arranged prettily on the tray were none other than scones.

"Are these scones?"

"Yes, scones with plenty of cranberries. Would you like to try one as well?"

He offered, saying he'd made them since quality cranberries had come in. The baking color was appropriate too—they looked extremely appetizing. Even though she didn't particularly like scones, she felt her appetite stirring. Without a moment's hesitation, Nishina bit into a scone dotted with deep red berries.

"Wow, these are really delicious too!"

Though not as sweet as the puffs, the clean base paired with the slightly chewy cranberries that burst delightfully. They'd taste wonderful with tea. Moreover...

'Brother would like this kind of clean-tasting dessert.'

Since the whole wheat cookies, whenever desserts of this type appeared, Nishina always thought of Aiden.

'Would he have liked this?' 'Wouldn't he have accepted this?' Thinking such futile thoughts.

But...

Remembering her past failure, Nishina's eyes instantly grew gloomy.

'What makes you think I'd trust anything you bring to eat?'

That sharp voice remained vivid even now. If she prettily packaged this and went to give it to him, she'd be rejected again. No, this time he might not even let her in.

Truthfully, she didn't have the courage to be rejected again.

It was pathetic that she'd shrunk back after just a few refusals. But it couldn't be helped. Receiving a cold gaze from someone precious hurt more than she'd thought.

Using the scratches that still remained as an excuse, she hadn't sought him out even once after that. With very different daily patterns and movement ranges, the probability of the two accidentally encountering each other in the vast palace was close to zero.

In other words, during that period, she hadn't seen Brother's face, let alone spoken to him. But she couldn't continue hesitating forever. To create a point of contact with him, Nishina had been agonizing day and night lately.

First she needed to see his face to try anything. Going to him—there was a high possibility he wouldn't receive her anymore. At official schedules like meetings, it wasn't a situation where she could speak to him, and hoping for coincidence was too slim a possibility.

As Nishina gazed down at the scone, agonizing, the pâtissier cautiously spoke.

"Shall I package the scones together?"

"...No, just package the cream puffs."

The pâtissier, who'd been inwardly tense since she was staring down at the scones with such a serious face, grew a bit dejected. The scones had been quite a confident work too—thinking perhaps they hadn't been that good after all, his shoulders, which had been raised, drooped. If it had been the usual Nishina, she would have cleverly noticed and poured out plenty of praise for the scones. But her head was far too complicated for that.

On the way back with only cream puffs generously packaged.

Nishina's mind was still filled with thoughts of Aiden.

'Should I pick a day and camp out at the training grounds?'

She'd heard Aiden never missed a day of training, so she'd definitely be able to meet him. Moreover, if she knew his training times, she might be able to meet him on the way, pretending coincidence. As she spent a while forming this stalker-like scheme with dark intentions, amazingly, she came face to face with the very subject of her agonizing.

Though she'd wanted to meet him, actually encountering him made her mind go blank. Could she speak to him? Aiden, perhaps on his way back from just finishing training, wore light clothes and had slightly disheveled hair.

As the distance narrowed, her heart grew all the more complicated.

'What should I say?'

Ah, if she'd known this would happen, she should have just brought the scones. Even if rejected again, she could have used that excuse to speak to him at least once. For now, let's try a common greeting. Something like how hot it's gotten. Or whether he'd eaten lunch.

Nishina, face stricken, finally approached within his reach. And at that moment, Nishina forgot every word she'd prepared. Because Aiden's right palm was covered entirely in blood. As if his palm had torn, blood pooling in his hand dripped steadily to the floor. Drip, drip. Startled out of her wits, Nishina cried out with her soul departed.

"Brother! Blood, blood!! Are you hurt?! How did... no, qu-quickly, treatment...!"

"Don't make such a fuss over something this trivial."

"Trivial?! When you're bleeding this much!"

She carefully grasped near his wrist to avoid hurting him. Stamping her feet, she asked urgently, "Shall I call the imperial physician?" but he coldly swatted her hand away.

"It's not your concern."

Spitting out those chilling words, he turned away as before. Without a single glance.

Watching his retreating back, Nishina bit her lip hard. Rejection definitely hurt. But what mattered now wasn't her own pain. Nishina walked quickly to chase after him and blocked his path. Having stopped unintentionally, his eyebrow rose crookedly.

Pretending not to see the face revealing his uncomfortable mood, she quickly took his hand and wrapped her handkerchief around it.

"What are you doing right now..."

"I know I'm not qualified to worry about you, Brother. But still..."

"..."

"But still, please get treatment. You'll have to train tomorrow too."

Only after binding it tightly like a pressure bandage did Nishina release his hand. Aiden's gaze turned toward the handkerchief. His eyes were clearly displeased.

She'd overstepped. Nishina knew that too. But she couldn't help it. More than him disliking her, she hated far more that he treated his own wounds as if they were nothing.

That's why. That's why she'd acted recklessly.

With the wound covered, her mind cleared just a little. Only then did Nishina worry about what would happen next. Would he pull off the handkerchief right away? And leave in anger?

But contrary to Nishina's worries, Aiden pressed his lips firmly shut and left just like that. Whoosh. His retreating back was no different from before, radiating coldness—but unbelievably, the white handkerchief still wrapped around his hand.

Just that made her chest swell with joy, but still, worry came first. She felt like she could only relax once she saw him receive treatment from a physician. But she'd have to be satisfied with this.

Even as she convinced herself of that, her worried eyes refused to leave him. In the end, Nishina stood rooted to that spot like a cenotaph, until not even a glimpse of Aiden's sleeve remained visible.