FSW Chapter 3

Camellia

On the path to the knights' training grounds, following Hilton's guidance, Nishina's face grew serious as she looked down at the basket.

Inside the heavy basket were peanut cookies and cream cheese muffins, gifts for the knights. She'd deliberately prepared treats that weren't too sweet, though she wasn't sure if the knights would like them. In truth, this was their first meeting—she harbored the shallow hope that offering gifts might make a good impression.

"Hmm, perhaps pie would have been better than cookies or muffins."

"If it's from Your Highness, they'd be delighted even if you threw flour at them."

Hilton's firm declaration eased the slight furrow between Nishina's brows.

Absurd as it sounded, imagining grown men delighted to receive inedible flour was amusing enough.

"By the way, are you truly set on choosing from among the apprentices?"

At his somewhat sullen tone, she glanced up at him. Hilton's already drooping eyes had sunk even lower. Being rejected to his face must have stung quite a bit. For his dejected sake, she hastily defended herself.

"Sir Hilton is such an exceptional, genius knight that teaching a beginner like me might give you an ulcer from frustration!"

"That couldn't possibly—"

"Besides, Sir Hilton is stretched thin with my escort duty, training supervision, and His Majesty's commands—you'd need three bodies to manage it all!"

"Well, that's true, but..."

Unable to refute her, he still wore a dissatisfied expression. No doubt he thought she'd be better off learning from a full knight rather than an apprentice. Before he could voice another suggestion that wouldn't help her plan at all, she struck preemptively with shameless flattery.

"The real problem is that Sir Hilton is too talented."

"Pardon?"

"If only you were slightly less genius, you could have become my instructor. They say Sir Hilton's swordsmanship was extraordinary even as a child, yes?"

"Not exact—"

"Now you're one of the empire's—no, the continent's—most renowned genius swordsmen, so you're a thousand, ten thousand times too precious to waste teaching an ordinary person like me."

"That's not—"

"So this is entirely Sir Hilton's fault for being too exceptional. Why are you so capable, anyway? Hmm?"

"P-please, Your Highness, stop..."

The more mischievously she pressed, the hotter Hilton's face grew. Even his ears reddened—a few more words and he might cook through completely. Following behind his oddly quickened pace, she steadfastly selected more compliments, but unfortunately, none made it past her lips.

Not because she belatedly felt sorry for his flustered state. Because she'd encountered a familiar face head-on.

Her mischievously curved lips flattened in an instant. With bitterly cold eyes, Aiden was staring at her. He must have just finished training at the practice grounds—his clothing was casual. She glanced at his sweat-dampened bangs before lowering her gaze. His face looked more haggard than before.

'Is he eating properly?'

Concern aside, he withdrew his ruthless gaze and passed by as if he'd seen nothing at all.

"B-Brother!"

Nishina desperately caught hold of Aiden's sleeve. Her hand moved before thought could catch up. She couldn't understand what impulse had made her grab him. But—

The hand clutching his sleeve hem went deathly pale. Desperation poured strength into her grip.

"What."

Aiden stared down at the captured sleeve with contempt, his voice dripping irritation. At that tone devoid of warmth, countless words clogged her throat. She recalled the fury in his eyes just before she'd collapsed. Frightening as that emotion had been, it wasn't incomprehensible.

Their father's indifference, their mother gone mad, vassals endlessly demanding he prove his worth—in that bleak environment where he'd grown up fighting tooth and nail, her death would have been the final straw of his endurance.

Having abandoned endurance, all that remained to him was raw fury.

"News of..."

Nishina's mouth closed hesitantly.

That morning, before meeting His Majesty, she'd heard from Joy what had happened while she lay unconscious. The very day after the Empress's funeral, the Emperor had announced he would hold an enthronement ceremony for Imperial Consort Melissa as the new Empress, causing great uproar. Though the Imperial Consort herself had stopped it—saying now wasn't the time, not with the princess collapsed as well—he would have been wounded yet again. Alone with his family's death, receiving no comfort. Her heart ached for him. But words of consolation were something she, the Imperial Consort's daughter, could never offer.

Whatever her sincerity, the moment she spoke, it would sound like mockery to him.

In the end, she swallowed all those words down with effort. When she released her deathly pale hand, Aiden swept away without a backward glance.

Only after his crumpled sleeve disappeared from view did Nishina quicken her own steps. The desire to chase after him, to grab hold of him, to apologize incoherently—all of it was merely selfishness.

For now, all she could do was hope her very existence didn't wound him further.

A visitor to the training grounds thick with dust and sweat was more than enough to cause a commotion. Since the imperial family had their own separate practice grounds, it was exceedingly rare for royalty to visit the knights' training grounds.

And this unexpected royal visitor was none other than the empire's treasure, the Princess herself. Even the Knight Commander overseeing their training lowered his sword to stare at the source of disruption.

Though all eyes focused on her at once, Nishina's gaze rolled in search of a single person. Would she be able to find him among so many? That worry proved groundless.

She didn't need to search hard—she'd recognize him at a glance. Despite standing apart in a corner, his dazzling silver hair naturally captured the eye. When she stopped and stared at him blankly, he must have felt her gaze; he turned his head as well.

And the moment their eyes met in the air, Nishina recalled a flower she'd loved in winter. In that cold season of visible breath, crimson camellias blooming nobly across the vast snowfields. His eyes resembled that flower exactly.

"...Beautiful."

Just as she'd purely admired that flower's beauty, honest appreciation tumbled out at his lovely eyes. His gaze wavered for an instant, as if he'd caught her softly spoken words. But the tremor vanished quickly, leaving no trace.

He lowered his eyes, and as if that weren't enough, bowed his head as well. Though her blatant stare must have been palpable, his gaze never once turned upward.

As if by habit. By custom. He stood there with the flower buried in the dirt.

Though he no longer met her eyes, Nishina kept recalling that intensely lingering color. She'd thought of camellias when seeing his eyes not only because their beauty matched.

Camellias don't scatter petal by petal on the wind—the entire bloom drops its head with a thud. He resembled that mournful quality.

So beautiful, yet paradoxically lifeless. Inhuman, like the eyes of a dead fish—utterly without vitality. Even in the moment his head might drop clean off, those eyes would hold no emotion whatsoever.

Nishina fumbled through his past. It had been even more wretched than Aiden's, which was described as full of hardship and adversity. The second son of a count family governing territory adjacent to the border, he'd been born with the misfortune of rare red eyes.

Red eyes were the mark of a demon. Thanks to baseless superstitions running rampant, he'd been rejected from birth.

His only potential protector—his mother, a maid by birth—had already died in difficult childbirth.

Rumors circulated that some woman of unknown origin had lain with a demon, but fortunately he'd inherited silver hair identical to the count's, so he wasn't cast out. Still, he'd grown up virtually abandoned, receiving no one's care.

That gaze buried in the dirt floor—it must be from those days.

Watching him hide his eyes in that isolated spot made her stomach churn. She couldn't tell if she was angry or wanted to cry.

She struggled to smooth her twisted expression.

When she was the one who needed his pity, what business did she have pitying him? Nishina forcibly tore her gaze from him. Instead, she looked up at the approaching figure.

Richard, Commander of the Second Imperial Knight Order, who'd been demonstrating at the front. He seemed quite startled by Nishina's sudden visit.

"Here, first of all. It felt wrong to come empty-handed as an intruder. Please share these."

"An intruder? Your Highness is welcome anytime!"

"Knights, at ease!"

Richard bellowed, then passed the basket he'd received to a nearby knight. The apprentice knights, sweating buckets, now gazed up at Nishina like an angel—blessed with both unexpected rest and treats.

The apprentice knights who'd crawled in groups of three and five beneath the shade of trees surrounding the training grounds sat down haphazardly and shared the cookies and muffins. Even as they diligently stuffed the snacks in their mouths, their eyes kept stealing glances at Nishina. They seemed curious about the reason for her visit.

"So, what brings you all the way here?"

Richard couldn't contain his curiosity either, asking first. The answer came not from Nishina but from Hilton. While Hilton explained the situation to Richard, Nishina's eyes rolled around again searching for silver hair.

Easily found, he was staring silently down at a cookie a knight had handed him.

'He's not going to throw it away, is he?'

He did seem like the type who wouldn't even glance at something like cookies. Still, if he really did throw it away, it might leave a faint scratch on her heart.

But with an expressionless face, he unexpectedly ate the cookie cleanly. Good thing she hadn't come empty-handed after all. Just seconds ago she'd regretted bringing them, yet now Nishina thought this.

What should the next bribe be? As she pondered seriously, Richard asked in an odd voice, having apparently heard the purpose.

"So you're saying you want to find an instructor among the apprentices?"

"An instructor and training companion for fitness, I suppose."

She corrected his words herself at his peculiar expression. Only then did he nod slightly, seeming somewhat convinced.

"Perhaps you could recommend someone, Sir Richard? Preferably whoever has the best skills."

Though she knew perfectly well who the most outstanding person was, Nishina asked anyway. But Richard calmly gave the wrong answer.

"Then how about Henry?"

At the end of where he pointed stood a boy with light green hair. When his eyes met Nishina's, he flinched but smiled awkwardly.

"His skills are serviceable, and his easygoing personality means Your Highness won't feel uncomfort—"

"No! I want to cross swords with someone with the very best skills!"

Having scratched another knight's feelings after Hilton, Nishina shook her head firmly. She thrust her face forward, emphasizing the condition.

'There's only one person who fits this requirement, isn't there?'

Please, she widened her eyes hoping he'd call that person, and Richard finally gave the correct answer with a reluctant face.

"In terms of skill, the Russell boy is most outstanding, but that child is..."

"Perfect!"

"Pardon?"

Though he hadn't even gotten to the main point yet, Nishina grabbed Richard's hand and nodded vigorously. She clearly had no intention of listening to anything further.

Richard looked down at Nishina with complicated eyes before reluctantly calling him.

"Russell."

Though the distance wasn't particularly close, the moment his name was called, he walked over steadily.

"I greet Her Highness the Princess. I am Lavis Russell."

Still with lowered eyes, he bowed his head in greeting. Lavis Russell. That was the Hunter's name.

"Her Highness wishes to learn swordsmanship—can you help with that?"

Richard asked with a dissatisfied expression. He seemed to hope for a refusal. But even if it was a 'request,' it was still a royal command. A mere apprentice knight couldn't refuse. Though it was an underhanded method, Nishina was that desperate. Even knowing he couldn't refuse, she couldn't hide her anxious eyes. Gazing at him pleadingly—

"I won't take much of your time!"

She added, and his indifferent eyes briefly met hers before quickly dropping away. Lowering his gaze again, Lavis nodded wordlessly. At the affirmative answer, she unconsciously grabbed his hand. His hand flinched, but in her joy, Nishina failed to notice.

"Thank you! I look forward to working with you!"

Grasping the hand larger than hers, she shook it vigorously up and down with an excited voice.

No words came back from Lavis, but just his small nod was more than enough to satisfy Nishina.