༺ Suspicion ༻
Riru Garda was someone who was incredibly quick at grasping the situation.
Even though she had just experienced an unimaginable threat of death just a moment ago, she could quickly assess how the ongoing situation was unfolding.
“So, about that…”
Dowd Campbell seemed to want to say something.
He appeared just as tense as the woman approaching him was fierce.
It was as if she was several times more of a threat than the gigantic Demonic Bird they had faced just moments before.
“…”
Seeing this, Riru unwrapped Dowd’s arm that was around her, abruptly standing up.
“…I don’t know what’s going on, but…”
And then, her mouth began to move before her thoughts did.
“Are you threatening this guy right now?”
“Step aside. This has nothing to do with—”
“It does.”
With a bewildered expression, Eleanor stopped in her tracks.
She seemed so baffled that she didn’t even know how to react.
This was probably something that no one in this place had anticipated. After all, even Dowd was staring at her with a stunned expression.
“…Wait, what kind of relationship do you ha—”
“At the very least, just know that I owe him a life debt because of his actions a moment ago.”
If someone asked her why she was doing this, Riru wouldn’t be able to provide a clear answer either.
However, doing nothing after receiving favor of any kind from someone did not sit well with her conscience.
There was no doubt that her mind had recognized that this man, at the very least, held enough ‘value’ for her to take such actions.
“If you intend to do something to this guy, then you’ll have to get through me first.”
It would be a lie if she were to say that she wasn’t afraid.
After all, the person in front of her was someone even she knew very well. It was because she remembered being overpowered once by her ‘spirit’ before. The Student Council President of Elfante.
She was a woman who had easily obliterated the gigantic Demonic Bird that was about to kill Riru in just a single strike. There was no doubt that if they were to fight, she would be destroyed in mere seconds.
It would be a miracle if she could even endure one bout.
“…”
Even…
Riru still assumed a fighting stance, desperately trying to calm her trembling arms.
She steeled herself before glaring at her opponent.
“…?”
And, strangely enough…
Instead of retaliating, her opponent’s spirit seemed to wane.
To be more precise, it seemed like she was ‘shocked’.
Her face even showed signs of sadness.
“…Alright. That’s enough.”
And before Riru could even think about this strange phenomenon, another voice intervened in the situation.
It came from the mouth of a woman who had appeared through a Teleportation Spell that was casted in the air.
“…!”
As soon as she identified who it was, Riru’s expression immediately turned almost demon-like.
The night when most of her clan members died…
She could never forget, even in her dreams…
That face. That utterly nonchalant face with those half-closed eyes and giggling expression, almost as if she was the Devil incarnate.
This was the woman who was responsible for ‘handling’ her entire clan while Alan and Kasa carried out their duel.
“Chief Priest…!”
Riru let out a snarl.
Although her voice was filled with such dense killing intent that it was at the level of a beast’s roar, Tatiana, who was confronting it head-on, still wore the same grin.
“Everyone did a terrific job in passing the exam! You are truly the best of the best!”
At the sight of Tatiana intentionally ignoring her, Riru’s expression contorted even more horribly. Her fists became tightly clenched. She yearned to immediately punch that face she wished so desperately to rip apart.
However, before she could do so, a hand pulled her back.
When she turned around, she saw that it was Dowd’s hand. He shook his head.
“…”
Riru also knew that it wasn’t a wise decision at all.
No matter the circumstance, she was still in the position of an exile, chased away from the Tribal Alliance, while Chief Priest Tatiana was the closest confidant of the current Chieftain, Alan Ba-Thor. Just confronting her would invite an unimaginably immense backlash.
It was obvious that this man would try to stop her right now.
And, more than anything…
“You can’t win against her.”
Dowd’s words pierced into Riru’s eardrums.
An intense surge of anger overcame her, enough to make her mind go blank. However, she couldn’t deny that his words were true.
Chief Priest Tatiana was powerful. She had single-handedly faced and murdered the Chieftain’s clan, which consisted of elite warriors even when compared to the rest of Tribal Alliance.
“For now.”
So, when that man spoke such words…
With widened eyes, Riru had no choice but to turn around and look at him.
While she remained speechless and still for that brief moment, Dowd had already stood up, passing by her to approach Tatiana.
“Nice to meet you, Chief Priest Tatiana.”
“…My, I haven’t even introduced myself, but you already know me?”
“You’re quite the celebrity after all.”
Dowd continued his words in an indifferent manner.
“Also, you’ve sent me ‘greetings’ a few times. I’ve received them well.”
While he had not directly dealt with it, there was no doubt that she had dispatched assassins on several occasions.
Tatiana’s half-closed eyes slightly widened at his words.
From within her yellow slits akin to pupils of a reptile, an unmistakable killing intent flowed out.
Her demeanor was completely different from just before, when she treated Riru as if she was mere air.
“…So you are that student, Dowd Campbell?”
“Do you know me?”
“Of course I do.”
She extended her hands as if to shake hands.
As if…
Unlike Riru, he was a person ‘worthy of facing’ seriously.
“I have heard many stories from the one I serve.”
A normal person would immediately think of the Chieftain when hearing the phrase ‘the one I serve’.
However, both Tatiana and Dowd were aware that the person she was talking about was not him.
Compared to the Chieftain…
That person was much more ‘dangerous’.
“Please give my regards.”
While still maintaining his smiling face, Dowd took Tatiana’s extended hand before shaking it.
“Last time, we didn’t even get to have a proper conversation because of the circumstances. Please convey that I will face that person properly the next time we meet.”
“…I’m not sure. Perhaps. After all, the one I serve is quite the busy person. If you have business to handle, you will probably need to resolve it with me first.”
“Shall we, then?”
Both of their expressions were smiling. Even their manners were both courteous.
The atmosphere around them, however…
It was like they were both walking on a razor’s edge. As if each of them was hiding a dagger beneath their words.
“…For now, would you like to come into the accommodation? I imagine you are fatigued from traveling.”
“Thank you very much for the warm welcome.”
And by the time they had exchanged such words, everyone present in that place realized something.
This man and this woman…
They had similar personalities.
There was not a sliver of a doubt that they were both insanely cunning.
If a VIP was as important of a figure as Lady Tristan, a foreign country’s academy had no choice but to provide her with private accommodations.
This meant that when Eleanor arrived at her accommodations, the conditions were perfect for her to lay her heart bare to someone.
[…Why is your expression like that?]
From the magically engineered video receiver, Beatrix’s voice sounded horrified as she asked such a question.
If someone unfamiliar with Eleanor saw her face right now, they would first question whether anything was different from her usual emotionless expression.
However, Beatrix, at least, could say this with extreme confidence.
This was, by far, the worst expression that Eleanor had shown recently.
Chills had run down her spine when a woman, who rarely contacted anyone without a good reason, suddenly requested a video call from her.
[Haven’t you been in a really good mood lately? Didn’t you keep showing off your ring to literally everyone you passed by?]
Of course, as someone who knew the meaning of that ring, Beatrix had already scolded her to stop such actions before rumors started spreading.
But still, it would be a lie to say that she didn’t feel pleased when she saw Eleanor looking happy everyday.
“…Beatrix, you see…”
After hesitating for a while, Eleanor began to speak with a sigh.
“I have a strong feeling that Dowd is cheating on me.”
Beatrix’s jaws dropped.
[That fucker cheated on you?! It’s only been a few days since you got engaged though?!]
“It’s not certain yet. Didn’t I say I just had a feeling?”
Eleanor replied flatly.
“If I was sure he was cheating, I wouldn’t have even asked you.”
[What does that even mean?]
“It means that I would’ve already chopped the vixen trying to seduce that man into pieces before doing anything.”
[…]
Indeed. At the very least, the fact that the vixen couldn’t immediately say what her relationship was with that man indicated that she was beyond infatuated with him.
[Then are you certain he hasn’t cheated? You said there was a high chance he was, right?]
“…Even before, he was a man who went around here and there, leading on other women countless times without even being aware of himself. I had already half-given up in that regard.”
[…]
At this point, rather than giving advice or whatever as a friend, she was primarily worried as a member of the same species.
What kind of man was she engaged with…?
“…However, things seem a bit dangerous this time.”
Moreover, if someone who was even giving this much leeway was feeling a sense of crisis, it was even more worrying.
“It hasn’t even been long since they met, but seeing that he earned that woman’s ‘sincerity’ within such a short time… This is not at the level of him just playing around.”
Not to mention, it hadn’t been that long since she gave him the ring.
She could somewhat understand and accept up until that girl, Yuria. After all, from what she heard, they had toed the line separating life and death a few times before. Even though Dowd had this strong team spirit, she could at least understand that much.
However, in the case of Riru Garda this time…
They did not even know each other for that long, there were no special experiences, and they weren’t even on good terms.
‘…It would’ve been better if she was that type instead…’
Eleanor still remembered how that woman tried to pick a fight with her by saying she would steal Dowd away.
If she was trying to use him like that, she would’ve already torn Riru in half by now.
However, just a little while ago…
The woman was sincerely trying to ‘sacrifice’ herself for Dowd. Not ‘out of interest’, but in order ‘to protect’ him, she tried to sincerely fight against Eleanor.
What sort of unspoken connection did the two have for her to act in such a way?
“…”
Her head drooped low.
Her body language clearly showed an endless amount of depression at the thought of this.
When she reached this point, she couldn’t help but imagine the worst-case scenario.
Perhaps, that man…
Even after receiving a ring from her…
Was forming a ‘relationship’ with another woman that was as intimate as the one with her.
She didn’t want to believe it was true, but…
Perhaps even the ring he gave her was merely a ‘temporary measure’ to keep her from becoming disappointed.
[…So, what are you going to do?]
“What do you mean?”
[What are you going to do if you’ve confirmed that he’s really cheating?]
“…First, I will have to kill that woman.”
[…]
For now, this part was already a lost cause to Beatrix. After all, Eleanor had been thinking about it so matter-of-factly from the beginning, so she didn’t think there was any room for her to say anything that would be taken into account.
However, the answer she didn’t hear earlier was…
[What about that Dowd?]
“…I haven’t thought about what to do to that extent yet.”
Beatrix flinched.
After all, the appearance of Eleanor when she said such things…
It was so foreign that even for someone like her, who had watched over her for over ten years, it was the first time she had seen such a side of her.
“…Rather than killing him, there should be a better ‘method’. I absolutely do not want to do something like that to him. I want to keep him by my side, no matter what.”
There was something else encroached in her voice.
〚And, above all else….〛
Just looking at the thing stirring within Eleanor was enough to blind her eyes.
〚Just killing him… Is too simple of a punishment, isn’t it?〛
[…]
Seeing such an appearance, Beatrix began to recall something else.
That guy, Dowd…
He better not be cheating.
Or else, even she was not sure what could happen.
[T-Then, isn’t it a good idea to at least confirm it first?]
At the very least, talking about this seemed like a much better idea than hearing disturbing stories about killing someone.
After all, it seemed that leaving Eleanor as she was now would lead to some kind of incident.
Eleanor raised her head slightly in reaction to Beatrix’s words.
“Confirm it?”
[You only have suspicions, but you don’t have any evidence, right? If so, you just need to confirm whether it’s true or not from now on! I’ll also collect information about that guy!]
“…”
Eleanor slowly raised her head at her words.
Although her movements still seemed gloomy…
Unlike before, her body language showed a clear willingness to listen.
“…As you say, in that case, it’s a good idea to thoroughly confirm my suspicions.”
[How are you going to do it?]
With Eleanor appearing much more energized than before, Beatrix smiled slightly.
It was because she also felt much better after seeing Eleanor stroke her chin, as if she had come up with a good idea.
At the very least, boosting her friend’s energy was an achievement in it—
“Don’t I just need to closely monitor him?”
[…What?]
“How he sleeps, when he wakes up, who he meets, what he eats, who he talks with, and who he smiles at. Everything. Without missing a single speck of information.”
[…]
“I’ll find out if there is someone who is intercepting the affection that should be fully given to me. If there is, I will find out with my own two eyes which bitch it is.”
[…]
“I should start now. I’ve done something similar before, so it will be much ea–-”
Correction.
While Eleanor had regained her energy, the cost was that he would face an extreme amount of harassment in the future.
‘…I’m sorry, Dowd.’
Beatrix sincerely apologized in her heart to someone she had never even met.
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