Medical Ward

A cold splash of water woke me up from the land of dreams and nightmares.

When I open my eyes I was met with the oh-so-familiar ceiling of the medical ward of the royal castle of the Flügelheim Kingdom. I come here more often than one would normally do.

It's not the fact that this place is in the castle of one of the biggest kingdoms in the entire continent of Yohdingskr–though that does play a factor in it. Rather, it was the fact that I get injured so often that this place is basically my second bedroom. The door to my side opened with a creak. I tilt my head, also letting out a creak.

"Good morning–or should I say night? Prince Morgen."

"You don't have to call me that Master. It's only the two of us here. Besides, it's really gets on my nerves when you get all polite on me like that. Literally send chills."

Jokingly, I extend my arm towards her. Though I planned for it to only be a mere joke, it was true that I did have goosebumps on my body. She took my arm, placing her hand over my own.

Her tone arm and calloused hand brushed over my own. Behind that brief moment of contact, I could feel the years–probably decades that she had spent mastering the sword with all her sweat, blood, and tears. Her passion and determination for the sword practically radiated out of her.

"…Right, Pri–Morgen. I am sorry for my insensitive utterings."

"Yeah, sure."

You don't really sound like it though

"So…"

She continued inspecting my arm. I didn't know what she was looking for – or if there even was one – but I was still relaxed and composed. I wasn't worried or anything. Like Mary, she was one of the few people that I trusted to the point of ignorance.

"Tell me about this mess you had gotten yourself into."

"O-o-ow! Ev, STOP!!"

"No."

Like the changing waves, her arm suddenly started gripping mine. It wasn't some simple hold or something, either. It was more like she was trying to crush my bones with pure barbaric force. My pleads continued to be ignored.

Like Mary, it seems I'll have to reevaluate my opinion of her, too

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you everything…  sheesh. I've never seen you this enthusiastic ever since I found a scroll that contained the kingdom's forgotten techniques on swordsmanship."

I still remember that day. While I was milling around the royal library to kill time, I found an ill-placed parchment. I tried to put it back to it's original position, only to fail and cause an entire bookshelf to collapse on me. The whole thing happened too fast for me cover myself with mana or make any kind of decisions. In the end, the entire shelf collapsed on me, knocking me out for a week or so. After I woke in the hospital ward of the castle, I found that Ev was busy reading, observing, and seemingly breathing in the text and explanation of the scroll like a hungry beast.

"Are you really that obsessed with the sword? I worry for you."

"I'm not obsessed! I'm just devoted is all."

"…Yeah, sure."

"Why do sound even more doubtful than before?"

"No particular reason."

This time, I was the one to ignore her. Unlike earlier, she was now talking in a more casual and friendly tone.

"A-anyways, what's this mess with the nobility that you had gotten yourself into?"

"It's nothing. Just a little snag on the side of the road. Nothing I can't handle. You don't have to worry about it."

"Mary said you're getting married."

"…Mary lies."

I'm sorry, Mary. I just really don't want to deal with Ev right now

"Really…? That's great. To think for a second that you got so paranoid that you just obeyed whatever an old man told you to do. Such a disgrace. I am deeply sorry."

She bowed in a fluid and practiced manner. If it wasn't for her ponytail, her glossy, black hair would have surely slipped out. I breathed out a sigh of relief. I didn't like lying to my friends, but it was just too much of burden that I didn't want Ev dealing with it.

"…Wait, if that's the case, why did Marquis Lockhart come here, was it really for a loan like Mary had said?"

Her sudden topic change caught me off guard. Still, this was good. I just had to corroborate with Mary's story and I would be able to mitigate the amount of complaints that would definitely come out of her alone.

*nod*

Ev smiled at me, her eyes closed and her mouth twisted into a sly grin. She put her hand onto my shoulder and moved so close that I could feel her steady breathing on my neck. I flinched. She stopped and looked at me. I didn't even dare to peak. In a low, whispery voice, she revealed a shocking truth to me:

"Mary never told me why the Marquis visited."

Oh, crap

This was bad. While normally just a simple person who valued swords over her own body, this was unnaturally sharp of her. I was flabbergasted.

"P-perhaps she was mistaken."

" Even though she was present during the whole thing? Preposterous! If you wanna lie to me, at least have the gal to come up with something more believable"

Scary

If she was always this sharp, then I would have a much easier time dealing with Mary. What a shame she had to pour all her brainpower into swinging a single weapon like a broken toy.

"…So, when's the wedding?"

"We don't know yet."

"You don't know? What kind of engagement is that?! I just said not to lie to me… remember?"

" No, it's not that I don't know when it is. It's more of we just haven't decided on the date yet."

"…Hey, what did this guy even have on you? This isn't something for me to say, but you should be more careful when it comes to stuff like this. Most of the time, it's just a scam."

"Well… if I had to out it simply… I … uh… just got scared…?"

Without hesitation, she drove her hand towards my neck.

Round Two!