C179: Wolves and Crows (2)
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Everyoneâs eyes widened at the words, âItâs been a long time,â and they looked at Rudger and Freuden in turn.
They were asking with their eyes if they knew each other and it was the same with Rene who brought Freuden.
âHuh? Did they know each other?â
Originally, Rene was going to visit the hospital alone but Erendir said he would go with her and on top of that Freuden, who did not fit in with others, said he would also go.
Looking at Freudenâs attitude of talking to Rudger, it didnât seem like they had met for the first time. She thought theyâve known each other for a long time.â¦.
At that time, Rudger said in a clueless tone.
âI donât understand what youâre saying. This is the first time weâve met.â
âI see. I must have misunderstood something.â
Freuden responded gently to Rudgerâs, who clearly drew a line.
If a stranger saw it, it was a reaction that seemed to be mistaken because he really saw the wrong person.
Then Erendir stepped up and said.
âI came to see Mr. Rudger and Ms. Selina because they said you were hurt. Hereâs your present.â
Erendir said so and pushed Rene back.
Rene, who suddenly stepped forward, blushed with embarrassment.
âMr. Rudger. Here you are.â
âOh, yes, thank you.â
Rudger, who received the basket, left it next to the fruit basket Flora gave him.
Flora, who was watching the scene, was annoyed for no reason.
âWhat? You just said youâd take it and didnât say thank you.â
Was he discriminating against people? But beyond that, the presence of Freudian and Erendir further distracted her.
Erendir, 3rd princess, likes to meddle, so she can appear here.
âThat Freuden guy. What the hell is he thinking by coming here?â
Basically, Freuden is a man who never moves unless he has a clear goal. The steps of the Grand nobility should be heavy enough to match its weight.
Flora agrees with that, but the place now is not where Freuden would come by any stretch of the imagination.
âThere must be something. Something I donât know.â
When Flora thought about it, the students gathered in the hospital room greeted each other lightly.
âOh, nice to meet you. Iâve seen you in class, but itâs your first time weâre talking, right? My name is Erendir.â
âYes! My name is Aidan! Nice to meet you, senior!â
âSenior?â
Erendirâs expression quickly loosened, as she didnât know she would be called senior by anyone other than Rene.
Erendir and Aidanâs party became so easily acquainted. To be exact, Erendirâs attitude of approaching them in a friendly manner was a problem because she was wary of the word âsenior.â
âWhat is this? I donât feel any dignity. Is she pretending to be close on purpose?â
Leo, who belonged to the Liberation Army, was initially wary of Erendir, but based on her loose attitude, he decided that it was unnecessary.
In fact, it is safe to say that the Third Princess doesnât have any power because itâs all held by her sister the First Princess. Even so, Erendir had the blood of the imperial family.
She looks like a person who canât make friends.â
It was a surprisingly accurate decision, but Leo dismissed his idea, thinking, âIs that possible?â
ââ¦â¦â¦More than that I canât believe that the imperial princess and the children of two of the three great dukes are gathered in one of these hospital rooms.â
Leoâs eyes naturally turned toward Aidan.
âAnd the unique user of anti-magic.â
Next was Iona.
âThe daughter of a great lineage of the Suins.â
Well, Tracyâs just a talented kid.
She would have been angry if she had heard the overly brief evaluation herself.
âAnd even me, an agent of the Liberation Army who hid his identity?â
What a strange combination, Leo thought. Still, in terms of his status alone, the Third Princess is the highestâ¦â¦.
âOh my! You can call me ânoonaâ more comfortably instead of âseniorâ.
âHold on a second! Donât get too close to Aidan!â
Seeing Tracy was trying to stop Erendir from approaching the naïve Aidan, Leo felt like an idiot for being nervous.
* * *
The short but noisy visit ended and Selina, who sent the students away, smiled as if she had enjoyed it.
âHehe. Itâs been a noisy day.â
âThanks to you, Iâ¦â
âWell, for that matter, Mr. Rudger didnât really kick the students out, did he? They were even children who came to see Mr. Rudger this time.â
âThatâsâ¦â
âTeacher Rudger is also popular with students.â
Popular? Rudger didnât think he was that much. The popular one should be Selina since her bed was full of get well gifts.
âBut I think itâs all over nowâ¦â¦.â
âI came to see you.â
The door rattled open and Merylda came in.
Rudger, who tried to speak, had no choice but to sigh at Merylda.
âWhat is it? Sighing at people.â
âNo, itâs just that I suddenly feel tired.â
âAre you not fully rested yet? You can rest more.â
âThatâs all right. Iâm going to get some fresh air.â
When Rudger left the hospital room, Merylda, who was left alone, looked back at Selina with sparkling eyes.
âSo Selina.â
âYes?
âHow was it? Huh? Talk to me. You two were together.â
âWell, thatâsâ¦Iâ¦.â
Selina broke out in a cold sweat at Merylda gaze, like a predator trying to eat her prey.
* * *
Rudger left the building and walked moderately nearby. In addition, Selina and Merylda seemed to have something to talk about, so he left them alone.
In addition, Rudger also had an appointment.
While walking with that thought, he found someone blocking his way and stopped.
âYou areâ¦â
Rudgerâs eyes shone sharply as he recognized his opponent.
âFreuden Ulburg.â
Freuden, who had his name called, did not give any answer and just stared at Rudger with an expressionless face.
âWere you waiting for me to come out?â
âI have something to do personally.â
âIâm sorry, but I have nothing to say to you. Go back.â
Despite the order, Freuden did not budge and Rudger frowned.
âWhat are you trying to do?â
âDo you really not know me?â
âI donât know what youâre talking about. Even if youâre talking nonsense, you should consider the other person.â
Rudger passed by Freudenâs side as if he didnât have to listen anymore. If they couldnât communicate he would just leave but Freuden spoke.
âYou hid your identity and became a teacher, to appear in front of her again.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Rudger stopped walking while Freuden turned to look at Rudger and stared at him with a stern look.
âWhat on earth were you thinking by coming here?â
âSigh.â
A sigh that came out of Rudgerâs mouth and Freudian eyebrows wriggled at the action.
Rudger turned his head and looked at Freuden with half-opened eyes.
âI thought you were a kid who didnât know anything, did you remember?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Then he raised his lips and made a sneer at Freuden.
âUlburg Puppy.â
* * *
âSo what happened?â
At Meryldaâs persistent question, Selina couldnât win in the end and had no choice but to confess everything. That she fainted in the flames, and that Rudger jumped directly into the fire to save her.
âOh, my God. Itâs so romantic!â
She liked this kind of story so Merylda didnât hide her interest.
ââ¦â¦Merylda, youâre not worried about my injury, are you?â
âNo way. Of course I was worried. But looking at the current situation, I didnât need to ask.â
ââ¦â¦Really?â
âOf course. I was more curious than that.â
âWhat are you so curious about?â
âWhat happened with Mr. Rudger?â
Selina was flustered and stuttered at the unexpected question while Merylda smiled playfully at the sight.
âThere was, right? You canât say it because youâre flustered.â
âItâs not like that!â
âWhat do you mean? There was something. You just have to be honest with me.â
âNot yetâ¦â¦!â
Selina, who shouted in anger, finally realized her mistake and covered her mouth with her hands but it was too late.
âReally? Not yet?â
ââ¦â¦Teacher Merylda is so clever.â
âSelina is too naive.â
âThatâs not true. Iâm not naive!â
âA person who is not really naive doesnât even talk like that.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Selina had nothing to refute, so she just patted the bed with her fist.
âSo, what happened?â
ââ¦â¦I donât know.â
âWhatâs wrong with you? Of course Iâm asking you how far youâve gone with Mr. Rudger.â
âItâs not like that.â
âYou canât fool my eyes. When Mr. Rudger left just a while ago, you looked at him with a disappointed gaze.â
Selinaâs face turned red like autumn leaves at Meryldaâs sharp point and Merylda laughed while thinking âShe is still naiveâ. Of course if she said it out loud Selina would be mad and wouldnât speak for a while.
âSelina, itâs a long-awaited opportunity for the two of you, so try your best.â
âHonestlyâ¦â¦ I donât know. Iâve never done this before.â
Selina, whose cheeks flushed red, said hesitantly, as if she had the warmth of a warm spring.
âTeacher Rudger is an amazing person. Smart, cool, strong and very popular with students but I can only handle spirits and I always act like a fool.â
It was the anxiety in Selinaâs heart.
She said that she doesnât fit with someone like Rudger instead she was closer to looking up to him. Heâs such a great person that he wouldnât even notice someone like her.
âI donât deserve him.â
âWhat qualifications?â
Merylda lightly dismissed Selinaâs concerns.
âSelina, youâre too insecure. Iâm sure thereâs a long line of guys who like you.â
âWhat? That canât be true.â
âUgh. Have you ever seen such an innocent girl? This is how it feels to put a child on the water.â
âIâm not a child!â
âAnd who are you with, what qualifications do you need? Itâs weird and wrong to argue about that.â
âThatâsâ¦.â
âAnyway, thereâs only one piece of advice I can give you. Just bump into each other naturally, just like usual. Wouldnât that work?â
âWhat do you mean, Iâm usuallyâ¦â¦.â
For Selina, Meryldaâs advice was not well received.
Esmeralda, who used to be her real self, was gone.
âAnd if youâre really struggling, why donât you ask for advice?â
âAdviceâ¦â¦Oh!â
Selina grabbed Meryldaâs hands as if she had an idea.
âThen, Merylda! Help me!â
âWhat?â
Merylda was embarrassed because she didnât know Selina would suddenly be so active.
âMerylda must know how to win a manâs heart!â
âMe, me? Huh? Why do you think so?â
âTeacher Merylda is the master of dating!â
âHuh? The master of dating? Me?â
âAccording to what I heard you are the queen of society!â
Merylda was speechless at her words.
âNo, but itâs somewhatâ¦Itâs like Iâm showing offâ¦â¦â
At first, she didnât want to look cheap, so she pretended to be a little strong. But that behavior came back like a boomerang.
âIn the first place, I donât know a manâs heart!â
Although she was now showing off her gorgeous, mature appearance in the past, Merylda had a typical image of an outsider, wearing large glasses that covered her entire face and her bangs.
She has never held a manâs hand properly, and the number of people she has dated is zero.
The reason why she specialized in her curse magic is because she cursed while watching couples playing together.
How much effort did she put into making a love potion that didnât even exist for the person she had a crush on secretly?
She still sometimes thinks that she wanted to die when she remembers the memory of that day.
âCan I really give dating advice?â
She wanted to decline Selinaâs request.
âBut⦠How can I refuse if she looks at me with such expectations?â
Selinaâs eager gaze with glistening eyes was something hard to refuse and in the end, Merylda was forced to raise the white flag.
âHuh, hmm. Yes, I see. Let me help you.â
âWow! Really? That is very thoughtful of you teacher Merylda!â
âWhat do you mean by that?â
Merylda, who saw Selinaâs true love, broke out in a cold sweat inside.
There was no turning back now.
* * *
There was a chilly air between Rudger and Freuden.
âI donât know how long itâs been. Has it been about 10 years?â
âIt was almost 12 years ago in terms of the number of years.â
âWas it 12 years ago? You were a total kid at that time.â
âAt that time, you were much younger than now, too.â
âBut now you look like an aristocrat. Youâve grown up pretty well.â
âStop talking nonsense.â
Freuden snarled Rudger.
âMore than that, you didnât answer the question I just asked. Why are you here?â
âIs there any reason why I shouldnât come here?â
âA man like youâ¦â¦You have a reason to come here? And in the first place your name wasnât Rudger Chelici.â
âYouâre talking as if you know me well.â
The wind swept through between the two and Freuden clenched his fist.
âHow did you approach her?â
ââ¦â¦I donât know what youâre talking about.â
âYou thought I didnât know you handed her a magic book and helped her? Do you want to atone for it now?â
ââ¦â¦.â
The word atonement weighed heavily on Rudgerâs chest but Freuden continued.
âThe enemy who killed her mother with his hands.â