Reunion

“W-W-W-W-What did you just do!?”

“Just what is the matter with you, Viviane? We’re finally together again and you’re running away from me already?”

“Y-You...! You just! W-Without warning...!”

Medrauta sighed. “You can’t be serious, Viviane. It was just a display of fealty. Was it so wrong after we’ve been apart for so long?”

“A d-d-display of f-fealty!? Y-You call a k-k-ki-...” Viviane backed up against the wall of the prep room, covering her blushing face. She couldn’t even finish the word.

“A kiss,” Medrauta did it for her. “Yes. It’s just a kiss, Viviane. So what?”

“T-That’s...! Y-You’re only s-supposed to k-k-kiss after you’re m-married! This is totally s-scandalous!” Viviane exclaimed.

Medrauta shut her mouth. She had been about to correct Viviane once more, but seeing this reaction, she couldn’t help but tease the blonde noblewoman.

Advancing very slowly and deliberately, Medrauta approached the squirming and embarrassed Viviane until she was close enough that their chests were almost touching.

With one swift motion, Medrauta grabbed hold of Viviane’s wrists in one hand, pulling both of her lady’s arms upward and pinning her to the wall.

Rendered speechless, Viviane could do nothing but blushingly stare into Medrauta’s sapphire eyes. Perhaps a little longingly, actually.

I-I’m not staring longingly into her eyes! I j-just can’t move away! Viviane thought to herself as she continued to be entranced by Medrauta’s eyes, not wrenching her gaze away despite the chance. But she was. She very much was, and even Medrauta realized this despite how dense the knight usually was.

The silver-haired knight’s face drew closer inch by inch, and when Viviane could feel Medrauta’s hot breath against her cheek, she closed her eyes and steeled herself. Viviane’s delicate eyelashes fluttered in anticipation like gossamer strands of golden silk as she awaited the meeting between Medrauta’s lips and her own.

Yet, that moment never came.

“Could it be that a simple kiss on the back of your hand wasn’t enough, my lady?” Medrauta’s deep, sultry voice reverberated next to Viviane’s ear, the sound coursing through her entire body and causing her to tremble helplessly.

She was caught in a trap, but she didn’t want to escape. Being apart from Medrauta for so long had made her understand that.

“What is it you’re hoping for, Viviane? Perhaps I might indulge you if you tell me.”

S-She’s going to make me say it...! A shiver ran down Viviane’s spine as Medrauta uttered those words in her ear. Her lips parted slowly, unsure of whether she had the courage to actually say it.

“I... I want...” She hesitated.

“Yes?”

“I want you to...”

“What is it that you want me to do, my lady? You have to say it clearly,” Medrauta said as she cupped Viviane’s chin in her other hand.

“I w-want you to ki—”

Suddenly, the gates to the prep room began to open, a loud ‘clunk’ heralding their movement. Trista’s voice echoed from the arena and into the prep room.

“Whoops. Looks like time’s up,” Medrauta laughed as she released Viviane, stepping away. Confidently, the knight began to make her way out of the prep room.

Viviane stood against the wall, stunned. Her face was still beet red, but her eyes were wide open now. Despite that, her mind was completely empty, unable to process what had just happened. She stared blankly ahead, thoroughly confused at both herself and what just transpired.

I-If I had said it... Would we really have...? All at once, several thoughts streaked through Viviane’s head, all of them exceptionally embarrassing to her.

“Viviane? C’mon, the match is starting!” Medrauta called, snapping the noblewoman back to reality. “You promised that we’d win this one, yeah?”

“A-Ah! Y-Yes!”

As the pair stepped out of the prep room, the entire stadium exploded into a fanfare of cheers and hollers. Looking closely at one section of the bleachers, it would appear that Dame Krista and a group of other knights had gotten together to make a rather large banner with a design that managed to send Viviane back into a blushing frenzy.

“W-What is that s-scandalous banner!? H-How dare they use a heart to connect our names!?”

“Focus on the match, Viviane. You brought that bow with you for a reason, didn’t you?” Medrauta’s voice was rigid and steely now. She was no longer the playful knight in the prep room. Her eyes were fixed on her opponent and her opponent alone.

“It seems we are ill-fated to fight again, Dame Medrauta.” Galahad said. He took no chances this time around, having Galatine already drawn and resting on his shoulder.

“On the contrary, I enjoyed our first exchange. Just don’t hit me with that fuckin’ beam again.”

Galahad grimaced. It was clear even from his expression that he had no desire to use such an attack again, but his words made it doubly so. “It is my sister who makes that choice. Not I.”

Medrauta nodded, but Viviane had different ideas. A spark of fury ignited in her eyes as she recalled the devastating attack that had stripped away Medrauta’s flesh and bone during their previous match.

“But it was you who pointed the blade, Prince Galahad.” Viviane said, standing only a few feet behind Medrauta. In contrast, Princess Gwenhwyfar stood atop her dais far from the center of the arena where both knights and Viviane were standing.

Galahad lowered his head in acquiescence. “So it was. I apologize, Lady Viviane.”

Viviane gave no response. She fixed Galahad with a steely glare, and the three remained silent until Trista signaled for the match to start. The sound of trumpets burst through the air, and the knights exploded into a flurry of motion too fast for the eye to see.

“W-Whoa! What an incredible start! Both knights have already traded several blows, but they seem evenly matched at the center! Perhaps Medrauta still hasn’t fully recovered!?” Trista’s familiar commentary echoed throughout the stadium. “And it seems Lady Viviane has taken a note from our foreign visitors, yet she still hasn’t fired a single arrow! What is that she intends to do with her bow!?”

As the knights crossed swords in dizzying flurries of steel, Viviane set her sights upon Gwenhwyfar who stood far away atop her dais. She nocked an arrow to her bow and brought it to full draw.

The metallic bowstring glistened in the sunlight as Viviane pulled it back. For a moment, she was tempted to fire at the princess. She was far, yes. But she was a stationary target and much larger than the ones Sakura had set up for her in the forest.

Thanks to the ki that circulated through her body and enhanced her eyes, shooting the princess would’ve been disgustingly easy. However, there was a reason why nobles generally didn’t bring weapons to the arena, and that reason was why Viviane shifted her aim toward Galahad.

While it was pretty much impossible for a noble to best a knight in combat, the reason for a noble’s refusal to bear arms in the arena did not stem from their inability to wade into the fray. Rather, it was something far more simple, but far more important: only a blow from a knight could decide the match.

This was an age-old law that had existed ever since Emperor Soleil’s rule. The nobles already possessed the powers of a Crest, and through that, they could have easily looked down upon the knights as nothing more than pawns. In fact, some nobles still did.

But that single law had given knights the ability to forge their destiny with their own hands. To stand on the same level as nobles, for while they needed the power of a noble’s Crest, the nobles also needed the strength of a knight. Only together could they achieve victory.

...That’s right! The princess is not someone I should be aiming for alone, Viviane thought as she adjusted her aim to accommodate Galahad’s deft movements coupled with Medrauta’s rapid weaving.

She breathed deeply, noted the direction of the wind, and calculated the trajectory of Galahad’s next movements all within the span of a single second.

The princess is someone we have to aim at together!

And at last, Viviane fired.