By Your Side

“Hell yeah! Let’s go for another round!”

Brigitte raised an eyebrow as she regarded Medrauta with a curious gaze. “The hell happened to you? I’ve been brushing it off for the past few days, but it’s almost been a week and you’ve still got that disgusting grin on your face.”

“Disgusting?” Medrauta laughed. “Ahh, get fucked, Brig. You don’t know a thing.”

“...Did you and Lady Viviane, uh... do it?”

Medrauta squinted at Brigitte. “Do what?”

“You know? A little bedroom rodeo? Tusslin’ in the sheets? Bounc—Ouch!” Brigitte winced as Medrauta flicked her on the forehead hard enough to leave a bright red mark.

“H-Hell no! What are you even saying, Brig!?” Medrauta retorted, her cheeks slightly red from the mere thought of it. While she’d been rather proactive in her advances with Viviane, she hadn’t actually thought that they’d go that far. Not yet, at least.

The two of them were conducting yet another training session for the knights. It’d been nearly a week after Medrauta’s duel with Leticia, and thanks to her regained resolve, Leticia had ended up joining the sessions as well. While she’d been recommended to Eirlys as a trustworthy knight who could temporarily join the ranks of the academy guard knights, the senior knight would rather wait for a bit longer to confirm Leticia’s mental stability before making any decisions.

Because of that, the black-haired knight participated in the sessions not as an instructor like Medrauta and Brigitte but as a trainee despite her skills and newfound strength that slowly approached even Medrauta’s. Even so, Leticia didn’t mind. She was glad for the opportunity to spar against her peers again.

“Y’know, now that I think about it, it’s not just you that’s been weird, Medrauta.” Brigitte remarked as she observed Leticia performing a sword drill flawlessly. “Leticia’s been actin’ hella weird too. The same kind of weird that you’re going through.”

“Dunno what you’re talkin’ about, Brig. Maybe you’re just jealous.”

“Jealous?” Brigitte’s brow furrowed. “Jealous of what? That I’m not a meathead like the two of you?”

“First off, Leticia isn’t a meathead. She actually enjoys reading when she’s with Lady Rosaline. Second, I’m very proud of being a meathead, you know? There’s a certain beauty about not needing to worry about all that complicated logistics or whatever shit and just whacking people.”

Brigitte shook her head in amazement. She simply couldn’t comprehend how Medrauta had even passed her tactics classes back when they were still in session. “Yeah, alright. Guess I just gotta get used to your newfound cheeriness, huh? That said, it’s not exactly a bad thing.”

Medrauta just shrugged. “Nothing really happened, Brig. Viviane and I just ended up having a talk and... I don’t feel as angry anymore. I mean, I still want to find Amelia and make her pay for what she did, but it’s not like that’s the only thing on my mind anymore.”

“Yeah... Truth be told, I was a little worried whenever I saw you spar. Wasn’t ‘till you started wearing that goofy ass grin that you went back to being normal.”

“...Normal, huh? Well, glad to hear it.” Medrauta smiled and clapped Brigitte on the shoulder. “By the way, where’s Mel and Esme? We were s’posed to get a bout of jousting in after this and I don’t think Mel’d miss that for the world.”

Brigitte shrugged. “No clue. Maybe she’s with Lady Jocelyn? The two’ve been—”

“Medrauta! Medrauta!” A singsong voice carried itself through the air, its owner skipping toward Medrauta and Brigitte as if she were a little girl in a field of flowers. Even from a cursory glance, the enormous smile on her face combined with the carefree sparkles in her gray eyes conveyed the unfathomable vacuousness of her mind.

“Speak of the devil,” Medrauta clicked her tongue in annoyance despite only just asking where Melindra had been. “I think I might’ve gotten ten times dumber just looking at her.”

“You and me both,” Brigitte nodded in agreement.

“Hey! I can hear you two, y’know!?” Melindra pouted as she approached her two friends. “I managed to help Lady Jocelyn yesterday with the supply chain reports, so I’m not that dumb anymore! What about you, Med? Can you help Lady Viviane with any of the work she’s volunteered to do?”

Medrauta cleared her throat, averting her gaze and quickly changing the topic. “Very impressive, Melindra. Now then, what did you need me for?”

“Oh!” Though Melindra had been ecstatic about taking Medrauta down a peg or two, she immediately forgot about it as she attempted to recall just why she’d taken so long to reach the training grounds and why she was specifically looking for Medrauta. “Um... Ah! That’s right! Dame Eirlys is looking for you and Lady Viviane! She wants Leticia and her lady too!”

Medrauta scowled. “Again? I know I pretty much signed up for this guard knights shit, but I’ve been filling in for patrols this entire week and I told her I wanted to spend the evening with Viviane.”

Melindra shrugged. “Well, don’t look at me. I’m just the messenger! Besides, I don’t think she needed you for patrols.”

Medrauta sighed. “Since you’re here, you mind picking up the session for us, then? We were just about to switch to jousting practice after this drill, and I know you’ll lead better than Brig or me.”

“Okie dokie~!” Melindra nodded, grinning happily. “Have fun, Med~!”

“You can bet your ass I won’t.”

Medrauta bid Brigitte and Melindra farewell after fetching Leticia. The two knights headed up the path that led to the academy’s main building, both of them wondering why they’d suddenly been summoned. The silver-haired knight cast her gaze around as they walked up the dirt path with a towel draped around her shoulders.

“...Mel said it ain’t patrols, so I wonder what Dame Eirlys wants from us. Maybe it’s about the duel we had?”

Leticia shook her head. “Doubt it. Not a lot of knights were watching back then, and we didn’t do anything wrong. More importantly, you said Dame Eirlys wanted our ladies with us, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. Speakin’ of which, you got any idea where Lady Rosaline’s at?”

“Of course. I’ll go fetch her while you look for Lady Viviane, yeah?”

Medrauta nodded. “Go for it.”

The two knights promptly parted ways, Medrauta heading toward the academy building whereas Leticia broke off from the path and began making her way to where the nobles’ dormitories were located, leaving Medrauta to ponder Eirlys’ summons on her own.

Just what the hell does she want from us? And Viviane too...? A frown creased Medrauta’s brow as she stepped into the academy hallway. The majority of the section that she was walking through had been repaired, though there were still various areas that needed extra work to truly be considered restored. For some reason, glancing at the remaining cracks instilled a sense of nervousness in Medrauta. I just hope nothing big has happened again.

With that very reassuring thought in mind, Medrauta trudged on, sweeping her gaze around as she continued her search for Viviane. So far, she’d checked the records room, the cafeteria, and even stopped at the archives building to play with Lady Rose for a bit, not that the tiny noblewoman appreciated being unceremoniously lifted into the air.

Despite checking all the usual places that Viviane frequented, the noblewoman was nowhere to be seen. As Medrauta made her way out of the archives, she looked up at the slowly reddening sky and sighed, knowing that there were only a few hours of sunlight left. Maybe I should just try and shout as—

“Medrauta?”

The knight in question whirled around, a smile immediately forming on her face as the person she’d been looking for had miraculously appeared. Chances were, Medrauta had just missed Viviane in the archives. “Vivi! I was looking for you!”

“Huh? Really?” Though she was happy to see her beloved knight, Viviane couldn’t help but be confused even as she approached Medrauta. “I thought you were supposed to be hosting a training session today. I know we haven’t had much time to spend together lately since Dame Eirlys needs you on patrol, but you can’t be skipping out on your duties, you know?”

Medrauta shook her head. “I’m not skipping out. Actually, Dame Eirlys was looking for the two of us...”

Medrauta’s response only served to confuse Viviane even further. “For both of us...? Why would Dame Eirlys want me to be there? Do you think this is about the whole Crest Metamorphosis thing again?”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so. She wanted Leticia and Lady Rosaline there too.”

Viviane frowned, stepping closer to Medrauta and taking the knight’s hand. “Then we’d best get there as soon as possible. I’m not sure what it is, but... I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Something in Medrauta’s stomach fluttered. The yawning pit of dread that was slowly beginning to open in her chest expelled not the colorful butterflies that she had grown accustomed to with Viviane, but rather those pitch-black butterflies spawned from the witch’s magic. Steeling her resolve, Medrauta gave Viviane’s hand a gentle squeeze and nodded to the building where Eirlys’ office was located.

The warmth from her beloved lady’s hand gave her the strength to close that hole and disperse those accursed insects before they could truly begin to take form, and Viviane’s worried countenance only caused Medrauta’s determination to grow stronger.

Just a few days ago, Viviane had promised Medrauta that she would always be by the knight’s side. To act as an anchor and guiding light that pushed back the darkness that sought to encroach upon Medrauta’s heart.

Now, Medrauta needed to play her part as Viviane’s shield. The silver-haired knight gently led her beloved lady down the paved path, never letting Viviane fall behind. No matter what, Medrauta would stay by her side this time, and in the future. Always.

Medrauta turned to Viviane, her blue eyes sharp and resolute as they gazed into Viviane’s worried golden.

“There’s no need to worry, Vivi. No matter what, I’ll always be right here next to you.”