Chapter 6:
Reines Schwert
A few minutes had gone by since Elinos left the room, the eerie atmosphere within the room had gone up by tenfold the frightening aura's that emanated from both Niona and Yasue sent chills down my spine. Turning around, I saw the two of them staring deathly daggers into one another, I'm now worried that they could come to blows with one another at any moment. And if they did, I doubt more than a quarter of the mansion would be left standing at the end of it.
“I don't know what Elinos was thinking but, he should have consulted with me before making a decision”. Any normal person would have thought nothing of the statement but, looking at Niona I could tell she was trying to keep her composure in front of me and Ellana clearly not wanting to embarrass herself.
The room was suddenly filled with Yasue's hysterical laughter, her brown hair moving frantically as she tried to control herself. Niona, on the other hand, wasn't amused, I watched her fist tighten, hearing a knuckle crack from how hard she must have been clenching her fist. A few seconds later, Yasue gradually stopped laughing but, she didn't seem at all worried about the consequences of getting on Niona's bad side, in fact, to me, it almost seemed as though she welcomed the challenge.
“I was afraid that you have gone soft since leaving the temple all those years ago…” I could see a small twinkling in her eye as she looked at Niona “but, it's nice to know that you haven't completely gone soft on me”.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Niona fidgeting uncomfortable for a moment after hearing Yasue's comment. Standing here watching the two of them converse with one another, I nearly forgot that Yasue is supposed to be starting my training and preparation for the Inauguration Ceremony. Although I knew I had no choice in the matter, right now, a part of me wanted to sneak off back to my room or a secluded area of the mansion and get back to reading my book. Before I could decide on what to do, Ellana shuffled forward before I even realized it.
“U-Um, a-are we suppose to be helping Edona with the Inauguration Ceremony?” Upon hearing Ellana utter those words, I held back the urge to let out a strained sigh. I'm happy that both Niona and Yasue now had something to occupy their thoughts other than wanting to hammer each other to death. But a part was also annoyed that I couldn't sneak off in the middle of their stare down, and I wish I acted on that urge instead of contemplating on it.
“As much fun as it is to clash head with you, Niona…” Yasue flicked her hair back with a smug look on her face, “… I do have a job to do, after all, Elinos did ask me personally to help”. Once again, the look on Yasue's face was enough to make Niona bite her bottom lip before taking in a deep breath.
“Well, let's hope that everything goes the way it should”. Niona had an unsettling smile on her face, it almost looked like she was hoping for something bad to happen to Yasue.
Niona then turned her attention to me, she walked towards me before kneeling down to my level, “Listen to what Yasue tells you, even if I hate her guts, I trust her enough to do this”. The way that Niona just casually admitted that is quite surprising that when I glanced at Yasue I half expected a less than savoury response to that. But instead, she seemed to enjoy the jab at her, as I saw quietly giggle to herself. It came as no surprise to see Niona's face twist into anger while trying to keep her composure.
She then turned her attention towards Ellana, “It's time we leave them, the two of them alone, they both have important topics to discuss”. At first, I expected Ellana to object considering she had been so attached to me both figuratively and literally, so it came a surprise when Ellana willing went along with what Niona had told her.
I watched as both Niona and Ellana leave the room, the latter glancing at me for a brief second before disappearing from my view entirely. Their footsteps echoing as they moved further away from the room, a moment later, Talaena stood at the entrance and bowed towards Yasue.
“Lady Niona, asked me to provide whatever assistance you may require, Lady Yasue”. Talaena seemed almost uncomfortable being here, which seemed odd to me because she would usually always act the opposite to what she was now. Has there been history between the two of them? Or did Yasue have an infamous reputation that even a servant like Talaena would be well aware of it? It's hard to say, however, it would definitely be worth looking into when possible.
“It will certainly be useful to have some extra hands for this, so I'm glad for the assistance”. Yasue's barely unchanged expression still sent a chill down my spine, her eyes felt like they could literally look right through you, and that creepy small smile didn't help either.
You're probably thinking that I'm just a horrible person, just casually thinking that but, there was something truly unsettling about Yasue's personality. It was confusing to me how both Elinos and Niona didn't seem at all fazed by this, almost like it's commonplace to act like this. Yet is Yasue is the first person I've ever met since being reborn in this world with such a unique personality so to speak.
I watched Yasue drop back down onto the plumb sofa that she was sitting before stretching her body, she was silent for a moment like she was thinking to herself about something. She then turned her attention to me, and instinctively I felt my body stiffen as she laid her eyes upon me, at first, Yasue seemed disinterested in giving me any attention whatsoever. Yet a few seconds later, she motioned for me to come to her, that's when I realized just how much my legs ached from standing in that same spot for such a long time. As I moved my legs, I felt the strain of my muscles as if I had literally just woken up from a long sleep, I tried my best not to show it to both Talaena and especially Yasue.
As I moved closer, Yasue then tapped the free space next to her on the sofa. At first, I felt reluctant, but I quickly pushed that thought aside not wanting to get on her nerves I quickly took my seat next to her on the sofa. For the first few moments, the room would be filled with complete silence, to be honest, it felt unnerving. I looked towards Talaena standing at the edge of the room, trying not to look in the general direction of where me and Yasue sat on the sofa. I then glanced at Yasue to find her not giving me any attention, normally someone my age would probably be frustrated by that yet I felt glad to be the centre of this woman's attention.
It felt like ages before anyone spoke up, so when Yasue ended up being the first to talk I had mixed feelings about it but, I didn't say a word, especially not in front of her.
“So you're the girl that Niona gave up everything she had for?”. It's clear that the question had been directed towards me, and I could sense a hint of frustration and disappointment in her tone when that question escaped her lips. She didn't seem to care how she put it across or how rude it sounded, to be honest, in the short time I've known her she made such a thing clear when being confrontational with Niona.
“I wonder what's so special about you?”. As I turned to look at her again, she flicked me on the forehead with the tip of her finger. Although the pain only lasted a few seconds, the stinging sensation could still be felt around the area of where she flicked her finger. I could even feel small tears in the corner of my eyes welling up but, I fought to keep them back, not wanting to give Yasue the satisfaction. Before I could say anything myself, Talaena interrupted.
“Lady Yasue! I can't sit by and let you treat Lady Edona in such a way!”. This is the first time I have ever seen Talaena act so seriously, usually she was always happy and joyful there had never been a time that I remember ever getting so serious. Seeing her acting like this for the first time, really made me question how much I really knew about her, even after all these years.
Yasue let out a single chuckle from her mouth, “Don't get your panties in a twist, Talaena”. I could see Talaena out the corner of my eye, and she looked like she didn't quite know to respond to Yasue. To be honest, the way Talaena spoke out earlier almost seemed to be on instinct rather than thought through beforehand, regardless, I am glad she spoke up for me.
I heard Yasue sigh heavily. “Look, Edona, I don't have anything against you…” she looked away briefly but, I caught a glimpse and I could see her cheeks turning red “…i-it's just me and your mother has a bit of history, to say the least”. Hearing Yasue mention such a thing made me wonder what happened between her and Niona. It became obvious from their short exchange from before that the two of them had a history that stretched back long before I had been born.
It did make me wonder what exactly happened between the two of them. At least, looking at it from Yasue's perspective she seemed to harbour some emotions towards it, whether they were good or bad I had no idea. But, the last thing I wanted to do is pry into a clearly sensitive matter especially if it had a chance to upset Yasue, the last thing I wanted was for her to take it out on me.
“Anyway, let's get started, after all, I have been hired to do a job”. Yasue became serious, which surprised me since she was rather hostile towards Niona. Her behaviour, to put it bluntly, is out right chaotic and unpredictable, it made it worse by the fact what her face expressions were near impossible to read. Turning to look at her, those staple eyes of hers that still made me uncomfortable looked directly at me, it almost felt like she could look straight through me.
Yasue stood up from where she had been sitting on the sofa this entire time before turning to look at me once again, she stood there quiet for a few moments before speaking up.
“Are you coming?" Yasue got straight to the point which is surprised almost throwing me off I stumbled to my feet but, I quickly composed myself as I followed quickly behind her. As expected, Talaena also followed suit closely behind us as we all left the room. When the three of us entered the hallway Yasue briefly looked briefly in both directions before going left in the hallway.
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