Chapter 92

Deshero unfolded the hand he had been gripping tightly.

"Your hand is so soft, Miss Daisy."

"......"

"Though there are some calluses, they are not those of a swordsman. They seem to be from household chores. Yet, you used a sword aura. You even burned off the head of the Marquis Medes with a skillfully transformed sword aura. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"......"

"How can someone with an unskilled body in swordsmanship use a sword aura? There is only one answer. It's because your soul is of a high caliber. Your soul is that of an excellent swordsman. That's why."

When did it start?

"There must be a mark of the same oath in the same place as Andert Vager's."

I was half-giving up.

It wasn't just giving up. I was focusing on every word Deshero spoke.

To find a way to refute it? I don't know.

I just became curious.

What part of me did Deshero recall? Why was he so sure it was me?

"I'll ask you one more time. Are you Andert Vager?"

Why do you have to look at me with such sad eyes?

I let out a sigh I had been holding back.

I am at a crossroads now. There were two paths.

Should I admit my identity straightforwardly? Or should I stubbornly deny it and get angry, telling him to stop talking nonsense?

A few days ago, I would have chosen the latter without hesitation. After all, I left Queen Island with the resolve never to get involved with them again.

But now, it's different.

"Cruel Andert. This cruel guy. When our war is over, let's come back here together. We can, right? Right..."

Natasha's expression.

"You seem to be eager to die on the battlefield."

Raphaelo's voice.

"He had the right to enjoy peace. He had the right to look up at the sky after the war clouds had cleared. He had the duty to be treated as a hero and praised for the rest of his life."

And Deshero, your excitement.

'You keep making me think of unnecessary things.'

Yeah, maybe it's okay.

So, the only thing I could be sure of in this situation was one thing.

I can't answer this chaos now.

"......I'm disappointed, Sir Deshero. You're still so smart."

So, there's no need to worry anymore.

Crack.

I drew the pearl sword.

A thin whirlwind swirled, making the white canopy and curtains flutter. I glared with wide, black eyes and warned fiercely.

"It would have been better if you had pretended not to know. If you insist on hearing my answer, there's nothing I can do. Blame your keen eyesight."

There was no need for a last word. I slashed the sword.

"......Just kidding."

Sigh.

'How did it come to this?'

I glared at the half-dazed Deshero, then put the pearl sword back into my earring.

When I shook my head irritably, the hair that had escaped from the hairpins wrapped around my fingers.

It was awkward but natural.

I now had a maid's neatly tied hair, not the short hair of my Andert days.

"You... You're no help at all, Deshero."

I scolded Deshero with a voice full of resentment.

"Pervert? What were you so eagerly searching for? I wondered what made you chase me all the way to the Northern Continent..."

Suddenly, a warm sensation enveloped me.

"You're alive."

The source of the warmth was Deshero.

He hugged my shoulders tightly, and his body heat wrapped around me from head to toe.

Even though it wasn't a force that I couldn't resist, I couldn't move.

"You're really alive. I thought maybe, but even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn't believe it... really..."

His voice choked up and became blurry.

'If you do this, I can't get angry anymore.'

I awkwardly patted his tired back.

Deshero, who had hugged me like a parent who had found their runaway child, finally released me after a long time.

"Andert."

Then, with a ridiculous face mixed with excitement, joy, confusion, and relief, he shook me.

"Say something. How are you alive? Where have you been all this time? What's with this appearance? Is this why Raphaelo didn't recognize you? Why are you a woman?"

Well, since my identity is out, there's no need to hide anymore.

"I'm not a woman."

"......"

"I was originally a woman."

A heavy silence, as if the world had stopped, descended.

Deshero, who had been staring at me blankly, slowly, very slowly, let go of me.

Then, after a while, with a worried look, he muttered, "Did you go mad in the meantime?" and after a few more seconds of looking into my eyes, he spoke.

"Really, what happened?"

To be honest, I was deeply relieved by Deshero's calm question.

Yes, I was relieved.

'You're not blaming me.'

Even if you blame me, at least you're willing to listen to my story.

I deceived you. Is it okay to tell you the circumstances?

Looking into his serious black eyes, my heart started to flutter. I answered as casually as possible.

"Andert was my brother's name. He died in a Mephisto air raid while serving in the military. I borrowed Andert's face with magic and became Andert myself to avenge him and participate in the war... It's a common story."

"Common? No! It's absolutely not a common story. So the sister Andert mentioned was...?"

"It was me."

Deshero opened his mouth in a foolish expression. Such an expression from Deshero is rare.

Just as I thought I should enjoy this moment, the hand that had been gripping my shoulder quickly withdrew.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know and I was touching your sleeve without permission..."

Deshero apologized for his behavior, somewhat incoherently.

"Don't be sorry. How about you get down on your knees too?"

"No! Absolutely not. You shouldn't act so playfully, especially in front of a man like me."

Looking at his firm warning, my stomach... my stomach...

"Don't act like my dad, it's creepy."

"What? You are, as always..."

With a tired face, he massaged his forehead and asked me.

"Then, Andert, no, Miss Daisy. No, what is your name?"

"I'm just Daisy. I'll always be Daisy. So call me Daisy."

After a long time of massaging his forehead, Deshero looked at me with a strangely stiff gaze.

"Is that okay?"

"What? Living as Daisy Vager? Thanks for your concern, but it's fine. There are even good parts."

"......I see."

The hand that had naturally reached out to my arm stopped in mid-air.

He soon put his hand down as if nothing had happened, but I knew.

Deshero was trying not to touch my body as much as possible.

I could see him consciously restraining himself from habitually patting my shoulder or touching me lightly.

'He's being considerate because he knows I'm a woman now.'

It was a little... bitter.

"I have many questions to ask you... but the one thing I really want to say is one."

"Don't swear."

"I'm glad you're alive."

Despite my playful warning, a serious voice came.

He moved his lips as if repeating his own words and let out a small sigh.

"I'm really glad."

"......Yeah, it's a relief. You were a talent that would be a shame to lose prematurely, after all?"

Did my joke ease the tension?

Deshero, who chuckled, whispered in a much lighter voice.

"I really have a lot of questions... were you hiding all this time? I heard you appeared on Queen Island. Did you really hold out in that desolate land?"

No, I was dead.

"It's complicated. I don't have a perfect grasp of everything either. I'm still searching for various pieces of information."

After a slight pause, I instructed him.

"Don't tell Raphaelo."

His mouth closed.

His black eyes, which revealed a complex state of mind, scanned my face thoroughly.

Deshero's lips, which seemed to be trying to say something, opened and closed several times before finally opening a few seconds later.

"Is it because you're a woman?"

You hit the nail on the head.

"That's part of it. I don't want to stir things up after being gone for four years."

"But Raphaelo, no, His Excellency, would not be disappointed just because of something like gender..."

"I know."

I don't need to persuade him. I know now too.

Raphaelo is not someone who would be disappointed by something as trivial as gender.

The past I saw in the willow forest of Westwintree gave me that confidence.

These guys are not the type to scold me for hiding a significant secret.

They would welcome me back, just like Deshero in front of me.

"I know... but I don't mean to pretend I don't know at all. How could I do that when I know about your relationship with Raphaelo?"

"Right?"

"If Raphaelo asks about me, just hint that it's not Andert himself but his sister. I'll take care of the rest."