Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 57: Let Us Begin in Earnest (2)

"―Enki. Did you do something to your shoulder? And what is that fanciful sword?"

"I’m your bodyguard. It’s protection."

The instant Lucretia stepped out of the door of her classroom and looked at me, her brows furrowed as she suddenly accused me.

"Is it ceremonial? Or ornamental?"

"I know it looks like that, but it works just fine."

"...Alright. And your shoulder?"

"What about it?"

Pausing for a moment, she looked me up and down before resuming.

"Your posture is off. Didn’t I tell you to demonstrate proper noble conduct while we could be seen together?"

Immediately fixing my skewed posture, I straightened my back and changed the subject.

"Oh... excuse me. Then, shall we get going? You have additional studies scheduled in an hour, so do you want to hurry back to make time for tea beforehand? Mary said she’s been working hard to match your tastes precisely."

"...Indeed. Your suggestion is quite ideal. And that girl has thus proved her determination yet."

Though she muttered that, her eyes remained glued to me for a short while before finally shifting away. Thereafter, she walked forward, brushing past me and continuing down the corridor.

"Very well. Let us not waste any time, then."

Her legs, though shorter than mine, were brisk, so I forced my feet swiftly to catch up and match her pace.

Now that I thought about it, Lucretia was quite tall for a girl, and particularly among her peers. In fact, wasn’t she about the same height as that little prince...? No, if she were to wear heels during the engagement ceremony, I’m certain she’d be taller than him.

I guess that was just one more lump of coal to add to the pile that fuelled his burning insecurity.

’Well, he’s still a bitch.’

Navigating the swarm of silenced noble students who parted and made way for us like frightened sheep, which had become somewhat of a daily occurrence, it didn’t take long at all to make it out of the academy premises.

"So?"

Only then, when there was nobody around, did our maintained quiet shatter, with Lucretia’s voice addressing me who walked behind her.

"Will you explain what happened out there?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, don’t feel any pressure to answer me if you don’t want to. I’m not forcing you to say anything, indeed, stay silent if you so wish. Bear in mind, you are only my attendant in name, and you only hold that role in public furthermore, and thus, I do not possess the right to make you speak if it goes against your will. Yes. Please, prioritise your own comfort over my needless concern."

"..."

’What?’

Though she said all that, her indifferent tone and emphasised inflections gave me the feeling that she was, in fact, trying to put pressure on me to answer. Rather, the sarcasm was evident.

Still, since she said it herself, she couldn’t complain if I complied with her words, right?

"I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about."

"I see."

"Can you explain what you mean?"

"No, that’s quite alright. If you say nothing happened, I suppose nothing must have happened after all. I surely must have been mistaken."

"..."

Again, I couldn’t help but feel that she was trying to squeeze an answer out of me by feigning indifference.

’So childish...’

Seeing the person who was supposed to be an Antagonist acting like this was a little humorous, but it went to show that she really was just a teenage girl at the end of the day.

Unfortunately for her, those kinds of petty psychological tricks didn’t work on me.

If I didn’t want to do something, I simply wouldn’t do it.

After that awkward exchange, the previous silence between us resumed until returning to the Christina-Rasa capital residence. Then, two-and-a-half hours later, when Lucretia’s additional self-study ended and it was time for dinner, the time finally came for me to bring up what I had been wondering for a while now.

"Hey, you mentioned knowing quite a bit about magic the other day, right?"

"Magical theory is among my responsibilities, that’s correct. Why, is there something about the topic you were curious about?"

"Do you know if there’s a way to find out if someone’s hiding their magic power?"

As those words left my mouth, Lucretia, who was in the middle of eating her meal, suddenly paused, her brows subtly furrowing.

"...Is there something I should be concerned about?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that. I have information that the Prota-- Uh, that Ayla Tichá is hiding some kind of magic power. I’d like to confirm it."

Again, there was a pause from her side before she finally questioned me.

"Lady Tichá? Are you telling me that wench is hiding an unknown magical prowess without anyone being even the slightest bit aware? Enki, surely you are mistaken, or perhaps, do you jest?"

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"Why would I? I’m being serious. Since I have no idea what it is, I haven’t been able to deal with her out of precaution. As it stands, the risk is too high, so I need a way to uncover what it is she’s hiding. And before you ask, I’m confident that it’s not related to her uncanny charming ability."

There was reason to believe that the Protagonist’s hidden power and her power of the Beloved were unrelated, and that was simply due to the presence of the Tags themselves.

Most of all, I doubted the Difficulty would be so high if all she was capable of was charming some teenage boys. There had to be something more to it.

Lucretia shut her mouth, remaining quiet after hearing my explanation.

Since we were working together as Antagonist and Antagonist Protection Service, I figured it was best to be honest with her with news regarding the Protagonist’s hidden power. That way, we would have the best shot at revealing her secret.

I tried looking into it myself for the past few days, but as nothing came up, I thought I’d stop wasting time. There was also no reason to intentionally hide it when it concerned Lucretia’s safety and her goal, too.

Honestly, I was really hoping that she would be able to just tell me that finding out what kind of magic power the Protagonist was hiding would be easy, or better, that she already knew exactly what it was.

That we would be able to swiftly neutralise it and take her out immediately.

Of course, things could never be that simple, though.

"Enki, if what you’re saying is true, I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do about it. Certainly, there are ways one can determine a person’s magical aptitude or potential, but to do so requires magi-technological equipment only accessible by licensed scholars and researchers."

Things didn’t always go to plan. That was why adaptability was such a crucial trait.

"Naturally, I would without a doubt be able to procure such equipment, but it would nevertheless be considerably difficult to use it to gather information on Lady Tichá without her knowledge. If her magical ability turns out to be as grand as you make out, the risk of retaliation may indeed be too high to warrant an attempt."

Pursing my lips at her rejection of my idea, I squeezed my eyes shut as the only option left filled my mind. Indeed, it would be exceptionally risky.

’I guess I have no choice but to resort to the ’self-imposed love interest’ route after all... Ugh, god, how long will it take...?’

The thought of spending so much time around the Protagonist that she trusts me enough to reveal her power of her own accord was draining, but in the end, it was the only safe, reliable path I could envision right now.

"...Nevermind then. Instead, can I ask something else? Is there anyone working in this mansion who can use healing magic?"

If this was going to drag on after all, then I’d better make good use of all that spare time.