I Start with a Bad Hand!

“Hey, what do you think about the upcoming friendly match?”

Klaus watched as his peers approached from a distance. Dietrich, also aware of the footsteps and laughter, looked towards the sound and then turned away, seemingly trying to move inconspicuously to avoid being noticed.

At that moment, a selfish desire welled up in Klaus.

‘I don’t want anyone to see her like this.’

He didn’t want others to witness Dietrich, hidden in a secluded spot, struggling with her tears alone. He wanted to give her some time, even just a moment, to cry freely without being seen. To provide a small space of comfort for her.

As soon as he thought this, Klaus instinctively took off his jacket and threw it. Fortunately, a light breeze caught the dark jacket, causing it to flutter and gently settle over her fine hair.

“What’s up with that? Why is he just standing there?”

“It’s exam season. Everyone’s half-crazed….”

Aiden and his group glanced curiously at Dietrich, who stood there, draped in the jacket. They soon lost interest and moved on. Thank goodness, Dietrich stayed still. Relieved, Klaus looked down and saw Dietrich had removed the jacket and was now looking up at him.

Meeting eyes he had never seen before, Klaus felt a tightness in his throat, enough to make the back of his neck ache. So, he awkwardly cleared his throat and continued his excuse.

“Crow… um, a crow….”

Dietrich, still standing straight, listened to him without a word.

“A crow seemed to be targeting you.”

But it seemed like a crow you didn’t know. When she lightly laughed at his ridiculous excuse, Klaus couldn’t help but laugh too.

“I’m coming down.”

Even as he shouted, Klaus felt a sense of urgency. Dietrich, who always walked away without looking back, didn’t seem like she would wait for him. He hurriedly made his way to the back of the building and, fortunately, Dietrich was still there. Relief washed over him as he approached.

“I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”

“Klaus. Hold on a second.”

Dietrich’s urgent call made Klaus stop in his tracks. Up close, Dietrich looked a bit embarrassed.

“I’m kind of a mess right now….”

“You’re not a mess.”

Their eyes met, and Klaus noticed the faintest of smiles on Dietrich’s face.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Should I move closer? Klaus hesitated again. But then Dietrich approached first, intending to return his neatly folded jacket. Her eyes were still red.

“Could you pretend you didn’t see anything today?”

Klaus found himself nodding involuntarily at Dietrich’s typically straightforward request, feeling a bit disarmed.

“Of course.”

He quickly added, trying to keep the faint smile on Dietrich’s face from fading.

“I’m really good at pretending.”

Dietrich’s laughter, light and genuine, filled Klaus’s heart with warmth. He wanted to give her more than just a moment of solitude; he wanted to give her so much more.

***

“Are you participating in the friendly match this time?”

“Yeah. The archery club doesn’t have many members, so everyone has to participate. Klaus, are you joining too?”

When Klaus first heard about the mock battle at the Academy Cup friendly match with the allied nation of the Thomple Empire, he thought it was a crazy idea.

‘Is it okay to expose growing teenagers to such violent situations?’

It didn’t make sense. This wasn’t a virtual world like in games. Even if they used wooden swords and arrows with paint on the tips, there were endless ways to get hurt in this friendly match. Klaus couldn’t understand how it started and why it continued.

Despite the impending exam period, the academy was filled with an inexplicable energy. After their usual training, students voluntarily gathered for continuous strategy meetings. Even the archery club, which usually operated separately, started meeting several times a week.

But that wasn’t all.

“After this friendly match, there’s the preliminary knight oath ceremony.”

“Ah… So, after the preliminary knight oath ceremony, there’s the official knight oath ceremony next semester?”

“Yeah. Once that happens, we’ll truly become knights.”

This empire really loves its knights. They even have a preliminary knight oath ceremony. Though I thought it was a bit excessive, my mind was entirely focused on the preliminary knight oath ceremony. After that ceremony, there would be a ball.

‘The blank space in the book containing Dietrich’s soul corresponds to that period.’

From what Klaus told me, the procedure for the preliminary oath ceremony seemed simple. If something were to happen, it would likely be during the ball.

“There’s an interesting story related to the preliminary knight oath ceremony ball.”

“An interesting story?”

“Yeah. Apparently, if the partners at the preliminary knight oath ceremony ball exchange flowers and handkerchiefs again at the official knight oath ceremony, they’ll be happy together for life.”

No way. I recalled the contents of the book. An incomprehensible request and Dietrich explaining the reason with that strange basis.

Me: If that legend is true, I hope the person I can spend my life with is you.

“So that’s why Dietrich… in the book…”

A sigh escaped me unconsciously. Lost in thought, I remained silent for a while. Klaus, sensing my preoccupation, seemed to be trying to gauge my reaction before he added more.

“Dietrich, so… are you going to the ball this time?”

Klaus looked at me with a hesitant smile, as if trying to gauge the intention behind my question.

“I was just curious since you don’t usually attend balls. I wondered if you wouldn’t come this time either.”

“I’m not sure. But there is someone I want to ask to escort me.”

“…Someone you want to ask to escort you?”

A brief silence ensued, and just before parting, Klaus cautiously asked,

“Can I ask who that is?”

I smiled silently at his question. There was only one person I needed to go with.

***

Logan Usher: …So you want to go to the preliminary knight oath ceremony ball with me?

Me: Yes.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

I struck the pillow rapidly. Does this even make sense? What kind of… what kind of person is this, ah.

“Ah, Dietrich… just thinking about you breaks my heart.”

Me: If that legend is true, I hope the person I can spend my life with is you, Logan.

So that’s what the legend was about. At first, I didn’t understand Dietrich’s words because I didn’t know the content of the legend. But now that I knew the legend tied to the preliminary knight oath ceremony, I couldn’t understand why Dietrich made such a request.

“When did Dietrich start hating Logan?”

When I first encountered Logan here, I found him so repulsive I felt like vomiting. I thought she hated him even before entering the academy.

Even after he ignored her when she fell and broke her leg, and later when they awkwardly ignored each other upon reuniting at the academy, Dietrich still asked Logan to the ball. Had she not given up on Logan until then?

“What’s so attractive about Logan anyway?”

Grinding my teeth, I flipped back to the beginning of the book.

Logan Usher: I want to cherish you by my side for a lifetime.

Logan Usher: So don’t cry. (Kisses her.)

I closed the book again.

“Calm down.”

I needed to separate myself from Dietrich. Dietrich is not me, and I am not Dietrich, so it’s possible… it’s possible… This isn’t something I wanted, so it’s not a blow to my pride. For Dietrich’s sake, I could go with Logan and….

“Ahhhhhhh!”

After pounding the pillow until it was completely flat, I felt a little better.

I staggered up from my seat. No one in the academy would want to go to the preliminary knight oath ceremony with Logan to create an opportunity to spend their life together.

‘This situation is different from the one with the Baron and Baroness Degoph.’

The problem back then was relatively simple. The two had died after the blank period in the book. So, it was likely that Dietrich’s lingering regret was about losing them so tragically. But this time, it was harder to determine.

‘Is Dietrich’s regret that she went to the ball with Logan, or that she didn’t?’

Considering Dietrich’s reaction when she saw Logan again, and my own hopes, I wished it was the latter. However, I couldn’t just blindly push that narrative. The conversation following the blank in the book complicated things.

Logan Usher: It’s a shame.  

Logan Usher: Dietrich?  

Logan Usher: Are you crying?  

Logan Usher: Don’t cry. There will be other opportunities, and we can see each other anytime. I’ll definitely be with you at the official knight oath ceremony.

From the context, it seemed Logan and Dietrich didn’t attend the ball together, and Dietrich was crying. In that situation, the regret most likely was…

“Sigh…”

I had no choice but to rely on the written record. In this script-like book where neither expressions nor tones were revealed, the only clues I had were the words themselves. Reluctantly, I stood up.

So, when I secretly called Logan as he was leaving the training ground, he looked at me with a dumbfounded expression but followed obediently.

“…So, with me?”

“Yes. With you.”

I gritted my teeth and spoke.

“Is this because of that legend about the preliminary knight oath ceremony?”

Logan’s lips curved with an inexplicable sense of superiority beneath his wet upper lip. I hid my clenched fists behind my back and forced a vague smile.

Then it happened.

“But you don’t believe in things like that.”

Someone spoke as they naturally took the bow I was holding. I didn’t need to see to know who it was from the voice alone.

“It’s just a ball for the preliminary knight oath ceremony. Right?”

Icarus, while examining the bow, looked up and met my eyes.