Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 95 - All in the Past

"So, Viviane... About last night..."

Viviane nearly choked on the loaf of bread that she'd just bit into, coughing furiously. The rocking carriage only served to exacerbate her discomfort. Much to the chagrin of the inn's patrons and the innkeeper, the two had left at the crack of dawn, heading toward Orinth at top speed.

Medrauta reached over, patting her lady on the back as Viviane took a swig from one of their water flasks to wash down the remainder of the bread. She gave the noblewoman an apologetic look, not expecting Viviane to be so surprised. After all, the noblewoman did take the lead.

"L-Let's table that discussion for now, Medrauta!" Viviane hastily said as she recovered.

"Oh? Why's that?" Medrauta asked, leaning a little closer to Viviane. "Do you regret what you did?"

"N-No! Of course not! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then tonight..."

"We can't!" Viviane shook her head vehemently. "Last night was... That was an impulse thing. For now, we should focus on our main objective. There'll be plenty of time for... things like that later on."

"You sure?" Medrauta continued pressing her lady, wrapping her arms around Viviane's hips and pulling the noblewoman close to her in a tight embrace now. "Perhaps I should—"

Viviane's expression grew sharp as she placed a finger on Medrauta's lips firmly. "Behave yourself, Medrauta. Let's focus on our mission for now."

"O-Okay..." Medrauta replied meekly, releasing her hold around her lady's hips.

Viviane gave Medrauta a quick peck on the cheek before returning to her seat. Though she was shaking her head in mock disapproval, she couldn't stop the grin forming on her face. ...Geez. How can she be so aggressive yet so docile at the same time?

Little did Viviane know, she was the only one who had managed to tame the fierce knight who was Medrauta. She looked at the seemingly despondent knight now, reaching over to lay a hand on top of Medrauta's.

"C'mon. You know better than I do that we have a job to do here... and that there are people in danger."

Medrauta sighed. "Yeah, you're right. It's just... I can't help but think that if Amelia hadn't turned out to be the biggest asshole in the history of the empire, we wouldn't be here on a mission. Lady Sakura and Riku wouldn't be in danger, and we'd just be relaxing after the academy festival. It was... I thought everything was going to go so smoothly."

"...You know, I did too, Medrauta." Viviane smiled, her expression almost wistful. She truly understood where her knight was coming from, and though Medrauta usually put her duty first, the night that they spent together must've reawakened some old regrets in the silver-haired knight.

"But I suppose this is the path that Aluvsha has forced us to walk," Medrauta replied. She gave Viviane's hand a gentle squeeze before speaking again. "And walk it we shall. I'm sure there'll be a beautiful destination at the end."

"Oh, but anywhere would be beautiful so long as I'm with you, Medrauta." Viviane replied sweetly, shooting her knight an impish wink.

"Y-You...!" Medrauta's face flushed, surprised by Viviane's sudden attack. "Since when did you learn to talk like that!?"

"Didn't I already tell you everything you needed to know last night?" Viviane asked coyly as she stuck out her tongue. "Anyway, it looks like we're close to arriving now. This really does fit the sort of place that you'd go to lay low, doesn't it?"

Medrauta followed her lady's gaze out the window, looking upon the town of Orinth in the distance. Judging by the speed of the carriage, it looked as though it would still take a couple more minutes for them to arrive, but even seeing it from afar told Medrauta all she needed to know about the town.