Surfacing Above the Water (3)

Wallace Hope.

The moment that name left Butler Ramid’s lips, silence fell over everyone present.

Linea and Claire didn’t yet know Wallace Hope’s true identity. However, just thinking about Lost’s demeanor after meeting Wallace Hope earlier made it clear what kind of person he was.

‘It must be because of Lost…’

And Wallace Hope likely felt the same. He hadn’t deliberately sought a private meeting with Lost. Moreover, since he left the Pantheon Temple right after that conversation, it was obvious who his target had been.

“…Unnie, this is a trap.”

“Mmm.”

One that couldn’t be more obvious.

Though Lost hadn’t said much, he had given sufficient hints.

Regardless of how he viewed Wallace Hope, since arriving in Coinur he had been noticeably concerned about safety.

Bringing Mar to the Pantheon Temple and telling the two of them not to leave the Pantheon Temple unless absolutely necessary – these were all such hints.

Because it was dangerous enough to require caution even when together.

“Claire.”

The target was Linea. Not the cautious Lost but his companion.

Such an obvious ploy.

“I’ll go.”

“…”

But it couldn’t be ignored.

The reason it was an obvious ploy was because there was no need to hide it.

“Though I ran away from home, I’m still a member of House Spirin. I used that name and enjoyed its privileges. So isn’t this only natural?”

Linea had been using House Spirin’s name. Not just when passing through city gates, but also enjoying the benefits given to nobles.

Someone in her position couldn’t betray House Spirin’s name in this situation.

The other party was House Hope, one of the two pillars supporting the empire.

What if she didn’t show her face and simply ordered them to leave when the head of such a house came to visit?

That would give the other side justification at that moment.

Though it wouldn’t lead to territorial warfare, political pressure would surely follow and end up causing innocent territory residents to suffer.

Isn’t preventing such things the role of lords and their families?

“He just came without notice…”

“That’s right. This could be resolved by saying we’re busy now and will visit another time.”

An uninvited guest.

That fact was undeniable.

After all, Wallace Hope had come without any prior notice.

“But you know that would just make someone else the target. We can’t involve family members who know nothing about our situation.”

This was both a warning and an opportunity.

Now that he had already identified Linea, there was no escape.

“He wouldn’t kill me, would he? He came bearing a duke’s name after all. It should be fine.”

That must surely be the case.

A demon who had hidden in shadows and endured for thousands of years wouldn’t reveal his identity over something like this.

At least Linea thought that someone Lost was wary of wouldn’t show such weakness.

It was a reasonable deduction.

But it wasn’t something she could be certain of. At least Linea knew nothing about her opponent.

Yet she wasn’t worried because.

“And even if something happens to me, wouldn’t that give Lost both opportunity and justification?”

Even if something happened to her, it would help Lost.

“Claire, would you tell Lost about this?”

If the opponent was clearly targeting them and it couldn’t be avoided, they would just have to make corresponding preparations. Linea planned to use herself as bait to create an opportunity for Lost.

*     *     *

In the carriage heading to House Spirin.

Sitting in the carriage, Linea looked sheepishly at the red-haired girl sitting across from her.

“You didn’t need to come along though…”

“Don’t say that. What would I do staying there alone? Having minimal guards will help you too, and don’t I need to repay my debt?”

In terms of actual combat ability, Linea was far superior to Mar, but Mar knew nothing about Linea’s capabilities.

Among the people Lost had left behind, one was a patient and one was a doctor.

Naturally she would think they were non-combatants.

“Mmm…”

Knowing this fact, Linea could only scratch her cheek sheepishly with an indescribable feeling.

Still, it was some comfort that Mar, having trained in assassination techniques, wouldn’t be a hindrance.

Claire must have headed to the hunter’s guild to inform Lost of the current situation. Fortunately, Pope Cotinus had readily offered to guide her.

That’s why she brought Mar along.

At least it seemed better than leaving her alone at the Pantheon Temple.

Mar was already under Pantheon Temple protection due to possible internal strife within Shade.

Though that was the situation, her coming along saying she wouldn’t leave Linea alone wasn’t really a problem.

This was House Spirin after all.

At least while riding in House Spirin’s carriage, even assassins wouldn’t be able to approach carelessly.

Would they risk antagonizing a noble house that already knew of Shade’s existence? Unless it was an assassination where the culprit couldn’t be traced, an assassination where the culprit was obvious would only cause trouble.

That’s why Mar insisted on being Linea’s guard.

Under the role of being her friend.

“…You need to behave, okay?”

“What do you take me for? I know how to handle nobles too, so don’t worry.”

So this setup was surely right.

From the start, though it was called guard duty, the chances of anything happening were low, and even if the opponent was plotting something, it would be enough if Mar alone could escape.

She was already a guest of the noble house, so her testimony would have some use.

‘But…’

All these judgments were conclusions reached through agreement between her and her companions.

Claire’s safety would be Cotinus’s responsibility, Linea’s safety would be Mar’s, and Mar’s safety would be covered by House Spirin’s name.

It was certainly a good plan.

‘Somehow, this doesn’t feel like coincidence.’

But was it just her imagination that they seemed to have been led to act this way?

Could they have been manipulated by someone who thoroughly understood their tendencies?

Such anxiety was sprouting in a corner of Linea’s mind.

An assumption bordering on overthinking. But it was in the realm of beastkin instinct.

“Mar, maybe we should go back…”

“Are you seriously doing this?”

Thump!

“Eek?!”

When Mar firmly grabbed Linea’s tail, Linea jumped up in surprise. After hitting her head on the carriage ceiling and coming back down like that.

She crouched down wondering whether to tend to her tail or head first.

“Ugh…”

“Who’s worrying about whom here.”

Mar crossed her legs while sitting, looking at Linea as if this was absurd.

From her perspective, Linea was the one who needed worrying about.

If anything, she seemed too insensitive to her own crisis.

“And it’s already too late.”

As Mar mocked Linea like this was preposterous, the carriage gradually came to a stop.

“Looks like we’ve already arrived. If you had complaints you should have said so before departing. You can’t just leave a guest now, right?”

“Ugh… That’s true.”

After her internal deliberation, Linea let out a whimper while stroking both her head and tail to soothe the pain. If they had already arrived, nothing could be done. The sense of discomfort was still just discomfort.

Her certainty that the opponent wouldn’t touch her remained.

“Since it’s come to this, we have no choice. I’ll receive the guest in the reception room, so Mar, please wait outside with the butler.”

“Oh, you’re not going to hide me?”

“Getting caught hiding in the next room would be a political disaster, don’t you think?”

“That’s true! Hahaha!”

Linea gave a bitter smile at Mar’s hearty laughter.

Perhaps.

‘Yes, perhaps Mar might be my first female friend…’

Lost and Titan were different cases. Claire was someone to look after. Besides them, Mar was the only one who had approached her so openly.

Moreover, she wasn’t hiding anything. Well, before she could hide anything, Lost had already exposed everything.

“Shall we go then?”

Thinking this way made Linea feel more at ease as she smiled.

Having a friend who would stand up for you was such a wonderful thing.

What she had dreamed of.

The kind of relationship she thought she could pursue by hiding herself.

That moment was now proven.

‘If anything happens then…’

So she must not die.

If that moment came, she would throw herself in to protect Mar.

That’s what Linea thought.

*     *     *

Wallace Hope was waiting quietly for Linea in the reception room.

As Linea expected. He had no intention of laying hands on her right away.

At least not with his own hands or means directly connected to him.

“Oh my, it’s been so long. First time since you were five, isn’t it?”

At that point Linea returned to House Spirin wearing a noble dress.

“Hello, Duke Hope. I am Linea Spirin. I apologize for keeping you waiting today.”

“How stiff. No need for that. Be at ease, be at ease.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Despite Wallace Hope saying to be at ease, Linea maintained minimum etiquette as she took her seat.

Normally she should have asked Wallace Hope’s permission to sit, but that would be ridiculous given her role as the host.

“Yes, sorry for bothering you when you must be busy.”

“No, I’m not particularly…”

“Is that so? That’s fortunate then. But… shall we dispense with unnecessary formalities and greetings between us?”

Linea straightened her back at Wallace’s blatant opening.

Though he wore a gentle smile, his attitude was clearly cold.

“First, have the servants leave.”

“…Very well. Everyone, it seems we’ll be having an important conversation, so please give us some privacy.”

Linea sent the servants out despite his obvious intentions.

“Yes, young miss.”

The unknowing servants hastily left Linea’s uncomfortable presence.

Linea felt bitter seeing this. The result of her desperate struggle to survive in the past. She was still avoided like this because of the incident where she had turned the tables on an assassin targeting her at a young age.

‘No, perhaps even more so now…’

A child who had dismembered a grown man at such a young age.

Everyone knows that now that she’s grown, those terrible abilities would have only increased, not decreased.

“Your expression doesn’t look good.”

“Thank you for your concern, but there’s no problem so it’s fine.”

“Kekeke.”

Surprisingly, Linea was the first to show her true colors after the servants left.

She had already expected Wallace Hope would drop his facade once he had the servants leave.

She, too, made no effort to hide her discomfort, letting her opponent know she was on guard.

“Do you know who I am?”

“One of the two pillars supporting the empire. The head of House Hope.”

“And besides that?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know.”

Linea was bold. It wasn’t a lie to begin with.

And Wallace Hope too could tell this wasn’t a lie. Linea was wary of him but didn’t know he was a demon.

“Did that impudent brat not tell you anything?”

“He’s not one to talk about himself at all. So even if you ask me questions, I have nothing I can answer.”

“I see, is that so?”

Linea said nothing. She had no intention of even mentioning the trivial information she knew.

However, she was still naive and didn’t realize even that could become information.

That’s why Wallace Hope laughed. He decided to tell her what fatal mistake she had made.

“You know, in life… You meet quite a few fellows who say they’re not afraid of losing their lives.”

“…”

“But among them, 9 out of 10 are liars. In truth, they value their lives more than anything. Just putting on airs, you see.”

“I see.”

“Then what about those who truly are like that? The remaining 1 out of 10.”

“…I wonder. Perhaps people with strong convictions?”

“Surprisingly, even among them there are categories. And most of them tend to have beliefs.”

Beliefs that take precedence over life itself.

That’s why there are people who can throw away even their own lives.

Those who stand on the frontlines are like that.

They advance knowing they could die, to protect those behind them.

“People who have something more precious than life. And that means they have something precious they want to protect even at the cost of their lives.”

Linea thought of Lost.

He seemed to have convictions. That’s why he could always throw himself into danger.

“Then what’s the last one?”

“…I wonder.”

“Actually, it’s not that different. They have something precious too. However…”

Wallace Hope fiddled with his cane before raising his head to look at Linea.

At her eyes.

The beautifully shining purple irises. What lay within them.

“For them, there’s no modifier of ‘more precious than life’.”

“…”

“They are the ones who truly don’t value their lives. They have no attachment to living. People who value their own lives infinitely low.”

Wallace Hope smiled.

With the same gentle, reassuring smile as always.

“Usually people like you, Lady Linea Spirin.”

“…”

“They’re far better than those who claim they’re not afraid to give up their lives. Want to know why?”

Wallace Hope stood from his seat and placed his hand on the shoulder of the still-seated Linea.

Someone who truly has no attachment to life.

Yet if such a person is still alive, what would that mean?

“Because they don’t even realize that.”

They just mistakenly think they still want to live.

They’re just trapped in fixed ideas based on human morality.

“So I won’t kill you. If you waver at my words.”

Wallace Hope’s smile wavered. His gentle, reassuring smile twisted grotesquely as he sneered.

“I don’t even need to act now. Just a little push from behind will do.”

Linea would die.

Not by his hand, but by choosing it of her own will.