PASP Chapter 88

“Third…”

Mayfield swallowed the sigh that reflexively rose.

Egru was excessively fond of his brother. To the point of self-sacrifice. This was one of the main reasons he was so easily taken advantage of.

After all that praise about his brother, I wondered what kind of person he was…

Honestly, Mayfield wasn’t impressed with D’Élysée either. After hearing about the incident at the Papal Headquarters, she couldn’t bring herself to like him at all.

She had heard the general details about D’Élysée from Warden, the Orc Captain’s report. Though he seemed shocked by his brother’s death, apparently the man was living quite comfortably regardless.

They’re different races to begin with…

Given his position as Holy Knight Commander, perhaps the burden outweighed any affection for his brother.

Moreover…

The recently issued wanted notice from the Papal Headquarters was concerning. She couldn’t let Egru get caught up in such obvious danger.

Brothers or not, they’d lived apart for so long that they might as well be strangers now.

No, they needed to become strangers.

So that Egru could live his own life from now on.

“Finally, the third point. Listen carefully.”

“Yes!”

“Forget your brother.”

“What?”

“I said forget about D’Élysée, Egru.”

Egru’s mouth fell open at these thunderous words.

“B-but…”

“Yes, you saw his death, so you wanted to confirm his safety. Here, look.”

Mayfield pulled out a bundle of newspapers she had prepared. A photo of the newly appointed Holy Knight Commander was printed at the top of the dull gray article.

“D-D’Élysée…!”

“See? D’Élysée is doing well and healthy.”

Mayfield spread another article clipping on Egru’s desk. This time she employed a small trick. She showed only the cut-out article, not the whole newspaper, so the print date couldn’t be determined.

“Look at this too. It says even the Empire has declared they won’t interfere with the Papal Headquarters, see?”

“I-is that what it says?”

“Yes, it says here he’s doing well, maintaining neutrality as Holy Knight Commander.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Just a slightly outdated article.

Mayfield quietly organized her plan. Could she make Egru understand that D’Élysée wasn’t such a good brother or person?

Rustle.

“U-um, miss. Could I perhaps have this?”

Already wanting his brother’s photo, Egru was clutching the newspaper bundle tightly with both hands.

Mayfield shook her head.

I didn’t want to use methods that would chip away at his already fragile heart, but…

Treating a severe condition required equally strong medicine.

“You want D’Élysée to be happy, right?”

“Y-yes…”

“Listen carefully, Egru.”

Mayfield took the newspaper from Egru’s hands and put it away as she reasoned with him.

“D’Élysée can only live a happy life if he cuts you out of it.”

“Uh…”

“You just saw it. D’Élysée lives better than anyone even without you. He might even live better because you’re not there. He’s reaching marriageable age soon, and he wouldn’t want the burden of having a brother, right?”

“Th-then maybe I could just secretly check if he’s okay…”

“What if you go to see him and cause trouble again? Didn’t they say last time that demons bring misfortune? Even Levian warned you not to go near the institutions.”

Egru’s eyelids began to tremble tearfully.

“I don’t know everything, Egru. But I know for certain that anti-demon prejudice is rampant within the Holy Knight Order.”

Mayfield slowly stroked Egru’s quivering shoulders.

“The truth is, your brother would thrive anywhere you put him. It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen someone worry about a Sword Master’s safety.”

“Th-then what should I…”

Just as the perfect question came back, Mayfield pulled her lips into a smile.

“From now on, you live your own life, Egru.”

“?”

“Finally escaping single parenting.”

Mayfield smiled brightly at his bewildered expression.

“Hard to imagine living solely for your own goals? It’s okay. You’ll learn gradually.”

Mayfield stood straight in front of the blackboard again and spoke.

“For that to happen, you can’t get involved with those two again. They’re now people who have nothing to do with you.”

Tap! Tap! The white chalk struck down hard on D’Élysée and Levian’s names.

“If you happen to run into them, avoid them. If you absolutely can’t avoid meeting them, then pretend.”

“P-pretend?”

“Yes, Egru. Since your appearance has changed anyway, act like you don’t know them at all.”

“Yees…”

Seeing such a lifeless response, Mayfield’s eyes narrowed drowsily.

With such lack of motivation. Her old-maidish worry surged that he might be treated as a plaything again.

“If you can’t pretend not to know them, then pretend you’ve lost your memory!”

Mayfield finally pushed forward with a half-threatening tone. Startled by the sudden shout, Egru straightened his shoulders.

“Act like you’ve forgotten your past due to a major accident! Amnesia! Got it?”

“Y-yes!”

“Your voice is too quiet! Answer properly!”

“Yes, miss!”

“Yes, you can do it well.”

Mayfield finally smiled, slapping her palm with the wooden ruler.

“Good, know that you can’t meet the twins until you’ve mastered everything you learned today.”

“…What?”

***

And so the lessons continued relentlessly for several weeks. They were days spent learning knowledge and skills for living in the world.

The strange thing was that along with learning regular etiquette, he also received opposite training.

How to confront rude people, powerful curse expressions, how to make aggressive facial expressions, and so on.

It was special training just for Egru.

Though exhausted every day, Egru was happy. He was incredibly grateful to the miss who worked so hard for his sake.

“F-rank magical beast, Blue Slime.”

“I-I think I can win against that!”

One day during combat training. Mayfield handed Egru a wooden dagger and encouraged him.

“Good! Go ahead, Egru! Fighting!”

“I’ll go, miss!”

After wrestling for two full hours, Egru returned utterly defeated. Mayfield had to work up a sweat that day removing the Blue Slime that was stickily attached all over Egru’s body.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, Egru. You’ll get better gradually.”

Another day was sex education class.

Alpha, Beta, Omega. They learned about the relationships and characteristics of the three traits.

Mayfield pointed to the buttocks on a side profile drawn on the blackboard.

“Look here, Egru. Nothing should go in here. No matter how much in heat you are, you’re an omega so remember this well.”

“W-why?”

“Because if sperm comes out, you’ll get pregnant. You must never do it with someone you don’t love. Egru, do you have someone you love?”

“Th-the miss…! Kam and Kum…!”

D’Élysée and Levian. Egru mumbled the last two quietly.

“Hmm, I see.”

Mayfield seemed satisfied that she was mentioned first.

“Then tell me, Egru. What would you do if I started kissing you all over?”

After blinking for a while, Egru carefully offered an answer.

“Since it’s someone I love… I’d stay still.”

“Even if you don’t like the kisses?”

“I don’t dislike them.”

Seeing that bright, innocent smile, Mayfield couldn’t help but reach out.

“You cute thing! How do you always choose such sweet things to say?”

She pinched and stretched his cream-colored cheeks, then tickled his sides. Soon they resumed the lesson in a much softer atmosphere.

“This time, imagine I’m Levian, Egru.”

“Okay, miss.”

“What should you do if I grab your thighs and try to put something between your buttocks?”

“…?”

Instead of answering, Egru showed with actions. Seeing him stay quietly still for a long while, Mayfield shook her head.

“No, that’s wrong. Think again.”

This time he contemplated for quite a while. After long deliberation, as his legs slowly spread apart, Mayfield exclaimed in dismay.

“No! Egru! I told you it’s not allowed!”

“B-but Levian is someone I love…”

“…”

Mayfield silently pressed her fingers to her brow. There was a limit to cramming such stimulating information into such an innocent mind.

Let’s end it here for today.

Looking at the darkening window, Mayfield thought this.

“Just remember this one thing, Egru. You’ll die if a penis goes in your bottom.”

“Whaat?”

“Think of it as the end of your life. Understand? Answer me right now!”

“Y-yes!”

“However, if you meet someone you really want to put it in too…!”

Silence fell over the wide hall for a while. Mayfield agonized and agonized again. While steadily watching Egru break out in a cold sweat.

After a long silence, her lips slowly parted.

“First bring them to me. I’ll judge.”

Egru nodded vigorously.