Chapter 0.9: Untruths
“Soooo, Sir Guilford,” Tamaki started, shaking a mug of beer in his left hand, his right hand tapping Guilford’s arm lightly, “are you dating that fu-fu-fuchsia-haired chick yet?”
Guilford, who had been—until this point—behaving, faced the situation awkwardly. He had to admit, he felt rather out of place in this group. Just a while ago, he had been idly (if it was possible for him) chatting with his former rival, Kyoshiro Tohdoh. He had been invited to a bachelor party by Sir Kaname Ohgi, a Japanese who was about to be wed to a Britannian. Truly, it was a celebration. It was like how Cornelia had called it, “a culmination of peace” and “a symbolism of unity”. It was a wonder, really: former enemies were celebrating together. However, the party was anything but peaceful. So to speak, Guilford had never been to any informal celebrations of any sort; he had only attended formal celebrations such as balls and ceremonies, and he always attended with Cornelia as her Knight.
This time, there was no Cornelia with him.
The small party was held in a bistro of sorts—if Guilford remembered correctly, it was owned by Tamaki, one of Sir Ohgi’s friends—and various people had been invited, all were acquaintances of Kaname Ohgi. Guilford personally was not a close friend of the man. And after looking around, Guilford realized that these formerly were his enemies, and perhaps, he thought, it was the reason why he had been invited at all. Maybe Ohgi had thought of it, too: seeing enemies who fought for each other’s heads celebrating together was indeed a sight to see.
Up until that moment, Guilford had been conversing with Tohdoh peacefully at the bar. He hadn’t pulled a drink yet; he felt there was not a need. However, when Tamaki came, he felt it was time.
Sensing Guilford’s discomfort, Tohdoh said to Tamaki, “Leave him alone, Tamaki.”
“Ehhhh??” Tamaki questioned after taking a gulp of the beer in his mug. “Are you saying that you aren’t?”
Guilford’s cheeks slightly reddened at this. Instead of answering, however, he pulled a bottle of whiskey from the bar, and poured himself a glass.
Not waiting for his reply, Tamaki sat on a stool while still nursing his mug. “You really aren’t dating?” he asked. “Not even sleep together?”
“…”
“Still, no longer her Knight, eh?”
The former Knight almost winced at the mention of that word. “Yes, that is correct,” he finally answered Tamaki verbally for the first time. His patience was wearing thin, but if anything, he was feeling more embarrassed than angry at the drunken man. “Since we no longer hold our titles, the contract that was tied with those titles are valid no longer.” He didn’t look anywhere but his drink, but he could sense his former rival nod his head quietly.
At his response, Tamaki laughed rather sloppily. It was an unbecoming, wet sound coming from a drunken man. “Gives you all the more reason, doesn’t it!” It was more of an exclamation than a question. At this point, Tamaki forcefully put his free arm around Guilford’s shoulder and pulled him to whisper mischievously, “Tell me, just how tight is she, Spearhead of the Empire?”
The slightly reddened cheeks turned to vivid ruby. Guilford choked on the whiskey that was halfway down his throat. Putting no regard to how he addressed him, his mind concentrated only on another person’s name being slandered. How dare he say that about Her Highness…!
Tohdoh sighed. “Tamaki,” he called to the man pointedly and gave him an equally sharp stare. “If Cornelia hears that herself, you are dead meat. You don’t want to bring back the bad blood between Japanese and Britannians, don’t you?”
Tamaki laughed nervously and finally pulled away from the already coughing Guilford, giving him room to breathe. “I’m just kidding!” he asserted. He rubbed the back of his head. “Sheesh, you people should learn how to loosen up…,” he muttered before strolling away, most likely to find other men to irritate.
At his leave, Tohdoh remained quiet; Guilford exhaled.
You sure know how to pick your comrades, Tohdoh, Guilford almost said, but before a single word came out of his mouth, he brought the glass to his lips and drank.
“I will not ask for forgiveness in behalf of him for his behavior,” Tohdoh spoke. He was looking straight ahead, but Guilford turned his head to look at him, appearing almost surprised that the man said anything. “But the man certainly had too much to drink.”
Guilford turned his head back forward, and lowered his sight down to his drink. He was still struggling with his eyesight. After his survival from the F.L.E.I.A. explosion, his eyes had become extremely sensitive to light. During his stay in the hospital, he had been given dark prescription glasses for his eyes to be protected. It cost him an effort to see clearly, but he was not blind. That, at least, was a comfort to him, and, perhaps, to Princess Cornelia as well. He was not incapacitated; he can still be a capable, able Knight to his Princess. He was no longer a Knight of Honor, yes, but simply because a contract had been terminated did not mean his responsibility for her was terminated along with it. Guilford knew from the beginning where his loyalty lies.
Guilford let out a small sigh, exhaling his exasperation with it. “I understand.”
There was a silence that followed. Whatever was left of idle chat had been consumed minutes ago, particularly before Tamaki came to join them. Guilford and Tohdoh were men of the field, and certainly not men of talk. They could easily start talking about business, Knightmare Frames, the wedding they are celebrating for, politics, or anything else that did not require any semblance of sentiment, but while plenty of things had been happening and many matters needing attention to the group they were currently in and to the men who was holding this celebration, it was almost rude—a blasphemy—to not take part and pause for even the littlest bit of celebration.
“How is Cornelia?” Tohdoh asked. He did not particularly care for Cornelia; it was just to start a conversation, and he knew exactly what would take the former Knight’s attention.
“She is doing well,” Guilford answered.
“I see,” Tohdoh said matter-of-factly.
Tohdoh didn’t ask more, but Guilford continued, “We will be staying in Japan until the wedding is over. In the meantime, she is helping with the negotiations with the government and remodeling of Knightmare Frames.”
“You said ‘we’.”
Guilford nodded. “Yes, we recently rented an apartment here. We will be staying there together until our work requires us to change locations.”
Tohdoh glanced at him; Guilford’s cheeks reddened a little.
“…To save on funds.”
Tohdoh stared at him for a moment; Guilford attempted a diversion by consuming his drink again.
“I am not questioning your relationship with the princess.” Tohdoh stated. For a few seconds, he thought of fetching himself a glass and getting a drink, too. “However, it seems that plenty of the rumors are untrue.”
“Rumors?” Guilford asked, and paused to ponder on it. “If you are referring to what Tamaki said earlier…”
“Hm,” Tohdoh said. “I have heard of other things.”
Such as…? Guilford thought, but didn’t say it out loud. He wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted to hear it, either.
“Well…,” Tohdoh said before running over his words; he did not want to sound offensive. “There were some gossip saying that you earned your position in the military through improper methods. I heard that you, ah, slept your way to the top.” For a second, Guilford thought that the man sounded rather amused, or embarrassed… or both. “Your closeness to the Commander in Chief only caused more stories to sprout.”
Guilford did not reply. It was almost as if he found it more appealing to communicate with his whiskey than with Tohdoh.
“Others even told suggestive stories that it was how you… earned your title as ‘Spearhead of the Empire’.”
“Well,” Guilford said, “Corne—Princess Cornelia and I, we were both aware of the kind of stories going around.” He put his glass down and looked at the liquid, searching for his translucent reflection. “There had been plenty of rumors going around in the military.” He paused for a drink. “Nobles’ names are often squandered, especially those with high ranks. We paid them no heed; it was futile. There were necessary matters that needed attending.”
“Of course, after the moment I clashed weapons against you, I knew it wasn’t the case.”
If Tohdoh was planning to interject some flattery in his tone, Guilford failed to notice it. At least, Guilford pondered, he knows what is not true.
“At first, I thought you were driven by loyalty,” Tohdoh reasoned.
Guilford felt proud. He nearly closed his left hand to a fist and placed it on his heart. “Where Cornelia is, my loyalty lies.”
“That’s what I thought.” Tohdoh smirked. As if to assert himself, he added, “My loyalty is to my country.”
Guilford looked at him, finally, the faintest of smiles on his lips. Tohdoh smiled, too, if a little, and it looked odd on his face.
“That is what makes us different, I suppose.”
“Indeed, it is,” Tohdoh agreed. There was a beat before he proceeded, and a small trace of hesitation before he continued, “I am not a man of emotions, Guilford, but I recognize devotion when I see it.”
Guilford fell to quietness. Their conversation took a side-turn into something that he found rather delicate to tread on. He stared at his drink for a few moments once again, took a mouthful, and refilled the glass. If Tohdoh so wished to continue the dialogue, he needed a source of strength to go by.
Tohdoh sensed that Guilford neither affirmed nor denied his insinuation, but, just like what Guilford had said a mere seconds ago, something in their loyalties distinguish them from each other. What he said earlier was true, that he thought the Knight was driven by loyalty, and it was true until now, only that it was accompanied by something else. Tohdoh did not particularly care much for relationships, but seeing the Knight act rather curiously after being bitten by the drunken owner of the bistro sparked some interest in him. Apparently, it turned out, Gilbert G.P. Guilford, who once threatened to execute him publicly, possessed vulnerability, and had other problems to face after all.
He watched as Guilford continued to drink, not pausing even to look at him. It was almost amusing, but he sympathized with him.
“Is it unrequited?”
To Guilford, Tohdoh almost sounded like Darlton. But Darlton never spoke this way to him, and it was because Darlton knew.
“Everything I do for her,” he started with confidence, but it came out as a form of self-reassurance, “I do, not for the hopes of being reciprocated.”
Tohdoh detected the emotion in his voice, and said to him, almost like a consolation, “However, it is something to note that after everything, you are with her still, even when you are no longer a Knight.”
“I am still a Knight,” Guilford pointed out, “but not out of duty.”
“I am sure you are aware, that the woman you are serving is not a goddess.”
“Indeed, I am,” Guilford answered finally before taking another swig of his drink.
All Kyoshiro Tohdoh could do after that was simply stare as his former rival drown his sorrows, represented by a drink, into his throat. And it was not a lovely sight.
Only later did the real problem arise. He had no ill intentions, but Tohdoh particularly had to fumble for Guilford’s phone from the drunken man’s pockets. The man had drunk more than his body would allow. After the last words had left Guilford’s mouth, neither of them had spoken. Guilford turned extremely quiet, lost in his thoughts. Tohdoh only left his side briefly to talk with the other men and observe the celebration, but when he had come back, he was rather surprised to find himself unsurprised that Guilford was sprawled on the bar, his hand around a glass of an unfinished drink. As far as he could remember, Guilford came alone; how he came here at all Tohdoh did not bother to find out earlier. The only solution, it seemed, was to call whoever it was that could help. After fishing for the former Knight’s phone, he had looked at the contacts to search for a certain princess’s name, and found it, but he paused for a few seconds, and decided to call somebody else entirely: Claudio Darlton, was it?
He did it, because—Tohdoh was sure—if he decided to call for Cornelia, Guilford would not be pleased. He did not want her to see him at this state.