"Ar Sebatiem. Yes, Commander."
"Baron is looking for you. Go see him."
"Understood. Echi, finish the grooming and head back. I'll do the rest next time. Ah, Commander, were you here to take Sylphide out?"
After Baraha started teaching her, he had begun using her nickname at her own request. As he spoke to her, he raised his head to ask Yurien whether he intended to ride.
There was no reason to come all the way to the stable just to relay a message to a squire.
"Yes. Was she doing preliminary squire training?"
Yurien's gaze, answering calmly, lingered between them for a moment, they had been standing close together. Baraha instinctively took a step back, and then felt confused by his own reaction.
Why did I step back?
"Yes, just grooming, nothing that needs finishing. Echi, go ahead and wrap up."
"…Yes, Senior."
Echi answered by reflex. From the moment Yurien appeared in this completely unprepared situation, her mind had been half-gone.
Just as Baraha was about to say something, she looked strange, Yurien spoke again.
"Baraha. I told you to go see Baron."
"Ah… Yes, of course."
Baraha bowed and walked out of the stable.
Echi quickly put the brush and hoof pick back into their container. Her movements were clumsy in her hurry. The brush hit the rim of the container and rolled out.
Yurien picked it up. Echi looked blankly at the brush he held out toward her. Blue eyes looked into hers, quiet and direct.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"Pardon?"
"If you felt pressured by the sparring request, you can forget it."
She felt like a fool. She had spent so much time turning his actions over in her mind, trying to puzzle out what he was thinking, and then the moment he stood in front of her without warning, she couldn't recall a single one of those thoughts.
It was only when she heard the word sparring that the thread of her deductions came back to her. Echi managed to move her hand and take the brush.
"No, Commander."
"No, what?"
"It isn't that sparring feels like a burden, it's just more than I'm ready for right now. I'll let you know when I am. And, thank you for the cloak from before. I'll return it soon."
She rattled off the words and tossed the brush into the container. Yurien's voice caught her as she turned to leave.
"So it's true that you're uncomfortable."
She didn't want to lie to him if she could help it. She kept her mouth shut.
She was uncomfortable around Yurien, that much was simply true.
Whenever she was in front of him, her entire mind narrowed to a single point, and all her careful reasoning abandoned her.