"..."
Ian looked at Baobhan Sith approaching him, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
But Baobhan Sith acted as if she had long known he would have this attitude.
She leaned close to his ear and whispered softly.
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
"Just something—"
"—about Artoria."
Mentioning other things might not have had an effect on Ian, but when it involved Artoria, it was another matter entirely.
Without a second thought, Ian's gaze fell directly on Baobhan Sith.
"Let's go."
In almost an instant, the situation between Baobhan Sith and Ian was reversed.
The dragon took Baobhan Sith's hand and led her away from the crowd, not stopping until they reached a place where it was just the two of them.
It was a dark, narrow alley. Hiding in here would indeed make them hard to notice.
This, in turn, made Baobhan Sith herself a little puzzled.
"Why did you bring me to a place like this?"
Baobhan Sith's fingers gently caressed Ian's chest.
"This isn't really... a place for talking business, is it?"
Faced with Baobhan Sith's slightly overstepping behavior, Ian didn't have much of a reaction.
He simply grabbed her fingers and spoke in a tone that was both serious and, at the same time, somewhat responsive:
"Because Mélusine told me—"
"—that if anyone wants to talk to me about something, we have to come to a place like this. Otherwise, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble."
"Oh?"
"Is that so?"
Baobhan Sith nodded ambiguously.
"So that means, as long as we're in a place like this, we can talk about anything—because no one else will know. Is that what you mean?"
"..."
Ian didn't answer Baobhan Sith.
He seemed to be contemplating the rationality of her words.
But soon, Ian gave up on this line of thought.
He nodded.
"It's fine. It's not wrong for you to understand it that way."
"However—"
"What you want to talk to me about, that is very important."
"Father, your attitude towards me seems completely different from your other two children," Baobhan Sith said, looking at the man before her. "Even though it's all instruction at the knight level, your attitude towards Barghest and Mash is a different matter, isn't it?"
"Is it?"
"Yes." Baobhan Sith nodded.
"With Barghest, you teach her power-based techniques so she can better utilize her strength and become a sufficiently valiant knight."
"And with Mash, you teach her how to share the responsibility for her comrades, giving her that awareness."
"What about me, then—"
Baobhan Sith pressed forward a little.
Her tone wasn't particularly pressuring, let alone threatening, but her posture had an aggressiveness stronger than anyone's.
It was as if...
...a younger Morgan had appeared before Ian.
Hiss—
That doesn't seem to be a problem, does it?
"Father, shouldn't I receive your guidance as well?"
Thud.
Baobhan Sith, whose figure was neither buxom nor tall, pinned Ian directly against the wall.
In the dim environment, those rose-red eyes appeared even more enchanting than usual.
"Or do you have some problem with me?"
Baobhan Sith didn't know.
She was the one and only person in all of Camelot to have successfully performed a kabedon on Ian.
Therefore—
She also had no idea what would happen next.
Baobhan Sith, who had just held the upper hand, saw his movement.
Was he resisting?
No.
It just seemed like he was getting up normally.
But for Baobhan Sith, such a movement was already impossible to resist.
In less than ten seconds, Baobhan Sith, who had been pinning Ian, was in turn pinned by Ian against the other wall.
And—
Compared to Baobhan Sith's earlier tentative move, Ian's action was clearly more aggressive.
Soon, Baobhan Sith realized what that meant.
Because Ian was now right in front of her.
Their breaths, at this moment, were in perfect sync.
"What are you trying to do..."
Though she appeared to have high attack and defense, in reality, Baobhan Sith had never been overpowered like this.
Not to mention, the other person's breath was now practically on her face.
No matter what happens next, it wouldn't be surprising...
That singular love for Ian, "planted" in her bloodline by Morgan...
However—
The turn of events once again exceeded Baobhan Sith's imagination.
Ian did lean in.
But!
None of the things Baobhan Sith had fantasized about happened.
Ian had indeed leaned in.
But what he did was not, as Baobhan Sith had thought (or rather, hoped), something improper.
He just sniffed Baobhan Sith carefully, only stopping temporarily after she shivered all over.
"You have no scent at all. Why is that?"
"..."
"How can I have no scent at all?"
Ian's words made Baobhan Sith a little unconfident.
To generate sufficient charm and to appear noble to anyone who saw her.
Baobhan Sith had carefully studied how her mother, Morgan, dressed herself—of course, without the latter's knowledge.
After all, if Morgan knew what she was learning these things for, wouldn't she try to find a way to kill her?
"But you just don't have any scent."
Ian stuck to his point.
"You neither make me feel you're delicious, nor do you make me feel you're not delicious."
"It's as if..."
"...you weren't meant to be eaten in the first place."
"..."
Ian's strange analogy left Baobhan Sith confused for a good while.
But there was at least one thing she could be certain of.
Although she possessed a love for Ian on the same level as her mother Morgan's, compared to her mother, her level of allure to him was still at a considerably low level.
"..."
A nameless competitive spirit began to burn within Baobhan Sith's heart.
She had thought that if she was brought here by Ian, she might be able to secretly create some small "surprises" for those mothers of hers.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
No. That won't do. That absolutely won't do.
I didn't show up just to be humiliated.
"Alright, I'll remember this."
Baobhan Sith took Ian's hand.
"Then, from now on, you will guide me in this area—"
"Make me understand just what kind of 'scent' you like!"