☀️ Arselia and Akonia

Guyon rubbed his forehead again. Ikigai, Usami Kyoko, something is wrong with Kalina, who are all these people... Kalina returned Beata to him alive and well, so let her get along with Ikigai, or even with Rinze herself, if it saved Beata's life. And again, jokes about his Stockholm syndrome. Why Stockholm? What is Stockholm? He barely grasped from the context what it meant. Sympathy and attachment to a person who holds you captive, or, in his case, in slavery. Hmm, strange. Why did this syndrome only work on Beata? No person is capable of enduring what happened to him without consequences. Something must have broken in his head, a long time ago, and possibly irreparably. He definitely needs a good therapist who will explain why, having received the desired freedom, he still loves his former mistress and is ready to obey her. A habit developed over the years? Respect and loyalty that a soldier shows to his commander? Or just comfort and an escape from responsibility? In their relationship, the last word always remained with Beata, even if it was "Okay, I agree, let's do it your way." He rarely made decisions. Yes, when he and Nysho found themselves in the mountains, he had to take command, and he managed to cope - they returned alive and unharmed. But... They were almost killed by snakes, almost buried under a landslide, almost roasted by that giant salamander... If they had been a little less lucky... If Nysho had been a little less lucky, he would not have forgiven himself. He already had a hard time accepting that they had to leave the passengers to certain death at the claws of harpies, cowardly saving their own skins. Therefore, he easily shifted the responsibility for this decision onto Nysho and simply followed her. Leadership exhausted him. He never aspired to be a leader, never tried to take on too much responsibility. And, acknowledging his subordinate position, he returned to his comfort zone, where he did not have to make any decisions. Is that right? No. Is it easier for him? Yes. However, Beata has long and persistently made it clear to him that she is ready to listen to him. Especially now, when they can really talk as equals. But even before that, she often pried his opinion and his view on a particular situation out of him. His point of view was important to her. She was the first person for whom his point of view was important. Thanks to her, he gained at least some self-confidence, learned to express his thoughts aloud. Most likely, this trend will remain with him. He is unlikely to become a good leader, but a person capable of standing up for himself and taking command in a difficult situation - quite possibly. And when he gets tired of the burden of responsibility, he will always have his mistress, with whom he can switch off his brain and relax... If she wants to. She cares too much about his feelings, so as not to accidentally hurt or offend. This is very sweet, but he is not made of glass. He would much rather see her as she really is - strong, cheerful, rude, but confident in herself and in him, assertive, brave, and daring. He loves Beata just like that. She doesn't need to apologize for who she is. Beata stirred, yawned, and opened her eyes. She sat up, reluctantly getting out of bed. - M-m-m... Did I fall asleep? How long did I sleep? - About half an hour, - said Guyon, looking at her watch. - Oh... I must have been very tired, - she sat up, shaking her head. - Did you hear if the boss has arrived yet? - I don't think so. What did you want? - I need to talk to her. She's been very interested in blacksmithing lately. It's not just for forging weapons for our enemies. And I need to tell her about the Baldr school. - Do you think we should go? - Yes. I just haven't decided yet. - Well, let's talk about it with the boss? And with Garret and Merel, if they return. And Kilike will definitely be interested. And for now, let's go to the shower, wash up, we found time to sleep... - That wouldn't hurt, - Guyon agreed, getting out of bed. Beata, meanwhile, had already gotten up and grabbed a towel. After taking a shower and changing clothes, they went down to the hall, sat there waiting for Erefir, and began to think about something of their own.