Chapter 46
It was a face I couldn’t forget since the day we parted, each of us holding a little “secret.”
Green eyes holding the warmth of summer, and a gentle smile to match.
Wait a second… why is he half a head taller than me now?
Well, we didn’t really stand face-to-face on level ground before—we were running up and down the hillside last time.
“Kai, you’ve gotten so tall!”
“I wanted to be able to find Sol anywhere, so I grew fast.”
“…And you’ve picked up some cheesy lines along the way too.”
“…That’s mean.”
Kai puffed out his cheeks. Mean? How is that mean?
“Kai, I’m sorry, but… like I wrote in my letter, I’m too busy to show you around the festival today.”
I couldn’t just say, Why did you come when I told you not to? so I phrased it more gently. But my worry was needless—Kai looked completely unbothered.
“You don’t need someone to babysit you to enjoy a festival. I’m not a kid!”
Go look in a mirror. Tell me if you see a kid or an adult there.
Of course, it didn’t seem like Kai came alone. Two tall men in clothing completely unsuited for a festival were standing idly behind him—obviously bodyguards.
But my glance at them lasted only a moment before Kai was shaking a doll in front of my face again.
“Aren’t you going to take it?”
“Ah…”
“I swear I won’t be a bother. I’ll spend plenty of money at the festival too! I even spent quite a bit picking out the prettiest doll for you.”
Sure enough, the bodyguards’ pockets were bulging with crudely made dolls.
In the end, I accepted the doll Kai held out.
“…Thanks.”
“You’re welcome! Oh, and I’m so glad I came. Sol, you look like a flower fairy! Your braided hair is adorable. Oh! And this hairpin—it goes so well with your hair color.”
“Thank you.”
“What are you having for dinner? The grilled dried fish they’re selling at one of the stalls is really good. In the Marquisate of Lafrande, we’re close to the sea, so we don’t really eat dried fish, but having it here, I think it’s not bad at all!”
…
He’s still as talkative as ever. Even in a crowded place, I could probably pick him out just by his voice.
Still, harmless chatter can be pleasant, so I was smiling at him when—
…Huh? Didn’t his irises just ripple a little? Like Elber’s sometimes do, just like their father.
Kai stopped talking.
“What’s wrong? Something bothering you?”
His eyes shone like emeralds, without any movement.
Was I imagining things?
“Oh, nothing.”
“Nothing? Hey, I even dressed up just to see you! I even changed clothes in the carriage!”
Kai, looking like a tiny prince, was adorable enough to deserve the fuss.
I was just about to play along when someone grabbed my shoulder—it was Elber.
While he practically pulled me into an embrace, Bennen stepped forward, blocking our view of Kai. His voice was cold.
“Isn’t this the young master of House Lafrande? Been a while.”
“Haha, greetings. Alkaios Lafrande, at your service.”
“From someone who once ignored me, I’m not inclined to accept greetings. Before speaking to a lady, shouldn’t you ask her guardian for permission?”
Guardian? You’re only five years older than him!
The people around us might have been thinking the same thing, but no one had the guts to interrupt the second son of the Duke of Schlaeger.
…Kai, however, made a different kind of reckless choice.
“In that case, I’ll ask for permission now. May I spend some personal time with Lady Sol?”
“…What? Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Because we’re friends! Surely you’re not trying to take away your sister’s friend, are you?”
Kai’s innocent-looking green eyes sparkled. That faux-naïve provocation pulled Bennen right in.
“Friends? Well, friends can talk through letters, can’t they? Why butt into family time?”
“You two butted into friends’ time first.”
“What?”
“With this letter.”
Kai pulled out a letter from his coat—it was the rejection letter I’d sent last time.
I had checked to make sure there were no strange words in it, even though my brothers had helped me write it.
But Kai’s finger traced down the left side of the letter vertically, and I immediately saw the problem.
At first glance, it looked like a perfectly normal letter.
But if you read the first letter of each line vertically…
“…Bennen. Elber. What did you do to my letter?”
“….”
“Why does it say ‘Stop writing letters so much’ down the side?!”
Elber averted his gaze—so he knew.
Bennen, however, shamelessly declared,
“Coincidence.”
“You expect me to believe that was a coincidence?”
“Think about it objectively. If someone deliberately put that in a letter between noble houses, it’d be a big problem. I wouldn’t do something that risky.”
“You even came up with that excuse in advance, didn’t you?”
If it were Bennen, he totally would!
But he stubbornly stuck to his claim of “coincidence.”
Ugh! These idiot brothers… I’d better apologize.
“Kai, sorry. I’m not good at writing formal letters, so I asked my brothers for help.”
“It’s fine! If writing’s hard, you can get some editing help. I also—”
At that moment, one of Kai’s bodyguards approached us. He was tall, with red hair peeking out from under his hood, and something about him radiated pressure that weighed on me.
He didn’t speak, but Kai seemed to take the hint and trailed off mid-sentence.
“Uh, well, you know, people usually learn to write letters from those around them. And once you get better at it… you can write more fun stories too!”
“More fun stories?”
“Like saying we should meet up sometime to play—”
“Okay, that’s enough.”
Bennen and Elber stepped in between us again.
Bennen whispered to me, I’ll take the scolding at home, okay? before turning to Kai. His smile vanished in an instant.
“Guests are always welcome. But we can’t welcome them stealing our time.”
“I just wanted to see my friend. Sol, are you very busy?”
“Yes.”
“Does House Schlaeger make even its youngest members work right after returning home?”
“…Let me be direct. What do you want?”
“To play with Sol.”
“You little…”
The atmosphere turned tense—why were they turning this into an inter-house incident?!
As I fidgeted in panic, Elber stepped in.
“Enough, brother. Hey, Alkaios, you want to play with Sol?”
“Yes.”
“So do I. Therefore, let’s have a fair match!”
He pointed to the ball-toss game stall we’d seen earlier. Kai’s eyes turned serious.
“Very well. I’ll accept any challenge.”
“Good spirit. We’ll prepare everything, you just show up.”
“Thank you for your hospitality. I hope it will be a match without regrets.”
The boys, looking way too serious, headed toward the stall like they were walking into a battlefield.
I couldn’t help but laugh—though not out of pure joy.
Was I the grand prize of this ball-toss contest or something? My cheeks puffed out.
“Maybe I should join in. If I win, I get to play alone.”
One of the ducal bodyguards answered,
“It would be difficult to defeat the young masters. Both have trained in spear-throwing.”
“…That’s a lot of hard work for kids.”
“And yet you, my lady, are learning difficult court etiquette from a fearsome instructor yourself.”
Well, fair enough.
He added casually,
“By the way, some good news—Viscountess Gracia has been stripped of her title.”
“What? Her title? How?”
“His Grace must have taken action. Rumor has it her wealth was seized and she was banished barefoot, wearing her most extravagant gown.”
That’s even more humiliating than being thrown out in rags.
But how did he take her title?
Noticing my surprise, the bodyguard smiled faintly.
“Would you like to see His Grace?”
Why phrase it so warmly? I couldn’t exactly say “no” outright.
“He said he’d make time, so if you wait—”
But time, it seemed, wasn’t on our side.
A soldier wearing the ducal crest galloped up on horseback, shouting without even dismounting,
“It’s urgent! There’s an incident in the northern hunting grounds requiring reinforcements. Can you come?”
“What happened?”
“A bear, just out of hibernation, has taken the gamekeeper.”
Good lord.
The bodyguard’s face paled.
“This is bad…”
“The gamekeeper’s family is there too, and the scene is in chaos. His Grace ordered someone skilled in forest searches to be brought immediately.”
“Is His Grace leading the operation?”
“It happened practically on his doorstep—he has no choice.”
“Then I’d better go at once. Honestly, even on a festival day… ah.”
He glanced at me belatedly.
“Then, my lady, enjoy your time with the young masters. This bodyguard will watch over you.”
“All right. Be careful!”
He ran toward where the horses were tied.
I felt strange—while some enjoy the festival, others run into danger, and still others dash into the mountains to save them.
Expecting the Duke to spare me time today suddenly felt like such a selfish wish.
…Probably best not to mention this to my brothers.
I turned to the other bodyguard.
“They’ll be tired after the game. I’d like to buy them something to drink. Could you come with me?”
“Of course. There’s a juice stall nearby—would you like to choose something?”
I followed close behind him. The silver embroidery of the Schlaeger crest—a silver dragon—shimmered on his uniform.
…Wait. Was it just the sunset?
Somehow, the dragon on his back was now a red one, twisting and moving.
The moment I realized, the festival’s noise faded.
Everyone stopped moving.
No one moved—not even me.
I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
Frozen in this statue-like reality, the only thing moving was the man in the ducal bodyguard’s uniform.
His armor vanished in an instant, replaced by a black robe like a scholar’s coat.
Red hair spilled down, and molten, lava-like red eyes locked on me.
This was no human—this was a dragon.
Another dragon roaming around below Rank 99? I thought they were all hiding somewhere, freeloading under the title of “guardian dragon.” Where the hell did you come from?
Unaware of my thoughts, the dragon grinned.
“So you’re that lunatic’s tranquilizer, huh?”
