Same Bed, Different Dreams
The day Edgar’s group was to leave Ardenum drew steadily closer. Once they departed, it would be some time before they could see one another again, so Edgar spent the entire day carrying his little sister in his arms, determined to devote every moment to her. Ariel trailed beside them as always, looking a shade less irritated than she had in recent days.
“Baa—!” Sonia still babbled in sounds no one could decipher, yet she suddenly seized Edgar’s waving finger with surprising force. It was hard to believe such strength could come from an infant only a few months old.
“Wow, the little one’s got quite the grip. Look at her hanging onto my finger like that.”
“Doesn’t she take after you? I wouldn’t be surprised if she grows up to be a formidable lady.”
“It does suit her, doesn’t it? As long as she grows up healthy and strong, that’s all I ask.”
“Goodness, you’ve become a complete sister-complex already.”
Ariel shook her head in mock defeat, yet a faint smile lingered at the corners of her mouth. It was admittedly vexing to watch him so utterly absorbed in his sister that he scarcely spared her a glance, but at the same time another thought had taken root in her mind.
One day, when she married and bore children of her own, perhaps Edgar would lavish the same depth of love upon them. Though Ariel had reconciled with her father and their relationship was now amicable, the years of emotional distance in her childhood could never be undone. That was precisely why she had always vowed to herself that any child of hers would never lack for affection.
While they were savoring what little time remained with Sonia, Katria opened the door and stepped inside.
“Edgar, are you in here?”
“Yes, Mother. Is something the matter?”
“I came to ask if you’d finished packing. It won’t be long now until departure, will it?”
At his mother’s question, Edgar gave a casual nod. He had accepted help from the mansion’s servants, but he had personally checked every item, making certain nothing was overlooked.
“It would be nice if you could stay a little longer, but I suppose you’re a busy man now. We can’t keep you.”
“Haha, I’ll come back again. Whenever I have the chance, I’ll visit as often as possible.”
……
Listening to the mother and son from the side, Ariel pressed her lips together, feeling an unexpected pang of guilt. She herself remained at the main estate, so the only real partings she had known were when her father left for the battlefield. These two, however, were different. She understood better than anyone how painful it was to long for someone yet be unable to see them; she had felt that ache in her bones every time she failed to visit Ardenum over the past several years.
She even wondered whether she was stealing this man away from his kind-hearted mother. But Edgar had become someone she could not live without, so the thought of giving him up never once crossed her mind. The only thing she could do was reassure the woman who would one day be her mother-in-law and make certain they returned here together more often. That, she believed, was the proper courtesy owed to the couple who had sent this precious man to her side.
“Thank you, Mother.”
“Thank me? Whatever for?”
Katria tilted her head in genuine confusion at the sudden expression of gratitude. Ariel offered a gentle smile, straightened her previously bowed posture, and began listing the reasons one by one.
“Four years ago, you sent Edgar to stay by my side. And you willingly gave your blessing to our relationship as well.”
“…So that’s what you meant. But that was entirely the boy’s own choice. There’s no need to thank me.”
In truth, Katria had tried to dissuade her only son from leaving for Hespania at the time. She could see that the path would be arduous, even if it broadened his horizons and exposed him to positive influences. Yet he had refused to yield, insisting he wanted to remain at his friend’s side. Looking back now, it seemed her son had already harbored feelings for Ariel that went beyond mere friendship. Otherwise, how could he have undertaken such a long journey on the strength of friendship alone?
“Besides, I’m not sure ‘permission’ is the right word, but I know the two of you are no longer children. That’s why I stayed silent.”
When the Robeheim and Bilhark families became in-laws, the Bilhark family stood to gain far more from the union. Still, Katria had set aside such political calculations. She had never considered opposing the match simply because her child had fallen in love. She had been startled at first, of course, but that was all. Now that he was old enough to make his own way, it would have been unseemly for her to interfere. Moreover, she did not believe the pair had entered this relationship driven solely by fleeting emotion.
As a mother, the only thing she could do was pray for them from afar.
“This may not be the sort of thing one says to a young lady, but… please take good care of our son, Ariel.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make him so happy that no other woman will even catch his eye.”
The exchange sounded almost as if their roles had been reversed, yet Edgar, watching from a short distance, merely smiled softly without adding a single word.
Other women, huh.
There was no reason for anyone to set their sights on him, but if such a day ever came, Ariel’s personality suggested she might very well burn both his eyes out with a flaming brand so he could never look. The mental image was so plausible that Edgar gave a small shudder and quickly banished the thought, firmly resolving never to entertain such nonsense.
Vincent had been nursing a headache over matters that refused to go as planned. A single wretched loach had slipped into the ocean instead of a pond and was now stirring up the waters however it pleased. The number of times his brow had furrowed because of it was beyond counting.
He was a firm believer that people possessed inherent ranks. Others might call it pure-blood supremacy, but Vincent’s convictions ran deeper and far more vicious. Though he had already passed sixty, the only thing he had accumulated over those decades was not wisdom or enlightenment, but an ever darker and uglier human nature. In some ways, it could be considered even more insatiable than a lust for power or wealth.
Perhaps because what he truly desired was neither authority nor riches, he had reached his current position more easily than most. Even when forming alliances to achieve a shared goal, he readily conceded the lion’s share of the benefits to his partners. All he wanted was to remove those who had no right to exist where they stood.
In that sense, he and the current family head, Yulken, were as incompatible as oil and water. Yulken was a thorough meritocrat who valued an individual’s potential above bloodline or status. Vincent, on the other hand, despised those of humble birth who dared aim high with nothing but mediocre talent to their name.
Trash belongs in the gutter where it can rot.
Vincent let out a low, displeased grunt. He picked up the wine glass on the table, swirling it slowly and watching the traces left along the rim. The mere thought of that detestable face made him want to erase it from memory at once.
Edgar Bilhark, was it?
Normally he did not bother remembering the names of those beneath his notice. Yet this particular name had burned itself into his mind so fiercely that he could not forget it no matter how hard he tried. When he recalled the invisible war of nerves he had waged with Yulken these past few days over that filthy cur, his teeth practically ached with rage.
Though come to think of it, I never liked Yulken from the start. To think he would elevate a whore from a brothel to the position of grand duchess.
The current grand duchess, Helene, also came from less than illustrious origins. In some respects she might even rank lower than the man currently giving Vincent such a headache. The reason he could not openly disparage Edgar’s humble birth in front of Yulken was that doing so would simultaneously insult the present duchess. As much as he might wish to, even he knew where to draw the line. Or rather, he was a man who knew exactly how to preserve his own life.
The cunning that had sharpened with age existed for moments precisely like this.
Difficult. Very difficult.
In Vincent’s eyes it was nothing more than a childish infatuation. Ariel had simply spent too long shut away inside the castle and had not yet met enough outstanding men from the outside world. That was all. Even so, simply watching and hoping the relationship would collapse on its own would be foolish.
Less than a year remained until Ariel’s coming-of-age ceremony, after which marriage would be possible. If that single year passed without incident, Yulken’s personality suggested he would hasten the wedding, and once that happened it would be too late to act.
“As I thought…”
Killing him really was the quickest solution. Vincent murmured the words under his breath and tilted the wine glass to his lips.
Besides, among the other retainers who shared his views, there was one who had been eyeing Ariel as a match for his own son. To that man, Edgar’s existence must be an even greater thorn in the side than it was to Vincent. If he discreetly extended a hand at the right moment, the fellow would likely seize it without hesitation. Even if the deed were discovered, as long as he prepared a way to shift the blame, the lack of concrete evidence would allow the matter to blow over quietly.
Excellent.
As the plan fell neatly into place inside his mind, Vincent set the empty wine glass on the table with a faint, venomous smile. The first priority was to establish contact with him in complete secrecy. Until then, he would avoid any visible conflict with Yulken and remain as quiet as a shadow.