A Parting Befitting Us
A Parting Befitting Us
The hall had been heavy with the tense atmosphere from Kir and the Crown Princess's confrontation.
But the storm soon fizzled out.
The reason? The clash at the center of it all wrapped up warmly, with both sides apologizing. The Grand Duchess and the Kaiserin personally smoothed things over, declaring it was all 'nothing.'
Still, with an incident like that right at the start, the banquet seemed unlikely to ever really heat up.
And yet, the hall's atmosphere had turned surprisingly convivial. Enough that people were laughing and chatting merrily with one another.
The one who had created this pleasant mood was none other than Yune.
"Hey there! I'm Yunes! You can just call me Yune, if you want!"
"Y-yes...! I'm honored to meet you, Lord Yunes...."
"I said be casual, okay? You can speak comfortably. We're the same age, right? Hang on, were you held back a year?"
"P-pardon...?"
"Hehe. Man, this one. I'm kidding. Anyway, what's your name?"
A flower of high society—and a flower blooming on a precipice. A mysterious figure shrouded in secrecy until now: the treasured youngest son of the Northern Grand Ducal House. Yune.
It was thanks to him personally making the rounds to every table, greeting all his fellow new students.
...While sprinkling the cute mannerisms he'd picked up from living with his family.
'S-so cute... What is this? What is this adorable creature?'
Every noble who exchanged greetings with Yune was captivated.
The sight of the most esteemed Grand Ducal House's utterly precious youngest son acting so friendly with everyone, regardless of rank.
To those young ladies, who had only ever seen young lords spoiled rotten and twisted by nothing but love, this side of Yune felt irresistibly charming.
If any other young lord had acted that way, they'd have all assumed it was just an act—near one hundred percent certain.
But from Yune, smiling innocently and showing a snaggletooth, they didn't feel a single drop of pretense. So his classmates, one and all, took a liking to his pure nature.
And above all else, wasn't he the academy's only male presence this year? A ray of light in their dreary academy lives.
Just holding Yune's hand—so different from a woman's, with its slightly prominent bones—sent their affection for him skyrocketing.
'I wondered why Lady Kirschblüte had her claws out for the Crown Princess like that, but if a man like this is her fiancé, then I can see it...'
Realizing why Kir had kept the Crown Princess in check just moments ago, each of them spoke to Yune with genuine warmth as he greeted them.
"I look forward to studying with you, Lord Yunes."
"Geez! Spe-eak casually!! ...But yeah, anyway, nice to meet you! Hehe."
"Hoho. Alright, Yune."
"Yeah!"
And so the entrance ceremony banquet, which had seemed to be heading for catastrophe, proceeded with a warmth rarely, if ever, seen before.
It was all thanks to Yune.
* * * * *
Having returned to the main hall, I made the rounds, greeting the friends I'd be taking classes with from now on.
The whole time, the corners of my mouth couldn't stop curling upward with happiness. It would have been hard for anyone to be prickly, since everyone welcomed me so warmly.
...Though, in the middle of it all, one person was crossing her legs so tightly, it looked like she was desperately trying not to piss herself the moment she saw me. But that was probably just my imagination.
After greeting all thirty or so new students like that, I headed back to the front. To where the Crown Princess, Kir, and my family were.
-Staring.
'Whoa, why's the Crown Princess staring at me like that? It's giving me pressure.'
The Crown Princess had been drilling holes into me with her eyes the whole time I was greeting people.
As I got closer, a strange, unidentifiable expectation mixed into her gaze, so I thought, 'What's with her...' and moved to stand next to Kir.
-Pat.
"By the way, Kir, why did you fight?"
"...Hoho."
-Shake shake.
I stood on tiptoe and whispered into Kir's ear, and she smiled because my breath must have tickled.
As if it were nothing, Kir shook her head at me and looked around. At the classmates I had just finished greeting. And at where the Crown Princess was.
I tilted my head in confusion, looking at Kir, who wore a smile that felt somehow triumphant.
'She was super upset just a moment ago. Why's she acting like this all of a sudden? Did something really happen?'
It was strange no matter how I thought about it, so I pattered straight over to my mother.
-Pat. Murmur murmur.
"Mom, did something happen...?"
I clung to my mother's side as she sat watching, then whispered to her, asking what happened.
-Whisper whisper.
"It was nothing, and this mother of yours already resolved it all."
"...Pfft. Tickles. Anyway, that's good then. Of course, I have no one but you, Mom."
Unlike with Kir, Mom brought her lips right to my ear and whispered directly, telling me she had already handled everything.
It tickled because her face was so close that her lips nearly brushed my ear, but it secretly made me happy, so I grinned.
My mother's lips curled up as well, so she didn't seem displeased with it either.
"...."
'No, what's with Kir today?'
In contrast, Kir seemed to have gotten a little moody again, though.
Why was she like that?
* * * * * *
As those events unfolded, the entrance ceremony banquet eventually wound down.
"...I shall take my leave first."
"Safe return, Your Majesty."
"......Yunes. Well, it's a little awkward for me to say this. But, by chance, is there not something you have left unsaid to me?"
"...? No? Safe travels back."
'The Crown Princess is like that, even on the day of the entrance ceremony.'
The Crown Princess, who had been staring at me the whole time like a puppy that needed to pee, left first with a deeply disappointed look.
It was common practice for these banquets to gradually end once the person with the highest status left, so the people who saw that seemed ready to leave the hall.
I too wanted to head back to my lodgings and unpack my things soon. So I silently looked up at my mother.
As if our thoughts connected, my mother looked back down at me.
"...I know it's a bit late for this, but I'll ask. Will you truly be fine without this mother of yours?"
"Yes! And also... you know, right? Heehee."
"Hmph. Very well."
When she asked if I'd be okay without her, I smiled, hinting at how we could video-call each other anytime.
Hearing that, my mother smiled with satisfaction.
But unlike Mom, Charl's eyes were practically dripping with worry as she looked at me.
"...Yune, are you really going to be okay without your sister...? You have to call your sister every single day, okay? And eat every meal, properly. Don't eat too many cookies, either. If anyone bothers you...."
"Sis, your speech. Your speech."
I'd noticed it during our walk earlier, but her way of speaking was breaking down.
Ultimately, even in front of our mother, my sister's speech pattern had reverted to how it was when we were alone, and she soon stuck her lower lip out in a pout.
"My speech...? I don't care about that... I don't wanna be apart from Yune... I wanna live together with Yune forever...."
'...This is the heir of the Grand Ducal House?'
I nearly let out a sigh seeing her even childishly shake her head no, but the family members who normally would have scolded Charl actually nodded. As if they sympathized with her feelings.
"Yune, let's just keep staying together with us? Okay? Your sister will personally feed you cookies every day, and play with you, so...."
Now Charl was looking at me like she was on the verge of actual tears.
I heaved a deep sigh and opened my arms.
'...Really, my sister is just hopeless.'
"Sis, c'mere~."
-Swoop.
"...!!?"
I then went into Charl's arms.
"Mother...!!"
"I've cast a perception hindering barrier, so it's fine."
"...Phew."
I could hear Albert's sharp cry, but comforting Charl was the priority right now.
So I reflexively kept stroking Charl's back as she held me close.
"There, there. Our good sister. Good girl~."
"...."
"We're not parting forever, and I'll contact you often. So stop, now."
As I comforted my sister like that, the tension that had filled her body gradually loosened.
Then, with one hand on the back of my head and the other wrapped around my waist, Charl quietly opened her mouth.
"...This is exactly why I worry, you know that?"
"Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me, sis."
"Do this only with me... no, only with family. And if you ever find someone you truly love, only with that person."
"Got it."
Holding me tight like that, Charl poured all of her concerns onto me.
It should have felt like nagging, but the feelings contained within them were so vividly transmitted through our touching chests.
"And also, and also...."
"Yeah. Okay."
I listened to it all quietly. Until her temper had eased.
"Haaaah... Fine. Then, be safe. Yune. Make sure to contact me with the crystal ball at least once a day."
"Yeah. Thanks for trusting me. I'll be back safe, sis."
Maybe her temper eased after a few times of that, because my sister finally smiled and told me to have a safe trip.
Charl soon separated me from her embrace. I smiled back when I saw that smile.
'Really, Charl is something else. Still, Charl is extra like this, so....'
"Yune, me too!"
"...Huh?!"
...That is, until Albert suddenly pounced on me and hugged me too.
"You, you too, sis?!"
"Mother, it's fine, right?"
"...Yes. The barrier is still maintained."
"She says so! So I've gotta hug our Yune a ton before sending him off. Aaah~ I'm gonna miss this squishy cheek so much...."
After that, Albert clung tight to me and rubbed her cheek furiously against mine.
Flustered by that intense skinship, I grinned happily nevertheless, because it made me happy that my sister loved me so much.
"Sh, Shishter... why are ewen you wike dhis. Hehe. (S, sis... why are even you like this. Hehe.)"
'Even Albert, who's the relatively sensible one, is like this... Our family, aren't they all just way too over-the-top?'
Like that, I shared a clingy, drawn-out farewell with my sisters.
In many ways, it was a farewell done in our own way.
As an aside, once Albert finished her hug, my mother also subtly pulled me into her arms.
"Yune, if anything happens, lean on Mar... and if things ever get dicey, use 'that' I gave you immediately."
"I will. Hehe."
'Mom hugged me to sleep a ton just last night and she's doing it again. She's such a greedy one, I tell you.'