Toward the Capital (3)
“And so Her Highness the Imperial Princess has drafted a new law for our sake…”
“For sale! A most precious treasure, procured exclusively by our Roten Trading Company!”
“Kyahat! Catch me if you can!”
A noisy city.
I gazed out the carriage window and sank into thought.
“Tomorrow I enter the Academy.”
The Academy was a social arena where the young nobles of the Empire gathered. In name it was a place of learning, yet no noble ever truly came to be taught.
Of course not. This is a romance fantasy.
In a romance fantasy, the Academy existed for one purpose alone: to force the heroine and the male lead to meet. The setting had been built around that single function.
“Are you not looking forward to it, Young Master?”
The black-haired maid seated across from me asked the question.
“Looking forward to what?”
“Learning swordsmanship from excellent instructors, or forging bonds with nobles of like mind.”
She spoke with an expressionless face. I felt no need to answer. She was not asking out of genuine curiosity.
“Do you truly believe that?”
“Is that not the case? I never attended the Academy myself, so I would not know.”
The maid feigned ignorance. Watching her hide her true nature from someone who already knew it was faintly amusing.
“Never attended the Academy, you say…”
Black hair. A catlike face. Aside from the fact that her features were evenly proportioned, she looked like any ordinary maid—expression never shifting once.
She was a shadow of House Everhart.
“I never expected our family to hire someone who never even graduated from the Academy.”
“Is that not proof of how exceptional my abilities are?”
Her purpose was almost certainly surveillance—an eye planted by the head of the house. That did not particularly offend me. A shadow excelled at assassination and espionage; I only needed to put her to good use.
“Young Master, we have arrived.”
A servant’s voice from outside the carriage pulled me from my thoughts.
“Understood. I’ll get down.”
“Allow me to assist you.”
The maid followed me out.
“This is the place?”
“Yes. The mansion prepared by the head of the house.”
The moment I stepped from the carriage, a vast residence filled my vision—large enough that calling it a castle would not have been an exaggeration.
“Spacious.”
“It is an Everhart residence. Of course it is.”
That reply had not come from the maid. I turned my head toward the man who had answered my mutter.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Young Master. I am Sebas, the steward charged with the management of this estate.”
The man placed a hand over his chest and bowed with precise courtesy. Not a speck of dust marred his immaculate butler’s uniform; every motion carried the polish of flawless etiquette. He was a white-haired gentleman of long experience—one who reflected the Capital’s latest fashions without ever surrendering his distinctive gravitas.
I looked at him and asked, “Who lives in this mansion?”
“Aside from the servants, no one. The only person we are to serve is you, Young Master.”
“Aris hasn’t come by?”
A twitch. The corner of Sebas’s eye jumped at my words.
“She has not.”
“I see.”
I gave a light nod and started walking. Beyond the main gate, a beautifully tended garden welcomed me. I was crossing the garden toward the mansion when Sebas, following behind, spoke again.
“Young Master. May I presume to offer a single word of unsolicited counsel?”
I stopped and turned to look at him. Sebas stared back with his eyes wide open.
“Do not involve yourself with that woman. She is a monster. A monster who will embrace everything around her and drag it down into the abyss without a moment’s hesitation.”
Sebas spat venomous words of loathing for Aris. I did not grow angry.
“Yes. I know that well enough.”
I already understood how Aris was treated within House Everhart. In the original story, she had left the family for that very reason.
“You must never become entangled with that woman. Never!”
Sebas’s eyes stretched wide as they fixed on me. The gentlemanly composure of moments before had vanished without a trace. Bloodshot eyes. Fingertips that trembled beyond any control. He shook as though seized by a terror he could not possibly resist.
“The family…! The family is in danger!!”
I knew why he behaved this way. The monster of House Everhart—Aris Everhart. The unique power she possessed was dangerous indeed.
“Watch your tongue, Sebas.”
But to someone who knew the original story, she was not a threat at all.
“House Everhart is not so weak that it would collapse because of a single individual.”
Aris.
My friend, whom I had only ever known through a novel. Even if others called her a monster, I had no intention of doing the same.
I unpacked my belongings and shook off the fatigue of travel. Time slipped by quickly after that, and the next morning arrived.
The day I was to go to the Academy.
With the maid’s help I finished preparing and was about to board the carriage when a problem arose.
“Young Master! How could you do this?!”
“Exactly! It’s unthinkable!!”
The Iron-Blood Knights who had escorted me all the way to the Capital planted themselves in my path and shouted. Ordinarily I would have knocked down anyone blocking my way and gone about my business, but the situation was a little awkward.
“Please take us with you! With the Iron-Blood Knights at your side, we can certainly uphold Young Master’s dignity!”
“Leaving us behind?! Other nobles might look down on you!”
The knights standing behind them chimed in agreement.
“Such nonsense! Young Master, looked down upon?!”
“Even if dirt fills my eyes, I will never allow it!!”
Servants and escort knights were not permitted inside the Academy. Not even the most powerful houses could break that rule; the Academy belonged to the Imperial family.
But nobles were nobles—creatures who loved flaunting themselves more than anyone. That was why families escorting their children to the Academy brought their household knights as far as the main gate, simply to parade their prestige.
I, who had no interest in such empty self-display, had intended to send the knights who had followed me this far back home…
“For Young Master!!”
“For him!!!”
These knights simply would not listen.
“Why not just take them along? I’m coming with you either way.”
The black-haired maid whispered in my ear. From the look in her eyes, she had already concluded the knights would never leave of their own accord.
…And my eyes had reached the same conclusion.
“…Fine.”
I had no choice but to grant permission. Their excessive loyalty was a little much, but it was not a burden. Back when I had been a hero, the respect I received from knights had been greater still, never less…
“Young Master! Thank you!!”
“We shall serve you with everything we have!”
The knights looked at one another and grinned.
“Everyone knows what we must do so Young Master is never slighted, correct?”
“Of course!!”
“For Young Master!!”
Tch.
It was starting to feel burdensome after all. Did these men have no sense of dignity whatsoever?
Knights of a peaceful world really are different.
Their behavior was entirely my fault. Earlier, at the Everhart estate, I had offered a few kind words to one knight, and he had clearly repeated them to his comrades.
I should watch my mouth from now on.
Of course, since I still had not cured the habit of speaking without thinking, whether I would succeed remained an open question.
The most expensive land in the Imperial capital. Beyond the towering iron gates, the golden lion statues that symbolized the Imperial family flaunted their presence. A place overflowing with the vivid energy of green youth.
“The Academy… it’s been a long time.”
Elena gazed past the main gate with eyes full of melancholy. In the end, she had returned here. In this place, she had once…
A voice scattered her thoughts.
“What are you talking about, Elena? ‘A long time’?”
“Ah—it’s nothing.”
She waved a hand and turned. Behind her stood her mother and father.
“To think you’ve already grown enough to enter the Academy… It feels as if you’re leaving your mother’s arms. It makes me so sad.”
“Nonsense. I’m nothing but happy.”
A smile rose of its own accord at her parents’ warm exchange. She had believed she would never again taste such happiness—yet a second chance had come to her like a miracle.
“Elena. Will you manage all right on your own?”
“She’s going to be a knight—of course she can manage alone! Elena. I never raised you to be soft!”
Elena smiled faintly.
“You needn’t worry too much. I’m ready.”
Elena Belgard, daughter of a rural baronial house. She had come to the Academy to become a knight.
“Ohoho! Our daughter’s already all grown up.”
“Live firmly. You will meet countless rivals at the Academy.”
“Don’t get hurt—just stay healthy, all right~?”
“What nonsense! Don’t listen to this woman—always aim for the top seat! You can do it!”
Watching her parents bicker with a hazy smile, Elena made a vow.
This time, without fail…
Then a sound broke her thoughts. A rising murmur. The area near the main gate had suddenly grown restless.
“What’s going on?”
“My, my. Some famous house must have sent their young lady. Look at all those escort knights.”
Elena’s father, Baron Belgard, checked the crest on the carriage that had arrived at the gate.
“House Lowell, the count’s family…”
“Oh my! Lowell—the power broker of central politics?!”
Elena’s mother squealed like a young girl.
The carriage door opened, and a young countess with a pink aura stepped down lightly. The crowd that had gathered recognized her and scrambled to offer greetings.
“Hi, everyone! Nice to meet you!”
Olivia Lowell.
Elena had watched her from a distance a few times before. An easygoing, kind person who treated even nobles of low rank like herself with warmth.
And the fiancée of the man who had once been her lord.
“…….”
Elena watched her in silence. Had she lived a happy life after becoming engaged to him? Elena had never seen that future, so she could not know. But one thing she could say with certainty: if Olivia had never been engaged to him, she would have lived a far happier, more fulfilling life.
Helping her was impossible. A political marriage between the great houses of Lowell and Everhart was not something a mere baron’s daughter could alter. All she could do was watch.
While Elena was sunk in thought, her parents looked at her with worried eyes.
“I’m sorry, Elena. We can’t give you something like that.”
“Hmph! Sorry for what? You should be grateful we brought you into the world and raised you healthy!”
Elena looked at them with a smile.
“Father is right.”
In the past she had envied people like that. That was why she had swung her sword even harder and entered the finest knight order. But now she understood. Happiness did not require wealth or renown. What mattered was family, and one’s own peace.
Mother, Father. In this life, I will protect you both. Without fail.
As she renewed that vow, an even greater commotion erupted at the main gate.
“Who on earth needs that many knights?”
“Look at that seal! It’s the Iron-Blood Knights!”
“The Iron-Blood Knights—the greatest order in the Empire? That means…!”
“House Everhart is sending someone to the Academy?!”
The door of the newly arrived carriage opened, and a man with a cold impression stepped down. The color drained from Elena’s face the moment she saw him. Her parents, failing to notice their daughter’s mood, only grew more excited.
“…As expected of Everhart. That presence is honed to a razor’s edge.”
“Oh my! Oh my! Everhart?! That’s the young master of House Everhart?!”
Their reaction was completely different from when they had seen the young lady of House Lowell. Everhart were nobles among nobles, so it was understandable—yet it still made them look rather snobbish. Even so, it was not a reaction she could truly condemn. Everyone present was staring at the young master of Everhart in much the same way.
“Oh my, oh my! Elena!! You must form a connection with someone like him, all right? You’re your mother’s daughter—you’ve got a figure men like. You need to work that angle properly.”
Her mother, telling her to seduce a man with her body.
“You’re overflowing with talent. You could enter a great house like that as a knight. Catch that young master’s eye and there won’t be any problem.”
And her father, hoping she would use that talent to raise their house.
To Elena, though, simply seeing them again was a joy.
But not that man.
“……….”
Elena frowned as she watched Sirius arrive in grand style under the knights’ escort.
Her former lord.
The wretched man who had used her as a pawn and discarded her.
“Father. Mother. I’ll be going now.”
“Ohoho, off you go.”
“I believe in you. Work hard for the prosperity of our house.”
Looking at the family that cheered her on, she remembered the past. She was a regressor. In her previous life she had met a wicked lord and wasted her years, but no longer. Becoming anyone’s knight was the last thing she wanted. This life, she would live for her family—and for herself alone.