Royal Capital Barga (16)
Looking at the young master who said nothing left me feeling unsettled.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
When I pressed him, the young master started in surprise.
“H-how does it look? It doesn’t suit me after all, does it?”
“N-no! It suits you perfectly.”
“R-really?”
His praise soothed the unease in my chest and lifted my mood.
“You put the necklace on for me.”
“Yes, well…”
I twisted the strands of hair tickling the back of my neck. I wore it all the time—just tucked under my clothes so it wouldn’t show. Still, it was a gift. Leaving it unused would be rude, wouldn’t it?
Young Master Maximilian and I couldn’t even properly meet each other’s eyes, only stealing glances. The atmosphere was strangely charged.
“We’ve been looking at clothes for so long that I’m getting hungry.”
Lady Gerlach’s words completely changed the mood.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
We left the clothing shop to board the carriage again. Come to think of it, the young master had changed as well…
It looked like the outfit he had just bought. Closer to a formal uniform than his everyday clothes, it gave off a different impression—almost like when he wore his priestly vestments.
With looks like his, he looked dashing in anything. I was decent-looking myself these days… but I still couldn’t quite measure up to him.
On the way to the carriage, blatant stares prickled at my skin. Was taking off the hat a mistake after all?
One thing I had noticed while touring the capital today was that I had not seen a single other person with pink hair like mine. In other words, even to the people of the capital, my pink hair was a curiosity.
I considered pulling the hat back out of the paper bag holding my clothes. We would be in the carriage soon enough—would it really matter? The moment we neared the carriage, the stares vanished completely.
Of course. They had spotted the noble family crest on the carriage and been startled. Our clothes weren’t particularly luxurious, and we weren’t wearing flashy dresses, so they had probably taken us for slightly well-off commoners…
But who was standing right beside me? The young lady of House Gerlach!
“Whew.”
A deep sigh escaped me the moment I climbed into the carriage.
“Are you all right?”
The young master looked worried.
“Yes, just… there were a lot of eyes on us.”
He smiled faintly. I had no idea what he found so pleasing. Lady Gerlach was smiling too.
“Truly an adorable young lady. If I could, I’d take you home with me right now.”
“You may not.”
The young master stretched out an arm to block me.
“Haha! So this is it, then?”
Lady Gerlach suddenly held up her left little finger. What was that supposed to mean?
The young master stiffened slightly at the sight and shook his head.
“You really are dense.”
She looked at him with open pity. Whether we noticed or not, the carriage set off and soon arrived at our next destination.
“Get out.”
The place we had arrived at looked like a restaurant.
Only…
“W-we’re going in here?”
Even at a glance it looked expensive. The door handles alone were gold, and the glass windows and stained-glass decorations were extravagantly ornate.
The young master, who seemed to know the place, frowned.
“If I’d known we were coming here, I would have chosen more expensive clothes.”
“Hmm? Isn’t that enough?”
“Miss Rosemarie? You can’t go around advertising that you’ve never been somewhere like this.”
Huh? Lady Gerlach had never been here?
“Hahaha! What can I do? The cooks at the estate are better than anything here.”
The young master sighed.
“Well, this should just barely pass.”
While I sat there bewildered, he explained. It was a high-end restaurant that required a dress code to match.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s famous for being run by a disciple of a royal chef.”
Anyone with a bit of money came at least once, he said, and it was also popular as a date spot.
“Heeh…”
“Though someone of Miss Rosemarie’s standing would never need to.”
If your title was middling and your purse thin, you couldn’t hire a skilled cook, so places like this thrived. But once you reached the level of a great noble house with real wealth, keeping a royal-chef-level cook on staff was only natural.
“Have you been here before, Young Master?”
“I-I came once with my parents after graduating from the Academy.”
They had brought him to celebrate his excellent grades.
“Even then they made me dress up—I had to dig out the clothes I only ever wore to balls.”
Oddly enough, listening to the young master’s story—noble though it was—felt strangely commoner-like and approachable.
“Is that so?”
Lady Gerlach seemed to find his tale interesting.
“Yes. That’s how expensive it is.”
Inside, quiet music drifted through the air. There were quite a few guests, all of them refined in manner. A small ensemble in the corner was performing.
Lady Gerlach’s attendant spoke with a staff member, who then guided us somewhere. We were led to a room on the third floor of the restaurant.
It was clearly a VIP room.
The table, the wallpaper—everything was so ornate it almost hurt the eyes. The temples of the Church looked positively austere by comparison. Looking at this, the Church seemed extraordinarily frugal.
“I’ve already chosen the menu roughly.”
“Pardon?”
We didn’t even need to look at a menu?
“By the way, how did the two of you meet?”
Now she was suddenly curious about our personal details.
“Uh, I’m… a resident of the Meyer Territory…”
I gave a rough explanation—that I lived in the Meyer Territory and was a mage…
“Oh? You met while following your master, then…”
Did she find my story amusing? Lady Gerlach wore a faint smile.
“Yes. I taught Lady Amelie together with my master.”
“I see. That much I understand—but why are you traveling together?”
She kept pressing as if my story genuinely entertained her.
“That… the young master would know.”
I didn’t know the reason myself, so I looked to him.
“I will explain later.”
She merely shrugged at that. There was nothing more I could say.
“A mage can hardly be called ordinary.”
“Actually, I’m a nun.”
She didn’t seem to understand.
“I haven’t taken formal vows. It’s just that the power I wield is Holy Power.”
When I added that I had studied Holy Magic as well as regular magic, Lady Gerlach’s eyes changed.
“So I have found a talent…”
The shift in her evaluation left me feeling a little pleased.
“Would you consider coming under me? I would pay you handsomely.”
Her high valuation of my abilities was flattering. Flattering, but… my position made it impossible for me to join any faction.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hmm. Is Max the problem?”
The young master? Why bring him up here? I didn’t understand.
“No, it’s not that. It’s because of the Church.”
“What a waste… a real waste…”
As we talked, Lady Gerlach gradually grew more comfortable, and I began asking little questions of my own—why she was here instead of her territory, what sort of talent she was looking for, and other trivial things.
“I came for a marriage interview. Truly bothersome business.”
A marriage interview? That meant…
“You aren’t married, my lady?”
The young master asked in surprise.
“Unfortunately, no man has ever measured up. Before I knew it I had passed twenty.”
By commoner standards she was already an old maid. Even among nobles it probably wasn’t much different.
“My father must be getting anxious—he’s started telling me to just grab anyone.”
So she had been meeting the candidates the marquis had arranged while also scouting for talent on the side.
“B-but with Lady Gerlach’s standing, couldn’t you simply take anyone you wanted?”
“And what if the man turns out to be trash? Overturning a marquisate would be rather inconvenient.”
Ah…
“Miss Julian is rather naïve.”
I could only bow my head. It really had been a thoughtless remark. Silence stretched and the atmosphere began to sink—until the food arrived.
“Eat first.”
The food was… delicious. Yet my hands trembled so badly I could barely tell whether the dishes were going into my mouth or my nose. Still, it was delicious. Even compared to the lavish spreads I had eaten at the Church’s main temple, it held its own.
“Acceptable.”
To Lady Gerlach it might only be “acceptable,” but to a commoner like me it was a once-in-a-lifetime taste. Well, my status had changed enough that I could eat like this whenever I wanted if I put my mind to it…
How long was the food going to keep coming, anyway? We had already finished the main course, yet more kept arriving.
When I could no longer lift my utensils and only picked at the plates, the young master laughed.
“You needn’t force yourself.”
“B-but it’s such a waste.”
The dishes in front of Lady Gerlach and the young master were mostly empty. Only I—only I—was leaving food behind.
“We are people who use our bodies, so of course we eat a great deal. There is no need to overdo it.”
“I-is that so?”
Lady Gerlach had also attended the knight course, so her large appetite made sense. Still, it felt wasteful…
“Excuse me a moment.”
The young master rose and left the room. He seemed to have some errand.
“Eat at your leisure.”
Lady Gerlach stood as well. I had no idea what was going on, but I decided to battle the food in front of me.
At first, running into Miss Rosemarie had been awkward, but thanks to her I had been able to see the lovely Miss Julian. In that pure white dress, Miss Julian looked so adorable she might have been an angel, radiant with light.
I even wondered whether the Goddess Herself had chosen her for that beauty alone.
And the way her eyes sparkled with happiness every time she tasted something delicious was utterly endearing. The only pity was how carefully she watched Miss Rosemarie’s reactions, holding herself back.
In the middle of the meal I decided to fetch something for Miss Julian to drink. I could have simply ordered a servant, but I wanted to bring it myself—and to stretch my legs and get some air.
After going downstairs, placing the order, and taking a brief breath, Miss Rosemarie appeared beside me.
“Is something the matter?”
“No. I simply had something I wished to ask.”
Her speech was still stiff. She had said it was the manner she had cultivated because, as a woman who must inherit a title and stand above others… a pitiable thing.
“Max. Are you fond of Miss Julian?”
For a moment I forgot how to breathe.
“I-is it that obvious?”
“So I was right.”
Lady Gerlach laughed heartily and clapped me on the back. Whether she had put mana into it or not, her hand was painfully sharp.
“You haven’t confessed yet, I take it.”
“That is…”
“She’s a commoner, but that shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”
Miss Rosemarie did not know Miss Julian’s true identity. That was why she could speak so lightly.
“Besides, the girl seems fond of you as well.”
“Pardon?”
That statement startled me even more than the last. Miss Julian… fond of me?
“I suppose both of you are too inexperienced to notice.”
I blinked and stared at Miss Rosemarie.
“Pardon?”
She laughed heartily again and thumped my back once more.
“Do your best.”
“No—what do you mean by that?! At least explain!”
Explain! Please explain! I reached for her arm, but she slipped free with ease.
“I can hardly meddle further in someone else’s romance, can I? Be content with that much of a hint.”
I bit my lip hard. She wasn’t wrong. This was a matter between Miss Julian and me. Miss Rosemarie had already given more than enough advice.
Wanting more would be greed.
“I look forward to being invited when you hold the wedding.”
That was far from easy. After a moment’s hesitation I caught Miss Rosemarie again.
Revealing Miss Julian’s status without even telling her was a dangerous act. Still, Miss Rosemarie would not go spreading rumors.
Miss Julian… forgive me.
“What is it?”
“I-I am truly sorry, but…”
I told Miss Rosemarie of Miss Julian’s identity and asked whether there might be any way forward.
Her expression grew grave.
“Of all things, the Saintess of the Church…?”
“That is…”
I nodded and stressed that no one else must ever hear of it.
“Does that change anything? In the end, what matters is the hearts of the two people involved, is it not?”
Ordinary advice, yet it struck at the core.
“And if you intend to keep hiding it forever, the status itself is no obstacle.”
Was that true as well…?
“Thank you…”
A little of the knot in my chest seemed to loosen.
In the end, confessing first was the only way…
“I wish you luck.”
Miss Rosemarie returned to the private room first. I collected the drinks I had ordered and headed back as well.