4. Imperial Capital Lumentium - 05
4. Imperial Capital Lumentium - 05
To get straight to the point, the scandalous disaster everyone here had been anticipating didn't actually happen.
Sarah simply stood there without a single word, staring at me with an expression of pure ice.
"....."
I'll say it now. Whatever I think of House Sernad's conduct in sending me the broken engagement notice, I don't believe her feelings toward me are entirely incomprehensible. As my fiancée, finding another woman seated on my bed and being repulsed enough to end the engagement is a perfectly natural response. If I were in her shoes, I'd have flown into a rage and schemed to end it immediately too.
But she did nothing at all. She just stood there silently, watching me. If I'm honest, Sarah behaving this way was far more terrifying. I would've felt more at ease if she'd actually done something to me, but having her stare at me without a single word left me deeply unsettled.
"...Hoo."
Unable to endure the murderous silence where no one would open their mouth, I was the one who raised the white flag first.
"...Why aren't you saying anything? I thought you'd have a lot to say to me."
"Because saying anything to you would be nothing but a waste of time."
Sarah answered in a voice so cold it was hard to believe she had once been my fiancée.
"I'm sorry, but running into you here today wasn't my intention. It was simply my misfortune, nothing more. Just so we're clear—please don't misunderstand."
As she spoke, Sarah took one step toward me, then another. Soon, we stood close enough that our breaths could touch.
"....."
"....."
The spectators arrayed around us swallowed hard, imagining what might unfold next.
Unfortunately for them, the spectacle they hoped for never came. Sarah simply slipped a ring from her finger and placed it in my open palm.
"...What's this?"
"An engagement ring."
She said it in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone, as if describing a coin she'd picked up off the street.
"I've already heard the news. Our broken engagement—it's already received His Majesty's approval, hasn't it? So I figure this ring is now nothing more than a simple ring with no meaning at all. I'm returning it."
"....."
That caught me off guard. What surprised me was the very fact that she still wore the ring from our engagement on her finger. I'd thought Sarah found our betrothal thoroughly distasteful. I'd never imagined she would attach meaning to a mere engagement ring and keep wearing it. No, before that, our engagement ring—
"...Sarah, wait—"
But without giving me a chance to speak, Sarah brushed past me. A detached attitude, as if announcing to everyone that she no longer held even a shred of interest in me. And that was when it happened. In the very moment she passed beside me, she whispered into my ear in a tiny voice.
"West terrace. Two hours from now."
"...What?"
At those words, I instinctively turned to look at her. But she kept her gaze fixed forward, not sparing me a single glance, as though performing for the crowd's benefit that I was now a stranger wholly unrelated to her. And she promptly vanished into the throng.
"....."
Before I knew it, I was absently stroking the engagement ring in my hand. A ring of silver set with a large ruby, it was undeniably beautiful, entirely befitting its purpose. And yet, at the same time, it was a ring whose appearance felt profoundly unfamiliar to me.
"...Sarah."
For the record, the gemstone set in our engagement ring had been an emerald.
****
What happened after that, well, it wasn't much. On the surface, the incident was nothing more than Sarah returning the engagement ring and walking away without a backward glance. Perfect gossip material for a moment, but for noble lords expecting a messy, drawn-out theatrical disaster, it seemed like a rather anticlimactic ending. I could tell from the way the excessive attention aimed at me evaporated in an instant.
At last, I could do what I'd intended from the start: retreat to a corner of the banquet hall and while away the time devouring food with Aria. Once again, I marveled at her boldness—she hadn't paid the slightest attention to the whole affair. I popped another piece of meat into her mouth.
Nom nom.
Aria ate with an endearing contentment, like a baby bird being fed. I watched her for a moment and thought about what had just happened.
'...What was that, really?'
What in the world was she thinking? Just now, she'd told me that running into me here today had been chance, nothing more. ...But I was certain she was lying. She had absolutely come to the banquet hall to meet me.
"Kain von Estel."
I fished through my pocket and examined the "engagement ring" she'd handed me once more. No doubt about it. This was not the engagement ring we had exchanged.
"Kain von Estel."
Two hours from now at the west terrace, was it? I had no idea what business could possibly compel her to meet me alone. No—before that, why in the world was she resorting to such a roundabout method to see me in secret? This was something that hadn't happened before my regression, which left an uneasy flutter in my chest. But I had no choice. For now, I might as well simply do as Sarah asked—
"Kain von Estel!"
A furious shout erupted behind me. Some bastard's voice echoed through the entire banquet hall, drawing attention back toward me. After I'd finally found somewhere quiet to swallow my food, what fresh trial had come for me now?
I turned with an irritated glance and found some pretty-boy dandy glaring at me, practically steaming. Yet the bastard had a face that felt very, very familiar. Studying it, his identity hovered just at the edge of recollection.
"...What the hell is your name?"
Trying to dredge up my hazy memories, I threw the question at him. He scowled and readily answered.
"I am Lucian von Turnizen, the legitimate heir of the Turnizen Ducal House."
"...Lucian von Turnizen? The Turnizen Ducal House?"
I tilted my head at his abrupt declaration for a moment before I finally realized where I'd seen him.
"...Ah. The engagement ceremony."
"What? Engagement ceremony? What in the world are you talking about?"
The brat furrowed his brow, baffled. I had no intention of explaining. After all, the story I would be telling was nothing more than a distant future that hadn't happened yet.
Five years from now, Sarah will break off our engagement. And afterward, she will become engaged to someone else—namely the man right in front of me, Lucian von Turnizen.
In truth, it wasn't a wedding, merely an engagement ceremony, so there was no real need for me to attend. But I had deliberately set aside time to go and watch. Because I'd thought it would be my last chance. Watching Sarah, her ties to me completely severed, was my own desperate way of trying to put to rest every remaining feeling I still held for her.
And at that ceremony, I had seen the face of Lucian von Turnizen, now standing before me. But I'd only glimpsed him from a great distance, and his current face was far more youthful than the one in my memory, so I'd failed to recognize him at first glance.
"So, to what do I owe the visit from the precious young master of the Turnizen Ducal House?"
Lucian snorted at my question.
"What do you think? I'm standing face to face with you—I'd say there's only one possible reason."
"What part of that is an answer? How do you expect me to understand that?"
"Fine. I'll give it to you plainly. I am challenging you to a duel, Kain von Estel."
He pulled a glove from his pocket and threw it at me as he spoke. Mind you, I was feeling so disoriented I couldn't even begin to grasp the situation. I was so utterly thunderstruck, I honestly wouldn't have batted an eye if someone confessed this was all an elaborate surprise party aimed at rattling me.
"...Lucian von Turnizen. Just to be clear, I'd like to ask you one thing."
"What?"
"You do realize that today is the first time you and I have ever spoken face-to-face, right? Setting aside the nonsense you're spouting at a first meeting, I really can't find a single justification for why I should have to duel you."
At my logical reply, Lucian's expression took on something like a sneer. Which, for the record, was doing a tremendous job of pissing me off.
"I think there are more than enough reasons for us to duel. Then again, drawing a blade on someone who knows nothing is shameful, so allow me to offer one explanation."
Looking at him now, it wasn't just his expression—his entire manner of speaking was guaranteed to infuriate. Honestly, since he didn't seem all that strong, the thought had crossed my mind to use the duel as an excuse to simply deck him. I mean, at his best, could he possibly be stronger than an ogre trying to tear a man apart alive? This pampered young noble brat?
"Kain von Estel, the news of your broken engagement with Lady Sarah Sernad has spread widely through the capital. And according to the rumors, Lady Sernad resolved to end it because you inflicted a grave insult upon her—yes, along with the shameless rumor that you dragged another woman into your bed before her very eyes."
"....."
Since that rumor was fundamentally true, even I had nothing to say to that.
"And I have known Lady Sernad since childhood—a relationship you could call childhood friends. Because of your indecent behavior, she has suffered great damage to her honor. So much so that she refused every personal meeting I've ever requested, to the very end."
Lucian's dandyish expression vanished, replaced by a ferocious look that finally made his purpose obvious to me.
"...So, summarizing your speech, Sarah was hurt because of me, and you happen to be nursing an unrequited crush on her that won't let you leave it alone. Then by happy coincidence, you spotted my detestable face here at the banquet and thought it a golden opportunity to beat me to a pulp."
"...Strike the phrase 'unrequited crush,' and the rest is entirely correct. So, will you accept the duel? For the record, I don't mind at all if you slink away like a coward."
"Crazy bastard."
I found myself muttering the curse before I knew it. The whole thing boiled down to this: the brat thought I looked like easy prey, so he'd gotten cocky and challenged me to a duel. Wasn't that the entire sum of it?
"Fine. Lucian von Turnizen. I'll accept your duel. On one condition."
I'd meant to let it slide if possible, but if he'd done this because he saw me as an easy mark, then I absolutely could not let it go. I am Young Duke Estel. If I'm looked down upon, it means House Estel itself is being looked down upon.
"...A condition? What? Surely you don't mean a proxy—"
"To hell with your proxy. I demand only one thing of you."
I cracked my knuckles deliberately and gave Lucian a bright, refreshing smile.
"For this duel, I won't be using a sword—I'll use my fists. You see, I have a burning desire to beat you with my own hands, rather than a blade."