Chapter 25
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Reunion
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I jumped up from my seat and rushed over to the maid.
"What?! Really? From Eliad?!"
"Yes, Master Celen. And it's for you! I thought it was a letter for the count, but─"
"Let me see it. Hand it over quick."
I cut off the maid and took the invitation.
The envelope was made of high-quality white paper sealed with gold wax.
The design was simple, but
that very restraint exuded dignity.
It was the distinctive understated elegance of House Eliad that I'd observed over the past few years.
It always felt distant,
but today, for some reason, it was nothing but welcoming.
My name was written on one corner of the envelope.
It really was from Grand Duke Eliad, addressed to me.
'Giving me this... means Ruena's awakened her Unique Ability, right?'
Her birthday had long passed with no word, and I'd been inwardly anxious about it.
At least news had finally come, even if late.
Still, not fully reassured, I hurriedly broke the seal.
The letter's contents were straightforward.
A formal greeting at the start, followed by a short, concise line.
【Ruena awaits your visit.】
Just one line, but it was enough to lift the corners of my mouth.
"......Finally."
My last meeting with Ruena had been in summer.
Now, full autumn had arrived before I knew it.
Time had flown by that much already.
I wonder if she'd been well.
What Unique Ability had she gained?
With all those emotions packed in, would she be okay?
Questions and worries about her piled up endlessly.
But then I realized this wasn't the time for just thinking.
"I have to go right now."
"Pardon? Right now? Shall I prepare the carriage?"
"Yeah! Oh, wait. No. Hold on. It's late, but I need to prepare a birthday present and cake... quick!"
I fumbled around in a fluster before hastily tying on my apron.
A whole cake would be too much, so cupcakes instead.
I'd load them up with all her favorite fruits.
With far more skill than before, I mixed the batter and prepped the ingredients.
While Ruena was awakening her Unique Ability─
I'd poured time and effort into making the head chef's skills my own.
'Still a long way to go, though...'
Even so, the more of the head chef's skills became mine,
the more naturally and adeptly my hands moved, and his experience became mine too.
It wasn't just skill improving; a cook's instincts and habits were embedding into my body.
'Muscle memory... something like that?'
How to prepare these ingredients,
what flavor this dish should aim for,
what to add to elevate this dish's perfection.
The knowledge I'd stolen from the head chef and my body worked together to find the answers.
"How is it? Good? I made it just like the head chef taught me."
"......This is. Impressive. For a moment, I thought I'd made it myself."
"What, really? You're not just saying that?"
"......No. I'm truly astonished, young master. I only taught you the recipe, yet you've reproduced it so perfectly."
Admiration and surprise filled the head chef's eyes, dimmed by his lost sight.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Seeing that, I realized.
His praise wasn't empty words.
It was the moment proving the stolen skills could truly become mine.
'Still far from fully making them my own...'
But that was just a matter of diligent effort.
If I invested time to ingrain them in my body, they'd all be mine someday.
"...Good. This'll do."
I looked down at the finished cupcakes with satisfaction.
Not bad at all for something rushed.
I quickly packed the cupcakes,
then headed to my room to grab the birthday present I'd bought for Ruena in advance and the emotional artifact.
"Sofia."
"Yes, young master."
"Prepare the carriage. We're going to the Eliad estate."
The scenery outside the carriage whipped by swiftly.
Yet strangely, I wished it would go even faster.
'Will she be okay? What if Ruena hates it...'
Suddenly, I recalled our first meeting.
Even now, her expressions barely changed, always impassive,
but back then, exaggerating a bit, I thought she was a miniature Grand Duke Eliad.
A bored look like she'd lived decades.
Her eyes were so hollow it was hard to read her emotions,
and her aura was heavy and calm, hard to believe for a child.
I gazed down at the magic artifact containing all her emotions.
With all her emotions in here,
Ruena's current state must be far more severe than at our first meeting.
'Gotta brace myself...'
The carriage stopped in front of the estate.
I got out much faster than usual.
The Eliad estate's scenery, devoid of any human warmth no matter how many times I saw it, came into view.
A place that once puzzled me now felt so welcoming.
I must have visited here quite often.
As I approached, a familiar gatekeeper greeted me.
"Isn't this Young Master Noir? Welcome."
I wanted to ask about Ruena's condition but held back.
Better to see Ruena herself than chat.
I hurried into the estate.
The grand duke's servants bowed to welcome me, but that wasn't important.
'No one on the stairs...?'
A bit flustered, I asked the butler beside me.
"Where's Ruena?"
"The young lady is in her room."
I nodded and headed to Ruena's room.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It was so utterly empty.
A vivid feeling like a hole had been punched through my chest.
But I couldn't grasp the reason for this hollowness.
Just─
an awareness of some inexplicable deficiency.
That deficiency was deeply uncomfortable,
yet Father saw it as the natural endpoint, the right answer.
"You've achieved an eye befitting Eliad."
"......Yes."
"At this rate... you'll awaken your Unique Ability soon enough."
Something felt off.
I thought Father was right, that this was indeed the answer.
As Eliad's heir, I wanted my Unique Ability as soon as possible.
Yet it only made me feel more hollow.
I'd wanted this, but it was nothing but uncomfortable.
I started feeling like an empty shell.
But─
Father was always right.
Father had the answer this time too.
My Unique Ability, dormant for nearly a year, had awakened.
"Ah..."
"You've done it, Ruena."
Ruena nodded slowly.
Father had acknowledged it.
My position as heir was now firmly secured.
'This is the right answer.'
I repeated it to myself, but the uncomfortable emptiness didn't fill.
Father's hand rested on my shoulder.
A sign of approval, yet it felt like inescapable shackles.
I returned to my room.
Focusing quietly, a foreign power stirred deep in my chest.
Undoubtedly my Unique Ability.
I'd finally grasped what I'd longed for so much.
"......Why."
Yet why did this discomfort not fade at all?
But─
Humans are beings of adaptation.
Ruena grew numb to the deficiency and walked the given path.
Refining her Unique Ability,
devoting herself to heir lessons as always,
covering the inexplicable deficiency with Eliad's signature cool composure.
Because she had to be Eliad's perfect answer.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The corridor was as bleak and barren as ever.
Without the girl walking impassively beside me, it felt even more so.
'Come to think of it... we always walked together.'
When I visited the estate.
And when I left for home.
Ruena always came down to the stairs to greet me,
and saw me off to the stairs when I left.
'Did she send today's invitation without telling Ruena...?'
The Ruena I knew would have come down already.
Maybe, with her emotions gone, she no longer felt the need to greet me.
An ominous premonition passed through me.
'Gotta steel myself...'
As Ruena's room neared, light leaked from the door crack.
She was in her room, as the butler said.
I approached the door, took a deep breath, and cautiously knocked.
"...Ruena?"
"......"
"Can I come in?"
"......"
No response despite waiting.
With the light on, she wasn't asleep.
Just as I thought, she no longer felt the need to respond to me.
'Even so, she should at least answer.'
The maid hadn't answered either, and no other sounds came,
so at least I wouldn't walk in on her changing or anything awkward.
For confirmation, I knocked hard one last time.
"Ruena. I'm coming in?"
"......"
I flung the door open.
Ruena sat in a chair, utterly expressionless.
She didn't even glance my way, as if my entrance meant nothing.
Worry surged, and I grabbed her shoulders, shaking gently.
"Hey, Ruena."
"......"
"Stop spacing out and look here. It's me."
"......?"
Ruena slowly lifted her head.
Her blank face looked at me, and after a long moment, she spoke.
"......Celen?"
"Yeah, it's me. Why didn't you answer if you were here?"
"...Celen?"
"Yeah. I'm here."
It seemed stealing all her emotions had left her pretty dazed.
'Can't blame her.'
I sighed and reached into my bag for the magic artifact.
Or rather,
I tried to, but my hand stopped.
Ruena had suddenly risen from her chair and hugged me tightly.