Maybe I...
A few days later.
Irene was busy preparing for a lengthy absence.
Come to think of it, we had decided to split the occupation forces and dispatch them across the continent.
As deputy commander, Irene was no exception. The moment her training duties were roughly wrapped up, she began making earnest preparations to depart.
Would I not be seeing her face for a while, then?
Irene first offered her farewells to the head maid, whose face had grown quite familiar by now.
"Well then, I shall be off. Look after the mansion for me."
"Do not worry, my lady."
"Miss Reika. I would be grateful if you could rest easy even without me around."
"Have a safe trip…!! I'll be waiting. When you come back, I'll make you lots of delicious food…!"
"And…"
At the sight of her oddly hesitant manner, I naturally realized it was my turn and stepped closer to her.
Irene looked up at me, her eyes flickering strangely as she spoke.
"Swen. I'll be back safely, so… you have to stay healthy and well while I'm gone."
"…"
There was a subtle quality in the tone of her voice.
Hoping I wasn't about to make a fool of myself, I moved in close and—
"…!!!!"
—spread my arms wide and pulled her into an embrace.
She must have been quite startled; Irene gave a slight flinch, but she did not push me away. Instead she leaned her head against my chest.
"Have a safe journey, Lady Irene. I'll miss you terribly, but I'll still be here waiting."
"Mm… Swen, I'll do my best. I'll… miss you too…"
"Take care of yourself. Absolutely no overdoing it. If anything seems even a little dangerous, you pull back immediately. Understood?"
"I won't overdo it. If Swen says not to, then I won't…"
It was only a patrol, after all; perhaps I was overreacting a bit. But even back when she was with the Aesius forces, this woman had been the sort who would stake her life for my sake. Without laying down these precautions, I would be too anxious to breathe properly.
I slowly stroked her crimson hair with my hand.
She always showed only her strong side, and in truth she possessed an unshakably firm will… yet moments like this made it clear that Lady Irene was never a person of pure steel.
After seeing Irene off—
"…?"
"Ah, au, th-that is…!!!"
—I turned to Reika, who was staring at me with a bright red face and beads of nervous sweat, and spoke in a relaxed tone.
"Do you have anything to do today?"
"Huh? N-no, I… don't…"
The way she fidgeted, fingers tapping against each other, struck me as oddly endearing.
"Then shall we meditate together for the first time in a while?"
"Wh-what…?"
"You don't want to?"
"Ah, n-no, it's not that I don't… I like it! I like it…!!"
Going to the library and reading together would not have been bad either, yet the times she had seemed happiest with me were always when we meditated.
Spending some light time with her today would not be a bad thing at all.
And so Reika and I promptly left the mansion.
Thump, thump.
Even though she had come out to meditate with Swen, Reika's heart refused to calm down.
That was truly amazing…
Lady Irene saying she would be back, and Swen-nim wrapping her tightly in his arms.
The pair looked so perfectly matched that they might as well have stepped out of a painting, and something deep in Reika's chest began to tingle for no clear reason.
At a glance the bond between the two appeared extremely solid—yet the surprising part was that they still were not "anything" to each other.
And from that fact of "not being anything," Reika felt a strange sense of relief.
If the day ever comes when I have to leave for somewhere far away… would Swen-nim hold me like that as well…?
Lady Irene and she herself had started from roughly the same place.
If one factored in the marriage talks that had already taken place, she might even be a step ahead.
So there was no need to feel inferior, she thought—and in that very moment.
…Huh?
A single realization flashed through Reika's mind like lightning.
Wait a second.
Did I just… think to myself that I am "ahead"…?
…Ahead of what?
In the marriage talks?
If I am ahead in the marriage talks, then what does that even mean? Ahead toward what?
The chain of thoughts raced after one another until they finally arrived at a single conclusion.
In other words… maybe I…
…like Swen-nim……?????
Wait, wait, wait.
Reika's eyes went round and her face flushed scarlet as a storm of thoughts began thrashing wildly inside her head.
Truthfully, I never particularly wanted to get married… but becoming Swen-nim's wife… I thought that would be all right. Even at the very beginning I didn't hate the idea. It was something Father wanted, and marriages for women have always been like that… But then at some point… something, something changed…!
When Swen had introduced her in the library as "my wife," it would have been a lie to claim her heart had not fluttered.
But… Swen-nim told me that if I did not want marriage, if I preferred to live freely, I was free to choose that path. I was deeply grateful for those words… yet the subtle sense of distance I felt then… has been lingering ever since, hasn't it?
"Miss Reika?"
I never quite understood what that distance was, but thinking back now… perhaps I wanted to hear different words……??
"Excuse me? Miss Reika?"
If only, instead of giving me a choice, Swen-nim had firmly asked me to become his wife……!!!
"Miss Reika!"
"Kyaaah…!"
Startled, Reika finally turned her head to look at Swen.
"S-Swen-nim…?"
"Is something the matter?"
"N-no, it's… I-I'm fine, nothing's wrong…!!"
"You certainly look as though something is very much the matter."
At Swen's words Reika grew flustered and asked back,
"W-why…?"
"You've been bouncing your face back and forth this whole time, completely unable to keep still. Normally when you meditate you close your eyes and look so peaceful. But not today…"
"…Did I… really do that?"
"Yes. Like this."
Watching Swen lightly imitate her, Reika bowed her head in utter despair.
"I'm so sorry… I don't think I need to live any longer. I shall end this life right here…"
"No, no! Why would you—that's far too extreme!"
"But I showed you such a disgusting sight…"
"It's fine. More importantly, is something troubling you?"
"Troubling me…"
Reika looked into Swen's gray eyes.
The first time she met him, the sharp gray of those eyes had contributed greatly to the impression that "this man is handsome, yet somehow cold."
Yet for some reason, right now those same eyes looked impossibly warm.
A gentle warmth unique to kind, considerate people seemed to wrap around her heart.
Troubling me, huh…
Maybe marrying Swen-nim…
Marrying him, welcoming Lady Irene as well, and living quietly together as three… might actually be better than living completely free and unbound… and that thought is what's troubling me—
—but the courage to say those words aloud, regrettably, did not exist in her at present.
"It's nothing…"
At Reika's answer Swen fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Is that so? All right. I won't press you. But if you ever feel like talking about anything, you can tell me anytime. Understood?"
"Y-yes…!"
The words that she could speak anytime made her heart feel warm once more.
—The reason my heart is wavering is surely because Swen-nim is such a kind person.
That the unexpected partner of the marriage talks turned out to be Swen was, Reika thought, a tremendous stroke of luck for her as well.
"Shall we continue, then?"
"Yes…!"
Only then did Reika shake off the clutter in her mind and sense the mana flowing through the air.
This place was rather rich in mana.
It was not overflowing like a mountain thick with trees, yet she could feel far more mana drifting in the air than in the central continent.
With this much mana… the new formula I failed last time might succeed…!
Reika recalled the dying rabbit she had happened upon in the garden of the mansion during her days at Valharat Castle.
Back then the atmospheric mana had been insufficient and she failed, yet perhaps now she might succeed.
That was how she had always acquired new magic.
An image would surface, she would formalize it, and then realize it.
No one had ever taught her, yet for Reika it was as simple as breathing.
Her growth over these past few days had been palpable even to herself, and handling mana had become thoroughly enjoyable.
The extremely complex problem of constructing a formula felt, from her perspective, like something that would resolve with just a little time—and in fact it did.
Without the slightest notion that this was simply because she herself was a born genius…
Ever since I met Swen-nim… I've been able to understand better…! Someday I absolutely must repay the kindness he showed me…!
—she firmly believed it was all thanks to Swen, who had taught her various training methods, and her admiration for him continued to grow ever thicker.
And so that day was spent meditating together with Swen.
For Reika, that time was more precious than anything else.
Several more days passed after Irene's departure.
Word came that the head maid was urgently looking for me, so I dressed quickly first thing in the morning and headed to where she waited.
The moment she spotted me she bowed her head in proper greeting.
"Ah, Lord Swen. You have arrived. I ought to begin with a proper good morning, but…"
"It's fine. What is the matter?"
"A messenger has come from the royal palace. Lady Serpina requests that Lord Swen come to her at once…"
"Do you know what this is about?"
I asked, though I already had a fairly good idea.
The head maid's expression, heavier with worry than usual.
The urgent summons.
And the fact that only one sort of event could possibly arise in the present situation…
"I… do not know the details myself, but it seems rebel forces have risen somewhere on the continent."
Just as I thought.
News of rebels, as expected.
Which meant…
Lady Serpina's prediction was correct.
A rebellion would occur. The sole basis for that claim had been my single piece of "advice."
How on earth had she been able to declare with such certainty that a rebellion would break out?
Well, whatever the case, meeting my lord and talking it over would resolve the question soon enough.
"I will depart at once."
"Yes. Please take care on the way…"
After exchanging farewells with the head maid, I swiftly changed into my uniform and set out for the royal palace without delay.