Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: #3 Harvest Festival (1)
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The meal ended without any further words related to it.
Because a relationship doesn’t suddenly improve just from handing over an apology.
The two were still strangers, and with so little known about each other, they didn’t have much in the way of conversation anyway.
In the end, the atmosphere grew awkward once more, and after finishing their meal that way, they went to sleep, ushering in the next morning.
“Young Master, have you woken?”
“I’m up.”
Elric rose from the bed, sensing the air growing steadily cooler.
As he splashed dry water on his face to rouse himself, last night’s events slid past in his mind.
A bitter smile tugged at his lips.
Now that he’d finally settled on a destination, there was a sense of refreshment too.
“Ugh…”
He dragged his uncomfortable leg and hauled himself upright.
He intended to leave once his leg healed, but it was obvious that wouldn’t happen anytime soon.
At the very least, he’d have to get through the winter. If he allowed a little leeway, there was a good chance he’d still be here come spring.
Whatever the case, he’d have to spend that time helping Tiria.
There wasn’t much he could do in his current state, but sitting idle would just draw unwanted attention.
“Coming in.”
Aldio opened the door.
A maid stood behind him, carrying a basin brimming with cold water.
“Your wash water.”
“Thank you. Go tend to your duties.”
He still wasn’t used to this life where someone served him the moment he opened his eyes.
Elric waved the maid away and washed his face.
The chill fully sharpened his senses. He roughly rinsed his hair, shook off the moisture, and changed his clothes—now he was finally ready to step out.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, the Lady is waiting.”
“She must be busy.”
“Meals are to be taken together as a family. It’s the master’s ironclad rule.”
Elric let out a smirk.
That was true. His father had insisted that breakfasts, above all, required the family to show their faces. The man was obsessively fixated on schedules—if Elric ever skipped a morning meal and broke the routine, he’d been left to starve the entire day.
That custom must still linger in the manor.
“Hurry on down. Dawn will break at this rate.”
Elric stepped out of the room, leaning on his cane.
When he arrived at the dining hall, Tiria gave a short bow.
“Have you woken, sir?”
“Good morning.”
For a moment, their eyes met.
Tiria blinked, and Elric offered an awkward smile.
With what had happened yesterday, it was hard to act as casually as usual, yet he couldn’t show any strange signs either—a real bind.
“Sit and eat. You’ve got a lot on your plate, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Breakfast was the usual: bacon, bread, and eggs.
A menu that filled the stomach without weighing it down—put another way, one that would swiftly free them from this awkwardness.
Clink. They began eating. Once he finished roughly, he’d look into changing the inheritance.
That was when he made up his mind.
“…Harvest season is almost upon us.”
Tiria spoke up.
“It’ll take about a week to wrap up.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Yes.”
What was this—her bringing up a topic first? Surprised, he looked up to see her nibbling at her food.
Elric felt a strange pressure.
‘What should I say here?’
For some reason, the thought that he had to respond wouldn’t leave his head, since she’d tossed out the subject.
Letting the conversation die right there would make him feel like the worst sort of person.
Cold sweat beaded on his skin.
“Um…”
Harvest.
Focusing on that word, what Elric resorted to was peddling memories.
“…Takes me back.”
“To what?”
“Come harvest time, all the adults gather in the wheat fields to work, right? So us kids left behind would band together and do what? Play all the pranks we couldn’t under the adults’ watchful eyes.”
Pranks, he said—but they’d been pretty dangerous escapades.
Exploring the back hills where magic beasts occasionally appeared, or sneaking out of the territory for war games.
Looking back, it was a miracle no one died.
“Sounds like you were a real handful.”
Ouch—Elric’s gut twisted.
-You little handfuls!
The shout from the restaurant owner who always slipped them snacks came rushing back.
His head ducked naturally. At a loss for words, his hands just sped up.
In the midst of it, he noticed Tiria hesitating.
It had to be hesitation. He couldn’t think of another way to describe her poking at her food while staring blankly at her plate.
“…Is there something you want to say?”
“Ah.”
He could see tension grip the hand holding her knife.
Right after, Tiria’s lips twitched, and she finally spoke.
“Could I…”
“Could you?”
“…ask one favor?”
What kind of favor warranted such caution?
Feeling puzzled, Elric nodded.
“Go ahead. I’ll help however I can.”
“It’s about the harvest festival.”
“The harvest festival…”
It was a memory.
Weibin’s harvest festival was a four-day event kicking off from the end of the wheat harvest.
Liquor and grain were released across the territory to honor the people’s year of toil—an affair overseen by his father, no less.
Not exactly fond memories.
In Elric’s recollection, the harvest festival marked a time when his father’s attention drifted especially far away.
“A problem with the festival?”
“If you call it a problem, then yes. Weibin’s harvest festival is still run by the Portmans. And on the final night, the head of the Portman family has to give a speech.”
“I vaguely remember that.”
“Last year, the previous family head passed away, so I stepped in for the role. But this year…”
Only then did Elric grasp what she meant.
“You’re asking me to give the speech?”
“…Yes.”
Tiria’s hands had come to a complete halt.
Elric pondered for a moment. Now that he’d decided to leave, was it right for him to play the family head? Shouldn’t he leave that role to her?
No matter how he turned it over, his thoughts leaned that way.
Still, turning down her request didn’t sit well with him either.
“Um…”
Wasn’t there a compromise?
As he thought it over, Elric came up with one idea.
“How about this?”
“Yes?”
“To be honest, I’m not confident about speeches. But skipping the event entirely as the Portman family head would look strange, I know. So have you give the speech, and I’ll stand beside you.”
Not a bad solution, right?
It could give the impression that Tiria held the real power in the Portman family, and it would fulfill her request to some degree.
His only worry was whether she—seemingly so inflexible—would accept it…
“…If that’s how you want it, then just for this year.”
Fortunately, she seemed agreeable.
Though qualified with “just for this year,” that was plenty.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. If there’s anything else needed for the festival, tell Aldio. He knows more than I do.”
“Yes.”
Tiria nodded.
*
Something was off. Strange.
That’s what Tiria found herself thinking.
It was inevitable.
He’d made that sour face at their first reunion, and he still saw her as a Weibin—setting those aside, though, Elric’s attitude had been remarkably gentle.
Put differently, it was an attitude that bred “expectation.”
Setting everything else aside, his apology for the past ten years had done it.
Sorry for leaving like that—not because of you—his sincere apology as he said it had shocked her so much she forgot to control her expression.
Even recalling it now made her heart thump.
Her face felt feverish.
She couldn’t know if his words were genuine, yet she couldn’t help growing greedy anyway.
What if—what if he doesn’t actually hate me?
That thought refused to fade.
Her request about the festival had been an extension of that expectation too.
Officially, it was “you have to show your face as the Portman family head,” but she couldn’t claim there was no personal desire mixed in.
What came unbidden to mind was the event after the speech.
‘…The bonfire festival.’
That night, a massive campfire blazed in the village square.
The villagers danced around it.
She’d seen the festival plenty since childhood, and at some point, she’d started imagining Elric as her partner while watching.
Could she finally make that dream real now?
If he didn’t hate her, it was something she desperately wanted to do.
Of course, with his leg the way it was, dancing was out of the question. She didn’t even expect that much.
She just wanted to be there together.
Lost in thought, Tiria felt the heat rise hotter and pressed her hand gently to her cheek.
It was a blessing she was alone in her office.
If she’d been out, she’d have had to expend effort suppressing these feelings.
“Hoo…”
She was exhaling to shake off the heat when—
Knock knock—
“Lady, may I come in?”
Aldio’s voice.
Tiria’s face instantly went blank.
“…Come in.”
Her voice snapped back to its usual tone in an instant.
She was a woman who never showed her emotions to others.