A Quiet Family Story and a New Name
Following the butler's suggestion that a long story like this should be shared slowly from within rather than out in the open, our family moved inside and began catching up on everything that had happened.
“So how exactly did you end up repeating a year?”
When I asked how someone who had been so diligent until entering the academy had managed to get held back, he gave me a bitter smile and said he was still fairly diligent these days.
“If you’re that diligent, why didn’t you even contact home…”
“Ahem, hem hem.”
When I pointed out the single letter he had sent after entering the academy, Arlan cleared his throat awkwardly, clearly at a loss for words. Even so, I kept pressing him about why he had been held back until he finally made a troubled face, hesitated, and confessed the truth.
“Well… at the academy, we’re all students together, but once we graduate, our statuses split again. Some kids cleverly take advantage of that.”
Among them, the central nobles’ children had formed a tight little clique and acted all high and mighty. They would pick on anyone close to him by calling them commoners or lower nobles, and he couldn’t stand it—so he beat them all up. After hearing that, we fell silent for a moment before nodding in understanding.
‘If they’re the predecessors of those trashy nobles from the original story… yeah, they probably needed a good beating.’
I nodded while recalling the third-rate villains in the original work who had proudly declared that only central nobles were real nobles, looking down on everyone else until the protagonist beat them into submission. Meanwhile, Father, whose wide-eyed shouting from earlier seemed almost unbelievable now, wore a gentle expression and lightly patted Arlan’s shoulder.
“If that’s the reason, then repeating a year or two is perfectly fine, Arlan.”
“Dear. That’s not quite right.”
Mother gave Father a wry smile as he proudly praised righteous behavior even at the cost of punishment. She said that stepping forward to help those in trouble was commendable, but using fists and injuring others was rather regrettable for a noble.
“Yes. I’m aware that I chose a method unbecoming of a noble.”
Arlan let out a low sigh, acknowledging that his choice hadn’t been fitting for his station. Even so, he declared with a rather cool expression that he didn’t regret his actions one bit.
We laughed and said he had become quite the fine young man over the past few years. Still, we couldn’t just let the lack of contact slide, so we gave him a proper scolding about the parts that couldn’t be overlooked.
“René. That’s another carriage I haven’t seen before.”
“Hmm, I hope this one stays quiet.”
After that, several central nobles sent people to the estate demanding formal apologies for what Arlan had done or payment for medical expenses. Father rejected every single one of them with a smile and sent them away.
“You—Marquis Lorelei! Do you really think you’ll get away with this?!”
Some even came to the estate in person. One of them was as unsightly as the large bald patch on his head, and his behavior was equally ugly. When Father firmly refused both the apology and the medical fees before ordering him to leave, the man raised his voice, boasting about his connections and claiming that if the Lorelei family faltered, the eastern granary region would falter with it.
“Can Your Lordship really handle that?”
“T-That’s…”
Father’s voice grew icy cold as he made it perfectly clear what kind of family House Lorelei was. The man was left speechless and slunk away in disgrace. Father simply smiled at his retreating figure.
René and I, who had been secretly watching, ran over to Father and told him how incredibly cool he was.
Amid those noisy days filled with visitors to the estate, our parents suggested that the three of us siblings take a trip to the villa for some rest and relaxation.
“Father and Mother…”
“Since the three of you—Aran, René, and I—managed just fine last time… you three should go again this time.”
Though the words were “go to the villa for a break,” Arlan easily understood that our parents meant for us to clear our heads somewhere far from the estate. He nodded obediently.
René, who had been looking disappointed at the thought of not seeing Undine again this year, broke into a bright smile the moment she realized she would get to meet her.
I nodded along with the two of them and, starting that very day, began preparing for the trip with everyone’s help.
“Be careful and rest well while you’re there.”
“Yes. I caused unnecessary trouble again…”
“Arlan. Instead of that, how about giving us a proper ‘I’ll be back safely’?”
“Understood. Then I’ll be back safely.”
A few days later, after quickly finishing our preparations, we left the estate amid farewells from our parents and the staff. We hurried along the same schedule as when the three of us had gone to the villa for a break a few years earlier.
[Lene! René!]
We had grown older and stronger since then, but the journey was still exhausting. When we finally arrived at the lake, Undine was already waiting for us—even though we hadn’t contacted her in advance. She greeted us warmly.
[Wow, both of you have grown so much since last time.]
“Well, it has been two whole years.”
“We’ll grow even more, so just wait and see.”
Undine chattered away with a face full of joy. Then she laughed softly at the spirit beside her, who was hopping up and down trying to assert her own presence, and greeted her too.
We moved to a spot where we wouldn’t interfere with the servants carrying luggage and spent time catching up on everything that had happened.
“Anything interesting happen while we were gone?”
[Nothing much, except I was bored waiting for you two.]
When I told Undine—who had answered René’s question with a bright smile—that she should have just come to the estate with us, I suddenly got hit by a splash of water and let out a small shriek of surprise.
I glared at the spirit at my feet, who was laughing along with Undine as she covered her mouth and giggled, and motioned for her to do something about it. But the spirit simply raised her hands as if to say there was nothing she could do here, which made me pout.
“Even something small would be fine. Considering the compatibility, we have the advantage.”
Determined not to just take this lying down, I crouched down and started chattering away at the spirit. That was when Arlan, who had been helping the servants and knights with the luggage, walked over to us.
“Lene, René. Stop fooling around and get on the boat.”
Hearing that they were almost done loading everything, we obediently climbed aboard and waited until the boat set off for the island where the villa stood.
“It’s been a while here too.”
“It really has been two years.”
After arriving at the villa and finding the rooms we had stayed in before, my sister and I looked around with a sense of nostalgia. Through the window, just like Aran had done before, we saw Arlan gathering fishing rods and various items before heading outside. We quickly unpacked and changed our clothes.
Once we stepped out of the villa, we played together in the secret spot that Undine had taken even better care of over the past two years. Thanks to the spirit wandering around and doing who-knows-what, the place had become even more beautiful than before.
“Wait, there’s something there.”
[Ah, no need to be on guard.]
When I was startled by the presence of an uninvited guest in a place full of tree fruits, Undine burst into laughter and introduced us to a small deer that was calmly nibbling on grass.
The deer, which had been startled by our late arrival, flinched. But when Undine gestured, it quickly relaxed.
“Is this deer perhaps…”
[It’s just a regular deer.]
“Yeah, that definitely looks like a regular deer.”
We comforted the disappointed René, then ran around playing with the little deer until we went to find Arlan.
“It’s Lene and René.”
He had been fishing a bit more successfully than Aran. When he heard our footsteps and turned around, he blinked several times at the deer standing naturally beside us before simply letting it slide.
We spent the daylight hours running around outside and, at night, slept in each other’s arms like old times with René. After enjoying a very satisfying vacation, we returned to the estate and spent the rest of the year together.
“This time, make sure you graduate without repeating any years and come back for good.”
“And when you come back, bring lots of delicious snacks!”
“Got it. I’ll do everything properly, so you two behave yourselves too.”
Then the year changed. When the snow that had fallen all winter began to slowly melt, Arlan climbed into the carriage heading back to the academy amid everyone’s farewells.
Watching the carriage slowly leave the estate, my sister and I moved our mouths along with our disappointed mother. Still, we tried to shake off our sadness by reminding ourselves that as long as neither Arlan nor Aran got held back again, we would all be able to live together again starting next year.
“René. How should we spend today?”
“Hmm, I feel like reading a book…”
With that thought, we went inside the estate. While discussing how to spend the rest of the day, we picked out a suitable book from the study and spent time reading it beside the spirit, who had been drooping ever since the first snow fell.
[René, hello.]
“Yeah. Are you feeling better now?”
[I’m completely fine now.]
On the day of the first spring rain, the spirit—who had fully regained her energy—greeted me with much clearer speech than before, matching her larger size. I smiled at the sight of her hopping around cheerfully, showing that she was perfectly fine. Although she still couldn’t talk as much as Undine, she had reached the point where we could have simple conversations. It felt wrong to keep calling her just “spirit,” so I asked what her name was.
[My name is Alraune.]
The spirit answered my question with a bright smile, telling me her name.
Hearing it, I chuckled and said I had finally learned her name. I held out my hand while saying we should get along even better from now on.
“Nice to meet you from now on, Alrauneya.”
[…My name is Alraune. Not Alrauneya.]
“Ah, sorry…”
When I flustered over my mistake, the spirit—no, Alraune—smiled in understanding and took the hand I had offered.