The Meaning of a Bottle of Traditional Liquor from a Northern Lady (04) – Victory in Civil War Encompasses Many Things
Victory in a civil war encompassed so much more than simply pushing out Torun and being named the next family head. It opened the door to claiming even greater things. Whether one could handle it smoothly depended on their own capabilities, but Selasier seemed to have no such worries.
Torun Hiatt. Now on the verge of losing even the Hiatt name, it was up to her to decide the fate of that older brother. She couldn't trust her father, so she needed to establish her own system to monitor him personally. Beyond that, as a woman and a mage, she had to earn the trust of the northerners. She also needed to deal with the social circles she'd been putting off.
In the battlefield of politics, connections were more valuable than anything. She was glad she'd planned to build solid ties by helping—not only Rakatus, but—the Dranus family's return. To do that, she first had to show her face in high society. She wondered if the Eclesia Salon would accept her again after rejecting her once, but if not, she could always start a new one. It wasn't every day a northern lady head appeared, so plenty of places would want to forge connections with her. The same went for the old northern elders. Even if they disliked her as a woman and a mage, they had no choice. The bloodline they valued so highly had only Selasier left. They'd sent the third daughter away with their own hands long ago, and the eldest son had been stripped of his name. Imagining those old men grimacing as they offered congratulations was thrilling.
It was a far cry from when they'd urged her to cast out her mother. Selasier gazed at the boy who had made all this possible. He'd come to the front lines to help with the fieldwork and stayed by her side even in rest. Kalen was twirling his staff idly, perched on a snow rock, staring off into the distance.
"What are you thinking about?"
When Kalen had given her that last chance, everything had changed. The thought of him not being by her side still blackened her mind, but picturing a future together made it bearable. A moment for eternity—that was what Selasier called the endless time she'd wait for him. Because Kalen would never betray her trust, no matter what.
"I was looking at Mount Hiatt."
Clack. Kalen gripped his staff and spoke without shifting his gaze. As a mage herself, Selasier could tell the staff was a bit outdated. Yet in Kalen's hands, even that seemed charming.
"Want to go again?"
The view from Hiatt Mountain's peak wasn't the kind you forgot easily. Was he reminiscing about that time?
"No."
"Then?"
"I was thinking about the cave."
Ah. Selasier let out a short sigh. The memory was still vivid enough to send chills down her spine. The monster's eyes weren't easy to forget either.
"It looked like one I know."
Kalen absently stroked the area near his heart. Seeing that brought back the image of his body. The wounds from back then were bad enough, but something even more serious had caught her eye.
"...Is it related to that scar?"
"How did you know?"
"I-I just happened to see it..."
It was the truth, and nothing strange about it. The situation had been so urgent her clothes had torn. He wouldn't misunderstand. Still, Selasier diverted the topic out of embarrassment, without realizing it. Who wouldn't get flustered seeing him naked by chance?
Kalen tilted his head, then nodded.
"The pattern on the door there was similar to one I knew. That's why I went in. I didn't expect a monster like that, but since it turned out to be like the one I knew, I could deal with it."
A story she didn't know. Kalen rarely spoke of himself, so chances to hear about his past were rare. Was his recklessness with his own body something he'd always had? It made sense seeing his body riddled with horrific scars. She hadn't had time to examine them closely then, but even the fleeting memories told her enough about the pain he'd endured.
"I need to check it once before we go back."
Kalen tucked the staff into his belt and hopped down from the snow rock. She wanted to say she'd go with him, but he'd already strode ahead. Since when had him going on ahead felt so lonely? Selasier quietly regretted her hesitation again and followed his footprints in the snow.
It was the moment most affairs had wrapped up after winning the civil war.
"You'll keep the promise, right?"
"Yeah... It's a promise with you, Kalen."
The promise as her bodyguard had ended long ago. The moment Torun was ousted and her confrontation with Azkal concluded. In exchange for Kalen coming north to guard her, Hiatt would aid Rakatus in reviving Dranus.
She'd upheld her end perfectly. Now it was Selasier's turn to reciprocate. That was surely what Kalen meant.
But he'd overlooked one thing. The promise Selasier understood was something entirely different.
Kalen had no idea. Her ruby eyes flickered as they took in the boy's face, gradually flushing red until she bowed her head. Selasier couldn't say a word.
The promise meant brewing new liquor and handing it to Kalen himself. The words urging her not to forget and to keep it pierced deep into her heart.
A misunderstanding born of Kalen not knowing her feelings. A promise twisted from that misunderstanding. Yet strangely, it fit the situation perfectly. Neither noticed the subtle distortion.
In truth, they had no time to spare. Selasier was busy with civil war aftermath, so she had no need to dwell on it. Kalen, for his part, had his own concerns.
One was Selasier's mental image. Her vermilion ecstasy reliably featured his own figure, just like Eliana's winter island. Telling her to hide her mental image was unreasonable. For Selasier, whose real trials were just beginning, concealing her strongest weapon would be too much.
He'd played it off with Eliana since it was the first time. But coincidence twice becomes fate. Mages were rare enough, and mental images that idolized someone even rarer. If that someone turned out to be the same person, rare on rare. Rare four times over. Could he dismiss it as coincidence?
Anyway, that left Kalen with complicated feelings. Selasier's mental image, the spirit lord pattern carved in the cave. No wonder they didn't bother confirming if "promise" meant the same thing to both.
"Then I'll be off."
Farewells only grew uglier if dragged out. Kalen felt the reluctance too, but he had much to do. As he tried to cut it short, his right arm was grabbed.
"Here."
A small brooch dangled from her hand, emblazoned with the Hiatt crest.
"Can I put it there too...?"
Selasier gripped his arm yet spoke hesitantly. She gingerly took hold of the chain from his monocle—the one with the brooch Eliana had given him. She wanted to add hers there too.
"..."
Kalen nearly asked why but barely held back. Selasier had seemed reluctant to part since the civil war cleanup. Seeing it as a final gift to mark their farewell wasn't unreasonable. Among noble etiquette, expressing gratitude with a family-crested brooch was a thing, right? Recalling Blamia's teachings, Kalen nodded to her earnest gaze.
The pretty ruby gleamed as she opened the brooch and clipped it to the chain.
"There."
She placed it in his palm. The Rakatus and Hiatt crests now sat side by side.
"Goodbye, Kalen."
He looked up to see the girl with her refined, shy smile. Kalen gazed at it quietly, nodded, and turned away. The brooch sparkled on the swaying chain. He hoped the Hiatt one shone brightest not just in his eyes.
Selasier lingered there long after the boy's figure faded.
"Pine."
"Yes, miss."
"The etiquette tutor for young ladies. Still with the family?"
Selasier examined herself in the room's mirror. Her figure was still ambiguously in-between, fitting neither side perfectly. Yet the body she'd once loathed now sparked different thoughts lately. Would it suit that boy who looked good in somber black? As she pondered, she asked the maid beside her.
Pine was sharp-minded and had earned recognition despite her past. At this point, Selasier couldn't warm to anyone but Kalen. Everything prioritized competence now.
Released from the underground dungeon, Pine had diligently learned family duties. She was startled by the sudden question but had no reason to withhold what she knew.
"Yes, miss. She's currently teaching the advanced maids..."
"Take me to her."
"Now?"
"Yes."
Flustered but dutiful, Pine led the way. Into the room where the family's advanced maids trained.
Clank.
The door opened, red wine-like hair swirling as Selasier summoned the Hiatt family's etiquette tutor.
"Miss?"
"Can I ask one favor, Anna?"
"P-Pardon...?"
Caught off guard, the summoned tutor couldn't grasp Selasier's words. But one phrase rang clear.
"Bride lessons...?"
"Yes."
She'd once been quick to smile, but now her expression was icy at best.
"I think I'll need them."
The girl who had once torn up etiquette books with her own hands had returned to her tutor. Of her own will, she opened the final chapter of lessons she'd skipped before: bride training.