A Letter from the Harven Duchy
After Arsienne's visit service ended, my daily life didn't change all that much. If anything had shifted, it was that Serian had become a bit more passionate about her magic studies. That was a truly wonderful thing. As expected from my little Serian. I knew I could count on her!
Originally, she used to escape from her magic tutors midway through and hide in my room quite often. But now, that frequency had dropped noticeably. Of course, the time she spent in my arms hadn't decreased at all.
And from the rumors I heard, Arsienne had become a promising Spirit Swordswoman. The fact that Arsienne had contracted with a spirit had also reached the ears of the Cardion family. Spirit Users were incredibly rare, after all. That was why, in the original novel, the female lead had captured the attention of the male leads.
That girl is a Spirit User who appears once every hundred years…? The whispers would spread. And that was how the female protagonist and male protagonist would connect, marking the true beginning of the story.
Probably, Arsienne wouldn't end up as the villainess from the novel. Her deficiency had been an inferiority complex toward the sub-male lead, Yurion. But the current Arsienne was a Spirit Swordswoman. There was no need for her to feel inferior to Yurion anymore. Once Arsienne rose to the position of heir, their conflict would likely be cleanly erased. It was a rather nice conclusion.
In a way, this process had reduced the hardships Serian would have to endure. In the original novel, there had been quite a few scenes of conflict between Serian and Arsienne. A clash between the main villainess and a combat cheat character was practically inevitable. But now, the day they would meet seemed unlikely to come.
If Arsienne had no inferiority complex, she wouldn't get involved with the academy. Therefore, the conflict between Arsienne and Serian wouldn't occur. How about that, little sister? Your big brother has cleared away a major obstacle in your life.
With the thought that this world had become a little more peaceful, I was lying in my room when—
“Young master, the head of the family is urgently calling for you.”
“Father? What’s the matter?”
“Well…”
May looked flustered and could only stare at me without finishing her sentence.
“Never mind. I’ll just go myself.”
I left May behind and walked toward Father’s office. What could it be? My main duty these days was lying down. Lately, I had even gradually reduced the sword training I used to do. This level of performance should be more than enough. Serian was fully immersed in her magic training. If I suddenly focused too much on swordsmanship here, it might actually stir up a backlash against me.
Could it be that the young master still hasn’t given up…? There was no need to deliberately show such doubts. All I needed to do now was focus on Serian’s mental care service.
When I opened the door to the office and entered, Father looked at me with a solemn expression.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes, Father.”
Why was he being so serious? Father held out a letter I had never seen before.
“Lumian.”
“Yes, Father.”
“This is a letter from Duke Harven.”
No wonder it looked unnecessarily fancy. Upon closer inspection, the seal on the letter bore the crest of the Harven family. Had Arsienne told Duke Harven about me? Could the Harven family be sending their thanks?
“It says to keep the promise. What does this mean?”
A promise?
“Lumian. Are you acquainted with Lady Arsienne?”
“Yes. We happened to meet by the lake last time.”
I lightly recounted the incident at the lake, of course omitting any mention of Rosalia.
“Hmm… So that happened.”
Father read the letter once more.
“In this letter, it says you agreed to have regular meetings with Lady Arsienne…”
Huh? Me?
“Is that not the case?”
“I…”
[I believe it would be good to meet regularly from now on to confirm our feelings!]
Ah, that’s right. I definitely hadn’t made such a promise with Arsienne. But Arsienne was no longer alone. Rosalia. The promise I had made with Rosalia finally came back to me.
“It seems something rings a bell…”
“I did make a similar promise…”
Father clutched his head with a groan. Then he handed me the letter he had been reading.
“The letter says to visit the duke’s estate in person.”
“Me?”
It’s such a hassle to go. Couldn’t they come here instead? Of course, as the son of a mere count, I couldn’t possibly refuse a proposal from a duke’s daughter.
“Prepare yourself.”
“Yes…”
*
How many days had passed since I received the letter? I decided to visit the Harven Duke’s Estate alone. Since the letter explicitly asked me to come, there was no option to refuse. And it was supposed to be just me, but—
“Wow, brother! This is amazing! How is it?”
“Yeah, it really is.”
“This is my first time in a carriage!”
It was definitely supposed to be just me. But Serian, fascinated by the unfamiliar scenery outside, kept pressing her face against the carriage window. On the day I decided to head to the duke’s estate after receiving the letter, Serian had begun a hunger strike.
‘My lady… you must eat…’
‘I won’t!’
No matter how much the maids tried to shove bread into her mouth, she absolutely refused to eat. Her protest didn’t stop there. She even quit the magic studies she had recently begun in earnest. The magic tutor who had been teaching her was so flustered that he practically fell to his knees before her.
What she wanted was to go to the duke’s estate together. I had no idea what sudden whim had caused her to throw such a tantrum, but there was no one in the Cardion family who could stop her anyway. So Serian’s protest—which wasn’t really a protest—was easily accepted, and we ended up visiting together.
“Young master. We have arrived.”
How much time had passed? The journey to the Harven Duke’s Estate hadn’t taken that long. Normally it would have been a much greater distance, but with magic, nothing was impossible.
When I stepped down from the carriage, what greeted me was a massive mansion.
“Whoa…”
Even Serian let out a short gasp when she saw the estate. No matter that we were from a count’s family, the difference between us and the Harven ducal house was like heaven and earth.
“Thank you for coming such a long way.”
The people who appeared as we disembarked were Arsienne and a young boy. Originally, Duke Harven himself would have greeted us, but he was absent due to unavoidable circumstances. As if they had been waiting for our arrival, they bowed their heads toward us as we stepped out of the carriage.
Was the young boy next to her Yurion?
“Hello! I’m Yurion Harven!”
Black hair and golden eyes, just like Arsienne. He certainly had a striking appearance. Truly fitting for a sub-male lead.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lumian Cardion. This is my younger sister, Serian Cardion.”
I spoke on behalf of the silent Serian and firmly pressed her head down. She had tensed her neck to resist bowing, but under the forced pressure, her head eventually lowered.
After a brief exchange of names, we entered the mansion. I had no intention of staying here long. The purpose of this meeting was to build rapport with Rosalia. I just needed to humor her a bit and then head straight back home. After all, absence makes the heart grow distant. If the meetings grew longer and the days we didn’t see each other increased, Rosalia’s affection for me would naturally fade. Although the promise I had hastily made to appease her, if I didn’t at least pretend to follow through, she might suddenly turn back into an Evil Spirit.
Upon arriving at the mansion, we first proceeded with a meal.
Clink.
The only sound echoing through the large dining hall was the quiet clatter of utensils.
“Have you been well all this time?”
“Of course. And how about you, Lady Arsienne?”
“I’ve been well too.”
The conversation was nothing special. Just ordinary greetings. In truth, if it weren’t for Rosalia, Arsienne and I would have been nothing more than people who had seen each other’s faces once. Arsienne didn’t try to speak to me beyond that either. Occasionally, Yurion would ask questions directed at me and Serian, but even those were brief.
Smooth conversation and smooth responses. The problem, if anything, was Serian sitting beside me. Her expression was sour, like a puppy that needed to go outside. Was she feeling unwell?
“Serian? Are you not feeling well?”
“No. I’m perfectly fine.”
Serian tried to act like nothing was wrong, but she kept glancing toward Arsienne. Did she want to get closer to her or something?
“Did you enjoy the meal?”
“It was truly delicious.”
“Then… shall we head to my room?”
Why was her face turning red? Had she drunk wine in the middle of the meal? Arsienne’s cheeks flushed slightly as she gently grabbed my sleeve.
Right. I had promised her after-sales service. I suppose I should fulfill my duty.
“Serian, you’ll be fine on your own, right?”
“Yeah…”
Serian’s expression didn’t look good, but it wasn’t something I could worry about right now. Don’t worry, I’ll come back soon and give you lots of head pats.
“Don’t worry! I’ll show Lady Serian around the duke’s estate!”
“Thank you, Lord Yurion.”
Yurion answered energetically. In the original novel, the relationship between Yurion and Serian hadn’t been particularly bad. Swordsmanship Doraemon and Magic Doraemon. Both were in charge of combat roles, and since they were both rather blunt, they didn’t talk much. Still, they never showed any signs of conflict. Their personalities probably matched quite well.
“Then, please follow me.”
Arsienne led me toward her room.
*
“Ha…”
In the end, I couldn’t stop it. I had come to prevent Arsienne from meeting my brother, but once I stood in front of her, the pressure from her status was overwhelming.
If I throw a tantrum for no reason, it’ll only cause trouble for brother.
Thinking that my brother was being taken away by another woman right in front of me left me with an even more complicated feeling. If I had known it would be like this, I should have just stayed home.
“This is our training grounds. What do you think!”
“Ah… It’s impressive…”
To think I had come all this way just to listen to this childish boy’s explanations. Meanwhile, Yurion was enthusiastically describing the family estate to her.
Yurion was a boy who had devoted his entire life to swordsmanship. Having no interest in high society, he rarely saw people his own age. And on top of that, a girl. The only girls around Yurion’s age were his sister Arsienne, whom he saw every day, and the young maids. Moreover, Serian was famous enough that even Yurion, who had no interest in social circles, knew of her.
I have to make a good impression…!
With that determination, he eagerly showed her around the ducal estate and explained everything. But Serian merely nodded with an expressionless face.
“…Is there something you don’t like?”
“Ah…”
Only then did Serian turn her head toward Yurion, as if she had just heard him speak.
“No. Not really.”
“You’ve looked upset ever since the meal earlier.”
“I’m not.”
Even after that, Serian’s responses remained curt. She gave the bare minimum answers while her eyes looked hollow. Yurion had started off excitedly explaining things, but when the listener remained indifferent, his good mood gradually soured.
No matter what, this was too much. He was explaining so diligently, yet she wasn’t even pretending to listen. Serian’s attitude had wounded Yurion’s pride. He decided to endure it just one more time.
“Is there something troubling you?”
Yes, maybe she has some worries. Yurion tried to think more positively. If I solve her problem, won’t her mood improve?
“Hmm… I’m just a little worried.”
“Worried?”
“Yes. I’m worried about my brother…”
“You mean Lord Lumian?”
Serian nodded. What was she talking about? Yurion found her words strange.
“Is there something to worry about? She’s with my sister.”
“That’s exactly why I’m worried.”
“Pardon?”
Yurion couldn’t understand what she was saying.
“Our brother is too kind. He trusts people too easily and can’t say no properly.”
“…”
“If someone looks like they’re struggling, he just can’t walk away.”
“What do you…”
Serian spoke in a blunt, irritated tone.
“Isn’t it natural to feel anxious when you’re dragged somewhere without even knowing what’s going on?”
Even from Yurion’s perspective, who didn’t know the full story, it was something he could have brushed off with a ‘That makes sense.’
“Are you suspecting my sister?”
“Hmm…”
She couldn’t say no. After seeing that scene at the lake, it was hard not to suspect her. When Serian hesitated to speak, Yurion took her silence as confirmation.
Others might have held back, but Yurion couldn’t. To Yurion, Arsienne was an idol. Her tenacity to never give up and keep moving forward. She had shown signs of exhaustion midway, but in the end, she had contracted with a spirit and was now surpassing him.
Serian’s reaction had scratched at him.
“Shouldn’t I be the one worrying instead?”
“What?”
“Lord Lumian is quite famous, isn’t he? For having no talent. Someone like that with my sister…”
No talent. Those words scratched Serian as well. The moment Yurion spat them out, he immediately regretted it. He didn’t have to say that. To badmouth the eldest son of another family—even in a private setting like this—was something that should never be done. And right in front of his sister, no less. Even he knew it was absolutely unacceptable.
He opened his mouth late to correct himself, but by the time he regretted it, it was already too late. Emotion finally surfaced on the face that had remained expressionless all this time. It was a face like that of an Evil Spirit.