Academy Completion Rate 33.33% - 1
The price of being consumed by madness was brutal. The Second Section Chief, who broke into endless laughter every time he saw my face. The Third Section Chief, who went out of his way to flip somersaults over the communication crystal while cheering me on.
"Director. Don't be too embarrassed. These things can happen to anyone."
"Uh... thanks..."
"Hehe, don't mention it!"
And the First Section Chief, gently patting me and telling me it was fine, not to worry about it.
Honestly, the moments when the First Section Chief comforted me with that soft expression were the most terrifying of all. People could change that much? Had he poured the madness out along with the tears that day on the street?
Anyway, after the mental assault from the Section Chief Trio and the perfectly ordinary well-wishes from the sane executives, the single most devastating blow arrived.
Fuck.
The instant I checked the Minister's text, I closed my eyes.
A message from the Minister that landed as if he had been waiting for this exact moment. There wasn't much to it. Surprisingly, not even mockery or a roundabout dig.
He had simply stamped a psychiatric clinic's address and sent it to me.
Fuck...
That text hurt more than any provocation ever could.
It was winter.
Even if a man went mad, time still flowed. While I had let go of my sanity, while I was picking that sanity back up and desperately trying to ignore the black history, time had kept right on moving.
If anything, with the closing ceremony right around the corner, it seemed to be flowing even faster.
"I'm glad I can finish the term looking at a perfectly sound Karl."
"I have no face left to show you..."
I couldn't lift my head at Margeta's words as she smiled brightly and poked my forearm.
I could guess how much she had suffered. She must have fretted endlessly over what would happen if my madness dragged on.
"I think a joint wedding would be fine, though."
I hurriedly shook my head at Margeta's humming voice. What a terrible thing to say.
"Absolutely not. Isn't the star of a wedding supposed to be only one person?"
"Is that so? If Karl says so, then I suppose it can't be helped."
I awkwardly smiled back at the way she chuckled as if she had gotten exactly the answer she wanted.
This whole affair must have wounded Margeta too. She had nearly been forced to share the spotlight at the one wedding of her life.
Maybe that was why, ever since she learned I had come back to my senses, she kept testing me like this whenever I started to forget. As if she were venting the resentment she had been pressing down, released in the form of little sulks.
"I'm sorry, Mar."
When I carefully drew Margeta into my arms, she came willingly.
"I'll make the wedding magnificent. That day will be for Mar alone."
"Really?"
"Of course. And if Mar likes, we could hold one in the Imperial Capital, one in the Ulken Duchy, and one in Tailglehen..."
At that, Margeta smacked me on the back.
"That's too many. How many wedding ceremonies are you planning to turn mine into?"
When our eyes met as she squinted at me, laughter burst out of me unbidden. And before long, Margeta was laughing with me.
Three times was definitely too much for the schedule. Instead, we would make one as grand as three. Money I had saved up without ever getting to spend it—if not for this, when would I use it? Thinking only of the funds, thirty times would not have been a problem, never mind three.
"Though we'll have to get engaged first."
It felt a little odd to pivot from wedding talk to engagement, but unfortunately engagement really did have to come first. Getting married while Margeta was still a student would be problematic, wouldn't it?
...Actually, rather than engagement first, the first step was probably kowtowing to the Iron Blood Duke.
"Don't worry. Father already thinks of Karl as his son-in-law."
"Haha, that's a relief to hear."
Still, Margeta's comfort eased my heart a little.
Right. If I just knelt for three or four days in front of the castle, he would let it slide. If he wasn't going to leave Margeta unmarried for life, he would give permission someday.
Even if things go badly, it'll end with a few limbs broken.
That was how I decided to think of it.
My brother had come back to his senses.
"Brother. Are you truly all right?"
"The more you ask like that, the more this older brother hurts..."
Luise was already hovering around him with a bright face. Her smile never left, as if she meant to collect repayment for all her worry.
Of course I was the same.
Thank goodness.
A smile formed from the relief and happiness.
I had already braced for the worst. A situation where Brother's condition lasted through the closing ceremony and could not be fixed even at the New Year's Audience. In that case, I had planned to force things and stay at the family manor in the Imperial Capital.
But far from the worst, it had ended in the best. Brother had recovered before the closing ceremony.
Thank you, Erich.
I thought of Erich, who would be playing foot volleyball with the other club members right now.
Family really was something. When times were hard, nothing gave strength like family. Brother and Erich did not seem that close, but it was still Erich who had given him strength at the decisive moment.
This was the power of family. A relationship I could not beat as I was now.
Someday.
I swallowed unthinkingly. I could not win now, but someday I too would be family with Brother—
"Ahem, ahem!"
"Irina?"
"What's wrong?"
"J-just, my throat got a little blocked for a moment."
I hurriedly coughed at the natural flow of my thoughts. Too hasty. Lady Mar had not even married yet; this imagination was far too premature.
...I haven't even gotten an answer yet.
As the price for that, when the flow of my thoughts arrived somewhere unpleasant, I grew a little sad.
Unfortunately, I still had not received an answer to my confession from Brother. Of course I had told him he could take his time answering, but wanting a quick acceptance was human nature, wasn't it?
Still, there was hope.
"He said with five brides, we'd have to pick a big venue for the ceremony."
What I had heard when Lady Mar said Brother's heart was hurt.
Five. She had clearly said five. Lady Mar and the Magic Lord made two. Me and Luise made four. Plus the subordinate official who had confessed to Brother after us made five.
"At the very least, it doesn't seem like Karl intends to push Lady Luise and Lady Irina away."
It was embarrassing, but honestly I had been happy. Even in a situation where Brother's heart was hurting, I could see myself selfishly taking quiet joy in those words.
I had fallen into self-reproach right after, but those words would not leave my head.
Five.
Brother had said there were five brides. If that was not a mistake from the pain, if even past the pain he had already been thinking five—
I just have to wait.
I just had to wait until Brother told me himself. Until he sorted out his feelings and gave me an answer when it was comfortable for him.
Even if there seemed to be quite a few people ahead of me, knowing the odds of a good answer were high gave me enough courage to wait.
"Here."
And while I was gathering myself alone, Brother suddenly held out a teacup.
"B-Brother?"
"When it's cold, you should drink something warm often."
I nodded blankly at the words spoken with a slight smile.
Probably because of what I had said about my throat being blocked. I had just said it as an excuse, but he did not let it pass and did this...
"Thank you."
I accepted the teacup with a smile in return. As expected, when he was fine he was such a wonderful brother.
This nasty cold of the heart. Tormenting our brother like this.
"These are the tea leaves you brought, aren't they? I'm the one who should be thanking you."
At that, my smile grew even deeper.
I glanced sideways. Luise was still smiling as she poured tea into my cup.
I turned my gaze forward again. Irina was sipping her tea.
If I put this off any longer, it'll be a problem.
Looking at the two of them so peaceful made my own heart uneasy. The year was ending. And given the Academy's nature, the closing ceremony was practically the last day of the year.
Once the closing ceremony hit, everyone dispersed. We would not see each other again until the opening ceremony in March next year.
Which means the answer would be in March too.
Horrifying. That would mean from their perspective, they would go nearly half a year without an answer after confessing. If I were in their shoes, wouldn't I want to cry?
So give them an answer before the closing ceremony?
Too hasty.
No matter how sudden the confessions had been, their feelings were not light. So the answer had to be given with care.
...Especially when I was the one who had made those mad remarks about joint weddings and whatnot.
But if I take it slow, it's March.
My head hurt. Problem either way, wasn't it?
If I were just rejecting them...
The thought crossed my mind for a moment. Then I would not have this worry.
I raked my hand through my hair in frustration. If—just if—I were going to reject these two's confessions, then giving a quick answer even if hasty would be right.
Putting care into a rejection answer in the first place was just trolling, wasn't it? I would have to take a slap on the spot and accept it gladly.
But my heart was not set on rejection.
Was the answer in the madness?
Thinking that was bitter, but surprisingly, only after going mad had I been able to clearly know my own heart.
Unconsciously, I had thought of my brides as five. Including the Magic Lord of course, and Luise and Irina, and the First Section Chief as brides.
Because rejecting them would feel bad? That was not it.
I was happy.
Bonds I had built after possessing this body, not relationships made by the original owner of this flesh. The joy that those bonds loved me and had confessed.
I was happy to have been loved. Happy at the words that they would become my family. So I did not want to reject them.
That did not mean I would marry them just because they had confessed. I could guarantee that. It was good because we had built a relationship before the confessions.
Even though I had known Luise and Irina for less than a year, by my standards that was a deep bond too. I almost only interacted for work; I almost never met anyone privately. Even more so if it was someone of the opposite sex.
An easy man.
The thought struck me suddenly. No matter that I was accepting confessions by my own standards and judgment, from a third party's eyes wasn't I "a man who'll accept if you just confess"?
Was this... right?
...It should be fine.
Still, the hesitation was brief. What did it matter how others saw it? I was going the way I wanted.
An easy man multiplying wives left and right. Maybe it was a rebound from suppressing my heart using Hecate as an excuse. Maybe even if I had married Hecate, I would have been the type to take other wives.
"Come to think of it, break's almost here."
Of course that was a meaningless hypothetical. What mattered was my choice now, wasn't it?
"If you're free, want to hang out together like we did over summer break?"
A line I tossed out as I settled my mind. At those words, Luise and Irina's eyes went wide.
To avoid a hasty answer and avoid a March answer, this was the solution. If we spent the break together, there would be plenty of room to give an answer.
"I-I'm fine with it, but I'm not sure about the others..."
After a moment of silence, Luise opened her mouth awkwardly. Honestly I did not need the others, but I had already said "like summer break" with my own mouth.
"Everyone will probably like it. They did in the summer too."
Besides, looking at the way those kids had been acting lately, dragging them around another region did not seem like it would be particularly tiring.
If we were going to be at the Academy over break anyway, redoing the capital trip we had already experienced would be more comfortable.
I asked the five about their winter plans after they came back from foot volleyball. If they had nothing to do, don't go somewhere weird and let's just take a club trip like last time.
And to that, Ryutis answered as their representative.
"Ah, we're planning to return to our home countries this time."
?
What, a hallucination?
Return home?
These kids knew a word like that...?