Homecoming - 1
The moment the small-cut piece of steak hit my tongue, I nearly let out a moan of pure admiration. Even someone with a palate as indiscriminate as mine could tell this was on another level. Not that the food at the mansion had ever been bad before—but every single dish on the table tonight was outstanding.
"You've found yourself a fine chef."
I hurriedly swallowed the steak at Father's remark from across the table, where he was midway through his own meal.
"A splendid chef whose skill improves every day."
"Enough to make a man envious. If he weren't already in your employ, I'd have poached him myself."
Father nodded in satisfaction and cut another bite of steak. Apparently the news that not only Penelia and I but Father himself would be dining tonight had awakened something in the chef.
Must have given him quite a shock.
From the chef's perspective, Penelia and I were expected guests. Father turning up, though? Completely unimaginable. Truth be told, the number of times Father had visited my private residence could still be counted on one hand.
But the awkwardness between us had thawed considerably by now, so his presence here was no longer strange. This visit, moreover, hadn't been engineered by Penelia dragging him over—he had come of his own accord. From here on out, hosting Father at the mansion would only become more common.
I sipped my wine while mentally cataloguing gifts for the chef who was about to suffer a great deal more. Was it just me, or did the wine itself taste better than usual?
"Ahhh, the man's got real talent. He'll give our family chef a proper run for his money."
I flicked a glance toward the booming voice. Father wasn't the only surprise guest who had lit a fire under the kitchen staff.
"A man who can't even return to his own domain talking like that. Pitiful."
"Must you put it that way?"
Father's offhand jab drew a wounded mutter from the former Count of Horfelt, and I couldn't help a small snort of laughter.
After raising a glass at the boys' graves and coming home, I had found Father relaxing with the former Count. Given their long friendship it wasn't odd to see them together, but with the war over it was curious that he was at a friend's son's house rather than his own.
"The condition for that boy serving at the front was that he wouldn't fight in person—and Zenobia found out. So I was told not to even think of coming home."
"Ah."
The moment I heard the reason, everything clicked. Just an ordinary father who'd been kicked out for making his daughter worry.
What else could I do? A man who'd shared the same battlefield, left without a place to go after a tearful scolding from his daughter—I could at least offer him a roof for the evening. Besides, he planned to head to the Crassius family estate with Father after dinner, so it was no real inconvenience.
...Do I need to start preparing a bolthole of my own?
Looking at the former Count of Horfelt, I caught a faint, unwelcome glimpse of my own future. If word ever got out that I had fought personally, my punishment would be far worse. I had six people ready to scold me, after all.
Damn it.
I could already feel the tears starting to tremble.
After seeing Father and the former Count of Horfelt off, I headed out to the garden.
"Master!"
"You've arrived, Director."
I made straight for the area where smoke was rising in fragrant plumes. The servants and the Dark Light Squad, thoroughly enjoying a lavish barbecue, greeted me warmly. With so many people, the garden was really the only place everyone could eat together.
Watching meat grill right in the middle of a noble mansion's garden was a little surreal, but as long as mouths and stomachs were happy, what did it matter?
"Master! Unnie! Come eat with us while you're here!"
As everyone called out greetings, Yuris—who had been glued to the grill—came scampering over. Right behind her, Sophia hurried along with both hands full of the plates Yuris had dumped on her, looking dangerously unbalanced—
"Whoa!"
"Nyeek!"
The thought hadn't even finished before she truly went down. The plates in her hands scattered like claymores and slammed straight into the back of Yuris's head as she ran ahead.
"Yuris! Sophia!"
Penelia, who had been watching the two maid-sisters approach with a warm gaze, startled at the sudden calamity and rushed over.
Sophia at least had only tumbled onto the grass and seemed unhurt.
Is her head all right?
Seeing Yuris thrashing face-down on the ground, I reflexively pulled out a communication orb. That little head had just taken a direct hit from flying plates; there was bound to be a serious injury.
"What sort of racket is this in front of Master? Running around for no reason and you only end up hurt."
Penelia's words were scolding, but her face and hands were full of worry. Helping Sophia up and combing through Yuris's hair to check for blood, she looked less like an older sister and more like a mother.
The little uproar the two maids had caused began drawing glances from all around. Not anger at the ruined mood—genuine concern for the two mascots.
"...Just a bump."
I had just finished sending a request to the Magic Tower for a healing mage when Penelia, after a thorough inspection, let out a sigh of relief. She had taken a plate assault hard enough to shatter crockery and walked away with nothing but a lump.
Our Yuris really was a sturdy child... No, I already knew she was sturdy, but I hadn't realized her skull was that tough.
"Y-Yuris, are you okay? I'm sorry, it's my fault..."
"I'm fine! It hurt a little, but like Unnie said, it's just a bump!"
Sophia's eyes brimmed with tears; Yuris answered with a bright giggle.
It was a lovely sight—except for the fact that Sophia had only fallen because Yuris shoved the plates onto her in the first place. The seeds she'd sown had come back awfully fast.
"If you're both all right, go apologize to Master. Making a scene right after he returned from the North is rude."
At that, the two girls who had been patting each other hurriedly bowed their heads.
Honestly no one was hurt, so I didn't mind—but looking at Penelia's stern expression, I couldn't bring myself to open my mouth. When an older sister was educating her younger siblings, it was best not to interfere.
"We're sorry, Master. It's been a long time since we saw you toooo... but Unnie even longer, so we got too excited..."
"S-sorry. You just got back after so long, and we only made a racket..."
They apologized with dejected faces under what was less a command than a suggestion, and Penelia's expression softened. Teaching children how to apologize really was important when raising them.
So I ruffled both their heads. Once you accept an apology, forgiveness and comfort are just as important.
"As long as you're not hurt, that's enough. Still, when the mage arrives later, get checked. I already called one."
"Hehe, I'm fine. It's just a bump."
I shook my head at Yuris's sheepish smile. It might look like only a lump from the outside, but who knew if a bone was cracked or something was wrong with her brain? Even a minor impact to the head needed thorough confirmation.
Besides, I had picked up a starving child and raised her. If her final fate ended up being "killed by a flying plate at a party," I would never be able to show my face as her guardian. It would go down as one of those noble servant-abuse horror stories.
"Just take it since I already called. Canceling after summoning someone is rude too."
At my firm insistence, Yuris finally nodded. She should have done that from the start.
"These children must have missed Penelia terribly. Well, whenever Penelia stays at the mansion they even sleep together, so it's only natural."
Confirming that the situation had resolved warmly, the butler smiled and spoke up—smoothing over the chaotic tumble-and-lump incident as nothing more than affection for Penelia.
Sleep together? That was news to me. Had Penelia visited the mansion while I was away?
"Pity. Penelia's sleeping with me tonight."
I smiled right back as I said it, and sudden silence fell over the garden.
The butler froze mid-smile. The servants and Dark Light Squad members who had been discreetly looking away all snapped their gazes back to us.
...Ah.
Too late, I realized how thoroughly the words could be misunderstood. We just hadn't held the official wedding yet; we were already as good as husband and wife, so of course I meant we would share a bed. I absolutely had not been hinting at anything beyond that.
But when I carefully turned my eyes, there was Penelia, face flushed scarlet, lips opening and closing without a sound.
My own fault. I'd phrased it strangely and only succeeded in throwing Penelia's heart into chaos.
From the day my darling set out for the North, every single day had been hell. Would the war drag on for years? Would something happen to him? Those worries kept me from sleeping properly.
What let me endure those hellish days was the fact that I was both a duchess and the master of the Magic Tower. As one of the highest-ranking personages in the Empire and the supreme authority over the mage corps serving at the front, I had access to the expeditionary force's reports. I couldn't see everything, but I could grasp the overall situation.
For instance: that the northern tribes' cohesion was weaker than expected, that the war looked likely to end quickly, that casualties would be relatively light—
Or that my darling had fought in person.
How heartless.
Another sigh escaped me. In truth I had steeled myself for the possibility that he would fight. His Majesty had appointed him as a military inspector precisely with the expectation that he might take the field.
But head and heart don't always agree, do they? This was exactly that sort of moment.
Going out of his way to put himself in danger...
I could understand him racing to the front lines to save his father-in-law. But volunteering for the vanguard to personally kill the villain styling himself Khan, and then getting drawn into a one-on-one duel by that same villain's schemes—that I could not forgive.
Still, if—just if—he had come clean of his own accord and apologized, I might have been able to forgive him. Unexpected turns of events are inevitable in war, after all.
He hid it right to the end.
Today, the day of the triumphal ceremony in the Imperial Capital, word had come from him. Inquiries after my well-being, reassurances that he was unharmed, the happy news that he would soon head to the Academy.
Unfortunately, nowhere in those words was any mention of having stood on the front lines.
Such a pity. There should be no secrets between lovers. If it was going to come out anyway, I wished he had simply told me first.
...He must have prepared himself for this as well.
So I firmed my resolve. If what he wanted was not a confession but a confession extracted under interrogation, then that was exactly what he would get.
...Of course, when he arrived at the Academy I would first pull him into a hug and tell him he had worked hard. No matter how hurt I felt, nothing could come before welcoming my darling home.