Tour of the Atilea Mansion
“I heard the story. Still no intention of putting the sword down, I see.”
“…Yes.”
“Come to the training grounds starting tomorrow morning. Swinging a sword all through the break might change your mind.”
“Yes.”
Was this truly the conversation of a father and daughter reuniting after months? The exchange wasn’t merely dry—it was desert-barren. Yet both father and daughter seemed so accustomed to it that neither added another word. Instead, their attention shifted to me.
“So. Elicia, is it?”
The casual address came naturally. He was my friend’s father and a swordsman who had reached the absolute peak; there was no room to feel discomfort.
“Elicia Frentz, sir. Marquis Atilea.”
Though I had been invited, I offered the greeting with every scrap of courtesy I could muster so nothing could be held against me. Whether thanks to that or because he simply paid no mind to such things, he showed no particular reaction. Instead he stepped around the desk toward Yuri and me, then extended his hand—clearly requesting a handshake.
Startled by the sudden request, I still reached out and took it. Reading every cue so as not to offend, I matched his grip and let him guide the shake.
“Hard to believe you’re the little kid who wouldn’t even glance at a sword.”
“…I had to survive somehow.”
I wasn’t the real Elicia, yet the claim that I had taken up the sword in order to live was no lie. In the assassin guild my only value had been sword skill. Without it I would long ago have been thrown into missions as disposable fodder like the other expendable killers.
“Right. Elicia, I’ll see you at the training grounds tomorrow as well.”
He decided on the spot without so much as asking my opinion. Of course, instruction from a Sword Master was so rare you couldn’t buy it with money; there was no reason to refuse.
“We’ll meet again at dinner shortly. You may leave.”
At Craig’s dismissal Yuri and I stepped out of the room. A glance at her face told me she was used to this.
“Then, want to look around the mansion while we wait?”
“Please. I’ll be staying a few days, so I should know the place at least a little if I don’t want to be rude……”
“Sara? We’ll walk around together, so head inside. I’ll call if I need you.”
“Yes, milady.”
Yuri dismissed the servant who had been trailing us and guided me herself. The mansion was vast, with truly countless spaces—reception rooms, a shared library, dining halls, party halls—everything one would expect of a marquis’s residence, and all of it enormous. Smaller than the academy buildings, certainly, yet when you remembered that a single family occupied the entire place it felt almost excessive. Managing grounds like these would require a small army of hired staff.
The scale didn’t stop at the interior. Outside, the training grounds we would visit from tomorrow onward stretched wide, the gardens were large enough for a proper stroll, and the flower beds were so meticulously kept they looked almost unreal.
Walking those gardens with Yuri, I felt anew just how high a noble she truly was. At the academy Yuri, Anne, and Cielian never flaunted it, so the difference had been hard to grasp. Seeing it with my own eyes, though, made it plain: they belonged to a world entirely separate from mine. Anne’s and Cielian’s estates were probably much the same.
“Then, want to see my room now?”
“Come to think of it, where is your room, Yuri? Earlier I was so busy looking at everything else I never even asked.”
“Come on, follow me!”
Beaming with excitement, she seized my hand and pulled me along. We crossed the garden, re-entered the mansion, and climbed the stairs. We stopped in front of the very room that had been assigned to me. I looked at her in confusion—why bring me to my own guest room when she had promised to show me hers?—but she only smiled brighter and led me a few steps farther.
“Ta-da! This is my room!”
The door she indicated stood right beside mine. Granted, the rooms themselves were so large that “right beside” still meant a fair stretch of wall, yet next door was next door.
“Don’t you usually keep guest rooms farther away?”
Hosts preferred distance for privacy; guests preferred it for comfort. I had never before seen a family member’s chamber and a guest room standing side by side like this.
“True, but long ago whenever El came to visit she always stayed in the room you’re using now. Back then I moved next door so we could play a little sooner and a little longer… and I’ve been using it for over ten years since.”
“Th… sorry.”
I hadn’t known there was a story like that. The amnesia act left me feeling an unnecessary pang of guilt, so I apologized.
“No. But you never know. Stay a few days and the old memories might come back.”
“Yeah. I’ll try.”
Sorry. There’s no memory to recall in the first place.
“Come on, come in.”
Led by Yuri’s hand I stepped inside. The room felt much like the one I had seen at the academy—hardly surprising, since it belonged to the same person.
The overall layout was nearly identical to mine; being next door, there was little reason for it to differ. What stood out was the thorough pink palette. Furniture, wallpaper, curtains, even the smallest ornaments were all shades of rose, giving the place the unmistakable air of a princess’s chamber.
“Ta-da! This is my bedroom.”
She opened one of several doors, and the first thing that met my eyes was a literal princess bed. So this was Yuri’s taste. Beside it stood a nightstand, and on that nightstand rested a small photograph that immediately caught my attention.
“This is…?”
I lifted it carefully. Inside, three little children stood side by side: a boy squatting with a pouty mouth, and behind him two girls smiling brightly shoulder to shoulder.
The pink-haired girl was unmistakably young Yuri. Which meant the silver-haired girl beside her……
“Elicia……”
When I had received the fake identity along with the assassination request, there had been only a brief description—no photograph. Seeing one now, I understood at once why Yuri had mistaken me for the real Elicia. Ten-plus years of growth might blur facial structure, yet the silver hair and red eyes were far too similar to ignore.
“An old photo we took while playing together. Do you remember?”
“Sorry……”
“No! Why should El apologize? It might even be painful memories, so don’t force yourself.”
Of course the memory did not exist, yet I could still feel the longing that clung to the faded print. As the colors had dimmed, Yuri must have spent long years missing her friend.
“Alright, alright! We’ll look at more photos later—now this way.”
When I remained standing in silence, Yuri brightened her voice again to change the mood and tugged me toward the next room.
“Tada!”
The door opened onto a dressing room packed with clothes. Sorted by type, they looked luxurious even to my untrained eye: glittering social dresses, simple daily wear, cute pajamas… and, for Yuri, rather sexy lingerie……
“Cough!”
I spun my head away with a startled choke. Once the saliva went down the wrong way the coughing refused to stop.
“El!? Are you okay?”
Yuri hurried over, concern plain on her face. Nothing was actually wrong, of course—I had simply been caught off guard.
“Ah, nothing. Just choked while swallowing.”
Fortunately she seemed not to realize what I had seen. Well, how could she? A man wouldn’t cough at the sight of men’s underwear, so a woman coughing at women’s underwear was equally absurd. I carefully kept my gaze far from the offending garments so they would not re-enter my field of vision.
“Want me to fetch some water?”
“Cough…. No. I’m fine. Then… can you show me the next room?”
Getting out of the dressing room as quickly as possible seemed the surest way to stop the coughing, so I steered the conversation that way.
“Wait just a moment.”
Yuri stepped out and soon returned with a cup of water. While she was gone I did not sneak any pervy peeks. Truly.
“Phew. Thanks.”
A single sip settled me. Calmer now and determined not to choke again, I reached for the dressing-room door—only for Yuri to catch my arm.
“Hm?”
“El, our height difference isn’t much, right?”
Among our friends Yuri was indeed the closest to my height. Cielian was a little shorter; Anne was excessively short. Freesia was taller than Anne yet still small for her age.
“Right?”
“El always only wore the uniform, didn’t she?”
I had worn PE clothes and pajamas, and recently even bought casual outfits with Cielian… but never in front of Yuri, true.
“Probably…? Huh? Yuri? Why suddenly— Yuri…? Stop!”
Why was she approaching with that look in her eyes? And what exactly was that hand doing?!