A Promise at the Graveside
Life in the main estate was a continuous process of adaptation.
"Are you awake, Lord Raygan?"
Whenever I opened my eyes in the morning, fluffy down bedding would be wrapped around my body, and Sheryl, who had been assigned as my personal maid, would be standing by the bedside with a basin of steaming water.
"Please let me know when you are finished washing. I will assist you with changing your clothes."
"Sheryl, my hands and feet work perfectly fine."
"Yes. However, you tend to wear your clothes in a crooked and sloppy manner, Lord Raygan. If the future face of Benheim wanders the estate looking worse than a common street thug, it would bring shame upon Lady Lunia and the entire family. As your maid, I cannot simply stand by and watch that happen."
Even the simple act of getting dressed required the intervention of maids.
And that wasn't all. They even nagged me to observe proper etiquette during meals.
"...I'll never get used to this excessive hospitality."
It was honestly overwhelming.
Having spent over a decade as a mercenary, camping in wild fields and rugged terrains, the luxurious life at Benheim didn't suit me at all.
"You must get used to it. You are now, in name and deed, the son-in-law of the Benheim family."
"...Tsk."
Just as Sheryl said, three months had already passed since the official announcement of my engagement to Lunia.
The vassals, who had looked at me with eyes full of suspicion when I first entered the main estate, began to strike up conversations with me little by little once they realized I wasn't a suspicious character.
Of course, the person I ran into the most was Lunia. She would come to see me early in the morning, often flinging my door wide open without even knocking.
"Raygan, are you awake?"
Just like this.
Lunia, who had burst through the door, smiled mischievously, her eyes sparkling.
"Oh, you're up. Hurry out! The flowers are starting to bloom in the garden. It's the perfect weather for tea."
Lunia smiled brightly as she tugged at my arm.
In this manner, she dragged me all over the Benheim estate almost every single day.
There was no grand meaning behind her actions. She had always been a creature of whim, possessing a personality that demanded she do whatever she wanted the moment the thought struck her.
"Oh, right. Sheryl said it's going to snow heavily this winter. Raygan, have you ever seen snow before?"
"Sure, plenty of times."
"I'm so jealous. It rarely snows in Benheim, even in the winter, which is such a shame. But at least we'll be able to play in the snow this year!"
In truth, my relationship with Lunia felt closer to that of close friends rather than fiancé and fiancée. Since neither of us had reached adulthood yet, it was only natural.
Of course, there was one person who looked upon this sight with utter displeasure.
"Ahem! It's awfully noisy so early in the morning."
Arno cleared his throat, crossing his arms from the opposite end of the hallway.
At first, Arno had glared at me as if he wanted to murder me on sight, but now that three months had passed, he seemed to have grown used to my presence and no longer picked fights.
However, his wary glances whenever Lunia and I hung out remained exactly the same.
"Lunia, don't hang around that guy too much. People will gossip."
"Why would they gossip? Raygan and I are betrothed. Everyone already knows."
"Y-You haven't even had the ceremony yet! You kids haven't even reached adulthood! You never know what might happen in this world!"
"Why are you getting so angry, Brother?"
"Just because!"
Arno's face contorted. Lunia covered her mouth and giggled, clearly enjoying his reaction.
Well, Arno's behavior was just proof of how much he cherished his sister. I decided to take it in stride.
"So, Raygan. What time are you coming to the workshop today?"
"I don't know. Probably after lunch."
"I'll be waiting. I'm definitely winning today."
Arno spun on his heel and vanished.
"He's going to lose again."
Lunia muttered as she watched his huffing figure recede.
For the past three months, I had been practicing magic with Arno in the main estate's workshop.
Training in the main estate shared a similar rhythm to my sessions with Brock, but the efficiency was on a completely different level. The library was lined with rare magic books I had never even heard of back in the annex, and the workshop was stocked with several top-grade mana stones.
Being able to use top-grade mana stones—which money couldn't even buy—as if they were water... there was no greater paradise for a mage.
"My brother is determined to reach the 4th tier before you. Lately, he's even been pestering the chief researchers of the Magic Tower and cutting back on sleep to study. I've never seen him train this hard. It's all because of you, Raygan."
"Really? That's good news."
It was actually excellent news.
Arno was the future head of the Benheim family. The stronger he became, the greater the boost to Benheim's overall military power.
I had no intention of standing still either. To keep acting as Arno's catalyst, and more importantly, to defeat the Archduke of Demonic Magic, I had to become stronger.
My current level was mid 3rd-tier. I needed to aim for the 4th tier. To achieve that, I had to keep training relentlessly.
"Oh, right. Raygan, do you have time after your training this afternoon?"
Lunia asked, as if the thought had suddenly occurred to her while I was lost in contemplation.
"Sure, I always have time. Why do you ask?"
"There's a place I want to go with you."
"I feel like we've already been everywhere worth going."
Over the past three months, we had visited every single facility in the territory. Through that process, I realized just how deeply Lunia loved Benheim.
Her blind hatred for the Archduke of Demonic Magic, who had burned her territory to ashes in my past life, must have stemmed from her profound love for the Benheim family.
"There's still one place we haven't been. I'll wait for you on the garden bench this afternoon. And don't be too harsh on my brother!"
With those words, Lunia waved with a gentle smile.
Inside the workshop of the Benheim main estate.
*Boom!* With a loud explosion, Arno tumbled across the floor.
"Ugh! Tomorrow! We're doing this again tomorrow! I will definitely beat you!"
Arno panted heavily, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Contrary to his confident boast that he would win this time, he had lost the duel to me once again today. Still, I quite liked how he refused to give up, already plotting his revenge for the next match.
Thus, I decided to impart a bit of wisdom to him.
Of course, it was mostly to tease him.
"First, a piece of advice..."
"Don't!"
"You use magic far too elegantly. If you cast spells in such a predictable manner, no one is going to fall for them."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that to win, you need to be shameless and cunning. You have to utilize absolutely everything at your disposal."
Arno glared at me with a look of utter disbelief.
To be precise, he was staring at the blue sword in my hand.
"You monster... did you actually manage to complete that?"
"Not quite complete, but I'd say it's on the verge of completion."
It was a sword created by mimicking the Lucen family's Sword Creation Magic. However, it was on a completely different level compared to the crude prototype I had fashioned during the hunting festival three months ago.
I no longer stopped at simply infusing it with aura.
By engraving Benheim's runes onto the mana circuits that formed the sword's framework, I had dramatically increased its durability and power, while compressing the aura to its absolute limit to maximize its cutting force.
At this level, unless it clashed with an exceptionally famous blade, any ordinary sword would snap in half the moment they collided.
Ting.
I flicked the flat of the blade with my finger. Even though the sword was forged from mana, a clear, metallic ring echoed through the room.
"Well, this is more than decent."
A sword forged of magic, yet harder than steel and sharper than aura.
It was a patchwork creation—adding Benheim's formula to Lucen's form, and wrapping it in my own energy. Yet, its destructive power was the real deal.
"Like I just said, you have to use everything you can."
"Stealing another family's secret art and modifying it... where on earth did you throw away your pride as a mage?"
"Who knows? Unlike some people, I don't recall ever being raised as a mage."
"...Argh! You shameless bastard!"
Arno fumed with rage.
He wanted to argue back, but since I was the undisputed winner of our duel, he had no ground to stand on.
"Just you wait. No matter what bizarre tricks you pull, I'll show you that orthodox magic always wins in the end."
"Sure, sure. I'll be looking forward to it."
With a smirk on my face, I left the workshop.
I had a promise to keep with Lunia in the afternoon. When I walked out to the garden bench, she was already waiting with a bright, knowing smile, having likely heard the outcome of the duel.
"How did my brother do?"
"He was gnashing his teeth, swearing he'd win next time."
"Same as always, then. Let's go."
"I'd like to at least get an explanation of where we're going."
"Outside the estate."
I frowned at her words.
Only a few months ago, Lunia had crossed the family's boundaries without permission and nearly got kidnapped by black mages.
"Are you really allowed to just leave like this?"
"Of course not. My father might be one thing, but Allette would literally foam at the mouth in opposition."
"Then how do you plan on getting out?"
"I have a secret passage I use all the time."
I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my face.
In other words, we were sneaking out.
Stern would have a fit if he found out.
"Don't worry. I won't let us get caught."
"...I don't think that's the issue here..."
"I'll take full responsibility. And if things get dangerous, you can just protect me like you did back then, right, Raygan?"
"......."
When I narrowed my eyes at her, she giggled, placing a hand over her mouth as if she found my reaction amusing.
Then again, the Lunia in my memories had always been like this. She was a woman who preferred the wild forests over manicured gardens.
"Fine. But if we get caught, you're taking the fall alone."
"Ahaha! How cold!"
Lunia laughed heartily and tugged at my hand.
"So, where are we actually going?"
"You know the place. It's where we first met."
"First met?"
After my regression, upon arriving at the Benheim estate, I had tailed Lunia and reunited with her.
That place was...
"...The cemetery?"
It was hardly a suitable spot for a date.
We crossed the boundaries of Benheim. Lunia, wearing a hooded robe, walked ahead with confident strides, as if this kind of escapade was second nature to her.
Before long, I followed her into the public cemetery.
"We're here."
The spot where Lunia stopped was the exact same place as before.
"I didn't even get to say hello properly last time."
"......."
It was the grave of Lunia's biological mother.
Lunia skillfully pulled the weeds around the tombstone and brushed away the dust accumulated on it with the sleeve of her robe.
Lillian Esilia von Benheim
After staring at the name for a long moment, Lunia spoke.
"Actually, my mother was a commoner. She wasn't even a mage."
"...That's unexpected. I assumed a prestigious magic family would naturally marry into another magic house."
"Right? Usually, that's how it goes. But apparently, my father fell in love at first sight. They say he threw away all his dignity to court her."
A chuckle escaped my lips as I tried to picture the proud, lofty Stern passionately courting a commoner woman.
Lunia must have been thinking the same thing, as she giggled and continued.
"So, when my mother passed away after giving birth to me, the elders threw a massive fit, saying she couldn't be buried in the family cemetery. They babbled about how mixing vulgar blood would muddy the family's mana veins or whatever. My father was gnashing his teeth, ready to tear the elders' council apart... but in the end, he held back because of my mother's final wish."
"......."
"She said she didn't want to listen to those rigid people nagging her even in death. She preferred an open space. At least here, you can see the sky much better than in a dark, gloomy mausoleum, right?"
"...That's true."
"Actually, the family doesn't like me coming here either. They consider my mother to be Benheim's shame. That's why I used to sneak out."
"I think I understand why your father despises the elders so much."
I silently helped Lunia pull the weeds growing near the grave.
Vulgar blood. Commoner origin.
Perhaps the reason Lunia had opened her heart to me—a mere mercenary—in my past life was because we shared this common ground.
"Say hello, Mother. This is my fiancé."
After cleaning up the grave, Lunia spoke brightly to the tombstone.
"He's a bit blunt and has a rough way of speaking... but he's actually a pretty decent guy. He even fell in love with me at first sight. Funny, isn't it?"
When my face contorted, Lunia burst into laughter at my reaction.
"Raygan, you say hello too."
"...Uh. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Haha, what is that? You're so stiff!"
Lunia playfully smacked my back. The feeling wasn't entirely unpleasant.
In my past life, Lunia had never once spoken to me about her mother.
That was likely because, to the Lunia of my past life, I was a comrade, not a lover.
It was different now. In this life, I stood by her side as her partner and the son-in-law of Benheim.
I quietly muttered toward the tombstone.
"...In this life, I will protect her, no matter what."
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
I had regressed because of Lunia. Various pieces of circumstantial evidence supported this fact.
Why she had sent me back to the past instead of herself remained a mystery. However, I had no intention of wasting the second chance she had given me.
No matter what, I would kill the Archduke of Demonic Magic.
And I would protect the girl standing beside me.
I engraved that single-minded determination deep into my bones once more.
"Let's head back, Lunia. The sun is about to set."
"Okay."
By the time we left the cemetery and returned to the Benheim estate, darkness had already blanketed our surroundings.
Lunia held her breath as she quietly pushed open the front door...
"I have been waiting."
"...Ugh."
We ran straight into Stern, who was waiting for us right behind the door.
Of course. With so many eyes watching within Benheim, there was no way we wouldn't get caught. We had been cornered red-handed.
"Lunia, where on earth have you been?"
"...Well, you see..."
Lunia, who was desperately trying to conjure an excuse, swallowed hard the moment she saw Stern's stern expression. Then, as soon as Stern's sharp gaze landed on her, she quickly hid behind my back.
It seemed her promise to take full responsibility had long been forgotten.
I let out a heavy sigh and spoke up.
"...Actually... I coaxed Lunia to go to the town square..."
I tried to offer an excuse, but Stern raised his hand, cutting me off.
"Enough. You surely went to see her mother. I cannot stop a child from visiting her mother."
Stern's gaze lingered on the dirt-stained tips of Lunia's shoes. I had expected a harsh scolding, but his eyes were surprisingly calm.
"It is late, so go inside and wash up first."
Stern waved his hand. Lunia let out a sigh of relief and practically fled down the hallway. Just as I was about to follow her, Stern called out to me.
"Raygan, stay behind for a moment."
"Is there a problem?"
"Yes. We have something to discuss in private."
Stern waited until he was sure Lunia had entered her room before speaking.
The warm gaze of a father looking at his daughter had completely vanished, replaced by the cold, sharp glint of a ruthless patriarch.
"We have located the black mage, Markel."
Lunia's uncle, and the black mage who had betrayed the family.
We had finally caught his tail.