A Fateful Encounter
Today was a special day.
A grand theater built nearby was finally ready to welcome audiences. The massive promotional campaign had kicked up such an uproar that news of it had reached even our quiet countryside orphanage.
And today was the monumental occasion of its opening performance.
I was on my way to the Grand Theater with the children in tow.
"Hm-hmm, hmmm, la-la~"
Tina trotted along, humming softly. Though it was a clumsy falsetto, in her own head she was surely conducting a performance to rival a full orchestra.
I had no desire to shatter that innocent fantasy.
"With a voice that lovely, our daughter could easily become an opera singer, couldn't she?"
"Ah, really?"
"Of course. It's so sweet that Yurian is already dozing off."
"I am not dozing."
"Actually, rumor has it Glenn was the one nodding off."
"I was thinking of starting just about now."
Hopeless, the lot of them.
One was hopeless because he never listened, and the other was hopeless because he played along entirely too well.
Believe it or not, these boys were the male lead and the future villain of this world, yet somehow their roles felt completely reversed. It really went to show that children become whoever you raise them to be.
"Then... do I sound bad...?"
"Wait, what?"
Tina looked up with big, reproachful eyes. At this rate, my harmless white lie was about to unravel completely.
Well, no choice then.
When it came to turning an awkward mood on its head, no one was quite as handy as Yurian.
Without a second's hesitation, I scooped Yurian up.
"Ugh, Director? What are you suddenly doing—"
"Huuuuuuup..."
Taking a deep, lung-filling breath, I hoisted Yurian onto my shoulders and broke into a dead sprint.
"Listen up, everybooooody! Our! Yurian! Did! Not! Doze off! What a commendable boy!"
"Wh-what are you doing, Director?! Have you no shame before the public eye?!"
"Please shower our brilliant child with praaaaise, capable of staying awake through any opera performaaaaance!"
"Have you lost your mind...?! Director!!!"
Ignoring Yurian's quivering shrieks, I looked back and gave Tina a wink. At that, Tina burst into laughter so hard tears welled in her eyes, dashing after us hand-in-hand with Glenn.
Meanwhile, Yurian struggled down from my shoulders and immediately glared daggers at me.
"No need to say, 'Ah, that was so much fun,' Master Yurian."
"That is an impression so utterly unnecessary I could die of it!"
"Let's ask the other two whether you're right."
I lifted Tina and Glenn into my arms. They were ten years old, so they carried quite a bit of weight; any older than this, and hoisting one onto each shoulder would be out of the question.
"Whoa, it's so high!"
"...It's surprisingly fun."
On my left shoulder, Tina bounced and giggled with delight, while on my right, Glenn's eyes twinkled as he quietly enjoyed himself.
Naturally, I flashed Yurian the most obnoxious, smug victory grin I could muster.
"My, my, wasn't it true that you secretly loved riding on Papa's shoulders too?"
"You... traitors...!"
As they say, the meddling sister-in-law is worse than the nagging mother-in-law. To Yurian, watching Tina and Glenn enjoy themselves seemed far more infuriating than anything I did.
Tina paid Yurian's jealous glare no mind and let out a breathless gasp.
"Whoa... the whole street is beneath me. It's so amazing."
"Is that so? If there weren't so many prying eyes, I'd give you a bird's-eye tour of the whole imperial capital."
"The capital? I want to see it..."
At Tina's wistful murmur, Yurian's shoulders gave a subtle flinch.
Given that he was the Third Prince, he had lived at the very heart of the capital—the Imperial Palace—and witnessed the grim reality beneath all that lavish luxury.
Though I didn't know the full extent of what he had endured there, it had clearly dredged up bitter memories.
Feeling an unnecessary pang of guilt, I casually glossed over it.
"Well, honestly, it's nothing special—just a slightly bigger city."
"Have you been to the capital, Dad?"
"Technically, yes."
The temple where I served right up until my desertion was none other than the capital's grand temple.
Temples were scattered across the Empire, but given my particular assignment as a Holy Knight at the time, I had been stationed in the capital.
I had assumed I would spend my entire life serving as the escort knight to a certain vital figure in the faith. That is, until the day I plunged headfirst into the Sacred Pond...
At that moment, a fleeting thought snagged on my conscience.
Come to think of it, I wonder how she's doing?
She was probably hurt that I deserted the temple without so much as a word of goodbye.
My departure had been so hasty that I had no time to consider the fallout.
...Or maybe not? We weren't all that close, so I can't be sure.
Though ours had strictly been the relationship of a knight and his charge, we spent so much time together that an attachment had naturally formed.
Though perhaps it was merely a one-sided affection I clung to amidst the bleak monotony of life in the temple.
Setting Tina and Glenn gently back on the ground, I drifted into reminiscence. Unbearably dull though it was, those days at the temple had brought a tranquil peace of mind. I harbored no ill will toward the place.
Had I never learned of the future where I met my untimely demise, I likely would have stayed there without complaint.
Of course... just as I bear no resentment, neither do I bear any regret.
For had I not walked out of those temple doors, I never would have gained such a wonderful family. Furthermore, while Yurian's future remained in motion, the childhoods of Tina and Glenn had unquestionably taken a turn for the better.
The more I chewed over these strange encounters, the higher the corners of my mouth curled.
Leaving the temple really was the best choice I ever made.
"Huh?"
Just as I was savoring the quiet bliss of daily life, Glenn let out a sharp gasp.
"Director, over there...!"
Drawn by his urgent shout, I followed Glenn's gaze. A figure in a hooded robe was crossing the street—right into the path of a speeding carriage barreling down the cobblestones.
Judging by how deeply the hood was pulled down, their peripheral vision was completely obstructed. If only they had heard the thundering clatter of the carriage, but for some reason, even that seemed lost on them.
"Tsk...!"
Neiiigh!
The startled horses shrieked in alarm.
Only then did the figure recoil in shock, coming to their senses at the precipice of death.
I couldn't let someone die right before the children's eyes.
My judgment was instant; my actions, immediate.
Sprinting at full speed, I wrapped an arm around the stranger's waist. In the same breath, I laid a faint cushion of divine particles beneath the horses' hooves, marginally slowing their tread against the stone.
Through that razor-thin opening, I leaped with the stranger in my arms.
Only after landing safely on the opposite pavement did I finally exhale a ragged sigh of relief.
"Haah... Honestly, how could anyone be so—!"
I was ready to give whoever it was a piece of my mind about basic road safety.
Yet the words died on my lips, locking my jaw tight.
"...Ugh."
The hood had fallen completely back, releasing a cascade of lustrous reddish-brown hair. Her eyes held an air of cold nobility, shining a deep ruby red, and her skin was porcelain-fair and flawless.
She was breathtakingly beautiful. That was undeniable, yet reducing my stunned silence to mere physical attraction felt absurdly shallow.
Why?
Something was different.
Yes... something... isn't right.
A strange dissonance.
It wasn't as if I had never laid eyes on a beauty before, yet my gaze remained utterly captivated. The sheer dissonance of not knowing why shook me more than anything.
The unshakeable sensation left my throat strangely dry.
"Ah."
Rustle!
Before I could even fathom what this feeling was, the woman snapped her hood back over her head.
She then bolted as if fleeing for her life, without offering a single word of thanks. Yet far from feeling offended, only a bizarre, lingering wonder settled over me.
"...Have I seen her somewhere before?"
Someone that striking would surely have left an impression.
What an utterly peculiar encounter.
"Director!"
"Dad!"
The children came running toward me.
It was time to put that bewildering experience behind me and return to the present.
After all, I was family to these little ones.
Today was a special day.
Near the newly completed Grand Theater stood the branch of a highly reputable bank.
Thus, Elphesia Luminel was on her way back after depositing every last cent of her liquidated dowry into a bank account.
The immense freedom granted to her felt foreign.
It had been ages since she walked anywhere on her two feet without an attendant or a carriage. Because of that, she felt a flutter of excitement, swept up in deep reverie.
Unaccustomed to a life without escorts, her guard had been down. She had abruptly learned that sinking too far into one's private thoughts could invite sudden disaster.
A carriage accident.
To think she would ever face mortal peril from a vehicle she was only used to riding in. And at the end of that brush with fate...
...
......
Yes, today truly was a special day.
A day touched by an unexpected stroke of good fortune she hadn't dared hope for.
Early evening, as twilight settled in.
By the time we returned from the opera at the Grand Theater, fallen leaves had piled up around the orphanage in annoying heaps. So, having ushered the half-asleep children indoors, I found myself holding a broom.
And that wasn't all.
Having witnessed the pathetic display the children put on at the Grand Theater, this commander was thoroughly disappointed in his little troops.
"Unbelievable... Every single one of them fell fast asleep during the show."
Tina's snoring had dealt the biggest shock of all.
Not Yurian, not Glenn, but Tina!
I had tried gently pinching her nose or tilting her head, but those were mere temporary stopgaps.
Had it not been for the VIP box tickets gifted by the count, we surely would have drawn death glares from half the audience.
"Phew. Granted, the chairs were as soft as clouds. Buying one just like it would probably be... way too expensive, huh?"
I knew nothing of wholesale furniture prices, but the sheer comfort of those seats made it painfully obvious. It was clearly a luxury far beyond my humble station.
I was caught up in these idle musings, sweeping the leaves and reflecting on the day, when...
A crisp, resonant woman's voice cut through my thoughts.
"Excuse me."
"Oh? You're..."
I recognized her immediately.
It was the woman who had nearly been run over by the carriage earlier today. The baffling sense of dissonance from that moment was still fresh, leaving her presence deeply etched into my mind.
The only difference from this afternoon was her attire.
Dressed in a dazzling, ostentatiously brilliant red gown, she carried a simple traveling bag that seemed to hold only modest belongings. The glaring contradiction between her attire and luggage gave her an ethereal, mysterious aura.
On the other hand, it struck me as profoundly suspicious, prompting me to narrow my eyes.
As if completely oblivious to my guarded posture, she spoke in an even, composed tone.
"Harte of the Holy Knights. Is that correct?"
Stating my true identity as though it were the most obvious fact in the world.