From Now On, I Like Younger Men
‘Everett Rohas was thirty, huh.’
Edwin had even calculated Everett Rohas’s age by working backward from Lina’s.
He knew Everett was older than him, but he had never cared enough to learn the exact number.
If the man had only been twenty-five or twenty-six, Edwin might have tried to find some way to salvage the situation, but there was nothing he could do.
‘Why does Everett Rohas have to be so old?’
Edwin unreasonably resented the knight.
If the real Everett—quietly shut inside his house eating dinner on Edwin’s orders—had known, he would have felt deeply wronged by the complaint.
Yet even as Edwin avoided the hopeless situation before him, Lina’s expression was steadily darkening.
“Ah, so you dislike people with large age gaps.”
Lina’s lips pursed as she echoed his words.
“But I am one, you know?”
Clearly wanting to show she was offended, she crossed her arms and jerked her head away.
To Edwin, however, this was actually welcome news.
The face that had stiffened while watching Lina’s mood brightened a fraction.
He quickly schooled it back into seriousness, but Lina—who had been sneaking glances—had already seen it.
Her cheeks puffed out further.
“From now on, I’m only going to like younger men.”
“That won’t do.”
Edwin objected in a rush.
He could not become younger than Lina.
“That’s for me to decide.”
But Lina, her feelings hurt beyond repair, insisted on her freedom of preference.
Edwin was at a loss for words.
‘Couldn’t the age on the documents be altered?’
He pondered an idea that would make future historians faint dead away, then came to his senses and called her name.
“Lina.”
“What?”
Having called her, he found himself unable to continue.
Even Edwin knew this was the moment he should soothe her mood.
Yet he had no idea how to lift her spirits.
It was the price of a life spent in the highest echelons of nobility.
After long deliberation, he spoke cautiously.
“That was… I misspoke.”
Perhaps willing to listen now, Lina—who had refused to meet his eyes—turned her body ever so slightly toward him.
But continuing was not easy.
Reversing himself to claim he liked large age gaps would only seem strange to her.
He also had to consider the moment he eventually revealed his true identity.
And so the generous chance Lina had offered him slipped away.
“We’ve wasted far too much time on the street.”
Lina smiled, the expression touching only the corners of her mouth.
Edwin’s instincts sounded a sharp warning.
“You don’t have to escort me today.”
With those gentle words, Lina turned her back on him alone and strode briskly away.
Edwin stared after her receding figure in helpless despair.
‘Lina told me not to follow.’
Yet his instincts insisted he could not let her leave like this.
Torn between her words and her true feelings, Edwin ultimately chose one.
“It’s perfectly fine to go alone,”
Lina muttered to herself.
Fortunately, she had given the right answer.
As she took a full step forward, Edwin closed the distance in half a stride and fell into step beside her.
His gaze remained fixed on her alone, never ahead.
Perhaps the unexpected alarm had tired her; Lina’s pace gradually slowed.
Unable to think of any clever solution, Edwin simply laid his honest heart bare.
“No matter how old I am, I like you.”
It was the most truthful thing he could say in the current situation.
Fortunately, Lina accepted his sincerity.
“Me too. I like Ed.”
Lina turned to him and smiled.
The instinctive warning had fallen silent; this time the smile seemed genuine.
Edwin did not miss the chance.
“Then… may I hold your hand?”
Lina kept her eyes forward but slipped her hand out just a little.
Permission.
The next day, Ivetta was also informed of her first official public schedule.
I had worried she might fear standing before an unspecified crowd, but fortunately Ivetta was brimming with energy.
“I think I can manage simple healing.”
After hearing the plan, she declared her intention to demonstrate her divine power at the almshouse.
As the saintess who received Minos God’s abundant favor, the sheer quantity of divine power Ivetta possessed surpassed that of any cleric.
She was even said to hold far greater potential than the saints and saintesses of old.
However, she was still learning how to wield that power.
Objectively speaking—without the lens of affection—her progress in ancient-language lessons was actually further along.
The sudden emergence of such immense strength had made it difficult to control.
Ivetta was devoting herself to practice so she could use her divine power at the almshouse without panic.
And the usual partners for that practice were Beth and me.
It was an excellent development for me.
Thanks to it, even though my ancient-language classes had decreased because of the upcoming outing, the number of my visits to the detached palace had only increased.
“May the grace of Minos God illuminate your path ahead.”
Ivetta recited a short prayer and cast the most basic Blessing.
A faint golden divine light enveloped my whole body.
Yet the power containing Minos God’s blessing only reached me several seconds after the prayer ended.
Still, the delay had shrunk considerably compared to the beginning.
Unlike magic, divine power required no spoken incantation.
Which meant the prayer was purely theatrical.
It was an idea meant to make Ivetta appear more saintly.
Unfortunately, Ivetta was the type who struggled to do two things at once.
Reciting a prayer while channeling divine power still required practice.
“Then wouldn’t it be better to focus solely on practicing the flow of divine power?”
I offered the suggestion, but Ivetta had already become fixated on the combination of prayer and power.
She claimed this version looked far more impressive.
Whether because they were sisters with similar tastes, even Beth sided with Ivetta, so the practice continued.
“It’s gotten so much faster than before! Just a little more and you’ll have it!”
Beth—who had become healthy and cheerful after receiving Blessing and Healing in succession—cheered her on.
“I agree.”
Ivetta, clumsy only in the application of her power while possessing an overflowing reserve of it, asked with a face that showed no fatigue whatsoever.
“Lina, may I try once more?”
“Of course.”
Ivetta’s practice continued.
“It’s definitely faster than a moment ago.”
I—who had also become healthy and positive after receiving successive Blessing and Healing—soon found myself cheering for Ivetta too.
That day as well, I was on my way to the detached palace.
Half the reason was to see Ivetta; the other half was purely selfish.
Having been listed as an attendant for Ivetta’s public schedule, I had been quite busy lately and was in desperate need of the saintess’s grace.
Yet the moment I arrived at the detached palace, I regretted choosing today of all days to come.
“It’s been a long time.”
I had run into the former Count Renkels after more than ten years.
The maids assigned to the detached palace were all veterans.
They had guessed that the former Count Renkels and I had no relationship and had carefully kept our schedules from overlapping until now.
I had sent word to the maids today as usual.
The fact that I had still encountered him could mean only one thing.
He had been waiting for me.
The former Count Renkels looked at me with fond eyes, as though the decade apart had distilled all his longing into this single moment.
“You’ve grown so much.”
His purple eyes seemed to drift through memories of when I was still a child.
“I’m an adult now, too.”
All throughout my upbringing I had strenuously denied any connection to the Renkels family.
Yet the vivid childhood memories of my aunt still held me in place.
I had also grown old enough to understand why the former Count Renkels had spoken so harshly.
‘He must have been so upset by Mother’s appearance that his words came out even sharper.’
That did not mean I understood or forgave him.
It seemed he knew that as well.
“Let us at least greet each other like this from time to time.”
“If the opportunity arises. Then I’ll take my leave first—the saintess is waiting.”
The former Count Renkels parted his lips as if he wished to continue, but my firm attitude finally made him choose silence.
I offered a short farewell and turned my back on him.
My steps felt unbearably heavy.