“I want to talk for a moment.”
It was the crack of dawn.
If that’s the case, it’d be proper to send Reina back.
I had to tell her that if she wanted to say something, she should do so when we returned to the mansion tomorrow.
But Reina entered the room the moment the door opened, as if she absolutely refused to go back.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop her.
“Here, take this.”
Reina quietly accepted the teacup I handed her.
As expected from a high-class inn, the refreshments were somewhat expensive.
“So, what’s going on?”
I looked at Reina, who sat across the table.
She was as cold as always.
Her light brown hair dyed with magical tools and her blue eyes did nothing to hide it.
“I never told you why I ran away.”
At her words, I quietly nodded.
Ever since Reina started living with the Akses Duke House, I had been thinking about it every single day.
However, I had no answer at all.
I even had Noel collect information, but the walls of the Rozelia Duke House were sturdier than I thought.
So I had been waiting for Reina to speak first.
It seemed like that moment was now.
“I think I’ll be taking a leave of absence starting next semester.”
And Reina’s following words were utterly shocking.
“What does that mean?”
“It means just what I said. I’ll probably continue staying at Heros’ mansion.”
“Why on earth?”
“…Maybe it’s because I got close to Miss Sophia.”
The sudden mention of Sophia’s name confused me even more.
I couldn’t understand why Reina would take a leave of absence starting next semester, and now it was for Sophia.
If this was a joke, it wasn’t funny at all.
Reina, noticing my serious expression, sighed and continued.
“Do you remember what happened at the ball? Miss Sophia’s dress was torn.”
“Right.”
“It seems that my handling of the situation reached my father’s ears.”
Bringing a new dress for Sophia and getting into an argument with fellow nobles of the same faction.
All of that had been learned by Duke Ricard.
“As a noble, he said that one must not prioritize friends over factions. Until I realize that, he won’t allow me to go to Arcana.”
So saying, Reina slowly sipped her tea.
“This is my first time rebelling like this. But ultimately, I have to follow my father’s wishes. After all, I’m the eldest daughter of the Rozelia Duke House. I have no choice.”
With an air of nonchalance, Reina said this matter-of-factly.
And after perfectly emptying her teacup, she slowly left the room.
I couldn’t stop Reina.
It was undoubtedly summer.
Yet for some reason, the air felt cold.
★
We woke up in the morning and returned to the mansion without speaking.
Fortunately, Count Bex was already back.
After we returned, I trained with Alex as usual.
After the training, Reina cared for me as if nothing had happened in the early hours.
“I plan to go back to Heros tomorrow.”
After finishing lunch, Reina told our father.
“…I understand.”
Father did not stop Reina.
Mother merely patted Reina’s hand, expressing her disappointment, but did not hold her back.
Thus, another day passed.
“We will meet again, Duke Ados. Dukes’ wife.”
“Yes. You may visit anytime, Miss Reina.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Reina bowed her head in front of the carriage, as my father and mother smiled and saw her off.
Then Reina looked at me and waved her hand lightly.
“See you later, Aike.”
“…Yeah.”
But when would that be?
I didn’t need to say those words.
I knew very well how cruel that question was.
“Well then, I should be going.”
After raising her dress’s hem for a final farewell, Reina boarded the carriage.
“Go!”
With the coachman’s shout, the carriage set off.
Slowly, Reina’s back grew distant.
I quietly reached out my hand but couldn’t grasp anything.
“Only about 30 minutes left. I need to hurry.”
After seeing the carriage completely disappear, my father turned away.
“Aike, I have something to discuss. Come with me.”
And he called for me.
“Do you remember what we talked about Akses and Rozelia, Aike?”
My father took me not to his office, but to the mansion’s library.
“Yes. I remember.”
The second duke houses, Akses and Rozelia, had been childhood friends since they were young.
Me and Reina.
My father and Duke Ricard.
That had already become a custom.
But for some reason, it felt very one-sided.
Except for participating in the Martial Arts Tournament, I had never visited Heros even once.
It was always Reina who unilaterally visited Arcadia.
In other words, while Akses and Rozelia were referred to as the second duke houses, they weren’t truly equal.
Though I didn’t know the reason.
“Why is it that, while we are called the second duke houses, it’s one-sided from one side? The answer lies within.”
Reaching the back of the library, Father took out a book and handed it to me.
It was a very old history book.
Even I, who read countless books to study after being reincarnated into this world, had never seen this imperial history book before.
“There should be a map of the empire on the second page. Look at it.”
Following my father’s order, I opened the book to the second page.
And what I saw there were things I had never seen before.
What was drawn was indeed a map of the empire.
However, the descriptions written on the map differed completely from what I knew.
It was only natural.
A glance at the year written below revealed that it was a story from hundreds of years ago.
Yet these things were the ones that shouldn’t change.
‘Akses Duchy’
‘Rozelia Duchy’
The two second duke houses, Akses and Rozelia, had assisted the first emperor during the foundation of the empire.
And their names had been passed down until now.
In other words, the territories granted by the first emperor, “Arcadia” and “Heros,” remained the same as before.
“What does this mean, Father?”
It was clear that people addressed them differently.
Some called them duchies, while others referred to them as Arcadia or Heros.
I too would use whichever name was convenient depending on the situation.
But on a map, one must use their official titles.
Then why, on this map, were they written as “Akses Duchy” and “Rozelia Duchy” instead of Arcadia and Heros?
“The family name begins to be granted by His Majesty. After that, when they do something noteworthy and first receive their territory, then they attach the family name.”
That I knew as well.
Usually, lands directly governed by a lord take on the name of the family and title.
It’s an exception for the directly governed territories of the second duke houses, which had the names Arcadia and Heros.
“But that’s commonly known. The truth is different, Aike. Isn’t there evidence here?”
“Then what on earth happened?”
“About 200 years ago, there was a civil war between the Rozelia Duke House and the Akses Duke House.”
Father sighed, and what he said was a history completely different from what I had known until now.
Rozelia, who was obsessed with their noble honor.
Their obsession eventually reached out to Akses.
But there was no way they could win against Akses, a knight household.
In the end, Rozelia lost the civil war, yet Akses made a proposal to the imperial family.
Let’s pretend this civil war never happened.
The more this chaos escalated, the more precarious the empire’s position became.
So they needed to erase it completely.
The imperial family accepted this, and Rozelia also acknowledged this fact.
But at this point, the imperial family threw two proposals.
The first was to rename the territories of the second duke houses.
A way to completely obliterate the records of the civil war.
And the second was that the first child of the Rozelia Duke House must periodically visit the Akses Duke House and engage in exchanges.
“This is the truth, Aike.”
“….”
“And the reason I’m sharing this with you is simple.”
Grabbing my shoulder, which was lost in thought, Father continued.
“Rozelia needs to change.”
“…You mentioned this last time too.”
“Yes. Rozelia needs to change. And I believe Reina will be the start of that.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s….”
The wind sliced through.
Time had already exceeded my father’s expectations by ten minutes.
Wasn’t it already too late? Had the event ended? I shook off such despairing thoughts and just followed the path ahead, following the carriage wheels.
“There will be a checkpoint ahead.”
“I’m sorry!”
“What?!”
There was no time to hesitate.
I immediately spread my magical power throughout my body, jumped off the horse, and passed through the Heros checkpoint in one breath.
And without hesitation, I dashed toward the grand mansion, which was large enough to be seen from a distance.
The guards were pursuing me from behind.
But I had no intention of being caught now.
People around were surprised.
Fortunately, it seemed a carriage had passed before because there was no one walking on the road.
Finally, I began to see the carriage I had sent off about an hour ago.
Before long, that carriage had just passed through the mansion’s main gate.
Slowly, the gate began to close.
Run faster.
Don’t let it slip away.
But my prayers didn’t reach.
★
“Lady Reina, you have arrived.”
“I understand.”
Following the maid who had come from the Akses Duke House, I slowly got out of the carriage.
I felt no emotions returning to the mansion after about a week.
It truly felt like the end.
It was just a simple thought.
“By the way, it’s a bit noisy outside.”
Listening to the maid’s words, I indeed noticed it was slightly noisy near the main gate.
There hadn’t been any problems until just now.
“…I! Reina!”
“…Why?!”
Why did I hear Aike’s voice?
This can’t be.
I moved my feet toward the main gate as if entranced.
There, I found.
“Reina!”
Aike, holding onto the main gate and calling my name, stood there.
Three guards were trying to pull Aike away, but he wasn’t budging an inch.
“Lady Reina, we will take this person away, so you may go inside.”
An attendant standing at the gate approached me after seeing my face and said so.
“…He’s my friend. Please let him go.”
I barely managed to maintain a calm expression as I spoke to him.
“…Yes? Ah, understood! Hey!”
He immediately approached the gate to relay the situation.
Then slowly, the gate opened, and Aike walked in.
“Young Master Aike! What is the meaning of this….”
“I still haven’t heard your answer.”
Though I tried to give him a hint that this was inappropriate, Aike completely ignored it.
“Are you okay with that?”
He looked at me, breathing heavily.
“What do you mean…?”
“I’m asking if you’re okay with taking a leave of absence from Arcana.”
His unwavering blue eyes seemed to pierce through me.
In those eyes, even while knowing it was wrong.
Even though I thought nothing would change.
“…I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
I poured out my feelings.
★
“I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
“Yeah.”
Reina lowered her head, tears spilling down her cheeks.
I brushed past her, gently ruffling her hair.
“Young Master Aike? What on earth….”
“Anna.”
Whether she came to greet Reina or not, Anna looked surprised to see me.
“Please guide me to Duke Ricard.”
I conveyed the purpose of being here to Anna.
“I have something I want to say.”
