After the poison was cured, the stamina that I’d lost gradually returned to me until I was all but good as new. I was still in my teens, so my recovery had proceeded remarkably quickly. If I’d been hit by that same poison in my thirties, I figured that the recovery process would have been much longer and more grueling.
It had been a long time since I’d been able to attend our regular meetings, and I was finally scheduled to make my return the day after tomorrow. I knew that my absence hadn’t caused any major troubles, but as the head of House Louvent, it still felt wrong for me to not at least be present.
“Um, Ars? Are you really sure you’ll be all right…?” asked Licia. She was still incredibly anxious about the possibility that the poison would rear its head again.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said. “Just look at me! I don’t look like I’m about to collapse again, do I?”
“Y-You don’t, no… I’m sorry─forget I said anything. It’s been so long since Charlotte cast her spell, and I know you’ve shown no sign of a relapse, but I still can’t help but worry…”
I’d been bedridden so long with a hopeless prognosis that Licia was now finding it hard to believe that I’d really been cured. I could tell just how much I’d made her worry about me over the course of my illness. There was no objective way for us to test if I was completely recovered, so there was still a slight chance I could relapse, but after a week of wellness I felt safe in assuming I’d be all right. You’d think that if there was still poison somewhere in me, it would’ve shown some sign of itself over the course of a full week.
“I’ll be okay. We used so much aqua magia, and Charlotte was the one who cast the spell. There’s no way it’ll come back,” I said, speaking as confidently as I could to assuage her worries.
“Y-Yes, you’re right… And there’s no sense in me worrying, regardless…” said Licia. It seemed her concern persisted in spite of herself─she still looked as gloomy as ever. All I could do was hope that the passage of time would make her feel better in the long run. “You’ll be returning to our meetings the day after tomorrow, won’t you? I hope you’ll be resting today and tomorrow, at least?”
“That’s the plan… Ah, wait, no─there’s one thing I wanted to do.”
“What would that be?”
“I was thinking of paying a visit to my father’s grave. I still have to thank him.”
Even after regaining consciousness and having the poison cured, I still clearly remembered the time I’d spent outside of my body. It was thanks to my father’s words that I was still alive, as far as I was concerned, and I owed him another thank you for what he’d done for me. I knew that his soul had probably moved on and was now living in a different person, just like mine had, so even if I spoke to him at his grave my words probably wouldn’t reach him. Still, I wanted to try it anyway, just for good measure.
“I’m certainly not opposed to you visiting his grave…but what do you mean, you have something to thank him for?”
“I, uh… Okay, I know you might not believe this,” I began, then went on to explain how I’d spoken with my father’s spirit.
“I-Is that really true…? He watched over you that whole time…? And if you were reduced to your spirit, doesn’t that mean you really were just moments away from dying yourself?!” Licia exclaimed, the color draining from her face.
“Huh…? O-Oh, well, I guess… But my father saved me, more or less… I made it back to my body thanks to him, and now I’m alive and well again, so…”
“W-Well, you certainly do need to thank him, in that case,” said Licia. She’d believed my outrageous story, which was nice on the one hand, but on the other, it seemed I’d just made her more worried than ever. “May I accompany you when you visit his grave?” she added.
“It’s a little far away from here. Are you sure?” I asked.
“Of course! that’s no issue at all!”
“In that case, we’ll go together,” I agreed. I didn’t see any reason to turn her down.
My father hadn’t been buried in Canarre proper. He’d been laid to rest in Lamberg instead. There’d been some talk of reinterring him in Canarre when I became the count, but since Lamberg was the land he’d lived in and ruled over for years on end, I’d felt it would be better to leave him there. I made a point of traveling to visit his grave every year on the anniversary of his death.
“Shall we get ready to leave, then?” I suggested.
“Of course!” said Licia. It seemed we’d be traveling together for sure.
As we were preparing to leave, Kreiz barged into our room.
“Ars, Licia! Let’s play… Oh. Are you going somewhere?” he asked, full of energy. Wren and their pet, Rio, stepped into the room right on his heels.
“Yes, actually. I was going to visit Father’s grave,” I replied.
“You were? We’ll come too!” said Kreiz.
“Would you mind?” Wren asked, following up his request.
“Hee hee! Why not? We’ll all go together,” Licia said with a smile.
“Hurray!”
Kreiz and Wren let out a synchronized cheer. With that, our party had grown to four─five, counting Rio, and even more when you factored the guards we’d have to bring. I picked Braham and Zaht for that responsibility.
We soon finished our preparations, and set out for my father’s grave in Lamberg.
○
A few hours had passed since we set out from Castle Canarre. Lamberg was nearby, and we arrived on the same day that we’d left.
It felt like it had been a very long time since I’d been in Lamberg. I hadn’t had many opportunities to visit lately, on reflection─I’d spent a long time bedridden thanks to the poison, and even before then, my work had kept me away from my homeland for a good long while.
My father had been interred near our old Lamberg estate, which I stopped by as well. It felt like it’d been ages since I’d seen my old home.
“Ahhh! Nothing like having a stiff drink while my lackeys are doing all the hard work for me! Now this is the good life!”
And, there she was: Mireille, flagrantly day-drinking where everyone could see her. She’d stepped up to prepare our troops for battle when it looked like we’d have to defend Fort Coumeire, but now that Seitz had withdrawn, she’d returned to her usual job as the acting Baron of Lamberg…not that it seemed she was actually doing said job at this particular moment.
“I’m going to have to make someone else the baron if you keep slacking off like this, Mireille,” I said.
“Huh? Oh, hey, kiddo! Nah, it’s not like that─I’m not slacking off, truuust me! I just finished my work for today, so I’m taking a break!”
“For the record, I heard your little monologue a moment ago.”
“Ugh! O-Okay…you got me. I’ll take my work seriously. Starting tomorrow.”
“Starting today.”
“Fine, fine,” Mireille grumbled. She sure didn’t sound serious to me.
Maybe giving her this job really was a mistake…
“Also, wait─what’re you doing in Lamberg, anyway?” Mireille asked belatedly.
“I’m here to visit my father’s grave,” I said.
“Oh? Why?”
I took some time to explain how I’d met with his spirit while I was unconscious.
“Huh! It’s a weird, wild world out there,” said Mireille. I wasn’t sure if that meant that she believed me or not. “I never got the chance to talk with your dad, but I did see him once, back in the day. He had a real mean look in his eyes, so I didn’t even think about getting close enough to talk to him.”
“That’s funny─my father said something very similar about you. He said that you used to be very unapproachable.”
“Huh? As if! I mean, sure, I used to be a little prickly, but I was also a beauty who could turn heads just by walking down the street!” Mireille grumbled. “Anyway, I’d better head inside and get to work. And I mean that─I’m definitely not thinking of going in and slacking off again where you can’t see me!” she added, then turned around and strolled into the estate.
She’s definitely going inside to slack off.
“That woman never changes, does she…?” Licia said with a tired sigh.
We soon arrived at my father’s grave.
“Father! We came to visit!” Kreiz shouted happily.
“Kreiz, don’t forget the flowers!” Wren scolded.
I stood before the grave.
Thank you, Father. I swear that I’ll do my utmost as the head of House Louvent to lead all of us into prosperity, I mused internally. I had every intention to keep that promise.
“My father-in-law passed away quite early, didn’t he?” said Licia.
“He did, yes…” I replied.
“I trust that in that respect, you won’t follow his example.”
“I won’t, I promise. I’ll live a long life. I won’t die before you, no matter what,” I declared.
We spent the rest of the day taking it easy in our Lamberg estate, stayed the night, then returned to Castle Canarre the following morning.
○
The next day, I attended my first meeting in a very long time. I still felt like I was in perfect health, and since I’d spent so very long feeling terrible, the fact that I wasn’t ill in any particular way was enough to make me feel as light on my feet as I’d ever been.
“Congratulations on your return to your duties, Lord Ars,” Rietz said before the meeting started. He looked like he was almost tearing up a little─actually, no, he was straight up crying.
“I’m… I’m so, so glaaad! Ars, you’re baaaaaack!” bawled Rosell, who was standing beside Rietz. It had been a pretty long time since I’d seen one of Rosell’s classic breakdowns, and it almost felt nostalgic, in a weird sort of way.