The fastest way to get from Albion to the earldom of Flozeth was by train. Getting off at the train station in the City of Flozeth, which was located at the center of the earldom, Estelle took a deep breath.
It was colder here compared to Albion, but Estelle had missed the clear air of this place.
Located in a mountainous region in the northern part of the island of Great Rosalia, the earldom of Flozeth was slightly looked down upon by people in Albion as “the far north.”
But despite its remote location, this place was connected by railroad, and that was because of its rich mines of mana stone. A station had been built here relatively quickly in order to facilitate its transportation.
The station was made out of stone. From here, you could see the Dragonbone Mountains, their peaks covered in snow all year round. Since autumn came early in these parts, the trees at the bottom of the mountains were already covered in red leaves.
“I see Flozeth is beautiful at this time of the year,” said Arcrayne, who’d disembarked ahead of Estelle in order to give her a hand.
“It is the countryside and there is nothing but the mountains around, but it makes me happy to hear you say that.” Estelle smiled at the prince.
It was both a honeymoon trip for the two of them, as well as Estelle’s first time coming home since she’d gotten married.
They’d originally planned to come here in summer, but that had been pushed back by Marwick’s High Treason and the shifting of their wedding to an earlier date. And if they couldn’t come in summer, they figured they might as well do so in the best part of autumn, when the Dragonbone Mountains were covered in so many different colors.
It was Arcrayne’s second time coming here. His public duties as a royal took him all around the country. Last time, however, he’d been on a tight schedule, having to traverse the north in three days; this was going to be his first time staying in Flozeth and taking his time.
✦ ✦ ✦
When they left the station, they found Sirius waiting for them with his servants.
“Welcome home, Estelle,” Estelle’s brother said happily upon seeing her.
“Brother!” she exclaimed, running to him with a smile. They hadn’t seen each other since her wedding three months ago.
“Have you put on some weight?”
“It’s true, but some things are better left unsaid.”
Estelle got sulky—her brother was as insensitive as always.
In her defense, she’d been the slimmest she’d ever been at the wedding, so in total, she’d gained only a slight amount of weight.
It’s really only just a little, she said inwardly.
“It’s been a while, my brother-in-law,” said Arcrayne with a faint smile on his face.
“Lord Arc. Thank you for coming all the way out here.” After the wedding, Sirius had started calling Arcrayne the same name as Estelle did.
Seeing her brother and husband stand next to each other, their relationship now closer, felt somehow awkward.
“I’m sure our stay will be bothersome to you, but thank you for having us,” said the prince.
“Oh, it pleases me that you would choose this place for your honeymoon. Though I have to wonder if there were no better options...” Sirius’s expression slightly clouded over.
“We decided on it after talking things through,” said Arcrayne.
“But do you not also intend to visit the sugar factory and the mines during your stay? That makes it sound like an inspection.”
“I only added those to my schedule out of pure interest. One of the reasons I’m here is to see where Estelle grew up,” replied the prince with a radiant smile and looked at Estelle.
✦ ✦ ✦
When they got to the Flozeths’ town house, Oscar and Pamela met them there. Estelle had left the earldom in the autumn of the previous year, and it had been almost a full year since then.
Their family’s servants were behind Estelle’s uncle and aunt. The nostalgic sight of their faces almost moved her to tears.
On account of travel fatigue, they’d decided to take things slow in the family estate for their first day in Flozeth.
Since they were on a honeymoon, one bedroom had been prepared for the two of them. However, when Sirius personally led them there, Estelle became lost for words—the reason being that the walls were covered in numerous portraits of her as a child.
“What is this?!” she exclaimed, glaring at Sirius.
An awful smirk appeared on her brother’s face. “Lord Arc asked me to show him these. And, well, I figured it would be more fun to put them in the room you’ll be using during your stay...”
“There’s nothing fun about it! How am I supposed to relax in a room with my face plastered all over it?!”
“Can’t you just close the bed curtains when you go to bed?”
“That’s not the problem here!”
As Estelle continued laying into Sirius, she heard someone stifle a laugh behind her. Upon turning around, she saw Arcrayne desperately trying to keep from laughing.
“Lord Arc! How terrible of you to laugh.”
“Sorry, it was just so funny. This room is nice, though. I like it.”
Estelle didn’t know what to say.
“It gives me a good perspective on how you grew up. And besides, weren’t you happy to see portraits of me as a child too?”
“Ngh... Well, yes, but...”
The Libra Palace had a room where things Arcrayne had used as a child were stored with care. Estelle recalled how happily she’d looked through it upon learning about it.
“I remember how the uniform I wore in my early years at the College excited you...”
“What...? That’s the kind of stuff you’re into...?” said Sirius. It was clear as day that he’d simply jumped on the opportunity to tease Estelle.
“It wasn’t like that! I merely said it was cute!” she replied.
“Didn’t you later ask me to wear a Royal College uniform, though?”
“Wow, seriously?” cut in Sirius again, looking at Estelle as though she were a sexual deviant.
“Ngh... I did, but I seem to remember you asking me to wear my academy uniform too, Lord Arc.”
“I merely offered it as the condition for making me wear my uniform.”
Unfortunately, Estelle did remember it that way. There was no winning when the two of them ganged up on her like this, so she went silent.
“If you want her academy uniform, it is probably in the room she used back in the day. Would you like me to look for it?” asked Sirius, unnecessarily complicating things for Estelle.
“Hush, brother,” she said, glaring at him.
“All right, no need to give me such a scary look. Lord Arc, are you sure you want her as your wife?”
“Well... I do love her from the bottom of my heart, so...”
Arcrayne said it so openly that not only Estelle, but also Sirius stared at him in astonishment.
“All right, then. Enjoy yourselves, newlyweds...” said Sirius and left the room in visible discomfort, his enthusiasm appearing dampened by what the prince had said.
“My brother-in-law is an interesting man. We were in different years at College, so we didn’t really ever talk, but he was famous and was often at the center of attention.”
“He was?” asked Estelle in surprise. She’d never known that about her brother.
“He had good physical ability, so he would get invited to many different clubs. I believe he was one of the best at shooting and horseback riding.”
“Oh... Yes, that is inevitable for those from Flozeth. When a dragon attacks, we have to drop everything and rush to the people’s aid.”
The people of Flozeth also had to learn to ski and walk in snowshoes in order to traverse snowy areas. Estelle’s brother might have been slim, and he looked somewhat unreliable, but he was surprisingly well-built underneath his clothes, and his physical strength was unbelievable.
“It’s also important that he’s cheerful and honest,” said the prince. “While I was initially only after your power, your relatives are one of the things that make me sincerely glad I chose you.”
“Oh... Thank you.”
“You don’t look like you believe it.”
“That is not true... My uncle and aunt are good people too, and I am well aware of how grateful I should be for it.”
Arcrayne placed his hand on Estelle’s head.