Time now shifts back to the present...
“Come to think of it, Febral’s getting married soon. He sent me an invitation,” Juno said casually as we did the laundry together.
“Oh, wow. Who’d have thought,” I murmured, feeling a little sentimental.
“I know, right? Surprised me too,” Juno replied with a cackle and a nod.
Febral was about my age. After leaving adventuring behind, he shifted to monsterology, becoming a research student at the Royal Academy. (If Tomoe and her friends’ program was like high school and university, then being a research student was the equivalent of graduate school.) Drawing on his adventuring experience and the fieldwork skills he’d honed, he’d distinguished himself in ways most monsterologists couldn’t.
Most in his field lacked combat ability, relying only on reports and carcasses. Febral, however, had faced monsters firsthand, and even fought new varieties in the world of the north. His experience made him a living treasure trove of knowledge, so much so that, though he entered the Academy as a student, he quickly found himself teaching others.
Because he was so absorbed in his research, I had assumed he had no interest in marriage. When I said as much, Juno snickered.
“Get this. He even managed to land himself a nobleman’s daughter. He’s marrying into money.”
“A nobleman’s daughter, huh... Is she younger than him?”
“Yeah. I hear she was one of the research students.”
“He laid hands on his own student?!”
Febral had always been the glue that held his party together, a true man of character. I could hardly believe he’d crossed that line. But before I could finish being appalled, Juno waved her hand dismissively.
“Oh, no, no. It’s more like she laid hands on him. Apparently the girl was pretty aggressive with her advances.”
“The young lady’s a man-eater?!”
“She made her intentions clear back when she was still a student, even inviting him to her family home to introduce him to her parents. I hear Febral told Dece that while he appreciated the girl’s affection, she was still just a student, so he didn’t know what to do about it.”
“Well... All I can say is he has my condolences.”
The women in this country were adept at laying the groundwork and cutting off every avenue of escape as they guided things towards their desired outcomes. Some of my own wives had been like that, and I’d seen signs of it in my retainers’ marriages as well. Was it simply part of the national character?
“Wait, but she’s from a noble house, isn’t she? Didn’t her parents object when she introduced a commoner...and her teacher, at that...as a potential husband?”
“They’re apparently quite accepting of that sort of thing. He said she was from the House of *******.”
“Oh, that house. Yeah, they wouldn’t have any complaints.”
I was quite familiar with the house she mentioned. The chairman of the Monsterology Research Society back when Ichiha was at the Academy had married into that same family. Her name was...Sara, I think? A young lady from that house had set her eyes on the chairman and pursued him relentlessly—the same thing that had happened with Febral.
There were plenty of ambitious people in that house. But their ambition wasn’t treasonous; rather, it was focused on preserving the family and expanding it when opportunities arose. That kind of ambition did no harm to the country, so I held them in high regard. The family welcomed exceptional individuals without hesitation, which was why Febral had caught their attention.
“But y’know, I never would’ve imagined Febral becoming a noble,” Juno said with a merry chuckle.
“You could be royalty if you wanted, Juno.”
“I’ve told you, that’s just not my style. I like things the way they are now.”
“Well, it does give me a reason to get out of both home and workplace.”
In the castle, my retainers and servants were always watching, blurring the line between work and private life. Even now I had bodyguards nearby, so I wasn’t completely free, but being here in this homely, domestic space was an oasis for my heart.
As we talked, we finished hanging the laundry to dry. I picked up the basket, and we went back into the house together. On the way, Juno said, “Oh, speaking of marriage, it was so much fun seeing everyone’s reactions when we told them about ours.”
“You’re talking about that day, huh? It caused a huge uproar.”
Now that Juno mentioned it, the memory of that day came back to me...