Chapter 576:
The Bear Goes Back to the Capital
AFTER THE MAIN MEAL ENDED, Noa and I set the strawberry shortcake we made in front of Seleiyu to finish things off.
“Is this the cake you made for me?”
“I hope you like it.”
“Look, there’s even writing on it too.”
Noa had written “Happy Birthday” on it.
“Noa did that just for you,” I said.
“Thank you, Noa.”
Noa seemed giddy.
“I guess I’ll cut it now.”
“It’s too bad it’ll ruin the writing.”
“Well, it’s meant to be eaten, after all. Just engrave it in your heart so you remember it forever. That’ll make us happy.”
“Yes. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” Seleiyu said.
What I had said was kind of cheesy, but Seleiyu rolled with it and even agreed.
“‘Engrave it in your heart.’ I like the sound of that,” Noa chimed in too. Okay, but I wasn’t going to make a habit of being that cheesy.
I took the knife and cut up the shortcake. I served each slice on a small plate and placed each one in front of the attendees.
“Thank you.”
Seleiyu picked up her fork and ate a tiny piece of cake very daintily, just like the noble she was.
“It’s delicious.”
Seleiyu’s dad and brother dug in too, hearing her say that.
“It’s so good, Seleiyu,” Keith said.
He was all smiles as he ate. It wasn’t just the two of them. Seleiyu’s dad seemed pretty pleased too. I was glad. All three of them seemed to be enjoying our cake. I took a bite. Yup, we had nailed it.
As we were eating, Seleiyu suddenly stopped.
“Yuna, Noa, thank you. And thank you too, Father and Keith. I’ve never had such an enjoyable birthday. Every year, I felt anxious about my sixteenth birthday approaching. While everyone else was celebrating, I felt cold inside. But today, I’m genuinely happy.”
Seleiyu had a smile on her face, but she started to tear up.
“Seleiyu...”
“Sister?!”
Seleiyu’s dad looked worried, and Keith started to panic as Seleiyu cried.
“Oh, that’s odd. I’m so happy, so why am I crying? I can’t seem to stop.”
Seleiyu attempted to wipe her tears away, but the waterworks had started, and they weren’t going to stop.
“Seleiyu.”
“Please don’t cry,” Keith said.
Seleiyu’s dad stood up and hugged her. Keith worriedly held her hand.
Maybe she’d been putting on a brave face, but her sixteenth birthday actually coming had made the tension in her snap. For a long time, she had carried a burden alone, one she could never talk about. Now, her suffering had finally ended, and she could finally talk to her dad about it.
Maybe, to reiterate what she had said earlier, she hadn’t thought she’d be able to celebrate her sixteenth birthday. Maybe she finally felt like she could accept the congratulations her family was giving her. It wasn’t all that odd that she would cry after all of that.
Seleiyu’s dad hugged her again. Only Seleiyu’s quiet weeping disturbed the silence in the room.
“Noa.”
I said Noa’s name quietly, then glanced at the door. She seemed to understand, nodding slightly. We stood up and silently left the room. This was a moment meant for family.
Noa and I headed back to our room.
“Lady Seleiyu must have been hurting a lot,” Noa said.
“I can’t tell you everything, but there was a chance her life would be in danger on her sixteenth birthday. Seleiyu learned how to wield a sword and cast magic to avoid that. And now she’s finally free.”
“Is that what you saved her from?”
“I just happened to be there when Seleiyu was in danger. Seleiyu was the one who had to carry everything until now. But now she’s free, so nothing is holding her down. She can finally enjoy herself.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
She was only sixteen. She was only just starting life. Nothing was holding her down anymore. She could enjoy her school life or hang out with her friends. Sure, she had some duties as a noble, but she could live her life as freely as Noa had been.
“What is it?”
Noa looked at me quizzically because I had been staring at her.
“It’s nothing.”
I stroked her hair.
“No really, what is it?!”
Noa pouted, realizing I wouldn’t tell her why I was acting so weird.
We got back to the room and rested for a bit. I was debating whether to change out of my dress when Seleiyu came to the room.
“Yuna, Noa, I’m so sorry for the awkwardness earlier, and for making you feel you needed to leave us to ourselves.”
She seemed a little embarrassed. Her eyes were still a little red.
“We didn’t think any of that at all. You’ve been working so hard until now. I think you have the right to cry. If anyone thinks you’re silly for crying, tell them they’ll have to deal with me.”
“I’m not sure what happened, but I know that you suffered greatly, Lady Seleiyu. I don’t think that your tears were unseemly whatsoever.”
“Thank you both.” Seleiyu smiled.
“You’re so strong, Seleiyu.”
“I think you’re stronger, Yuna.”
I shook my head.
“No, I mean your heart is stronger. You’ve had to carry such a heavy burden since you were young, one that you’ve had to shoulder all on your own. I think most people would have broken under the strain.”
Some people might take out their frustrations on others or abuse their power as a noble. I could have easily seen her faltering. But she hadn’t let any of that beat her down. She’d grown into an honest person.
“No, I’m really not that...”
“I can tell just seeing how the students in Yufaria interact with you. They all look up to you.”
“You think they do? Even with the way I am...? I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I feel to hear that.”
“You’re finally free, so you should enjoy living your life.”
That was what life was for. The one who enjoyed life most won.
“Of course. I think I’ll stop practicing magic and sword fighting for a while. I neglected some other aspects of life until now. It isn’t exactly what you said, but I’ll try to find something I enjoy. Something I couldn’t do until now.”
“You’ve got this!”
“Yes, I think I do.”
Seleiyu smiled wide.
It seemed like I didn’t need to worry about her anymore.
Seleiyu had us spend the night at her manor. She offered to handle stuff at the inn, so we accepted the offer. We didn’t have any luggage there, so all we needed to do was check out.
It wasn’t a hot spring, but I used Seleiyu’s bath to wash Kumakyu before sleeping with my bear. And we matched, of course, since I wore my white bear onesie. Kumakyu seemed happy about that.
“Well, in that case I’ll sleep with Kumayuru” Noa said. “Kumayuru might sulk, so I’ll take care of it today.”
She took Kumayuru in her arms. She must have been worried because of what happened that morning. Well, she seemed happy now, and Kumayuru did too. I already had Kumayuru’s permission to spend time with Kumakyu today.
It seemed Kumayuru understood. They didn’t sulk, at least. We turned off the lights and got into bed.
“Goodnight, Kumakyu.”
“Cwoon.”
“Kumayuru, goodnight.”
“Cwoon.”
Then we slept.
The next morning, we were headed back to the capital. Since I was Noa’s guard, I changed into my black bear onesie in the morning, of course. Seleiyu and her dad had very interesting looks on their faces when they saw me.
“You’re going home in that outfit, Yuna?”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t comment on it,” I said.
I’d already mentioned the bear’s blessing stuff, so I think Seleiyu understood. The most important thing was that I felt back at home in my bear outfit—and safer too.
“You really do look best in that bear outfit, Yuna.”
Noa, that’s not a compliment. Yeah, I was wearing it by choice, but I still couldn’t accept it when other people commented on it like that.
Seleiyu’s dad arranged a carriage to take us to the town’s gate. Seleiyu rode along with us.
Finally, we arrived at Yufaria’s gate.
“Yuna, Noa, I would be happy to just see you, so if you come to Yufaria again, please visit my house. I’d like to show you some hospitality when you do.”
“You don’t need to go to any trouble, but we’ll stop by when we’re here.”
“Yes, please do come say hello.”
“I promise.”
Seleiyu had a word with the guard, and they let us out of the town without much questioning. When I looked back, Seleiyu was watching us leave from within the town.
“See you later, Seleiyu!”
I summoned my bears. Noa got on Kumayuru, and I got on Kumakyu (who by now was in a much better mood), then we headed off to the capital.