The tale you are about to hear takes place long before Reid or Meredy were born. It begins several years in the past in the Valdia Mark...
On this particular day, a carriage was prepared to travel from the lord’s estate to the imperial capital, and members of the household staff gathered around to send someone off. Within the crowd, one man with slicked-back hair stood out. He was clearly the most dignified and polished person present and was speaking to a young man with an austere countenance.
“Your work in the capital will be tough, Reiner. That being said, you will eventually be responsible for the Valdia Mark. You must keep that in mind and learn everything that you can. Is that understood?”
“I understood the first time, father,” the young man replied. “There’s no need for you to repeat yourself so many times. Also, I’ve already spent three years living in the capital during my time at the academy, so you have nothing to worry about.”
Reiner seemed a bit annoyed by his father Aester’s words.
Aester stared at his son with a stern gaze before his face relaxed into a smile. “I see. That’s fine. You’ve only just graduated, and now with this recommendation from Prince Arwin, you’re going to be working in the capital for four years. As your father, I can’t help but be worried. Would you agree, Toulette?” he asked, looking over at the beautiful woman standing beside his son.
Toulette nodded and turned to face Reiner, her eyes filled with worry. “I do, Aester. We’re all just worried about Reiner.”
“Mother...there’s no need for you to worry. I will continue to regularly send letters like I’ve always done,” Reiner reassured. “Also, Prince Arwin and I have been friends since our time at the academy, so you have nothing to worry about in regard to His Highness.”
Reiner took his mother’s hands and gave them a firm squeeze as if to quell her worries, then he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a gentle hug.
“I’ll be off, then, mother.”
“Please take care of yourself, Reiner.” Toulette hugged her son back, and they finished saying their goodbyes.
Reiner had spent the past three years attending an academy in the capital. After graduating, his friend and crown prince Arwin had provided a recommendation and he’d been appointed to serve the prince for the next four years.
Reiner was the eldest son of the margrave, and he would eventually succeed his father’s title. Because of the position he was in, he’d initially politely turned down the job offer. In response, he’d been told that he could accept the position for just a few years. At that point, Aester had had no reason to disapprove, so he’d allowed his son to accept the job.
Reiner was still quite young. Aester decided to think of the job as an opportunity for Reiner to learn what it was like to work in the capital, as well as a chance to continue his networking efforts that he’d begun at the academy. When framed in such a way, this job appeared to be beneficial to his son’s future, so he’d decided to send his son to the capital alone.
Aester scanned the members of the knight’s order gathered to escort Reiner, then turned his attention to the man who appeared most dignified among the group.
“Please get my son to the capital safely, Commander Gauvain,” he said.
“Of course, my lord,” Gauvain replied. His words were courteous and polite. “We will do our best.” He quickly bowed. His movements were smooth and appeared very refined.
“Very well.” Aester then turned to another member of the order. The man had a shaved head and was extremely muscular, and he stood out among his fellow knights. “I expect you to properly guard my son in the capital, Dynus.”
Dynus immediately responded loudly, “Yes, sir! You can count on me!!!” He then bowed.
The overly enthusiastic response made Reiner press his hand against his forehead and sigh with an exasperated look on his face. “Why is Dynus my bodyguard?” he muttered under his breath. “I wanted it to be you, Gregory.”
He turned to look at the knight beside him, who had kind eyes and a friendly demeanor. Gregory looked surprised by Reiner’s mumblings and thought for a moment before responding.
“You did? Well, though it is unfortunate, I believe Dynus is better suited to be your bodyguard.”
“Why’s that?” Reiner asked with a grimace.
Gregory let out a wry chuckle and looked over at Dynus. “Well, for one thing, he looks like that. If someone was to approach you while you have a man with a shaved head and large muscles at your side, they must either really need to speak to you or they aren’t to be trusted. That is why I believe Dynus is best suited to be your bodyguard.”
Reiner could understand Gregory’s reasoning, but that didn’t mean that he was happy about it. An indescribable expression came over his face, then he let out a sigh.
“There’s nothing I can do about it anyway, since it was my father’s decision. I’ll just have to accept it.”
“Dynus is a good man. Once you get used to him, you won’t have any problems.”
Upon hearing that, Reiner pressed his hand against his forehead and looked down. He was by no means on bad terms with Dynus. In fact, Dynus and Gregory were the only ones who were skilled enough swordsmen to be worthy opponents for Reiner—aside from Gauvain, who was essentially the three men’s master in sword fighting.
Gregory laughed at Reiner’s reaction and continued. “Lord Aester actually wants to promote me to vice commander of the order, so unfortunately, I won’t be able to accompany you to the capital.”
“Really? That’s wonderful news,” Reiner replied, still hanging his head and speaking in a dejected tone.
Considering their skills, it had been clear that the position of vice commander would go to either Dynus or Gregory. Since Dynus was going to leave the mark, it was only natural for Gregory to receive the promotion. Though this was a joyous occasion, Reiner’s head was full of thoughts about his life in the capital with Dynus, so he continued to hang his head with a melancholic look on his face.
During all of this, Aester and Gauvain had been discussing something, and their conversation finally appeared to come to an end.
“Well then, it’s time,” Aester announced. “Safe travels, Reiner.”
Hearing his father’s words, Reiner quickly lifted his head. He scanned the crowd, then looked straight at his parents.
“Yes, sir. Well then, I’ll be off.”
With that, he departed the Valdia Mark and headed for the imperial capital.
✦ ✦ ✦
Upon their arrival at the capital, Reiner and Dynus parted ways with the rest of the order. Then, as had been planned, they made their way to greet Arwin. The prince gave the two an extremely warm welcome, and they enjoyed a grand feast. The following day, Reiner began his job as Arwin’s adviser, where he would go on to learn to handle a variety of tasks.