“Carlos,” I said. “Write a letter to House Galleon. I won’t be able to attend the party.”
“What?!” the butler cried. “Why the sudden change of heart?! And declining when the event is just around the corner...”
He gazed at me with astonishment as I swung the stump on my left arm.
“I just don’t have the time right now, and as you can plainly see, my injuries aren’t healed yet,” I said. “Tell them that I’m sick or something.”
“That...will be difficult to do.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You’ve already decided to attend the party, and above all, Lord Lightless shall also be in attendance...”
He averted his gaze awkwardly. What? Father’s joining too? I...suppose that isn’t odd. In fact, it was far more uncouth to send his son, still a minor, to a party by himself. It was only natural that he attended this event. Which means...
“Carlos?”
“Yes, my lord?” he asked.
I narrowed my eyes and gazed out the window. “I think I’ll have an upset stomach next week.”
He slumped his shoulders wearily. “I only hope that you can successfully fool your father.”
Indeed...
✶✶✶
Well, I was out of luck. I didn’t have any right to refuse. Early in the morning, on the day of the party, three carriages were already stationed in front of my manor, waiting for me. I wore my mantle for outdoors and was led to stand before them.
“Er, father, I don’t feel well...” I mumbled.
“Silence. Head into the carriage,” he ordered.
“I’d like to sit this one out...”
“Ah, so you want to bring shame to our household name?”
I fell silent at his stern eyes practically filled with murderous fury. Clearly, I couldn’t refuse, and I didn’t have much of a say. After all, I’d accepted the invitation; to flake at the last minute was unseemly for a regular human, and all the more so for a noble. High society valued etiquette above all, and unless there was some sort of pressing emergency, I wasn’t permitted to just cancel. Doing so would only cast House Lightless in a bad light, and House Galleon would especially treat us with disdain.
Making an enemy out of the duke’s house would be nothing but trouble. I had no choice but to quietly board the carriage.
Father seems awfully on edge today... I thought. It’s like he’s in a rush or impatient somehow. Or maybe he bears a grudge against me for brushing him off during our last conversation in his study. I’d proudly declared that his citizens were suffering under his rule; it must have been infuriating to be scolded like that by his son.
He boarded the carriage after I did and took the seat across from me. As we sat in front of each other, I quietly stood up.
“Where are you going?” he demanded sharply with a glare.
“To the carriage behind me,” I replied.
We had three carriages headed for House Galleon. The first one was for us, the second one was for our servants and attendants, and the third was filled with offerings for the duke. Carlos was in the second carriage, and though it was less luxurious than the one I was currently in, it was still good enough for me to board. I much rather preferred to be with him than with my father during this lengthy trip.
“No,” my father snapped.
“But I’d like to be with Carlos...” I started.
“That carriage has other servants as well. Carlos aside, if you’re there, the others will cower with fear. Or are you too blind to see that?”
I felt a vein pop on my forehead with anger. I almost clicked my tongue angrily, but managed to hold back. I should be praised for this patience. But my father was not wrong, and I had no right to argue. Though it annoyed me to do his bidding, I quietly sat back down.
“Start the carriage,” my father ordered.
His cold voice echoed throughout the vehicle as the wheels clattered on and headed for House Galleon. And so, our long, hellish ride to Galleon began.
✶✶✶
Silence settled between me and my father as we headed for the duchy. We weren’t the type to casually talk and laugh about trivial matters, so this awkward atmosphere was expected. The air was tense and honestly excruciating for me; as much as this was the norm for us, I’d never been subjected to this unease for so awfully long.
My father turned away from me and gazed out the window. The carriage clattered on without cease, and each second felt like it dragged on for an eternity.
“Is it true that you’re in love with a commoner girl?” he asked suddenly.
I jolted. Him asking about my romantic interests was about the last thing I expected. I did my best to suppress any sort of laughter and maintain my composure.
“I imagine you’re referring to Carlos’s report,” I replied. “It’s nothing more than a delusion of his.”
But my father sharply glared at me as though trying to find some truth I was hiding. “She’s a woman from a fishing village. Faltiana, was it?”
When her name left his lips, I felt overcome with an explicable sense of irritation.
“I ask that you drop this,” I said. “I’ve no intention of humoring such farcical piffle.”
“Alba reported on that girl,” my father said.
“I see...”
Damn it, Alba. How dare you blabber nonsense. I’ll remember this, you white-haired dolt.
“Then it seems we’re both plagued with subordinates who love to daydream,” I said.
“So you deny it?” my father asked. “Then bring that girl over...”
I emitted a wave of mana, pressuring my father to fall silent. He snapped his mouth shut when he felt my rage, but he was unfazed by it all.
“Lofus,” he said wearily. “Your response practically admits that their claims are true.”
I glared at him. “And suppose that they somehow are—though I’m not saying that’s the case. But if they were true, then what?”
“Don’t be so on guard. I won’t interfere; nothing will happen. It’s not as though you’re engaged to anyone, and the promise with Vermeil can easily be dealt with. You can do as you please.”
Vermeil... Ah, the house that promised to be engaged with me if they birthed a girl before I reached adulthood. This was an oath sworn shortly after I was born, though that was normal between nobles. Oftentimes, the two getting married had little say in their own union.
“Then why bring it up at all?” I asked.
My questioning gaze was met with a shrug.
“Just small talk,” my father replied. “We haven’t really spoken much as family these days, have we?”
I chuckled. “‘As family’... I didn’t expect to hear such words from you, of all people.”
“What’s so funny? And when will you return to the main house?”
“Me, return? Don’t joke around. You know full well that mother and my airheaded brother are terrified of me. Besides, you’re the one who threw me into the villa. I didn’t do it of my own accord.”
My father had ordered me to live in the villa when I was ten. When I was a younger child, I was unable to control the massive amount of mana and magic within me. That was my own fault. One day, I’d carelessly cast a spell that went out of control, and I accidentally dragged my foolish younger brother into this mess. My mother came in to protect my injured brother, and my father had to stop my mana from continuing to run amok.
Until then, I’d been showered with praise and called the reincarnation of House Lightless’s renowned founder. My mana and magic capabilities were absolutely superb and trumped anything that anyone had ever seen, but this was my first failure. Ever since, I’d trained like hell to control my mana, working tirelessly to restrain my own power every day, even at the expense of sleep.
Thanks to my efforts, I was able to fully control my mana by the age of ten, but my father ordered me to live in the villa. My foolish brother and mother were terrified of me, so much so that it affected their daily lives due to their trauma. I didn’t particularly bear a grudge against my father for moving me out of the house, but for a while, I was admittedly furious. My desperate attempts had been ignored, and my claims that I was able to control mana weren’t trusted. But all that anger was now water under the bridge.
“It’s been two years...” my father said, shifting his gaze. “I’m sure you’ve already learned how to properly control your mana. And if we continue to live apart, the distance between us may never close.”
“Do you wish to repair these bonds after all that has happened?” I asked.
“A year ago, I told you to return to the main manor. Why didn’t you?”
“Because I don’t want to. And I never will. I’ll continue to stay in the villa.”
I didn’t feel any need to return home after everything that had happened.
“Lofus...” my father started. His voice was faint and vanished into the ether.
All I could do was turn away.
“I don’t wish to speak anymore,” I said. “I’d like to rest a while, so you can as you like.”
I closed my eyes and refused to continue this conversation. Neither my father nor I said another word until we reached a waypoint town for our journey.