“Grandfather, would you mind if I went for a short stroll around the garden?”
After his grandson said that, he hurried away, and Theodore watched him go. Theodore sighed, disappointed. So it was pointless after all.
In contrast with his older brother Alexis, Filiel had attended so few noble social events that Theodore could count them on one hand. A child of Filiel’s age would’ve usually accumulated a fair amount of social experience—he would’ve even formed familiar relationships with others. However, the only people Filiel was close with outside of his family were adults like Gaius, the captain of the royal guard, and also the commander in chief of the army. Theodore had been worried that if Filiel didn’t make friends with children his age soon, he’d be isolated at the academy, so he’d forced him to come along...
Filiel emitted enough magic energy to make even adults afraid, so there was no way children would be able to withstand it. Additionally, Filiel was afraid of coming into contact with others, so he also didn’t try to talk to anyone. There was no way he’d be able to make friends under those conditions.
I have to come up with a new strategy, Theodore thought. But suddenly, he was surprised to see Filiel talking to two boys his age. They were far away, but they looked to be conversing normally. Theodore considered asking about the boys, but those around him had noticed that he was observing them, and they told him everything before he could even ask.
“Those are Count O’Brian’s sons,” said one of the nobles. “They’re the same age as His Highness. Apparently, they’re incredibly brilliant and are already forming a faction.”
Another noble nodded. “I’ve heard that as well, but it’s a shame about their father.”
“Yes, I don’t hear very good rumors about him. I believe there are others who may be more worthy of His Highness.”
They seemed to be panicking about Theodore’s interest in the boys, and they were desperately trying to give him a bad impression of them. However, Theodore couldn’t care less about the boys’ family. There were finally some people who could be Filiel’s friends. A grin spontaneously appeared on Theodore’s face at this fortunate encounter.
For a while, Theodore continued to receive the succession of nobles who came up to greet him, but slowly, he got sick of the never-ending line of them. He said his goodbyes to the host and searched for Filiel. The last time he’d seen his grandson, Filiel had been walking off into the garden, so he followed. As Theodore went deeper in, there were less and less people, and then suddenly, someone appeared at Theodore’s back.
There had been absolutely no inkling of their presence before their appearance. They were wearing all-black clothing from head to toe, and they had an odd presence that clearly distinguished them from the average person. However, Theodore didn’t show even the slightest surprise. As he calmly walked ahead, he spoke to the person behind his back.
“Where’s Filiel?”
A calm, featureless voice offered a reply. “His Highness is just slightly farther in.”
“Now what in the world has he been doing here for all this time? Good grief.”
“He...”
The tone of the voice changed—it sounded perplexed. Theodore stopped walking for the first time and turned around. “What, did something happen?”
The person standing before him—the head of the family of Shadows who had served the royal family for a long time—was always calm and collected. Theodore had done all sorts of things to try and make them crack a smile, but they had never so much as let an eyebrow twitch, so it was incredibly rare to see them shaken. Theodore didn’t think that Filiel was in danger. If there’d been any trouble, he would’ve already gotten a report. However, there had definitely been some sort of unforeseen event, enough for the Shadow to lose their composure.
“It may be best for Your Majesty to confirm it with your own eyes. I don’t think you’ll believe me if I just tell you.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Feeling suspicious, Theodore continued ahead. Then, he heard a voice. He held his breath and slowly approached.
“‘Filiel’ is kinda hard to say.”
“Really? My mother always calls me ‘Fil.’”
“Hmm...how about ‘El’? You look like an El!”
“How do I look like an El? Well, all right.”
“Okay, El.”
Theodore heard a truly pleasant-sounding conversation, mixed with the sound of laughter. When he realized that one of those voices was his grandson’s, his eyes widened in surprise. Filiel had spent all his days surrounded by adults, and this may have been the first time his grandson had experienced such a relaxed conversation with someone. Judging from the other voice, the person speaking with Filiel was a girl.
In the end, the party seemed to have been a rich source of new meetings for Filiel. Theodore smiled, unable to hide how glad he was to have brought his grandson with him. Then, in order to see what kind of girl Filiel was talking to, he appeared in front of the two. She had light brown hair and pale blue eyes. She’s a cute girl, Theodore thought, but an instant later, he was so surprised that his jaw dropped. He was petrified.
Wary of Theodore after his sudden appearance, Yui had moved behind Filiel. Though it was over his clothes, she was grabbing his arm.
Filiel was worried about Theodore, who had frozen solid without saying a word. “Grandfather, is something the matter?”
Theodore finally returned to his senses, but his mind was still chaotic. “Filiel, that girl looks like she’s touching you. Have my eyes given out on me?”
Filiel immediately understood why Theodore was acting so strange, but he didn’t seem like he knew how to explain it. “No, you’re seeing it correctly. For some reason, it’s completely fine if she touches me... Look.” He grabbed Yui’s hand with his bare hand and held it up so Theodore could see.
Theodore paused. “I certainly wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.” He understood why the head of the Shadows had been so shaken—Theodore was hardly able to believe it himself, even though he had seen it in person.
Bewildered, Yui looked at Filiel. “El?”
“He’s my grandfather,” Filiel explained.
When she heard that he was Filiel’s grandfather, the word “royalty” popped into her mind, and she hurriedly stood up and bowed.
“There, there, no need to be so formal,” Theodore said. “More importantly, do you really feel completely fine?”
“Yes, I do,” Yui replied. She was confused, and she clearly didn’t understand what it meant to be able to touch Filiel.
“Hmm.” She doesn’t seem to be using magic or a magic item, Theodore thought. In all his years, he had never seen a case like this, so he wasn’t able to understand what it all meant. “Well, what’s your name?”
“My name is Yui O’Brian.”
So she’s his blood relative, Theodore thought. Even without knowing the magical reason for it, that was all he needed to hear to understand why the girl could touch Filiel. Theodore got a faraway look in his eyes.
Looking somewhat uncomfortable, Yui hesitantly spoke. “Um, I think my brothers are looking for me, so please excuse me.”
She quickly tried to leave, but then, from behind her, she heard Theodore say, “Hold on.” There was no way she could just keep going when the former king had asked her to wait, so she stopped and turned around.
“There’s something I want to ask of you, so would you listen to me?” Theodore asked.
“Yes, what is it?”
“I want you to meet with Filiel again.” Theodore had seen the horribly disappointed expression on Filiel’s face when Yui had tried to leave. His grandson had finally expressed interest in another person, and he couldn’t let her slip out of his grasp.
Yui had wanted to talk more with Filiel too, so she had no reason to refuse, but she did have one worry. “Will you tell my father?” she asked. She had no idea what her father would do if he learned that she was meeting with royalty, and she was terrified of his potential reaction.
Becoming a conversation partner of royalty was a great honor, so everything was generally done through the family. However, seeing Yui’s gloomy expression, Theodore could tell that doing so wouldn’t be good for her. He glanced sideways at Filiel, who had a grim look on his face. Seeing that, Theodore was quick to make his judgment.
“Yui, can you sneak out of your house and come to visit?” he asked.
No one in that house besides her mother and her brothers ever paid her any mind. If I just tell them that I’m going to play with friends, I could slip out without any difficulty, Yui thought. She nodded.
“Then, let’s keep it a secret from your family. What about meeting somewhere else?” Theodore asked. It would’ve been easy to force things ahead, but here was finally someone who might be a source of comfort for Filiel. He didn’t want her to feel any ill will toward the royal family, and especially not toward his grandson.
After thinking it over for a little while, Yui agreed. “That should work... But is it really all right? That means you’ll be slipping out of the palace to meet me.” She seemed to want to ask whether it was fine for him to sneak out of the palace so simply.
“It won’t be a problem at all, so don’t worry about it. In a way, we slipped out of the palace to come here today.” Theodore chuckled.
Behind him, Filiel mumbled irritably. “Father will get angry if he finds out.”
“I’ll write you a letter soon,” Theodore promised Yui.
“Okay. I’ll look forward to it,” Yui said. “See you later, El.”
“Yeah, later.”
Yui waved at him, then left, and Filiel stared at her until he couldn’t see her anymore. Once she was gone, he felt someone’s gaze, and he turned around to see his grandfather grinning at him. “What is it...?” he asked, irritated.
“You only just met her today, but you’re quite a couple. Did you fall for her?”
“Wha—? Th-Th-That’s not it at all!” Filiel’s face turned bright red as he stuttered.
“There’s no need to be so shy. I guess romance comes for us all—even you.”
“I’m telling you, it isn’t like that!”
“I bet if I told your parents, they’d cry with joy.”
“Please never do that!”
In contrast with Filiel’s usual state, where he concealed his emotions in order to suppress his magic energy, his responses right now were entertainingly genuine. From the bottom of his heart, Theodore was delighted at this fortuitous encounter.