I had the ceremony for my twentieth birthday at my home, Nayvil Castle. In the Kingdom of Therwil, it was customary to have a simple ceremony for men and women who had just turned twenty. Of course, it was really no more than a short formality ending within thirty minutes at most, but it was a sort of rite of passage. In this country, there was no strictly set age at which you became an adult, so different rites of passage coexisted, including both the profession-bestowal ceremony and this twentieth-birthday ceremony. Or if I’d been the oldest legitimate child and my father had still been alive, succession also would have occurred around this time. “I think I’ll probably eventually move my capital to Maust, but it’s nice enough to celebrate my twentieth birthday in my hometown,” I said in front of my vassals in attendance. Of course, I didn’t exactly have all my vassals assembled together. I’d ordered that they prioritize any other work they had. This was not a period of peace and tranquility. Ceremonies meant nothing if you lost your territory in the meantime. A priest came over and poured some alcohol into my glass. When I drank this, it would mean the ceremony had come to a close. This is like our coming-of-age ceremony. We called it genpuku. So your world had something similar, too. But unlike my world, you people don’t change your names. Actually, the Japanese might have changed their names too much. Like the one I remember as Kenshin—I can’t even remember how many times he changed his. Good thing we didn’t have that system. It might be fine for yourself, but remembering your vassals’ names would be so troublesome if they were changing all the time. I imbibed the somewhat mediocre drink, a few vassals gave their congratulations, and the ritual ended. As my vassals slowly filed out of the ceremony room, Laviala remained, motionless. “What is it, Laviala? Was something different from your twentieth birthday?” Laviala had already had her ceremony, since she was less than a year older than I was. There weren’t as many attendees at hers as there were at mine, since I was a count now, but otherwise everything was mostly the same. “Lord Alsrod, I would like some of your time after noon tomorrow; is that acceptable?” “Noon? Well, I don’t have any work I can’t delegate, so it’s not impossible.” “Yes, I know you don’t,” Laviala answered, smiling sweetly. She already had a good idea of my work schedule, of course. In other words, I had no right to refuse. “Well, please come to my chambers then. Thank you!” she said cheerfully and left the ceremony room. But just what did she want, telling me to come to her chambers after noon…? If it was about something classified, she wouldn’t have said it so happily, either. Maybe it really was something for…you know…behind closed doors? Couldn’t that just wait for nighttime? I couldn’t just ask if that was it, either… “Brother.” Aside from me, Altia was the only one still left in the room. She was almost never around during my official duties, but since this was a ceremony for close relations, she’d been in attendance, too. She looked at me a bit disdainfully. “Brother, you were thinking something indecent when Miss Laviala invited you to her room just now, weren’t you?” I was embarrassed to be asked so directly. Altia seemed to have good ears for these sorts of things as of late. The reason was clear: Seraphina had been putting ideas in her head. “As the sister of a count, you really ought to think before you speak.” “Oh, I know. That’s why I’m speaking when no one’s around.” “Either way, this is none of your concern. In fact, thinking nothing of what she said would itself be strange. My thoughts were totally normal.” Her expression still didn’t change—although that was hardly unusual, as she wasn’t really the type to smile cheerfully. “Hmm, I wonder if Miss Laviala would be pleased to know that. Well, see you.” Altia left the room with a lady-in-waiting in tow. I then realized she hadn’t said a word about my birthday, not even during the ceremony. As her older brother, that made me just a bit sad. I’d been so careful to raise her as a respectable young lady, too… The next day, just as I’d promised Laviala, I finished my work by morning’s end and went to her chambers. I told my other vassals I had an important job to attend to. I was known as a hardworking ruler who almost never took breaks, after all, so I had to have a reason. Though I wasn’t pretending to be a hardworking ruler; I naturally had much more work to do with all my new territory. I knocked on Laviala’s door. “Come in,” said Laviala’s voice from inside. I am a count, you know…, I thought, but getting angry at Laviala—who’d always treated me as a little brother—wouldn’t do any good, so I opened the door. Just as I did, I felt the presence of several others. I reflexively started to back out, thinking there might be an assassin lying in wait. It was hard to think of a good reason why several people would be in Laviala’s room. Did I make a mistake? I should’ve been more cautious. A ruler had countless people who wanted to kill him. If I was murdered here, I’d amount to only one of a zillion other wannabe warlords in this chaotic age… “Happy birthday, Lord Alsrod!” “Happy birthday, darling!” “Happy birthday, brother.” Three voices spoke one after another. In front of me stood Laviala, and to the left and right stood Seraphina and Altia, respectively. And all three of them were holding bright-pink flowers. “Ah, so that’s what this is all about…” Once I realized what was going on, I instantly relaxed. They really should’ve congratulated me for not passing out right there. “Here, Lord Alsrod, these flowers are for you!” Laviala handed me the most magnificent bouquet of the three. If I refused to accept after all this, I couldn’t complain if they started an insurrection. I took it firmly in both hands. “I’ll happily accept them, Laviala.” She pulled the arm I’d cradled the flowers in. “All right, don’t just stand there; please come over to the table. We’ve got some delicious tea and dessert for you!” Now I was nothing more than little brother being dragged along by his big sister, and I sat down. The whole room was adorned with colorful paper decorations, apparently just for this day. Looking at my consort, I asked, “This was all your idea, wasn’t it, Seraphina?” She made a show of puffing out her cheeks. “Well, excuse me! Laviala was the one who brought this up. She said you’ve never had anyone celebrate your birthday before.” “Well, I lost my mother when I was little. My father was busy with work, and nobody cared about me. My family wasn’t important enough.” Back then, nobody had expected I’d ever have authority. And neither had I, honestly. So who would even want to celebrate me? “So I told Miss Laviala we should have a nice little party. I mean, twenty years old is the perfect occasion, too.’” “So you were a part of this, huh?” “Oh hush! I only gave her a little inspiration. I’m like the pitch for a torch. Pitch doesn’t just burn on its own,” she said, sounding even more mischievous than usual. “Lord Alsrod, surely you can at least take one day off a year to relax like this, yes? I’ll get you some tea.” Laviala poured tea from the pot into a teacup. A faintly bitter aroma filled my nose. “True. It might be good to have a day like this sometimes. Thanks, Laviala. I mean, thank you, everyone.” I turned to Altia, who’d taken a seat. “So this was why you were acting so cold yesterday.” Just moments ago she’d wished me a happy birthday. As her older brother, that made me truly happy. Altia was the only blood relative I had.
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“I was disappointed in you, thinking dirty things when Miss Laviala asked you to come to her,” she replied icily. “Oh, can’t you let it go?! It was an honest mistake!” “Oh my, why don’t you give Miss Laviala a kiss, darling?” Seraphina was instigating again. Well, if I were alone with Laviala here, I would’ve long since given her a kiss on my own. But my wife and my sister were here; it was more natural to have self-control. “But won’t it bother you? I mean, you’re my wife.” “Come now, I’m not nearly that stuffy. It’s just a kiss, so go ahead, as you please.” I couldn’t not do it after being told that. “Kiss her,” Altia urged me on. She wanted Laviala and me to be happy together. I got up slowly and stood in front of Laviala. “Laviala, may I kiss you?” “Yes, Lord Alsrod.” We’d already looked into each other’s eyes more times than I could count, but the gaze we shared then seemed like something very special. I wrapped my arm around her back, drew her close, and pressed my lips to hers. I’d been with Laviala for only twenty years. If possible, I wanted to still be living with her for ten or even twenty more. Really, I wanted to keep kissing her longer, but— Seraphina and Altia were clapping their hands to make a point. “Darling, isn’t that a little long? Any more and I might have to go back home to my father.” Right. Can’t neglect my wife too much. Even with a smile on her face, she might have been plotting something devious. “Yes, I should make things fair.” Not even waiting for a reply, I gave Seraphina a swift kiss where she sat. “Oh, darling, you’re so mean…” She was flustered but didn’t altogether seem to mind—which was why I’d done it. “Brother, when did you turn into a philanderer?” Sure enough, my sister was glaring at me again, but that was neither here nor there. “As they say, great men are great lovers. It’s proof I’m becoming a great man.”