Thibault looked like he was on the verge of passing out. I had made his weapon and armor lighter, but he still hadn’t managed a single win. Even when I’d used my magic to soothe his horse, he’d lost by either dropping his lance or falling from his mount. Beyond using a spell to take direct control of his body, there was nothing more I could have done to help him.
Oh well. I’ll just use an illusion spell to make it look like he’s running the laps.
I approached a teary-eyed Thibault. “Are you all right?”
“Miss Lam, what should I do? I can’t run a hundred laps,” he said.
I nodded. “You definitely can’t.”
“I’ve always been terrible at sports. I did train before coming here, but...”
“Yes, I know you’ve worked hard. Don’t worry, I’ll use an illusion spell to make it look like you’re doing the laps. Get some rest.”
“A-All right...”
“Are you sure you’re fine?”
“Yes. I won’t give up on my investigation just because of this,” Thibault said. The glimmer of determination in his eyes hadn’t faded yet. He was much more resilient than I thought.
It was clear that he took pride in his work as a journalist.
After consoling him, I joined Char and the twins. “Good work, you three.”
Complex expressions crossed their faces as they noticed how exhausted I was from the relentless cheering session I’d been forced into.
“You didn’t have it easy either, Lam. Is your throat all right?” Char asked, gently brushing a hand against my nape.
“I’m fine, thank you for your concern. My throat is just a little tired, that’s all,” I assured him.
But despite my words, it was evident I was drained. Even the twins noticed.
“That captain is insane. He’s even more irrational than the former Mercures,” Barre said.
“I’m glad we had to take the test. I would have hated just standing there and cheering with that man watching me from behind. How awkward,” Fouet added.
It seemed that even they had noticed how unreasonable Gahariet had been.
Glancing at the training grounds, I saw the illusory Thibault I’d created with my magic hard at work running laps.
Yup, looks great!
After that, we were all dragged—ahem, led to the barracks. Just like the schoolhouse in the Mercure estate, they were located in a separate building outside the castle grounds. The ashen color of the timeworn walls reminded me of the old schoolhouse as well, and I felt an urge to repaint them a pastel yellow.
“It looks like the schoolhouse,” Char said, seemingly sharing my thoughts.
A scowl settled over his face as he glared at the building. The sight seemed to bring back some bad memories for him.
“Are you okay? You don’t hate it too much, do you?” I asked, concerned.
“Lam, stop treating me like a child. The twins and I are grown adults. We won’t let old memories drag us down just because of a building.”
He was putting on a brave front, and I couldn’t help but worry about him. The longer I spent at the Mercure estate, the more I learned about the horrible environment Char had been forced to endure as a child.
It had been even worse than when Gourdin was in charge of the schoolhouse.
He’d never told me directly about his childhood, but I couldn’t imagine that a little boy—especially the sheltered son of a duke—wouldn’t have found the situation distressing. Yet, he had never uttered a single word of complaint and worked with more dedication than anyone else to learn magic and combat. Even after becoming earl, he continued to risk his life and endured all the hard work that was foisted onto him. It was no wonder he had no energy left for anything else.
I can only imagine what he must’ve gone through. That doesn’t excuse the way he treated the former Lam, though. But from his point of view, she must’ve seemed like a lazy, spoiled little lady...
Either way, I wouldn’t have been able to break the vicious cycle the Mercures had been stuck in without Char’s help. Thanks to him, the schoolhouse’s children were now growing up freely and happily.
Back when I first reincarnated, I’d thought he was nothing more than a coldhearted, inconsiderate man.
But when I actually talked to him, I realized that he was not only much gentler than I thought, but he valued my opinion as well.
He occasionally acted bossy, yet at other times, he was as candid as a child who knew nothing of the world. I often found myself confused by the dichotomy of his personality.
He may seem like a coldhearted perfectionist to others, but he collects Aurora merch in his spare time. Sometimes, he even falls for scams and ends up buying counterfeits...
He likely just didn’t know how to interact with others outside of work and outside of his role as the head of the Mercure family, which I could somehow understand.
He’s actually nice; he just doesn’t know how to express himself.
Now that he’d gotten rid of the warped views that had been ingrained in him, I believed he would be able to thrive more in the future. As for his magical abilities, they were more than satisfactory.
I can teach him more spells, but I can’t help him process his emotions. I’m not very good at it either. It’s frustrating, not being able to do anything for him.
Even now, I’d tried to be considerate of him, and I’d failed.
“Char, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to tell me, all right? I want to help you,” I said.
“What about you? Are you going to be okay? Men and women sleep on different floors. You’re going to be all alone...”