The problem was that Aresh had made a decision without discussing or explaining any of it. Seiichirou wanted to stress that Aresh’s feelings in and of themselves were not the issue.
“I’m kinda relieved to hear that.”
Orjef had only been thinking about Aresh’s actions. Looking back on it rationally, there was always the possibility that he’d forced his feelings onto Seiichirou, but that thankfully wasn’t the case. Orjef was glad that his relative was no criminal.
Meanwhile, Seiichirou was secretly overcome with emotion.
Between what Yurius said the day before and the attitude of Aresh’s servants, Seiichirou had gotten the impression that everyone thought it was obvious that Aresh should propose to him, and that Aresh was the victim here. It was as if Seiichirou was the only one with a different idea of what was “normal,” and it made him remember how lonely it felt when he first came to this world. He’d been expecting Orjef to reproach him, too, and so the apology took him by surprise.
Although Seiichirou had heard that Orjef and Aresh were only distantly related, they were the vice commander and commander of the same Royal Order. Between their blood and work ties, one could certainly say that Orjef was the closest person to Aresh. Seiichirou was relieved to have him on his side, but…
“Phew… People always said Aresh left his emotions in his mother’s womb. Glad he managed to find someone to love him, warts and all.”
“I don’t know how to respond to that.”
Since they had time, Seiichirou waited for Orjef to change into his uniform. They chatted as they walked to their next destination.
“What do you suppose Aresh’s family thinks?”
“Who knows? I’ve never had that much to do with them.”
Orjef and Aresh’s mothers were sisters. Although that made them cousins, their mothers came from very different stations. Aresh’s was born from their grandfather’s first wife, while Orjef’s was born from the second wife, so although the two men were related by blood, they didn’t spend much time together until Aresh joined the Royal Order.
From what Seiichirou understood, House Indolark was stationed in the capital, although their main residence was in a region near the sea. Aresh’s mother, two older brothers, and one older sister lived there.
“Aresh’s older siblings are all married, and there have never been any sleazy rumors around Aresh. I doubt they’ll give him a hard time without hearing him out.”
Orjef seemed to think that they would react much like he did: incredulous that Aresh of all people had developed feelings for someone.
But Seiichirou was perturbed. Even if that was the case, he was the partner in question. A man from another world.
Regardless of this country’s tolerance for same-sex relationships, there was still a mountain of other problems, chief among them the impromptu announcement at a dinner party. Seiichirou would have liked to take the time to introduce himself to Aresh’s parents first…
Wait, why am I assuming that we’re going to get married?!
Seiichirou had jumped to thinking about the most effective, conflict-free method of getting things done, except that marriage wasn’t necessarily his goal in the first place. Aresh was infecting him.
Then again, it wasn’t as if he wanted to break up, either. A part of him certainly wanted Aresh’s parents to acknowledge their relationship, but…
“By the way,” Seiichirou said, after a long pause, “what did you think of the Egorovan envoys?”
“Now, that’s a sudden change of topic!”
Well, it was the very next thing on the agenda. I’m not running away, Seiichirou told himself as he switched his brain into work mode.
“Well, whatever,” said Orjef with a sigh. “The magic tool expert seemed passionate about the research. The sorcerer was a cookie-cutter noble, but his enthusiasm for the craft was genuine.”
Seiichirou shared the same opinion. He nodded, waiting for Orjef to continue.
“Their bodyguards were as skilled as you’d expect. The real wildcards are…those other two.”
“You’re counting Luciano?” asked Seiichirou. He had assumed that only Prince Lars would have caught Orjef’s interest.
“Yeah. Of course, I’ve heard a lot of things about Prince Lars, like how he’s got a faction backing him for the throne even though he’s the son of a concubine.”
“The son of a concubine and he’s the third born?” Seiichirou had done some basic research, but he was only familiar with the surface-level facts.
“Yeah, but it’s not like there’s a problem with the other princes. Prince Lars is just that talented.”
Although he wasn’t blatantly angling for the throne, he nonchalantly demonstrated his competence in many different areas, from philanthropy to regional inspections and reforms. Before long, he ended up gathering clout through important tasks like the magic stone extraction work.
“Now that you mention it, he did seem to get along with the technician and the sorcerer,” said Seiichirou.
The two were respectful toward Lars as a prince, but also strangely familiar with him as well, which implied a prior acquaintance.
“In Egorova, you need spells and magic tools to extract the magic ore. If a lower-ranked prince can get on good terms with either group, he can jump up the line of succession. That is, if he’s got something the others don’t.”
“Interesting…”
From what Seiichirou was hearing, Lars was doing very well for himself. By carefully laying the foundations and seizing connections with the influential technicians, he was setting himself up as a wise and savvy ruler. That had to be one of the reasons he decided to lead the diplomatic delegation.
Looking back, Lars had read Seiichirou’s documents with keen interest. Even when his fellow envoys went off the rails, he only let them do as they pleased after paying careful attention to his surroundings. People like him were natural leaders.
We’ll need Prince Lars for future diplomatic dealings… No, wait. Would relying on him cause friction with the other factions?
Seiichirou gave the matter some thought before shrugging. It wasn’t his job to worry about diplomacy. Camile and the other higher-ups had more knowledge and political savvy up their sleeves to set the stage for future success. Seiichirou’s job was to ensure that the current tour ran smoothly.
Anyway, Seiichirou had a grasp on Lars’s involvement, but Luciano’s presence raised some questions.
As far as Seiichirou could see, the boy had an interest in movement spells and had insisted on joining the delegation as a relative to the royal family… This made him the privileged young master of the group, so to speak. Although his youth was evident not just in his appearance but in the way he spoke and acted, his zeal for magic was genuine. The questions he asked the Romany court sorcerers were just as astute as any expert’s.
“But still, the others were awfully polite to him…too polite, even,” Orjef remarked. “I feel like I’ve seen that kid somewhere before…”
“You have?” Seiichirou cocked his head, wondering if Orjef was talking about Luciano’s relation to the royal family.
But Orjef gave him an exasperated look. “You’re surprisingly useless…”
“This is outside my area of expertise, so I must defer to others,” Seiichirou replied.
Let the most suitable person do the job, he was trying to say.
Only for Orjef to hit him with “I wouldn’t say that about a guy who can be with Aresh.”
He wasn’t going to let Seiichirou live that down.