“You’re suggesting this as a form of rural support,” said Camile.
“Exactly. I’d also like to try it with different age groups, if possible. It would be useful to know whether adolescents can grow their magic more quickly, and so forth.”
“Hm. I understand what you’re getting at, although I imagine that it would not be so simple for the nobles to relinquish their children…”
“That is where your power comes in, Your Excellency. If you could advocate for the advantages of this project…”
“The nerve of you, Seiichirou…,” said Camile, failing to suppress his smile this time.
Seiichirou answered with an evil grin of his own, forcing a bark of laughter from Camile’s lips.
“Good grief…and here I thought you’d use this opportunity to ask me about the other thing,” he said exasperatedly, after he had finished laughing.
“What thing?” Seiichirou cocked his head as Camile directed a maid to pour them another cup of tea.
“The marriage proposal to House Indolark.”
“So you knew about it,” said Seiichirou.
Camile nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Who do you think I am? Of course I’d know which members of our nobility would receive a visit from foreign royalty.”
He was right.
Which begged the question of why he never said a word of this to Seiichirou.
The answer was, of course, “Because I didn’t need to tell you.”
“I see,” Seiichirou said.
“Is that all you have to say? Isn’t there anything you want to ask me?”
“Nothing in particular.”
It was pointless listening to other people’s commentary.
A brief silence ensued. “I see,” Camile said. “Very well, then. I’ll arrange a meeting with Director Quellbus and Director Zoltan in the coming days to discuss your proposal.”
“Thank you. Please excuse me, then.”
Seiichirou quietly bowed and left the room.
As he made his way home, he wondered if Aresh’s sister was there.
Valtom greeted him at the door. At the same time, Seiichirou spied Erene on the stairs and held back a sigh.
“What’s with that look?” she asked.
“Er…” Seiichirou turned his face away, not feeling like explaining himself. “Is Aresh…?” he began to ask Valtom, only for the butler to shake his head wordlessly.
Today was another disappointment.
“I see.”
At this point, Seiichirou switched gears and headed up the stairs to his room. Erene shot him a look, but he didn’t want to bother with her today. Tomorrow, he would have to present Ist in front of foreign royalty. He didn’t have the spirit or energy to entertain someone else.
“Ah…” Erene made a noise as if she wanted to say something.
Seiichirou stopped. He wasn’t so apathetic as to ignore her entirely. “What is it?”
She took her sweet time to respond. When Seiichirou lost patience and urged her to continue, she made a sour face. “How was work today?”
“I’m afraid I cannot disclose matters concerning foreign royalty,” he replied, as if he was affronted by the very notion of what she was asking, even though she had demonstrated yesterday that she more or less knew the whole deal.
Erene’s brows furrowed. Evidently, she was put out, although she could not outright say so.
“Oh, really! Fine, then. Go make yourself at home.”
Seiichirou did not need her to tell him that. He bowed, and then retreated into his room. As he sank into a chair and sighed, Milan brought him a change of clothes.
“Are you weary, Mr. Seiichirou?”
“No…” At first, he tried to deny it, but then he thought better of it. “Well, yes.”
When he first came to this world, he threw himself into his work, believing that nobody was on his side. Only Aresh showed him careful consideration, he’d thought, but it turned out that Aresh’s servants were deeply kindhearted as well.
Pavel the chef always poured his heart into Seiichirou’s meals, and Milan the maid kept Seiichirou’s autonomy in mind as she unassumingly assisted him in all sorts of mundanities. Valtom the butler could be described as stern, but Seiichirou was second only to his master Aresh in his list of priorities.
Part of it was because this was the place he returned to, but Seiichirou could not help but see all these other people in the house with a familial sort of warmth. So this time, instead of deflecting Milan’s concern, he answered her frankly.
“What did Lady Erene come here for?”
Implicit in Seiichirou’s question was “When will she leave?” Milan put one of her plump hands to her cheek and tilted her head. “She said that she would stay here to entertain herself while her husband is busy at work.”
“So she decided to sojourn at her brother’s house while he’s not around?”
“Her husband works at the royal palace. I suppose she wants to feel a little closer to him…”
Seiichirou sighed.
So her husband worked at the palace? And she forced her way into Aresh’s house because it happened to be nearby? But that didn’t make sense when House Indolark had its own estate within the capital. Aresh was at that house—why did she come to a place where she knew he wouldn’t be?
Seiichirou wondered if it was so that she could deter him by telling him about Aresh’s engagement, but that didn’t seem quite right, either. For one thing, she had no right to tell Seiichirou to leave the house—Valtom and the others would never allow it in Aresh’s absence. Besides, Erene had never actually uttered anything of the sort.
Although Aresh spoke little about his family, Seiichirou knew that Erene was the third-born child and the only daughter. He wondered where the sole girl stood in a noble house full of boys. The next heir was already secured, and there was a spare in reserve. Not to mention that her younger brother was exceedingly talented in his own right.
“Erene is very beautiful and a hard worker, but next to Aresh…” Milan knew Aresh and Erene from their childhoods because she had once served as a maid at the Indolark house. Milan had stepped back from work to have a child of her own, and Aresh reached out to her once the early child-rearing had passed. The rest, as they say, was history.
People had referred to Aresh as a prodigy for as long as he could remember. He excelled at everything he touched: fighting, magic, and academics. Meanwhile, people told Erene that martial prowess was unnecessary for her as a girl. She poured everything into her books so that she would not be outdone by her younger brother. Apparently, she was twenty-six, which made her four years Aresh’s senior.
Unfortunately for her, she lacked the magic to pursue a career in research. Her brother, on the other hand, became the youngest commander ever of the prestigious Third Royal Order.
“Do they…not get along?” Seiichirou asked.
“Oh no, I wouldn’t say that. Erene has always doted on Aresh as her only little brother, ever since they were children. But although she means well, she finds it somewhat difficult to express herself… Aresh is like that, too, of course…”
In his mind’s eye, Seiichirou saw a tiny Aresh sulking as his older sister fussed over him.
Early the next day, Seiichirou departed for work before Erene could catch him. He met up with Orjef, and the two of them made their way over to the Sorcery Department.
“Is that sorcerer you’re so worried about really the same guy the Egorovans say is a genius?” asked Orjef.
“Our side knows Ist’s talents, too. It’s why he’s the assistant director.”
Sadly, his achievements were completely counterbalanced by his actions.
“I’ve heard the rumors, but what specifically should I be looking out for?” Orjef did not know Ist directly. He probably had a hard time imagining what kind of person he was because of all the conflicting impressions.