Kays Translations

Chapter 11: At the End of the Day’s Greetings

“Now then.”

Ulysses paused for breath and changed the subject.

“Would you tell Ren Ashton that I would very much like him to visit my estate? I would like to entertain him at the mansion that is the pride of our family.”

“Certainly. I will convey every word to Ren exactly as you said it—”

“Naturally, I would like to meet him, and so would my daughter.”

“—I-I see.”

At last, the conversation began to revolve around Ren.

Ulysses still wore his genial smile, but no one could tell what he was thinking beneath it.

The same was true of Lessard. He continued to speak with due deference to Ulysses.

Yet a quiet fighting spirit had begun to burn within him.

“However, Ren is currently working hard for his home village, so he may not be able to visit immediately.”

“Then would you also tell him that I would be glad to advise him on anything he needs?”

“You have my gratitude. Nevertheless, since Ren saved both my daughter and House Clausel, I believe I should remain responsible for the Ashton village until the very end.”

“Ha ha! By that reasoning, he saved my daughter as well—not once, but twice.”

There was no trace of hostility in either man’s voice.

Even so, their daughters understood. Their fathers had kindled a quiet fighting spirit and were continuing their restrained exchange without yielding an inch.

At some point, Licia and Fiona moved away from their respective fathers.

From a short distance, they watched the two men continue their quiet contest.

“Please rest assured. Ren has the invitation you gave him, so he will visit Eupheim when the time is right.”

“Oh, no. That is not all.”

“What do you mean?”

“What Baron Clausel mentioned was the first expression of gratitude, was it not? I am referring to what happened in the Baldor Mountains.”

“Oh? In that case, I believe we already agreed that neither of us had recognized the situation at the time…”

“That is true as far as the matter between you and me is concerned, Baron Clausel. But have you forgotten? Thanking him for saving Fiona is an entirely separate matter.”

Their conversation gradually grew more animated.

The girls had never seen their fathers behave this way before.

They exchanged wry smiles, and only then were they finally able to speak to each other calmly.

“Um… Lady Ignat.”

“Please, call me Fiona.”

“Y-yes… Then, Lady Fiona. You may call me Licia as well.”

Unlike their fathers, the two girls were noticeably awkward.

After settling how they would address one another, neither opened her mouth. Both had something they wanted to ask, yet for some reason neither could put it into words.

Naturally, they were both thinking about Ren.

As two people whose lives he had saved, they could not help thinking about many things.

While they remained silent, the night wind blew once more.

Licia’s hair ornament and Fiona’s necklace swayed in the breeze.

“That is—”

Licia was the first to speak.

“Is that Star Agate…?”

“Y-yes! It is very precious to me, and I wear it all the time except when I bathe. Is your hair ornament a Platinum Feather, Lady Licia?”

“It is. This is very precious to me as well.”

Both were exceptionally valuable objects, and treasures to the girls who wore them.

The expressions they made as they touched their treasures showed just how dearly they loved and cherished them.

As each looked at the other’s face, they naturally understood.

…She likes him too.

…Just like me, her life was saved by him.

It felt as though they understood each other without needing to say it aloud.

…A girl this beautiful loves him too.

It was not merely their faces. Their bearing, their words, and the courtesy evident in every gesture made each of them beautiful from the heart.

That was precisely what troubled them.

How much easier it would have been if they could simply dislike each other.

Even if the other girl had been ugly at heart, neither would have lowered herself to a shallow quarrel over Ren.

Their respect for him was every bit as deep as their feelings for him.

Foolishly fighting over the person who had saved their lives was out of the question.

And, rationally speaking, they were not in a relationship that permitted them to quarrel over him in the first place.

“…………”

“…………”

Both girls remained calm.

Fortunately for them, their parents had begun a quiet war of words as though competing over Ren before the girls themselves could speak.

That had allowed them to view matters objectively and calmly.

Even so, neither could lie about everything she felt for Ren.

“My love for him is worth risking my life for. I would do anything for Ren, who risked his life to protect me.”

In her usual manner of speaking, Licia forgot her formal language and voiced the full extent of her feelings.

Under ordinary circumstances, slipping back into her usual tone would have been a mistake, and Licia knew it.

But she did not regret it. She felt that she had to speak honestly here.

Having said it before Fiona—a girl she had only just met, yet who shared a mysterious connection with Ren—heat and a rush of emotions dyed Licia red from her neck to her cheeks.

“I, too, could give everything to Ren, who gave me this world.”

Fiona turned scarlet not only from her neck to her cheeks, but all the way to her earlobes.

Neither girl felt ashamed of what she had said. Even so, they simply could not stop their entire faces from turning bright red.

Was declaring their unwavering feelings and love so directly truly this overwhelming?

Licia and Fiona stared at each other, both still red-faced.

—The night wind blew.

The breeze caressed their flushed skin, and both found it pleasantly cool.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Afterward, Licia and Fiona did not continue the conversation.

From the words they had exchanged, each understood the strength of the other’s resolve and feelings, and each respected them. That was as far as their discussion went.

Ulysses and Lessard called to them, dispelling the atmosphere in which they might have continued.

“That reminds me.”

Just before they returned to the party hall, Ulysses spoke on the terrace as though he had suddenly remembered something.

“There is something I wanted to ask, just in case. Lady Clausel, may I have a moment?”

Licia nodded.

“Am I correct in assuming that you intend to attend the Imperial Military Academy?”

“…No. I have not decided yet.”

She recalled that Sera had been about to say something earlier that day.

That was partly why Licia limited herself to that answer.

“Then you should aim for the academy’s Special Class. In the past, I would have respected House Clausel’s own plans, but these have become dangerous times.”

“Dangerous? Do you mean because of what happened in the Baldor Mountains?”

“Yes, but not only that.”

Ulysses sighed, his voice sounding weary.

“Over the next few years, the struggles between the factions will likely become fiercer than ever.”

Lessard furrowed his brow and asked before Licia could.

“Has something happened in the Imperial Capital?”

“A few days ago. You have surely heard that the upper nobles of the Hero Faction and Imperial Faction have grown tense since the disturbance in the Baldor Mountains.”

“Indeed. I have heard that disagreements and arguments are becoming common even among nobles within the same faction.”

“Exactly. But that is no longer the whole story. I only received this information the other day myself—”

If even Ulysses had learned it only recently, then very few people in the Imperial Capital could know.

According to him, those who knew could be counted on two hands.

“I hear that several nobles belonging to the Neutral Faction intend to defect to the Hero Faction and the Imperial Faction.”

Those nobles feared that the recent disturbance would weaken the Neutral Faction even further, so they had decided to join the other two major factions.

“Then the rumors that have circulated for some time are finally becoming reality.”

Naturally, Lessard had kept himself informed of the events from winter until the present day.

He had made full use of his influence and acted on the information Marquis Ignat had given him, doing everything in his power not to fall behind in the information war.

However, the matter now being discussed was beyond his ability to influence.

“Thank you for this valuable information. It only makes me more keenly aware of my lack of power.”

“I learned it only recently myself, so it is perfectly understandable that you did not know. And do not forget what I praised you for earlier. Something like this does not diminish your worth, Baron Clausel.”

His words were not merely meant to reassure Lessard; Lessard truly was capable.

When he had finished, Ulysses turned to Licia once more.

“That is why you should aim for the Imperial Military Academy. The more connections House Clausel forms with other nobles, the more choices it will have.”

Ulysses genuinely wished to deepen the ties between their two houses, but he did not attempt any political maneuvering against House Clausel, to which he owed a great debt.

He considered House Clausel’s position and respected the future they envisioned for themselves.

He offered only the advice he was able to give.

“—Though what I truly hope is that you will one day stand shoulder to shoulder with me and His Highness Radius.”

His final murmur reached no one’s ears—not even Fiona’s.

Satisfied after discussing the Imperial Military Academy, Ulysses casually checked his watch. In another hour, the party would move to a different venue for the evening ball.

“Fiona, it is about time we went home. I will escort you back to your dormitory.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The two members of House Ignat apparently did not intend to attend the evening ball.

After bowing once more to Lessard and Licia, they left the party hall.

Immediately after leaving the venue and boarding their carriage, Ulysses spoke.

“Now then, shall we go and see him?”

He said this to Edgar, who was serving as the coachman, and the carriage proceeded through the Imperial Capital at night.

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