Chapter 7: Selestaria Levian
A full week had passed since the medal ceremony.
Al, as usual, did absolutely nothing. Each day drifted by in a haze of laziness, a life as sluggish and cocooned as that of a silkworm, wrapped in his own indolence.
Three days ago, a messenger had even arrived from the Imperial Palace—but…
“Offering me a private room in the castle? No, no, I don’t need that. Make sure to tell His Majesty it’s unnecessary,” Al had said without hesitation.
“Wha—!?”
He had outright refused the offer of a residence in the palace, one of the perks of being appointed a court mage.
“Are you really sure about this, Al-sama?”
“Absolutely. Just imagine living in the castle. Every time there’s work, knights would come barging into my room at the crack of dawn to wake me up. I’d never survive that. I’d go bald from stress.”
Meruru could only give a wry smile.
“…Isn’t that normal?”
“Don’t assume normal rules apply to me. I’m just a reclusive, lazy bum who happens to know a little magic.”
“Ha ha… fair enough.”
“No, that’s the part you’re supposed to argue with me about.”
Back in his student days, Al had at least maintained a proper study schedule during exams. But now, newly appointed as a court mage and with no real duties to speak of, he was living a truly shameful life of idleness—so bad he wouldn’t dare let anyone see it.
“Al-sama, don’t you think you should at least do something? You’ll rot away if you stay like this.”
“I intend to… but unfortunately, my stomach hurts today, so I can’t even leave the bed.”
“You say that every day, don’t you?”
And so, Al spent his days confined entirely to his mansion, until one particular day, when a young woman came to visit the second residence in the imperial capital.
“…………”
She stood rigidly at the entrance, arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor.
───This young woman’s name was…
“Al-sama! Selestaria Levian-sama is here to see you!”
“What!? Meruru, tell her I’m not here.”
“Understood!”
Meruru hurried back to the entrance.
“Selestaria-sama, I apologize for the wait. Al-sama has secluded himself in his room at the moment. Perhaps you could help persuade him to come out?”
“I thought as much,” Selestaria replied.
“By the way, Al-sama said to tell you he’s not present.”
“You lazy, reclusive mage!”
Meruru had been sternly instructed by Al’s parents to never spoil their son—and she intended to uphold that order.
Selestaria followed Meruru with determined, purposeful steps.
“And your name?”
“I am Meruru, assigned by the Baron to serve as Al-sama’s attendant. Pleased to meet you,” she said politely.
“Oh, how courteous of you,” Selestaria replied.
The door to Al’s room opened quietly. Wrapped in his blankets, Al muttered lazily:
“Meruru, thanks for your trouble. Huh… the duchess’s daughter isn’t as stubborn as I thought. I expected someone stronger-willed. Anyway, I’ll sleep a little longer, so close the curtains, Meruru… hmm? Meruru?”
No response came. Slowly, he propped himself up—and there she was: his fiancée, looking absolutely exasperated.
“Good morning, Al Dragals… or should I call you the Dream-Attribute Court Mage?”
“Ah… good morning,” Al replied sheepishly.
◇◇◇
In the second mansion’s guest room, Selestaria sat across from Al, her expression stormy, while Al sported a small bump on his head from their earlier encounter.
“You know why I’m this angry, right?”
“No, not at all,” Al replied, feigning ignorance.
“………………….”
“Because I didn’t come to greet you for our engagement.”
“Correct. In the customs of the Luxion Empire, the lower-ranking family pays a courtesy visit—but you already knew that, right?”
“Eh… really?”
“……………….”
“Yes, I knew. I’m sorry.”
“Normally, you should have come immediately to the ducal house. I could have forgiven the delay for the medal ceremony, but a whole week has passed, and there’s still no sign of you. Even if something came up, not even sending a message is just… wrong.”
“………………”
“Wrong, right?”
“Yes,” Al admitted.
“And drop that awkward formal speech—it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Got it.”
(As I thought… she’s completely the opposite of me… uh-oh, my stomach really hurts…)
For the sake of her honor, it should be said that Selestaria was usually mild-mannered, celebrated for her remarkable character as a heroine among noblewomen. Lately, she’d been angry, but that was entirely due to the reckless actions of the Duke Levian and this extreme laziness of her fiancé.
“First… why didn’t you come?”
“Actually, my stomach hurt for the past week, and I didn’t have the energy or will to send any messages.”
Selestaria exchanged a look with Meruru.
“Meruru, is that true?”
“That’s a lie. He just lazed in bed every day.”
“I see…”
“……………….”
“Honestly?”
“He spent each day reveling in a carefree, thoughtless life as a NEET.”
“…Hah. Why didn’t you just say that from the start?”
Al had braced himself for a severe scolding—but surprisingly, there was none. Selestaria merely sighed in exasperation.
“…You’re not angry?”
“No. During the medal ceremony, I saw the real you. I know you’ve worked hard without succumbing to your talents, and I know you can get angry for the people you care about. You’re just a hundred times lazier than anyone else—but that’s hardly a crime.”
She understood Al far beyond what he had imagined.
“……………….”
(Maybe I misjudged Selestaria-sama…)
It was rare for a senior noble to so casually forgive the extreme rudeness of a lesser noble (a court mage being at Marquis level). Among the empire’s four great ducal families, only the Levians would do this. In today’s harsh noble society, it was almost unheard of.
────And then, turning away, Selestaria twirled a strand of hair around her finger, her cheeks tinged with pink, and murmured:
“Besides… if I really hated you, I would have broken off the engagement long ago. All this past week, I’ve been pacing and worrying like a fool waiting for you.”
“…!”
For the first time in his life, Al felt his heart skip a beat. The sensation was so foreign, he froze for a moment.
(So… this is my fiancée, Selestaria Levian.)
It wasn’t that Al was easily impressed. Rather, it felt like he had met his fated partner against astronomical odds.
“Can I call you Selestaria?”
“Yes, and I’ll call you Al in return.”
“Of course. By the way, any plans after this?”
“I’ll be going home soon. I actually have something I can’t miss.”
“Then I’ll escort you to the ducal second mansion.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. Believe it or not, as a court mage, I can provide a bit of protection.”
“That’s not what I meant… really…”
For once—an extremely rare, almost unprecedented event—Al took the initiative.
Prepared and ready, he left the mansion with Selestaria by his side.
Meruru was left speechless, completely flabbergasted.
“………………”
(C-Can it be… that Al-sama is doing something for anyone other than the Dragals…??)